JP2007194028A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector constituted so as to be able to split a retainer into a pair of divided bodies, capable of mounting the retainer on a cable in advance with a simple constitution, capable of mounting the retainer to a housing even after crimping the cable on a contact. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproof connector is composed of a contact to which a cable is crimped; a housing having a cavity provided with an opening in which the contact is inserted; a seal member having a through-hole to which the cable is closely contacted in waterproof state, inserted into the opening in a state of inserting the cable into the through-hole; and a retainer having an insertion port through which the cable can be inserted, holding the seal member in a state that the cable is inserted, locked to the housing. The retainer has a dividing part which can be divided into a pair of divided bodies splitting the insertion port into two. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector. For example, the present invention relates to a waterproof connector that is waterproofed using a sealing member such as rubber packing so that water does not enter the connector.

  Conventionally, various types of connectors for connecting electric wires are used. In particular, waterproof connectors that prevent the entry of water and the like from the outside prevent the entry of water into the connector housing by sealing the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the connector housing and the electric wire with a sealing member. Yes.

  Here, the sealing member for the waterproof connector is used by being incorporated into the insertion opening of the connector housing in a state where the electric wire is passed through the through hole of the sealing member. The seal member holds the inside of the housing so as to be watertight while being in close contact with the electric wire. However, since such a sealing member is in close contact with the electric wire with elasticity, when the electric wire is bent, the sealing member and the through hole may be deformed, and water may enter from between the electric wires. Therefore, the waterproof connector using such a seal member prevents the seal member from being deformed by incorporating the seal member into the insertion opening of the connector housing and then holding the seal member from above with a retainer.

  By the way, the retainer used for the said waterproof connector was integrated and used in the state penetrated to the electric wire like a sealing member. Therefore, as an assembling procedure, it is necessary to attach a retainer to the electric wire before attaching the seal member to the electric wire and crimping the contact to the electric wire.

  Therefore, for example, if the seal member is attached without attaching the retainer to the electric wire and the contact is crimped due to an attachment error or the like, the retainer cannot be attached to the electric wire later. For this reason, in the above case, it is necessary to perform assembly work again by cutting the electric wire with the contact crimped or the like, or to discard the components themselves, thereby reducing work efficiency.

  In order to solve such a problem, a waterproof connector using a retainer that includes a pair of halves connected by hinges and in which each of the halves can be opened and closed is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the waterproof connector according to Patent Document 1, contacts are inserted from the rear into the cavities formed in the connector housing. A seal member into which an electric wire is inserted is individually fitted into the rear end opening of the cavity. Further, a retainer for preventing the plurality of seal members from being removed at once is attached to the connector housing.

The retainer has a pair of halves extending along the arrangement direction of the seal members. Each of the halves is connected at one end by a hinge so that it can be opened and closed between the combined state and the separated state. Moreover, the recessed part for avoiding interference with an electric wire in the united state is formed in the mating surface of each half-divided body. The retainer is configured to be assembled to the housing so that both halves are combined so as to sandwich the electric wire and locked to the seal member from the rear.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-46672

  However, in the waterproof connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, one end of each half is connected by a hinge, but the other end has a structure for locking the other ends such as a locking mechanism. I did not. Thereby, the state which clamped the electric wire, ie, the state which attached the retainer to the electric wire beforehand, could not be maintained. Therefore, the waterproof connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it cannot be used in a process of assembling with a retainer attached to an electric wire.

  The process of assembling with the retainer attached to the electric wire has been conventionally performed. Further, this is one of the necessary aspects when the connector is assembled by a flow operation, or when the assembly operation is performed by automation that is often seen in recent years. Therefore, in addition to responding to the assembly process with the retainer attached to the conventional electric wire, a waterproof connector that can incorporate the retainer into the housing even after the contact is crimped to the electric wire is desired. It was.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the retainer has a structure that can be divided into a pair of divided bodies. By using this retainer, the retainer is attached to the electric wire in advance with a simple structure. In addition to the process of doing, it aims at providing the waterproof connector which can incorporate a retainer in a housing, even after crimping a contact to an electric wire.

  More specifically, the following waterproof connector is provided.

  (1) A contact in which an electric wire is crimped, a housing in which a cavity having an opening into which the contact is inserted is formed, and a through hole that closely attaches the electric wire in a waterproof manner, and the electric wire passes through the through hole. A retainer that is inserted into the opening in a state in which the wire is inserted, and a retainer that holds the seal member in a state in which the wire is inserted and is locked to the housing. , Wherein the retainer includes a split portion that can be divided into a pair of split bodies that halve the insertion opening.

  In the waterproof connector according to the invention of (1), a split portion that can be divided into a pair of split bodies is provided in a half portion that halves the insertion port in the retainer. The division part is formed in a breakable shape. Here, the breakable shape is an aspect in which slits are intermittent, and may include an aspect in which portions having slits and portions not having slits are alternately provided. In addition, the division part should just be easily isolate | separated by bending etc., for example, may be V notch shape. The V notch shape may include an aspect in which a V-shaped groove is formed on the surface.

  The retainer can be used for each divided body by dividing. As a result, in addition to working with the retainer attached to the electric wire in advance, for example, when the contact is crimped without attaching the retainer to the electric wire, the waterproof connector can be assembled without attaching the retainer to the electric wire. Even if it has been done, it becomes possible to incorporate it into the housing by mounting each divided body. This eliminates the need for reworking the waterproof connector and discarding parts.

  Moreover, since it becomes unnecessary to attach a retainer before crimping | bonding of an electric wire, the variation of a work procedure increases. Thereby, work efficiency improves.

  Here, the retainer means a part, member, or other element that is to be held in a predetermined position, and is held in a predetermined position such as a connector housing, and has any shape such as a plate, box, or cylinder. May include. The material may include wood, inorganic / organic materials, metals, and any other kind of material. In general, a synthetic resin such as plastic is often used because of its good moldability and physical properties such as strength, but is not limited thereto.

  The housing mainly defines an outer shape including a box, a housing, and the like, but the housing may be provided with a shell. Moreover, it is not limited to a single housing. Furthermore, you may have a some cavity inside.

  (2) The waterproof connector according to (1), wherein each of the divided bodies includes a pair of lock arms, and the housing includes a latch portion that is engaged with the pair of lock arms.

  The waterproof connector according to the invention of (2) uses a split body having a pair of lock arms that can be individually engaged with the connector housing even after the retainer is split. The housing is provided with a latch portion that engages with the lock arm. Thus, even after the retainer is divided, the lock arms and the latch portions are engaged, and the divided bodies can be individually assembled to the connector housing.

  Here, the lock arm only needs to be able to engage with the retainer and exert the function as the retainer, such as an engaging member such as a hook and a loop, an opening, a protrusion, a flat part, a convex part, and a concave part. , Other elements and element members, or a combination thereof.

  According to the present invention, by providing the retainer with a split portion that can be divided into a pair of split bodies, in addition to the process of attaching the retainer to the electric wire in advance with a simple configuration, and after crimping the contact to the electric wire, Further, it is possible to provide a waterproof connector provided with a retainer capable of incorporating the retainer into the housing.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, although this embodiment demonstrates using a receptacle connector, in this invention, you may use for not only this but a tab connector. That is, this embodiment is only one embodiment, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this.

  FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of a receptacle connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is an external view of the receptacle contact according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an external view of the receptacle housing according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 shows an external view of the wire seal according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 shows a front view and a perspective view of the retainer according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective exploded view showing a waterproof connector having a receptacle connector according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is an external view showing a mode in which the retainer according to the embodiment is used separately.

  1 and 2, the receptacle connector 1 includes an electric wire 50, a receptacle contact 20 that is crimped and connected to the electric wire 50 by the crimping portion 22, an electric wire seal 30 that is inserted through the electric wire 50, and the electric wire 50. A receptacle contact assembly 11 having a retained retainer 40 and a receptacle housing 10 are provided.

  The receptacle connector 1 waterproofs the interior of the receptacle housing 10 by incorporating the receptacle contact assembly 11 into the receptacle housing 10 and fitting the wire seal 30 into the rear end of the receptacle housing 10. Then, the retainer 40 is incorporated so as to hold the wire seal 30, and the retainer 40 is locked to the receptacle housing 10. In this way, the receptacle connector 1 is formed. The receptacle connector 1 will be described below with reference to this connection state.

  In FIG. 3, the receptacle contact 20 includes an elastic contact portion 21 and a crimping portion 22. The elastic contact portion 21 is obtained by bending a metal plate having a predetermined shape. A substantially first half portion of the elastic contact portion 21 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having a hollow portion 24 (see FIG. 2) into which a tab contact 122 described later can be inserted. A substantially second half portion of the elastic contact portion 21 is integrated with the crimping portion 22. The crimping part 22 has a pair of crimping pieces 22a and 22b. The receptacle contact 20 (female contact) is crimped to the electric wire 50 by crimping the electric wire 50 with the crimping pieces 22a and 22b.

  The receptacle contact 20 is inserted into the cavity 12 from the rear of the receptacle housing 10, so-called insertion port 13, and is held in a retaining state by being engaged with a lance 17 described later. The electric wire 50 crimped to the crimping portion 22 is led out from the cavity 12 to the rear of the receptacle housing 10. The electric wire 50 is fitted with a substantially cylindrical electric wire seal 30.

  In FIG. 4, the receptacle housing 10 includes a receptacle housing main body 10 a in which the receptacle contacts 20 are incorporated, and a seal fitting insertion portion 10 b in which the electric wire seal 30 is fitted. The receptacle housing body 10a is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism shape, and a cavity 12 for incorporating the receptacle contact 20 is provided therein. The cavity 12 is provided with a lance 17 (see FIG. 2) that prevents the receptacle contact 20 from coming off the receptacle housing 10. Further, the receptacle housing body 10a is provided with an insertion port 13 into which the receptacle contact 20 and the like are inserted, and a connector fitting portion 14 into which a mating housing, that is, a tab housing 120 described later is inserted. These are connected via the cavity 12.

  The seal insertion portion 10b is provided integrally with the receptacle housing body 10a on the insertion port 13 side. The seal insertion part 10b is formed in a substantially quadrangular prism shape. The seal fitting portion 10b has first and second locking claws 15 and 16 that are locked with first and second locking grooves 46 and 48, which will be described later.

  The seal fitting portion 10b has a space 18 formed in substantially the same shape as the wire seal 30 for fitting the wire seal 30 therein. The receptacle housing main body 10a is kept watertight by fitting the wire seal 30 into the space 18 and closely contacting it.

  In FIG. 5, the electric wire seal 30 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and has a circular through hole 31 through which the electric wire 50 penetrates at the center. The wire seal 30 is formed of an elastic member, for example, a rubber member.

  The wire seal 30 is inserted into a seal insertion portion 10 b provided at the rear end of the cavity 12. When the electric wire seal 30 is in close contact with the seal insertion portion 10b, water can be prevented from entering the cavity 12 from the outside. The electric wire seal 30 is externally fitted to the electric wire 50 and is prevented from coming off by a retainer 40 that is engaged with the receptacle housing 10. Further, since the electric wire seal 30 is held by the retainer 40, bending at the seal fitting insertion portion 10b is restricted, so that elastic deformation is prevented.

  The diameter of the wire seal 30 is formed to be approximately the same as the diameter of the space 18 so that the outer peripheral surface 32 of the wire seal 30 and the space 18 of the seal fitting portion 10b are in close contact. The diameter of the through hole 31 is the same as or slightly smaller than the diameter of the electric wire 50 so that the through hole 31 and the electric wire 50 are in close contact with each other. Thus, the electric wire seal 30 allows the electric wire 50 to penetrate by expanding the through hole 31 by the elastic force of the electric wire seal 30, and the receptacle 50 is inserted into the seal fitting insertion portion 10b with the electric wire 50 being penetrated. The housing body 10a is kept watertight.

  In FIG. 6, the retainer 40 includes a pressing surface 40 a that presses the electric wire seal 30, and a pair of side walls 49 that extend from both ends of the pressing surface 40 a in a direction that fits into the receptacle housing 10. It is formed in a letter shape. Two pairs of plate-like lock arms 45 and 47 extending in the direction of fitting with the receptacle housing 10 are elastically provided from the other end portions of the pressing surface 40a.

  In FIG. 6A, the pressing surface 40a includes an insertion port 44 through which the electric wire 50 is inserted in a substantially central portion. The pressing surface 40a includes a dividing portion 43 that divides the pressing surface 40a at a position where the insertion port 44 is divided in half. The divider 40 separates the retainer 40 into a first retainer 41 and a second retainer 42. The two pairs of lock arms 45, 47 are divided into a pair of first lock arms 45 and second lock arms 47 at the dividing portion. That is, the divided first lock arm 45 is provided on the first retainer 41, and the second lock arm 47 is provided on the second retainer 42 side. The lock arms 45 and 47 are provided with locking grooves 46 and 48 that engage with the locking claws 15 and 16.

  The division part 43 is formed in a breakable shape. Here, the breakable shape is an aspect in which slits are intermittent, and may include an aspect in which portions having slits and portions not having slits are alternately provided. In addition, the division part should just be easily isolate | separated by bending etc., for example, may be V notch shape. The V notch shape may include an aspect in which a V-shaped groove is formed on the surface.

  Moreover, in FIG.6 (b), a pair of press part is provided inside the retainer 40, ie, the side contact | abutted with the seal fitting insertion part 10b of the press surface 40a. Each pressing part is provided in the 1st retainer 41 and the 2nd retainer 42, respectively.

  Next, the operation of the receptacle connector 1 will be described.

  First, FIG. 7 shows a perspective exploded view of the waterproof connector 100 having the receptacle connector 1. In FIG. 7, the waterproof connector 100 includes a receptacle connector 1, a tab connector 2, a fitting seal 3, and a lock housing 4. The receptacle connector 1 includes a receptacle contact 20 to which an electric wire 50 is crimped, a receptacle housing 10, an electric wire seal 30, and a retainer 40. The tab connector 2 includes a tab contact 122 to which an electric wire 50 is crimped, a tab housing 120, an electric wire seal 30, and a retainer 40.

  Specifically, the receptacle connector 1 is inserted into the electric wire 50, the receptacle contact 20 that is crimped and connected to the electric wire 50 by the crimping portion 22, the electric wire seal 30 that is inserted into the electric wire 50, and the electric wire 50. A receptacle contact assembly 11 having a retainer 40 and a receptacle housing 10 are provided. The receptacle connector 1 is formed by incorporating the receptacle contact assembly 11 in the receptacle housing 10 and water-tightening the gap between the electric wire 50 and the receptacle housing 10 with the electric wire seal 30.

  On the other hand, the tab connector 2 includes an electric wire 50, a tab contact 122 that is crimped and connected to the electric wire 50 by the crimping portion 122a, an electric wire seal 30 that is inserted through the electric wire 50, and a retainer 40 that is inserted through the electric wire 50 similarly. , And a tab housing 120. The tab connector 2 is formed by incorporating the tab contact assembly 121 into the tab housing 120 and making the gap between the electric wire 50 and the tab housing 120 watertight by the electric wire seal 30.

  The waterproof connector 100 first inserts the fitting seal 3 into the receptacle connector 1. Next, the tab connector 2 is engaged with the lock housing 4, and the tab connector 2 engaged with the lock housing 4 is inserted into the receptacle connector 1. Then, the receptacle contact 20 incorporated in the receptacle connector 1 and the tab contact 122 are fitted and completed. The operation of the receptacle connector 1, that is, the assembly procedure of the receptacle connector 1 will be described below with reference to the connection status of the waterproof connector 100.

  First, the electric wire 50 is inserted into the insertion port 44 of the retainer 40, and the retainer 40 is attached to the electric wire 50. Next, the electric wire 50 is passed through the through hole 31 of the electric wire seal 30. When the wire seal 30 is attached to the electric wire 50, the tip of the electric wire 50 is crimped to the crimping portion 22 of the receptacle contact 20. Thereby, the receptacle contact assembly 11 is completed.

  Next, the receptacle contact assembly 11 is inserted from the insertion port 13 of the receptacle housing 10. Specifically, the receptacle contact 20 is inserted into the cavity 12 provided inside the receptacle housing 10. When the receptacle contact 20 is inserted, the receptacle contact 20 is locked to the lance 17 provided in the cavity 12. When the receptacle contact 20 is locked to the lance 17 and the receptacle contact 20 is mounted in the cavity 12, the wire seal 30 is slid along the wire 50 and inserted into the seal fitting portion 10b.

  When the electric wire seal 30 is inserted into the seal insertion portion 10 b, the retainer 40 is slid along the electric wire 50. The first and second locking arms 45 and 47 are elastically deformed, and the first and second locking grooves 46 and 48 are locked to the first and second locking claws 15 and 16 provided in the seal fitting portion 10b. Let Thereby, the receptacle connector 1 is completed.

  Here, FIG. 8 shows a mode in which the retainer 40 is divided and used. First, each side wall 49 is picked and bent along the dividing portion 43 to be separated into the first retainer 41 and the second retainer 42. When the retainer 40 is separated, the first locking groove 46 of the first lock arm 45 of the first retainer 41 is locked to the first locking claw 15. As a result, the first retainer 41 is locked to the receptacle housing 10. Similarly, the second locking groove 48 of the second lock arm 47 of the second retainer 42 is locked to the second locking claw 16. As a result, the second retainer 42 is locked to the receptacle housing 10.

  As described above, according to the receptacle connector 1 as an embodiment of the present invention, the retainer 40 is divided into the first and second retainers 41 and 42 in the halved portion that divides the insertion port 44 in half. It has. That is, the retainer 40 can be separated into the first and second retainers 41 and 42. Thereby, in addition to the case where the retainer 40 is attached to the electric wire 50 in advance, the retainer 40 is attached to the electric wire 50, for example, when the receptacle contact 20 is crimped without attaching the retainer 40 to the electric wire 50. Even when the assembling work of the waterproof connector is performed without being possible, the retainer 40 can be incorporated into the receptacle housing 10 by separating the retainer 40 from the first and second retainers 41 and 42.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to reassemble the waterproof connector 100 or discard parts. Moreover, since it is not necessary to fix the mounting procedure of the retainer 40 in the waterproof connector assembling work, variations in the work procedure increase. Thereby, work efficiency improves.

The perspective exploded view of the receptacle connector concerning the embodiment of the present invention is shown. Sectional drawing of the receptacle connector which concerns on the said embodiment is shown. The external view of the receptacle contact which concerns on the said embodiment is shown. The receptacle housing external view which concerns on the said embodiment is shown. The external view of the electric wire seal which concerns on the said embodiment is shown. The front view and perspective view of the retainer which concern on the said embodiment are shown. The perspective exploded view which shows the waterproof connector which has the receptacle connector which concerns on the said embodiment is shown. The external view which shows the aspect which isolate | separates and uses the retainer which concerns on the said embodiment is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Receptacle connector 10 Receptacle housing 11 Receptacle contact assembly 12 Cavity 13 Insertion port 14 Connector fitting part 15 1st latching claw 16 2nd latching claw 20 Receptacle contact 30 Electric wire seal 31 Through-hole 40 Retainer 41 1st retainer 42 2nd Retainer 43 Dividing portion 44 Insertion opening 45 First lock arm 46 First locking groove 47 Second lock arm 48 Second locking groove 50 Electric wire 100 Waterproof connector

Claims (2)

A state in which a contact in which an electric wire is crimped, a housing in which a cavity having an opening into which the contact is inserted is formed, and a through hole that tightly adheres the electric wire in a waterproof manner, and the electric wire is passed through the through hole And a retainer that has an insertion port through which the electric wire can be inserted, retains the seal member in a state in which the electric wire is inserted, and is engaged with the housing. A waterproof connector,
The retainer is a waterproof connector including a split portion that can be divided into a pair of split bodies that halve the insertion opening. Each of the divided bodies includes a pair of lock arms,
The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the housing is provided with a latch portion that is engaged with the pair of lock arms.

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