JP2009230977A - Electric connector for vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric connection device for a vehicle that realizes, with a compact structure, a unit side connector and a harness side connector can be coupled with a low operating force by only inserting an electronic unit into a unit case.
An electrical connection device includes a harness side connector, a unit case, and a rotating member attached to the harness side connector. The unit case 16 holds the harness-side connector 14 at a position where it can be coupled with the unit-side connector 20 of the electronic unit 18 inserted therein. The rotating member 40 is engaged with the electronic unit 18 and is rotated from the coupling start position to the coupling completion position as it is inserted, thereby coupling both the connectors 20 and 14 with a force larger than the insertion force. The rotating member 40 includes a guided portion 44 that is guided by a guide surface 24a that is an inner surface of the back wall 24 of the unit case 16, and moves from the coupling start position to the coupling completion position by the guidance.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrical connection device for a vehicle for connecting an electronic unit equipped in a vehicle such as an automobile to a vehicle side circuit.

  Conventionally, as a technique for connecting an electronic unit installed in a vehicle to a wire harness, a connector (ECU-side connector) provided in the ECU with the ECU (electronic control unit) housed in a dedicated unit case ) To the connector on the wire harness side. However, in a limited vehicle interior space, it is not easy to fit the harness side connector to the ECU connector housed in the unit case. In particular, when a plurality of ECUs are accommodated in the unit case, it is very troublesome to select one harness-side connector corresponding to each ECU and insert it into the ECU-side connector.

  Therefore, in FIGS. 9 to 14 of Patent Document 1, the ECU is inserted into the unit case in a state where the harness-side connector is held in advance in the unit case, so that the connector of the ECU and the harness-side connector are inserted. An electrical connection device is disclosed that is automatically coupled with a low operating force. The outline is shown in FIG. 14 of this application.

  14 includes a plurality of harness-side connectors 214 that are connected to the terminals of the wire harness 212, and ECU-side connectors (not shown) that are respectively provided in the corresponding ECUs 218. A unit case 216 into which each ECU 218 can be inserted, and an operation member 250 attached to the unit case 216 are provided. The operating member 250 has two cam grooves 256 and 258 having a predetermined shape. Each harness-side connector 214 is provided with a cam follower 215 that can be fitted into the cam groove 256, and each ECU 218 has the cam groove 258. A cam follower 219 that can be fitted to the cam is projected.

In this electrical connection device 210, each harness-side connector 214 is held in advance on the unit case 216 side by the cam follower 215 being fitted into the cam groove 256 of the operation member 250. When each ECU 218 is inserted into the unit case 216 in this state, the cam follower 219 of the ECU 218 is fitted into the cam groove 258 of the operation member 250. Next, when the operation member 250 is operated in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the ECU 218 (upward in the drawing), the harness side connector 114 and the ECU side connector are connected with a force larger than the operation force by the action of the cam mechanism. Are attracted in a direction parallel to the insertion direction and are fitted together.
JP 2006-344422 A

  The electrical connection device 210 shown in FIG. 14 has the following problems to be solved.

  a. A stroke for operating the operation member 250 in the direction orthogonal to the connecting direction of the connectors is necessary, and the space required for the same direction increases accordingly. In the initial state, the lower end of the operation member 250 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the unit case 216, so that the protruding portion is easily caught by other components.

  b. In order to fit the connector, two operations in different directions (insertion operation of the ECU 218 and operation of the operation member 250) must be performed in order, which increases labor.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention makes it possible to easily couple the harness-side connector to the unit-side connector of the electronic unit by an operation with a simple and low operating force that simply inserts the electronic unit into the unit case. And it aims at providing the electrical connection apparatus for vehicles which has the compact structure where the mechanism for it is stored in a unit case.

  As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a vehicle electrical connection device for electrically connecting an electronic unit having a unit-side connector to a plurality of electric wires included in a vehicle wiring harness. A harness-side connector provided at the end of the electric wire and connectable to the unit-side connector; and a shape in which the electronic unit can be inserted from a specific direction and coupled to the unit-side connector of the electronic unit at the time of insertion. A connector holding part that holds the harness-side connector at a position where it is possible and guides the harness-side connector in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electronic unit, and the harness-side connector held by the connector holding part. A unit case having a back wall located on the back side in the insertion direction, and how to insert the electronic unit A rotating member attached to the harness-side connector so as to enable movement including rotation about an axis in a direction perpendicular to the axis, and the rotating member is a unit side member provided on the electronic unit side. A rotating member side engaging portion that can be engaged with the joint portion, and a guided portion that contacts an inner surface of the back wall of the unit case, and the rotating member side engaging portion is attached to the unit case. As the rotating member moves from the coupling start position where the unit-side engaging portion of the inserted electronic unit can be engaged with the rotating member-side engaging portion to the predetermined coupling end position, the electronic unit Forming a booster mechanism that couples the unit side connector and the harness side connector to each other with a force larger than the insertion force applied to the electronic unit while pulling the unit side connector and the harness side connector at a speed slower than the insertion speed of the electronic unit. The inner surface of the back wall with which the inside contacts is connected to the electronic unit inserted into the unit case together with the harness-side connector being displaced in the insertion direction so that the rotating member is moved from the coupling start position to the coupling end. It constitutes a guide surface that guides the guided portion of the rotating member in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction so as to move to a position.

  This device has a compact structure in which other parts hardly protrude from the unit case, and only by an operation of inserting the electronic unit into the unit case, the unit-side connector of the electronic unit, The harness side connector held by the unit case can be coupled with a low operating force.

  Specifically, in the device, both the harness side connector and the rotating member attached to the harness side connector are stored inside the back wall of the unit case, that is, in the unit case, and the portion that greatly protrudes from the unit case is Basically does not exist. Then, the electronic unit is inserted into the unit case in a state where the rotating member provided on the harness side connector held in the unit case is in the fitting start position, so that the unit side of the electronic unit is The engaging portion engages with the rotating member side engaging portion of the rotating member. Further, as the insertion of the electronic unit proceeds, the harness-side connector is also displaced in the insertion direction. At the time of the displacement, the guided portion that contacts the back wall of the unit case is in the direction of the displacement (insertion direction). ), The rotating member moves from the coupling start position to the coupling end position, and the unit-side connector and the harness-side connector are forced to have a force larger than the insertion operation force of the electronic unit. Connect with each other.

  In the present invention, the “guide surface for guiding the guided portion of the rotating member in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction” has a function of moving the guided portion in a direction including at least a component in the direction. For example, the surface may be slightly inclined with respect to the direction or a curved surface with gentle undulations. However, this guide surface can be a plane in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction. In this case, it is possible to make the said back wall into a simple flat plate or a thing close | similar to it, and the whole structure is simplified more.

  On the other hand, it is preferable that the guided portion has, for example, an outwardly convex curved sliding contact surface that can slide on the guide surface while changing a relative angle to the guide surface. Such a guided portion can be smoothly guided along the guide surface with a simple structure that does not require a rolling member such as a roller.

  Further, the guided portion has a protrusion that protrudes outward in the radius direction of curvature from the sliding contact surface and extends along the sliding contact surface, and the back wall of the unit case is guided in the guiding direction by the guide surface. As long as it has a guide groove that extends in parallel with the protrusion and has a width that allows the protrusion to be fitted into the guide groove and restricts the movement in the width direction of the protrusion that fits into the guide groove, the structure is simple. It is possible to more accurately guide the guided portion in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction.

  The unit case may be one in which only a single electronic unit is inserted, but more preferably has a shape into which a plurality of electronic units can be inserted. In that case, the unit case has a shape in which a plurality of electronic units are arranged in a specific direction and can be inserted into the unit case along a common direction. If the guided portion is guided in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the electronic unit and perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the unit cases, the dimensions of the unit case in the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction should be effectively used. Thus, a sufficient stroke can be secured for guiding the guided portion without increasing the size of the unit case.

  When the electronic units are arranged in a plurality of directions (for example, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction), one of them is the specific direction, and the guide direction of the guided portion is based on the specific direction. It only has to be set.

  In addition, the unit case is rotated so that when the electronic unit is extracted from the unit case, the rotating unit contacts the rotating member and the rotating member moves from the coupling end position to the coupling start position. It is more preferable to have a reverse guide surface for guiding the member. The presence of this reverse guide surface automatically connects the connector on the unit side to the harness side connector while pulling out the electronic unit with a small force as well as connecting the connectors by insertion operation with a low operating force of the electronic unit. It is possible to cancel.

  Specifically, for example, the rotating member has a reverse guided portion projecting in a direction parallel to the direction of the rotation central axis of the rotating member at a portion near the guided portion, and the unit case In addition, a reverse guide groove extending in a direction substantially parallel to the guide surface and having a shape into which the reverse guided portion can be fitted is formed, and among the surfaces defining the reverse guide groove, the insertion direction of the electronic unit is formed. It is preferable that the upstream surface constitutes the reverse guide surface. In this structure, it is possible to connect the connectors with a low extraction force only by fitting the reverse guided portion protruding in the vicinity of the guided portion and the reverse guide groove extending in a direction substantially parallel to the guide surface. Release can be realized.

  The rotating member side engaging portion of the rotating member includes, for example, a cam groove having an opening end that opens to the electronic unit side when the rotating member is at the coupling start position. What has the width | variety into which the said unit side engaging part can approach from the said opening end in a cam groove is suitable.

  The rotating member has a locked portion, and the harness-side connector engages with the locked portion to lock the rotating member at the coupling start position in a releasable manner. It is preferable that a moving member locking portion is provided, and the engagement between the rotating member locking portion and the locked portion is released by an electronic unit inserted into the unit case. The engagement between the locked portion and the rotating member locking portion makes it possible to reliably hold the rotating member at the coupling start position when the electronic unit is inserted into the unit case. In addition, the rotating member can move from the coupling start position to the coupling end position from the time when the engagement is released along with the insertion of the electronic unit.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The electrical connection device 10 shown here is for electrically connecting a large number of electric wires 13 included in a wire harness and a plurality of ECUs (electronic control units) 18. The harness side connector 14 and a single unit case 16 are provided. In this embodiment, three ECUs 18 can be inserted into the unit case 16 from a specific direction, and the same number of harness-side connectors 14 are held by the unit case 16 (typically in FIG. 1). Only one ECU 18 and harness side connector 14 are shown.)

  Each harness-side connector 14 includes a plurality of connector terminals (not shown) connected to the ends of the electric wires 13 and a housing 12 that holds these connector terminals. In this embodiment, the connector terminals are held by the housing 12 in a state of being arranged vertically. As will be described later, these harness-side connectors 14 are held in the unit case 16 so that they can be fitted to the ECU-side connector 20 provided in the ECU 18 inserted into the unit case 16. The electric wire 13 and the ECU 18 are electrically connected in the fitted state.

  The unit case 16 has a plurality of vertical walls 21 arranged in the horizontal direction, and the ECUs 18 are arranged along a common direction between the vertical walls 21 (in this embodiment, the front side (FIG. 1 Then, a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) unit insertion spaces 22 that can be inserted (from the front side) along the front-rear direction are formed. The rear side (back side in FIG. 1) of the unit case 16 is closed by a back wall 24 shown in FIG. 2 and the like, and the back wall 24 has a plurality of through holes corresponding to the unit insertion spaces 22. Holes 26 are provided, and the electric wires 13 are connected to the harness side connectors 14 in the unit case 16 through the through holes 26.

  The unit case 16 has mounting pieces 28 that protrude from the outer surface to both sides and downward. Each mounting piece 28 is provided with a bolt insertion hole 28a through which a bolt (not shown) can be inserted. For example, a phosphorus hose (the back side of the instrument panel as shown in FIG. 3) is inserted by the bolt inserted into the bolt insertion hole 28a. The attachment piece 28 is connected to a strength member 29) and a connecting portion 27 formed in an adjacent part.

  The unit case 16 includes connector holding portions 30 that hold the harness-side connectors 14 respectively. The connector holding portion 30 is located at a position immediately behind the back wall 24 on the rear side (back side in the insertion direction) of each unit insertion space 22, and the ECU side when the ECU 18 is inserted into the unit case 16. The harness side connector 14 is held at a position where the connector 20 and each harness side connector 14 can be coupled, and the harness side connector 14 is guided in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the ECU 18.

  Specifically, the housing 12 of the harness-side connector 14 is formed with guided protrusions 12a and 12b protruding vertically as shown in FIGS. Are formed with guide grooves 31 and 32 extending in a direction parallel to the insertion direction, and the guided convex portions 12a and 12b are fitted into the guide grooves 31 and 32, respectively. In the connector holding part 30, a retaining part 34 as shown in FIG. 5 is left on the front side of each guide groove 31, and the contact between the retaining part 34 and the guided convex part 12a causes the The harness side connector 14 is prevented from falling off from the connector holding portion 30 forward.

  2 and 4 to 8 show a state before each ECU 18 is inserted into the unit case 16, and FIGS. 9 to 12 show a state after the insertion is completed.

  Each ECU 18 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 36 and a circuit board (not shown) accommodated in the case 36. The ECU-side connector 20 includes a plurality of connector terminals (not shown) and a hood 35. Each of the connector terminals is electrically connected to the circuit board and protrudes from the case 36 to the front side (side toward the unit case 16) so as to be able to be fitted to each connector terminal of the harness side connector 14. The connector terminals are electrically connected by the fitting. The hood 35 is formed integrally with the case 36 and has a shape that covers the connector terminals protruding from the case 36 from the outside.

  In this embodiment, ribs 35a and 35b extending in the horizontal direction (direction parallel to the insertion direction of the ECU 18) are formed on the inner side surface of the hood 35 in two upper and lower stages. Further, a substantially cylindrical cam follower 23 projects from the center position in the vertical direction of the inner surface of the hood 35. The cam follower 23 corresponds to a unit side engaging portion that can be engaged with a rotating member 40 described later.

  A locked projection 37 projects from the upper surface of the case 36, and a lance 38 (FIG. 5, etc.) that can be engaged with the locked projection 37 is formed in the unit case 16. The lance 38 holds the ECU 18 at a position where the insertion into the unit case 16 is completed (insertion completion position) by engaging with the locked protrusion 37.

  As a feature of the electrical connection device 10, a rotating member 40 is attached to each harness side connector 14, and these rotating members 40 are stored in the unit case 16 together with the harness side connector 14. Each rotation member 40 moves in a direction including a rotation around an axis perpendicular to the insertion direction of the ECU 18 (in this embodiment, on a vertical surface and a rotation operation around an axis in a direction parallel to the alignment direction of the ECU 18). (The movement including the translational movement of the ECU 18) is attached to the harness-side connector 14 and the ECU-side connector 20 and the harness-side connector 14 of the ECU 18 are moved to the ECU 18 along with the movement including the rotation. It has the function of being coupled to each other with a force greater than the applied insertion force.

  The rotating member 40 has a plate shape in this embodiment, and is attached to the harness-side connector 14 so that the thickness direction is parallel to the direction of the rotating central axis. In the lower half of the housing 12 of the harness-side connector 14, the rotating member 40 is housed while storing the front portion of the rotating member 40 (the portion on the unit insertion space 22 side; the right side portion in FIGS. 5 to 7). A storage groove 15 is formed having a size sufficient to allow the movement of.

  The rotating member 40 is supported by a support shaft 17 formed on the housing 12. The support shaft 17 protrudes from the surface of the housing 12 facing the storage groove 15 toward the storage groove 15. On the other hand, the rotating member 40 is formed with a through-groove 42 having a predetermined shape into which the support shaft 17 can enter, and the periphery of the through-groove 42 is in contact with the support shaft 17. The member 40 is supported by the housing 12, and the rotating member 40 has a coupling start position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 8 and a coupling end position as shown in FIGS. The shape of the through groove 42 is set so as to allow movement between them.

  The rotating member 40 includes a rotating member side engaging portion 43 which is an end portion facing the unit insertion space 22 side, and an end portion on the back wall 24 side (that is, the rotating shaft 17 across the support shaft 17). And a guided portion 44 which is an end portion on the opposite side to the moving member side engaging portion.

  The rotating member side engaging portion 43 is an end portion that can be engaged with the ECU 18 inserted into the unit insertion space 22, and has a cam groove 45 in this embodiment. The cam groove 45 has an open end 45a, extends while drawing a predetermined shape from the open end 45a toward the through groove 42, and has a width that allows the cam follower 23 to enter from the open end 45a. Have.

  The coupling start position of the rotating member 40 described above is a position where the opening end 45a faces the unit insertion space 22 and the cam follower 23 can be inserted into the opening end 45a. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 10, the housing 12 of the harness-side connector 14 includes a cam follower receiving cutout 12c for guiding the cam follower 23 on the ECU 18 side into the opening end 45a, and a rib 35a of the hood 35. , 35b, and rib receiving grooves 12d, 12e are formed.

  On the other hand, the housing 12 of the harness side connector 14 is provided with a locking portion for locking the rotating member 40 at the coupling start position. Specifically, a locking piece 46 whose tip can be bent in a direction approaching the support shaft 17 is formed in a portion of the rotating member 40 above the cam groove 45, while the housing 12 Is formed with a locking projection 19 which can be contacted from the rear side (back side in the insertion direction) with respect to the tip of the locked piece 46, and the rotating member 40 is shown in FIGS. Lock to the coupling start position. The protruding amount of the locking projection 19 and the protruding amount of the upper rib 35a of the hood 35 are set so that the upper rib 35a contacts the locked piece 46 but not the locking projection 19. The position of the upper rib 35a is set so that the upper rib 35a bends the locked piece 46 and releases the lock when the connectors 14 and 18 are fitted to each other (FIGS. 9 to 11). Has been.

  In addition, it replaces with the said to-be-latched piece 46, and the part which has the said latching protrusion 19 in the said housing 12 can be bent as what is called a lance (namely, it can be engaged / disengaged with respect to the to-be-latched part of the rotation member 40). May be. In that case, what is necessary is just to release the engagement by forcibly bending the lance including the locking protrusion 19 for example, the rib 35a.

  The guided portion 44 comes into contact with the guide surface 24a which is the inner surface of the back wall 24 in a state in which the rotating member 40 is locked at the coupling start position, so that the harness-side connector 14 is shown in FIG. While being held at the foremost position as shown in FIG. 7, the harness side connector 14 is retracted from the foremost position by contact with the ECU side connector 20 (ie, displaced in the insertion direction of the ECU 18). By slidingly contacting (i.e., being guided) downward with respect to the guide surface 24a, the rotating member 40 has a function of moving from the coupling start position to the coupling end position shown in FIGS. That is, the guide surface 24a forms a plane that is orthogonal to the insertion direction of each ECU 18 and extends in the vertical direction that is orthogonal to the insertion direction of the ECU 18, and guides the guided portion 44 in the vertical direction.

  Specifically, the guided portion 44 has a sliding contact surface 44a as shown in FIG. The sliding contact surface 44a is an outwardly convex curved surface (cylindrical surface in the example) having a radius of curvature smaller than the turning radius of the guided portion 44, and changes the relative angle with respect to the guide surface 24a. However, it has a shape capable of sliding on the guide surface 24a.

  Further, the guided portion 44 has a ridge 48 for receiving a restriction in the width direction from the back wall 24. The protrusion 48 has an arc shape that protrudes outward in the radius direction of curvature from the center position in the width direction of the sliding contact surface 44a and extends along the sliding contact surface 44a. On the other hand, the back wall 24 is formed with a guide groove 25 which is a through groove extending in a direction parallel to the guide surface 24a (vertical direction in this embodiment). The fitting of the ridges 48 into the guide grooves 25 may restrict the movement of the ridges 48 in the width direction and contribute to the stabilization of the standby state and position of the harness side connector 14.

  The guided portion 44 abuts against the bottom wall of the unit case 16 when the rotating member 40 reaches a coupling end position as shown in FIGS. In other words, the position where the guided portion 44 abuts against the bottom wall is set as the fitting end position. These positions are set so that the locked projection 37 on the ECU 18 side and the lance 38 on the unit case 16 side are engaged with each other at this fitting end position.

  Further, when the ECU 18 is extracted from the unit case 16 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, the rotating member 40 is also rotated so that the rotating member 40 moves backward from the coupling end position to the coupling start position. It has a function of guiding the moving member 40.

  Specifically, each rotation member 40 is located laterally from the vicinity of the guided portion 44 (in this embodiment, the portion corresponding to the center of curvature of the sliding contact surface 44a), that is, the rotation center of the rotation member 40. While having the reverse guided part 50 which protrudes in the direction parallel to an axis | shaft, the said unit case 16 is formed with the reverse guide groove 52 in which each said reverse guided part 50 can each fit. These reverse guide grooves 52 extend in a direction substantially parallel to the guide surface 24a (in this embodiment, the vertical direction), and are upstream surfaces in the insertion direction of the ECU 18 among the surfaces defining the reverse guide grooves 52. (The upper surface in FIG. 4; the right surface in FIGS. 7 and 11) constitutes a reverse guide surface 54 that contacts the reverse guided portion 50 and guides the reverse guided portion 50 upward in the vertical direction. ing.

  The shape of the cam groove 45 is an insertion operation force applied to the ECU 18 when the rotating member 40 moves from the coupling start position to the coupling end position while the cam follower 23 enters the cam groove 45. It is set to constitute a booster mechanism that couples the connectors 14 and 20 with a greater force. More specifically, when the ECU 18 is inserted into the unit case 16, the harness-side connector 14 is placed in the same direction (the insertion direction) at a speed slower than the entry speed (insertion speed) of the ECU-side connector 20. By reversing and advancing the fitting of both connectors 14 and 20 by the speed difference, the retraction stroke of the harness-side connector 14 is greater than the case where the fitting is advanced while the harness-side connector 14 is stationary, The shapes of the cam groove 45 and the through groove 42 are set so that the operation force required for the fitting (insertion operation force of the ECU 18) can be reduced.

  As for the shapes of the cam groove 45 and the through groove 42, for example, a technique used in a conventionally known lever connector (low insertion force connector) as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-338339 is applied. Can be set arbitrarily.

  Next, a method of using the vehicle electrical connection device 10 and its operation will be described.

1. Setting of Electrical Connection Device 10 The electrical connection device 10 includes a plurality of harness-side connectors 14 connected to the ends of the electric wires 13, a rotating member 40 connected thereto, and a unit case that holds these harness-side connectors 14. 16 is connected to the terminal of the wire harness including the electric wire 13. The wire harness is routed at an appropriate location in the vehicle, and the unit case 16 is installed at an appropriate position. For example, when the wire harness is routed behind the instrument panel of an automobile, the trunk portion of the wire harness is routed along the phosphorus hose 29 (FIG. 3) on the back side of the instrument panel. At the same time, the unit case 16 is fixed to the phosphorus hose 29 or the like. Since the electrical connecting apparatus 10 has a compact structure in which no other parts protrude from the unit case 16, the installation work is easy.

  In this initial state, each of the rotating members 40 is locked at a coupling start position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to 8. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the locking projection 19 formed on the unit case 16 extends from the rear to the tip of the locked piece 46 in the rotating member 40 (opposite to the unit insertion space 22). (From the side) prevents the pivoting member 40 from pivoting from the coupling start position to the coupling end position.

2. Insertion of ECU 18 The ECU 18 is inserted into each unit insertion space 22 of the unit case 16 from the front side. When the rotation member 40 moves including the rotation about the support shaft 17 in accordance with the insertion, the harness side connector 14 and the ECU side connector 20 are coupled with a force larger than the insertion force. That is, the connectors 14 and 20 are automatically coupled only by the insertion operation of the ECU 18, and the insertion operation force required for the coupling is reduced. The details are as follows.

(1) At the initial stage of insertion, the cam follower 23 formed on the hood 35 of the ECU-side connector 20 is drawn into the cam follower receiving notch 12c in the housing 12 of the harness-side connector 14 and is inserted into the open end 45a of the cam groove 45. The ribs 35a and 35b of the hood 35 are inserted into the rib receiving grooves 12d and 12e, respectively. Among these, the upper rib 35a bends the distal end portion of the locked piece 46 downward by pressing the locked piece 46 of the rotating member 40 from above, so that the distal end portion and the unit case 16 side are bent. The engagement with the locking projection 19 is released. That is, the locking member 19 is unlocked by the locking protrusion 19 and the rotating member 40 can be moved to the fitting end position side.

(2) The insertion force of the ECU 18 is transmitted to the rotating member 40, and the sliding contact surface 44a of the guided portion 44 of the rotating member 40 causes the guide surface 24a of the back wall 24 to slide down. That is, the guide surface 24a guides the guided portion 44 downward. Thereby, the rotation member 40 moves from the coupling start position toward the coupling end position. Specifically, it moves including a rotation operation and a translation operation around the support shaft 17.

  By this movement, the rotating member 40 is connected to the ECU side connector 20 provided with the cam follower 23 and the harness side connector 14 to which the rotating member 40 is attached, and both the connectors 20 and 14 are connected to the ECU 18. Relative displacement is performed so as to approach each other at a speed slower than the insertion speed and larger than the insertion operation force. That is, with the insertion of the ECU 18 and the ECU-side connector 20, the harness-side connector 14 and the ECU-side connector 20 are moved in the same direction as the insertion while the harness-side connector 14 is retracted at a speed slower than the insertion speed. Is advanced with a force larger than the insertion operation force.

(3) While the rotating member 40 reaches the coupling end position as shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the insertion of the ECU 18 and the coupling (fitting) of both the connectors 14 and 20 are completed. Accordingly, each ECU 18 is installed in the vehicle in a state where it is accommodated in a common unit case 16, and the fitting is performed by each electric wire 13 connected to the connector terminal of the harness-side connector 14 and the ECU. The electrical connection with the control circuit connected to each connector terminal of the side connector 18 is established. Further, the lance 38 provided on the unit case 16 is engaged with the latched protrusion 37 on the ECU 18 side, so that the ECU 18 is prevented from going backward in the direction of detachment from the unit case 16.

3. Extraction of ECU 18 Each ECU 18 inserted into the unit case 16 can be extracted from the unit case 16 by, for example, an operation of bending the lance 38 with a jig. At the time of extraction, the rotating member 40 is reversely moved from the coupling end position to the coupling start position by the action of the reverse guided portion 50 and the reverse guide surface 54 on the unit case 16 side. The connectors 14 and 20 are released with a force larger than the force. That is, the pulling force of the ECU 18 necessary for separating the connectors 14 and 20 is reduced.

  Specifically, the pulling force in the direction opposite to the insertion direction given to the ECU 18 is transmitted to the rotating member 40 engaged with the ECU 18, and the reverse guided portion 50 in the rotating member 40 is transferred to the unit case 16. It is made to contact | abut to the reverse guide surface 54 of the side. The reverse guided portion 50 slides upward with respect to the reverse guide surface 54 (that is, is guided upward), thereby reversely moving the rotating member 40 from the coupling end position to the coupling start position. Let

  The rotating member 40 that performs the reverse operation has a speed at which the harness side connector 14 to which the rotating member 40 is attached follows the removal of the ECU 18 by the cam action of the cam groove 45 and the cam follower 23 on the ECU 18 side. And the disconnection between the harness side connector 14 and the ECU side connector 20 is advanced by the speed difference. Thereby, the operation force (the extraction operation force of the ECU 18) required for the separation is reduced.

  In addition, the reverse guided part 50 and the reverse guide surface 54 shown here are omissible suitably according to a specification. Further, the reverse guide surface may not be a surface that defines the reverse guide groove 52 into which the reverse guided portion 50 is fitted, like the reverse guide surface 54. For example, the outer surface of the back wall 24 is used as the reverse guide surface. May be. In this case, for example, the guided portion 44 may have a portion that slightly protrudes from the back wall 24 and slidably contacts the outer surface of the back wall 24 as a reverse guided portion.

  In addition, the present invention can take the following embodiments, for example.

  The guide surface of the back wall in the unit case only needs to have a function of guiding the guided portion of the rotating member in a direction including at least a component in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the electronic unit. The guide surface 24a shown in FIG. For example, the surface may be slightly inclined with respect to the insertion direction, or may be a curved surface with gentle undulations.

  -The sliding surface of the guided portion does not necessarily have to be a cylindrical surface, and has a shape (preferably a shape that forms an outwardly convex curved surface) that can slide on the guiding surface while changing the relative angle to the guiding surface. Just have it. Moreover, it replaces with the said sliding contact surface, and the roller attached rotatably to the rotation member may roll on the said guide surface as a to-be-guided part.

  -The unit case which concerns on this invention may insert only a single electronic unit. Even when a plurality of electronic units are inserted into a common unit case, the arrangement and the posture of each electronic unit can be set as appropriate.

It is a perspective view which shows ECU inserted in the harness side connector and unit case which comprise the vehicle electrical connection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and the said unit case. It is a rear view of the unit case, and shows a state before the ECU is inserted into the unit case. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the said unit case was fixed to the phosphorus hose in a vehicle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state where the ECU is inserted into the unit case in a cross section corresponding to a cross section taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state where the ECU is inserted into the unit case in a cross section corresponding to a cross section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the state by which the said ECU was inserted in the said unit case in the cross section corresponded in the 7-7 line cross section of FIG. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 9. It is a perspective view which shows the to-be-guided part of the rotation member in the said electrical connection apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the conventional vehicle electrical connection apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle electrical connection apparatus 12 Harness side connector housing 12a, 12b Guided convex part 13 Electric wire 14 Harness side connector 16 Unit case 17 Support shaft 18 ECU side connector 19 Locking protrusion 20 Unit side connector 22 Unit insertion space 23 Cam follower 24 Back wall 24a Guide surface 25 Guide groove 30 Connector holding portion 31, 32 Guide groove 35 Hood 35a, 35b Rib 40 Rotating member 43 Rotating member side engaging portion 44 Guided portion 44a Sliding surface 45 Cam groove 45a Open end 46 Locked piece 48 ridge 50 reverse guided portion 52 reverse guide groove 54 reverse guide surface

Claims (9)

An electrical connection device for a vehicle for electrically connecting an electronic unit having a unit-side connector to a plurality of electric wires included in a vehicle wire harness,
A harness-side connector provided at the end of the electric wire and connectable to the unit-side connector;
The electronic unit has a shape that can be inserted from a specific direction, and holds the harness side connector at a position where it can be coupled to the unit side connector of the electronic unit at the time of insertion, and is parallel to the insertion direction of the electronic unit. A unit case having a connector holding portion that guides the harness side connector in the direction, and a back wall that is located on the far side in the insertion direction with respect to the harness side connector held by the connector holding portion;
A rotation member attached to the harness side connector so as to enable movement including rotation around an axis in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the electronic unit;
The rotating member includes a rotating member side engaging portion that can be engaged with a unit side engaging portion provided on the electronic unit side, and a guided portion that contacts an inner side surface of the back wall of the unit case. The rotating member side engaging portion has a predetermined coupling from a coupling start position at which the unit side engaging portion of the electronic unit inserted into the unit case can be engaged with the rotating member side engaging portion. As the rotating member moves to the end position, the insertion force applied to the electronic unit while pulling the unit-side connector and the harness-side connector of the electronic unit at a speed slower than the insertion speed of the electronic unit. Is composed of a booster mechanism that connects with each other with a large force,
The inner surface of the back wall with which the guided portion comes into contact with the electronic unit inserted into the unit case together with the displacement of the harness side connector in the insertion direction from the coupling start position. An electrical connection device for a vehicle, comprising a guide surface that guides the guided portion of the rotating member in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction so as to move to the coupling end position. The vehicle electrical connection device according to claim 1,
The electrical connection device for a vehicle, wherein the guide surface is a plane in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction. The electrical connection device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicular electrical connection device, wherein the guided portion has an outwardly convex curved sliding contact surface that can slide on the guide surface while changing a relative angle to the guide surface. In the vehicle electrical connection device according to claim 3,
The guided portion has a protrusion that protrudes outward in the radius direction of curvature from the sliding contact surface and extends along the sliding contact surface, and the back wall of the unit case is parallel to the guide direction by the guide surface. A vehicle having a guide groove having a width in which the protrusion can be fitted, and restricting movement in the width direction of the protrusion fitted in the guide groove. Connected device. In the vehicle electrical connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The unit case has a shape in which a plurality of electronic units are arranged in a specific direction and can be inserted into the unit case along a common direction, and the guide surface is inserted into each electronic unit. An electrical connection device for a vehicle, characterized in that the guided portion is guided in a direction orthogonal to the direction and orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the unit cases. In the vehicle electrical connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The unit case contacts the rotating member when the electronic unit is extracted from the unit case, and the rotating member is moved from the coupling end position to the coupling start position. An electrical connection device for a vehicle having a reverse guide surface for guiding. The vehicle electrical connection device according to claim 6,
The rotating member has a reverse guided portion projecting in a direction parallel to the direction of the rotation central axis of the rotating member at a portion near the guided portion, and the unit case includes the guide surface and A reverse guide groove extending in a substantially parallel direction and having a shape into which the reverse guided portion can be fitted is formed, and a surface that defines the reverse guide groove and is upstream of the insertion direction of the electronic unit. An electrical connection device for a vehicle, comprising the reverse guide surface. In the vehicle electrical connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The rotating member side engaging portion of the rotating member includes a cam groove having an opening end that opens to the electronic unit side when the rotating member is at the coupling start position, and the cam groove is formed in the cam groove. The vehicle electrical connection device has a width that allows the unit side engagement portion to enter from the opening end. In the vehicle electrical connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The rotating member has a locked portion, and the harness-side connector engages with the locked portion so that the rotating member is removably locked at the coupling start position. An electrical connection device for a vehicle having a locking portion, wherein the engagement between the rotating member locking portion and the locked portion is released by an electronic unit inserted into the unit case.

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