JP2002203643A - Rubber stopper for waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a terminal metal fitting to set up a correct insertion attitude, even for an integration type rubber stopper. SOLUTION: A rubber stopper 30 is arranged so as to cover the back surface of all cavities formed on a housing of a housing, and electric wire insertion holes 31 are opened at the position corresponding with respective cavities. The rubber stopper 30 is pressed down by a rubber stopper presser 62 on which, window holes 63 are opened. Marks 32, corresponding with stabilizers mounted on a female metal terminal, formed at the peripheral parts of the electric wire insertion holes 31 of the rubber stopper 30, are made visible through the window holes 63. The female terminal metal fittings are inserted into the corresponding cavities from the window holes 63 through the electric wire insertion holes 31, at that time, when the female terminal metal fittings are inserted with an attitude so as to make the stabilizer fit to the mark 32, the female terminal metal fittings are inserted into the cavities keeping a ordinary attitude by itself.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a one-piece rubber plug for a waterproof connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector in which terminal fittings are accommodated in a cavity provided in a connector housing, a stabilizer is protruded from a part of the terminal fitting so that each terminal fitting can be inserted into a corresponding cavity in a proper posture. By aligning the stabilizer with a guide groove formed at a predetermined position on the inner surface of the cavity, the stabilizer can be inserted in a normal posture. On the other hand, as one form of the waterproof connector, a type using a collective waterproof rubber stopper is known. This waterproof rubber plug can be fitted so as to cover all cavities on the rear surface of the connector housing as described in, for example, JP-A-3-43972, and an electric wire insertion hole is provided at each position corresponding to each cavity. With an open structure, when an electric wire with the terminal fitting fixed to the terminal is inserted, the terminal fitting is first passed while elastically widening the wire insertion hole, and the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity side. Then, the wire insertion hole is elastically restored and reduced in diameter, and closely adheres to the outer periphery of the wire, so that the rear surfaces of the cavities can be simultaneously sealed.

[0003]

However, in the one-piece waterproof rubber plug, since the electric wire insertion hole is only opened and the inside of the cavity cannot be sufficiently viewed, the stabilizer is temporarily provided on the terminal fitting as described above. Even so, there is a problem that the alignment with the guide groove cannot be performed, that is, when the collective rubber stopper is used, the insertion posture of the terminal fitting cannot be properly adjusted using the stabilizer. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to determine the insertion posture of the terminal fitting even with a collective waterproof rubber stopper.

[0004]

As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention is directed to a connector housing having a cavity, the terminal being fitted to a rear surface of the connector housing and having a terminal corresponding to the cavity. In a rubber plug for a waterproof connector in which an electric wire insertion hole through which an electric wire provided with a metal fitting can be inserted in a water-tight manner is opened, in the vicinity of the electric wire insertion hole on a surface on the near side in the insertion direction, the normal posture of the terminal metal fitting. The feature is that the mark is provided in accordance with the above.
The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, a mark is formed in a rim of the electric wire insertion hole corresponding to a stabilizer protruding from the terminal fitting. Have.

[0005]

<Invention of claim 1> A mark is provided near the wire insertion hole on the front surface of the rubber plug in the insertion direction, so that the posture of the terminal fitting is adjusted to the mark. When inserted into the wire insertion hole, it can be inserted into the corresponding cavity in a proper posture. Even with a one-piece waterproof rubber stopper, the insertion posture of the terminal fitting can be determined. <Invention of Claim 2> By aligning the stabilizer with the mark, the terminal fitting can be inserted into the corresponding cavity in the normal posture.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
21 will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment,
2 illustrates a female waterproof connector. As shown in FIG. 1, the waterproof connector generally comprises two pieces, a housing 20 and a hood 60. The housing 20 has a packing 34 for sealing between the housing 20 and a mating male connector.
, One-piece rubber stopper 30 and inserted female terminal fitting 1
And a retainer 40 which is double-locked so as to prevent the 0 from falling off.

The female terminal fitting 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the contact piece 11 for contact with the tab of the mating male terminal fitting has a substantially rectangular tube-shaped connection portion 12 therein, and the barrel 13 provided at the rear end is swaged. At the end of the electric wire W. On one side of the upper surface of the connecting portion 12 in the width direction, a stabilizer 14 which is raised one step is formed.
The lance 22 can be locked. A locked groove 16 into which the protrusion 46 of the retainer 40 can be fitted is formed at a position near the front end of the upper surface so as to open on the side surface.

The housing 20 is made of a synthetic resin, and is formed in a block shape slightly elongated in the front-rear direction and slightly larger on the rear end side as shown in FIGS. Of the female-side terminal fittings 10 are formed in four cavities 21 arranged in the front-rear direction and arranged in two rows in the horizontal direction. Cavity 21
Are formed symmetrically in a back-to-back manner, and as shown in FIG. 1, a lance 22 is bent toward an upper or lower bending space 23 in the upper cavity 21 on the ceiling surface and in the lower cavity 21 on the bottom surface. It is provided as possible.

A collective rubber stopper 30 is mounted on the rear surface of the housing 20. This rubber stopper 30
As shown in FIG. 10, is formed in a substantially rectangular shape on the front side so as to cover over the entrances of all the cavities 21 and has a thick wall shape. An electric wire insertion hole 31 through which the electric wire W can be inserted tightly is formed in the rubber stopper 30 so as to correspond to the arrangement of the cavities 21. In addition, in order to match the insertion posture of the female terminal fitting 10 described above, a mark 32 for matching with the stabilizer 14 provided on the female terminal fitting 10 is formed in a recess at the edge of the electric wire insertion hole 31. . As shown in FIG. 10, the mark 32 is provided in the upper wire insertion hole 3.
1 is set at the upper right position, and the lower wire insertion hole 31 is set at the lower left position. In addition,
The marks 32 are provided on both the front and back sides, but are formed so that the rubber stopper 30 may be attached in either direction. The rubber stopper 3 is provided on the rear surface of the housing 20.
A rubber stopper accommodating concave portion 25 for tightly fitting and accommodating 0 is formed in communication with the rear end (entrance) of each cavity 21.

A fitting position 35 of a packing 34 for sealing between a mating male housing (not shown) and a mating male housing (not shown) is set on the outer periphery of the housing 20 in front of the stepped portion. A retainer 40 is mounted in front of the fitting position 35 of the packing 34. The retainer 40 is formed of a synthetic resin material, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 11 and 12, a front stop plate 41 that covers the front surface of the front end of the housing 20 and a side plate 42 that covers the left side surface viewed from the front.
And an upper plate 43A and a lower plate 43B that cover the upper and lower surfaces. The front stop plate 41 functions to stop the female terminal fitting 10 inserted into the cavity 21 at the front, while the terminal insertion opening 4 into which the tab of the male terminal fitting can be inserted.
4 are opened in an arrangement corresponding to each cavity 21.

The upper surface plate 43 on the back surface of the front stop plate 41
A and a position inside the predetermined dimension from the lower plate 43B,
A ceiling wall plate 45A and a bottom wall plate 45B which respectively constitute the front end of the ceiling wall of the upper cavity 21 and the front end of the bottom wall of the lower cavity 21 are protruded. On the inner surface side of the ceiling wall plate 45A and the bottom wall plate 45B, four projections 46 are formed at a position corresponding to the formation position of the terminal insertion opening 44 at the center in the depth direction. . Each projection 46 is provided with the female terminal fitting 10 described above.
The groove 16 can be entered from the side.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, from one side (left side as viewed from the front) of the housing 20,
The retainer insertion hole 26 into which the retainer 40 is inserted.
Are formed to penetrate the opposite side surface. The retainer insertion hole 26 has upper and lower insertion grooves 27 through which the ceiling wall plate 45A and the bottom wall plate 45B of the retainer 40 are inserted. The lower surface of the upper insertion groove 27 and the lower insertion groove 2
7 are formed with projection insertion grooves 28 through which the projections 46 can be inserted. Specifically, each projection insertion groove 28 is formed by a ceiling surface of the upper cavity 21 and a bottom surface of the lower cavity 21. , Ie, the female terminal fitting 1
It is formed so as to penetrate the position corresponding to the locked groove 16 when 0 is properly inserted.

As shown in FIG. 5, on the upper and lower surfaces at the front end side of the housing 20,
On the other hand, on the inner surface of the upper surface plate 43A and the lower surface plate 43B of the retainer 40, as shown in FIG. Have been. Accordingly, the retainer 40 moves the front stop plate 41 along the front surface of the housing 20, inserts the upper surface plate 43 </ b> A and the lower surface plate 43 </ b> B into the insertion groove 27, and
It is designed to be inserted from the left side when viewed from the front. At this time, the projection 46 of the retainer 40 is inserted into the projection insertion groove 28.

On the upper and lower surfaces of the housing 20,
As shown in FIG. 9, a temporary locking ridge 52 and a full locking ridge 53 are provided on the right side of the rib 50 at a position on the right side as viewed from the front with an interval left and right. Meanwhile, retainer 4
A lock groove 54 is formed in the inner surface of the upper surface plate 43A and the lower surface plate 43B on the right side when viewed from the front, in which the above-mentioned temporary locking ridge 52 and the final locking ridge 53 can be fitted. (See FIG. 12). Escape grooves 55 are formed on both sides of the lock groove 54 so that the temporary locking ridges 52 and the main locking ridges 53 are fitted and released.

When the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 26, first, the temporary locking ridge 52 is fitted into the lock groove 54 and is held at the temporary locking position (see FIG. 20). When the retainer 40 is in the temporary locking position, as shown in the drawing, each terminal insertion port 44 of the front stop plate 41 is shifted to the left, and only the left area of the front surface of the corresponding cavity 21 is shifted. Is opened. Each projection 46
Are retracted to the left of the corresponding cavity 21.

When the retainer 40 is further pushed in from the temporary locking position, the final locking projection 53 is fitted in the lock groove 54 and is held at the final locking position (see FIG. 21). In this full locking position, the left side plate 42 of the retainer 40 is substantially flush with the protruding left side surface of the rear end of the housing 20.
Each terminal insertion opening 44 of the front stop plate 41 is aligned with the front surface of the corresponding cavity 21, and each projection 46 enters the corresponding cavity 21. Also, the surface of the front stop plate 41 of the retainer 40 has the surface shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a grained surface 48 is formed. Textured surface 4
8 indicates a rough surface having irregularities. Such a grained surface 48
Is formed by forming an uneven surface on a molding surface on which the surface of the front stop plate 41 is molded in the molding die of the retainer 40.

The hood 60 is also made of synthetic resin,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13 and 14, the housing 20 is formed in a rectangular tube shape so as to cover around the housing 20, and a rear end portion of the housing 20 has a reduced diameter fitted tightly to an outer periphery of a rear end portion of the housing 20. A part 61 is formed. A rubber stopper 62 is stretched on the rear surface of the reduced diameter portion 61. Rubber stopper 6
2, a window hole 63 through which the female terminal fitting 10 can be inserted is formed in alignment with the cavity 21. A lock arm 64 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the hood 60 in the width direction to lock the mating state with the mating male housing.

At the rear edges of the four surfaces of the housing 20, locking projections 65 are provided at central portions in the width direction. The rear surface side of each locking projection 65 is tapered. On the other hand, locking grooves 66 are formed on four surfaces of the reduced diameter portion 61 of the hood 60 so that the locking protrusions 65 can be fitted therein. When the housing 20 is fitted into the reduced diameter portion 61 until the rear surface of the housing 20 hits the rubber stopper 62,
The locking projection 65 is set to fit in the locking groove 66. A shallow relief groove 67 is formed on the front side of the locking groove 66, and the crossover portion 68 therebetween is tapered.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. As an example of an assembling procedure, first, the packing 34 is fitted to the fitting position 35 of the housing 20, and the collective rubber plug 30 is fitted in the rubber plug housing recess 25.
Next, the retainer 40 is inserted into the retainer insertion hole 26 from the left side as viewed from the front, and assembled at the temporary locking position. In this state, only the left half area of the front surface of the cavity 21 is opened for each terminal insertion opening 44 of the front stop plate 41 of the retainer 40, and each projection 46 is located on the left side of the corresponding cavity 21. Have been evacuated. In addition, the retainer 40 functions as a stopper for the packing 34 to come off.

As described above, the packing 34 and the rubber stopper 30 are attached to the housing 20 and the retainer 40
Is assembled in the temporary locking position, the rear end of the housing 20 is inserted into the hood 60 from the front as shown in FIG. When the housing 20 is pushed in while the locking projection 65 slides in the escape groove 67, and is pushed in until the rear end surface hits the rubber stopper 62 of the hood 60,
Each locking projection 65 climbs over the climbing section 68, as shown in FIG.
And fitted in the corresponding locking groove 66 as shown in FIG.
The housing 20 and the hood 60 are integrally assembled. At the same time, the rubber stopper 30 holds the rubber stopper 30 in a retaining state. In such a state, it is carried into the terminal insertion site.

At the terminal insertion site, as shown in FIG.
The female terminal fitting 10 is placed in a back-to-back posture on the top and bottom,
It is inserted into the corresponding cavity 21 through the window hole 63 of the rubber stopper 62. The female terminal fitting 10 is
In the upper part, it is necessary to take the posture in which the stabilizer 14 comes to the upper right when viewed from the rear in the insertion direction, and in the lower part, it is necessary to take the posture in which the stabilizer 14 comes to the lower left. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the mark 32 provided on the rim of the electric wire insertion hole 31 can be visually recognized through the window hole 63 of the rubber stopper retainer 62,
The upper wire insertion hole 31 has a mark 32 at the upper right position.
However, since the mark 32 is located at the lower left position in the lower wire insertion hole 31, by aligning the position of the stabilizer 14 with the mark 32, the female terminal fitting 10 can be naturally inserted in a proper posture.

The female terminal fitting 10 is inserted through the window hole 63 into the rubber stopper 3.
0 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 21 while expanding the wire insertion hole 31 of the wire, and the lance 22 is bent in the space 2.
3 while being deflected and deformed, and pushed in without being disturbed by the projection 46 of the retainer 40. When the lance 22 is inserted to the regular position, the lance 22 is restored and deformed and is hooked on the jaw portion 15, so that the lance 22 is primarily locked in a retaining state (FIG. 1).
9). Further, the inner peripheral surface of the electric wire insertion hole 31 of the rubber plug 30 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire W passed therethrough.

Cavities 2 of all female terminal fittings 10
When the insertion operation into the inside 1 is completed, the retainer 40 is moved to the final locking position. Specifically, from the state of FIG. 20, a finger is applied to the surface of the front stop plate 41 of the retainer 40 to move the retainer 40 rightward in FIG. Retainer 4
When 0 moves to the full locking position shown in FIG. 21, the full locking ridge 53 is fitted in the lock groove 54 and held at the full locking position as described above. When the locking protrusion 53 gets over the lock groove 54 from the escape groove 55, resistance is received. However, since the front stop plate 41 has a grained surface 48 on its surface,
As a result, the finger is prevented from slipping, and the retainer 40 can be moved smoothly.

When the retainer 40 is moved to the final locking position, the projection 46 of the retainer 40 enters the cavity 21 and fits into the locked groove 16 of the female terminal fitting 10 from the side, and The terminal fitting 10 is double-locked in a retaining state. Further, the terminal insertion openings 44 of the front stop plate 41 are concentrically aligned on the front surface of each cavity 21. Thus, the assembly of the female waterproof connector in which the entrance side of each cavity 21 is sealed by the rubber plug 30 is completed.
When mating with the mating male connector, the male and female terminal fittings are connected to each other, and the packing 34 is sandwiched between the mating male housing 20 and the mating male housing. Is sealed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the cavity 21 is closed by closing the rear surface with the collective rubber plug 30.
Even if the inside can not be seen enough, the rubber stopper 3
0, an electric wire insertion hole 31 is provided on the front surface in the insertion direction.
Since the mark 32 corresponding to the stabilizer 14 is provided at the rim of the wire, when the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the electric wire insertion hole 31 in accordance with the position of the mark 32, the female terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 21 in a proper posture. can do. That is, even when the collective rubber plug 30 is used, the insertion posture of the female terminal fitting 10 can be accurately determined.

<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) The mark is not limited to the one corresponding to the stabilizer, but may be formed appropriately according to the shape of the terminal fitting. (2) The present invention can be similarly applied to a collective rubber stopper used for a male waterproof connector.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the female terminal fitting when it is molded.

FIG. 3 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a housing.

FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view thereof.

FIG. 7 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 8 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view thereof.

FIG. 10 is a front view of a rubber stopper.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a retainer.

FIG. 12 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 13 is a front view of the hood.

FIG. 14 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal sectional view before assembling the housing and the hood.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view before inserting a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 17 is a side view after the housing and the hood are assembled.

FIG. 18 is a rear view thereof.

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view after insertion of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 20 is a front view when the retainer is at a temporary locking position.

FIG. 21 is a front view of the case where the retainer is at a final locking position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female terminal fitting 12 ... Connection part 14 ... Stabilizer 20 ... Housing 21 ... Cavity 25 ... Rubber plug accommodating recess 30 ... (Batch type) rubber plug 31 ... Electric wire insertion hole 32 ... Mark 62 ... Rubber plug holder 63 ... Window Hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A waterproof housing which is fitted to a rear surface side of a connector housing having a cavity, and has an electric wire insertion hole in which an electric wire provided with a terminal fitting at a terminal can be inserted in a watertight manner at each position corresponding to the cavity. A rubber plug for a waterproof connector, characterized in that a mark following the normal posture of the terminal fitting is provided near the electric wire insertion hole on a surface on the near side in the insertion direction in the rubber plug for a connector. 2. A rubber plug for a waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein a mark is formed at an edge of said electric wire insertion hole so as to correspond to a stabilizer protruding from said terminal fitting. .