Connector attachment structure

Abstract

To make possible to achieve both protection of wiring and suppression of a decrease in workability of attaching and detaching a connector.SOLUTION: In a connector attachment structure, a connector that is attached to a tip end of a wiring and connects an electric device and the wiring is detachably attached to a case that accommodates the electric device. The case has a connector fitting part that is connected to the electric device at an edge part of an upper surface and to which the connector is fitted, and the connector includes: a contact that is attached to a connector fitting part; a housing into which the contact is incorporated; and a connector shell that houses at least a part of the contact and the housing. The connector shell is formed in a hook shape having an extending part extending outward from an upper side of the edge part of an upper surface of the case in a state where the connector is attached to the case; and a bent part bent downward from the extending part toward the outer side of the case. The wiring extends downward from a lower end of the bent part, and the contact protrudes from a lower surface of the extending part and fits into the connector fitting part from above.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a connector mounting structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a connector mounting structure of this type, a structure has been proposed in which a connector is accommodated in a connector accommodation portion provided on the outside of a case (main body) that accommodates an electrical device (rotating electric machine) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this structure, a flat connector cover is fixed to the connector accommodation portion. The connector cover includes a lid portion and an inclined portion. The lid portion covers the opening of the connector accommodation portion and is fixed to the upper end surface of the connector accommodation portion with bolts. The inclined portion inclines downward from the front end surface of the lid portion. The inclined portion can change the direction of movement of another component when a large impact from the front causes the component to move from the front. This suppresses deformation and damage to the lid portion and the connector accommodation portion, thereby protecting the connector. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-38920 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described connector mounting structure, when a connector is used to connect an electrical device to wiring, a frontal impact can cause problems such as deformation or damage to the wiring. One possible method for protecting such wiring is to place the connector behind the case so that the case can absorb the load of a frontal impact. However, with this method, the case is located in front of the connector, which can become an obstacle when connecting or disconnecting the connector, reducing workability.

[0005] The connector mounting structure of the present disclosure has a primary object to achieve both protection of wiring and suppression of deterioration in the workability of attaching and detaching the connector. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The connector mounting structure of the present disclosure employs the following means to achieve the above-mentioned main object.

[0007] The connector mounting structure of the present disclosure comprises: A connector mounting structure in which a connector attached to an end of a wiring and connecting the electrical device and the wiring is detachably mounted to a case that accommodates the electrical device, The case is A connector fitting portion is provided on the edge of the top surface to be connected to the electrical device and into which the connector fits. and The connector comprises: a contact attached to the connector fitting portion; a housing in which the contacts are incorporated; a connector shell that accommodates at least a portion of the contacts and the housing; and the connector shell is formed in a hook shape having an extension portion that extends outward from above the edge of the top surface of the case when the connector is attached to the case, and a bent portion that bends downward from the extension portion to the outside of the case, the wiring extends downward from a lower end of the bent portion, The contacts protrude from the lower surface of the extension portion and fit into the connector fitting portion from above. The gist of this is as follows.

[0008] In the connector mounting structure disclosed herein, the case has a connector mating portion on the edge of its upper surface that is connected to an electrical device and into which the connector is mated. The connector includes contacts that are attached to the connector mating portion, a housing into which the contacts are incorporated, and a connector shell that accommodates at least a portion of the contacts and the housing. The connector shell is formed in a hook shape, having an extension portion that extends outward from above the edge of the upper surface of the case when the connector is attached to the case, and a bent portion that bends downward from the extension portion to the outside of the case. The wiring extends downward from the lower end of the bent portion. This allows the extension portion of the connector shell to withstand loads from the bent portion in the opposite direction to the case. This protects the wiring. Furthermore, the contacts protrude from the underside of the extension portion and are mated from above into the connector mating portion. This prevents a decrease in the ease of attaching and detaching the connector. As a result, it is possible to achieve both protection of the wiring and prevention of a decrease in the ease of attaching and detaching the connector.

[0009] The connector mounting structure of the present disclosure may be mounted on a vehicle having an on-board charger capable of charging an on-board battery with external power, the on-board charger being attached to the top surface of the case, and the connector may be positioned so that its rear end substantially coincides with the rear end of the on-board charger in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. This allows the load from the rear of the vehicle to be distributed between the connector and the on-board charger, thereby reducing the load on the connector and protecting the connector.

[0010] In the connector mounting structure of the present disclosure, the connector may be disposed in a storage compartment separated from the rear passenger compartment by a partition wall. In this way, even if a load from the rear causes the partition wall to move toward the connector, the connector shell can receive the partition wall. This protects the wiring and the housing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic side view showing an outline of the appearance of an in-vehicle device 10 mounted on a vehicle using a connector mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from the side (vehicle width direction (left and right direction)). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the state of the in-vehicle device 10 as viewed from above. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of a connector mounting structure according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams for explaining a connector mounting structure according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the direction of a load applied to the connectors 30, 40, the on-board charger 56, and the hydraulic device 58 when a load such as an impact is applied from the front of the vehicle. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an outline of the appearance of an on-vehicle device 10 mounted on a vehicle using a connector mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from the side (vehicle width direction (left and right)). FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the on-vehicle device 10 viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of the connector mounting structure according to the embodiment. In FIG. 3, an on-vehicle charger 56 and a hydraulic device 58 are omitted from illustration to facilitate explanation. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the connector mounting structure according to the embodiment. Note that the height (up and down) direction, front and rear direction, and vehicle width (left and right) direction when the connector mounting structure according to the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle are as shown in the respective drawings. An example of a vehicle in which the connector mounting structure of the embodiment can be used is an electric vehicle that includes a motor for driving, an inverter that drives the motor, a battery (on-board battery) that exchanges power with the motor via the inverter, an on-board charger 56 that can charge the battery with power from outside the vehicle, and a hydraulic device 58 that supplies hydraulic pressure to a brake device that applies braking force to the vehicle.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the on-board device 10 is secured in a motor compartment (storage compartment) separated from the passenger compartment by a dash panel (partition plate) 12 at the front of the vehicle, with a motor and inverter (not shown) housed inside a case 20 as electrical equipment. The case 20 is provided at its upper edge with a connector fitting portion 20a to which a connector 30 is detachably attached and which is connected to the U-phase to W-phase lines of the inverter, and a connector fitting portion 20b (not shown) to which a connector 40 is detachably attached and which is connected to the inverter's power line. An upper cover 50 is attached to the upper surface of the case 20. An on-board charger 56 is attached to the upper cover 50 by a plurality of brackets 52. A hydraulic device 58 is disposed behind the connectors 30, 40 and the on-board charger 56.

[0014] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the connector 30 connects the wiring Wu, Wv, and Ww configured as a wire harness connected to the U-, V-, and W-phase coils of the motor inside the case 20 to the inverter inside the case 20. The connector 30 includes contacts 32 attached to the connector fitting portion 20a, a housing 34 into which the contacts 32 are incorporated, and a connector shell 36 that accommodates a portion of the contacts 32 and the housing 34. The connector shell 36 is formed into a hook shape as a whole, having an extension portion 36a extending outward from the rear edge of the upper surface of the case 20 and a bent portion 36b that bends downward from the extension portion 36a to the outside of the rear of the case 20. The wiring Wu, Wv, and Ww extend downward from the lower end of the bent portion 36b. The contacts 32 protrude from the lower surface of the extension portion 36a and are fitted into the connector fitting portion 20a from above. Therefore, when attaching or detaching the connector 30, the contacts 32 are fitted and attached to the connector fitting portion 20a by moving the connector 30 downward from above the connector fitting portion 20a, and the contacts 32 are disengaged from the connector fitting portion 20a by moving the connector 30 upward. This prevents a decrease in the ease of attaching or detaching the connector 30 compared to when the connector is moved in the front-to-rear direction, even in a motor room where the front-to-rear direction is longer than the left-to-right direction. The connector 30 is positioned so that its rear end is approximately aligned with the rear end of the on-board charger 56.

[0015] The connector 40 is connected to wires Wp and Wn configured as a wire harness that is connected to power lines (positive line and negative line) from a battery. Similar to the connector 30, the connector 40 includes contacts 42 (not shown) attached to corresponding connector fitting portions 20b (not shown), a housing 44 (not shown) into which the contacts 42 are incorporated, and a connector shell 46 that accommodates a portion of the contacts 42 and the housing 44. The connector shell 46 is formed into a hook shape overall, with an extending portion 46a and a bending portion 46b having configurations similar to the extending portion 36a and bending portion 36b of the connector shell 36. The wires Wp and Wn extend downward from the lower end of the bending portion 46b. Although not shown, the contacts 42 protrude from the underside of the extending portion 46a and are fitted into the connector fitting portion 20b of the case 20 from above. Therefore, when attaching or detaching the connector 40, the contacts 42 can be fitted into the connector fitting portion 20b by moving the connector 40 downward from above the connector fitting portion 20b, and can be removed by moving the connector 40 upward to release the contacts 42 from the connector fitting portion 20b. This prevents a decrease in the ease of attaching or detaching the connector 40, even in a motor room that is relatively long in the front-to-rear direction. The connector 40 is positioned so that the rear end thereof is substantially aligned with the rear end of the on-board charger 56.

[0016] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the direction of a load applied to the connectors 30, 40, the on-board charger 56, and the hydraulic device 58 when a load such as an impact is applied from the front of the vehicle. In FIG. 5, the open arrows indicate the direction of the load. When a load is applied from the front of the vehicle, the case 20, the connectors 30, 40, the on-board charger 56, and the hydraulic device 58 move rearward as a whole, causing the hydraulic device 58 to hit the dash panel 12. When the hydraulic device 58 hits the dash panel 12, a reaction force from the dash panel 12 applies a forward load to the hydraulic device 58. In this embodiment, the rear ends of the connectors 30, 40 and the on-board charger 56 are approximately aligned. This allows the forward load from the hydraulic device 58 to be distributed between the connectors 30, 40 and the on-board charger 56, thereby reducing the load applied to the connectors 30, 40. This protects the connectors 30, 40. At this time, the connectors 30, 40 receive the load from behind at the bent portions 46b of the connector shells 36, 46, so that the wires Wu, Wv, Ww, Wp, Wn and the housings 34, 44 can be protected.

[0017] According to the connector mounting structure of this embodiment described above, the connector 30 includes contacts 32, 42 attached to the connector fitting portions 20a, 20b, housings 34, 44 into which the contacts 32, 42 are assembled, and connector shells 36, 46 that accommodate a portion of the contacts 32, 42 and the housings 34, 44. The connector shells 36, 46 include extensions 36a, 36a extending outward from the rear edge of the top surface of the case 20, and extensions 36a, 4 The connector 30, 40 is formed into a hook shape overall, with bending portions 36b, 46b bending downward from the lower ends of bending portions 36b, 46b at the rear outside of the case 20, and the wiring Wu, Wv, Ww, Wp, Wn extend downward from the lower ends of bending portions 36b, 46b, and the contacts 32, 42 protrude from the lower surfaces of the extension portions 36a, 46a and fit into the connector fitting portion 20a from above, thereby achieving both protection of the wiring Wu, Wv, Ww, Wp, Wn and preventing a decrease in the ease of attaching and detaching the connectors 30, 40.

[0018] In addition, the connector mounting structure of this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle having an on-board charger 56 that can charge the on-board battery using external power, and the on-board charger 56 is attached to the upper surface of the case 20, and the connectors 30, 40 are positioned so that their rear end positions in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle approximately coincide with the rear end position of the on-board charger 56, thereby protecting the connectors 30, 40.

[0019] Furthermore, since the connectors 30, 40 are disposed in the motor compartment separated from the rear passenger compartment by the dash panel 12, the wiring Wu, Wv, Ww, Wp, Wn and the housings 34, 44 can be protected.

[0020] In the above-described embodiment, the hydraulic device 58 is disposed behind the connectors 30, 40 and the on-board charger 56. However, the hydraulic device 58 does not have to be disposed behind the connectors 30, 40 and the on-board charger 56. In this case, the rear surfaces of the bent portions 36b, 46b of the connectors 30, 40 may be attached to the dash panel 12.

[0021] In the above-described embodiment, the on-board charger 56 is attached to the upper cover 50. However, the on-board charger 56 does not have to be attached to the upper cover 50.

[0022] In the above-described embodiment, the connector mounting structure of the present disclosure is applied to a vehicle. However, the connector mounting structure of the present disclosure is not limited to applications in vehicles, and may be applied to any connector mounting structure in which a connector attached to the end of a wire that connects the electrical device to the wire is detachably attached to a case that houses the electrical device.

[0023] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problems" section will be described below. In the embodiment, the case 20 corresponds to the "case," the connector 30 corresponds to the "connector," the contacts 32 correspond to the "contacts," the housing 34 corresponds to the "housing," the extending portion 36a corresponds to the "extending portion," the bent portion 36b corresponds to the "bent portion," the connector shell 36 corresponds to the "connector shell," the wiring Wu corresponds to the "wiring," and the connector fitting portion 20a corresponds to the "connector fitting portion."

[0024] The correspondence between the main elements of the embodiments and the main elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section does not limit the elements of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section, since the embodiments are examples for specifically explaining the mode for implementing the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section. In other words, the interpretation of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section should be based on the description in that section, and the embodiments are merely specific examples of the invention described in the "Means for Solving the Problem" section.

[0025] The above describes the forms for implementing the present disclosure using embodiments, but the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments in any way, and it goes without saying that the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0026] The present disclosure is applicable to industries such as the manufacturing of devices that incorporate connector mounting structures. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10 Vehicle-mounted device, 12 Dash panel, 20 Case, 20a, 20b Connector mating portion, 30, 40 Connector, 32, 42 Contact, 34, 44 Housing, 36, 46 Connector shell, 36a, 46a Extension portion, 36b, 46b Bending portion, 50 Upper cover, 52 Bracket, 56 Vehicle-mounted charger, 58 Hydraulic device, Wn, Wp, Wu, Wv, Ww Wiring.

Claims

1. A connector mounting structure in which a connector attached to an end of a wiring and connecting the electrical device and the wiring is detachably mounted to a case that accommodates the electrical device, The case is A connector fitting portion is provided on the edge of the top surface to be connected to the electrical device and into which the connector fits. and The connector comprises: a contact attached to the connector fitting portion; a housing in which the contacts are incorporated; a hook-shaped connector shell having an extension portion extending outward from the edge portion of the top surface of the case and a bent portion bending downward from the extension portion to the outside of the case, the connector shell accommodating at least a portion of the contacts and the housing; and the wiring extends downward from a lower end of the bent portion, The contacts protrude from the lower surface of the extension portion and fit into the connector fitting portion from above. Connector mounting structure.

2. 2. The connector mounting structure according to claim 1, The vehicle is equipped with an on-board charger capable of charging the on-board battery with external power, the on-board charger is attached to the top surface of the case; The connector is disposed so that a rear end position thereof substantially coincides with a rear end position of the on-board charger in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Connector mounting structure.

3. 2. The connector mounting structure according to claim 1, The connector is located in a storage compartment separated from the rear passenger compartment by a bulkhead. Connector mounting structure.

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