JP2000082526A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve reliability of a waterproof function. SOLUTION: A release hole 20 (the release part) penetrating through the rear end outside surface side of the guide cylinder part 12 is formed in a position corresponding to clearance between the inner periphery of the guide cylinder part 12 and the outer periphery of the hood part 42 among the inmost end surface of the guide cylinder part 12. Wash water infiltrating into the clearance between the outer periphery of the food part 42 and the inner periphery of the guide cylinder part 12 by being injected under high pressure from the front of a receiving side connector 10, is discharge to the rear outside part of the guide cylinder part 12 by passing through the release hole 20. Thus, high pressure of the wash water is avoided acting on a seal member by hitting the inmost end surface of the guide cylinder part 12 with the high pressure wash water to enter into the inner periphery from the tip outer periphery of the hood part 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 shows a known waterproof connector. This is a receiving connector a in which a female connector housing b is surrounded by a guide cylinder c that is open front.
A male connector housing e formed with a hood portion f projecting forward, and a waterproof connector interposed between an outer periphery of the female connector housing b and an inner periphery of the hood portion f. And a seal member g.

[0003]

In this waterproof connector, there is a slight gap between the inner peripheral surface of the receiving-side guide cylindrical portion c and the outer peripheral surface of the fitting-side hood portion f due to dimensional tolerances and the like. There is a situation that a gap is inevitable. Therefore, when washing water is injected at a high pressure from the front (left side in FIG. 6) to the receiving side connector a, the washing water penetrates into the guide cylindrical portion c through the gap and guides the guide. There is a possibility that the sealing member g on the inner circumference of the hood portion f may lose the high pressure to lower the waterproof function by abutting against the inner end surface h of the hood portion f by hitting the inner end surface h of the cylindrical portion c.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to improve the reliability of the waterproof function.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving connector in which a female connector housing is surrounded by a guide tube portion which is open frontward, and a fitting in which a hood portion is projected forward from the male connector housing. Side connector, and a seal member interposed between the outer periphery of the female connector housing and the inner periphery of the hood portion for waterproofing. At a position corresponding to the gap between the inner periphery of the portion and the outer periphery of the hood portion,
A relief portion penetrating toward the outer surface of the rear end of the guide cylinder is formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a part of the inner peripheral surface of the relief portion is flush with the inner peripheral surface of the guide tube portion.

[0006]

Operation and effect of the invention [Invention of claim 1] The washing water and the like injected from the front of the receiving side connector at a high pressure and entering the gap between the outer periphery of the hood and the inner periphery of the guide cylinder are removed from the guide cylinder. At the back end of the guide tube, it is discharged to the outside of the guide tube portion through the escape portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the high-pressure washing water or the like from hitting the inner end surface of the hood portion from the outer end surface of the hood portion. This prevents a high pressure such as washing water from acting on the seal member, and maintains a high waterproof function of the seal member.

[0007] [2] Unlike the case where the relief portion is formed so as to be displaced stepwise toward the inner peripheral side with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder portion, the escape portion penetrates along the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder portion. The washed water or the like enters the escape portion without being subjected to resistance due to a step, and thus has excellent drainage properties.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector according to the present embodiment includes a receiving connector 10.
And a sealing member 45 for waterproofing between the connectors 10 and 40. The receiving-side connector 10 includes a female connector housing 11 and a guide cylinder 1.
2 is integrally formed. Female terminal fittings (not shown) are inserted from behind into a plurality of (chambers in this embodiment) cavities 13 formed in the female connector housing 11. The first half of the female connector housing 11
It is surrounded by the guide tube portion 12 over substantially the entire circumference, and the space between the outer periphery of the female connector housing 11 and the inner periphery of the guide tube portion 12 is fitted with the hood portion 42 of the fitting-side connector 40. The fitting space 14 is combined. The rear end of the guide tube portion 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing 11 are connected by a connecting portion 15, and the outer periphery of the female connector housing 11 is connected to the front surface of the connecting portion 15 (a feature of the present invention). A seal member 45 is fitted so as to abut on the inner end surface of the guide tube portion 12).

On the upper surface of the female connector housing 11,
A lock arm 16 for locking the receiving side connector 10 and the fitting side connector 40 in a fitted state is provided. The lock arm 16 includes a leg 16A that rises from the upper surface of the female connector housing 11, and a leg 16A.
A lock portion 16B that protrudes in a cantilevered manner in both front and rear directions from A
And a release operation portion 16C, and can be elastically displaced in a seesaw shape around the leg portion 16A. A cutout portion 17 is formed in the upper surface region of the guide tube portion 12 and the connection portion 15 so as to leave the front end of the guide tube portion 12, and a position corresponding to the connection portion 15 in the cutout portion 17 is provided. A leg 16A is provided, and a lock 16B is provided in a range corresponding to the guide cylinder 12 in the notch 17. The release operation portion 16C extends rearward from the guide tube portion 12.

In the gap between the left and right side surfaces of the lock arm 16 and the notched end surface of the guide tube portion 12, a portion corresponding to the connecting portion 15 is provided with an escape recess 18 (an escape portion which is a component of the present invention). Have been. The relief recess 18 connects the inner end surface of the guide tube portion 12 and the outer surface of the rear end thereof, and is open upward. In the leg portion 16A, a release hole 19 (a release portion which is a constituent feature of the present invention) is provided at a position between the two escape recesses 18 at a position between the escape recesses 18 and communicates between the rear end surface and the rear end outer surface of the guide tube portion 12. ) Is formed. The escape hole 19 communicates with a groove 16D in the front-rear direction on the inner surface of the lock arm 16.

The connecting portion 15 has a front surface (a guide tube portion 1).
6 long hole-shaped relief holes 20 and 21 penetrating from the rear end surface of the second to the rear surface. The escape holes 20 and 21 are provided two on the left and right along the lower surface of the female connector housing 11 and two on the left and right along the left and right sides of the female connector housing 11. Individual relief holes 20 along the lower surface of female connector housing 11
Are elongated in the left-right direction and open symmetrically in the left-right direction so as to leave the ribs 22 therebetween. The two escape holes 21 along the left and right sides of the female connector housing 11 are:
The ribs 23 extend in an arc shape in the vertical direction while leaving the ribs 23 therebetween, and are opened symmetrically in the vertical and horizontal directions.
The rib 24 is also left between the lower end of the escape hole 21 along the side surface and the outer ends of the escape hole 20 along the lower surface.

The female connector housing 11
A portion 20A, 21A of the inner circumference of a total of six escape holes 20, 21 along the lower surface and side surfaces of the guide cylinder portion 12 is formed so as to be flush with the inner peripheral surface 12A of the guide tube portion 12, and these surfaces are formed. Are smoothly continuous. The female connector housing 1
At the rear end of the cylinder 1, two independent cylindrical portions 25 forming the rear half of the cavity 13 project rearward while being connected laterally, and below the cylindrical portion 25, a guide cylindrical portion 12 is provided. Extension plate 2 with the lower surface extended
The extended plate portion 26 and the cylindrical portion 25 are connected to each other by three reinforcing wall portions 27 connected to the ribs 22 and 24. Two escape holes 20 along the lower surface of the female connector housing 11 correspond to the reinforcing wall portions 27, and the upper surface of the extension plate portion 26 has a shield corresponding to the escape holes 20. A wall 28 is provided upright.
The shield wall 28 is set to have such a size and arrangement that the escape hole 20 is hidden by the shield wall 28 when the female connector housing 11 is viewed from behind.

Further, a corresponding shielding wall 29 is formed from the rear of the escape hole 21 along the side surface of the female connector housing 11. The side shield wall 29 is formed so as to be bent inward from the distal end edge of a portion extending from the rear end surface of the connecting portion 15 of the guide tube portion 12, and similar to the above-described upper side shield wall 28, The escape hole 21 is provided so as to be hidden when viewed from behind. still,
The cross-sectional shape of the shielding wall 29 on the side surface is the same as that of the shielding wall 28 on the lower surface side, and the illustration of the cross-sectional shape is omitted.

The lower and side shielding walls 2
A gap 30 in the front-rear direction (the direction in which the connectors 10 and 40 are fitted) is provided between the front and rear openings 8 and 29 and the escape holes 20 and 21. Gaps 31 in the radial direction are also provided between the outer periphery of the side connector housing 11 and these gaps 30, 31, as described later, allow the water that has entered the guide tube portion 12 to escape. It is a discharge path for discharging the water backward when passing through.

The mating connector 40 is formed by integrally molding a male connector housing 41 and a hood portion 42. A male terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into the cavity 43 formed in the male connector housing 41 from the rear. The hood portion 42 is connected to the male connector housing 41.
The hood portion 4 projects further forward from the front end of the hood portion.
2, a male tab (not shown) of the male terminal fitting projects. The hood portion 42 is adapted to be fitted into the fitting space 14 (the guide tube portion 12) of the receiving side connector 10, and the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 42 has an inner peripheral surface of the guide tube portion 12 in the fitted state. The surface is almost in close contact with only a small gap of dimensional tolerance or assembly tolerance.

A lock projection 44 is formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the hood portion 42 so as to be engaged with the lock hole 16E of the lock portion 16B of the fitting-side connector 40.
In the process of fitting the lock portion 40, the lock protrusion 44 is
6B, the lock arm 16 is elastically bent so as to push up, and when the connectors 10 and 40 reach a normal fitting state, the lock arm 16 is elastically restored, and the lock hole 16E is engaged with the lock projection 44, so that the connector 10 , 40 are locked in the fitted state. In the fitted state, the distal end surface of the hood portion 42 has a total of six relief holes 20 along the lower surface and the side surface of the female connector housing 11.
21 so as to cover almost the entirety.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In a state where both connectors 10 and 40 are fitted, the guide tube portion 12
The seal member 45 is interposed between the outer peripheral surface of the female connector housing 11 on the receiving side and the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 42 at the back. Therefore, the receiving side connector 1
From the front (left side in the figure) of water through the small gap of the tolerance between the inner periphery of the guide cylinder portion 12 and the outer periphery of the hood portion 42, water infiltrates slowly and at a low pressure from the outside by capillary action. Further, the water is prevented from entering further in the seal member 45, and is prevented from entering the inside of the housing for the male and female connectors 10, 40 (the connecting portion of the male and female terminal fittings). Note that the water that has entered the guide tube 12
Is discharged forward through the gap between the hood portion 42 and
Alternatively, it is discharged backward through the escape holes 19, 20, 21 and the escape recess 18.

Further, when high-pressure washing water is sprayed from the front (left side in the drawing) of the receiving connector 10 in a coin washing area or the like, the guide cylindrical portion 12 is formed on the lower surface and the side surface of the female connector housing 11. And vigorously penetrates into the guide tube portion 12 through a gap of a tolerance between the hood portion 42 and the hood portion 42. However, escape holes 20, 21 penetrating to the rear end outer surface side of the guide tube portion 12 are provided in the inner end surface of the guide tube portion 12.
Is formed, the infiltrating washing water is discharged to the outside of the rear portion of the guide cylinder 12 through the escape holes 20 and 21. The cleaning water discharged from the escape holes 20 and 21 is discharged to the rear of the receiving connector 10 through the gaps 30 and 31 while passing over the shielding wall 28. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the high-pressure washing water from hitting the inner end surface of the hood portion 42 from the outer end surface of the hood portion 42 and circling from the outer periphery of the hood portion 42 to applying a high pressure to the seal member 45. The high sealing function is maintained.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the female connector housing 11, high-pressure washing water that has entered through a gap or the like between the lock arm 16 and the notch 17 passes through the groove 16 D and the escape recess 18 on the inner surface of the lock arm 16. It is discharged backward. Further, the high-pressure washing water that has entered the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the lock portion 16B and the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 42 escapes through the escape hole 19.
And is discharged backward through the relief recess 18. Therefore, even on the upper surface side, there is no possibility that a high pressure of the washing water acts on the seal member 45, and the high waterproof function of the seal member 45 is maintained.

When water is applied to the rear portion of the receiving connector 10 at a relatively low pressure, the escape holes 20 and 21 are closed by the distal end surface of the hood portion 42 on the lower surface and the side surface of the female connector housing 11. The escape holes 20 and 2
There is no possibility that the water will pass through 1 and enter the guide cylinder 12. Further, on the upper surface side of the female connector housing 11,
The water that has flowed through the escape recess 18 and the groove 16D of the lock arm 16 is discharged to the front outside through a large gap between the lock arm 16 and the notch 17, so that the water flows toward the inner peripheral side of the hood 42. There is no danger of flooding.

When high-pressure washing water is sprayed from behind on the female connector housing 11, the escape holes 2 are formed on the lower and side surfaces of the female connector housing 11.
Since the shielding walls 28 and 29 are formed so as to stand and close behind 0 and 21, high-pressure washing water is applied to the shielding walls 28 and 29.
There is no danger that the water will be rebounded by 29 and directly enter the escape holes 20 and 21. The washing water that has passed through the inner peripheral side (upper side in FIG. 1) of the shielding walls 28 and 29 is rebounded on the outer wall surface at the rear end of the connecting portion 15, and a part thereof is rebounded on the front surfaces of the shielding walls 28 and 29. It is conceivable that the washing water reaches the escape holes 20 and 21. At this point, however, the momentum of the washing water is weakened by the two rebounds. However, there is no possibility that the cleaning water will deform the seal member 45. On the upper surface side of the female connector housing 11, the high-pressure washing water is discharged forward without receiving a large resistance by passing through the groove 16 </ b> D of the lock arm 16 and the escape concave portion 18. Is not subject to high pressures that could cause deformation.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the seal member is attached to the outer periphery of the female connector housing. However, according to the present invention, the seal member may be attached to the inner periphery of the hood. (2) In the above embodiment, a part of the inner peripheral surface of the relief portion is flush with the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder portion. According to the present invention, however, the relief portion is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder portion. May be formed in a stepwise manner toward the inner peripheral side, or a part of the relief portion may be formed on the outer peripheral side of the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder.

(3) In the above embodiment, the relief portions provided along the lower surface and the side surface of the female connector housing are formed in a hole shape, but these relief portions are opened below and to the side of the female connector housing. The shape may be concave.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a fitted state of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a receiving connector.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a mating connector.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a receiving connector.

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the receiving connector.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Receiving side connector 11 ... Female side connector housing 12 ... Guide cylindrical part 18 ... Relief recessed part (relief part) 19, 20, 21 ... Relief hole (relief part) 40 ... Fitting side connector 41 ... Male side connector housing 42 ... Hood 45: Seal member

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A receiving connector in which a female connector housing is surrounded by a guide tube portion that is open forward, a fitting connector in which a hood portion projects forward from a male connector housing, and an outer periphery of the female connector housing. And a seal member interposed between the inner periphery of the hood portion and waterproofing, wherein an inner periphery of the guide cylinder portion and an outer periphery of the hood portion are provided on a rear end surface of the guide cylinder portion. A waterproof connector characterized in that a relief portion is formed at a position corresponding to the clearance of the guide tube portion so as to penetrate to the rear end outer surface side of the guide tube portion. 2. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein a part of an inner peripheral surface of the relief portion is flush with an inner peripheral surface of the guide tube portion.