KR102707016B1 - Connector having center aligning function and connector assembly having this - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector having an alignment function and a connector assembly including the same. The present invention includes a first mounting tray (10) which is mounted at an installation location and has a first assembly hole (15) penetrating therein, an assembly housing (20) which is inserted into the first assembly hole (15) of the first mounting tray (10) and has a first fixing piece (28) which is supported on an edge of the first assembly hole (15) and protrudes, and a first adjusting protrusion (29) which protrudes from the first mounting piece (28) toward an edge surface (11') of the first assembly hole (15) and comes into point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole (15), and a connector housing (30) which is assembled into the assembly housing (20) and is assembled together with the assembly housing (20) into the first assembly hole (15) of the first mounting tray (10).

Description

Connector having center aligning function and connector assembly including same {Connector having center aligning function and connector assembly having this}

The present invention relates to a connector having an alignment function, and more specifically, to a connector and connector assembly in which an assembly angle is aligned through flow during an assembly process with a mating connector.

Recently, in various technical fields such as automobiles, the number of electrical components that use electricity is increasing, and high-voltage connectors are being widely used to connect multiple wires at once.

Since these connectors are subject to very high voltages, they must be assembled accurately with their counterpart connectors. If the connector is not assembled accurately with its counterpart connector, not only will the current flow not be smooth, but there is also a risk of fire, such as sparks being generated during operation.

To solve this problem, the connector and the mating connector have guide protrusions that are extended long enough to guide their mating, thereby guiding the assembly direction between the two connectors. That is, the guide protrusions are first inserted into the grooves of the mating connectors to accurately set the assembly direction, and then the two connectors can be assembled.

However, even with these guide projections, in environments where it is difficult to assemble the connector and the mating connector, assembling the connector is still difficult. For example, when a connector is first fixed to a specific part such as a car bumper and then the bumper is assembled to the car body, it is more difficult to accurately assemble the connector to the mating connector than when only the two connectors are assembled directly.

In particular, if a part (such as a bumper) with a connector fixed to it is forcibly assembled to the car body while the two connectors are not precisely aligned, there is a risk that the connector may be damaged. For this reason, the task of assembling a part with a connector attached first to the car body is also difficult to automate.

Republic of Korea Publication Patent No. 10-2018-0059246

The present invention is intended to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and the purpose of the present invention is to enable the coupling direction to be automatically aligned while allowing a certain degree of movement of the connector during the assembly process with the counterpart.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the connector to adjust the mating direction by moving in various directions as well as the assembly direction when assembled with the counterpart.

According to the features of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention includes a first mounting tray which is mounted at an installation location and has a first assembly hole penetrating therein, an assembly housing which is inserted into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray and has a first fixing piece which is supported on an edge of the first assembly hole and protrudes, and a first adjusting protrusion which protrudes toward an edge surface of the first assembly hole and comes into point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole, and a connector housing which is assembled to the assembly housing and is assembled to the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray together with the assembly housing.

In the above assembly housing, the first fixing piece protrudes in a direction that widens the width of the above assembly housing, and a plurality of first adjusting projections are arranged spaced apart from each other on the first fixing piece.

The first adjusting protrusion protrudes from the first mounting piece toward the edge surface of the first assembly hole and makes point contact, and the extent to which the assembly housing is inserted into the first assembly hole is limited by the first adjusting protrusion touching the edge surface of the first assembly hole, but the remaining portion of the first mounting piece excluding the first adjusting protrusion does not come into direct contact with the edge surface of the first assembly hole.

Between the above assembly housing and the connector housing, there are a first hook portion and a second hook portion to prevent separation by interlocking with each other, and the first hook portion and the second hook portion are interlocked with each other with a clearance distance, so that the assembly housing and the connector housing can move relative to each other by a certain distance in a direction toward or away from each other.

An elastic member is installed between the assembly housing and the connector housing, and the elastic member provides elastic force in the direction in which the assembly housing and the connector housing are separated from each other.

The above elastic member is fitted at both ends into a first insertion groove sunken into a surface of the assembly housing facing the connector housing, and a second insertion groove sunken into a surface of the connector housing facing the first insertion groove.

The above assembly housing is provided with a first elastically deformable fastening lever, and inside the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray, there is a first fastening protrusion on which the first fastening lever is caught and fixed.

The above first fastening lever is provided in multiple numbers around the outer surface of the assembly housing.

According to another feature of the present invention, the present invention comprises: a first mounting tray which is mounted at an installation location, has a guide protrusion protruding, and has a first assembly hole penetrating therein; a first mounting member which is inserted into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray and is supported by an edge of the first assembly hole, and a first adjusting protrusion protrudes from the first mounting member toward an edge surface of the first assembly hole and makes point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole; a second mounting tray which is assembled in a direction facing the first mounting tray and has a guide groove into which the guide protrusion is inserted and has a second assembly hole penetrating therein; a second mounting member which is assembled into the second assembly hole and is supported by an edge of the second assembly hole and protrudes, and a second adjusting protrusion protrudes from the second mounting member toward an edge surface of the second assembly hole and makes point contact or line contact with the edge of the second assembly hole, and the first mounting tray and the When the second mounting tray is combined, it includes a second housing that is assembled with the first housing.

The connector having the alignment function according to the present invention as described above and the connector assembly including the same have the following effects.

In the present invention, a housing constituting a connector is first mounted on a mounting tray and then assembled together with the body. Since the housing and the mounting tray are in point contact or line contact, the housing can move to some extent. Accordingly, when assembling the housing with a counterpart connector, even if the initial positions are misaligned to some extent, the housing can be automatically aligned and assembled, thereby improving the assembling efficiency and preventing damage to the connector during the assembly process.

In particular, since the alignment function of the housing enables accurate assembly of the two connectors even in situations where the worker cannot assemble only the housing with the corresponding connector, such as when assembling a mounting tray with a combined housing to a vehicle body together with other large parts (such as a bumper), automation of assembly can also be possible.

And, in the present invention, the assembly housing and the connector housing constituting the housing can move relative to each other, and an elastic member such as a spring is installed between them. Therefore, not only can the housing as a whole move, but also the assembly housing and the connector housing, which are parts constituting the housing, can move relative to each other. Therefore, the assembly alignment of the connector can be further improved, and this has the effect of compensating for design tolerance or assembly tolerance.

In addition, in the present invention, the first connector and the second connector constituting the connector assembly are each composed of a housing-mounting tray, and the housing and the mounting tray are assembled in a state where they can flow with each other. Therefore, since not only the first connector but also the second connector can flow between parts, the overall assembly flow amount of the connector assembly can increase, which can result in further improving the assembling performance.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a connector assembly including a connector having an alignment function according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention from a different direction than FIG. 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the components constituting the example of Figure 1 in an exploded manner.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the first connector constituting one embodiment of Fig. 1.
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an assembly housing constituting the first connector of Figure 4.
Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the second connector constituting one embodiment of Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a second housing constituting the second connector of Fig. 6.
Figures 8(a) and 8(b) are cross-sectional views showing the first connector and the second connector before and after being assembled to each other, respectively.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that the same components are given the same numerals as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. In addition, when describing embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a specific description of a related known structure or function hinders understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, when describing components of embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc. may be used. These terms are only intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the nature, order, or sequence of the components are not limited by the terms. When it is described that a component is "connected," "coupled," or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that the component may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but another component may also be "connected," "coupled," or "connected" between each component.

The connector assembly according to this embodiment is largely divided into a first connector (10, 20, 30) and a second connector (50, 70). The first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are electrically connected by being joined to each other, and the parts responsible for the electrical connection are a first terminal (not shown) installed inside the first housing (20, 30) of the first connector (10, 20, 30) and a second terminal (not shown) installed inside the second housing (70) of the second connector (50, 70). The first terminal and the second terminal are connected to each other to form an electrical connection.

For reference, the connector assembly of the embodiment described below is a high-voltage connector. That is, the embodiment below is an example of a connector to which a very high voltage is applied, and the drawing symbols 13 and 57 each represent installation holes in which high-voltage terminals (not shown) are installed. In addition, the first housing (20, 30) and the second housing (70) installed in the center may be for applying a sensing signal or a control signal.

Referring to Fig. 1, the connector assembly is in a coupled state, and the connector assembly is composed of a first connector (10, 20, 30) and a second connector (50, 70). The first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled to each other and electrically connected, and the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) can be assembled while being mounted on different parts. For example, the first connector (10, 20, 30) can be installed on a bumper of a car, and the second connector (50, 70) can be installed on the inside of the car body facing the bumper.

At the center of the first connector (10, 20, 30) is a first housing (20, 30). The first housing (20, 30) is a part responsible for electrical connection, and a first terminal can be installed inside it. Conversely, as shown in Fig. 2, at the center of the second connector (50, 70), a second housing (70) is located, and a second terminal is installed inside the second housing (70) and can be connected to the first terminal.

First, looking at the first connector (10, 20, 30) above, the first connector (10, 20, 30) is composed of a first mounting tray (10) and a first housing (20, 30). The first housing (20, 30) is again composed of an assembly housing (20) and a connector housing (30). The first housing (20, 30) can be installed inside a vehicle together with the first mounting tray (10) in a state of being assembled thereto. Referring to Fig. 1, the first housing (20, 30) is located in the center, and a first high-voltage section (13) is located on the outside of the first mounting tray (10) corresponding to the left and right sides of the first housing (20, 30).

Referring to Fig. 3, the first mounting tray (10) has a first mounting body (11) that is roughly plate-shaped, and the first mounting body (11) has a first fastening hole (12) for fastening the first mounting tray (10) to the interior of a vehicle, etc. A fastening member is inserted into the first fastening hole (12) to fasten the first mounting tray (10) to the interior of a vehicle. The first mounting tray (10) protrudes further forward from the first mounting body (11), and the protruding portion is a portion assembled with the second device tray (50).

The first mounting body (11) is provided with a first high-voltage section (13), and although not shown, a first high-voltage terminal may be installed inside the first high-voltage section (13). The first high-voltage section (13) extends in the assembly direction of the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70). A first assembly hole (15) passes through the center of the first mounting body (11) corresponding to the inside of the first high-voltage section (13), and a first housing (20, 30) is assembled into the first assembly hole (15).

Inside the first assembly hole (15) above, there is a first fastening protrusion (16, 19). The first fastening protrusion (16, 19) protrudes from the inner surface of the first assembly hole (15) in a direction that narrows the width of the first assembly hole (15), and the first fastening lever (25) of the assembly housing (20) to be described below is caught on the first fastening protrusion (16, 19). In the present embodiment, the first fastening protrusion (16, 19) is located near the edge of the first assembly hole (15), and there are multiple of them surrounding the inner surface of the first assembly hole (15).

Referring to Fig. 3, the first fastening jaws (16, 19) include a fastening jaw (16) protruding from the lower surface of the first assembly hole (15) and fastening jaws (19) protruding from the left and right sides. At least some of the first fastening jaws (16, 19) among these may have an elastically deformable structure, and by employing an elastically deformable structure, the assembly housing (20) can be easily separated from the first mounting tray (10).

A guide projection (17) protrudes from the first mounting tray (10). The first guide projection (17) protrudes toward the second connector (50, 70) and is fitted into the guide groove (57) of the second device tray (50) constituting the second connector (50, 70). The guide projection (17) can be fitted into the guide groove (57) before the first housing (20, 30) and the second housing (70) meet each other to set the assembly direction. In this embodiment, the guide projections (17) are configured as a pair, and are located above and below the first assembly hole (15), respectively.

The first housing (20, 30) is assembled to the first mounting tray (10). The first housing (20, 30) is assembled to the first assembly hole (15) and is composed of an assembly housing (20) and a connector housing (30). Here, the connector housing (30) is a part into which the first terminal is inserted and is responsible for electrical connection, and the assembly housing (20) is assembled with the connector housing (30) so that the connector housing (30) can be assembled to the first mounting tray (10). That is, what is actually fixed to the first mounting tray (10) is the assembly housing (20), not the connector housing (30).

First, looking at the configuration of the above assembly housing (20), the above assembly housing (20) is approximately a hexahedral three-dimensional shape and has a fixing hole (22) penetrating in the front-back direction. The fixing hole (22) is a part into which a part of the connector housing (30) is inserted and fixed. The fixing hole (22) is approximately a square shape, and a wire extended from the first terminal installed in the connector housing (30) can be pulled out through the fixing hole (22) to the outside.

The inner surface of the above-described fixing hole (22) has a first hook portion (23). The first hook portion (23) is a kind of protruding jaw structure from the inner surface of the above-described fixing hole (22), and the second hook portion (33) of the connector housing (30) is hooked onto this. That is, when the second hook portion (33) is hooked onto the first hook portion (23), the connector housing (30) cannot be separated from the assembly housing (20). There may be multiple first hook portions (23) in the fixing hole (22), and in the present embodiment, the first hook portions (23) are each located on the floor and ceiling of the fixing hole (22).

At this time, even if the second hook part (33) is caught on the first hook part (23), the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) can move relative to each other to a certain extent. This is because the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33) are caught with a clearance distance from each other, and accordingly, the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) can move relative to each other by a certain distance in a direction of getting closer or further away from each other. Through this clearance distance, the assembly tolerance or manufacturing tolerance in the front-back direction of the connector assembly can be supplemented.

The above assembly housing (20) has a first fastening lever (25). The first fastening lever (25) is provided on the outside of the assembly housing (20) in an elastically deformable form, and the first fastening lever (25) is caught on the first fastening jaw (16, 19) of the first mounting tray (10) described above. To this end, an assembly fastening jaw (26) that is caught on the first fastening jaw (16, 19) protrudes from the first fastening lever (25). In this embodiment, a total of four first fastening levers (25) are provided around the outside of the assembly housing (20).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the assembly housing (20) has a first insertion groove (27'). The first insertion groove (27') is formed in the first receiving portion (27) of the assembly housing (20), and a part of an elastic member (S), such as a spring, is inserted into it. The first insertion groove (27') is sunken into a surface of the assembly housing (20) that faces the connector housing (30), and is located inside the first receiving portion (27). Accordingly, the elastic member (S) can be received in the first receiving portion (27), and its end can be fitted into the first insertion groove (27').

The above elastic member (S) is installed between the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) to provide elasticity in the direction in which the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) are separated from each other. As described above, since the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33) are hooked with a clearance distance from each other, the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) can move relative to each other by a certain distance in the direction of moving closer or farther away from each other. Since the elastic member (S) pushes the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) together, the second hook part (33) is basically hooked to the first hook part (23).

The above elastic member (S) functions together with the clearance structure between the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33), so that when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled, the coupling direction or coupling distance can be adjusted more smoothly through the elastic force of the elastic member (S). That is, when interference occurs when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled, the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) move relative to each other in the approaching direction, so that the clearance distance between the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33) is reduced, and at this time, the elastic member (S) can perform a buffering function.

The above assembly housing (20) has a first retaining piece (28). The first retaining piece (28) protrudes further outwardly from the assembly housing (20), and more precisely, it is provided on the opposite edge of the side facing the second connector (50, 70). The first retaining piece (28) protrudes in the direction in which the width of the assembly housing (20) increases, and in the present embodiment, the first retaining piece (28) is provided at each corner of the assembly housing (20). The first retaining piece (28) can be hung on the edge of the entrance of the first assembly hole (15) of the first mounting tray (10) to function as a stopper to prevent the assembly housing (20) from being inserted further into the first assembly hole (15).

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a first adjusting projection (29) protrudes from the first mounting piece (28) of the assembly housing (20). The first adjusting projection (29) protrudes from the surface of the first mounting piece (28) toward the edge surface (11') of the first assembly hole (15) and makes point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole (15). In the present embodiment, the first adjusting projection (29) protrudes in an approximately hemispherical shape and makes point contact with the edge of the first assembly hole (15), whereby the contact area between the assembly housing (20) and the first mounting tray (10) can be significantly reduced.

In this way, since the first adjusting projection (29) comes into point contact with the first mounting tray (10), the assembly housing (20) can move to some extent with respect to the first mounting tray (10), and more precisely, it can rotate slightly in the direction of arrows ① and ② shown in FIG. 1. If the first holding piece (28) of the assembly housing (20) were to come into surface contact with the outer surface of the first mounting tray (10), they would be in close contact with each other and would not have room to rotate, but in this embodiment, since the first adjusting projection (29) comes into point contact with the first mounting tray (10), it can be rotated to some extent. This rotation of the assembly housing (20) becomes a factor that can automatically align the assembly direction when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled to each other.

Referring to Fig. 5, the first adjusting protrusion (29) is provided on each first holding piece (28) of the above-mentioned guide, and there are four of them in total. The first adjusting protrusion (29) configured in multiple pieces like this induces point contact between the assembly housing (20) and the first mounting tray (10), so that even if the assembly surfaces of the assembly housing (20) or the first mounting tray (10) are misaligned due to production tolerances, etc., the portion that is separated from each other can be minimized.

As a result, the extent to which the first adjusting protrusion (29) comes into contact with the edge surface (11') of the first assembly hole (15) and the assembly housing (20) is inserted into the first assembly hole (15) is limited, and the remaining portion of the first holding piece (28) excluding the first adjusting protrusion (29) does not come into direct contact with the edge surface (11') of the first assembly hole (15).

Next, looking at the connector housing (30), the connector housing (30) is assembled to the assembly housing (20) and, together with the assembly housing (20), is assembled to the first assembly hole (15) of the first mounting tray (10). Inside the connector housing (30), there is a first terminal receiving portion (32) in which the first terminal is received, and on the outer surface, a second hook portion (33) that is hooked to the first hook portion (23) of the assembly housing (20) protrudes.

The above connector housing (30) is also roughly hexahedral in shape, like the above assembly housing (20), and at least a portion thereof is inserted into the mounting hole (22) of the above assembly housing (20). Then, the opposite side of the portion inserted into the mounting hole (22) passes through the first assembly hole (15) of the first mounting tray (10) and protrudes to the opposite side, and comes into contact with the second housing (70) of the second connector (50, 70), which is the counterpart connector.

On the outside of the connector housing (30), there is a second receiving portion (36). The second receiving portion (36) has a second insertion groove (36') sunken into the inside. The second insertion groove (36') is positioned opposite the first insertion groove (27') of the assembly housing (20) described above, and a part of the elastic member (S) is inserted into it. That is, one side of the elastic member (S) is inserted into the first insertion groove (27'), and the other side is inserted into the second insertion groove (36') to provide elasticity. The first receiving portion (27) can be placed inside the first receiving portion (27) of the assembly housing (20).

Next, looking at the second connector (50, 70), the second connector (50, 70) is composed of a second device tray (50) and a second housing (70) installed on the second device tray (50). The second device tray (50), like the first mounting tray (10), is installed inside a vehicle or on a specific part and serves to secure the second connector (50, 70), and the second housing (70) is responsible for electrical connection.

First, looking at the second device tray (50), the second device tray (50) has a second mounting body (51) in the shape of a roughly square plate, and the second mounting body (51) has a second fastening hole (52) for fixing the second device tray (50) to the interior of a vehicle, etc. A fastening member is inserted into the second fastening hole (52) to fix the second device tray (50) to the interior of a vehicle. The second device tray (50) protrudes further forward from the second mounting body (51), and the protruding portion is a portion assembled with the first mounting tray (10).

The second mounting body (51) is provided with a second high-voltage section (53), and although not shown, a second high-voltage terminal may be installed inside the second high-voltage section (53). The second high-voltage section (53) extends in the assembly direction of the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70). A second assembly hole (55) passes through the center of the second mounting body (51) corresponding to the inside of the second high-voltage section (53), and a second housing (70) is assembled into the second assembly hole (55).

The second device tray (50) is penetrated with a guide groove (57). The second guide groove (57) is opened toward the first connector (10, 20, 30), and the guide projection (17) of the first mounting tray (10) is fitted into it. Before the first housing (20, 30) and the second housing (70) meet each other, the guide projection (17) is first fitted into the guide groove (57) to set the assembly direction. In this embodiment, the guide grooves (57) are configured as a pair, and are located above and below the second assembly hole (55), respectively.

A second housing (70) is installed in the second device tray (50). Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the second housing (70) has an approximately hexahedral shape, has a second terminal storage portion (72) in the center where the second terminal is stored, and has a second fastening lever (75) on the outer surface for hanging on the inside of the second device tray (50). The second fastening lever (75) is provided on the outside of the second housing (70) in an elastically deformable form, and the second fastening lever (75) hangs on the inside of the second assembly hole (55) of the second device tray (50) described above. To this end, a hanging protrusion (76) that hangs on the inside of the second assembly hole (55) protrudes from the second fastening lever (75). In this embodiment, the second fastening lever (75) is provided on each of the left and right sides of the second housing (70).

The second housing (70) has a second retaining piece (78). The second retaining piece (78) protrudes further outwardly from the second housing (70), and more precisely, it is provided on the opposite edge of the side facing the first connector (10, 20, 30). The second retaining piece (78) protrudes in the direction in which the width of the second housing (70) increases, and in the present embodiment, the second retaining piece (78) is provided on the upper and lower sides of the second housing (70), respectively. The second retaining piece (78) can be caught on the edge of the entrance of the second assembly hole (55) of the second device tray (50), and can have a stopper function to prevent the second housing (70) from being inserted further into the second assembly hole (55).

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a second assembly protrusion (79) protrudes from the second mounting piece (78) of the second housing (70). The second assembly protrusion (79) protrudes from the surface of the second mounting piece (78) toward the edge surface (51') of the second assembly hole (55) and makes point contact or line contact with the edge surface (51') of the second assembly hole (55). In the present embodiment, the second assembly protrusion (79) protrudes in an approximately hemispherical shape and makes point contact with the edge surface (51') of the second assembly hole (55), whereby the contact area between the second housing (70) and the second device tray (50) can be significantly reduced.

In this way, since the second assembly protrusion (79) makes point contact with the second device tray (50), the second housing (70) can move to some extent with respect to the second device tray (50), and more precisely, it can rotate slightly in the direction of arrows ① and ② shown in FIG. 2. If the second second holding piece (78) were to make surface contact with the outer surface of the second device tray (50), they would be in close contact with each other and would not have room to rotate, but in this embodiment, since the second assembly protrusion (79) makes point contact with the second device tray (50), it can be rotated to some extent. This rotation of the second housing (70) becomes a factor that can automatically align the assembly direction when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled to each other.

Referring to Fig. 7, the second assembly protrusions (79) are provided on each second fixing piece (78) of the second housing (70), and there are three in total. At least three or more are required to prevent the second housing (70) from being twisted to one side. In this embodiment, two of the second assembly protrusions (79) are located at the bottom, and the remaining one is located at the top. The second assembly protrusions (79) configured in multiple pieces induce point contact between the second housing (70) and the second device tray (50), so that even if the assembly surfaces of the second housing (70) or the second device tray (50) are twisted due to production tolerances, etc., the portion that is separated from each other can be minimized.

As a result, the degree to which the second assembly protrusion (79) comes into contact with the edge surface (51') of the second assembly hole (55) and the second housing (70) is inserted into the second assembly hole (55) is limited, and the remaining portion of the second holding piece (78) excluding the second assembly protrusion (79) does not come into direct contact with the edge surface (51') of the second assembly hole (55).

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the assembly process between the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) is shown. First, FIG. 8(a) shows the state before assembly of the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70), and FIG. 8(b) shows the state in which the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled to each other.

The above first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are not directly assembled, but are assembled to different parts (positions) respectively so that they can be assembled together when assembling other parts. Therefore, the assembly direction of the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) needs to be set accurately. In this embodiment, the guide projection (17) on the first mounting tray (10) of the first connector (10, 20, 30) is first fitted into the guide groove (57) on the second device tray (50) of the second connector (50, 70) so that the initial direction can be adjusted.

Of course, even if there is a guide structure of the above guide projection (17) and the above guide groove (57), there may be a clearance or tolerance between parts, and in this embodiment, there is a structure for compensating for such tolerance. As shown in Fig. 8(b), the assembly housing (20) has a first adjustment projection (29) that protrudes and can move to some extent with the first mounting tray (10), and the second housing (70) has a second assembly projection (79) that protrudes and can move to some extent with the second device tray (50).

That is, flow between the assembly housing (20) and the first mounting tray (10) is possible in the direction of arrows ① and ② of Fig. 1, and flow between the second housing (70) and the second device tray (50) is possible in the direction of arrows ① and ② of Fig. 2. Accordingly, since flow between parts is possible not only for the first connector (10, 20, 30) but also for the second connector (50, 70), the overall assembly flow amount of the connector assembly can increase, which can result in further improving the assembling performance.

Meanwhile, during this assembly process, the first connector (10, 20, 30) has an elastic member (S) that also functions as a buffer. The elastic member (S) functions together with the clearance structure between the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33), and when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled, the coupling direction or coupling distance can be adjusted more smoothly through the elastic force of the elastic member (S). That is, when interference occurs when the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) are assembled, the assembly housing (20) and the connector housing (30) move relative to each other in a closer direction, so that the clearance between the first hook part (23) and the second hook part (33) is reduced. At this time, the elastic member (S) can perform a buffering function.

Even if the worker cannot directly assemble the first connector (10, 20, 30) and the second connector (50, 70) and the two connectors are indirectly assembled during the assembly process between other parts, the assembly direction can be automatically aligned through this structure and accurate assembly is possible.

In the above, even though all the components constituting the embodiments according to the present invention have been described as being combined or combined to operate as one, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of the purpose of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively combined and operated as one or more. In addition, the terms "include," "compose," or "have" described above, unless specifically stated to the contrary, mean that the corresponding component may be inherent, and therefore should be interpreted as including other components rather than excluding other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as terms defined in a dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the relevant technology, and shall not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The above description is merely an illustrative description of the technical idea of the present invention, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to explain it, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within a scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the rights of the present invention.

10: 1st mounting tray 20: 1st mounting housing
30: Assembly housing 50: Second mounting tray
70: Second housing S: Elastic member

Claims (10)

A first mounting tray having a first assembly hole through the inside;
An assembly housing that is inserted into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray and has a first fixing piece that is supported on the edge of the first assembly hole and protrudes, and a first adjusting projection protrudes from the first fixing piece toward the edge surface of the first assembly hole and makes point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole;
A connector having an alignment function, comprising: a connector housing assembled into the assembly housing and assembled together with the assembly housing into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray.
In claim 1, a connector having an alignment function in which the first fixing piece protrudes in a direction that widens the width of the assembly housing, and a plurality of first adjusting protrusions are arranged spaced apart from each other on the first fixing piece.
In claim 1, the first adjusting protrusion protrudes from the first holding piece toward the edge surface of the first assembly hole and makes point contact, and the extent to which the assembly housing is inserted into the first assembly hole is limited by the first adjusting protrusion touching the edge surface of the first assembly hole, but the remaining portion of the first holding piece excluding the first adjusting protrusion does not come into direct contact with the edge surface of the first assembly hole. A connector having an alignment function.
In claim 1, a connector having an alignment function in which a first hook portion and a second hook portion are provided between the assembly housing and the connector housing to prevent them from coming off each other, and the first hook portion and the second hook portion are hooked to each other with a clearance distance so that the assembly housing and the connector housing can move relative to each other by a predetermined distance in a direction of coming closer or farther away from each other.
A connector according to claim 1, wherein an elastic member is installed between the assembly housing and the connector housing, and the elastic member has an alignment function that provides elastic force in a direction in which the assembly housing and the connector housing are separated from each other.
In claim 5, the elastic member has an alignment function in which both ends are fitted into a first insertion groove sunken into a surface of the assembly housing facing the connector housing, and a second insertion groove sunken into a surface of the connector housing facing the first insertion groove.
A connector having an alignment function according to claim 1, wherein the assembly housing is provided with a first elastically deformable fastening lever, and a first fastening protrusion on which the first fastening lever is caught and fixed is provided inside the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray.
In claim 7, the first fastening lever is a connector having an alignment function in which a plurality of the first fastening levers are provided around the outer surface of the assembly housing.
A first mounting tray having a guide projection and a first assembly hole penetrating through the inside;
A first housing inserted into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray, having a first fixing piece protruding and supported on an edge of the first assembly hole, and having a first adjusting projection protruding toward an edge surface of the first assembly hole to make point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole;
A second mounting tray, which is assembled in a direction facing the first mounting tray, has a guide groove into which the guide protrusion is inserted, and has a second assembly hole penetrating therein;
A connector assembly comprising: a second housing, which is assembled into the second assembly hole and has a second mounting member that protrudes and is supported on the edge of the second assembly hole, and a second adjusting projection protrudes from the second mounting member toward the edge surface of the second assembly hole to make point contact or line contact with the edge of the second assembly hole, and is assembled with the first housing when the first mounting tray and the second mounting tray are combined.
In claim 9, the first housing,
An assembly housing that is inserted into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray and has a first fixing piece that is supported on the edge of the first assembly hole and protrudes, and a first adjusting projection protrudes from the first fixing piece toward the edge surface of the first assembly hole and makes point contact or line contact with the edge of the first assembly hole;
A connector assembly comprising a connector housing assembled into the assembly housing and assembled into the first assembly hole of the first mounting tray together with the assembly housing.

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