Mounting structure for connector

Abstract

To provide a mounting structure for a connector which is stably fixed to a case, etc., so as not to be pulled out.SOLUTION: In a mounting structure for a connector, an outer fitting body 4 comprises: a key groove 12 which is continued in a cylinder axis direction; outside retainer insertion grooves 15 and 15 which are formed at both sides of an inner peripheral part holding the key groove 12 therebetween; and a retainer insertion port 16 which communicates with the outside retainer insertion grooves 15 and 15. An inner fitting body 5 comprises: a projection 13 for pressing which is provided while being projected on an outer peripheral surface; and an inside retainer insertion groove 23 which is formed at both sides of an outer peripheral part holding the projection 13 for pressing therebetween. A retainer 17 is inserted from the retainer insertion port 16, insert pieces 17b and 17b are inserted over the inside retainer insertion groove 23 and the outside retainer insertion grooves 15 and 15, and a retainer base part 17a is disposed while being overlapped between the projection 13 for pressing and both side edge parts 16a and 16a of the key groove 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mounting structure of a connector for firmly fixing a module such as an imaging device and a coaxial cable via a connector.

Background Art

[0002] A module such as a camera module for an in-vehicle camera is accommodated in a socket accommodated in a cylindrical inner fitting body integrally projecting from one surface of a case for accommodating the module, and a plug (hereinafter referred to as a jack) accommodated in an outer fitting body attached to the tip of a coaxial cable. A module connector is used, and the inner and outer fitting bodies are fitted to connect the plug and the socket, so that the module and the coaxial cable are connected (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In such a module connector, since the plug and the socket may be detached due to vibration or the like, it is desired to maintain a state in which the plug and the socket are firmly connected.

[0004] On the other hand, as a structure for firmly fixing the connector to the device housing (case) (hereinafter referred to as the connector mounting structure), a structure using a fixture called a retainer to fix the plug to the device housing so as not to be pulled out is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0005] This connector mounting structure includes inner retainer insertion grooves provided on both sides of the resin housing (hereinafter referred to as the inner fitting body) in which the plug is accommodated, sandwiching the central axis, and a portion of the device housing into which the inner fitting body is inserted (hereinafter referred to as the outer fitting body). The outer retainer insertion groove provided on the inner side of the outer fitting body is abutted against each other, and the insertion piece of the retainer is inserted across the inner and outer retainer insertion grooves, and when a force acts in a direction to pull out the plug from the device housing, the retainer (insertion piece) opposes by the shear strength, and the connector is fixed to the device housing so as not to be pulled out.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-098069 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-019116 [Summary of the Invention] [Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

[0007] However, in the conventional technology as described above, when the insertion piece of the retainer is inserted obliquely into either the inner or outer retainer insertion groove due to the shallow insertion position of the retainer or the like, or when there is a possibility of moving between the inner and outer retainer insertion grooves, the area of the overlapping portion between the insertion piece and either the inner or outer retainer insertion groove becomes small, the shear strength of the retainer (insertion piece) does not function sufficiently, and there is a possibility that a stable fixed state cannot be ensured.

[0008] Therefore, in view of such conventional problems, the present invention has been made for the purpose of providing a mounting structure for a connector that stably fixes a case or the like so as not to be removable. [Means for Solving the Problems]

[0009] The feature of the invention according to claim 1 for solving the above-described conventional problems is that in a connector mounting structure for fixing a connector in which an inner fitting and an outer fitting are fitted and a plug disposed on either the inner fitting or the outer fitting and a socket disposed on the other are connected so as not to come out in the fitting direction, the outer fitting is provided with a key groove continuous in the cylinder axis direction on the inner peripheral surface, outer retainer insertion grooves formed on both sides sandwiching the key groove in the inner peripheral portion, and a retainer insertion port communicating with the outer retainer insertion groove, the inner fitting is provided with a pressing convex portion inserted into the key groove protruding from the outer peripheral surface, and inner retainer insertion grooves formed on both sides sandwiching the pressing convex portion in the outer peripheral portion, and a retainer having a pair of insertion pieces supported at both ends of a retainer base is inserted from the retainer insertion port, the insertion pieces are inserted across the inner retainer insertion groove and the outer retainer insertion groove, and the retainer base is arranged to overlap between the pressing convex portion and both side edge portions of the key groove.

[0010] The feature of the invention according to claim 2 is that, in addition to the configuration of claim 1, the pressing convex portion is continuous up to the upper end of the inner fitting.

[0011] The feature of the invention according to claim 3 is that, in addition to the configuration of claim 1 or 2, the inner fitting is integrally projected on one surface of a box-shaped housing.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] The connector mounting structure according to the present invention, by having the configuration according to claim 1, since the retainer base is always arranged to overlap between the pressing convex portion and both side edge portions of the key groove, even when the insertion position of the retainer is shallow or the like, the retainer always functions as a shear key and a stable fixed state can be maintained.

[0013] Further, in the present invention, by having the configuration according to claim 2, the guidance at the time of connecting both connectors becomes easy.

[0014] Furthermore, in the present invention, by providing the configuration according to claim 3, a stable fixed state can be maintained even when a jack is connected outside the case.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Next, embodiments of the connector mounting structure according to the present invention will be described based on the examples shown in FIGS. 1 to 12.

[0017] In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the case of connecting a module such as a camera module and a jack attached to the tip of a coaxial cable will be described as an example. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes the rear case of the module, and reference numeral 2 denotes a jack attached to the tip of the coaxial cable 3.

[0018] The attachment structure of this connector includes an outer fitting body 4 provided on the jack 2 side and an inner fitting body 5 provided on the rear case 1 side. A plug 6 disposed in the inner fitting body 5 and a socket 7 disposed in the outer fitting body 4 are connected to each other by fitting the outer fitting body 4 and the inner fitting body 5, and the outer fitting body 4 and the inner fitting body 5 are attached by a retainer 17 so as not to come out.

[0019] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the jack 2 includes a socket 7 attached to the tip of the coaxial cable 3 and an external cover 8 made of insulating resin for holding the socket 7. The socket 7 attached to the tip of the coaxial cable 3 is integrated with the external cover 8 by molding, and the tip of the socket 7 protrudes into a cylindrical outer fitting body 4 protruding from one surface of the external cover 8.

[0020] The form of the socket 7 is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(a), it includes a cylindrical shell 9 made of conductive metal, an insulator 10 made of insulating resin housed in the shell 9, and a center contact 11 held by the insulator 10 and coaxially arranged inside the shell 9. The center conductor of the coaxial cable 3 is connected to the center contact 11, and the outer conductor is connected to the shell 9 and held in that state.

[0021] The external cover 8 includes a cover main body 8a in which the base end side of the socket 7 and the tip of the coaxial cable 3 connected to the socket 7 are embedded, and a cylindrical outer fitting body 4 integrally protruding from the lower surface of the cover main body 8a. The tip side of the socket 7 protrudes from the center of the outer fitting body 4.

[0022] The outer fitting 4 is provided with a key groove 12 that is continuous in the cylinder axis direction and opens to the inner peripheral side and the lower surface (opposite end face) at a predetermined position on the inner peripheral surface. A pressing convex portion 13 that also serves as a guide key protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the inner fitting 5 is inserted into the key groove 12, and the outer fitting 4 and the inner fitting 5 are positioned in the circumferential direction with respect to each other. Incidentally, the triangular mark 14 formed on the upper surface of the external cover 8 is a marker indicating the position of the key groove 12.

[0023] Further, the outer fitting 4 is provided with outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15 formed on both sides sandwiching the key groove 12 in the inner peripheral portion, and a lateral slit-shaped retainer insertion opening 16 that opens on the outer peripheral surface of the outer fitting 4 and communicates with the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15, and the retainer 17 can be inserted through the retainer insertion opening 16.

[0024] The outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15 are formed in a groove shape in which flat pressing surfaces 15a, 15a facing each other with a vertical interval are continuous with the retainer insertion opening 16, and the retainer 17 is inserted between the upper and lower pressing surfaces 15a, 15a.

[0025] The retainer insertion opening 16 is formed in a lateral slit shape that divides the key groove 12 in the continuous direction, and contact portions 16a, 16a are formed at the side edge portions sandwiching the key groove 12 in the vertical direction on the inner surface portions facing each other vertically in the thick portion of the outer fitting 4.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the rear case 1 has a cylindrical inner fitting 5 integrally protruding from the upper surface portion of a box-shaped housing 1a, and a plug 6 is accommodated in the inner fitting 5 with its tip protruding.

[0027] The plug 6 is adapted to the socket 7 to be connected. As shown in FIG. 7, it includes a pin-shaped central contact 20 made of a conductive metal material, an insulator 21 made of an insulating resin that holds the central contact 20, and a cylindrical shell 22 made of a conductive metal material that houses the insulator 21 holding the central contact 20. When the inner fitting 5 and the outer fitting 4 are fitted together, the shell 9 on the socket 7 side is fitted outside the shell 22 on the plug 6 side, and the pin-shaped central contact 20 is inserted into and connected to the central contact 11 on the socket 7 side.

[0028] The inner fitting 5 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter substantially the same as the inner diameter of the outer fitting 4, and includes a pressing convex portion 13 protruding from the outer peripheral surface and inner retainer insertion grooves 23 formed on both sides sandwiching the pressing convex portion 13 on the outer peripheral portion. The pressing convex portion 13 is inserted into the key groove 12 of the outer fitting 4 and fitted inside the outer fitting 4.

[0029] The pressing convex portion 13 is arranged such that the lower end is at a predetermined height position, that is, when the inner and outer fittings 5 and 4 are fitted, the lower end is at the same height as the upper edge position of the retainer insertion opening 16. The upper end is formed in a rectangular protruding strip shape continuous to the upper end of the inner fitting 5, is inserted into the key groove 12 of the outer fitting 4, and also functions as a guide key. Note that the upper end of the pressing convex portion 13 does not necessarily have to be continuous to the upper end of the inner fitting 5.

[0030] The inner retainer insertion grooves 23 are arranged on the lower side of the pressing convex portion 13, that is, on the case body side, such that the lower end of the pressing convex portion 13 and the inner upper surface of the inner retainer insertion grooves 23 are located on the same plane. They are continuous at a predetermined depth over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral surface of the inner fitting 5, and retainers 17 can be inserted on both sides sandwiching the pressing convex portion 13.

[0031] In these inner retainer insertion grooves 23, pressing surfaces 23a, 23a facing each other in the vertical (axial) direction are formed, and the distance between both pressing surfaces 23a, 23a is the same as the distance between the upper and lower pressing surfaces 15a, 15a of the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15.

[0032] Further, this inner retainer insertion groove 23 is arranged such that when the inner and outer fitting bodies 5 and 4 are fitted together and the upper surface of the inner fitting body 5 abuts against the inner upper surface (lower surface of the cover main body portion 8a) of the outer fitting body 4, it is at the same height as the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15 and the retainer insertion port 16. The inner retainer insertion groove 23 and the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15 are adjacent to each other to form a single groove continuous with the retainer insertion port 16, and the retainer 17 is inserted between the upper and lower pressing surfaces.

[0033] In addition, in this embodiment, although an example in which the inner retainer insertion groove 23 is continuous over the entire circumference of the inner peripheral surface of the inner fitting body 5 has been described, a pair of inner retainer insertion grooves 23, 23 formed in an arc groove shape may be provided symmetrically with the pressing convex portion 13 interposed therebetween.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 9, the retainer 17 is formed in a horseshoe shape in plan view in which a pair of insertion pieces 17b, 17b are supported at both ends of a retainer base portion 17a by punching a metal plate material having elasticity.

[0035] The insertion pieces 17b, 17b are formed in an arc shape having a radial width wider than the width of the inner retainer insertion groove 23 and narrower than the width of the groove formed by the inner and outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15, and are inserted from the retainer insertion port 16 and straddle the inner retainer insertion groove 23 and the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15.

[0036] The retainer base portion 17a is formed narrower than the radial width of the insertion pieces 17b, 17b, and both insertion pieces 17b, 17b can bend in a direction away from each other and can be expanded and fitted with the inner retainer insertion groove 23 of the inner fitting body 5.

[0037] In the connector mounting structure configured as described above, after fitting the inner and outer fitting members 5 and 4, when the retainer 17 is inserted through the retainer insertion opening 16, in the normal case, as shown in Fig. 10(a), both insertion pieces 17b, 17b of the retainer 17 are inserted straddling the inner retainer insertion groove 23 and the outer retainer insertion grooves 15, 15, and the retainer base 17a is overlapped and disposed between the pressing convex portion 13 and both side edge portions of the key groove 12. In this state, the retainer 17 functions as a shear key and the inner and outer fitting members 5 and 4 are fitted in a non-removable manner, and the plug 6 and the socket 7 are maintained in a connected state.

[0038] On the other hand, even when the insertion position of the retainer 17 becomes shallow due to insufficient insertion of the retainer 17 or vibration or the like, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the retainer base 17a is always overlapped and disposed between the pressing convex portion 13 and both side edge portions (contact portions) 16a, 16a of the key groove 12. Therefore, the retainer 17 functions as a shear key and the inner and outer fitting members 5 and 4 are fitted in a non-removable manner, and the plug 6 and the socket 7 are maintained in a connected state.

[0039] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the socket 7 is disposed on the jack 2 (outer fitting member 4) side and the plug 6 is disposed on the case (inner fitting member 5) side has been described. However, the plug 6 may be disposed on the jack 2 side and the socket 7 may be disposed on the case side.

[0040] In the above-described embodiment, the case where a coaxial connector is used as the connector has been described. However, the form of the connector is not limited to this, and for example, a multi-pole connector may be used.

[0041] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where it is applied to the connection between the jack 2 and the rear case 1 has been described. However, the connector mounting structure of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it can also be applied to any connector that is connected by fitting the outer fitting member 4 and the inner fitting member 5.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0042] 1 Rear case 2 Jacks 3 Coaxial Cables 4 Outer Chimera 5 Inner Chimera 6 Plug 7 Socket 8 Outer Cover 9 Shell 10 Insulator 11 Center Contact 12 Keyway 13 Holding Protrusion 14 Marker 15 Outer Retainer Insertion Groove 16 Retainer Insertion Opening 17 Retainer 20 Center Contact 21 Insulator 22 Shell 23 Inner Retainer Insertion Groove

Claims

1. In a mounting structure of a connector for fixing a connector in which an inner fitting and an outer fitting are fitted together and a plug disposed on either the inner fitting or the outer fitting and a socket disposed on the other are connected so as to be non-removable in the fitting direction, the outer fitting is provided with a key groove continuous in the cylinder axis direction on the inner peripheral surface, outer retainer insertion grooves formed on both sides sandwiching the key groove in the inner peripheral portion, and a retainer insertion port communicating with the outer retainer insertion groove, the inner fitting is provided with a pressing convex portion inserted into the key groove protruding from the outer peripheral surface, and inner retainer insertion grooves formed on both sides sandwiching the pressing convex portion in the outer peripheral portion, a retainer having a pair of insertion pieces supported at both ends of a retainer base is inserted from the retainer insertion port, the insertion pieces are inserted across the inner retainer insertion groove and the outer retainer insertion groove, and the retainer base is arranged to overlap between the pressing convex portion and both side edge portions of the key groove. A mounting structure of a connector characterized by that.

2. The mounting structure of the connector according to claim 1, wherein the pressing convex portion is continuous up to the upper end of the inner fitting.

3. The mounting structure of the connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the inner fitting projects integrally from a box-shaped housing.

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