JP2009129885A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of aiming at workability improvement when a terminal metal fitting is inserted. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproof connector is provided with an enlarging member 50 capable of displacing between an enlarging position making a collective rubber stopper 30 elastically deform so as to be enlarge an inner diameter of a seal hole 31 and an enlarging releasing position releasing elastic deformation of the collective rubber stopper 30. When a terminal metal fitting 20 is inserted into a cavity 11, the enlarging member 50 is moved to the enlarging position beforehand to make the inner diameter of the seal hole 31 enlarged, therefore elastic resistance between an inner periphery of the seal hole 31 and an outer face of the terminal metal fitting 20 is reduced. After insertion of the terminal metal fitting 20, the enlarging member 50 is moved to the enlarging releasing position to make the inner diameter of the seal hole 31 smaller by elastic restoring force of the collective rubber stopper 30, and is adhered to an outer periphery of a wire 23, so that expected seal property is secured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

Patent Document 1 describes a waterproof connector using a batch rubber stopper. This connector has a housing having a plurality of cavities inside and a collective rubber plug attached to the rear end surface of the housing, and the collective rubber plug has a plurality of seal holes corresponding to each cavity penetrating in the front-rear direction. Is formed. When attaching the terminal fitting to the housing, the terminal fitting is inserted into the seal hole from the back of the batch rubber plug and inserted into the cavity. In the state where the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the electric wire connected to the rear end of the terminal fitting penetrates the seal hole, and the inner periphery of the seal hole adheres to the outer periphery of the electric wire in a liquid-tight manner. Intrusion into the cavity is prevented.
JP 2006-324161 A

In general, the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the terminal fitting are larger than the outer diameter of the electric wire. Therefore, when passing the terminal fitting through the seal hole, it is necessary to enlarge the seal hole considerably. When expanded, a large resistance is generated between the outer surface of the terminal fitting and the inner periphery of the seal hole due to the elastic restoring force of the batch rubber plug. Since this resistance hinders the insertion work of the terminal fitting, it has been desired to improve it.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve workability when inserting a terminal fitting.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 corresponds to the housing having a plurality of cavities therein, a plurality of terminal fittings inserted into the cavities from the rear, and the plurality of cavities. A plurality of seal holes formed so as to pass through, and a collective rubber plug attached to the rear end surface of the housing, and the terminal fitting is inserted into the seal hole from the rear of the collective rubber plug, and When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the electric wire connected to the rear end of the terminal fitting penetrates the seal hole, and the inner periphery of the seal hole is the electric wire of the electric wire. In the connector that is adapted to be in liquid-tight contact with the outer periphery, an expansion position that elastically deforms the collective rubber plug so as to expand the inner diameter of the seal hole, and Characterized in place which is provided with a displaceable expanding element between the widening released position for releasing the elastic deformation of the rubber plug Batch.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the expanding member has a tapered shape with a tapered outer peripheral surface, and the seal hole is displaced as the expanding member is displaced to the expanded position. It has a feature in that it has a cylindrical portion that enters the inside of the housing and is disengaged from the seal hole as the expansion member is displaced to the expansion release position.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the expansion member includes only one cylindrical portion, and a plurality of the expansion members are individually expanded and expanded. It is characterized in that it is provided so that it can be displaced between the open release position.

  The invention of claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 2, the expanding member includes a plurality of the cylindrical portions.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the expanding member according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is configured such that the expanding rubber member is disposed rearward of the collective rubber plug in a state where the expanding member is displaced to the expansion releasing position. It is characterized in that it can be pressed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
When inserting the terminal fitting into the cavity, the elastic member between the inner periphery of the seal hole and the outer surface of the terminal fitting can be obtained by moving the expanding member to the expanded position and expanding the inner diameter of the sealing hole in advance. Resistance is reduced. Thereby, pushing force required for insertion of a terminal metal fitting is reduced, and workability | operativity improves. In addition, after inserting the terminal fitting, if the expansion member is moved to the expansion release position, the inner diameter of the seal hole is reduced due to the elastic restoring force of the batch rubber plug, and the inner diameter of the seal hole is closely attached. Sealability is ensured.

<Invention of Claim 2>
When the expansion member is displaced to the expansion position, the inner periphery of the seal hole is expanded by the cylindrical portion. Since the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion has a tapered shape, entry into the cylindrical portion with respect to the seal hole is smoothly performed.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Multiple expansion members can be individually displaced between the expansion position and the expansion release position, so when only a specific terminal fitting is extracted from the cavity, only the corresponding expansion member is expanded. What is necessary is just to move to a cancellation | release position. At this time, since only one expanding member is moved, the frictional resistance between the expanding member and the seal hole can be small.

<Invention of Claim 4>
Since the operation of causing the plurality of cylinder portions to enter the plurality of seal holes and the operation of removing the plurality of cylinder portions from the plurality of seal holes can be performed simultaneously in one action, the workability is good.

<Invention of Claim 5>
In a state where the expansion member is displaced to the expansion release position, the expansion member presses the collective rubber plug from the rear side, so that the relative movement of the collective rubber plug relative to the housing is restricted. The collective rubber stopper is held in an assembled state with respect to the housing.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The waterproof connector A of the present embodiment includes one housing 10, a plurality of terminal fittings 20, one batch rubber plug 30, one rubber plug holder 40, and a plurality of expanding members 50. ing.
The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and a plurality of cavities 11 penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed in the housing 10 so as to be aligned vertically and horizontally. At the rear end portion of the housing 10 (the right end portion in FIGS. 1 and 2), a mounting portion 12 extending rearward from the outer peripheral edge of the rear end surface in a rectangular tube shape is formed. It has become. The rear end of the cavity 11 is opened at the back end surface of the mounting space 13 (the rear end surface of the housing 10).

  The terminal fitting 20 is elongated in the front-rear direction, and the substantially first half portion is a rectangular tube-like connection portion 21 connected to a mating terminal (not shown), and the substantially second half portion is an open barrel-shaped wire crimping portion 22. It has become. A front end portion of the electric wire 23 is connected to the electric wire crimping portion 22 so as to be conductive by crimping, and the crimped electric wire 23 extends rearward so as to be substantially straight with the terminal fitting 20. Moreover, the outer diameter dimension of the electric wire 23 is smaller than the maximum vertical dimension and the maximum horizontal dimension of the terminal fitting 20.

  The collective rubber plug 30 has a block shape and is fitted in the mounting space 13 without backlash in a state where the outer periphery thereof is in liquid-tight contact with the inner periphery of the mounting portion 12 (mounting space 13). Yes. The collective rubber plug 30 is attached so that its front end surface is brought into contact with the rear end surface of the housing 10 in a surface contact manner, and occupies a substantially front half portion of the mounting space 13. A plurality of seal holes 31 are formed in the collective rubber plug 30 so as to correspond to the cavities 11 in the front-rear direction. A plurality of lip portions 32 arranged in the front-rear direction are concentrically formed on the inner periphery of each seal hole 31, and the minimum of the lip portion 32 (seal hole 31) in a free state in which the seal hole 31 is not elastically deformed. The inner diameter dimension is smaller than the outer diameter dimension of the electric wire 23.

  The rubber stopper holder 40 is made of a synthetic resin, has a block shape, has no backlash in the substantially second half region in the mounting space 13, and is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction by a known locking means (not shown). It is fitted in the state. A plurality of circular holding holes 41 corresponding to the seal holes 31 are formed in the rubber plug holder 40 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. The inner diameter dimension of the holding hole 41 is larger than that of the seal hole 31 and larger than the maximum vertical dimension and the maximum horizontal dimension of the terminal fitting 20. A pair of circumferential holding grooves 42 </ b> F and 42 </ b> R are formed on the inner periphery of the holding hole 41 at an interval in the front-rear direction.

  The rubber plug holder 40 is provided with a plurality of expanding members 50 as many as the cavities 11 and the seal holes 31. The expanding member 50 is made of a highly rigid material such as synthetic resin or metal, and is formed by integrally forming a ring-shaped main body 51 and a cylindrical portion 52 protruding forward from the front end of the main body 51. . A circumferential holding rib 53 is formed on the outer periphery of the main body 51, and the expanding member 50 is fitted with the holding rib 53 in one of the front and rear holding grooves 42F and 42R, so that a rubber plug is formed. It is attached to the holder 40.

  The outer periphery of the cylindrical part 52 is concentric with the main body part 51 and has a circular shape with a tapered shape in which the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the front end side. The minimum outer diameter dimension of the cylindrical portion 52 (the outer diameter dimension of the front end of the cylindrical portion 52) is slightly larger than the minimum inner diameter of the seal hole 31 when the seal hole 31 is not elastically deformed. On the other hand, the center hole 54 of the cylindrical portion 52 has a circular shape concentric with the cylindrical portion 52, and the inner diameter dimension thereof is a size that allows the terminal fitting 20 to pass through, that is, a dimension that is larger than the minimum inner diameter of the seal hole 31. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the expanding member 50 has an expanded position in which the cylindrical portion 52 has entered the seal hole 31, and as shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical portion 52 is detached rearward from the seal hole 31. It is possible to move in the front-rear direction between the expanded release position. The expanding member 50 is held at the expanded position by fitting the holding rib 53 into the front holding groove 42F, and is held at the expansion releasing position by fitting the holding rib 53 into the rear holding groove 42R. It has come to be.

  When inserting the terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 11, first, each expanding member 50 is moved to the expanding position using a jig (not shown), and the cylindrical portion 52 is moved into the seal hole 31. deep. When the cylindrical portion 52 enters the seal hole 31, the collective rubber plug 30 is elastically deformed so that the inner periphery of the substantially second half region of the seal hole 31 is expanded concentrically. Further, the frontmost lip portion 32 among the plurality of lip portions 32 formed on the inner periphery of the seal hole 31 does not interfere with the cylindrical portion 52 and hardly receives the expanding action by the cylindrical portion 52. Therefore, the lip portion 32 positioned at the foremost side hardly bends elastically. The minimum inner diameter of the foremost lip portion 32 is smaller than the inner diameter of the center hole 54 of the cylindrical portion 52.

  In this state, the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the holding hole 41 from the rear. The inserted terminal fitting 20 is accommodated in the cavity 11 through the center hole 54 and the seal hole 31 in order. During this time, the terminal fitting 20 is not prevented from being inserted by interference with the inner periphery of the cylindrical portion 52 (center hole 54), but comes into contact with the lip portion 32 positioned at the forefront of the seal hole 31, and this lip The part 32 is elastically deformed so as to expand its diameter. Therefore, although the insertion resistance due to friction due to the elastic restoring force of the lip portion 32 acts on the terminal fitting 20, only one lip portion 32 located at the foremost end contacts the terminal fitting 20. Compared with the case where the terminal fitting 20 contacts all of the plurality of lip portions 32, the insertion resistance is greatly reduced.

  After the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 11 to the proper position and the electric wire 23 penetrates the seal hole 31, the expansion member 50 is expanded rearward using a jig (not shown). The cylinder portion 52 is retreated to the rear outside of the seal hole 31 by moving to the release position. Then, due to the elastic restoring force of the collective rubber plug 30, the seal hole 31 is elastically restored so that the diameter thereof is reduced to the original size, and the lip portion 32 (inner circumference of the seal hole 31) is elastic with respect to the outer circumference of the electric wire 23. It adheres in a liquid-tight manner. This prevents water from entering the cavity 11 from the rear.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 11, the expansion member 50 is moved to the expansion position in advance, and the inner diameter of the seal hole 31 is expanded. The elastic resistance between the inner periphery of the seal hole 31 and the outer surface of the terminal fitting 20 can be reduced. Thereby, pushing force required for insertion of the terminal metal fitting 20 is reduced, and workability | operativity improves. Further, after the insertion into the terminal fitting 20, if the expansion member 50 is moved to the expansion release position, the inner diameter of the seal hole 31 is reduced by the elastic restoring force of the collective rubber plug 30, and is closely attached to the outer periphery of the electric wire 23. Therefore, the expected sealing performance is ensured.

  Further, since the cylindrical portion 52 of the expanding member 50 has a tapered outer peripheral surface, the cylindrical portion 52 enters the seal hole 31 as the expanding member 50 is displaced to the expanded position. When doing so, the frictional resistance caused by the elastic restoring force of the seal hole 31 is reduced, and the tube portion 52 with respect to the seal hole 31 is smoothly entered.

  Moreover, the expansion member 50 is a form provided with only one cylindrical portion 52 to be inserted into the seal hole 31, and has a structure in which a plurality of expansion members 50 are attached to one rubber plug holder 40. . Thereby, the some expansion member 50 can be moved now between an expansion position and an expansion cancellation | release position separately from the other expansion members 50. FIG. Therefore, when only the specific terminal fitting 20 is extracted from the cavity 11, only the corresponding expansion member 50 needs to be moved to the expansion release position. At this time, since only one expanding member 50 is moved, the frictional resistance between the expanding member 50 and the seal hole 31 can be small.

<Embodiment 2>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector B of the present embodiment includes one housing 60, a plurality of terminal fittings 20, one collective rubber plug 30, and one expanding member 70.
The housing 60 is made of synthetic resin, and a plurality of cavities 61 penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed in the housing 60 so as to be aligned vertically and horizontally. A mounting portion 62 is formed at the rear end portion of the housing 60 so as to extend rearward from the outer peripheral edge of the rear end surface thereof into a square tube shape. The rear end of the cavity 61 is opened at the rear end surface of the mounting space 63 (the rear end surface of the housing 60). A locking projection 64 is formed on the outer periphery of the mounting portion 62.

In addition, about the terminal metal fitting 20 and an electric wire, since it is the same form as Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is turned down and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
Moreover, since the collective rubber plug 30 has the same form as that of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are omitted, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The collective rubber plug 30 is attached so as to occupy the entire attachment space 63.

  An expansion member 70 is attached to the attachment portion 62. The expanding member 70 is made of a highly rigid material such as synthetic resin or metal, and is formed by integrally forming a plate-like main body portion 71 and a plurality of cylindrical portions 72 projecting forward from the main body portion 71. is there. The main body portion 71 is formed with an elastic locking piece 73 extending forward from the outer edge thereof.

  The outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 72 is concentric with the main body portion 71 and has a circular shape with a tapered shape in which the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the front end side. The minimum outer diameter dimension of the cylinder part 72 (the outer diameter dimension of the front end of the cylinder part 72) is slightly larger than the minimum inner diameter of the seal hole 31 when the seal hole 31 is not elastically deformed. On the other hand, the central hole 74 of the cylindrical portion 72 has a circular shape concentric with the cylindrical portion 72, and the inner diameter dimension thereof is a size that allows the terminal fitting 20 to pass through, that is, a dimension that is larger than the minimum inner diameter of the seal hole 31. It has become. The center hole 74 passes through the main body 71 and opens on the rear end surface of the main body 71.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the expanding member 70 has an expanded position in which the cylindrical portion 72 has entered the seal hole 31, and the cylindrical portion 72 is detached rearward from the seal hole 31 as illustrated in FIG. 3. It is possible to move in the front-rear direction between the expanded release position. The expansion member 70 is held in the expanded position by locking the elastic locking piece 73 to a locking portion (not shown), and the expansion releasing position is locked by locking the elastic locking piece 73 to the locking projection 64. Is supposed to be retained.

  When inserting the terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 61, first, the respective expansion members 70 are moved to the expansion position, and the plurality of cylindrical portions 72 are made to enter the seal hole 31 all at once. When the cylindrical portion 72 enters the seal hole 31, the collective rubber plug 30 is elastically deformed so as to concentrically expand the inner periphery of the substantially second half region of the seal hole 31. In addition, the lip portion 32 positioned in the foremost position among the plurality of lip portions 32 formed on the inner periphery of the seal hole 31 does not interfere with the cylindrical portion 72 and hardly receives the expanding action by the cylindrical portion 72. Therefore, the lip portion 32 positioned at the foremost side hardly bends elastically. The minimum inner diameter of the foremost lip portion 32 is smaller than the inner diameter of the center hole 74 of the cylindrical portion 72.

  In this state, the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the center hole 74 of the expanding member 70 from the rear. The inserted terminal fitting 20 is accommodated in the cavity 61 through the seal hole 31. During this time, the terminal fitting 20 is not prevented from being inserted due to interference with the inner periphery of the center hole 74, but comes into contact with the lip portion 32 positioned at the forefront of the seal hole 31 to expand the diameter of the lip portion 32. It is made to elastically deform. Therefore, although the insertion resistance due to friction due to the elastic restoring force of the lip portion 32 acts on the terminal fitting 20, only one lip portion 32 located at the foremost end contacts the terminal fitting 20. Compared with the case where the terminal fitting 20 contacts all of the plurality of lip portions 32, the insertion resistance is greatly reduced.

  After the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 61 to the proper position and the electric wire 23 passes through the seal hole 31, the expansion member 70 is moved to the expansion release position, and all the cylindrical portions 72 are moved. The seal holes 31 are evacuated to the outside at the same time. Then, due to the elastic restoring force of the collective rubber plug 30, the seal hole 31 is elastically restored so that the diameter thereof is reduced to the original size, and the lip portion 32 (inner circumference of the seal hole 31) is elastic with respect to the outer circumference of the electric wire 23. In close contact with the liquid in a liquid-tight manner, water can be prevented from entering the cavity 61 from the rear.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 61, the expansion member 70 is moved to the expansion position in advance to enlarge the seal hole 31. Since the pushing force required for inserting the terminal fitting 20 is reduced, workability is good. In addition, after insertion into the terminal fitting 20, the expansion member 70 is moved to the expansion release position, whereby the inner periphery of the seal hole 31 is in close contact with the outer periphery of the electric wire 23, so that the expected sealing performance is ensured. .

  Further, since the cylindrical portion 72 of the expanding member 70 has a tapered outer peripheral surface, the cylindrical portion 72 enters the seal hole 31 as the expanding member 70 is displaced to the expanded position. When doing so, the frictional resistance resulting from the elastic restoring force of the seal hole 31 is reduced, and the tube portion 72 with respect to the seal hole 31 is smoothly entered.

  In addition, since the expanding member 70 includes a plurality of cylindrical portions 72, the operation of causing the plurality of cylindrical portions 72 to enter the plurality of seal holes 31 and the removal of the plurality of cylindrical portions 72 from the plurality of seal holes 31. The work to be performed can be performed all at once with one action, and the workability is excellent.

  Further, in a state in which the expansion member 70 is displaced to the expansion release position, the front surface of the main body 71 comes into contact with the rear end surface of the collective rubber plug 30 in a surface contact manner and presses the collective rubber plug 30 from the rear. It becomes like this. Accordingly, the relative movement of the collective rubber plug 30 relative to the housing 60 is restricted, and the collective rubber plug 30 is held in the assembled state with respect to the housing 60.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the outer surface of the terminal fitting in the insertion process is in contact with the inner periphery of the seal hole in the state where the expanding member is in the expanded position. You may make it an outer surface not contact the inner periphery of a seal hole at all.
(2) Although the case where the terminal fitting is a female terminal fitting having no tab has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to a male terminal fitting having a tab at the front end.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion is tapered, but according to the present invention, the cylindrical portion may have a form in which the outer dimensions are constant over the entire length.
(4) In the above embodiment, the expansion member presses the collective rubber plug from the rear while being displaced to the expansion release position. However, according to the present invention, the expansion member is at the expansion release position. In the displaced state, the expanding member may be configured not to push the collective rubber plug from behind.

Sectional drawing showing the state which has an expansion member in an expansion position in Embodiment 1. Sectional drawing showing the state in which the expansion member is in the expansion release position Sectional drawing showing the state which has an expansion member in an expansion position in Embodiment 2. Sectional drawing showing the state in which the expansion member is in the expansion release position

Explanation of symbols

A ... Waterproof connector 10 ... Housing 11 ... Cavity 20 ... Terminal fitting 23 ... Electric wire 30 ... Batch rubber plug 31 ... Seal hole 50 ... Expanding member 52 ... Cylindrical part B ... Waterproof connector 60 ... Housing 61 ... Cavity 70 ... Expanding member 72 ... Cylinder part

Claims (5)

A housing having a plurality of cavities therein;
A plurality of terminal fittings inserted into the cavity from behind;
A plurality of seal holes are formed so as to penetrate through corresponding to the plurality of cavities, and a collective rubber stopper attached to a rear end surface of the housing,
The terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity by being inserted into the seal hole from the rear of the batch rubber plug,
In a state where the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the electric wire connected to the rear end of the terminal fitting penetrates the seal hole, and the inner periphery of the seal hole is liquid-tight with respect to the outer periphery of the electric wire. In a connector that comes in close contact,
An expansion member displaceable between an expansion position for elastically deforming the collective rubber plug so as to expand an inner diameter of the seal hole and an expansion release position for releasing the elastic deformation of the collective rubber plug; Waterproof connector characterized by having   The expansion member has a tapered shape with a tapered outer peripheral surface, and enters the seal hole as the expansion member is displaced to the expansion position, and the expansion member moves to the expansion release position. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, further comprising a cylindrical portion that is disengaged from the seal hole when displaced. The spreading member is a form having only one cylindrical portion,
The waterproof connector according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of expansion members are provided so as to be individually displaceable between an expansion position and an expansion release position.   The waterproof connector according to claim 2, wherein the expansion member includes a plurality of the cylindrical portions.   5. The expansion member according to claim 1, wherein, in a state where the expansion member is displaced to the expansion release position, the collective rubber plug can be pressed from behind. Waterproof connector as described.

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