JP2000244142A - Sealing structure of electronic apparatus case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase waterproof sealing property between a waterproof packing section and a waterproof grommet section by press-holding the packing section and the grommet section respectively inserted into a waterproof packing section insertion recess and a grommet section insertion recess formed in an apparatus case body by the apparatus case body and a cover. SOLUTION: A waterproof sealing member 30 is an integrated waterproof packing section 31 and grommet section 32 which is made of the material having a flexibility and elasticity, with the packing section 31 formed in the shape of a ring to be inserted into a waterproof packing section insertion recess 25 and the grommet section 32 to be inserted into a grommet section insertion recess 28. The width of the waterproof packing section 31 is nearly the same as the width of the waterproof packing section insertion recess 25 and the thickness of the grommet section 32 is nearly the same as the width of the grommet section insertion recess 28. The height of the packing section 31 is a little bit larger than the depth of the waterproof packing section insertion recess 25. The waterproof packing section 31 and grommet section 32 is press- held by the apparatus case body 21 and the cover.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
For example, a seal structure of an electronic device case installed in a place susceptible to rainwater, moisture during car washing, etc., and in particular, the reliability of a waterproof seal between a case main body, a lid thereof, and a connector constituting an electronic device. In addition, the present invention relates to a seal structure of an electronic device case, which enhances the economical efficiency and also allows a method of drawing out a wire harness from the electronic device case into a connector structure, thereby enabling the entire electronic device case to be made compact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electronic device module such as an electric brake controller installed in an automobile is apt to be subjected to, for example, splashing during rainy weather or splashing during car washing. Therefore, the device case of the electronic device module is required to have high waterproofness.

As a prior example of such a waterproof device case of an electronic device module, there is, for example, a structure as shown in FIG. That is, 1 is an equipment case main body formed by a bottom wall 2 and a peripheral side wall 3.
A wire harness outlet 5 for pulling out the wire harness 4 from the inside of the device case main body 1 to the outside thereof is formed in the side wall 3. Reference numeral 6 denotes an electronic device module housed and fixed in the device case main body 1, and the wire harness 4 is connected to the electronic device module 6 via a connector 7.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an annular waterproof packing which is engaged with a horizontal opening edge 9 formed in the equipment case main body 1, and is provided on the opening edge 9 of the equipment case main body 1 via the waterproof packing 8 described above. The cover 10 is attached in a waterproof state. A bush 11 is attached to the wire harness 4 in a watertight manner. Further, the outer peripheral surface of the bush 11 and a vertical opening edge 12 of a wire harness outlet 5 formed in the equipment case body 1 and a lid 10 Has a watertight structure via a waterproof grommet 13.

[0005]

As described above, in the equipment case used for waterproofing the electronic equipment module 6 shown in the prior art, the waterproof packing 8 is provided on the horizontal opening edge 9 of the equipment case body 1. The watertightness with the lid 10 is maintained by interposing the bush 11 with the vertical opening edge 12 of the device case main body 1 interposed with the grommet 13.

However, in the waterproof case for waterproofing the electronic device module as described above, the waterproof packing 8 for maintaining the water tightness between the horizontal opening edge 9 of the device case body 1 and the lid 10 is provided. In addition, different types of sealing materials must be used for the grommet 13 for maintaining watertightness between the vertical opening edge 12 of the device case main body 1 and the bush 11, and as a result, the molding cost of those sealing materials is increased. However, there is a disadvantage that management costs are increased.

Further, in the above waterproof structure of the device case, an interference portion (joining portion) between the waterproof packing 8 and the grommet 13 occurs after the assembly of the device case is completed. The waterproof reliability of the joint is low. Further, since the wire harness 4 is pulled out from the device case, the grommet 13 attached to the wire harness 4 must be mounted on the device case. Therefore, a mounting structure for that purpose may be required. There is also a drawback that the entire shape of the electronic device becomes large, which causes inconvenience in mounting the electronic device module.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and has an annular waterproof packing engaged with a horizontal opening edge formed in an equipment case main body, and a waterproof packing formed on a side wall of the equipment case main body. The waterproof grommet that is engaged with the vertical opening edge is made into an integral structure, reducing the number of parts used for the waterproof sealing material, improving the workability of assembly and the economics of manufacturing the same, and between the annular waterproof packing and the waterproof grommet. It is a first object of the present invention to enhance the waterproof sealing property of the helmet.

Further, in the present invention, the device case body, the lid attached to the device case body, and the waterproof sealing material are configured to facilitate watertight contact pressure deformation, so that the entire periphery of the device case is waterproof. A second object is to enhance the performance of waterproof sealing with a packing material.

Further, according to the present invention, the internal electric circuit of the electronic device case and the external wire harness of the electronic device case are connected via a connector positioned inside the electronic device case, so that the use of a bush is omitted. It is a third object of the present invention to reduce the overall shape of the electronic device case and to improve the handling of the control device structure including the electronic device case and the workability of mounting the control device structure.

[0011]

In order to achieve the first object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an upper surface is opened by a bottom wall and a side wall surrounding the bottom wall. A device case body in which a waterproof packing part fitting groove is formed, and a substantially U-shaped notch is formed in the side wall, and a grommet part fitting vertical groove is formed along the notch edge;
A connector housing fitted in the notch, a lid attached to the opening of the device case main body, and an annular waterproof packing portion fitted and positioned in the waterproof packing portion fitting groove of the device case main body. And a grommet portion fitted into the notched grommet portion fitting vertical groove, and a waterproof sealing material formed integrally therewith, and fitted into the waterproof packing portion fitting groove and the grommet portion fitting vertical groove of the device case body. It is characterized in that it is a seal structure of an electronic equipment case in which the waterproof packing part and the grommet part are pressed between the equipment case body and the lid.

In order to achieve the second object, the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in addition to the first aspect, the annular waterproof packing part constituting the waterproof sealing material is continuous over the entire periphery thereof. A ridge having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross-section was integrally formed, and furthermore, a ridge having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross-section continuous over each surface was integrally formed on the lower surface of the waterproof packing portion, the left and right side surfaces and the bottom surface of the grommet portion. The electronic device case has a seal structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the first or second aspect, a connector housing is fitted into a central portion of a grommet portion constituting a waterproof sealing material. The electronic device case is characterized in that the connector insertion opening is provided, and an inner peripheral edge of the connector insertion opening is tightly joined to a connector insertion groove formed on an outer peripheral surface of the connector housing.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

First, the configuration of the equipment case main body 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 and a side wall 23 surrounding the bottom wall 22 form an upper opening shape in which a storage space 24 for storing an electronic circuit board 39 described later is formed.

On the opening edge of the device case body 21,
A waterproof packing part fitting groove 25 for tightly fitting a waterproof packing part of a waterproof seal material 30 described later is formed over the entire circumference, and a mounting screw hole of a lid 36 described later is formed outside the waterproof packing part fitting groove 25. 26 are formed.

A notch 27 is formed in one of the side walls 23 of the device case body 21 so as to be cut out in a substantially U-shape from the opening edge toward the bottom wall 22. A recessed grommet portion fitting vertical groove 28 into which a grommet portion 32 to be described later is closely fitted is formed over the entire periphery of the 27. Reference numeral 29 denotes a mounting screw hole of the electronic circuit board.

Next, the structure of the waterproof seal member 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. The waterproof seal member 30 is formed of a flexible elastic material such as rubber.
This shape is such that an annular waterproof packing portion 31 fitted into the waterproof packing portion fitting groove 25 formed in the device case main body 21 and a grommet portion 32 fitted into the grommet portion fitting groove 28 are integrally formed. Have been. That is, the grommet part 32 is formed integrally with the waterproof packing part 31 so that the grommet part 32 is vertically positioned when the waterproof packing part 31 is horizontally positioned.

The width (W) of the waterproof packing portion 31
Is formed substantially equal to the groove width (W ′) of the waterproof packing portion fitting groove 25, and the thickness (L) of the grommet portion 32 is
The groove width (L ') of the grommet portion fitting groove 28 is formed substantially equal to the groove width (L'). Further, the height (H) of the waterproof packing portion 31 is formed so as to be slightly larger than the groove depth (H ') of the waterproof fitting groove 25, and each is formed in an annular shape.

On the upper surface of the waterproof packing portion 31, a ridge 3 having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross section is formed along the annular direction.
3 are integrally formed, and a ridge 33 having the same cross-section as the ridge 33 is continuously formed on the lower surface of the waterproof packing portion 31, the left and right side surfaces of the grommet portion 32, and the lower surface thereof.

At the center of the grommet portion 32, a connector fitting port 34 for fitting a connector housing to be described later is formed.
A connector fitting groove 35 into which the connector housing is closely fitted is formed in the inner peripheral edge of the connector housing 4.

Next, the structure of the lid 36 attached to the opening of the device case main body 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. The lid 36 has a substantially flat shape that closes the upper opening of the device case main body 21, and ribs 37 for increasing the strength of the lid 36 are provided around the front surface and the center of the rear surface. Are formed. Further, the lid 3
In 6, the groove 43 into which the upper edge of the grommet 32 is fitted and the upper surface of the upper edge of the grommet 32 are brought into contact with the notch 27 provided in the device case main body 21. A deformation regulating piece 38 of the grommet portion 32 is formed.

The above is the description of the shape of the components of the electronic device case. Next, the operation will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, a predetermined connector housing 40 is connected to a predetermined electronic circuit board 39 via a connection terminal 41. Soldering. Next, the connector fitting opening 34 of the grommet portion 32 provided in the prevention sealing material 30 is fitted to the peripheral surface of the connector housing 40, and the waterproof sealing material 30 is connected to the connector housing 40. At this time, the rib 42 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing 40 is fitted into the connector fitting groove 35 in a watertight manner.

Next, the left and right side edges and the lower edge of the grommet portion 32 of the waterproof sealing material 30 are formed by inserting a grommet portion fitting vertical groove formed in a peripheral edge of a notch 27 provided in the equipment case body 21. 28, and the waterproof packing portion 31 of the waterproof sealing material 30 is fitted into the waterproof packing portion fitting groove 25 provided in the device case main body 21.

Next, a lid 36 is placed over the device case body 21 and the waterproof sealing material 30 so as to close the opening on the upper surface of the device case body 21.
By tightening the cover 36 and the device case main body 21 with the mounting screws 44 with the “0” therebetween, the waterproofness inside the device case main body 21 is maintained.

As described above, in the present embodiment, each of the opening at the upper surface provided in the device case main body and the notch 27 for fitting the connector is connected via the waterproof sealing member 30 as a single unit. Lid 36 and connector housing 40
Can be closed in a water-tight manner, so that the waterproof assembling work of the device case body can be performed smoothly, the number of parts of the waterproof seal member 30 can be reduced, and there is also an economical one.

The device case body 2 of the waterproof sealing material 30
1, a continuous ridge 33 having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross-section is formed on all of the fitting surface with the cover 1 and the joint surface with the lid 36, and the lid 36 has an outwardly extending grommet portion 32. Since the deformation restricting piece 28 for preventing deformation is used, the ridge 33 extends over the entire length of the sealing surface between the device case main body 21 and the lid 36 by the fastening pressing force between the device case main body 21 and the lid 36. As a result, a reliable sealing force is generated, which increases the reliability of the waterproof seal.

The waterproof seal member 30 is tightly fitted over the entire length of the waterproof packing portion fitting groove 25 and the grommet portion fitting vertical groove 28 provided on the device case body 21, and then the device case body 21 In order to receive the pressing force accompanying the fastening with the lid 36, the outer surface of the waterproof sealing material 30 and the inner surfaces of the grooves 25 and 28 are formed by elastic deformation of the waterproof sealing material 30 accompanying the pressing force. The pressing force of
This also maintains the reliability of the waterproof seal.

The electronic circuit board contained in the equipment case body 21 and the wire harness outside the equipment case body 21 are connected via a connector 40 attached to the equipment case body 21. Therefore, it is not necessary to always pull out the wire harness from the device case main body 21. Therefore, it is easy to handle the control device housing including the device case and to attach it to the vehicle body. Since there is no need to project a bush or the like on the housing, the overall shape of the control device housing can be made compact.

[0030]

As described above, according to the electronic device case sealing structure of the present invention, the horizontal opening and the vertical opening formed in the device case main body 21 are sealed with a single waterproof sealing material. Accordingly, the number of parts of the waterproof sealing material can be reduced, and thereby the economic efficiency is greatly improved, especially by reducing the number of parts of the waterproof sealing material and the number of assembling steps. Also, by using the waterproof sealing material having the above configuration, between the device case main body and the lid,
Further, the waterproof sealing between the connector and the device case and the lid can be ensured. In addition, a connector is provided on the device case main body via a waterproof sealing material, and a wire harness can be connected to the control device housing via this connector. This brings about operational effects such as convenient handling of the previous control device housing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a device case main body used for a seal structure of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a right side view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a waterproof sealing material used for the sealing structure of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a right side view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line IIX-IIX in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a lid used for the seal structure of the present invention.

11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a front view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a combination procedure of the electronic circuit board, the connector, and the waterproof sealing material.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory front view of a case where a waterproof seal member in which an electronic circuit board and a connector are assembled is attached to a device case main body.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a conventional electronic device case sealing structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Device case main body 22 ... Bottom wall 23 ... Side wall 24 ... Storage space 25 ... Waterproof packing part fitting groove 26 ... Mounting screw hole 27 ... Notch 28 ... Grommet part fitting vertical groove 29 ... Mounting screw hole 30 ... Waterproof sealing material 31 ... waterproof packing part 32 ... grommet part 33 ... ridge 34 ... connector fitting entrance 35 ... connector fitting groove 36 ... lid 37 ... rib 38 ... deformation regulating piece 39 ... electronic circuit board 40 ... connector housing 41 ... connection terminal 42 ... rib 43: Groove 44: Mounting screw

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takayasu Watanabe 6-7 Honcho Higashi, Chino-shi, Nagano Nagano Seiko Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4E360 AB13 AB33 BA08 EA03 GA29 GB99

Claims (3)

[Claims] An upper surface is opened by a bottom wall (22) and a side wall (23) surrounding the bottom wall (22), and a waterproof packing portion fitting groove (25) is formed over the entire periphery of the opening edge. A substantially U-shaped notch (27) is formed in the side wall (23), and a grommet part fitting vertical groove (28) is formed along the notch edge.
And a connector housing (40) fitted in the notch (27).
A lid (36) attached to the opening of the device case body (21); and a ring-shaped waterproof member fitted into the waterproof packing part fitting groove (25) of the device case body (21). A waterproof sealing material (3) in which a packing part (31) and a grommet part (32) fitted into a grommet part fitting vertical groove (28) of the notch (27) are integrally formed.
0), the waterproof packing portion fitting groove (25) and the grommet portion fitting vertical groove (2) of the device case body (21).
8) A seal structure for an electronic device case, wherein the waterproof packing portion (31) and the grommet portion fitted in the device case are pressed between the device case body (21) and the lid (36). 2. An annular waterproof packing part (31) constituting a waterproof sealing material (30) is integrally formed with a ridge (33) having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross section continuous over the entire circumference thereof. Further, the lower surface of the waterproof packing portion (31), the left and right side surfaces and the bottom surface of the grommet portion (32), and the ridges (33) having a substantially semi-cylindrical cross-section continuous over the respective surfaces.
2. The electronic device case sealing structure according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is formed integrally. 3. A connector fitting inlet (34) for fitting a connector housing (40) is provided at the center of a grommet part (32) constituting a waterproof sealing material (30), and the connector fitting inlet (34) is provided. Of the connector fitting groove (3) formed on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing (40).
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein 5) is tightly joined.
3. The seal structure for an electronic device case according to 1.