JP2010140876A - Waterproof connector and elastic seal member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of preventing a break and deformation of an elastic seal member at the time of inserting a terminal with an electric wire and miniaturizing, as well as an elastic seal member suitable for the waterproof connector. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproof connector 21 comprises a connector housing having a terminal housing section 27, a seal member 41 arranged at a rear face side of the terminal housing section 27, and a seal cover 42. The seal member 41 has a plurality of through-holes 52. The plurality of through-holes 52 are arranged at a hound's-tooth structure so as to make a first through-hole 52a and a second through-hole 52b adjoin each other in order to mutually differentiate locations of a large-diameter section 53 and a small-diameter section 54. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector and an elastic seal member suitable for the waterproof connector.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the conventional waterproof connector 101 is disposed between the connector housing 102, the front holder 103 and the rear holder 104 that are respectively fitted to the front and rear of the connector housing 102, and the connector housing 102 and the rear holder 104. And a seal member 105 for preventing water from entering the connector housing 102. The seal member 105 includes a main body 111 and a plurality of through holes 112 for inserting the terminals 106 with electric wires into the main body 111 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the above configuration, the connector 101 is assembled as follows. First, the seal member 105 is attached in the connector housing 102, and the rear holder 104 is pressed from the rear part of the attached seal member 105. Next, the terminal 106 with electric wire is inserted into the through hole of the rear holder 104 and the through hole 112 of the seal member 105 in order. By further pushing the terminal 106 with electric wire, the terminal 106 with electric wire is attached to the terminal accommodating portion 113 of the connector housing 102. Finally, by pushing the rear holder 104 once again, the engaging portion of the connector housing 102 and the engaging portion of the rear holder 104 are engaged, and the assembly of the connector 101 is completed. At this time, the seal member 105 is pushed in by the rear holder 104 and can prevent water from entering from the outside.

  In a state where the seal member 105 and the rear holder 104 are incorporated in the connector housing 102, the vertical and horizontal movements are restricted. Therefore, when the pitch of each through hole or terminal accommodating portion is shifted, the terminal 106 with a wire is used. As a result, the crushing rate of the seal member 105 is not uniform. As a result, the waterproof performance is inferior and the possibility of causing poor contact increases.

  Moreover, the crushing rate after inserting an electric wire becomes high in the site | part where the electric wire crimped | bonded in the through-hole 112 of the sealing member 105 is inserted with high density. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the already inserted electric wire 121 (the portion indicated by the hatched portion in FIG. 7) presses the other portion. Therefore, there is a possibility that the force F ′ works due to the influence of the already inserted electric wire 121 and narrows the inner diameter of the other through hole 112 (see FIG. 8). Usually, the through hole 112 is formed smaller than the diameter of the electric wire in order to improve the sealing performance. As a result, when trying to insert the terminal 106 with an electric wire into the through hole adjacent to the through hole 112 into which the electric wire 121 is inserted, there is a high risk that the end of the terminal will cause rubber breakage or rubber deformation. As a result, the waterproof performance is inferior and the possibility of causing poor contact is further increased.

  In order to prevent the rubber from being cut or deformed when the terminal is inserted, in Patent Document 2, a plurality of through holes arranged at regular intervals are provided in the seal member, and recesses are provided between the rows. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the deformation occurring in one column from reaching the other column.

  Moreover, in patent document 3, the cavity part is provided before and behind the sealing member separately from the through-hole for terminal insertion. By engaging the cavity with the connector housing and the seal holder, it is possible to improve the adhesion of the connector and to prevent the deformation generated in one through-hole from reaching other through-holes.

JP-A-2005-123102 JP 2006-140019 A JP 2002-270282 A

  However, in the connectors as shown in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, a plurality of through holes are classified for each row, and another hole is provided between the rows to prevent deformation of the seal member. Therefore, it is impossible to prevent deformation between adjacent through holes.

  In addition, in the connectors as shown in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, there is a part different from the through hole for inserting the terminal into the seal member in order to prevent the rubber cut or deformation of the seal member when inserting the terminal. Necessary. Therefore, it is impossible to arrange the wires at high density and to reduce the size of the connector.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector capable of preventing a seal member from being cut or deformed when inserting a terminal with an electric wire, and further achieving downsizing. The object is to provide a suitable sealing member.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the waterproof connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) and (2).
(1) a terminal with an electric wire in which an end of the electric wire is electrically connected to a terminal made of conductive metal;
A connector housing comprising a plurality of terminal accommodating portions for accommodating the terminals with electric wires;
A rear holder attached to the connector housing and through which the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is inserted;
An elastic seal member held between the rear holder and the terminal accommodating portion by the rear holder;
With
The elastic seal member is formed with a plurality of through-holes through which the terminal of the terminal with electric wire penetrates and the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is held when the terminal with electric wire is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion. ,
The electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is a waterproof connector that is liquid-tightly held by a sealing wall portion having an inner peripheral surface that defines a through-hole of the elastic seal member,
The sealing wall portion is formed so that the inner diameters of the through holes adjacent to each other are different in at least one portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side.
(2) In the waterproof connector configured as described in (1) above,
The plurality of through holes include a first through hole and a second through hole,
The first through hole includes a large-diameter portion in a portion on the rear holder side of the elastic seal member, and a small-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The second through hole includes a small-diameter portion in a portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side, and a large-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The first through holes and the second through holes are staggered so as to be adjacent to each other.

In the waterproof connector having the configuration (1), the plurality of through holes of the elastic seal member are formed so that the inner diameters of the adjacent through holes are different in at least one of the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side. With this configuration, in a state where a terminal with an electric wire is inserted into a certain through hole, it is possible to suppress the influence due to compression or the like from the through hole to the adjacent through hole. Therefore, the sealing wall portion of the elastic seal member can be prevented from being cut or deformed, and the waterproof connector can be downsized.
In the waterproof connector having the configuration (2), the first through hole and the second through hole formed so that the positions of the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion are different from each other are staggered. With this configuration, in a state where the terminal with the electric wire is inserted into one of the first through hole and the second through hole, it is possible to suppress the influence due to the pressure or the like on the other adjacent through hole. Therefore, the sealing wall portion of the elastic sealing member can be prevented from being cut or deformed, and the waterproof connector can be further downsized.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the elastic seal member according to the present invention is characterized by the following (3) and (4).
(3) A terminal with an electric wire in which an end portion of an electric wire is electrically connected to a terminal made of conductive metal, a connector housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating portions for accommodating the terminal with electric wire, and attached to the connector housing, And a rear holder through which the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is inserted, and held between the rear holder and the terminal accommodating portion by the rear holder in a waterproof connector,
When the terminal with electric wire is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion, a plurality of through holes through which the terminal of the terminal with electric wire penetrates and the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is held are formed,
A sealing wall having an inner peripheral surface defining the through-hole, and holding the electric wire of the terminal with the electric wire in a liquid-tight manner by the sealing wall;
An elastic seal member,
The sealing wall portion is formed so that the inner diameters of the through holes adjacent to each other are different in at least one portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side.
(4) In the elastic sealing member having the configuration (2),
The plurality of through holes include a first through hole and a second through hole,
The first through hole includes a large-diameter portion in a portion on the rear holder side of the elastic seal member, and a small-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The second through hole includes a small-diameter portion in a portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side, and a large-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The first through holes and the second through holes are staggered so as to be adjacent to each other.

In the elastic seal member having the configuration (3), the plurality of through holes of the elastic seal member are formed so that the inner diameters of the adjacent through holes are different in at least one of the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side. With this configuration, in a state where a terminal with an electric wire is inserted into a certain through hole, it is possible to suppress the influence due to compression or the like from the through hole to the adjacent through hole. Therefore, the sealing wall portion of the elastic seal member can be prevented from being cut or deformed, and the waterproof connector can be downsized.
In the elastic seal member having the configuration (4), the first through hole and the second through hole formed so that the positions of the large-diameter portion and the small-diameter portion are different from each other are staggered. With this configuration, in a state where the terminal with the electric wire is inserted into one of the first through hole and the second through hole, it is possible to suppress the influence due to the pressure or the like on the other adjacent through hole. Therefore, the sealing wall portion of the elastic sealing member can be prevented from being cut or deformed, and the waterproof connector can be further downsized.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the waterproof connector which can prevent the cutting | disconnection and deformation | transformation of an elastic seal member at the time of inserting a terminal with an electric wire, and the said elastic seal member can be provided. Thereby, the waterproof performance of a waterproof connector can be improved. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a waterproof connector that does not require an extra space for preventing breakage and deformation of the elastic seal member, and the elastic seal member. Thereby, size reduction of a waterproof connector is realizable.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the best mode for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view of a connector housing of a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow II-II in FIG. In the present specification, the left side in FIG. 2 is described as the front surface, and the right side is the rear surface. However, the front-rear relationship when the connectors are actually arranged is not limited.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the waterproof connector 21 of the present embodiment includes a connector housing 22, a front holder 32, a lever 37, an elastic seal member 41, and a seal cover (rear holder) 42.

  On the rear surface side of the connector housing 22, a terminal housing for housing the terminal 63 of the wire-equipped terminal 61 {see FIG. 4 (a)} in which the end of the wire 62 is electrically connected to the conductive metal terminal 63. As the chamber, a plurality of terminal accommodating portions 27 are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal accommodating portion 27 is divided into two upper and lower groups, and each group is arranged vertically and horizontally at a constant interval.

  The front holder 32 is attached to the front side of the connector housing 22. The spacer 33 is incorporated in the terminal accommodating portion 27 to partially form the terminal accommodating portion 27, and locks the terminal 63 inserted into the terminal accommodating portion 27. When the connector housing 22 and the mating connector (not shown) are fitted together, the packing 34 assembled to the connector housing 22 is in close contact with the inner surface of the connector housing of the mating connector, and water enters the fitting portion. It is provided to prevent this.

  The lever 37 is provided to facilitate connection and disconnection between the waterproof connector 21 of the present embodiment and the counterpart connector (not shown). The lever 37 is locked on both side surfaces of the connector housing 22 and is pivotally attached to the connector housing 22. That is, by rotating the lever 37, the waterproof connector 21 and the counterpart connector can be connected and disconnected.

  The elastic seal member 41 is a so-called mat seal made of an elastic member such as a silicone resin gel or rubber as an elastic body. The elastic seal member 41 is attached so as to be sealed to the rear surface side of the terminal accommodating portion 27 of the connector housing 22 and prevents water from entering from the rear surface side of the connector housing 22. In the elastic seal member 41, when the terminal 61 with electric wire {see FIG. 4 (a)} is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 27, the terminal 63 of the terminal 61 with electric wire penetrates and the electric wire 62 of the terminal 61 with electric wire is held. A plurality of through-holes 52 are provided. As will be described later, the through-holes 52 are formed so that the inner diameters of the through-holes 52 are different between the front and rear sides, and the portions having the same diameter are not adjacent to each other between the adjacent through-holes 52.

  The seal cover 42 as a rear holder is fixed by pressing the elastic seal member 41 from the rear surface toward the terminal accommodating portion 27 and engaging with the connector housing 22 at the locking position. Thus, the elastic seal member 41 is held between the seal cover 42 and the terminal accommodating portion 27 by the seal cover 42. The seal cover 42 is provided with a plurality of insertion holes 70 at positions corresponding to the through holes 52 of the elastic seal member 41.

  After the wire-equipped terminal 61 {see FIG. 4A} passes through the through hole 52 of the elastic seal member 41, the seal cover 42 is attached to the connector housing 22 in a state where the terminal 63 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 27. At this time, the electric wire 62 of the terminal 61 with electric wire is inserted into the insertion hole 70. The terminal housing portion 27 of the connector housing 22, the through hole 52 of the elastic seal member 41, and the insertion hole 70 of the seal cover 42 are aligned and arranged so as to overlap each other. In addition, the number of the above-mentioned terminal accommodating part 27, the insertion hole 70, and the through-hole 52 can be set arbitrarily. A waterproof plug 43 provided on the seal cover 42 is inserted into the through hole 52 of the elastic seal member 41 into which the terminal 61 with electric wire is not inserted.

  Next, the seal member according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 (a), and FIG. 4 (b). 3 is a partially broken rear view of the elastic seal member according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views taken along arrows IV-IV in FIG. 4A is a state before inserting the terminal with electric wire into the elastic seal member, and FIG. 4B is a state after inserting the terminal with electric wire, that is, the terminal with electric wire penetrates the elastic seal member and (the terminal is a connector). It shows a state in which the electric wire is liquid-tightly held by the elastic seal member (in a state of being accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion of the housing).

  First, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the electric wire 62 of the terminal 61 with electric wire is a sealing wall portion having an inner peripheral surface that defines the through hole 52 of the seal body 51 of the elastic seal member 41. It is liquid-tightly held by (thick part 56, thin part 57). Further, in both portions of the elastic seal member 41 on the seal cover 42 side and the terminal accommodating portion 27 side, the sealing wall portions (the thick portion 56 and the thin portion 57) are formed so that the inner diameters of the adjacent through holes 52 are different. Has been. The inside of the through hole 52 of the elastic seal member 41 is shown in FIG. 4A in order to facilitate insertion of the terminal 61 with electric wire and to prevent the seal body 51 from being cut or deformed when the terminal 61 with electric wire is inserted. ) And (b) as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 (a), and 4 (b), each through hole 52 includes a first through hole 52 a or a second through hole 52 b. The first through hole 52 a includes a large-diameter portion 53 on the rear surface side of the elastic seal member 41 and a small-diameter portion 54 on the front surface side of the elastic seal member 41. Conversely, the second through hole 52 b includes a large-diameter portion 53 on the front surface side of the elastic seal member 41 and a small-diameter portion 54 on the rear surface side of the elastic seal member 41. A diameter t1 of the large-diameter portion 53 is formed larger than a diameter t2 of the small-diameter portion 53. Further, the diameter t2 of the small-diameter portion 54 is usually formed smaller than the diameter of the electric wire 62 in order to improve the sealing performance.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the positions of the large-diameter portion 53 and the small-diameter portion 54 of the elastic seal member 41 as a whole are structured to be shifted back and forth in a staggered relationship between the adjacent through holes 52. In other words, in the elastic seal member 41, the first through hole 52a and the second through hole 52b are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the first through holes 52a or the second through holes 52b are adjacent to each other. Has a structure that is adjacent only in an oblique direction.

  In a state before the terminal 61 with electric wire is inserted into the elastic seal member 41, as shown in FIG. 4A, the sealing wall portion of the seal body 51 positioned between the through holes 52 is a thick portion near the center. 56 and thin portions 57 on both sides (front and rear sides). The thick portion 56 is formed at a position where the small diameter portions 54 of the first through hole 52a and the second through hole 52b overlap. The thin portion 57 is formed at a position where the large diameter portion 53 of the first through hole 52a or the second through hole 52b is defined.

  Next, the state after inserting the electric wire terminal 61 into the elastic seal member 41 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4B, after the terminal 61 with the electric wire is inserted into the first through hole 52a, the inside of the second through hole 52b is compressed by the force F generated by the insertion of the electric wire 62. The However, the portion compressed by the force F is only the portion corresponding to the small diameter portion 54 of the first through hole 52a, and does not affect the portion corresponding to the large diameter portion 53 of the first through hole 52a. Absent. Thereby, the diameter of the large-diameter portion 53 of the second through-hole 52b is smaller than the original diameter t2, but the original diameter t2 is formed larger, so that unlike the conventional example of FIG. The inside of the two through holes 52b is not extremely narrowed.

  In this state, even if the wire-equipped terminal 61 is inserted into the adjacent second through hole 52b, there is less concern that the terminal 63 damages the second through hole 52b. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the elastic seal member from being cut or deformed when the terminal is inserted. Needless to say, the same effect can be obtained even when the terminal 61 with electric wires is inserted into the first through hole 52a after the second through hole 52b is inserted.

  As described above, the pressure applied to the seal body 51 of the elastic seal member 41 is dispersed by shifting the positions of the large-diameter portion 53 and the small-diameter portion 54 back and forth in a staggered relationship between the adjacent through holes 52. can do. Therefore, the crushing rate at the time of inserting the electric wire can be equalized, and the elastic seal member can be prevented from being cut or deformed when the terminal with electric wire is inserted, and the waterproof performance of the waterproof connector can be enhanced. Further, since only the size of the through hole 52 is changed and no extra space is required to prevent the elastic seal member from being cut or deformed, the waterproof connector can be reduced in size.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A deformation | transformation, improvement, etc. are possible suitably. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

A modification of the seal member according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.
The feature of the modified example shown in FIG. 5A is that the second through hole 52b is formed by only the small-diameter portion 54. That is, only the rear surface side of the elastic seal member 41A is formed so that the inner diameters of the adjacent through holes 52 are different. As a result, the influence on the adjacent through hole 52 when the terminal 61 with electric wire is inserted into the through hole 52 is increased, but the large diameter portion only needs to be formed on the rear surface side of the elastic seal member 41A. The labor required for manufacturing the seal member 41A can be suppressed. Instead of the second through hole 52b, the first through hole 52a may be formed only by the small diameter portion 54.

  Unlike the elastic seal member 41 shown in FIG. 4A, the elastic seal member 41B, which is another modified example shown in FIG. 5B, has a thick portion near the center of the sealing wall portion of the seal body. The point is not. In this modification, the small diameter portions 54 of the first through hole 52a and the second through hole 52b do not overlap each other, and the seal body 51 between the through holes 52 is formed only by the thin portion 57. ing. Thereby, the influence of adjacent through-holes 52 in the state which has inserted the electric wire 62 can further be suppressed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the inner peripheral surface defining the through hole 52 of the seal main body (sealing wall portion) of the elastic seal member is formed in a pleat shape, but this may be formed in a linear shape. .

It is a front view of the connector housing of the waterproof connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is II-II arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is a rear view which fractured | ruptured partially the elastic seal member which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, (a) is a state before inserting the terminal with electric wire into the elastic seal member, and (b) is a state where the terminal with electric wire penetrates the elastic seal member and It shows a state in which the electric wire is liquid-tightly held by the elastic seal member (in a state of being accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion of the connector housing). (A) And (b) is a modification of the elastic seal member which concerns on embodiment of this invention, respectively. It is a disassembled perspective view of the conventional waterproof connector. It is a front view of the conventional seal member in the state where the electric wire was inserted. It is sectional drawing of the conventional sealing member in the state in which the electric wire was inserted.

Explanation of symbols

21: Connector 22: Connector housing 27: Terminal accommodating part 41: Elastic seal member 42: Seal cover (rear holder)
51: Seal body 52: Through hole 52a: First through hole 52b: Second through hole 53: Large diameter part 54: Small diameter part 56: Thick part (sealing wall part)
57: Thin part (sealed wall part)
61: Terminal with electric wire 62: Electric wire 63: Terminal

Claims (4)

A terminal with an electric wire in which the end of the electric wire is electrically connected to a terminal made of conductive metal;
A connector housing comprising a plurality of terminal accommodating portions for accommodating the terminals with electric wires;
A rear holder attached to the connector housing and through which the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is inserted;
An elastic seal member held between the rear holder and the terminal accommodating portion by the rear holder;
With
The elastic seal member is formed with a plurality of through-holes through which the terminal of the terminal with electric wire penetrates and the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is held when the terminal with electric wire is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion. ,
The electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is a waterproof connector that is liquid-tightly held by a sealing wall portion having an inner peripheral surface that defines a through-hole of the elastic seal member,
The waterproofing characterized in that the sealing wall portion is formed such that the inner diameters of the adjacent through holes are different from each other in at least one of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side. connector. The plurality of through holes include a first through hole and a second through hole,
The first through hole includes a large-diameter portion in a portion on the rear holder side of the elastic seal member, and a small-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The second through hole includes a small-diameter portion in a portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side, and a large-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the first through hole and the second through hole are staggered so as to be adjacent to each other. A terminal with an electric wire in which an end portion of the electric wire is electrically connected to a terminal made of conductive metal; a connector housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating portions for accommodating the terminal with electric wire; and the electric wire attached to the connector housing and the electric wire A rear holder through which the electric wire of the attached terminal is inserted, and held between the rear holder and the terminal accommodating portion by the rear holder in a waterproof connector,
When the terminal with electric wire is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion, a plurality of through holes through which the terminal of the terminal with electric wire penetrates and the electric wire of the terminal with electric wire is held are formed,
A sealing wall having an inner peripheral surface defining the through-hole, and holding the electric wire of the terminal with the electric wire in a liquid-tight manner by the sealing wall;
An elastic seal member,
The elastic sealing member is characterized in that the sealing wall portion is formed such that inner diameters of the through holes adjacent to each other are different in at least one portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side and the terminal accommodating portion side. Seal member. The plurality of through holes include a first through hole and a second through hole,
The first through hole includes a large-diameter portion in a portion on the rear holder side of the elastic seal member, and a small-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
The second through hole includes a small-diameter portion in a portion of the elastic seal member on the rear holder side, and a large-diameter portion in a portion on the terminal accommodating portion side of the elastic seal member,
4. The elastic seal member according to claim 3, wherein the first through hole and the second through hole are staggered so as to be adjacent to each other.

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