Description:DESCRIPTION
Technical Field
[001] This disclosure relates generally to adaptors, and more particular to adaptors for mounting a connector, and specifically a wiring harness connector, on a frame of a vehicle.

BACKGROUND
[002] In conventional vehicles, plastic frames are used for mounting connectors. The connectors (also referred to as inline connectors) are used in different wiring harnesses of the vehicle, for example, wiring harnesses associated with cockpit to door, or cockpit to vehicle front wiring harness. There is a limited space available on the frame for parking these inline connectors. For example, the space on the frame may be restricted to mounting at most four to five inline connectors.
[003] However, due to additional features in the latest vehicles, the number of electric wires and wiring harnesses has increased manifold. As such, additional inline connectors are required. However, the existing frames are already space-constrained, and as such there is limited or no space available on the frames for accommodating the additional inline connectors.
[004] There is, therefore, a need for a solution that allows for mounting additional wiring harnesses or other equipment of the vehicle on the existing frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[005] In an embodiment, an adaptor for mounting a connector on a frame is disclosed. The adaptor may include a body defining a top side, a bottom side, a left side, and a right side. The adaptor may further include a recess formed on the bottom side of the body running along a length of the bottom side. The adaptor may be configured to be mounted on the frame by slidably engaging the recess with a corresponding slot associated with the frame. The adaptor may further include a left-side slot formed on the left side of the body running along a length of the left side and a right-side slot formed on the right side of the body running along a length of the right side. Each of the left-side slot and the right-side slot may be configured to slidably engage with a flange associated with the connector. The adaptor may further include a groove formed on the top side of the body running along a length of the top side. The top side may abut with a bottom surface associated with the connector.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[006] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles.
[007] FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of an adaptor, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[008] FIG. 1B illustrates another perspective view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[009] FIG. 1C illustrates yet another perspective view (upside down) of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[010] FIG. 1D illustrates a bottom view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[011] FIG. 1E illustrates a front view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[012] FIG. 1F illustrates a top view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[013] FIG. 1G illustrates a left-side view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[014] FIG. 1H illustrates a right-side view of the adaptor of FIG. 1, in accordance with some embodiments.
[015] FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of an assembly of a connector, a frame, and the adaptor, in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[016] Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Wherever convenient, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. While examples and features of disclosed principles are described herein, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the following detailed description be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. Additional illustrative embodiments are listed below.
[017] An adaptor for mounting a connector, for example a wiring harness connector, onto a frame is disclosed. The adaptor includes its own parking arrangement that can fit or mount onto an existing plastic frame. The adaptor further includes parking arrangement that can receive and fit onto it an inline connector. To this end, the adapter includes a recess at the bottom of the adaptor that enables mounting of the adapter on the parking frame. The adaptor further includes slots on side surfaces (i.e. left-side surface and right-side surface) of the adapter to receive the corresponding flanges of the connector for snap fitting the connector on the adapter. Further, the adaptor may include a groove having a stopper. The groove and the stopper may be provided on the top-side of the adapter for mounting and fixing the inline connector on the adapter.
[018] The groove along the stopper enables locking of the connector with the adaptor. Once the connector is locked, the reverse travel of the connector is restricted. The side slots define a path for the connector to slidably travel relative to the adaptor. Further, the side slots may include slot-stoppers. The slot-stoppers restrict the travel of the connector beyond a certain predefined distance, thereby preventing the connector from falling off the adaptor. The bottom side may include a recess with a recess-stopper. The recess defines a path for the adaptor to travel relative to the frame. The recess-stopper locks the movement of the adaptor relative to the frame, thereby fixing the position of the recess with respect to the frame and preventing the adaptor from falling of the adaptor.
[019] Referring now to FIGs. 1A-1H, various views of an adaptor 100 are illustrated, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1B illustrates another perspective view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1C illustrates a yet another perspective view (upside down) of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1D illustrates a bottom view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1E illustrates a front view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1F illustrates a top view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1G illustrates a left-side view of the adaptor 100. FIG. 1H illustrates a right-side view of the adaptor 100.
[020] As shown in FIG. 1A, the adaptor 100 includes a body 102 which may be made from a rigid material, such as a plastic, a metal, an alloy, or a composite material. As shown in FIG. 1, the body 102 may have a substantially cubical or a cuboidal shape, thereby defining a top side 102A, a bottom side 102B, a left side 102C, and a right side 102D. The top side 102A may be facing opposite to the bottom side 102B, and the left side 102C may be facing opposite to the right side 102D. In other words, the body 102 may define a top-side plane, a bottom-side plane, a left-side plane, a right-side plane.
[021] The adaptor 100 may further include a recess 104 formed on the bottom side 102B of the body 102. The recess 104 may run along a length of the bottom side 102B, i.e. along the entire length of the bottom side 102B. Alternately, the recess 104 may run along a portion of the length of the bottom side 102B. The adaptor 100 may be configured to be mounted on a frame (not shown in FIG. 1; refer, FIG. 2) by slidably engaging the recess 104 with a corresponding slot associated with the frame.
[022] Referring now to FIG. 2, a perspective view of an assembly of a connector 202, a frame 204, and the adaptor 100 is illustrated, in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 2, the adaptor 100 is mounted onto the frame 204, i.e. engaged with the frame 204. Further, the connector 202 is mounted onto the adaptor 100, i.e. engaged with the adaptor 100. In other words, the connector 202 is mounted onto the frame 204, via the adaptor 100. The frame 204, for example, may be associated with a dashboard of a vehicle. The connector 202 may be a wiring harness connector, for example, a cockpit wiring harness, etc.
[023] As mentioned above, additional number of inline connectors may be required in the vehicles to accommodate the large number of wiring harnesses. However, the existing frames may be space-constrained, and as such one or more adaptors 100 may be used that allow for mounting additional wiring harnesses or other equipment of the vehicle on the existing frame.
[024] To this end, the adaptor 100 may be mounted on the frame 204, and the connector 202 (also referred to as inline connector in this disclosure) may be coupled to the adaptor 100, to thereby mount the connector 202 on the frame 204. The adaptor 100 may be configured to removably coupled with the frame 204, and therefore, it may be possible to replace the adaptors 100 based on the connector 202 configuration. Further, the adaptor 100 may allow the connector 202 to be removably coupled to the adaptor 100. As such, it may be possible to replace the connectors 202 based on the requirement, e.g. requirement of wiring harness.
[025] In some embodiments, as can be seen in FIG. 1B, the recess 104 may include a left wall 104A and a right wall 104B. Further, the recess 104 may include a projection 118 on each of the left wall 104A and the right wall 104B associated with the recess 104 towards a front side 100A of the adaptor 100. In particular, the recess 104 may include a projection 118A on the left wall 104A and a projection 118B on the right wall 104B associated with the recess 104. In some example embodiments, the projections 118A, 118B may be formed into the body 102. Alternately, the projections 118A, 118B may be manufactured separately and attached to the remaining part of the body 102.
[026] The projections 118A, 118B may be configured to contact a front end of a section of the frame 204, upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204 for a predetermined length, to restrict a further sliding travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204. In other words, the adaptor 100 may be slidably pushed onto the frame 204 until the projections 118A, 118B abut against the section of the frame 204.
[027] In some embodiments, the recess 104 may further include a recess-stopper 116. The recess-stopper 116 may be positioned within the recess 104. For example, the recess-stopper 116 may be formed into the body 102, or alternately, the recess-stopper 116 may be manufactured separately and attached to the body 102. The recess-stopper 116 may be configured to engage with a corresponding indentation (not shown in FIGs. 1A-1H) associated with the frame 204, upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204 for the predetermined length, to restrict an opposite sliding travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204. To this end, the recess-stopper 116 may include a wall 116A facing a front side 100A of the adaptor 100. The recess-stopper 116 may further include a ramp 116B facing a rear side 100B of the adaptor 100.
[028] The ramp 116B may define a surface inclined to a horizontal plane of the recess 104 at an angle (the angle not equal to 90 degrees). The wall 116A may define a surface perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the recess 104. Due to the incline, the ramp 116B allows the travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204 across the corresponding indentation associated with the frame 204. However, once the adaptor 100 has travelled relative to the frame 204 beyond the recess-stopper 116, the wall 116A, owing to its perpendicular to the horizontal configuration, restricts the backward movement of the adaptor 100 beyond the wall 116A.
[029] Therefore, once the adaptor 100 is mounted on the frame 204, the forward movement of the adaptor 100 is restricted by the projections 118A, 118B and the backward movement of the adaptor 100 is restricted by the wall 116A of the recess-stopper 116. As a result, the adaptor 100 snugly fits on the frame 204 with limited or no play travel of the adaptor 100 relative to the frame 204.
[030] As can be seen in FIGs. 1A-1C, the adaptor 100 further includes a left-side slot 106 which may be formed on the left side 102C of the body 102. The left-side slot 106 may run along a length of the left side 102C. Alternately, in some embodiments, the left-side slot 106 may run along a portion of the length of the left side 102C. Further, the adaptor 100 may include a right-side slot 108 formed on the right side 102D of the body 102. The right-side slot 108 may run along a length of the right side 102D. Alternately, in some embodiments, the right-side slot 108 may run along a portion of the length of the right side 102D.
[031] It should be noted that each of the left-side slot 106 and the right-side slot 108 may be configured to slidably engage with a flange (not shown in FIGs. 1A-1H) associated with the connector 202. As such, the connector 202 may be engaged with the adaptor 100 by slidably positioning and engaging a left flange and a right flange of the connector 202 with the left-side slot 106 and the right-side slot 108, respectively of the adaptor 100.
[032] In some embodiments, each of the left-side slot 106 and the right-side slot 108may include slot-stopper towards an extreme end thereof. In particular, the left-side slot 106 may include a slot-stopper 114A towards an extreme end of the left-side slot 106. Further, the right-side slot 108 may include a slot-stopper 114B (not visible in FIG. 1A) towards an extreme end of the right-side slot 108. For example, each of the slot-stoppers 114A, 114B may be configured as protrusions projecting above a horizontal surface associated with the left-side slot 106 and the right-side slot 108, respectively. For example, each of the slot-stoppers 114A, 114B may be protruding by a height of a few millimeters above the corresponding horizontal surfaces.
[033] The slot-stoppers 114A, 114B may be configured to contact an indentation (not shown in FIGs. 1A-1H) associated with each side of the connector 202, upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100 for the predetermined length, to restrict a further sliding travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100.
[034] To further assist in mounting of the connector 202 on the adaptor 100, the adaptor 100 may include a groove 110 formed on the top side 102A of the body 102 of the adaptor 100. For example, the groove 110 may run along an entire length of the top side 102A, or alternately along a portion of the length of the top side 102A. Therefore, in order to mount the connector 202 on the adaptor 100, first the left flange, the right flange, and a bottom surface associated with the connector 202 may be aligned with the left-side slot 106, the right-side slot 108, and the groove 110, respectively, of the adaptor 100. Upon aligning, the connector 202 may be pushed to slide relative to the adaptor and consequently engage with the adaptor 100. As a result, once the connector 202 is mounted on the adaptor 100, the top side 102A of the adaptor 100 may abut with the bottom surface associated with the connector 202.
[035] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGs. 1A, the groove 110 may include a groove-stopper 112 which may be positioned within the groove 110. The groove-stopper 112 may be configured to engage with a corresponding indentation (not shown in FIGs. 1A-1H) associated with the connector 202, upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100 for a predetermined length, to restrict an opposite sliding travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100 beyond the groove-stopper 112. The groove-stopper 112 may be a protrusion projecting vertically above a horizontal plane of the groove 110. The groove-stopper 112 may be either formed within the body 102 of the adaptor 100, or alternately, the groove-stopper 112 may be manufactured separately and attached to the groove 110 of the adaptor 100.
[036] Further, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 1A, the groove-stopper 112 may include a ramp 112A facing the front side 100A of the adaptor 100. The groove-stopper 112 may further include a wall 112B facing the rear side 100B of the adaptor 100. The ramp 112A may define a surface inclined to a horizontal plane of the groove 110 at an angle (the angle not equal to 90 degrees). The wall 112B may define a surface perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the groove 110. Due to the incline, the ramp 112A may allow the travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100 across the corresponding indentation associated with the connector 202. However, once the connector 202 has travelled relative to the adaptor 100 beyond the groove-stopper 112, the wall 112B, owing to its perpendicular to the horizontal configuration, restricts the backward movement of the connector 202 beyond the wall 112B.
[037] Therefore, once the connector 202 is mounted on the adaptor 100, the forward movement of the connector 202 is restricted by the slot-stoppers 114A, 114B, and the backward movement of the connector 202 is restricted by the wall 112B of the groove-stopper 112. As a result, the connector 202 snugly fits on the adaptor 100 with limited or no play travel of the connector 202 relative to the adaptor 100.
[038] The above disclosure provides for an adaptor that enables mounting of additional wiring harnesses or other equipment of the vehicle on the existing frame. The above adaptor, therefore, provides a solution for mounting additional inline connectors on the frames which may be space-constrained. Further, the adaptor provides for removably coupling the adaptor on the frame, thereby allowing interchangeability of the adaptors based on the requirement. Furthermore, the adaptor provides for removably coupling the connector on the adaptor, thereby allowing interchangeability of the connectors based on the requirement. Moreover, the adaptor enables proper mounting and parking of the connectors on the frame, and hence prevents loss of connection due to improper parking of inline connectors on the frame.
[039] It is intended that the disclosure and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of disclosed embodiments being indicated by the following claims.
, Claims:CLAIMS

We Claim:
1. A adaptor (100) for mounting a connector (202) on a frame (204), the adaptor (100) comprising:
a body (102) defining a top side (102A), a bottom side (102B), a left side (102C), and a right side (102D);
a recess (104) formed on the bottom side (102B) of the body running along a length of the bottom side (102B), wherein the adaptor (100) is configured to be mounted on the frame (204) by slidably engaging the recess (104) with a corresponding slot associated with the frame (204);
a left-side slot (106) formed on the left side (102C) of the body (102) running along a length of the left side (102C);
a right-side slot (108) formed on the right side (102D) of the body (102) running along a length of the right side (102D);
wherein each of the left-side slot (106) and the right-side slot (108) is configured to slidably engage with a flange associated with the connector (202); and
a groove (110) formed on the top side (102A) of the body (102) running along a length of the top side (102A), wherein the top side (102A) abuts with a bottom surface associated with the connector (202).

2. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the groove (110) comprises:
a groove-stopper (112) positioned within the groove (110), the groove-stopper (112) configured to engage with a corresponding indentation associated with the connector (202), upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the connector (202) relative to the adaptor (100) for a predetermined length, to restrict an opposite sliding travel of the connector (202) relative to the adaptor (100) beyond the groove-stopper (112).

3. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the groove-stopper (112) comprises:
a ramp (112A) facing a front side (100A) of the adaptor (100); and
a wall (112B) facing a rear side (100B) of the adaptor (100).

4. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the left-side slot (106) and the right-side slot (108) comprises:
a slot-stopper (114A, 114B) towards an extreme end thereof, the slot-stopper (114A, 114B) configured to contact an indentation associated with each side associated with the connector (202), upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the connector (202) relative to the adaptor (100) for the predetermined length, to restrict a further sliding travel of the connector (202) relative to the adaptor (100).

5. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recess (104) comprises:
a recess-stopper (116) positioned within the recess (104), the recess-stopper (116) configured to engage with a corresponding indentation associated with the frame (204), upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the adaptor (100) relative to the frame (204) for a predetermined length, to restrict an opposite sliding travel of the adaptor (100) relative to the frame (204).

6. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the recess-stopper (116) comprises:
a wall (116A) facing a front side (100A) of the adaptor (100); and
a ramp (116B) facing a rear side (100B) of the adaptor (100).

7. The adaptor (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recess (104) comprises:
a projection (118) on each of a left wall (104A) and a right wall (104B) associated with the recess (104) towards the front side (100A) of the adaptor (100), the projection (118) configured to contact a front end of a section of the frame (204), upon a longitudinal sliding travel of the adaptor (100) relative to the frame (204) for the predetermined length, to restrict a further sliding travel of the adaptor (100) relative to the frame (204).