JP2000348812A - Protecting case for connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protecting case for a connector capable of surely protecting connected connector from foreign object. SOLUTION: A connected connector is accommodated in an area αformed by a housing 41. A projecting part is fitted to a recessed part at a seal part 45 when the housing 41 closes. The seal part 45 thereby seals the area α without generating clearance at each contact parts (namely, part of rim γ) of the housing 41 and a guide 44. A rib 44a becomes ring-like shape when the housing 41 closes. A part of a cable extending from each connector is fastened from all directions (namely, circumferential direction). Each rib 44a prevents invasion of foreign object from a through hole β by this fastening. In other words, foreign object can not invade into the area α along the axial direction of the cable by action of each rib 44a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protective case for a connector, and more particularly, to a case for protecting each connected connector from foreign matter when the connectors of each cable are connected to each other.

[0002]

FIG. 16 shows a state in which an antenna 1 and a receiver 2 are connected. In FIG. 16, a cable 11 and a cable 21 extend from the antenna 1 and the receiver 2. Connectors 12 and 22 are attached to the ends of the cables 11 and 21, respectively. When both connectors 12 and 22 are connected, a signal is transmitted from antenna 1 to receiver 2.

[0003] Incidentally, the antenna 1 is installed outdoors,
The receiver 2 may be installed indoors. In such an installation mode, depending on the length of each cable 11 and 21,
Connectors 12 and 22 will be placed outdoors.
Furthermore, in recent years, since both the antenna 1 and the receiver 2 have become smaller, both may be used outdoors.
In such a use, each connector 12 and 22 is placed outdoors.

When the connected connectors 12 and 22 are placed outdoors, they are easily exposed to foreign substances such as rain or dust. As a result, the connection portions of the connectors 12 and 22 are easily rusted or stained, and there is a problem that the transmission signal is deteriorated at the contact portions. Therefore,
Conventionally, the connected portions are protected by winding the connected connectors 12 and 22 with a vinyl tape. In addition, the other connected connectors 12 and 2
2 was covered with a vinyl cap 3 as shown in FIG.

[0005]

However, in the protection method using a vinyl tape, there is a problem that, depending on the winding method, foreign matter enters the connection portion between the connectors 12 and 22. In addition, the vinyl tape is weakened in adhesion or deteriorated in its surface due to exposure to rain or sunlight. That is, vinyl tape has a problem in durability. Further, when the antenna 1 and the receiver 2 are of a portable type, since the signal receiving location frequently changes, it can be assumed that the frequency of connecting and disconnecting the connectors 12 and 22 increases. Therefore, every time the insertion / removal occurs, the user needs to wind or remove the vinyl tape to protect the connectors 12 and 22. Thus, there is a problem that the attachment and detachment of the vinyl tape are troublesome.

On the other hand, in the protection method using the cap 3, as is apparent from FIG. 17, both the connectors 12 and 22 are not completely covered, and a part of the connector 22 is exposed. Therefore, foreign matter such as water easily enters from the gap between the cap 3 and the connector 22. Therefore, there is a problem that the connection portion between the connectors 12 and 22 cannot be sufficiently protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a connector protection case that can reliably protect a connected connector from foreign matter. Another object of the present invention is to provide a connector protection case that is easy to use for a user.

[0008]

The above objects are attained by the following inventions. In addition, each invention has the following unique technical effects. The first invention is a case for protecting the connected connectors from foreign substances when the connectors of the cables are connected to each other. The case is configured to be openable and closable. A housing for accommodating, and a housing provided on the housing; a guide portion for guiding each cable to the outside of the housing when each connector is housed in the housing; and a contact portion when the housing is closed. A seal portion for preventing foreign matter from entering the housing from the contact portion, and a guide portion, wherein each cable guided to the outside of the housing is tightened from the surroundings, and each cable is And a protect portion for preventing foreign matter from entering the inside of the housing from a direction along the line.

According to the first aspect, the seal portion and the protect portion do not allow foreign matter to enter the inside of the housing.
Therefore, the protective case can reliably protect each connector housed in the housing from foreign matter.

A second invention is dependent on the first invention,
The protective case of the connector further includes a connecting portion for connecting itself and any one of the cables. According to the second aspect, since the protection case is connected to the cable by the connection portion, the protection case does not separate from the cable. Therefore, the user does not lose the protective case. Thereby, a more convenient protection case can be provided.

A third invention is dependent on the first invention,
It further includes a fixing portion for fixing itself to a certain position. According to the third aspect, the user can store and arrange the protection case at a fixed position. Thereby, a more convenient protection case can be provided.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, a connector protective case 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a structure that can be opened and closed like a bivalve. FIG. 1A is a perspective view particularly when the protective case 4 is closed. FIG. 1B is a perspective view particularly when the protective case 4 is open. The protective case 4 includes a housing 41, a hinge 42, a fastener 43, a guide 44, and a seal portion 45.

The housing 41 is constituted by two pieces 41a and 41b. Each piece 41a and 4
1b has a shape in which a cylinder is divided into two along an axis, that is, a semi-cylindrical shape. Each of the pieces 41a and 41b has a hollow structure. When the two pieces 41a and 41b are put together, the housing 41 has a hollow area α that can accommodate the connected connectors 12 and 22.
Is formed.

The hinge 42 includes a piece 41a and a piece 41.
b and the housing 41 can be opened and closed freely. The fastener 43 includes a claw 43a formed near the edge γ of the piece 41a and a rib 43b formed near the edge γ of the piece 41b. When closing the housing 41, the user hooks the claw 43a on the rib 43b. Further, the user removes the claw 43a from the rib 43b and
open.

As will be described later (see FIG. 3),
Connected connectors 12 and 22 are accommodated in area α. Therefore, it is necessary to release each of the cables 11 and 21 to the outside of the housing 41. Therefore, two guides 44 are provided in the protective case 4. In the example of FIG. 1, each guide 44 is formed so as to protrude from both side surfaces of the housing 41. Each guide 44 is connected to the housing 4
When 1 is closed, a through hole β is formed. Each through hole β extends from the area α to the outside of the housing 41,
And 22. The diameter of the through hole β is
It is designed to be slightly larger than the diameter of 2 and 22. Also,
A rib 44a is formed on the inner wall of each guide 44, that is, along the circumferential direction of each through hole β. The rib 44a becomes annular when the housing 41 is closed (see FIG. 3). The inner diameter of the annular rib 44a is designed to be slightly smaller than the diameter of each of the cables 12 and 22. Note that the rib 44a is an example of a protect portion described in the claims.

When the housing 41 is closed, the seal portion 45 is formed on a contact surface formed on the housing 41 and the guide 44, that is, on an edge γ (see a dot portion in FIG. 1). The seal portion 45 is provided with foreign substances typified by water and dust,
The area α is prevented from entering the area α from the contact portion between the housing 41 and the guide 44, and the area α is sealed. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along line AA ′ of FIG. Seal part 4
5 is composed of a convex portion 45a and a concave portion 45b formed on the edge γ of the pieces 41a and 41b. Convex part 45
When the housing 41 is closed, a rotates along the arrow C and fits into the recess 45b. Thereby, the area α is sealed without a gap being formed in the contact surface between the housing 41 and the guide 44.

The above-mentioned protective case 4 is integrally formed of resin in terms of cost and ease of processing and manufacture. If cost and ease of processing are not considered, the protective case 4 may be made of another material other than resin.

FIG. 3 shows how to use the protective case 4 having the above structure.
Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. First of all, the user
As shown in (a), the connected connectors 11 and 21 are stored in the area α. Next, the user crawls the cable 12 in a groove formed in the one guide 44 (that is, a semi-annular surface forming a part of the through hole β). Next, the user causes the cable 22 to crawl in the groove formed in the other guide 44 as in the case of the cable 12. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the user closes the housing 41 and hooks the claw 43a on the rib 43b. Housing 4
When 1 is closed, the convex portion 45a of the seal portion 45 fits into the concave portion 45b (see FIG. 2).

By the above-mentioned fitting, the seal portion 45 seals the area α without generating a gap in the contact portion (that is, the edge γ portion) of each of the housing 41 and the guide 44. Further, as shown in FIG.
When 1 is closed, the rib 44a becomes ring-shaped. FIG.
FIG. 3C shows a cross section taken along line CC ′ in FIG.
It is an enlarged view when seen from the direction of. FIG. 3 (d)
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along line CC ′ in FIG. Each rib 44a is shown in FIG.
As shown in (c) and (d), a part of the cable 12 is tightened from the periphery. Although not shown, a part of the cable 22 is similarly tightened. By this tightening, each rib 44a prevents foreign matter from entering through the through hole β. In other words, the foreign matter cannot enter the area α along the axial direction of the cable 12 due to the action of each rib 44a.

As described above, unlike the conventional method of winding vinyl tape, the user can easily store the connectors 11 and 12 in the protective case 4 with one touch. Further, in the protective case 4, the area α is sealed by the action of the seal portion 45 and the rib 44a, so that the connection portion of the connectors 11 and 12 can be reliably protected from foreign matter.

Incidentally, in the example of FIG.
a and the combination of the ribs 43b. However, the fastener 43 may be configured as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4A, a piece 41a has a rib 43c.
And 43d, and ribs 43e and 43f are formed on the piece 41b. Each rib 43c-43
A through hole δ is formed in f. When the housing 41 is closed, the through holes δ of the ribs 43c and 43e overlap,
One screw hole is formed. The user passes the bolt 43g through the screw hole and uses the nut 43h to fix the rib 43c and the rib 43e so as not to separate. Also, rib 4
The combination of the bolt 43i and the nut 43j is fixed so that the 3d and the rib 43f do not separate from each other. Thus, the area α is sealed. The fastener 43 of FIG. 4 is provided with a stronger force than the housing 41 of FIG.
Can be closed, so that the sealed state of the area α is further improved.

Next, three other examples of the structure of the seal portion 45 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along line AA ′ in FIG. In FIG. 5, as another configuration example, the seal portion 45 includes a plurality of convex portions 45c and a plurality of concave portions 45d formed on one and the other edges γ. The plurality of convex portions 45c rotate along the arrow F when the housing 41 closes, and fit into the plurality of concave portions 45d. Foreign matter is
A plurality of irregularities are less likely to enter the area α than a single irregularity as in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a cross section taken along line AA ′ in FIG. In FIG. 6, as another configuration example, the seal portion 45 includes a concave portion 45e formed on one and the other edges γ and an elastic body 45f such as packing. This elastic body 45f
Is made to match the shape of the concave portion 45e.
When the housing 41 is closed, each recess 45e sandwiches the elastic body 45f from above and below.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a section taken along the line AA ′ in FIG. In FIG. 7, as another configuration example, the seal portion 45 includes a convex portion 45g, a concave portion 45h formed on one edge and the other edge γ, and an elastic body 45i represented by silicon rubber. The elastic body 45i is filled in the recess 45h. When the housing 41 is closed, the convex portion 45g has a plurality of concave portions 4g.
Fill in 5h. At this time, the convex portion 45g bites into the filled elastic body 45i.

The elastic members 45f and 45 shown in FIGS.
By the action of i, the airtightness and the watertightness of the area α are improved as compared with those in FIG. This makes it more difficult for foreign matter to enter the area α.

In the protective case 4 shown in FIG. 1, the rib 44a as an example of the protection portion prevents foreign matter from entering the cables 12 and 22 from the axial direction.
However, the protection unit may be configured as shown in FIG. FIGS. 8A and 8B show another configuration example of the protection unit, and are sectional views similar to FIGS. 3C and 3D. In FIG. 8, a groove is formed on the inner wall (on the annular surface) of the guide 44 along the circumferential direction. An elastic body 44b typified by silicon rubber is mounted in this groove. Thereby, when the housing 41 is closed, the elastic body 44b becomes ring-shaped. The inner diameter of the elastic body 44b is designed to be smaller than the diameters of the cables 12 and 22. Therefore, the elastic body 44b tightens, that is, clips around the part of the cables 12 and 22 from all directions, similarly to the case of the rib 44a.

Each of the above-mentioned protective cases 4 is simply configured to protect the connected connectors 11 and 21 from foreign substances. For this reason, there are some parts that are not user-friendly. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the clip 46 is formed integrally with the piece 41a. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a clip holder 47 is attached to a predetermined position ε represented by a wall or the like. For this reason, the user hooks the clip 46 on the clip holder 47 and arranges and uses the protective case 4 at this position as shown in FIG. 10, or stores the protective case 4 as shown in FIG. can do. Thereby, the usability of the protection case 4 is improved.

Also, as shown in FIG.
8 is fixedly attached to the piece 41a, FIG.
And the protective case 4 as shown in FIG. 11 can be arranged or stored. Further, an adhesive tape can be used instead of the magnet 48. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the anchor 49 is formed integrally with the piece 41a. The anchor 49 is connected to the housing 41.
Is a part for fixing at a predetermined position ζ. The anchor 49 has a strip-like shape. One end of the anchor 49 is fixed to the piece 41a. At the other end of the anchor 49, a through hole η is formed. The user fixes the protective case 4 at a predetermined position ζ with the screw 410 inserted through the through hole η. With this anchor 49, the protective case 4 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 can be arranged or stored.

Incidentally, since each of the above protective cases 4 is small, the user is likely to lose it. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the coupler 411 is formed integrally with the piece 41a. The coupler 411 includes the protective case 4
Are parts for preventing the cable 22 from being detached. The coupler 411 has a shape like a strip. One end of the coupler 411 is fixed to the piece 41a. A through hole θ is formed at the other end of the coupler 411. Through hole θ
Is selected to be larger than the outer diameter of the cable 22 and smaller than the outer diameter of the connector 21 (not shown).
The cable 22 is inserted through the through hole θ and the protective case 4
Is connected to the cable 22. The above coupler 411
Accordingly, the protective case 4 is not detached from the cable 22, and the user is less likely to lose the protective case 4.

The protective case 4 shown in FIG. 15 can also be connected so that the protective case 4 is not detached from the cable 12. In the protective case 4 of FIG.
There was no difference from the configuration of FIG. 1 except that a coupler 411 was provided. However, the protection case 4 of FIG. 15 is different from the configuration of FIG. 1 in that a guide tube 412 is provided instead of the one guide 44. The guide 44 in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which the cylinder is divided into two when the housing 41 is open. However, the guide tube 4 shown in FIG.
4 has a cylindrical shape even when the housing 41 is open. The guide tube 44 has a through hole ι for guiding the cable 22 from the outside to the inside of the housing 41. The diameter of this through hole ι is
2 or a value larger than the outer diameter of the cable 22. This is because if the diameter of the through hole ι is smaller than the outer diameter of the cable 22, when the housing 41 is closed, a gap is formed between the pieces 41a and 41b, and the area α cannot be sealed. It is.

However, when the diameter of the through hole ι is larger than the outer diameter of the cable 12, the cable 12 and the guide tube 41
It can be assumed that foreign matter enters from between the second inner wall and the second inner wall. Therefore, in the protective case 4 of FIG. 15, the cable 12 and the guide tube 412 are covered with the cap 3 as described in the related art. The cap 3 has elasticity and fastens the cable 12 and the guide tube 412 from the respective circumferential directions. This prevents foreign matter from entering the area α from the axial direction of the cable 12. In addition, since the cap 3 does not cover the connected connectors 11 and 21 as in the related art, but covers the cable 12 and the guide tube 412, foreign matter is removed from the connectors 11 and 21 accommodated in the area α. It is hard to adhere to 21.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a protective case 4 of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the seal portion 45 shown in FIG. 1 in detail.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining how to use the protective case 4 of FIG.

FIG. 4 shows another configuration example of the fastener 43 applicable to the protective case 4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a seal portion 45 applicable to the protective case 4 of FIG.
2 shows another configuration example.

FIG. 6 is a seal portion 45 applicable to the protective case 4 of FIG.
2 shows another configuration example.

7 is a seal portion 45 applicable to the protection case 4 of FIG.
2 shows another configuration example.

8 shows another example of the configuration of the protector in the claims, and is an enlarged view around the guide 44. FIG.

FIG. 9 is a clip 46 applicable to the protective case 4 of FIG.
(An example of a fixing part in the claims) is shown.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining how to use the clip 46 of FIG. 9;

11 is a diagram for explaining how to use the clip 46 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 shows a magnet 48 as another example of the fixing part.
Is shown.

FIG. 13 shows an anchor 49 as another example of the fixing portion.

FIG. 14 shows a coupler 411 as an example of a connecting portion in the claims.

FIG. 15 shows a protective case 4 to which a guide tube 412 as another example of the connecting portion is applied.

FIG. 16 shows a state where the antenna 1 and the receiver 2 are connected.

FIG. 17 shows a cap 3 which is one of conventional connector protection methods.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 12 ... connector 12, 22 ... cable 3 ... cap 41 ... housing 42 ... hinge 43 ... fastener 44 ... guide 45 ... seal portion 46 ... clip 47 ... clip holder 48 ... magnet 49 ... anchor 410 ... screw 411 ... coupler 412 … Guide tube

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 5E087 FF12 HH02 JJ01 LL01 LL03 LL11 LL12 LL14 LL17 MM09 MM12 MM13 MM16 MM17 QQ01 RR06 RR12 RR13 RR25 RR36

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A case for protecting each connected connector from foreign matter when the connectors of each cable are connected to each other, wherein the case is configured to be openable and closable, and each connected connector is placed inside the case. A housing for accommodating, a guide portion provided in the housing, for guiding each of the cables to the outside of the housing when each of the connectors is accommodated in the housing, and a contact portion when the housing is closed. A seal portion for preventing the foreign matter from entering from the contact portion to the inside of the housing; and a seal portion provided on the guide portion and surrounding each cable guided to the outside of the housing. And a protect portion for preventing the foreign matter from entering the housing from the direction along each cable. Provided, connector protective case. 2. The connector protective case according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting portion for connecting itself to any one of the cables. 3. The connector protection case according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing portion for fixing itself at a certain position.