JP2007134057A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of reducing mounting manhours, of improving mounting efficiency, of preventing a seal member from being damaged in assembling the waterproof connector, and of surely keeping a waterproof property. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproof connector includes: three inner housings 1 for housing terminal fittings 5 each connected with a wire 7 therein; seal members 9 attached to the respective inner housings 1; and an outer housing 11 for housing the inner housings 1 with the terminal fittings 5 each connected with the wire 7 housed therein by stacking and combining them on/with one another in three tiers. The waterproof connector is structured so that, when the inner housings 1 stacked and combined on/with one another are housed in the outer housing 11, the seal members 9 superposed on one another are fitted to the outer housing 11, and sandwich the wires 7 between them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector used for connecting electric wires and the like.

  Various electronic devices are mounted on the body of an automobile, and in order to transmit electric power and control signals to the electronic device, a wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled is wired. A connector as a connector is provided at the end of the wire harness, and the connector is connected to various electronic devices.

  The connector includes a metal terminal fitting and an insulating connector housing that accommodates the terminal fitting. The said terminal metal fitting is attached to an electric wire, and is electrically connected with the core wire of an electric wire. The connector housing is formed in a cylindrical shape or a box shape and accommodates the terminal fitting.

  In recent years, as the functions of various electronic devices described above are enhanced, the connector has a tendency to increase the number of terminals accommodated therein. Among such multipolar connectors, waterproof connectors are used in connectors where rainwater or the like easily enters, for example, in an engine room.

  As the multipolar waterproof connector, the connector housing includes an inner housing composed of a plurality of divided inner units in which terminal accommodating chambers are formed, an outer housing into which the inner housing is fitted, and the inner housing and the outer housing. There has been proposed a waterproof connector which is interposed between and a spacer which holds a terminal fitting housed in an inner housing. The outer housing is formed with a rubber plug receiving recess for receiving a plurality of rubber plugs corresponding to the number of terminal metal fittings of the inner housing, and a plurality of electric wires connected to the terminal metal fittings are connected to the rubber fittings, respectively. A predetermined waterproofing is performed by inserting the stopper (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, as the multipolar waterproof connector, there has been proposed a waterproof connector in which a plurality of sub-connectors are accommodated in a frame holder and a batch type rubber plug is attached from the rear surface of the sub-connector. In the waterproof connector, each terminal fitting inserted from the rear surface of the sub-connector is inserted into the cavity of the sub-connector through each through-hole of the collective rubber plug, and each terminal Predetermined waterproofing is performed when the electric wire connected to the metal fitting comes into close contact with the inner surface of the through hole of the rubber plug (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-357557 A JP 2000-150058 A

  However, all of the waterproof connectors described above are configured so that the wires connected to the terminal fittings are inserted one by one through each rubber plug or through each through hole of the batch type rubber plug. There is a problem that the number of assembling steps increases and the assembling work becomes complicated.

  In addition, when inserting the wire connected to the terminal fitting into each rubber plug or each through hole of the batch type rubber plug, the terminal fitting may contact the rubber plug as a seal member and damage the rubber plug. There has been a problem that the waterproof property of the waterproof connector is lowered due to the damage of the rubber plug.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to reduce the number of assembling steps, improve the assembling workability, and maintain the waterproof property without damaging the seal member when assembling the waterproof connector. An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above object, the waterproof connector according to claim 1 connects a plurality of inner housings each housing a terminal fitting to which an electric wire is connected, a seal member attached to each inner housing, and the electric wire. A plurality of inner housings that house the terminal fittings, and when the plurality of laminated inner housings are housed in the outer housings, the seal members that overlap each other are disposed on the outer housing. And is configured to sandwich the electric wire between each other.

  The waterproof connector according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the waterproof connector according to claim 1, the seal member has a recess for holding the electric wire and having an inner surface as a seal surface.

  The waterproof connector according to claim 3 is the waterproof connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the seal member has a fitting hole portion into which an end portion of the inner housing is fitted.

  The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of inner housings each housing a terminal fitting to which an electric wire is connected, a seal member attached to each inner housing, and an inner housing containing the terminal fitting to which the electric wire is connected. And when the plurality of stacked inner housings are received in the outer housing, the seal members that overlap each other are fitted to the outer housing and Since the electric wire is sandwiched between the inner housings, the plurality of laminated and combined inner housings are simply accommodated in the outer housing, and between the electric wires and the inner housing, between the inner housings, and the inner housing. So that the space between the housing and the outer housing can be kept watertight. In order to seal the wires extending from the waterproof connector to the outside, it is not necessary to insert the wires connected to the terminal fittings one by one through each through hole of each rubber plug or batch type rubber plug. The number of assembling steps for assembling the waterproof connector can be reduced, so that the assembling work can be easily performed and the assembling workability can be improved.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to insert the electric wires one by one through each rubber plug or through hole of the batch type rubber plug, the terminal fitting comes into contact with the rubber plug when the electric wire connected with the terminal fitting is inserted into the rubber plug. Thus, damage to the seal member caused by the above can be prevented, and thus waterproofness can be reliably maintained.

  Further, since the waterproof property can be reliably maintained by the seal member attached to the inner housing, a versatile non-waterproof type can be used for the inner housing and the terminal fitting. By using an inner housing or the like that does not have a rubber plug or the like, it is possible to reduce the size of the waterproof connector as a whole, and to prevent an increase in the number of parts such as rubber plugs, thereby preventing an increase in cost.

  In the waterproof connector according to claim 2, since the seal member has the recess that holds the electric wire and the inner surface is a seal surface, the seal surface of the inner surface of the recess of the seal member is in close contact with the surface of the electric wire. Therefore, the space between the electric wire and the seal member can be reliably kept watertight.

  In the waterproof connector according to claim 3, since the seal member has a fitting hole portion into which the end portion of the inner housing is fitted, the end portion of the inner housing is fitted into the fitting hole portion of the seal member. Thus, the seal member does not protrude greatly from the end of the inner housing in a state where the seal member is attached to the inner housing, and therefore the depth of the entire waterproof connector can be reduced.

  A waterproof connector C according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the waterproof connector C of the present invention has an inner housing 1 formed of a synthetic resin having insulating properties. The inner housing 1 is formed in a substantially drawer shape, and a plurality of terminal insertion holes 2 are formed in the front surface 1a of the inner housing 1 along the width direction of the waterproof connector C. A plurality of partition walls 3 extending in the depth direction of the waterproof connector C from the front surface 1 a of the inner housing 1 to the rear are formed between the side walls 1 b of the inner housing 1.

  The partition wall 3 divides the interior of the inner housing 1 into a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 4, and each terminal accommodating chamber 4 is formed in a groove shape having an open top. A terminal fitting 5 is inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber 4 from above. The terminal receiving chamber 4 is formed with a locking projection 6, and the terminal fitting 5 inserted into the terminal receiving chamber 4 is engaged with the locking projection 6, as shown in FIG. The terminal fitting 5 is prevented from moving in the depth direction of the waterproof connector C. In the case of the present embodiment, five terminal accommodating chambers 4 are formed side by side, and one inner housing 1 has a five-pole terminal fitting 5.

  The terminal metal fitting 5 is made of a conductive metal plate, and is connected to a cylindrical electric contact portion 5a that accommodates an inserter of the other terminal metal fitting (not shown), and is connected to the electric contact portion 5a by crimping the electric wire 7. It is comprised from the electric wire connection part 5b made. In the case of this embodiment, the terminal fitting 5 is configured as a female crimp terminal.

  The electrical contact portion 5 a of the terminal fitting 5 inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 4 is disposed corresponding to the terminal insertion hole 2 of the inner housing 1 and is inserted through the terminal insertion hole 2. It accommodates the inserter of the terminal fitting of the other party that does not. Further, the electric wire 7 connected to the electric wire connecting portion 5b of the terminal fitting 5 is led backward from the rear portion of the inner housing 1.

  At the rear end 1c of the inner housing 1, a step portion 8 is formed by cutting out a part of the side wall 1b of the inner housing 1 and the upper end portion of the partition wall 3, and the step portion 8 includes an inner portion 1c. A seal member 9 is attached from the rear part of the housing 1. The sealing member 9 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a fitting hole 9b formed in the shape of the end surface of the rear end surface 1d of the inner housing 1 is formed on the end surface 9a of the sealing member 9 on the inner housing 1 side. ing. Then, the rear end portion 1c of the inner housing 1 is inserted into the fitting hole portion 9b of the seal member 9, and is inserted until the end surface 9a on the inner housing 1 side of the seal member 9 contacts the step portion 8 of the inner housing 1. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 9 is attached to the rear end 1 c of the inner housing 1.

  The seal member 9 attached to the inner housing 1 has upper and lower surface shapes that are corrugated. Of the corrugated shape, the concave portion 9c corresponds to the terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the inner housing 1, and the convex shape. The portion 9 d corresponds to the side wall 1 a and the partition wall 3 of the inner housing 1. Of the surface shape of the sealing member 9, the recess 9c is formed in a substantially semicircular shape, and the recess 9c holds the lower half or the upper half of the electric wire 7 led out from the terminal accommodating chamber 4, As will be described later, the inner surface is formed as a seal surface 9e. In the case of this embodiment, five concave portions 9 c are formed on the surface of the seal member 9.

  In the present embodiment, the seal member 9 is attached to one inner housing 1, and the terminal fitting 5 to which the electric wire 7 is connected is inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the inner housing 1, whereby FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, one sub-wire harness unit 10 is configured. Then, the sub-wire harness unit 10 is configured to be stacked in a plurality of stages, and the sub-wire harness unit 10 that is combined in a plurality of stages is integrated into the inside of the outer housing 11 as shown in FIG. Is to be housed.

  In addition, in order to unite the laminated sub-wire harness units 10, engagement protrusions 1 e for fitting are formed at four corners on the upper surface of the inner housing 1 of each sub-wire harness unit 10. Engagement holes (not shown) that engage with the locking projections 1e are formed at the four corners on the lower surface of the inner housing of the wire harness unit. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the engagement protrusion 1 e of the inner housing 1 of the lower sub-wire harness unit 10 is fitted into the engagement hole on the lower surface of the inner housing 1 of the upper sub-wire harness unit 10. The inner housings 1 of the upper and lower sub-wire harness units 10 are united.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the outer housing 11 is formed of a synthetic resin having insulating properties similarly to the inner housing 1 and is formed in a box shape. An opening 11b is formed in the rear surface 11a of the outer housing 11, and the sub-wire harness unit 10 stacked in a plurality of stages is inserted from the opening 11b with the front surface 1a of the inner housing 1 as an insertion tip. ing. The sub-wire harness unit 10 inserted from the opening 11b is inserted and accommodated until the front surface 1a of the inner housing 1 contacts the front wall portion 11c of the outer housing 11.

  Further, a terminal insertion hole 12 is formed in the front wall portion 11c of the outer housing 11 at a position corresponding to the terminal insertion hole 2 of the front surface 1a of the accommodated inner housing 1. The terminal fitting of the other connector (not shown) connected to the waterproof connector C comprising the outer housing 11 that houses the inner housing 1 is inserted therethrough.

  In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sub-wire harness unit 10 is laminated and united in three stages. The lower half of the electric wire 71 led out from the upper inner housing 101 is held by the recess 91c1 on the upper surface of the seal member 91 attached to the upper inner housing 101. The upper half of the electric wire 72 led out from the middle inner housing 102 is held by the recess 91c2 on the lower surface of the seal member 91 of the upper inner housing 101, and the electric wire 72 led out from the middle inner housing 102. The lower half is held by the recess 92c1 on the upper surface of the seal member 92 of the middle inner housing 102. The upper half of the electric wire 73 led out from the lower inner housing 103 is held by the recess 92c2 on the lower surface of the seal member 92 of the middle inner housing 102, and the electric wire 73 led out from the lower inner housing 103 The lower half is held by the recess 93c1 on the upper surface of the seal member 93 of the lower inner housing 103.

  Since the sub-wire harness unit 10 is stacked in three stages, no other inner housing exists below the lower inner housing 103. Therefore, only the upper surface of the seal member 93 of the lower inner housing 103 is formed in a corrugated shape, and the lower surface is formed in a flat plate shape. When the sub-wire harness unit 10 stacked in the three stages is accommodated in the outer housing 11, the lower surface 93c2 of the seal member 93 of the lower inner housing 103 is in close contact with the inner surface 11d of the outer housing 11. It has become.

  Similarly, since there is no other inner housing above the upper inner housing 101, the upper surface of the upper inner housing 101 is covered with a lid 13. Therefore, only the lower surface of the sealing member 94 attached to the lid portion 13 is formed in a corrugated shape, and the upper surface is formed in a flat plate shape. The upper half of the electric wire 71 led out from the upper inner housing 101 is held by the recess 94c1 on the lower surface of the seal member 94 of the lid portion 13. Further, when the sub-wire harness unit 10 stacked in three stages is accommodated in the outer housing 11, the upper surface 94 c 2 of the seal member 94 of the lid portion 13 comes into close contact with the inner surface 11 d of the outer housing 11. ing.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the sub-wire harness unit 10 stacked and united in three stages is accommodated in the outer housing 11 to form the waterproof connector C as shown in FIG. The seal members 9 attached to the inner housing 1 of each sub-wire harness unit 10 of the waterproof connector C overlap each other, and the overlapped seal members 9 are placed in the openings 11b of the outer housing 11 as shown in FIG. The overlapping seal member 9 is tightly fitted into the opening 11b of the outer housing 11 by being inserted while being elastically deformed.

  At that time, as shown in FIG. 6, the electric wire 7 led out from the inner housing 1 has the upper half and the lower half of the electric wire 7, that is, the concave portion 9 c of the seal member 9 around the electric wires as described above. Held by. When the seal member 9 is elastically deformed and compressed and deformed, the seal member 9 sandwiches the electric wire 7 between them, and the seal surface 9e of the inner surface of the recess 9c of the seal member 9 is connected to the surface of the electric wire 7. For this reason, the electric wire 7 and the inner housing 1 are kept watertight.

  Further, the portion of the overlapping seal member 9 where the electric wire 7 does not exist, that is, the surface 9f where the convex portions 9d of the seal member 9 abut against each other is brought into close contact with the elastic deformation of the seal member 9 and compression deformation. Therefore, the inner housings 1 of the sub-wire harness units 10 stacked one above the other are kept watertight.

  Further, since the overlapping seal member 9 is closely fitted into the opening 11b of the outer housing 11, the outer surface 9g of the overlapping seal member 9 and the inner surface 11d of the outer housing come into close contact with each other. The housing 1 and the outer housing 11 are configured to be kept watertight.

  The waterproof connector C having the above-described configuration is assembled as follows. In this embodiment, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 9 is attached from the rear portion of one inner housing 1. As shown in FIG. 1, a fitting hole 9b formed in the shape of the end face of the rear end face 1d of the inner housing 1 is formed in the end face 9a of the seal member 9 on the inner housing 1 side. The rear end 1c of the inner housing 1 is inserted into the hole 9b, and the seal member 9 is inserted until the end surface 9a of the seal member 9 on the inner housing 1 side comes into contact with the step 8 of the inner housing 1. It is attached to the rear end 1c of the inner housing 1.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the terminal fitting 5 to which the electric wire 7 is connected is inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the inner housing 1 to which the seal member 9 is attached from above. The terminal fitting 5 does not move in the depth direction of the waterproof connector C while being inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 4 by engaging with a locking projection 6 formed in the terminal accommodating chamber 4. ing. Further, the electric wire 7 connected to the terminal fitting 5 is led to the rear of the inner housing 1 while being held in the recess 9c of the seal member 9. With the above-described configuration, one sub-wire harness unit 10 is configured.

  Next, the engaging protrusions 1e of the inner housing 1 of the lower sub-wire harness unit 10 are fitted into the engaging holes on the lower surface of the inner housing 1 of the upper sub-wire harness unit 10 so that the upper and lower sub-wire harness units 10 The inner housing 1 is united, and the sub-wire harness unit 10 is finally laminated in three stages. Further, a lid portion 13 to which the seal member 9 is attached is attached to the upper surface of the inner housing 1 of the uppermost sub-wire harness unit 10, and as a result, as shown in FIG. The wire harness unit 10 is configured.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the sub-wire harness unit 10 stacked and united in three stages is inserted from the opening 11 b of the outer housing 11 and accommodated in the outer housing 11. The seal members 9 attached to the inner housing 1 overlap each other and are fitted into the opening 11b of the outer housing 11 while being elastically deformed, so that the overlapping seal members 9 are inserted into the opening 11b of the outer housing 11. While closely fitting, the electric wires 7 are sandwiched between them, and the waterproof connector C having the above-described configuration is assembled.

  According to this embodiment, the three inner housings 1 each housing the terminal fitting 5 to which the electric wire 7 is connected, the seal member 9 attached to each inner housing 1, and the terminal fitting 5 to which the electric wire 7 is connected are provided. And an outer housing 11 that accommodates the inner housing 1 that is accommodated by stacking three stages, and when the inner housing 1 that is combined and stacked in three stages is accommodated in the outer housing 11, Since the seal member 9 is fitted to the outer housing 11 and the electric wire 7 is sandwiched between them, the inner housing 1 that is stacked and united in three stages is accommodated in the outer housing 11. Just between the electric wire 7 and the inner housing 1, between the inner housings 1, and between the inner housing 1 and the inner housing 1. It is possible to keep watertight between the housing 11 and seal the electric wires 7 extending from the waterproof connector C to the outside. It is no longer necessary to insert through the through holes of the batch type rubber plug, so that the number of assembling steps for assembling the waterproof connector C can be reduced, and the assembling work can be easily performed. It is possible to improve the performance.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to insert the electric wires 7 one by one through each rubber plug or each through hole of the collective rubber plug, the terminal fitting 5 is made to be rubber when the electric wire 7 to which the terminal fitting 5 is connected is inserted into the rubber plug. Damage to the seal member 9 caused by contact with the stopper can be prevented, and thus waterproofness can be reliably maintained.

  In addition, since the waterproof property can be reliably maintained by the seal member 9 attached to the inner housing 1, a versatile non-waterproof type can be used for the inner housing 1 and the terminal fitting 5. By using the inner housing 1 or the like that does not have a rubber plug for waterproofing, the entire waterproof connector C can be reduced in size, and the increase in the number of parts such as rubber plugs can be prevented, resulting in an increase in cost. Can be prevented.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the said sealing member 9 has the said recessed part 9c by which the said electric wire 7 was hold | maintained and the inner surface was made into the sealing surface 9e, the sealing surface 9e of the inner surface of the recessed part 9c of the sealing member 9 is an electric wire. Therefore, the space between the electric wire 7 and the seal member 9 can be reliably kept watertight.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the said sealing member 9 has the fitting hole part 9b in which the rear-end part 1c of the said inner housing 1 fits, the inner hole 1 of the inner housing 1 is inserted in the fitting hole part 9b of the sealing member 9. By inserting the rear end portion 1 c, the seal member 9 does not protrude greatly from the rear end portion of the inner housing 1 in a state where the seal member 9 is attached to the inner housing 1. The entire depth of C can be reduced.

  The above-described embodiments are merely representative examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. . That is, in the above-described embodiment, the case of the multipolar connector in which the inner housing 1 having the five-pole terminal fitting 5 is stacked in three stages has been described. However, the inner housing 1 having one or more terminal fittings 5 has two stages. If it is the case where it is laminated as described above, even if it is a low-polarity connector instead of the multipolar connector as in the above-described embodiment, it is only necessary to house the inner housing 1 laminated in two or more stages in the outer housing 11, A waterproof connector C excellent in assembly workability can be obtained.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the surface shape of the seal member 9 is formed in a corrugated shape, and the seal member 9 has the recess 9c that holds the electric wire 7 and the inner surface is a seal surface 9e. Even when the surface shape is flat and does not have the concave portion, the sealing member 9 is elastically deformed and compressed and deformed so as to follow the outer peripheral shape of the electric wire 7. A waterproof connector C that can sufficiently maintain watertightness with the seal member 9 can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, the terminal fitting 5 inserted into the inner housing 1 has been described as a crimp terminal, but may be a pressure contact terminal.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the lamination | stacking state of the inner housing of the waterproof connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows one inner housing of FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the state which inserted the terminal metal fitting with which the electric wire was connected to the inner housing of FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the inner housings of FIG. 3 are stacked in three stages. FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the three-stage stacked inner housing of FIG. 4 is accommodated in the outer housing. It is an A direction arrow directional view of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

C Waterproof connector 1, 101, 102, 103 Inner housing 2, 12 Terminal insertion hole 3 Partition wall 4 Terminal accommodating chamber 5 Terminal fitting 7, 71, 72, 73 Electric wire 8 Step part 9, 91, 92, 93, 94 Seal member 9b Fitting hole portion 9c, 91c, 92c, 93c, 94c Concavity 9d Convex portion 9e Seal surface 10 Sub-wire harness unit 11 Outer housing 11b Opening 13 Lid

Claims (3)

A plurality of inner housings each housing a terminal fitting to which an electric wire is connected;
A seal member attached to each inner housing;
An outer housing that houses a plurality of inner housings that house the terminal fittings to which the electric wires are connected;
When the plurality of stacked inner housings are accommodated in the outer housing, the sealing members that overlap each other are configured to fit into the outer housing and sandwich the electric wire therebetween. Features a waterproof connector.   The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the seal member has a recess that holds the electric wire and has an inner surface as a seal surface.   The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the seal member has a fitting hole portion into which an end portion of the inner housing is fitted.

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