JP2003203709A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve sealability between a seal material and an electric wire without making sealability between a cover, a housing, and the seal material deteriorate. <P>SOLUTION: In this through waterproof connector 10, the electric wire w horizontally penetrating through inside the housing 12 is made to penetrate through the seal material 12 consisting of an elastic body, a terminal 13 is vertically branched and connected to the electric wire w exposed in a center hole 12b vertically bored of the seal material 12, and the seal material 12 stored in the housing 14 is covered with the cover 11 such that the cover 11 presses the seal material 12 from on and beneath. A step part 12c is projected from the whole periphery of the upper face or/and the lower face of the seal material 12, and the cover 11 and the housing 14 sandwich the seal material 12 to press an upper step part of the step part 12c. Thereby, waterproofness is realized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof connector, and more specifically, a frame-shaped sealing material made of an elastic body that allows electric wires to pass through in the orthogonal direction is arranged between a housing and a cover, and a central hole of the sealing material. In a through waterproof connector for branch-connecting the pressure contact terminal housed in the housing to the electric wire, the electric wire is prevented from being overloaded, the sealing property is improved, and the waterproof function is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a power supply means for a combination lamp or the like of an automobile, a through waterproof connector (hereinafter abbreviated as a waterproof connector) branched from a required portion of a wire harness routed in the automobile is connected. It is fitted and connected to each lamp or the like. The connection between the wire harness and each of the waterproof connectors is made by branching the pressure contact terminals in each of the through waterproof connectors at an intermediate portion of an electric wire forming the wire harness.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the waterproof connector 1 is provided with a frame-shaped sealing member 3 made of an elastic material such as rubber having a vertical center hole 3b formed at the center thereof. A plurality of electric wire insertion holes 3a are formed in the opposite sides of the material in the horizontal direction, the electric wires w constituting the above-mentioned wire harness are pierced horizontally in the electric wire insertion holes 3a of the sealing material 3, and the electric wires w are inserted in the central hole 3b. They are placed side by side with an interval. A seal member 3 is housed in an annular recess 5c provided on the upper surface of the housing 5, and a terminal plate 5a provided at the center of the housing 5 is provided with a press-contact blade 4a at the upper end and a tab 4 at the lower end. The terminal 4 is housed and locked, and the press contact blade 4a of the terminal 4 press-connects to the electric wire w through the central hole 3b of the seal material 3, and the cover 2 is covered from above to lock and fix the housing 5. That is,
The upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 3 are sandwiched between the cover 2 and the inner surface of the housing 5 and pressed to ensure the sealing property.

[0004]

However, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the electric wire insertion hole 3a of the sealing material 3 is preliminarily formed in a circular shape, and the electric wire w is inserted in the electric wire insertion hole 3a.
When the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 3 are pressed by the cover 2 and the housing 5 in a state of being inserted, since the vertical adhesive force becomes larger than the horizontal adhesive force as shown in FIG. 8B, The wire insertion hole 3a expands horizontally,
There is a problem that the sealing property with the electric wire w is impaired.

On the other hand, if the pressing force applied to the sealing material 3 by the cover 2 and the housing 5 is weakened so that the sealing property between the electric wire w and the sealing material 3 is not deteriorated, the electric wire insertion hole 3a becomes difficult to expand in the horizontal direction. This time, there is a problem that the sealability between the cover 2 and the housing 5 and the seal material 3 deteriorates.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to improve the sealability between a seal material and an electric wire without deteriorating the sealability between the cover and the housing and the seal material. It is an issue.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention firstly provides, between a housing and a cover,
A waterproof connector in which a frame-shaped sealing material made of an elastic material that penetrates an electric wire in a perpendicular direction is arranged, and a pressure contact terminal housed in the housing is branched and connected to the electric wire in a central hole of the sealing material, There is provided a waterproof connector in which a step portion is projected on the entire outer periphery of the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the housing and the step portion of the sealing material sandwiched between the housing and the cover is pressed against the cover and / or the housing. There is.

With the above construction, the cover and the housing which press the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material when the cover is covered with the sealing material accommodated in the housing are the upper surface of the sealing material and / or the housing. Since the tip surface of the stepped portion on the outer periphery provided on the lower surface is pressed,
It becomes difficult for the pressing force to be directly transmitted to the electric wire insertion hole provided at a substantially central position of the sealing material in the vertical thickness direction. Therefore, the pressing force between the cover and the housing prevents the electric wire insertion hole from expanding in the horizontal direction, and the electric wire penetrates the electric wire insertion hole in a close contact state, thereby improving the sealing property. Further, it is not necessary to weaken the pressing force of the cover and the housing on the sealing material, and the tip end surface of the step portion can strongly adhere to the cover and the housing, and the step portion is provided over the entire circumference. It is possible to sufficiently secure the sealing property between the cover and the housing and the sealing material.

Secondly, according to the present invention, instead of projecting the stepped portion on the outer periphery of the sealing material, the cover and / or the housing has a stepped portion on the entire circumference of the surface facing the outer periphery of the sealing material. There is provided a waterproof connector in which a step portion is projected and the step portion is pressed against the sealing material.

With the above construction, the cover or /
And since the protruding portion of the stepped portion of the housing presses a part of the sealing material, even if the pressing force directly acts on the wire insertion hole directly thereunder, the other direction in the longitudinal direction of the wire insertion hole In the portion of, that is, immediately below the portion where the protruding portion is not pressed, the pressing force is not transmitted and the adhesion force is maintained. Therefore, the sealing property between the sealing material and the electric wire can be improved.

Thirdly, according to the present invention, a frame-shaped sealing member made of an elastic body for penetrating an electric wire in the orthogonal direction is arranged between the housing and the cover, and the housing is provided with a central hole of the sealing member. In the waterproof connector for branch-connecting the pressure contact terminal accommodated in the electric wire to the electric wire, the electric wire insertion hole provided on the opposite side of the sealing material has an elliptical shape having a long axis in the vertical direction, and the sealing material is the housing. Provided is a waterproof connector in which the electric wire insertion hole has a perfect circular shape in which the electric wire insertion hole is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire while being pressed and held from above and below by the cover.

With the above structure, since the wire insertion hole has an elliptical shape until the cover is locked to the housing, the adhesive force between the wire and the sealing material is large in the short axis direction and long. The axial direction is getting smaller. From this state, by locking the cover to the housing and pressing the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material, the wire insertion hole is compressed in the vertical direction, and the adhesion force in the long axis direction is increased. In addition, the wire can be brought into close contact with the wire insertion hole over the entire circumference thereof, and the sealing property is improved.

The major axis length of the wire insertion hole is the sum of the vertical crushing amount of the sealing material pressed between the cover and the housing and the minor axis length of the wire insertion hole. That is, by setting (major axis length) = (minor axis length) + (vertical crushing amount), the cover is lock-coupled to the housing, and thus the sealing material is crushed in the vertical direction. In this state, the electric wire insertion hole can be formed into a perfect circular shape, and the electric wire can be adhered uniformly over the entire circumference.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a through waterproof connector 10 according to a first embodiment, which includes a housing 14 arranged vertically and vertically, a cover 11 which covers the housing 14 from above and locks, and the housing 14 and the cover 11.
A frame-shaped sealing material 12 made of an elastic material to be sandwiched between
And a terminal 13. The three electric wires w constituting the through circuit are passed through the sealing material 12 in the horizontal direction,
At the position of the central hole 12b opened in the vertical direction of the sealing material 12, the three terminals 13 which are housed and locked in the housing 14 in the vertical direction are press-contacted and connected.

The sealing material 12 is made of silicone rubber or EPDM.
And the like, and has a central hole 12b that opens in the vertical direction at the center thereof. Three wire insertion holes 12a having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire w are formed at the centers of the opposite sides of the peripheral side surface 12f of the sealing material 12 in the vertical thickness direction.
Are drilled horizontally. With the three electric wires w passing through the electric wire insertion holes 12a of the sealing material 12, the inner peripheral surface 1
The electric wire w is exposed at the position of the center hole 12b surrounded by 2g.

A step portion 12d is provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 12 along the entire outer circumference. That is, the sealing material 1
The outer portion of 2 is a thick step portion 12d, and the inner portion surrounding the center hole 12b is a recess portion 12e.

The housing 14 is a box-shaped outer peripheral wall 1.
A partition wall 14f is provided inside 4j, the inner peripheral wall 14a is projected upward with a space from the outer peripheral wall 14j from the center of the partition wall 14f, and the inside of the inner peripheral wall 14a is partitioned into three to form a terminal accommodating chamber 14b. . Further, an annular recess 14c having a partition wall 14f as a bottom surface is formed between the outer peripheral wall 14j and the inner peripheral wall 14a of the housing 14. The annular recess 14c has substantially the same shape as the sealing material 12. Further, an arc-shaped wire insertion groove 14d is provided at the upper ends of the opposite sides of the outer peripheral wall 14j and the inner peripheral wall 14a.

A mating terminal insertion hole 14h is formed at the lower end of the terminal accommodating chamber 14b on the lower surface side of the housing 14 on the mating connector insertion side. Further, a fitted portion 14g into which the outer wall 20a of the male housing 20 of the mating connector is fitted is provided on the outer peripheral side of the terminal accommodating chamber 14b, and a seal member 16 having a plurality of protrusions is provided on the inner surface thereof. Also,
On the outer surface of the outer peripheral wall of the housing 14, a lock claw 14e that is locked and fixed to a locked portion (not shown) provided on the cover 11 is provided.

The terminal 13 which is housed and locked in the terminal accommodating chamber 14b of the housing 14 has a press contact blade 13b with a slot cut out at the upper end, and the terminal accommodating chamber 1 is provided near the center in the vertical direction.
Projecting the lance part 13c to be locked in the locking groove of 4b,
The lower end is a tab 13d that fits with the counterpart terminal.

The cover 11 has an outer peripheral wall 11d protruding downward from the outer edge of a flat upper wall 11a, a first inner peripheral wall 11b inside the cover 11 and a second inner peripheral wall 11 inside the first inner peripheral wall 11b.
c are projected at intervals. The outer peripheral wall 11d is long, and the first and second inner peripheral walls 11b and 11c are short.

Next, the assembling of the waterproof connector 10 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the seal material 12 in a state where the electric wire w penetrates is tightly fitted in the annular recess 14c of the housing 14, and the electric wire w is passed through the electric wire insertion groove 14d. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3, the press contact blade 13b of the terminal 13 housed and locked in the housing 14 cuts the insulation coating of the electric wire w at the position of the central hole 12b of the seal member 12 to form a core wire. As a result, the electric wire w and the terminal 13 are pressed and connected. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (C), the cover 11 is covered from above to be lock-coupled to the lock claws 14e of the housing 14 so that the upper surface of the seal material 12 is covered with the upper wall 1 of the cover.
It is pressed by 1a, and the cover 11 protects and seals the branch connection between the electric wire w and the terminal 13.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the sealing material 1
2, the peripheral side surface 12f is in close contact with the first inner peripheral wall 11b of the cover 11 and the outer peripheral wall 14j of the housing 14, and the inner peripheral surface 12g of the sealing material 12 is connected to the second inner peripheral wall 11d of the cover 11 and the housing 14. It is in close contact with the inner peripheral wall 14a. Further, the inner surface of the upper wall 11a of the cover 11 presses the stepped portion 12d of the sealing material 12, and the upper surface of the partition wall 14f of the housing 14 presses the stepped portion 12d of the lower surface of the sealing material 12 so as to be in close contact. There is.

The step portion 12 protruding to the outer periphery of the sealing material 12
Since d is provided on the entire circumference on the upper and lower surfaces and is in close contact with the cover 11 and the housing 14 for sealing, it is possible to reliably prevent water or the like from entering the center hole 12b of the sealing material 12. In addition, the pressing and sandwiching force exerted by the cover and the housing 14 on the sealing material 12 is applied to the step portion 12d, and the load does not act strongly on the recess 12e on the inner circumference. Since the electric wire insertion hole 12a is formed at the center of the thickness direction of the sealing material 12, it is difficult for the pressing force to be directly applied to the electric wire insertion hole 12a in the outer peripheral portion having the step portion 12d at the top and bottom.
In the recess 12e on the inner peripheral side, the pressing force is hardly applied to the wire insertion hole 12a. In this way, the pressing force is applied to the wire insertion hole 1
Since it is configured to be less likely to be transmitted to 2a, the wire insertion hole 12a is prevented from expanding in the horizontal direction, and the sealing performance can be improved.

As for the fitting of the through waterproof connector 10 and the mating connector, as shown in FIG. 4, a terminal (not shown) of the mating connector is inserted into the mating terminal insertion hole 14h.
Is further inserted and connected to the terminal 13, and the peripheral wall portion 20a of the counterpart housing 20 is connected to the opening 1 of the housing 14.
It is inserted into the fitted portion 14g through 4i. On this occasion,
Since the inner surface on the tip side of the peripheral wall 20a of the counterpart housing 20 is in close contact with the sealing material 16, it is possible to prevent water and the like from entering from the lower surface side of the housing 14.

Although the step portions 12d are provided on both upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 12 in the above embodiment, the step portions 12d may be provided only on the upper surface or the lower surface.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that, instead of providing the step portion on the sealing material, the step portion is provided on the cover 11 'and housing 14' sides.

On the inner surface of the upper wall 11a 'of the cover 11', a rib-like stepped portion 11a-1 'is provided at a portion in contact with the sealing material 3.
And the partition wall 1 of the housing 14 '.
A rib-shaped step portion 14f-1 'is made to project at a portion of the upper surface of 4f' that abuts the sealing material 3. The sealing material 3 used in this embodiment has flat upper and lower surfaces, and the wire insertion hole 3a provided at the center in the thickness direction thereof has a perfect circular shape.

In the state where the cover 11 'is locked to the housing 14', as shown in FIG. 5, the outer circumferences of the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 3 are the stepped portions 11a-1 'of the cover 11' and the stepped portion of the housing 14 '. 14f-1 ', but the stepped portion 11a is formed on the inner peripheral side of the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material 3.
There is no strong pressing by -1 'and 14f-1'. Therefore,
Of the wire insertion hole 3a of the sealing material 3, the rib 11a-
Even if the portion 3a-1 immediately below 1'and 14f-1 'is expanded in the horizontal direction by the pressing force, the stepped portion 11a-1',
Since the pressing force is weakly transmitted to the portion 3a-2 immediately below the portion where 14f-1 'does not exist and the deformation is not so much, the wire insertion hole 3a does not expand in the horizontal direction, and the sealing material 3 adheres to the wire w. That is, the electric wire w and the sealing material 3 are in close contact with each other on the inner peripheral side of the sealing material 3 that surrounds the pressure contact connection portion of the electric wire w and the terminal 3, and the sealing performance can be secured. In the present embodiment, the cover 1
1'and the housing 14 'have stepped portions 11a-1',
Although 14f-1 'is provided, the stepped portion may be provided only on either the cover or the housing.

FIG. 6 shows a third embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the wire insertion hole 12a ′ is previously formed into an elliptical shape instead of providing stepped portions on the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material. As shown in FIG. 6 (A), the electric wire insertion hole 12a 'of the sealing material 12' has an elliptical shape having a long axis in the vertical direction, and the short axis length is L1 and the long axis length is L2. If the outer diameter of w is φ, then φ <L1 <L2. When the electric wire w is penetrated into the electric wire insertion hole 12a ′ while being brought into close contact therewith, as shown in FIG. 5B, the adhesive force in the short axis direction becomes larger than the adhesive force in the long axis direction.

The seal material 12 'in this state is attached to the housing 1
4 is accommodated in the annular recessed portion 14c, the cover 11 is covered from above, and the housing 14 is locked and coupled.
As shown in (C), the sealing material 12 'is attached to the housing 14
Since the partition wall 14f and the inner surface 11a of the cover 11 are pressed from above and below, the sealing material 12 'and the electric wire w.
Adhesion with and uniform over the entire circumference, improving the sealing performance. That is, when the amount of contraction of the sealing material 12 ′ in the vertical direction due to the pressing force between the cover 11 and the housing 14 is defined as “a crush amount”, the wire insertion hole 12a ′ is L2 = L1 + (a crush amount).
It is preferable to set the relationship.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the invention, since the step portion is provided on the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the sealing material, the cover and the housing have the step difference. The pressing force can be diffused into the space between the cover or / and the housing and the lower step part of the step portion by pressing the upper step portion of the portion, and the pressing force is difficult to be directly transmitted to the wire insertion hole. Become. Therefore, the wire insertion hole does not expand in the horizontal direction, and the sealing performance can be improved.

In the second aspect of the invention, since the step portion is projected over the entire circumference of the surface of the cover and / or the housing facing the sealing material, the electric wire immediately below the portion not pressed by the projecting portion. The pressing force is not strongly transmitted to the insertion hole, deformation is prevented and the sealing performance can be improved.

Further, in the third invention, since the wire insertion hole of the sealing material has an elliptical shape having a long axis in the up-down direction, the cover and the housing press the upper and lower surfaces of the sealing material to cause the electric wire. The insertion hole has a perfect circular shape, and as a result, it is possible to make uniform contact with the electric wire insertion hole over the entire circumference of the electric wire to improve the sealing property.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a through waterproof connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2A, 2B, and 2C are cross-sectional views showing a procedure for assembling a sealing material.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a through waterproof connector.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a fitted state with a mating housing.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts of a through waterproof connector of a second embodiment.

6A, 6B and 6C are drawings showing a sealing member of a through waterproof connector of a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional through waterproof connector.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing conventional problems.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Through Waterproof Connector 11 cover 12 Seal material 12a Electric wire insertion hole 12b center hole 12d step 13 terminals 13a Pressing blade 14 housing 14a Inner wall 14b terminal accommodating part 14c annular recess 14f Outer wall 16 Seal material 20 Counterpart housing w electric wire

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takuya Inoue             1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi             Auto Network Technical Laboratory Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5E012 AA04 AA23 AA39 AA44                 5E087 EE11 EE14 FF02 FF14 GG06                       GG14 GG32 LL02 LL12 MM17                       QQ04 RR12

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A frame-shaped sealing material made of an elastic body that allows electric wires to pass through in a direction orthogonal to the housing is disposed between the housing and the cover, and a press-contact terminal housed in the housing is provided in a central hole of the sealing material. In the waterproof connector for branch connection to the electric wire, a step portion is projected on the entire outer periphery of the upper surface and / or the lower surface of the sealing material, and the step portion of the sealing material sandwiched between the housing and the cover is covered by the cover or / and A waterproof connector configured to press against the housing. 2. A frame-shaped sealing material made of an elastic body for penetrating an electric wire is arranged between the housing and the cover in a direction orthogonal to each other, and a pressure contact terminal housed in the housing is provided at a central hole of the sealing material. In the waterproof connector for branch connection to the electric wire, a step portion is projected on the cover and / or the housing over the entire circumference of a surface facing the outer circumference of the sealing material,
A waterproof connector configured to press the stepped portion against the sealing material. 3. A frame-shaped sealing material made of an elastic body that allows electric wires to pass through in a direction orthogonal to each other is arranged between the housing and the cover, and a pressure contact terminal housed in the housing is provided in a central hole of the sealing material. In the waterproof connector for branch connection to the electric wire, the electric wire insertion hole provided on the opposite side of the sealing material has an elliptical shape having a long axis in the vertical direction, and the sealing material is pressed and sandwiched between the housing and the cover from above and below. A waterproof connector in which the electric wire insertion hole is in a perfect circular shape in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire in the closed state. 4. The major axis length of the wire insertion hole is the sum of the vertical crushing amount of the sealing material pressed between the cover and the housing and the minor axis length of the wire insertion hole. The waterproof connector according to claim 3.