FR2736215A1 - WATERPROOF CONNECTOR FOR THE POWER SUPPLY OF AN ELECTRIC MOTOR, PARTICULARLY IN A MOTOR-FAN GROUP OF A HEATER OR AIR CONDITIONING APPARATUS OF A MOTOR VEHICLE - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector for an electric motor carrying contacts and received in an engine support provided with arrangements for the docking of said connector, in particular in a motor-fan unit for heating or air conditioning of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, the connector comprising at least one through passage (6, 17) formed in a housing (1) and receiving the end of a motor supply conductor and a contact clamp with a contact element provided on the motor, said passage opening from one side on said contact element and the other side on a rear face of the housing, characterized in that it further comprises at least one member (7) for closing a free space existing between the conductor and the opening of the passage at the level of said rear face, said shutter member being produced in a single piece with the housing and being articulated on the latter by a thin connecting part (8).

Description

The present invention relates generally to groups

  electric fans for heaters and / or

  for air conditioning passenger compartments in motor vehicles.

  There is shown in Figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings the general architecture of such a fan assembly. It comprises an engine support A, for example made of plastic, comprising a more or less cylindrical barrel B in which a motor C is mounted, and a flange D of more or less circular shape, ensuring the mechanical interface with the casing or housing of the heating or air conditioning device on which the fan assembly is mounted. More specifically, the flange D ensures docking, positioning and sealing of the fan unit relative to the casing or housing.

cited above.

  The motor C is generally a direct current motor on which the turbine E is mounted, ensuring by

  rotation of air circulation in the device.

  Such a fan unit can also conventionally comprise a set of parts ensuring mechanical decoupling, mainly for vibration damping purposes, between the motor C and the motor support A. These parts can include shock absorbers, an intermediate ring in one or more pieces, etc. The fan unit may also include an electrical connection harness, possibly welded to the motor C, and comprising electrical conductors of appropriate length and ending in an electrical connector either flywheel or fixed to the outside of the engine support A. in the simplest cases, the motor is installed directly in the B drum, without any damping device. In this case, if the motor is fitted with terminals F (figure 3) judiciously arranged, a connector G can then be designed to be plugged directly onto the motor through a window H (figure 2) single or multiple

  provided on the engine support A, with appropriate docking.

  Such a solution is described in particular in FR-A-2

536 221 and FR-A-2 575 342.

  In general, the connector is fitted with female contacts for flat male contacts or of the "Faston" type (registered trademark), with various variants (simple or safety contact, straight or "flag" contact, etc.). In this regard, reference will be made to international standards, for example DIN 46247, NF R 13-431 and IEC 760 relating to such

electrical contacts.

  But whatever the solution actually adopted, these connection systems of the known state of the art

  still have some drawbacks.

  In particular, the solutions described in the documents FR-A-2 536 221 and FR-A-2 575 342 mentioned above do not make it possible to ensure a satisfactory overall seal, given the increasingly high quality requirements car manufacturers regarding the performance of cabin heating / air conditioning systems. In addition, to ensure easy mounting of the connector on the motor support and good sealing, the precision of the positioning of the motor lugs relative to the motor support, and therefore to the connector, must be good, this

  which is restrictive in terms of manufacturing costs.

  It will also be observed that the type of female electrical contacts conventionally used in known connectors also requires the aforementioned positioning precision, and is a noise generator because it

  ensures strong mechanical coupling between the mounting plate

  motor brushes, mounted on shock absorbers, and support

motor via connector.

  The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks of the state of the art and to propose a fan unit equipped with an integrated connector and which makes it possible to ensure good air and water tightness and to ensure between the motor lugs and the connector a mechanical connection which is flexible enough not to introduce undesirable mechanical coupling, as a noise generator, between the brush holder plate of the motor, on which are

  attached the lugs, and the connector.

  To this end, the invention provides a connector for an electric motor carrying contacts and received in an engine support provided with arrangements for the docking of said connector, in particular in a motor-fan unit for heating or air conditioning of the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. , the connector comprising at least one through passage formed in a housing and receiving the end of a motor supply conductor and a contact clamp with a contact element provided on the motor, said passage opening out side on said contact element and on the other side on a rear face of the housing, characterized in that it further comprises at least one member for closing a free space existing between the conductor and the opening of the passage at said rear face, said shutter member being made in one piece with the housing and being articulated on the latter by a

thin connection part.

  Preferred, but not limiting, aspects of the connector according to the invention are as follows: - the connector comprises, for each passage, two closure members articulated on the housing in two locations and cooperating with one another to close said connector

free space.

  - said free space is annular, each

  obturation member having the shape of a half-ring.

  the or each closure member comprises a flexible skirt comprising on its outer face elements of

  locking of said member in the closed position.

  - Said locking elements cooperate with complementary arrangements formed in the corresponding passage. - the connector further comprises, inside the or each passage, a flexible seal compressed between the corresponding conductor and the wall of the passage and retained in place by crimping the respective contact clamp

on the corresponding conductor.

  - the flexible joint is a joint with several lips

superimposed annulars.

  - The connector housing has on a docking face a groove capable of receiving a flexible seal and having a thin outer edge forming an elastically deformable lip, to be able to selectively provide either a seal by a seal, or a

sealing by lip.

  - The or each contact clamp comprises a series of flexible branches approaching one from the other in the direction of their free end then flaring up to said free end, able to receive between them a motor contact element in the form of a respective terminal with which they are in slight contact

elastic pressure.

  The invention also provides a fan unit, in particular for a heating or air conditioning unit for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an engine support having a projecting docking portion circumscribing at least one opening releasing an element of contact of an electric motor, and a

  connector as defined above.

  Other aspects, purposes and advantages of this

  invention will appear better on reading the description

  following detailed of preferred embodiments thereof, given by way of nonlimiting example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fan unit of the state of the known technique, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a motor support portion of the fan assembly of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a detail of the fan assembly of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a perspective view, in a first orientation, of a half of a connector housing according to the present invention, Figure 5 is a perspective view, in a second orientation, of the connector housing of Figure 4, the Figure 6 is a view in axial vertical section of a first embodiment of a connector fitted with the housing of Figures 4 and 5, Figure 7 is a view in axial horizontal section of the connector of Figure 6, Figure 8 is A sight in axial vertical section of a second embodiment of a connector equipped with the housing of FIGS. 4 and 5, and FIG. 9 is a view in axial horizontal section of the

connector of figure 8.

  Referring to FIGS. 4 to 9, there is shown a connector according to the invention which comprises a housing 1 produced for example by molding of thermoplastic material,

  in one piece or two pieces welded to each other.

  This housing 1 comprises a body having the general shape of a parallelepiped, one large face of which is open. From the large opposite face extend, crossing the interior of the body, two parallel barrels 15, generally cylindrical, each crossed by a passage having a cylindrical part 6 and a part 17 whose section in this case presents the general shape of a cross, adapted to the passage of the conductive lugs F equipping the motor of the fan-motor group and to the travel of a female contact clamp housed in this part as will be seen

in detail later.

  These two barrels 15 are intended to penetrate respectively into two circular openings H (FIG. 2) arranged in the wall of the motor support A. Preferably, one of the two barrels has a lateral wing 18 forming a polarizing element in cooperation with a not shown notch adjoining one of the openings H. so as to prohibit the fitting of the connector with a

incorrect polarity.

  The body of the housing 1 is provided laterally with two flexible tabs 19 each provided with a claw 20 and an operating part, to ensure the locking of the connector on the motor support and its unlocking, the claws cooperating with flanges arranged at the suburbs

  of the docking zone 5 provided on the engine support.

  On the side of the barrels 15, that is to say on its docking face on the zone 5, the housing body 1 has a continuous peripheral groove 21. This groove can receive or position a seal 12 (FIGS. 6 and 7), in particular an O-ring or a flat seal, to ensure in cooperation with the protruding docking area 5 a seal between the connector and the engine support A. As a variant, and as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the seal 12 can be omitted, and the docking zone 5 designed to slightly deform outward an outer edge of the groove 21, which is then produced in the form of a flexible sealing lip 3 capable of deforming elastically over its entire extent. This solution can be adopted in the case of a specification less

  demanding in terms of gas and liquid tightness.

  In the barrels 15 are respectively received two female spring-loaded conductive clamps 2 of the conventional type, for example with four sinuous branches closing in the vicinity of their free end then widening again to their proper end, as illustrated in

particular in Figures 7 and 9.

  These clamps 2 are locked in the housings 17 by means of appropriate arrangements cooperating between the

  housings and clamps, in a conventional manner per se.

  According to the invention, it is provided at the rear opening of each barrel 15, where the cylindrical passage part 6 opens, two elements articulated on the housing body and constituting half-doors 7 each having a semi-contour circular. Each of these doors 7 is connected to the housing body 1 by a thin tongue 8 made of material, which allows it to pivot and be

  introduced into the posterior opening of the associated barrel.

  Two homologous half-doors define, in the closed position, a circular opening 10 whose diameter is substantially equal to that of the corresponding conductor 23, which is introduced into the barrel and on the stripped end

  from which the contact clamp 2 is crimped (or welded).

  As can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, each half-door 7 has a skirt 9 on the outer face of which are formed locking teeth 24 capable of cooperating with recesses 25 formed in the

  cylindrical passages to ensure the locking of the half

  doors in position. For this purpose, each skirt is subdivided into several parts by notches (see Figure 4) to

give it the flexibility it needs.

  These doors 7 provide a suitable seal between the barrels 15 and the conductors 23 at the connector outlet, in a particularly simple and economical manner. In the embodiment of Figures 6 and 7, a multiple flexible lip seal 13 is engaged

  around each driver 23 before the engagement thereof

  ci in passage 6 of the corresponding barrel. During the introduction of the seal 13 in the passage 6, its lips elastically deform to ensure between the conductors 23 and the connector body a seal which comes

  complete that carried out by doors 7.

  In the embodiment of Figures 8 and 9, corresponding to a situation or the requirement in terms of

  sealing is less, these seals 13 are omitted.

  Each seal 13 is held in place on one side by the

  crimping of the conductive clamp 2 on the conductor 23.

  This assembly is confirmed, on the other side, by the half

doors 7 when locked.

  Of course, the present invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described and shown, but those skilled in the art will be able to make any variant or

  modification according to his spirit.

Claims (10)

  1. Connector for an electric motor (C) carrying contacts and received in a motor support (A) provided with arrangements (5, H) for docking said connector, in particular in a motor-fan unit for heating or air conditioning d vehicle interior, the connector comprising at least one through passage (6, 17) formed in a housing (1) and receiving the end of a motor supply conductor (23) and a clamp (2) contact with a contact element provided on the motor, said passage opening on one side on said contact element and on the other side on a rear face of the housing, characterized in that it further comprises at least one member (7) for closing a free space existing between the conductor and the opening of the passage at the level of said rear face, said closure member being produced in a single piece with the housing and being articulated on the latter this   by a thin connecting part (8).   2. Connector according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises for each passage two closure members (7) articulated on the housing (1) in two locations and cooperating with each other to close said free space.   3. Connector according to claim 2, characterized in that said free space is of annular shape, each   obturation member (7) having the shape of a half ring.   4. Connector according to one of claims 1 to 3,   characterized in that the or each closure member comprises a flexible skirt (9) comprising on its outer face elements (24) for locking said member in shutter position.   5. Connector according to claim 4, characterized in that said locking elements cooperate with complementary arrangements (25) formed in the corresponding passage.   6. Connector according to one of claims 1 to 5,   characterized in that it further comprises, inside the or each passage, a flexible seal (13) compressed between the corresponding conductor (23) and the wall of the passage and retained in place by crimping the clamp contact   respective (2) on the corresponding conductor.   7. Connector according to claim 6, characterized in that the flexible seal (13) is a joint with several superimposed annular lips.   8. Connector according to one of claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the connector housing comprises on a docking face a groove (21) capable of receiving a flexible sealing gasket (12) and having a thin outer edge (3) forming an elastically deformable lip, in order to be able to ensure selectively either a seal by joint, or a seal by lip.   9. Connector according to one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized in that the or each contact clamp (2) comprises a series of flexible branches approaching one another in the direction of their free end then flaring up to said free end, capable of receiving between them a contact element (F) of the motor in the form of a respective terminal with which they are in   contact by slight elastic pressure.   10. Fan unit, in particular for a heating or air conditioning device for the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an engine support (A) having a projecting portion (5) projecting5 circumscribing at least one opening (H ) releasing a   contact element (F) of an electric motor, and a connector (G) according to one of claims 1 to 9.