Connector holder units, and connector holders

Abstract

To provide connector holder units which can be properly arranged in a lump, and connector holders.SOLUTION: One of a pair of connector holders 10 and 20 comprises a temporary holding hole part 13, and the other of the pair of connector holders 10 and 20 comprises a temporary holding piece part 23 which is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole part 13 in a removable manner. The temporary holding piece part 23 includes: a first projection 23b which is formed in a tabular main body portion 23a while protruding from an end face 23ac and positioned at the side of an insertion distal end 23ae; and a second projection 23c which is formed in the tabular main body portion 23a while protruding from an end face 23ad and positioned at the side of an insertion proximal end 23af. In a state where the temporary holding piece part 23 is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole part 13, the second projection 23c is abutted to an inner surface 13f of the temporary holding hole part 13 and presses the temporary holding piece part 23 to one side, and the first projection 23b is locked onto an outer edge surface 13g of the temporary holding hole part 13 outside of the temporary holding hole part 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector holder unit and a connector holder. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are technologies for holding a connector in a connector holder. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a connector holder including a holder body, at least one locking part to which the connector can be attached and detached, and an attachment part for attaching the holder body to an attachment part. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-42981 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, when installing connector holders in a vehicle, for example, a plurality of connector holders may be brought into the vehicle all at once. In such a case, a configuration is desired that allows the connector holders to be properly bundled together.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a connector holder unit and a connector holder that can be properly kept together. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a connector holder unit according to the present invention comprises a pair of connector holders each for holding a connector, one of the pair of connector holders has a temporary holding hole portion formed by penetrating along an insertion / removal direction, and the other of the pair of connector holders has a temporary holding piece portion inserted into the temporary holding hole portion along the insertion / removal direction and temporarily held in a detachable manner in the temporary holding hole portion, the temporary holding piece portion having a plate-shaped main body portion formed in a plate shape and one end face of the plate-shaped main body portion in a width direction intersecting the insertion / removal direction and a plate thickness direction of the plate-shaped main body portion and a first protrusion portion formed to protrude from the other end face in the width direction of the plate-shaped main body portion and located at the tip end side of insertion into the temporary holding hole portion, and a second protrusion portion formed to protrude from the other end face in the width direction of the plate-shaped main body portion and located at the base end side of insertion into the temporary holding hole portion, and when the temporary holding piece portion is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion, the second protrusion portion abuts against the inner surface of the other side of the temporary holding hole portion in the width direction to press the temporary holding piece portion against one side in the width direction, and the first protrusion portion engages with the outer edge surface of the temporary holding hole portion outside the temporary holding hole portion.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the connector holder of the present invention comprises a main body portion for holding a connector, and a temporary holding piece portion formed protruding from the main body portion and inserted along an insertion / removal direction into a temporary holding hole portion formed in a target member so as to penetrate the target member along the insertion / removal direction and temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion in a detachable manner, the temporary holding piece portion being formed in a plate-like main body portion and protruding from one end face of the plate-like main body portion in a width direction intersecting the insertion / removal direction and a plate thickness direction of the plate-like main body portion along the width direction. The temporary holding piece portion includes a first protrusion portion located at the tip side of insertion into the temporary holding hole portion, and a second protrusion portion formed by protruding along the other end face of the plate-shaped main body in the width direction from the other end face in the width direction and located at the base end side of insertion into the temporary holding hole portion, and when the temporary holding piece portion is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion, the second protrusion portion abuts against the inner surface of the other side of the temporary holding hole portion in the width direction to press the temporary holding piece portion against one side in the width direction, and the first protrusion portion engages with the outer edge surface of the temporary holding hole portion outside the temporary holding hole portion. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The connector holder unit and the connector holder according to the present invention have the advantage that they can be properly bundled together. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a wire harness to which a connector holder unit according to an embodiment is applied. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a wire harness to which the connector holder unit according to the embodiment is applied. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view including a temporary holding structure of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a partial exploded perspective view including a temporary holding structure of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a partial exploded perspective view including a temporary holding structure of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view including a temporary holding hole portion of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a partial side view including a temporary holding piece of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the connector holder unit according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. In addition, the components in the following embodiments include those that are replaceable and easy for a person skilled in the art, or those that are substantially the same.

[0011] [Embodiment] The connector holder unit 1 according to this embodiment shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 is applied to, for example, a wire harness WH mounted on a vehicle. The wire harness WH is, for example, an assembly part made by bundling a plurality of wiring materials W used for power supply and signal communication to connect each device mounted on the vehicle, and the plurality of wiring materials W are connected to each device by a connector C or the like. The wire harness WH of this embodiment includes a conductive wiring material W, a connector C provided on the wiring material W, and a connector holder unit 1 that holds the connector C.

[0012] The wiring material W is, for example, an insulated electric wire in which a core wire made of a bundle of a plurality of conductive metal wires is covered with an insulating covering portion. The wiring material W may be a bundle of a plurality of insulated electric wires. The wiring material W may also be an insulated metal rod in which a conductive metal rod is covered with an insulating covering portion. The connector C is provided at the end of the wiring material W and is electrically connected to other wiring materials or mating connectors provided in various devices by fitting the connector. The connector holder unit 1 holds the connector C. The connector holder unit 1 of this embodiment includes a pair of connector holders 10 and 20. Each of the connector holders 10 and 20 holds a connector C and is fixed to a fixing target portion of the vehicle to support each connector C. The wire harness WH may further include various components such as a grommet, an electrical connection box, and a fixing device.

[0013] The connector holder unit 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a temporary holding structure 100 for temporarily holding a pair of connector holders 10, 20 together and lumping them together, thereby improving mountability when assembled into a vehicle and realizing a configuration that makes it easy to bring a plurality of connector holders 10, 20 into the vehicle all at once. Here, FIG. 1 shows a state in which the pair of connector holders 10, 20 are separated from each other. Meanwhile, FIG. 2 shows a temporary holding state in which the pair of connector holders 10, 20 are temporarily held together and lumped together. Hereinafter, each configuration of the connector holder unit 1 will be described in detail with reference to each drawing.

[0014] 1 and 2, the connector holder 10 of this embodiment includes a main body portion 11 and a fixing portion 12, and the main body portion 11 and the fixing portion 12 are integrally formed from an insulating resin material. Similarly, the connector holder 20 includes a main body portion 21 and a fixing portion 22, and the main body portion 21 and the fixing portion 22 are integrally formed from an insulating resin material. Note that, in addition to the main body portions 11, 21 and the fixing portions 12, 22, the connector holders 10, 20 may further include accessories such as a cover member.

[0015] The main bodies 11 and 21 are main parts of the connector holders 10 and 20 that hold the connector C. The main bodies 11 and 21 engage and hold the connector C in the internal space surrounded by the walls 11a and 21a or on the outer surfaces of the walls 11a and 21a via various engaging and locking mechanisms. This allows the connector holders 10 and 20 to hold the connector C in the main bodies 11 and 21.

[0016] The fixing parts 12, 22 are parts of the connector holders 10, 20 that are fixed to the target part of the vehicle. The fixing parts 12, 22 are formed integrally with the main bodies 11, 21, and are fixed to the target part of the vehicle via various types of fixing mechanisms such as bolt fixing, clip fixing, and engagement fixing. This allows each of the connector holders 10, 20 to be fixed to the target part of the vehicle via the fixing parts 12, 22.

[0017] In the connector holder unit 1 of the present embodiment, some of the connectors C held by the connector holder 10 and some of the connectors C held by the connector holder 20 are connected via a wiring material W. That is, in the connector holder unit 1 of the present embodiment, some of the wiring material W extends across the connector holder 10 and the connector holder 20 to form a continuous wire harness WH.

[0018] In the connector holder unit 1 of the present embodiment, as the above-mentioned temporary holding structure 100, one of the pair of connector holders 10, 20 is provided with a temporary holding hole portion 13, and the other of the pair of connector holders 10, 20 is provided with a temporary holding piece portion 23. Here, the first connector holder 10 corresponds to one of the pair of connector holders 10, 20, and is provided with the temporary holding hole portion 13. The second connector holder 20 corresponds to the other of the pair of connector holders 10, 20, and is provided with the temporary holding piece portion 23.

[0019] The temporary holding hole portion 13 and the temporary holding piece portion 23 constitute the temporary holding structure 100 that temporarily holds the pair of connector holders 10, 20 together and keeps them together. In other words, the connector holder unit 1 of this embodiment can be said to be equipped with the temporary holding structure 100 that can temporarily hold one of the pair of connector holders 10, 20 in a detachable manner relative to the other. Here, the connector holder 10 corresponds to a target member for temporarily holding the connector holder 20, and conversely, the connector holder 20 corresponds to a target member for temporarily holding the connector holder 10.

[0020] Hereinafter, the configurations of the temporary holding hole portion 13 and the temporary holding piece portion 23 will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 3 to 10. In the following description, in a state in which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion 13 (see Figs. 3, 10, etc.), three mutually intersecting directions are referred to as the "first direction X", the "second direction Y", and the "third direction Z" for convenience. The first direction X, the second direction Y, and the third direction Z are typically perpendicular to each other. The first direction X typically corresponds to an insertion / removal direction in which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted into and removed from the temporary holding hole portion 13. The second direction Y typically corresponds to a plate thickness direction along the plate thickness of the plate-shaped main body portion 23a constituting the temporary holding piece portion 23. The third direction Z typically corresponds to a width direction intersecting (orthogonal to) the insertion / removal direction and the plate thickness direction, and corresponds to, for example, a direction along the width of the plate-shaped main body portion 23a constituting the temporary holding piece portion 23. Unless otherwise specified, the directions used in the following description are directions when the parts are assembled together.

[0021] Specifically, the temporary holding hole portion 13 is a portion formed by penetrating the connector holder 10 along the first direction X, as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, and 6. The temporary holding hole portion 13 is formed so as to be able to hold the temporary holding piece portion 23 by inserting the temporary holding piece portion 23 along the first direction X. The connector holder 10 has a main body portion 11, a fixing portion 12, and the temporary holding hole portion 13 integrally formed. Here, the temporary holding hole portion 13 is formed by a part of a wall body 11a of the main body portion 11 and a partition wall body 13a provided so as to protrude from the wall body 11a.

[0022] The partition wall 13a includes a pair of protruding walls 13aa, 13ab, and a connecting wall 13ac. The pair of protruding walls 13aa, 13ab are both formed to protrude from the wall 11a to one side along the second direction Y. The protruding walls 13aa, 13ab are both formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape with a plate thickness direction along the third direction Z. The pair of protruding walls 13aa, 13ab are formed at an interval along the third direction Z, with the protruding wall 13aa located on one side of the third direction Z and the protruding wall 13ab located on the other side of the third direction Z. The connecting wall 13ac is formed to extend along the third direction Z and connects the tips of the pair of protruding walls 13aa, 13ab. The connecting wall 13ac is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape with a plate thickness direction along the second direction Y. The partition wall 13a is formed generally in a C-shape by a pair of protruding walls 13aa, 13ab and a connecting wall 13ac. Here, the partition wall 13a has rounded corners at the connecting portions between the protruding walls 13aa, 13ab and the connecting wall 13ac, and a part of the connecting wall 13ac is formed in a recessed shape with a step interposed between the corners.

[0023] The temporary holding hole 13 is surrounded by a part of the wall 11a and the partition wall 13a (the protruding wall portions 13aa, 13ab, and the connecting wall portion 13ac) to form an insertion space 13b that penetrates along the first direction X. The insertion space 13b forms a space into which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted along the first direction X in the temporary holding hole 13. The insertion space 13b is formed with a shape and size that allows the temporary holding piece portion 23 to be inserted and minimizes the gap between the inserted temporary holding piece portion 23 and the wall surface that forms the insertion space 13b. The insertion space 13b is open on both sides in the first direction X, with one side forming an insertion opening 13c and the other side forming an exposure opening 13d. The insertion opening 13c is an opening into which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted. The exposure opening 13d is an opening through which the tip portion of the temporary holding piece portion 23 inserted into the insertion space portion 13b is exposed.

[0024] Here, the temporary holding hole 13 has tapered surfaces 13ea, 13fa formed on the inner surface forming the insertion space 13b, in other words, on the inner surfaces 13e, 13f on both sides in the third direction Z among the inner surfaces facing the insertion space 13b (see FIG. 6 in particular). More specifically, the inner surface 13e is the wall surface on the insertion space 13b side of the protruding wall 13aa of the partition wall 13a, and includes a tapered surface 13ea as a first tapered surface and a parallel surface 13eb. On the other hand, the inner surface 13f is the wall surface on the insertion space 13b side of the protruding wall 13ab of the partition wall 13a, and includes a tapered surface 13fa as a second tapered surface and a parallel surface 13fb.

[0025] The tapered surface 13ea is formed on the inner surface 13e on one side in the third direction Z on the side of the insertion opening 13c into which the temporary holding piece portion 23 can be inserted. Similarly, the tapered surface 13fa is formed on the inner surface 13f on the other side in the third direction Z on the side of the insertion opening 13c. The tapered surfaces 13ea and 13fa are both formed as inclined surfaces inclined with respect to the first direction X (insertion / removal direction) corresponding to the insertion direction of the temporary holding piece portion 23. Here, the tapered surfaces 13ea and 13fa are formed as inclined surfaces in a direction in which the interval along the third direction Z gradually increases as they move toward the insertion opening 13c side along the first direction X. With this configuration, the tapered surfaces 13ea and 13fa function as guide surfaces for guiding a part of the temporary holding piece portion 23 (a first protrusion portion 23b and a second protrusion portion 23c described later) to the inside of the temporary holding hole portion 13, i.e., to the insertion space portion 13b side, as the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted.

[0026] The inner surfaces 13e and 13f are formed as parallel surfaces 13eb and 13fb on the inner surfaces 13e and 13f, that is, the surfaces of the tapered surfaces 13ea and 13fa on the exposed opening 13d side. The parallel surfaces 13eb and 13fb are continuous with the tapered surfaces 13ea and 13fa on the inner surfaces 13e and 13f, respectively, and are formed as surfaces substantially parallel to the first direction X (insertion / removal direction) corresponding to the insertion direction of the temporary holding piece portion 23. Of the parallel surfaces 13eb and 13fb, the parallel surface 13fb on the inner surface 13f side is a surface against which the second protrusion portion 23c described later comes into contact and supports the temporary holding piece portion 23 when the temporary holding piece portion 23 is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion 13, as described later (see also FIG. 10 described later).

[0027] Next, as shown in Figures 3, 4, 5 and 7, the temporary holding piece 23 is a part of the connector holder 20 that is inserted into the temporary holding hole 13 along the first direction X and is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole 13 in a detachable manner. The temporary holding piece 23 is formed in a plate shape with a shape and size that allows it to be inserted into the temporary holding hole 13 as a whole and minimizes the gap between the temporary holding piece 23 and the wall surface that forms the insertion space 13b. The connector holder 20 is formed integrally with the main body 21, the fixing part 22, and the temporary holding piece 23. Here, the temporary holding piece 23 is formed to protrude from the wall 21a of the main body 21 to one side along the first direction X.

[0028] More specifically, the temporary holding piece portion 23 is composed of a plate-shaped main body portion 23a, a first protrusion portion 23b, a second protrusion portion 23c, and a third protrusion portion 23d, and these plate-shaped main body portion 23a, first protrusion portion 23b, second protrusion portion 23c, and third protrusion portion 23d are formed integrally.

[0029] The plate-shaped main body 23a is a portion formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape with the plate thickness direction along the second direction Y. The plate-shaped main body 23a is formed to protrude from the wall 21a of the main body 21 to one side along the first direction X. The plate-shaped main body 23a has the largest area of ​​a pair of main surfaces 23aa, 23ab positioned opposite each other along the second direction Y, and the third protrusion 23d is formed on one of the main surfaces 23aa. In addition, the plate-shaped main body 23a has a pair of end surfaces 23ac, 23ad positioned opposite each other along the third direction Z, and the first protrusion 23b is formed on the end surface 23ac positioned on one side of the third direction Z, and the second protrusion 23c is formed on the end surface 23ad positioned on the other side of the third direction Z. In addition, the plate-shaped main body 23a has a tapered shape such that the tip 23ae side in the first direction X is easily inserted into the temporary holding hole 13. The plate-like main body 23a may be provided with, for example, hollowed-out portions or thin-walled portions for weight reduction, and may be provided with ribs or the like for reinforcement.

[0030] The first protrusion 23b is a protruding portion formed on the plate-shaped main body 23a so as to protrude from one end face 23ac in the third direction Z to one side along the third direction Z. The first protrusion 23b in this embodiment has a protruding tip 23ba formed in a curved shape (see FIG. 7 in particular). Here, the first protrusion 23b is formed in a substantially hemispherical protrusion shape.

[0031] On the other hand, the second protrusion 23c is a protruding portion formed on the plate-shaped main body 23a so as to protrude from the other end face 23ad in the third direction Z to the other side along the third direction Z. The second protrusion 23c in this embodiment has a protruding tip 23ca formed in a curved shape, similar to the first protrusion 23b (see FIG. 7 in particular). Here, the second protrusion 23c is formed in a substantially hemispherical protrusion shape, similar to the first protrusion 23b.

[0032] The first protrusion 23b is located on the end face 23ac on the side of the insertion tip 23ae with respect to the temporary holding hole 13. Meanwhile, the second protrusion 23c is located on the end face 23ad on the side of the insertion base end 23af with respect to the temporary holding hole 13. That is, in the first direction X which is the insertion direction of the temporary holding piece portion 23 into the temporary holding hole 13, the first protrusion 23b is located closer to the tip 23ae than the second protrusion 23c, and the second protrusion 23c is located closer to the base end 23af than the first protrusion 23b.

[0033] In this embodiment, the distances D1, D2, and D3 of the temporary holding hole 13 and the temporary holding piece 23 are set to be approximately equal, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. Here, the distance D1 is the distance along the third direction Z between the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion 23b and the end face 23ad of the plate-shaped main body 23a. The distance D2 is the distance along the third direction Z between the protruding tip 23ca of the second protrusion 23c and the end face 23ac of the plate-shaped main body 23a. The distance D3 is the distance along the third direction Z between the parallel surface 13eb of the inner surface 13e of the temporary holding hole 13 and the parallel surface 13fb of the inner surface 13f of the temporary holding hole 13.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, with respect to the temporary holding hole portion 13 and the temporary holding piece portion 23, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, the distance D4 is set to be greater than 0 and equal to or less than the length L1. Here, the distance D4 is the distance along the first direction X between the protruding tip 23ba of the first protruding portion 23b and the protruding tip 23ca of the second protruding portion 23c. The length L1 is the length along the first direction X of the parallel surfaces 13eb, 13fb of the inner surfaces 13e, 13f of the temporary holding hole portion 13. Here, it is more preferable that the distance D4 is set to be approximately equal to the length L1 as shown in each figure.

[0035] 3, when the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted into the temporary holding hole portion 13 and temporarily held therein, the second protrusion portion 23c abuts against an inner surface 13f on the other side in the third direction Z of the temporary holding hole portion 13 to press the temporary holding piece portion 23 against one side in the third direction Z. In this state, the first protrusion portion 23b of the temporary holding piece portion 23 is engaged with an outer edge surface 13g of the temporary holding hole portion 13 outside the temporary holding hole portion 13 (see also FIG. 10 described later). In other words, the second protrusion 23c of the temporary holding piece 23 abuts against the inner surface 13f of the temporary holding hole 13 to press the temporary holding piece 23 against the inner surface 13e, and the first protrusion 23b is engaged with the outer edge surface 13g of the temporary holding hole 13 outside the temporary holding hole 13, so that the temporary holding piece 23 is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole 13. Here, the outer edge surface 13g on which the first protrusion 23b is engaged is the end surface of the protruding wall portion 13aa of the partition wall body 13a constituting the temporary holding hole 13 on the exposed opening 13d side.

[0036] In this case, since the temporary holding hole 13 and the temporary holding piece 23 have the above-mentioned dimensional relationship, it is possible to easily insert the temporary holding piece 23 into the temporary holding hole 13, and with the first protrusion 23b reliably positioned outside the temporary holding hole 13, the second protrusion 23c presses the temporary holding piece 23 against the inner surface 13e, making it easy to lock the first protrusion 23b into the outer edge surface 13g. Note that the various dimensions described above are allowed to have deviations, for example, due to various tolerances.

[0037] As shown in Figures 3, 4, 5, and 7, the third protrusion 23d is a protruding portion formed on the plate-like main body 23a so as to protrude from one main surface 23aa in the second direction Y to one side along the second direction Y. The third protrusion 23d of this embodiment has a protruding tip 23da formed in a curved shape, similar to the first protrusion 23b, the second protrusion 23c, etc. Here, the third protrusion 23d is formed in a substantially elliptical hemispherical protrusion shape extending along the third direction Z.

[0038] The third protrusion 23d is located at a substantially central position in the third direction Z on the main surface 23aa and on the side of the insertion tip 23ae with respect to the temporary holding hole 13, and is configured to be able to be engaged with an outer edge surface 13h of the temporary holding hole 13 (see FIG. 3 in particular). Here, the outer edge surface 13h that can engage the third protrusion 23d is an end surface of the connecting wall portion 13ac of the partition wall body 13a that constitutes the temporary holding hole 13 on the exposed opening 13d side.

[0039] Here, the third protrusion 23d is formed at a position substantially equivalent to the position of the first protrusion 23b in the first direction X (see FIG. 7 in particular). The outer edge surface 13h capable of locking the third protrusion 23d is formed at a position slightly offset toward the insertion opening 13c side from the outer edge surface 13g with which the first protrusion 23b is locked in the first direction X (see FIG. 3 and the like). For this reason, the third protrusion 23d functions as an auxiliary locking portion when, for example, the locking by the first protrusion 23b is released in a state in which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is inserted and temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion 13 and the first protrusion 23b is locked to the outer edge surface 13g.

[0040] In the connector holder unit 1 configured as described above, before the wire harness WH including the connector holder unit 1 is assembled to a vehicle, for example, at the time of delivery to a vehicle factory, the connector holders 10, 20 are in a separated state as shown in Fig. 1. When the wire harness WH is assembled to a vehicle, the connector holder unit 1 is changed from the separated state of the connector holders 10, 20 to a temporarily held state in which the connector holders 10, 20 are temporarily held together as shown in Fig. 2, and is brought into the vehicle in this state.

[0041] In this case, as shown in Figure 8, the tip 23ae of the temporary holding piece portion 23 of the connector holder 20 is inserted into the insertion opening 13c of the temporary holding hole portion 13 of the connector holder 10 along the first direction X, and is inserted into the insertion space portion 13b.

[0042] At this time, in the connector holder unit 1, as the temporary holding piece 23 is inserted, the first protrusion 23b of the temporary holding piece 23 is guided toward the parallel surface 13eb by the tapered surface 13ea of ​​the temporary holding hole 13. As a result, in the connector holder unit 1, the temporary holding piece 23 is smoothly guided into the insertion space 13b of the temporary holding hole 13.

[0043] Also, at this time, since the connector holder unit 1 has the above-mentioned distances D1 and D3 set to be approximately equal, it is possible to insert the temporary holding piece portion 23 into the insertion space portion 13b of the temporary holding hole portion 13 with a relatively small insertion force.

[0044] Thereafter, in the connector holder unit 1, the temporary holding piece portion 23 is further pushed in along the first direction X, and as shown in FIG. 9, when the second protrusion portion 23c of the temporary holding piece portion 23 reaches the tapered surface 13fa, the second protrusion portion 23c is guided toward the parallel surface 13fb by the tapered surface 13fa in accordance with the insertion operation of the temporary holding piece portion 23. This also allows the temporary holding piece portion 23 of the connector holder unit 1 to be smoothly guided into the insertion space portion 13b of the temporary holding hole portion 13. At this time, in the connector holder unit 1, the second protrusion portion 23c slides along the tapered surface 13fa toward the parallel surface 13fb, and the entire temporary holding piece portion 23 is gradually pressed toward one side of the third direction Z, i.e., toward the inner surface 13e.

[0045] Then, when the temporary holding piece portion 23 of the connector holder unit 1 is further pushed in along the first direction X and the first protrusion portion 23b reaches the exposure opening 13d, the first protrusion portion 23b is exposed from the exposure opening 13d as shown in FIG.

[0046] At this time, in the section until the first protrusion 23b is exposed to the exposure opening 13d, the entire temporary holding piece 23 is pressed against the inner surface 13e, so that the first protrusion 23b and the second protrusion 23c of the temporary holding piece 23 elastically deform so as to spread the protruding wall 13aa and the protruding wall 13ab, and the connector holder unit 1 advances while slightly bending them. In this case, since the above-mentioned distance D4 (see FIG. 8) of the connector holder unit 1 is set to be substantially equal to the length L1 (see FIG. 8), it is possible to minimize the section, that is, it is possible to minimize the section requiring a relatively large insertion force. In addition, since the protruding tips 23ba and 23ca of the first protrusion 23b and the second protrusion 23c of the connector holder unit 1 are formed in a curved shape, it is also possible to suppress the sliding resistance generated between the first protrusion 23b and the second protrusion 23c and the inner surfaces 13e and 13f.

[0047] When the connector holder unit 1 is pushed in to a position where the first protrusion 23b is exposed from the exposure opening 13d, the first protrusion 23b comes into contact with the outer edge surface 13g and is locked. In this case, since the above-mentioned distance D2 and distance D3 are set to be substantially equal to each other in the connector holder unit 1, the temporary holding piece 23 can be reliably pressed against the inner surface 13e in a state where the second protrusion 23c comes into contact with the inner surface 13f, and as a result, it is possible to maintain a state where the first protrusion 23b is reliably locked to the outer edge surface 13g. In addition, since the above-mentioned distance D4 is set to be greater than 0 and equal to or less than the length L1, it is possible to reliably ensure a state where the second protrusion 23c is positioned on the parallel surface 13fb and a pressing force against the inner surface 13e is appropriately exerted in a state where the first protrusion 23b is reliably positioned outside the temporary holding hole 13 and locked to the outer edge surface 13g.

[0048] As a result, the connector holder unit 1 can restrict the relative movement of the temporary holding piece 23 toward the side where it comes out of the temporary holding hole 13 by the first protrusion 23b being engaged with the outer edge surface 13g, and can temporarily hold the temporary holding piece 23 in the temporary holding hole 13. This allows the connector holder unit 1 to temporarily hold the connector holders 10, 20 together and temporarily hold them together. Note that here, the connector holder unit 1 does not abut the third protrusion 23d against the outer edge surface 13h. For this reason, the third protrusion 23d functions as an auxiliary locking portion when, for example, when the temporary holding piece 23 is inserted into the temporary holding hole 13 and temporarily held, the locking by the first protrusion 23b is released.

[0049] Then, the connector holder unit 1 is brought into the vehicle together with the entire wire harness WH in a temporarily held state in which the connector holders 10, 20 are temporarily held together. After that, the connector holder unit 1 fixes each of the connector holders 10, 20 to the respective fixing target portions, and the connector holder 10 and the connector holder 20 are separated by pulling out the temporary holding piece portion 23 from the temporary holding hole portion 13. At this time, since the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion portion 23b and the protruding tip 23da of the third protrusion portion 23d, which are engaged with the outer edge surface 13g, are formed in a curved shape, it is possible to smoothly release the engagement and pull out the temporary holding piece portion 23. Also at this time, since the connector holder unit 1 is set such that the distance D4 (see FIG. 8) is substantially equal to the length L1 (see FIG. 8) as described above, it is possible to minimize the section requiring a relatively large pulling force.

[0050] The connector holder unit 1 is assembled to the vehicle by fixing each of the mutually separated connector holders 10, 20 to target fixing portions of the vehicle via the fixing portions 12, 22, respectively.

[0051] When the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above are bundled together, the temporary holding piece portion 23 provided on the connector holder 20 is inserted into the temporary holding hole portion 13 provided on the connector holder 10. Then, in the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20, the second protrusion portion 23c of the temporary holding piece portion 23 abuts against the inner surface 13f of the temporary holding hole portion 13 to press the entire temporary holding piece portion 23 against the inner surface 13e, while the first protrusion portion 23b of the temporary holding piece portion 23 is engaged with the outer edge surface 13g of the temporary holding hole portion 13 outside the temporary holding hole portion 13. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 are temporarily held in a detachable manner by the temporary holding hole portion 13, and the pair of connector holders 10 and 20 can be temporarily held appropriately. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can be properly bundled together by temporarily holding a pair of connector holders 10, 20 together via the temporary holding hole portion 13 and the temporary holding piece portion.

[0052] This improves the mountability of the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 when they are assembled to a vehicle, making it easier to bring multiple connector holders 10, 20 into the vehicle all at once. After the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 are brought into the vehicle, the temporary holding piece portions 23 can be pulled out of the temporary holding hole portions 13, allowing the mutually separated connector holders 10, 20 to be fixed to the respective fixing target portions of the vehicle. As described above, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can improve the convenience of the assembly work into the vehicle.

[0053] Here, in the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above, the distance D1 between the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion 23b and the end face 23ad, the distance D2 between the protruding tip 23ca of the second protrusion 23c and the end face 23ac, and the distance D3 between the parallel faces 13eb and 13fb of the temporary holding hole 13 are set to be equal. This allows the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 to ensure an appropriate holding force while facilitating insertion and removal of the temporary holding piece 23 into and from the temporary holding hole 13. That is, since the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 have the distance D1 and the distance D3 set to be approximately equal, the temporary holding piece 23 can be inserted into the temporary holding hole 13 with a relatively small insertion force. In addition, since the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 are set such that the distance D2 and the distance D3 are set to be substantially equal, the temporary holding piece 23 can be reliably pressed against the inner surface 13e with the second protrusion 23c in contact with the inner surface 13f, and as a result, the first protrusion 23b can be reliably kept engaged with the outer edge surface 13g. Similarly, when the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 pull out the temporary holding piece 23 from the temporary holding hole 13, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can pull out the temporary holding piece 23 from the temporary holding hole 13 with a relatively small pulling force. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can appropriately temporarily hold the temporary holding hole 13 and the temporary holding piece 23 while suppressing a decrease in workability without relying on a structure such as increasing the protrusion amount of the engaging portion to increase the engagement allowance, and thus it is possible to achieve both an appropriate holding force in the temporary holding and ease of attachment and detachment.

[0054] In addition, in the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above, the distance D4 between the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion 23b and the protruding tip 23ca of the second protrusion 23c is set to be greater than 0 and equal to or less than the length L1 of the parallel surfaces 13eb and 13fb of the temporary holding hole 13. This ensures that the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can ensure that the second protrusion 23c is positioned on the parallel surface 13fb and exerts a pressing force toward the inner surface 13e in a state where the first protrusion 23b is reliably positioned outside the temporary holding hole 13 and engaged with the outer edge surface 13g. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can more reliably temporarily hold the temporary holding hole 13 and the temporary holding piece 23, and more reliably hold the pair of connector holders 10 and 20 together.

[0055] Here, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 are set to have the same distance D4 and length L1. This allows the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 to minimize the section in which the temporary holding piece portion 23 bends a part of the temporary holding hole portion 13 when inserting or removing the temporary holding piece portion 23 into or from the temporary holding hole portion 13, thereby minimizing the section requiring a relatively large insertion force or pull-out force. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can easily insert or remove the temporary holding piece portion 23 into or from the temporary holding hole portion 13, more suitably suppressing a decrease in workability, and further improving the ease of attachment and detachment.

[0056] Furthermore, when the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above insert the temporary holding piece 23 into the temporary holding hole 13, the tapered surface 13ea can guide the first protrusion 23b into the inside of the temporary holding hole 13 in accordance with the insertion operation of the temporary holding piece 23, and the tapered surface 13fa can guide the second protrusion 23c into the inside of the temporary holding hole 13. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can smoothly guide the temporary holding piece 23 into the inside of the temporary holding hole 13, which also improves workability.

[0057] In addition, in the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above, the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion 23b and the protruding tip 23ca of the second protrusion 23c are formed in a curved surface shape. This allows the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 to suppress the sliding resistance generated between the first protrusion 23b and the second protrusion 23c and the inner surfaces 13e and 13f when inserting and removing the temporary holding piece 23 into and from the temporary holding hole 13. In addition, in the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20, the protruding tip 23ba of the first protrusion 23b engaged with the outer edge surface 13g is formed in a curved surface shape, so that the engagement can be smoothly released and the temporary holding piece 23 can be pulled out. In this respect, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can improve the workability.

[0058] Further, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 described above are provided with a third protrusion 23d in addition to the first protrusion 23b and the second protrusion 23c on the temporary holding piece 23. This allows the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 to make the third protrusion 23d function as an auxiliary locking portion when the locking by the first protrusion 23b is released, for example, in a state in which the temporary holding piece 23 is inserted into the temporary holding hole 13 and temporarily held. As a result, the connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 can more reliably temporarily hold the temporary holding hole 13 and the temporary holding piece 23, and more reliably keep the pair of connector holders 10, 20 together.

[0059] The connector holder unit and the connector holder according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0060] In the above description, the distances D1, D2, and D3 are set to be approximately equal, and the distance D4 is set to be greater than 0 and equal to or less than the length L1, and here, the description is given assuming that the distances D4 and the length L1 are set to be approximately equal, but this is not limited to the above. The connector holder unit 1 and the connector holder 20 are not limited to the above dimensional relationship as long as the second protrusion 23c abuts against the parallel surface 13fb of the inner surface 13f to press the temporary holding piece portion 23 against the inner surface 13e, and the first protrusion 23b is engaged with the outer edge surface 13g outside the temporary holding hole portion 13, in a state in which the temporary holding piece portion 23 is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion 13.

[0061] In the above description, the temporary holding hole 13 is described as having the tapered surfaces 13ea, 13fa formed thereon, but is not limited thereto.

[0062] In the above description, the temporary holding piece 23 is described as being configured to include the third protrusion 23d, but this is not limiting, and the temporary holding piece 23 may not be provided with the third protrusion 23d.

[0063] In the above description, the target member on which the connector holder 20 is temporarily held is the connector holder 10, but it may be something other than the connector holder 10, such as a protector or other structure.

[0064] The connector holder unit and the connector holder according to this embodiment may be constructed by appropriately combining the components of the embodiments and modified examples described above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1 Connector holder unit 10, 20 Connector holder 11, 21 Main body 13 Temporary holding hole 13a Partition wall 13b Insertion space 13c Insertion opening 13d exposure aperture 13e, 13f inside 13ea Tapered surface (first tapered surface) 13fa Tapered surface (second tapered surface) 13eb, 13fb parallel plane 13g, 13h outer edge surface 23 Temporary holding piece 23a Plate-shaped main body 23aa, 23ab main surface 23ac, 23ad end face 23ae Tip 23af proximal end 23b 1st protrusion 23ba protruding tip 23c 2nd protrusion 23ca protruding tip 23d 3rd protrusion 100 Temporary retention structure C Connector D1, D2, D3, D4 Distance L1 Length W Routing material WH Wire harness X 1st direction (insertion / extraction direction) Y 2nd direction (thickness direction) Z 3rd direction (width direction)

Claims

1. a pair of connector holders each for holding a connector; One of the pair of connector holders has a temporary holding hole portion formed to penetrate along the insertion / removal direction, the other of the pair of connector holders has a temporary holding piece portion that is inserted into the temporary holding hole portion along the insertion / removal direction and is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion in a detachable manner, the temporary holding piece portion includes a plate-shaped main body portion, a first protrusion portion formed to protrude from one end face of the plate-shaped main body portion in a width direction intersecting the insertion / removal direction and the plate thickness direction of the plate-shaped main body portion along the width direction and located on the insertion tip side relative to the temporary holding hole portion, and a second protrusion portion formed to protrude from the other end face of the plate-shaped main body portion along the width direction and located on the insertion base side relative to the temporary holding hole portion, and when the temporary holding piece portion is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion, the second protrusion portion abuts against an inner surface of the other side of the temporary holding hole portion in the width direction to press the temporary holding piece portion against one side in the width direction, and the first protrusion portion is engaged with an outer edge surface of the temporary holding hole portion outside the temporary holding hole portion. Connector holder unit.

2. a distance along the width direction between a protruding tip of the first protrusion and the other end face in the width direction of the plate-shaped main body, a distance along the width direction between a protruding tip of the second protrusion and one end face in the width direction of the plate-shaped main body, and a distance along the width direction between a parallel surface parallel to the insertion / removal direction on an inner surface on one side in the width direction of the temporary holding hole and a parallel surface parallel to the insertion / removal direction on an inner surface on the other side in the width direction of the temporary holding hole and against which the second protrusion abuts when the temporary holding piece portion is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole are set to be equal. The connector holder unit according to claim 1 .

3. a distance between a protruding tip of the first protrusion and a protruding tip of the second protrusion along the insertion / removal direction is set to be greater than 0 and equal to or less than a length along the insertion / removal direction of a parallel surface that is parallel to the insertion / removal direction on an inner surface in the width direction of the temporary holding hole; The connector holder unit according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The temporary holding hole portion includes a first tapered surface formed on an inner surface on one side in the width direction on the insertion opening side into which the temporary holding piece portion can be inserted, and capable of guiding the first protrusion portion into the inside of the temporary holding hole portion as the temporary holding piece portion is inserted, and a second tapered surface formed on an inner surface on the other side in the width direction on the insertion opening side, and capable of guiding the second protrusion portion into the inside of the temporary holding hole portion as the temporary holding piece portion is inserted. The connector holder unit according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The first protrusion and the second protrusion have a curved tip. The connector holder unit according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The temporary holding piece portion includes a third protrusion portion that is formed to protrude from one main surface of the plate-shaped main body portion in the plate thickness direction along the plate thickness direction and is capable of being engaged with an outer edge surface of the temporary holding hole portion. The connector holder unit according to claim 1 or 2.

7. A main body for holding a connector; a temporary holding piece portion formed to protrude from the main body portion, inserted along the insertion / removal direction into a temporary holding hole portion formed to penetrate the target member along the insertion / removal direction, and temporarily held in a detachable manner in the temporary holding hole portion; the temporary holding piece portion includes a plate-shaped main body portion, a first protrusion portion formed to protrude from one end face of the plate-shaped main body portion in a width direction intersecting the insertion / removal direction and the plate thickness direction of the plate-shaped main body portion along the width direction and located on the insertion tip side relative to the temporary holding hole portion, and a second protrusion portion formed to protrude from the other end face of the plate-shaped main body portion along the width direction and located on the insertion base side relative to the temporary holding hole portion, and when the temporary holding piece portion is temporarily held in the temporary holding hole portion, the second protrusion portion abuts against an inner surface of the other side of the temporary holding hole portion in the width direction to press the temporary holding piece portion against one side in the width direction, and the first protrusion portion is engaged with an outer edge surface of the temporary holding hole portion outside the temporary holding hole portion. Connector holder.

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