Connectors and methods for manufacturing connectors

Abstract

This connector (1) comprises: a housing (20); a cover (30) movable between a closed position and an open position; a seal (50) that seals a gap between the cover (30) and the housing (20) when the cover (30) is in the closed position; and a bearing part (60). The connector (1) has a fixing structure that selects, within a predetermined range (S2), a position of the bearing part (60) in a direction along a surface intersecting the rotation axis (33), and that is capable of fixing the bearing part (60) at the selected position.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a connector including a housing having a receiving chamber capable of receiving a terminal, a gasket for sealing an opening portion of the receiving chamber, a rotatable cover for opening and closing the opening portion of the receiving chamber while holding the gasket, and a bearing component supporting a rotation axis of the cover, and relates to a method of manufacturing the connector.PRIOR ARTIn the related art, a power supply mounted on an automatic vehicle or the like or an electric wire for electrically connecting various electric components may be connected via a connector. Such connection is usually performed using a plug connector and a socket connector. For example, one of the connectors in the related art is used in a charging input device for performing battery charging mounted on an automatic electric vehicle or the like, and an opening portion of a housing is sealed with a cover (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1) when not used for the purpose of dust tightness, terminal protection, electric shock prevention to the environment, and the like. The cover is attached to the housing in a hinge shape, and is rotatable between a closed position in which the cover is in close contact with the opening portion of the housing to close the opening portion and an open position in which the cover is separated from the opening portion to open the opening portion.LIST OF REFERENCESPATENT LITERATUREPatent Literature 1: JP 2014-32 901 ASUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONTECHNICAL PROBLEMIn the above-described connector in the related art, a rubber sheet material (i.e., a gasket) is attached to the cover, and when the cover is in the closed position, the cover is engaged with the housing in a state in which the sheet material is pressed against the opening portion of the housing, thereby sealing a gap between the cover and the housing. Here, depending on a degree of dimensional deviation due to manufacturing tolerance or the like of the housing, the cover, and the sheet material, there is a possibility that a position of the cover with respect to the housing is different from an optimum position (i.e., an ideal position in design) for sealing the above-described gap. When such a positional deviation occurs with respect to the optimum position, there is a possibility that sealing performance of the sheet material deteriorates for the reason that collapse of the sheet material when the cover is in the closed position is biased.An object of the present invention is to provide a connector capable of adequately sealing the gap between the housing and the cover by the gasket, and a method of manufacturing the connector.SOLUTION OF PROBLEMIn one aspect of the present invention, a connector comprises:a housing having a receiving chamber having an opening portion opened to be capable of receiving a terminal and receiving a mating terminal;a cover movable by rotating about a rotation axis between a closed position in which the cover covers the opening portion and an open position in which the cover opens the opening portion,a seal configured to seal a gap between the cover and the housing when the cover is in the closed position; anda bearing component supporting the rotation axis, whereinthe connector has a fixing structure capable of selecting a relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis from a predetermined range and fixing the bearing component at the selected position.Further, in another aspect of the present invention, there is a method for manufacturing a connector, the connector including a housing having a receiving chamber having an opening portion opened to be capable of receiving a terminal and receiving a mating terminal, a cover movable by rotating about a rotation axis between a closed position in which the cover covers the opening portion and an open position in which the cover opens the opening portion, a seal configured to seal the gap between the cover and the housing when the cover is in the closed position, and a bearing component supporting the rotation axis, and the method for manufacturing the connector:a step of supporting the rotation axis of the cover by the bearing component; anda step of selecting a relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis from a predetermined range, and fixing the bearing component at the selected position.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector and a mating connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cover shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from a rear side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cover shown in FIG. 3 is disassembled and a gasket is removed from the cover. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to an A-A cross section in FIG. 1, showing a positional relationship between the gasket and an opening portion of a terminal accommodating chamber shown in FIG. 4 when the cover is in an open position. FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 when the cover is in a closed position. FIG. 7 is a view showing a portion corresponding to a portion B in FIG. 2 for illustrating a first stage of an assembly process of the connector. FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 for illustrating a second stage of the fitting process of the connector. FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 for illustrating a third stage of the fitting process of the connector. FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 for illustrating a fourth stage of the fitting process of the connector. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line C-C in FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line D-D in FIG. 9. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line E-E in FIG. 10.DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTSHereinafter, a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. The connector 1 is a usual charging input device mounted on an electric automatic vehicle or the like for battery charging. The connector 1 can be fitted with a mating connector 2 (see FIG. 1. A common input connector). By fitting the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 together, a pair of electric wires 3 (see FIG. 1 ) connected to terminals (not shown) accommodated in a housing 20 (see FIG. 1 ) of the connector 1 and a pair of electric wires 4 (see FIG. 1 ) connected to mating terminals (not shown) accommodated in the mating connector 2 are electrically connected to each other.Hereinafter, for convenience of description, as shown in FIG. 1 and the like, "front", "rear", "left", "right", "top", and "bottom" are defined. A "front-and-rear direction", a "left-and-right direction", and an "up-and-down direction" are orthogonal to each other. The front-and-rear direction coincides with a fitting direction of the connector 1 and the mating connector 2. Note that these directions are defined for convenience of description, and do not necessarily correspond to the front-and-rear direction, the left-and-right direction, and the up-and-down direction of the vehicle when the connector 1 is mounted on a vehicle.As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1 includes an outer housing 10, the housing 20 accommodated in the outer housing 10, a cover 30 rotatably supported by the outer housing 10, an actuator 40 attached to the outer housing 10 and rotationally driving the cover 30, a packing 50 (see FIG. 4 ) held by the cover 30, and a holder 60 attached to the outer housing 10 and rotatably supporting the cover 30. Hereinafter, each component constituting the connector 1 will be described in order.First, the outer housing 10 will be described. The outer housing 10 is a housing made of resin and forms most of an outer appearance of the connector 1. as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer housing 10 includes a rectangular flat plate-shaped bottom plate 11, a substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped top plate 12 positioned above the bottom plate 11, and a pair of left and right support walls 13 fixed to a pair of left and right side edges of the bottom plate 11 and the top plate 12 and extending in the front-and-rear direction, and has a substantially rectangular tubular shape penetrating in the front-and-rear direction.As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of fixing surfaces (flat surfaces) 14 facing rearward are formed at substantially middle positions in the front-and-rear direction on inner side surfaces in the left-and-right direction of the pair of support walls 13 facing each other in the left-and-right direction. The pair of fixing surfaces 14 functions as portions for fixing both the left and right end portions of a case body 21 (see FIG. 2 ) of the case 20 (see FIG. 1 ) to be described later.As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of recesses 15 extending in the front-and-rear direction are formed at corners on an upper side and an outer side in the left-and-right direction at positions in upper surfaces of the pair of support walls 13 in front of the fixing surfaces 14. Each recess 15 is a recess that is recessed downward and inward in the left-and-right direction and is open upward and outward in the left-and-right direction. The recess 15 functions as a portion for receiving the holder 60. On an upper surface of an adjacent portion 13 a(see FIG. 2 ) adjacent to an inner side of the recessed portion 15 of each support wall 13 in the left-and-right direction, a groove 17 recessed downward and penetrating in the left-and-right direction is formed at an intermediate position of the adjacent portion 13 ain the front-and-rear direction. The groove 17 communicates with the recess 15. The pair of left and right grooves 17 function as portions that allow both end portions of a rotation axis 33 (described later) of the cover 30 to be arranged (see FIG. 1 ). Here, as shown in FIG. 11, each of a width (in the front-and-rear direction) and a depth (in the up-and-down direction) of the groove 17 is larger than an outer diameter of the rotation axis 33. An effect of securing such a gap S 1 will be described later.A pair of bolt holes 16 (see FIG. 7 ) is formed at a pair of positions sandwiching the groove 17 in the front-and-rear direction in an outer end surface of the adjacent portion 13 aof each support wall 13 in the left-and-right direction (a plane orthogonal to the left-and-right direction defining an inner end of the recess 15 in the left-and-right direction). Each bolt hole 16 is a female screw hole recessed inward in the left-and-right direction. A later-described pair of bolts 74 (see FIG. 2 ) for fastening and fixing the holder 60 is screwed into the pair of bolt holes 16.Next, the housing 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the housing 20 made of resin includes the elongated flat plate-shaped housing body 21 elongated in the left-and-right direction. The housing body 21 is integrally provided with a pair of cylindrical terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 protruding in the front-and-rear direction from both end portions of the housing body 21 in the left-and-right direction. A terminal accommodation chamber 23 penetrating in the front-and-rear direction is formed in the terminal accommodation cylinder portion 22 (see FIGS. 5 and 6 ). A terminal (female terminal, not shown) connected to an end portion of the electric wire 3 (see FIG. 1 ) is inserted and fixed into the terminal accommodating chamber 23 from the rear side.An opening portion 24, which is a front end opening of the terminal accommodating chamber 23, is formed in a front end portion of the terminal accommodating cylinder portion 22 (see FIGS. 2, 5, and 6 ). When the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are fitted together, the mating terminal (male terminal) accommodated in the mating connector 2 is inserted into the terminal accommodation chamber 23 via the opening portion 24, and is connected to the terminal (female terminal) positioned in the terminal accommodation chamber 23.The housing body 21 is integrally provided with a pair of cylindrical protruding portions 25 protruding forward at a distance in the left-and-right direction from the housing body 21 at positions more inward than the pair of terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 in the left-and-right direction. Positions of front ends of the terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 in the front-and-rear direction coincide with positions of front ends of the protruding portions 25 in the front-and-rear direction. A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers (four in this example) are formed inside the protruding portion 25, and a plurality of opening portions (four in this example) corresponding to the respective terminal accommodating chambers are formed in a front end portion of the protruding portion 25. Similarly to the terminal accommodation chambers 23 of the terminal accommodation cylinder portion 22, terminals connected to end portions of electric wires (not shown) are inserted from the rear side into the respective terminal accommodation chambers of the protruding portions 25 and fixed.The housing body 21 is integrally provided with a cylindrical portion 26 having an oval shape elongated in the left-and-right direction as viewed from the front side in a manner of protruding forward and collectively surrounding the pair of terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 and the pair of protruding portions 25 (that is, four cylindrical protruding portions aligned in the left-and-right direction). When the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are fitted together, the mating connector 2 is inserted into an inner space of the cylindrical portion 26 via a front end opening of the cylindrical portion 26.Next, the cover 30 will be described. The cover 30 is a component that holds the gasket 50 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 ) and is supported by the outer housing 10 to be rotatable together with the gasket 50 between a closed position (see FIG. 6 ) in which the cover 30 covers the opening portion 24 of the housing 20 and an open position (see FIG. 5 ) in which the opening portion 24 is open.As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover 30 includes a front cover 30A and a rear cover 30B. The front cover 30A and the rear cover 30B are assembled to each other such that the front cover 30A is disposed in front of the rear cover 30B (in the closed position of the cover 30) and the gasket 50 is sandwiched and held between the front cover 30A and the rear cover 30B.As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 30A includes a substantially rectangular flat plate-shaped cover body 31 made of resin and elongated in the left-and-right direction. A pair of axis-shaped portions 32 made of resin and protruding in both the left and right directions are integrally provided at an upper edge portion of the cover body 31 (in the closed position of the cover 30) (see FIG. 4 ). A rod-shaped rotation shaft 33 made of metal and extending in the left-and-right direction is integrated with the front cover 30A by insert molding such that the rotation shaft 33 continuously penetrates the upper edge portion of the cover body 31 and the pair of shaft-shaped portions 32 in the left-and-right direction, and such that both end portions of the rotation shaft 33 are exposed. The closed position of the cover 30 corresponds to a direction of the cover 30 in which the cover body 31 extends parallel to downward from the rotation axis 33 (see FIG. 6 ), and the open position of the cover 30 corresponds to a direction of the cover 30 in which the cover body 31 extends parallel to forward from the rotation axis 33 (see FIG. 5 ).A flat plate-shaped engaging portion 33 ais formed at a tip portion of a right end portion of the rotation shaft 33 (see FIGS. 2 to 4, and 13 ). The engaging portion 33 ais engaged with a recessed engaging portion 41 aprovided on a tip portion of a drive shaft 41 of the actuator 40 corresponding to the engaging portion 33 a(see FIG. 13 ).On a rear end surface (see FIG. 4 ) of the cover body 31 (in the closed position of the cover 30), an annular protrusion 34 corresponding to the front end opening of the cylindrical portion 26 of the housing 20 and protruding rearward is integrally provided in a manner of having an oval shape elongated in the left-and-right direction as viewed from the rear side. When the cover 30 is assembled, the annular protrusion 34 is inserted into an annular groove 52 of the gasket 50 (see FIGS. 5 and 6 ).As shown in FIG. 4, the rear cover 30B includes a flat plate-shaped cover body 35 made of resin. The cover body 35 has an oval shape corresponding to the front end opening of the cylindrical portion 26 of the housing 20, and is elongated in the left-and-right direction when viewed from the rear side. At a rear end portion of an outer circumferential surface of the cover body 35 (in the closed position of the cover 30), an annular flange portion 36 protruding outward over an entire circumference of the corresponding outer circumferential surface is integrally provided (see FIGS. 4 to 6 ). On a front end surface of the annular flange portion 36 (in the closed position of the cover 30), an annular protrusion 37 corresponding to the front end opening of the cylindrical portion 26 of the housing 20 and protruding forward is integrally provided in a manner of having an oval shape elongated in the left-and-right direction as viewed from the front side. When the cover 30 is assembled, the annular protrusion 37 is inserted into an annular groove 53 of the gasket 50 (see FIGS. 5 and 6 ).Four circular recesses 38 corresponding to the pair of terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 and the pair of protruding portions 25 (i.e., the four cylindrical protruding portions aligned in the left-and-right direction) of the housing 20 and aligned in the left-and-right direction are formed in a rear end surface (see FIG. 4 ) of the cover body 35 (in the closed position of the cover 30). When the cover 30 is in the closed position, the four recesses 38 function as escape portions for avoiding interference with tip portions of the pair of terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 and the pair of protruding portions 25 (that is, the four cylindrical protruding portions aligned in the left-and-right direction) (see FIG. 6 ).As shown in FIG. 4, the gasket 50 held by the cover 30 is an annular rubber sealing member having an oval shape corresponding to the front end opening of the cylindrical portion 26 of the housing 20, and is elongated in the left-and-right direction as viewed in the front-and-rear direction. When the cover 30 is in the closed position, the gasket 50 has a function of covering the opening portions 24 of the terminal accommodating cylinder portions 22 of the housing 20, and a tip faces the protruding portions 25 to implement dust tightness, terminal protection, electric shock prevention with the environment, and the like.On an outer circumferential surface of the gasket 50, a pair of annular lip portions 51 protruding outward over the entire circumference of the gasket 50 are integrally provided in a manner to be oriented in the front-and-rear direction (in the closed position of the cover 30) (see FIGS. 5 and 6 ). The annular lip portions 51 have a function of sealing a gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20 by contacting and pressing an inner wall surface of the cylindrical portion 26 of the housing 20 in the closed position of the cover 30 (see FIG. 6 ). The annular groove 52 is formed on a front side surface of the gasket 50 (in the closed position of the cover 30), and the annular groove 53 is formed on a rear side surface of the gasket 50 (in the closed position of the cover 30).To mount the cover 30, first, the gasket 50 is mounted on the rear cover 30B. Specifically, the gasket 50 is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the cover body 35 such that the annular protrusion 37 is inserted into the annular groove 53 of the gasket 50. Next, the rear cover 30B to which the gasket 50 is mounted is mounted to the front cover 30A. Specifically, the cover body 31 and the cover body 35 are fastened and fixed to each other by a plurality of bolts 73 (see FIG. 4 ) in a state where the cover body 35 to which the gasket 50 is mounted is superimposed on the cover body 31 from the rear side, such that the annular protrusion 34 is inserted into the annular groove 52 of the gasket 50. Consequently, the assembly of the cover 30 is completed. In the state where the mounting of the cover 30 is completed, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gasket 50 is held by the cover 30 in a manner sandwiched in the front-and-rear direction by the annular protrusions 34 and 37 arranged to face each other in the front-and-rear direction (in the closed position of the cover 30). Consequently, the gasket 50 is prevented from being separated from the cover 30.Next, the holder 60 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the holder 60 is a component that is attached to each of the pair of recesses 15 of the outer housing 10 and rotatably supports the cover 30. As shown in FIGS. 2, 8, and 12, the holder 60 made of resin includes a flat plate-shaped substrate portion 61 extending in the front-and-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 12, an axis insertion hole 62 is formed in a manner of penetrating the substrate portion 61 in the left-and-right direction (plate thickness direction) at a central portion in the front-and-rear direction. A cylindrical bearing 64 made of metal is attached to the axle insertion hole 62. A tip portion of the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30 is inserted into the bearing 64 (see FIG. 12 ).A pair of front and rear through holes 63 corresponding to the pair of front and rear bolt holes 16 (see FIG. 7 and the like) of the outer housing 10 is formed at a pair of positions sandwiching the axle insertion hole 62 (bearing 64) in the front-and-rear direction in a manner of penetrating the substrate portion 61 in the left-and-right direction (plate thickness direction). A shaft portion 75 (see FIG. 2 ) of a bolt 74 is inserted into the through hole 63 (see FIG. 12 ). As shown in FIG. 12, a cylindrical collar 65 made of metal is attached to the through hole 63. Here, as shown in FIG. 12, an inner diameter of the collar 65 is larger than an outer diameter of the shaft portion 75 of the bolt 74. that is, in a state where the shaft portion 75 of the bolt 74 is inserted into the collar 65, the collar 65 and the shaft portion 75 are configured such that a gap S 2 is secured between an inner wall surface of the collar 65 and the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 75. A size of the gap S 2 is slightly smaller than a size of the gap S 1 described above (see FIG. 11 ). An effect of securing such a gap S 2 will be described later. As shown in FIG. 12, an inner diameter of the bearing 64 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the rotation axis 33. that is, in a state where the rotation axis 33 is inserted into the bearing 64, a gap between an inner wall surface of the bearing 64 and the outer circumferential surface of the rotation axis 33 is hardly secured.The substrate portion 61 is integrally provided with a pair of wall portions 66 protruding outward in the left-and-right direction from a pair of front and rear positions each between the axis insertion hole 62 and the through hole 63, and a wall portion 67 protruding outward in the left-and-right direction and connecting lower end portions of the pair of wall portions 66 in the front-and-rear direction (see FIGS. 2, 8, and 13 ). As shown in FIG. 13, each wall portion 66 has an arc shape protruding outward in the front-and-rear direction when viewed in the left-and-right direction. Protruding portions 68 extending in the left-and-right direction are formed at two positions in the up-and-down direction on respective inner side surfaces of the wall portions 66 in the front-and-rear direction (facing the pair of wall portions 66 facing each other) (see FIGS. 8 and 13 ). An effect of such a protruding portion 68 will be described later. The components constituting the connector 1 are described above.Next, an assembly process of the connector 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, the pair of support walls 13 are fastened and fixed to the pair at left and right side edges of the upper surface of the floor panel 11 by bolts (not shown). Next, the housing 20 for accommodating the pair of terminals (not shown) connected to the end portions of the pair of electric wires 3 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ) is fixed to the pair of support walls 13 at a position between the pair of support walls 13. Specifically, front end surfaces of the both end portions of the case body 21 in the left-and-right direction are fastened and fixed to the fixing surfaces 14 of the pair of support walls 13 by a pair of bolts 71 (see FIG. 2 ).Next, the cover 30 holding the gasket 50 is rotatably supported by the outer housing 10. Specifically, first, as shown in FIG. 7, both end portions of the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30 are received and supported in the grooves 17 of the pair of support walls 13 from above such that the tip portions thereof are positioned in the pair of recesses 15 (see a white arrow in FIG. 7 ). In this state, due to the presence of the above-described gap S 1 (see FIG. 11 ), a relative position of the rotation axis 33 with respect to the outer housing 10 (support wall 13) can be adjusted freely in directions orthogonal to the left-and-right direction within a range of the gap S 1.Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the pair of brackets 60 are attached to the recesses 15 of the pair of support walls 13. Specifically, each holder 60 is attached to the recess 15 from the outer side in the left-and-right direction such that the end portion of the rotation axis 33 positioned in the recess 15 is inserted into the bearing 64 and such that the substrate portion 61 comes into contact with an inner end surface of the recess 15 in the left-and-right direction (see a white arrow in FIG. 8 ). In this state, the tip portion of the rotation axis 33 (specifically, the engaging portion 33 aat the tip portion on the right side) is positioned between the pair of wall portions 66 of the holder 60.Next, as shown in FIG. 9, each holder 60 is temporarily fixed to the recess 15 using the pair of bolts 74. Specifically, with respect to each holder 60, the shaft portions 75 of the pair of bolts 74 are inserted into the pair of collars 65 and the pair of bolt holes 16 of the outer housing 10 in this order from the outside in the left-and-right direction, and are screwed into the pair of bolt holes 16 with weak torque, so that each holder 60 is temporarily fixed (see thick white arrows in FIG. 9 ). In this state, due to the presence of the gaps S 1 (see FIG. 11 ) and S 2 (see FIG. 12 ), described above, a relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the outer housing 10 (support wall 13, housing 20) in the direction orthogonal to the left-and-right direction can be freely adjusted within a range of the gap S 2.Next, the relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the outer housing 10 is adjusted such that the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30 is positioned at a position appropriate for the seal 50 held by the cover 30 that seals the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20. Specifically, in a state in which the cover 30 is held in the closed position (that is, a state in which the annular lip portion 51 of the gasket 50 contacts and presses the inner wall surface of the cylindrical portion 26 to seal the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20), the relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the outer housing 10 in the directions orthogonal to the left-and-right direction is adjusted within the range of the gap S 2 so that the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30 is positioned at a position at which a repulsive force applied to the cover 30 by the gasket 50 is balanced (see thin white arrows in FIG. 9 ). This adjustment may be performed, for example, by utilizing a circumstance that the repulsive force applied to the cover 30 by the gasket 50 is naturally balanced, or may be performed manually while an operator visually checks the position of the cover 30.Next, in a state in which the relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the outer housing 10 is held at the adjusted position as described above, the pair of bolts 74 are fastened by a fixed torque, respectively. When the fastening operation is performed, the presence of the pair of wall portions 66 of the holder 60 can prevent a tool or the like from erroneously contacting the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30. By this fastening, the substrate portion 61 of the holder 60 is pressed and sandwiched between head portions 76 of the pair of bolts 74 and the inner end surfaces of the recess 15 in the left-and-right direction, so that the relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the outer housing 10 is fixed at the adjusted position as described above. Thus, regardless of a magnitude of a distortion of the housing 20, the cover 30, and the gasket 50, the cover 30 is in a state of being rotatable together with the gasket 50 between the closed position (see FIG. 6 ) and the open position (see FIG. 5 ), while maintaining a state in which the position of the cover 30 with respect to the housing 20 is fixed in the closed position of the cover 30 (see FIG. 6 ) in the position suitable for sealing the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20.Next, the upper plate 12 is fastened and fixed to the upper surfaces of the pair of support walls 13 by a plurality of bolts 72 (see FIG. 2 ). Thus, the outer housing 10 having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape penetrating in the front-and-rear direction is completed (see FIG. 1 ). The housing 20 is accommodated in an internal space of the completed outer housing 10, and the cover 30 is rotatably accommodated therein.Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the actuator 40 is attached to the outer housing 10. The actuator 40 is a conventional electric motor having the drive shaft 41 (see FIG. 1 ). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, the actuator 40 includes the drive shaft 41 extending in the left-and-right direction and protruding leftward, and a pair of wall portions 42 corresponding to the pair of wall portions 66 of the holder 60 and protruding leftward from a pair of positions sandwiching the drive shaft 41 in the front-and-rear direction.The actuator 40 is attached to an outer side surface of the right support wall 13 from the right side such that the pair of wall portions 42 is positioned inside the pair of wall portions 66, and such that the engaging portion 33 aof the rotation shaft 33 is engaged with the recessed engaging portion 41 aprovided at a tip portion of the drive shaft 41 (see FIG. 13 ). At this time, (the pair of wall portions 42 of) the actuator 40 can be guided to an appropriate position by the pair of wall portions 66 of the holder 60 and the protruding portions 68 (see FIG. 13 ) provided on the wall portions 66. Due to the engagement between the engaging portion 41 aand the engaging portion 33 a, the rotation shaft 33 and the drive shaft 41 are connected to each other to integrally rotate. Thus, by electrically controlling the actuator 40, the cover 30 can be rotationally driven between the closed position (see FIG. 6 ) and the open position (see FIG. 5 ). As described above, the assembly of the connector 1 is completed.When the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are not fitted together, the cover 30 is held in the closed position (see FIG. 6 ). Consequently, the cover 30 covers the opening portion 24, while the annular lip portion 51 of the gasket 50 seals the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20, so that dust tightness, terminal protection, electric shock prevention with the environment, and the like are implemented. On the other hand, when the connector 1 and the mating connector 2 are fitted together, the cover 30 is held in the open position (see FIG. 5 ). Consequently, the pair of opening portions 24 are opened, and the pair of mating terminals (male terminals) accommodated in the mating connector 2 is in a state capable of being inserted into the terminal accommodation chambers 23 via the opening portions 24.As described above, according to the connector 1 and the method for manufacturing the connector 1 of the present embodiment, the connector 1 includes the holders 60 that support the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30. Further, the connector 1 has a fixing structure capable of selecting the relative position of the holder 60 with respect to the housing 20 in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis 33 from a predetermined range (within the range of the gap S 2) and fixing the holder 60 at the selected position. Consequently, when the connector 1 is manufactured, the holder 60 can be fixed after adjusting the position of the holder 60 (that is, while positioning is performed) such that the cover 30 and the gasket 50 are positioned at the position suitable for sealing the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20 (for example, a position at which the repulsive force applied to the cover 30 by the gasket 50 is balanced when the cover 30 is in the closed position). As a result, the position of the cover 30 with respect to the housing 20 can be set to the position suitable for sealing the gap between the cover 30 and the housing 20 regardless of the amount of the dimensional deviation of the housing 20, the cover 30, and the packing 50.Further, the holder 60 includes the bearing 64 into which the rotation shaft 33 is inserted and the collars 65 into which the bolts 74 are inserted. There is the gap S 2 (see FIG. 12 ) between the shaft portion 75 of the bolt 74 and the inner wall surface of the collar 65 facing the shaft portion 75, and the holder 60 is fixed by pressing the holder 60 with the head portions 76 of the bolts 74 at the time of fastening. Thus, the above-described fixing structure is implemented.Further, the holder 60 includes the wall portions 66, each disposed between the bearing 64 and the collar 65, and standing in a direction along the bearing 64. Consequently, when the bolts 74 are inserted into the collars 65 to perform the fastening operation, it is possible to prevent a tool or the like from erroneously contacting the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30.Further, the wall portion 66 includes the protruding portions 68 protruding from a side surface facing the bearing 64. Consequently, when the actuator 40 that rotationally drives the rotation axis 33 of the cover 30 is attached to the rotation axis 33, the actuator 40 can be guided to an appropriate position by the wall portions 66 and the protruding portions 68.The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, and the like may be carried out as appropriate. In addition, materials, shapes, sizes, numbers, arrangement positions, and the like of components are freely selected in the above-described embodiment and are not limited as long as the present invention can be implemented.In the above embodiment, the holder 60 includes the wall portions 66, each disposed between the bearing 64 and the collar 65, and standing in the direction along the bearing 64. In contrast, the holder 60 may not include such wall portions.Further, in the above embodiment, the wall portions 66 of the holder 60 include the protruding portions 68 protruding from the side surface facing the bearing 64. In contrast, the wall portions 66 of the holder 60 may not have such protruding portions.Further, in the above-described embodiment, the shaft portions 75 of the bolts 74 are inserted into the cylindrical collars 65 (i.e., the through holes) attached to the through holes 63 of the holder 60. In contrast, instead of such holes, a groove, a slit, or the like that penetrate the substrate portion 61 of the holder 60 in the left-and-right direction may be provided, and the shaft portions 75 of the bolts 74 may be inserted into the groove, the slit, or the like.Here, in the embodiment of the present invention described above, the connector (1) comprises:the housing (20) having the accommodation chamber (23) having the opening portions (24) opened to be capable of accommodating the terminal and receiving the counterpart terminal;the cover (30) movable by rotating about the rotation axis (33) between the closed position in which the cover (30) covers the opening portions (24) and the open position in which the cover (30) opens the opening portions (24);the seal (50) sealing the gap between the cover (30) and the housing (20) when the cover (30) is in the closed position; andBearing components (60) supporting the rotation axis (33), wherein the connector (1) has the fixing structure capable of selecting a relative position of the bearing component (60) with respect to the housing (20) in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis (33) from the predetermined range (S2), and fixing the bearing component (60) at the selected position.According to the connector having the above-described configuration, the connector includes the bearing component that supports the rotation axis of the cover. Further, the connector includes the fixing structure capable of selecting a relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in a direction along the plane intersecting the rotation axis from the predetermined range and fixing the bearing component at the selected position. The "selecting" the position of the bearing component may be, for example, a selection of the position by utilizing the fact that the repulsive force applied to the cover by the seal is naturally balanced when the cover is disposed in the closed position in a state in which the bearing component is attached to the rotation axis and the bearing component is not yet fixed (hereinafter also referred to as a cover before fixing), or a selection of the position by an operator manually adjusting the position of the cover before fixing while visually checking the position of the cover before fixing. That is, the selection of the position of the bearing component may also be referred to as "positioning" the bearing component.Therefore, in manufacturing the connector, the bearing component may be fixed after adjusting the position of the bearing component (i.e., while performing the positioning) such that the cover and the seal are positioned at the position suitable for sealing the gap (for example, the position at which the repulsive force applied to the cover by the seal is balanced when the cover is in the closed position). As a result, the position of the cover with respect to the housing can be set to the position suitable for sealing the gap regardless of the amount of the distortion of the housing, the cover and the packing. Therefore, the connector having the present configuration can adequately seal the gap between the housing and the cover through the gasket.Further, the connector (1) may include the bolts (74) configured to fix and fix the bearing components (60), in which the bearing components (60) may include the bearing portion (64) into which the rotation axis (33) is inserted and bolt insertion portions (65) into which the bolts (74) are inserted, and the fixing structure may include the shaft portions (75) of the bolts (74), the gap (S 2) provided between the shaft portion (75) and an inner wall surface of the bolt insertion portion (65) facing the shaft portion (75) and having a width corresponding to the range, and the head portion (76) of the bolts (74) for pressing and fixing the bearing component (60) when the bolts (74) are fixed.According to the connector having the above-described configuration, the bearing component includes the bearing portion into which the rotation axis is inserted and the bolt insertion portions into which the bolts are inserted. Between the shaft portion of the bolt and the inner wall surface of the bolt insertion portion facing the shaft portion, there is a gap having a width corresponding to the range of positioning of the bearing component described above, and the bearing component is fixed by pressing the bearing component with the head portions of the bolts at the time of fastening. Consequently, the above-described fixing structure can be implemented.Further, the bearing component ( 60) may further include the wall portions ( 66) each disposed between the bearing portion ( 64) and the bolt insertion portion ( 65) and standing in the direction along the bearing portion ( 64).According to the connector having the above-described configuration, the bearing component includes the wall portions each disposed between the bearing portion and the bolt insertion portion and standing in the direction along the bearing portion. Consequently, when the bolt is inserted into the bolt insertion portion to perform the fastening operation, it is possible to prevent a tool or the like from erroneously touching the rotation axis of the cover.Further, the wall portion (60) may include the protruding portions (68) protruding from the side surface facing the bearing portion (64).According to the connector having the above-described configuration, the wall portion includes the protruding portions protruding from the side surface facing the bearing portion. Thus, for example, when the operating device (for example, a motor) that rotationally drives the rotation axis of the cover is attached to the rotation axis, the operating device can be guided to an appropriate position by the wall portions and the protruding portions.In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention described above, there is a method of manufacturing the connector (1) including the housing (20) having the accommodation chamber (23) including the opening portions (24) opened to be capable of accommodating the terminal and receiving the mating terminal; the cover (30) movable by rotating about the rotation axis (33) between the closed position in which the cover (30) covers the opening portions (24) and the open position in which the cover (30) opens the opening portions (24); the seal (50) that seals the gap between the cover (30) and the housing (20) when the cover (30) is in the closed position, and bearing components (60) that support the rotation axis (33), and wherein the method of manufacturing the connector (1) comprises:a step of supporting the rotation axis (33) of the cover (30) by the bearing components (60); anda step of selecting a relative position of the bearing component (60) with respect to the housing (20) in the direction along the plane intersecting the rotation axis (33) from the predetermined range (S 2), and fixing the bearing component (60) at the selected position.According to the method of manufacturing the connector having the above-described configuration, the connector includes the bearing components that support the rotation axis of the cover. Further, the connector has the fixing structure capable of selecting the relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in the direction along the plane intersecting the rotation axis from the predetermined range and fixing the bearing component at the selected position. Thus, in manufacturing the connector, the bearing component may be fixed after adjusting the position of the bearing component (i.e., during performing the positioning) such that the rotation axis of the cover is positioned at a position suitable for sealing the gap (e.g., a position at which the repulsive force applied to the cover by the seal is balanced when the cover is in the closed position). As a result, the position of the cover with respect to the housing can be set to the position suitable for sealing the gap regardless of the amount of the distortion of the housing, the cover and the packing. Therefore, according to the method of manufacturing the connector having the present configuration, a connector capable of adequately sealing the gap between the housing and the cover by the gasket can be obtained.The present application is based on a Japanese Patent Application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-025078) filed on Feb. 21, 2022, and the contents thereof are incorporated herein by reference.INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITYThe connector and the method for manufacturing the connector of the present invention can adequately seal the gap between the housing and the cover by the gasket. The present invention having this effect can be applied to, for example, a charge input device for performing battery charging mounted on an automatic electric vehicle or the like.LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS1 Connector 20 Housing 23 Terminal accommodation chamber (accommodation chamber) 24 Opening portion 30 Cover 33 Rotation axis 50 Seal 60 Holder (bearing component) 64 Bearing (bearing portion) 65 Collar (bolt insertion portion) 66 Wall portion 68 Protruding portion 74 Bolt 75 Shaft portion 76 Head portion S 2 GapReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedJP 2014-32 901 A

[0003] JP 2022-025078

[0061]

Claims

A connector, comprising: a housing having a receiving chamber having an opening portion opened to be capable of receiving a terminal and receiving a mating terminal; a cover movable by rotating about a rotation axis between a closed position in which the cover covers the opening portion and an open position in which the cover opens the opening portion, a seal configured to seal a gap between the cover and the housing when the cover is in the closed position; and a bearing component supporting the rotation axis, wherein the connector has a fixing structure capable of selecting a relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis from a predetermined range, and fixing the bearing component at the selected position.The connector according to claim 1, further comprising: a bolt configured to fasten and fix the bearing component, wherein the bearing component has a bearing portion into which the rotation axis is inserted and a bolt insertion portion into which the bolt is inserted, and the fixing structure includes a shaft portion of the bolt, a gap provided between the shaft portion and an inner wall surface of the bolt insertion portion facing the shaft portion and having a width corresponding to the range, and a head portion of the bolt configured to press and fix the bearing component when the bolt is fastened.The connector according to claim 2, wherein the bearing component further includes a wall portion that is disposed between the bearing portion and the bolt insertion portion and stands in a direction along the bearing portion.The connector according to claim 3, wherein the wall portion has a protruding portion protruding from a side surface facing the bearing portion.A method of manufacturing a connector, the connector having a housing with a receiving chamber having an opening portion opened to be capable of receiving a terminal and receiving a mating terminal, a cover movable by rotating about a rotation axis between a closed position in which the cover covers the opening portion and an open position in which the cover opens the opening portion, a seal configured to seal the gap between the cover and the housing when the cover is in the closed position, and a bearing component supporting the rotation axis, the method of manufacturing the connector comprising: a step of supporting the rotation axis of the cover by the bearing component; and a step of selecting a relative position of the bearing component with respect to the housing in a direction along a plane intersecting the rotation axis from a predetermined range and fixing the bearing component at the selected position.

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