JP2001257045A - Waterproof joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof joint connector with reduced number of parts. SOLUTION: The waterproof joint connector consists of four members, that is, a joint terminal 2, a first housing 3 on which this joint terminal 2 can be mounted, a second housing 5 which is fitted to the first housing 3 so as to cover the joint terminal 2, and a waterproof member which makes the surrounding area of wire W watertight fitted inside the both housings 3, 5. By mounting the joint terminal 2 on a terminal-mounting part 7 of the first housing 3 and fitting the waterproof member 4 and the second housing 5 from above the joint terminal 2, the waterproof joint connector assembly is completed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 10 and FIG.
15902 shows a waterproof joint connector disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 15902. The waterproof joint connector includes a pair of upper and lower housings 100, 101, a joint terminal 102 mounted on the lower housing 101,
The waterproof members 103 and 104 are attached to each of the wires 0 and 101 and waterproof the periphery of the electric wire W. As shown in FIG. 11, in a state where the joint terminal 102 and the waterproof member 103 are mounted on the lower housing 101, the electric wire W is pushed into the press-contact portion of the joint terminal 102,
Here, upper housing 1 integrated with waterproof member 104
Assembling the waterproof joint connector is completed by attaching 00.

[0003]

The above-described waterproof joint connector is composed of five parts. From the viewpoint of assemblability and management of the number of parts, it is desirable to reduce the number of parts as much as possible. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof joint connector that can reduce the number of parts.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a waterproof joint connector according to the first aspect of the present invention.
A joint terminal provided with a press-contact portion for making a cut in the outer sheath of the electric wire to connect to the inner core wire, a first housing provided with a terminal mounting portion capable of mounting the joint terminal, and the first housing mounted on the first housing. A second housing that is assembled to the first housing so as to cover the joint terminal so as to prevent the two terminals from coming off from each other; A waterproofing member having elasticity, the holding portion having an electric wire assembling portion closely attached to the periphery of the electric wire pushed into the press-contacting portion. Are formed in a pair, and the holding portion includes
A slit that opens from the electric wire assembling part to an edge of the holding part is formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, one of the two housings is covered on both sides of the other housing.
A pair of side wall portions sandwiching the holding portion of the waterproof member is connected via a hinge portion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the second housing is mounted on the first housing in accordance with an operation of assembling the two housings. An electric wire pressing portion for pushing the electric wire is provided at a press contact portion of the joint terminal.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the waterproof joint connector can be assembled in the following procedure, for example. First, the joint terminal is mounted on the terminal mounting portion of the first housing, and the electric wire is pushed into the press contact portion. Here, by pushing the electric wire from the slit opened to the edge of the holding part to reach the electric wire assembly part,
The periphery of the electric wire can be kept watertight. Finally, assembling the waterproof joint connector is completed by assembling the second housing to the first housing. Since this waterproof joint connector is composed of four members, the first and second housings, the joint terminal, and the waterproof member, the number of components can be reduced as compared with the conventional one.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the both side walls are covered with the housing on the other side so that the holding portion is sandwiched, the slit is hardly opened. For this reason, the waterproof effect is improved. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the electric wire pressing portion presses the electric wire into the press-contact portion of the joint terminal with the operation of assembling the first and second housings. For this reason, the assemblability of the waterproof joint connector is improved.

[0009]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a waterproof joint connector 1 of the present embodiment (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as “connector 1”). The connector 1 includes a joint terminal 2 for connecting an electric wire W, a first housing 3 to which the joint terminal 2 can be attached, a waterproof member 4 covered from above the joint terminal 2, and a first housing 3. The engageable second housing 5 is composed of a total of four members. In the following description, as shown by arrows in FIG. 1, the extending direction of the electric wire W is the left-right direction, the side where the first housing 3 is opened is the upward direction, and the direction orthogonal to the front-rear and up-down directions. Is the front-back direction.

The joint terminal 2 is formed by pressing a conductive plate, and a plurality of electric wires W are pushed into each other so that the cores WA of the electric wires W are joined together. The joint terminal 2 has a press contact portion 6 connected to the core wire WA inside the electric wire W by making a cut in the outer skin WB of the electric wire W.
Is provided. Each of the press contact portions 6 is provided with a pair of left and right press contact blades 6A along the extending direction of the electric wire W. Each press contact blade 6A is formed in a substantially U-shape, and a cut is made in the outer cover WB with the operation of pushing the electric wire W into the inside thereof. A plurality of press contact portions 6 are arranged at equal intervals along the front-rear direction. In addition, a pair of positioning walls 2A that are in contact with terminal mounting walls 11B of the second housing 5, which will be described later, are provided at both front and rear ends of the joint terminal 2.

The first housing 3 is integrally formed in a substantially U-shaped side cross section with resin, and the second housing 5 is assembled with the joint terminal 2 accommodated therein.
The first housing 3 has a bottom wall 8 and a pair of front and rear engagement walls 9 projecting upward from both front and rear edges of the bottom wall 8.
Are provided. Also, from the left and right edges of the bottom wall 8,
A pair of left and right electric wire holding walls 10 are protruded upward.
The height of the electric wire pressing wall 10 is lower than the height of the engaging wall 9, and the upper surface thereof is aligned with the extending position of the electric wire W pushed into the press contact portion 6 of the joint terminal 2. An electric wire mounting recess 10A in which the electric wire W can be placed is provided.

Further, terminal mounting walls 11A and 11B project from the center of the bottom wall 8 upward. The terminal mounting walls 11A and 11B are formed of four sides on the front, rear, left and right sides, and an inner space surrounded by the terminal mounting walls 11A and 11B is a terminal mounting portion 7. The joint terminal 2 can be attached to the terminal attachment portion 7 in a state in which the joint terminal 2 is substantially in close contact with the terminal attachment walls 11A and 11B and is stopped. In addition, the upper side of the pair of left and right terminal mounting walls 11A has a concave groove
Are recessed in accordance with the position of the press contact portion 6 of the joint terminal 2.

In the front and rear engagement walls 9, three engagement protrusions 13, 1 are provided on the surfaces facing each other.
4 are protruded. These engagement projections 13 and 14 have engagement pieces 15 and 1 of the second housing 5 as described later.
6 can be engaged. Three engaging projections 13, 14
Among them, the engagement projections 13 projecting in a pair on the left and right are provided substantially at the center of the height of the engagement wall 9 and have a rectangular shape elongated in the left-right direction. A guide surface 13 </ b> A is provided on a side of each of the engagement protrusions 13 that is separated to the left and right (a side facing outward from the first housing 3), so that a smooth engagement operation of the engagement piece 15 can be performed. Is to be done. The central engaging projection 14 is formed in a vertically elongated rectangular shape, and a guide surface 14A is formed on the upper surface side so that the engaging operation of the engaging piece 16 is smoothly guided. ing.

The second housing 5 is integrally formed of a synthetic resin, and is assembled so as to cover the joint terminal 2 mounted on the first housing 3. The second housing 5 includes a central cover 17 that covers the upper surface of the first housing 3, and a pair of side walls 19 connected to left and right side edges of the central cover 17.
The center cover portion 17 and the side wall portions 19 are respectively connected by a pair of front and rear hinge portions 18, and are rotatable about the hinge portions 18. A pair of engaging pieces 16 hang down from the front and rear end edges of the central cover portion 17. Each of the engagement pieces 16 can be slightly bent and deformed in the front-rear direction, and an engagement groove 16A with which the engagement protrusion 14 of the first housing 3 can be engaged is provided at the center thereof. In addition, the center cover 17
An electric wire pressing portion 23 hangs down from the lower surface side.

The electric wire pressing portion 23 is formed so as to protrude continuously from the front end portion of the center cover portion 17 to the rear portion and to extend from the rear end portion to the front portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the distal end portion of the wire pressing portion 23 is provided with a retaining edge portion 23 </ b> A that extends more in the left-right direction than the base end portion. The left and right width of the retaining edge 23A is smaller than the separation width of the pair of left and right press contact blades 6A in the joint terminal 2. The electric wire pressing portion 23 is connected to both housings 3,
5 is attached to the press contact portion 6 of the joint terminal 2 attached to the first housing 3 in accordance with the operation when the wire 5 is assembled.
Can be pushed.

Further, in the side wall portion 19, a wire insertion groove 20 aligned with the position of the wire mounting recess 10 A of the first housing 3 is formed from an edge opposite to a side edge connected to the center cover portion 17. It is recessed. In addition, each wire holding wall 1
At the center of the front and rear end portions of the pair 0, a pair of engagement pieces 15 are provided to project inward from each other. Each of the engagement pieces 15 can be slightly bent and deformed in the front-rear direction, and an engagement groove portion 15 </ b> A that can be engaged with the engagement protrusion 13 of the first housing 3 is provided at the center thereof. . In addition, the guide surface 1 is provided on the surface of the distal end of the engagement piece 15 that is in contact with the engagement wall 9.
5B (shown only in FIG. 9) are provided.
3 makes it easy to bend and deform the engaging piece 15 (not shown, but on the tip side of the engaging piece 16 which is in contact with the engaging wall 9). Is provided with a similar guide surface.
And the engaging projection 14 is smoothly guided. ). In the electric wire holding wall 10, a pressing portion 21 is protrudingly provided on a surface side to be assembled to the first housing 3. The pressing portion 21 has a size that allows the first housing 3 to fit into an assembly opening 22 formed by the pair of front and rear engaging walls 9 and the electric wire pressing wall 10.

The waterproof member 4 is integrally formed of an elastic material, is housed inside the housings 3 and 5, and holds the periphery of the electric wire W assembled to the joint terminal 2 in a watertight manner. . The waterproof member 4 includes a ceiling surface 24 that covers the upper surface of the joint terminal 2,
A holding portion 25 is provided on the lower surface side of the holding member 4 and hangs downward from near the left and right ends. The size of the ceiling surface portion 24 is the same as the size of the space surrounded by (the extension of) the two engagement walls 9 and the two electric wire pressing walls 10 in the first housing 3. In addition, a waterproof convex 24A protrudes from the side edge of the ceiling surface 24 along the entire circumference,
When the waterproof convex 24A is pressed against the inner surfaces of both the engaging walls 9 and the side walls 19, it is elastically deformed to form a waterproof structure. Further, a pressing portion insertion groove 26 is opened in the center of the ceiling surface portion 24 along the front-rear direction, and the wire pressing portion 23 of the second housing 5 is inserted therein so as to penetrate in the vertical direction. . Also, the wire pressing portion 23
When the member penetrates through the ceiling surface portion 24, the retaining edges 23A are engaged with the lower surface side of the ceiling surface portion 24, so that the members 4 and 5 are prevented from coming off.

At the center in the thickness direction of the front and rear end edges of the holding portion 25, a waterproof convex shape 25A is continuously provided in a vertical direction, and the waterproof convex shape 25A is The waterproof structure is formed by being elastically deformed by being pressed. A slit 28 is cut from the lower end edge of the holding portion 25 at a position aligned with the position of the electric wire W pushed into the press contact portion 6 of the joint terminal 2. An electric wire assembling portion 27 that is in close contact with the periphery of the electric wire W is provided at an upper edge portion of the slit 28. The electric wire assembling portion 27 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire W along the extending direction of the electric wire W, and the inside thereof is waterproof along the entire circumference. A convex 27A is provided (see also FIG. 6).

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the joint terminal 2 is mounted on the terminal mounting portion 7 of the first housing 3 and a predetermined electric wire W is connected to the press-fitting portion 6.
Put it lightly. On the other hand, by inserting the wire pressing portion 23 of the second housing 5 into the pressing portion insertion groove 26 of the waterproof member 4, the members 4 and 5 are integrated. At this time, the side walls 19 of the second housing 5 are substantially flush with the center cover 17.

Next, the two members 4 and 5 are assembled from above the first housing 3. When assembling the waterproof member 4 and the second housing 5 to the first housing 3 on which the joint terminal 2 is mounted, the waterproof member 4 is assembled from a direction substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the electric wire W.
At this time, the electric wire W enters the inside of the waterproof member 4 via the slit 28 of the holding portion 25 and enters the depth side of the slit 28. When reaching the predetermined assembling position, the electric wire W is fitted into the electric wire assembling portion 27. At this time, the waterproof convex 27A of the electric wire assembling portion 27 closely adheres to the periphery of the electric wire W, so that the periphery of the electric wire W is made watertight.

In the outer wall portions of the housings 3 and 5, when the housings 3 and 5 are assembled to a predetermined position, the engaging projections 14 are engaged with the engaging grooves 16A of the engaging pieces 16.
By fitting into the inside, the two housings 3 and 5 are in the state of being prevented from being pulled out.

Further, with the above-mentioned assembling operation, inside the two housings 3, 5, the wire pressing portion 23 protruding from the second housing 5 pushes the wire W into the press contact portion 6. Works. When the two housings 3 and 5 are assembled to a predetermined position, the wire pressing portion 23 completely pushes the wire W into the press contact portion 6, and the wires W are electrically connected via the joint terminal 2. It is connected to the.

After the pushing operation of the two housings 3 and 5 is completed, the side wall portions 19 of the first housing 3 are formed.
Is rotated downward about the hinge 18 as a rotation center, and is assembled so as to cover the assembly opening 22 of the second housing 5. By this rotation operation, the wire insertion groove 2 of the side wall 19 is formed.
The wire W is inserted into the connector 0 and extends from the connector 1 in a state where the wire W is positioned. On the outer surface side of the front and rear engagement walls 9, a pair of front and rear engagement pieces 15 is provided.
Engages with the engaging projection 13 while slightly bending and deforming. Then, while the engaging piece 15 is deformed by return, the engaging groove 1
The engagement protrusion 13 is fitted into the inside of the 5A, and the engagement wall 9 is prevented from coming off. At this time, the pressing portion 21 of the side wall portion 19 sandwiches the holding portion 25 between the joint terminal 2, thereby restricting the opening of the slit 28. The shape 25A is the engagement wall 9
It comes to adhere to.

Thus, the assembly of the waterproof joint connector 1 of the present embodiment is completed. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the waterproof joint connector 1 includes the first and second housings 3 and 5, the joint terminal 2, and the waterproof member 4
And the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional one. Also, both side wall portions 19
Is covered with the first housing 3 so that the holding portion 25 of the waterproof member 4 is sandwiched between the first housing 3 and the slit 28. For this reason, the assembly opening 22
The waterproof effect is improved.

Further, the first and second housings 3, 5
With the operation of assembling, the electric wire pressing portion 23 pushes the electric wire W into the press contact portion 6 of the joint terminal 2. For this reason,
The assemblability of the waterproof joint connector 1 is improved. Further, since slits 28 for guiding the electric wire W to the electric wire assembling portion 27 are provided in both holding portions 25 of the waterproof member 4, the entire waterproof member 4 is orthogonal to the extending direction of the electric wire W. Can be assembled from any direction.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiment, and for example, the following ones are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the technical scope of the present invention extends to an equivalent range. (1) In the present embodiment, the wire pressing portion 23 is provided in the second housing 5, but according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide the wire pressing portion. In this case, the waterproof joint connector can be assembled in the following procedure, for example. First, the joint terminal is mounted on the terminal mounting portion of the first housing, and the electric wire is pushed into the press contact portion. here,
The periphery of the electric wire can be held in a watertight manner by pushing the electric wire through the slit opened to the edge of the holding portion to reach the wire assembling portion. Finally, assembling the waterproof joint connector is completed by assembling the second housing to the first housing.

(2) In the present embodiment, the second housing 5
Although the side walls 19 covering both sides of the first housing 3 are provided on the side, according to the present invention, the side walls covering the both sides of the second housing may be provided on the first housing side. (3) In the present embodiment, the slit 28 for guiding the electric wire W to the electric wire assembling portion 27 is opened in both the holding portions 25 of the waterproof member 4, but according to the present invention, the slit is formed of the two holding portions. May be provided only on one of the sides. In this case, for the holding portion provided with the wire assembling portion where the slit is not opened, the wire is inserted in advance, and then the other holding portion is moved in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the wire. Assemble from.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a waterproof joint connector according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a first housing.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a second housing.

FIG. 4 is a front sectional view of a second housing.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a waterproof member.

FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of a waterproof member.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a waterproof joint connector.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a waterproof joint connector.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view of the waterproof joint connector.

FIG. 10 is a partially exploded perspective view of a conventional waterproof joint connector.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of a conventional waterproof joint connector before assembly.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Waterproof joint connector 2 ... Joint terminal 3 ... First housing 4 ... Waterproof member 5 ... Second housing 6 ... Press-contact part 7 ... Terminal mounting part 18 ... Hinge part 19 ... Side wall part 23 ... Electric wire pressing part 25 ... Holding part 27 … Wire assembling part 28… Slit W… Wire WB… Outer shell WA… Core wire

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A joint terminal provided with a press-contact portion for cutting a sheath of an electric wire to connect to an inner core wire, a first housing provided with a terminal mounting portion capable of mounting the joint terminal, and the first housing A second housing that is assembled to the first housing so as to cover the joint terminal attached to the second housing and that is in a state in which they are prevented from coming off from each other;
A waterproof joint member housed inside the two housings and having an elasticity to hold the periphery of the electric wire assembled to the joint terminal in a water-tight manner, the waterproof joint member comprising: A holding portion having a wire assembly portion that is in close contact with the periphery of the wire pushed into the press-contact portion is formed in a pair with the joint terminal interposed therebetween, and the holding portion is formed by the wire assembly portion from the wire assembly portion. A waterproof joint connector, wherein a slit that opens to an edge of the holding portion is formed. 2. A pair of side walls for sandwiching a holding portion of the waterproof member is provided on one side of the two housings by covering both sides of the other housing via a hinge. The waterproof joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof joint connector is connected. 3. The second housing is provided with an electric wire pressing portion which presses the electric wire into a press contact portion of the joint terminal mounted on the first housing in accordance with an operation of assembling the two housings. The waterproof joint connector according to claim 1, wherein: