Connector with a wire cover for altering a pull-out direction of wires

• US 7,507,108 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Tsuji, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; T C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel; Harshad C
• Application Number:
  US11/891,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20080188120A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 439/446, 439/470, 439/465, 439/8, 439/14, 439/731, 439/711
• US Class Current: 439/446
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/5841 allowing different orientations of the cable with respect to the coupling direction

Abstract

A connector has a housing (10) accommodating terminal fittings connected with wires (W). A fixed cover (21) is mounted on the housing (10) and surrounds the wires (W) pulled out of the housing (10) and a movable cover (22) is mounted on an end of the fixed cover (21) opposite the end that is mounted on the housing (10). The fixed cover (21) has a receiving part (24) with a spherical peripheral surface (36). The movable cover (22) has a rotation-holding part (38) fit on an outer side of the receiving part (24). The rotation-holding part (38) is rotatable relative to the receiving part (24) about an axis of the housing (10) and about a rotational axis orthogonal to the axis of the housing (10).

Claims

1. A connector having a housing for accommodating terminal fittings connected with wires;

and a cover mounted on the housing for surrounding the wires pulled out of the housing, comprising;

a receiving part provided on one of the housing and the cover and including a substantially spherically generated peripheral surface; and

a rotation-holding part on the other of the housing and the cover, the rotation-holding part having a plurality of cantilevers separated from one another by a corresponding plurality of cut-outs, the cantilevers being fit on said receiving part from an outer side thereof so that said rotation-holding part is rotatable relative to the receiving part about an axis of said housing and is pivotal about axes orthogonal to the axis of the housing at least in directions that include the cut-outs.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with the receiving part, and the cover is provided with the rotation-holding part.

3. The connector of claim 1, wherein the cover is constructed of two cover halves divided along a plane that includes the axis of the housing;

and one of the cantilevers is provided on each of the cover halves.

6. The connector of claim 1, wherein the rotation-holding part has a symmetrical configuration with the cut-outs disposed at two positions spaced at an angular interval of 180 degrees.

7. The connector of claim 1, wherein one of the housing and the cover is provided with a stop for preventing pivoting of the cover before a gap is generated between the rotation-holding part and the receiving part when the cover is pivoted relative to the housing about at least one of the axes orthogonal to the axis of the housing.

8. The connector of claim 1, wherein the cover is divided along a plane that includes the axis of the housing and is defined by two substantially identical cover halves.

4. A connector comprises:

a housing for accommodating terminal fittings connected with wires;

a fixed cover having opposite front and rear ends and a longitudinal axis extending between the ends, the front end of the fixed cover being fixedly mounted on the housing, and a receiving g part formed on the rear end of the fixed cover, the receiving part having a substantially spherically generated outer peripheral surface;

a movable cover having two opposed cantilevers separated from one another by two opposed cut-outs, the cantilevers being mounted on the spherically generated peripheral surface of the receiving part of the fixed cover so that the movable cover is rotatably on the spherically generated peripheral surface of the receiving part about the longitudinal axis and so that the movable cover is pivotal relative to the fixed cover about axes substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

5. The connector of claim 4, wherein the fixed cover has a corrugate-holding portion surrounding the wires pulled out from the movable cover, the corrugate-holding portion being configured for holding an end of a flexible corrugate tube.