JP2010238503A - Waterproof connector and dummy plug - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability when removing a dummy plug of a waterproof connector. <P>SOLUTION: The dummy plug 60 has a sealing part 64 which is inserted into a sealing hole 31 of a rubber plug 30 from an inserting hole 43 of a holder 40 and is adhered to an inner face of the sealing hole 31 and an elastic locking part 63 which locks a locking receiving face 45 of the inserting hole 43 and serves as a pull-stop from the inserting hole 43. Furthermore, the dummy plug 60 has a projected piece 62 which contacts with a rear face of the holder 40 when it is inserted properly into the inserting hole 43 and regulates the dummy plug 60 not to make any further pushing-in. The projected piece 62 has a part which faces an opening of the neighboring inserting hole 43 when the dummy plug 60 takes a posture of a wrong insertion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector and a dummy plug.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional waterproof connector and dummy plug. This is a waterproof connector that has a housing, rubber plug, and holder, and a rubber plug is held between the housing and the holder. A dummy plug is inserted from the insertion hole of the holder into the seal hole of the rubber plug. A corresponding cavity of the housing is liquid-tightly sealed by the dummy plug. The dummy plug has a seal portion that is in close contact with the inner surface of the seal hole, and also has a locking portion that locks the inner surface of the insertion hole to prevent the insertion hole from coming off. The locking portion hooks and locks the step formed on the inner surface of the insertion hole, whereby the dummy plug is fixed to the holder.

JP 2004-71200 A

  By the way, in the above conventional technique, when the dummy plug is to be removed from the holder, there is a problem that it is difficult to remove and difficult to remove because the locking portion is firmly locked to the step.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve workability when removing a dummy stopper.

  As means for achieving the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is provided between a housing having a cavity, a rubber plug attached to the housing and having a seal hole corresponding to the cavity, and the housing. A holder that is attached to the housing while holding the rubber plug and has an insertion hole corresponding to the seal hole, and a seal portion that is inserted from the insertion hole into the seal hole and closely contacts the inner surface of the seal hole. And a dummy stopper for sealing the corresponding cavity, having an elastic locking portion that elastically locks the locking receiving surface of the insertion hole to prevent the insertion hole from coming off. It is characterized by the provision.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the dummy plug is properly inserted into the insertion hole, a protruding piece that abuts against an end surface of the holder and restricts further pressing is provided. The protruding piece is characterized in that it has a portion facing the opening of the adjacent insertion hole when the dummy plug assumes an erroneous insertion posture.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the elastic locking portion is provided with a first elastic piece inclined along the insertion direction into the insertion hole, and It is characterized in that a second elastic piece that is inclined along the direction of detachment from the insertion hole is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the one according to any one of the first to third aspects, the insertion hole has a non-locking receiving member that is not locked to the elastic locking portion in addition to the locking receiving surface. A surface is provided, and the elastic stopper is displaced between corresponding positions of the locking receiving surface and the non-locking receiving surface by rotating the dummy plug around an axis.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the elastic locking portion is provided with a jig guide surface for extraction that is inclined along a direction of detachment from the insertion hole. It is characterized by

  The invention according to claim 6 is a dummy plug that is attached to a holder attached to the housing while holding a rubber plug between the housing and seals the corresponding cavity of the housing, and the insertion hole of the holder Inserted into the seal hole of the rubber plug, and has a seal portion that comes into close contact with the inner surface of the seal hole, and elastically locks the locking receiving surface of the insertion hole to release the insertion hole from the insertion hole. The elastic locking portion has a first elastic piece inclined along the insertion direction into the insertion hole, and in the direction away from the insertion hole. It is characterized in that a second elastic piece that is inclined along is provided.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the elastic locking portion of the dummy plug elastically locks the locking receiving surface of the insertion hole to prevent the insertion from the insertion hole, the locking force of the elastic locking portion does not become excessive, and the dummy Workability when removing the stopper from the holder is improved.

<Invention of Claim 2>
If the dummy plug takes the wrong insertion posture, the projecting piece will face the opening of the adjacent insertion hole and may interfere with the electric wire drawn out from the opening of the insertion hole. Misinsertion is prevented. In addition, since the projecting piece has a function of abutment that contacts the end face of the holder and restricts further pushing of the dummy plug, the configuration can be simplified compared to providing a dedicated erroneous insertion preventing portion.

<Invention of Claim 3>
The first elastic piece guides the dummy plug insertion operation, and the second elastic piece guides the dummy plug removal operation. In addition, inadvertent rolling of the elastic locking portion is prevented.

<Invention of Claim 4>
When removing the dummy plug from the holder, the elastic locking portion can be displaced to the non-locking receiving surface side by rotating the dummy plug around the axis. The dummy plug can be removed with almost no frictional resistance. Therefore, the workability at the time of removing the dummy plug becomes better.

<Invention of Claim 5>
When removing the dummy plug from the holder, by placing the jig for removal on the jig guide surface, the elastic locking part can be bent and deformed, and the locked state can be released. Is secured.

<Invention of Claim 6>
With the bending operation of the elastic locking portion, workability when removing the dummy plug from the holder is improved. In addition, the first elastic piece guides the dummy plug insertion operation, the second elastic piece guides the dummy plug detachment operation, and the first and second elastic pieces carelessly provide the elastic locking portion. Spilling is prevented.

It is the exploded sectional view seen from the plane view direction of the waterproof connector of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is sectional drawing seen from the planar view direction of the waterproof connector. It is the exploded sectional view seen from the side view direction of a waterproof connector. It is sectional drawing seen from the side view direction of the waterproof connector. It is a front view which shows the state which attached the dummy stopper normally to the holder. It is a rear view which shows the state which attached the dummy stopper normally to the holder. It is a front view which shows the state which tries to mis-insert a dummy stopper in a holder. It is a rear view which shows the state which tries to mis-insert a dummy stopper in a holder. It is a top view of a dummy stopper. It is a side view of a dummy stopper. It is a front view of a waterproof connector. It is sectional drawing seen from the planar view direction which shows the state which extracts a dummy stopper with a jig | tool.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector according to Embodiment 1 includes a housing 10, a rubber plug 30, a holder 40, and a dummy plug 60. The housing 10 can be fitted to a mating connector (not shown). In the following description, in the front-rear direction, the fitting surface side with respect to the mating connector is the front.

  The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 10 has a square block shape having a plurality of cavities 11 into which the terminal fittings 90 can be inserted, and protrudes rearward from the outer periphery of the rear end of the housing body 12. It comprises a rectangular tube-shaped accommodation recess 13. A bendable lance 14 is formed on the inner surface of the cavity 11, and the terminal fitting 90 that is normally inserted into the cavity 11 is elastically retained and locked by the lance 14. Further, the housing body 12 is formed with a mounting hole 16 for the retainer 15 that opens across the entire cavity 11, and the terminal fitting 90 is secondarily prevented from coming off by the retainer 15 inserted therein. The Note that the cavity 11 includes an empty cavity 11 into which the terminal fitting 90 is not inserted, and the dummy plug 60 is disposed corresponding to the empty cavity 11, thereby sealing the empty cavity 11 in a liquid-tight manner. .

  A step 17 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 12, and a seal ring 18 is fitted in front of the step 17 on the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 12. When the mating connector is fitted, the seal ring 18 is elastically contracted between the mating connector and the housing body 12, whereby a seal is established between the mating connector.

  A front mask 19 is put on the front surface of the housing body 12. The front mask 19 plays a role of covering a portion opened to the front surface of the housing main body 12 due to the die cutting of the lance 14, and as shown in FIG. In addition to the tab insertion holes 20, a release jig (not shown) that releases the locking state of the lance 14 opposite to the lances 14 is inserted. A plurality of possible jig insertion holes 21 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a lock piece 22 that holds the holder 40 is formed on the peripheral wall of the housing recess 13 so as to be able to bend, and the center of the lock piece 22 is locked when the holder 40 is properly mounted. The lock hole 23 into which the protrusion 42 (described later) fits is held.

The rubber plug 30 is made of rubber such as silicon rubber, and has a horizontally long mat shape that contacts the inner surface of the housing recess 13. The rubber plug 30 is a batch type having a plurality of seal holes 31 corresponding to the cavities 11.
An outer lip 32 is formed in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber plug 30 in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing recess 13, and the inner peripheral surface of the rubber plug 30, that is, the inner peripheral surface of the seal hole 31, An inner lip 33 that is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the connected electric wire 95 is formed in the circumferential direction. A seal portion 64 (described later) of the dummy plug 60 is inserted into a part of each seal hole 31, and the inner lip 33 is in close contact with the inserted seal portion 64. The outer lip 32 and the inner lip 33 are configured so that the front and rear phases are shifted.

The holder 40 is made of synthetic resin, and has a horizontally long and substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the rubber plug 30 as shown in FIG. The front surface of the holder 40 is a pressing surface 41 that is flat in the height direction for pressing substantially the entire rear surface of the rubber plug 30, and a plurality of locking protrusions 42 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the holder 40.
The holder 40 has a plurality of insertion holes 43 corresponding to the seal holes 31, and an electric wire 95 or a dummy main body 61 (described later) connected to the terminal fitting 90 is inserted into each insertion hole 43 in a loosely fitted state. Is done. Each insertion hole 43 has a rectangular cross-sectional shape that is long in the height direction and short in the width direction. In the assembled state, the insertion hole 43, the seal hole 31, and the cavity 11 are arranged so as to be aligned on a straight line along the front-rear direction.

  A stepped concave corner 44 is cut out at the long side edge of each insertion hole 43 on the front surface of the holder 40. The rear surface of the recessed corner portion 44 is a locking receiving surface 45 that is locked to an elastic locking portion 63 (described later) of the dummy plug 60, and is at a position that is retracted rearward from the front surface of the insertion hole 43. It is arranged flat in the direction. The locking receiving surfaces 45 have an arc shape when viewed from the front, and the locking receiving surfaces 45 adjacent in the width direction are in a positional relationship of wrapping each other. Therefore, the insertion holes 43 that are adjacent in the width direction communicate with each other via the recessed corner portion 44. In the case of the present embodiment, the locking receiving surface 45 is formed on the long side edge of the upper and lower two-stage all insertion holes 43. Further, the inner surface of the insertion hole 43 on the short side extends over the entire length of the insertion hole 43 and serves as a non-locking receiving surface 46 that is not in contact with the elastic locking portion 63.

  Next, the dummy plug 60 will be described. The dummy plug 60 is also made of a synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a dummy body 61 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and a rear end of the dummy body 61. It has a projecting piece 62 formed to project and an elastic locking portion 63 formed to project from the outer peripheral surface of the dummy main body 61. The elastic locking portion 63 is disposed slightly behind the center of the dummy body 61 in the front-rear direction. A substantially front half portion of the dummy main body 61 is positioned in front of the elastic locking portion 63 and is inserted into the seal hole 31 of the rubber plug 30, and the outer peripheral surface thereof is a seal portion 64 that is in close contact with the inner lip 33. . On the outer peripheral surface of the front end of the dummy main body 61, a tapered surface 65 that leads to the seal hole 31 and the insertion hole 43 is cut out in the circumferential direction.

  The elastic locking portions 63 are arranged in pairs in the width direction, while the projecting pieces 62 are arranged in pairs in the height direction, both of which extend from the outer peripheral surface of the dummy main body 61 in opposite directions. It has a piece. As shown in FIG. 5, when the dummy plug 60 is viewed from the front, the elastic locking portion 63 and the protruding piece 62 do not overlap each other and form a cross shape as a whole.

  The protruding piece 62 is longer than the elastic locking portion 63. As shown in FIG. 8, when the dummy plug 60 is rotated 90 degrees around the axis from the normal insertion posture, the extending direction of the projecting piece 62 is directed in the width direction, and the distal end portion of the projecting piece 62 is inserted adjacently. It arrange | positions so that both opening of the hole 43 may be faced.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the elastic locking portion 63 includes a band-plate-shaped first elastic piece 66 extending from the outer peripheral surface of the dummy main body 61 in a tapered manner to the rear and diagonally outward, and an obliquely outer front from the outer peripheral surface of the dummy main body 61. It consists of a band-plate-like second elastic piece 67 extending in a tapered shape, and a locking claw 68 projecting outward while integrally connected to the rear end of the first elastic piece 66 and the front end of the second elastic piece 67. A bending space 69 is formed between the elastic locking portion 63 and the dummy main body 61, and the first and second portions are supported on the front end of the first elastic piece 66 and the rear end of the second elastic piece 67. The elastic pieces 66 and 67 can be bent and deformed in the bending space 69.

  The first elastic piece 66 is shorter than the second elastic piece 67, and the outer inclined surface of the first elastic piece 66 is an insertion guide surface 70 inclined in a taper shape along the insertion direction into the insertion hole 43. . The outer slope of the second elastic piece 67 is a jig guide surface 71 for extraction that tapers in the direction away from the insertion hole 43, and the jig guide surface 71 is inclined more than the insertion guide surface 70. Has been loosened. The locking claw 68 is formed over the entire width of the elastic locking portion 63, and the leading edge thereof forms a circular arc when viewed from the front. The rear surface of the locking claw 68 is a locking surface 72 that locks the locking receiving surface 45 in a surface contact state, and is disposed flat in the height direction.

Next, the effect | action of the waterproof connector of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In assembling the waterproof connector, the front mask 19 and the retainer 15 are attached to the housing main body 12, and the rubber plug 30 and the holder 40 are sequentially inserted into the housing recess 13 from the rear. When the holder 40 is properly inserted into the housing recess 13, as shown in FIG. 4, the lock protrusion 42 is elastically fitted into the lock hole 23 to prevent the housing 10 from coming off and the pressing surface of the holder 40. A rubber plug 30 is sandwiched between 41 and the inner surface of the housing recess 13 in a compressed manner. In this state, the terminal fitting 90 is inserted into the cavity 11 of the housing body 12 from the rear. The terminal fitting 90 is inserted into the cavity 11 from the insertion hole 43 through the seal hole 31, temporarily locked by the lance 14, and then secondarily locked by the retainer 15.

  A dummy plug 60 is inserted into the insertion hole 43 corresponding to the empty cavity 11 from the rear. At this time, the dummy plug 60 is inserted with the extending direction of the elastic locking portion 63 in the width direction. In the insertion process, the seal portion 64 of the dummy main body 61 slides on the inner lip 33 to elastically expand the seal hole 31, and the locking claw 68 of the elastic locking portion 63 is on the long side of the insertion hole 43. The first and second elastic pieces 66 and 67 are bent into the bending space 69 and are deformed.

  When the dummy plug 60 is properly inserted, the projecting piece 62 is stopped against the opening edge on the short side of the rear surface of the holder 40, and further pushing of the dummy plug 60 is restricted. At this time, the tip of the dummy main body 61 faces the corresponding cavity 11, the seal portion 64 is inserted into the seal hole 31 of the rubber plug 30 in close contact, and the locking claw 68 corresponds to the recessed corner portion 44. By reaching the position, the first and second elastic pieces 66 and 67 expand and elastically return to the original state. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the locking surface 72 of the locking claw 68 faces the locking receiving surface 45 from the front to lock the locking receiving surface 45. As a result, the dummy plug 60 is prevented from coming out backward, and the protrusion 62 restricts the pushing of the dummy plug 60 forward, so that the dummy plug 60 is substantially positioned in the front-rear direction with respect to the holder 40. It is mounted in the state that was done. Note that the dummy plug 60 may be attached to the holder 40 in advance before the holder 40 is attached to the housing recess 13.

  When the dummy plug 60 is attached to the holder 40 in a direction different from the normal direction, the locking claw 68 is directed to the non-locking receiving surface 46 side, and the dummy plug 60 is not locked to the holder 40. There is a possibility that the dummy plug 60 may be inadvertently detached from the holder 40 due to an internal pressure or the like accompanying the fitting. In that respect, according to the present embodiment, when the dummy plug 60 is attached to the holder 40 in a direction different from the normal direction, as shown in FIG. 8, the extending direction of the projecting piece 62 is directed in the width direction. Since the tip of the projecting piece 62 faces the opening of the adjacent insertion hole 43 and can interfere with the electric wire 95 or the like drawn out from the opening, the further insertion operation of the dummy plug 60 is restricted. Incorrect insertion into 40 is prevented.

There are the following two methods for removing the dummy stopper 60 from the holder 40.
One method uses rotation around the axis of the dummy plug 60. That is, when the dummy plug 60 is rotated approximately 90 degrees around the axis, the extending direction of the elastic locking portion 63 is directed in the height direction as shown in FIG. It dissociates from the locking receiving surface 45 of the insertion hole 43. Instead, the locking claw 68 of the elastic locking portion 63 moves to the non-locking receiving surface 46 side of the insertion hole 43 and is arranged with a gap between it and the dummy plug 60. The insertion hole 43 is arranged in a substantially non-contact state from the inner surface. When the dummy plug 60 is pulled rearward in this state, the dummy plug 60 is removed from the holder 40 with almost no frictional resistance from the inner surface of the insertion hole 43. As described above, when the dummy plug 60 rotates around the axis, the elastic locking portion 63 is displaced between the corresponding positions of the locking receiving surface 45 and the non-locking receiving surface 46, and accordingly, the dummy plug 60 is engaged. It changes to a stop state and a lock release state.

The other method is a method using a sampling jig 50 as shown in FIG. That is, in this method, a jig 50 having a pair of pressing pieces 51 protruding is prepared, and the jig 50 is inserted into the insertion hole 43 of the holder 40 from the rear. Then, the pressing pieces 51 slide on the corresponding jig guide surfaces 71, and accordingly, the second elastic piece 67 is bent and deformed into the bending space 69, and the locking claw 68 is locked to the insertion hole 43. Dissociate from surface 45. The dummy plug 60 can be removed from the holder 40 by pulling the dummy plug 60 backward while maintaining this state. In this case, the bending space 69 is almost completely closed by the second elastic piece 67 that is bent and deformed.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the dummy plug 60 can be removed smoothly and easily by selecting one of the two methods described above according to the situation.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the elastic locking portion 63 of the dummy plug 60 elastically locks the locking receiving surface 45 of the insertion hole 43 to prevent the insertion from the insertion hole 43. The locking force of the elastic locking part 63 does not become excessive, and the smoothness of the attaching and detaching operations of the dummy plug 60 with respect to the holder 40 is ensured.

  Further, if the dummy plug 60 takes an erroneous insertion posture, the projecting piece 62 faces the opening of the adjacent insertion hole 43 and can interfere with the electric wire 95 or the like drawn from the opening of the insertion hole 43. Is restricted, and as a result, erroneous insertion of the dummy plug 60 is prevented. In addition, since the projecting piece 62 has a function of abutment that abuts against the rear surface of the holder 40 and restricts further pushing of the dummy plug 60, the structure can be simplified as compared to providing a dedicated erroneous insertion preventing portion. .

  Further, when the elastic locking portion 63 has a cantilever shape, there is a possibility that foreign objects may interfere with the free end of the elastic locking portion 63 before the dummy plug 60 is attached, and the elastic locking portion 63 may rise. According to this embodiment, since the elastic locking part 63 has a double-sided shape, the elastic locking part 63 is prevented from being accidentally rolled up. Further, the insertion operation of the dummy plug 60 is guided by the first elastic piece 66, and the detachment operation of the dummy plug 60 is guided by the second elastic piece 67.

  Furthermore, when removing the dummy stopper 60 from the holder 40, the elastic stopper 63 can be displaced toward the non-locking receiving surface 46 by rotating the dummy stopper 60 around the axis. By pulling out the dummy plug 60, the dummy plug 60 can be easily detached from the holder 40 with almost no frictional resistance from the holder 40. Alternatively, the latching state of the elastic locking portion 63 can be released by placing the extraction jig 50 on the jig guide surface 71 of the second elastic piece 67, so that the dummy plug 60 can also be held in the holder. 40 can be easily removed.

<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) The elastic latching part should just have predetermined elasticity, and does not need to have a bending space between dummy bodies.
(2) When only the method of using the rotation around the axis of the dummy plug is performed as a method of removing the dummy plug, the second elastic piece having the jig guide surface may be omitted from the elastic locking portion.
(3) The first elastic piece is formed to extend in a cantilever manner along the direction of insertion into the insertion hole, and the second elastic piece is formed to extend in a cantilever shape along the direction of separation from the insertion hole. The free ends of the first and second elastic pieces may not be connected to each other. Also by this, the free end of the first elastic piece is protected by the second elastic piece, and the free end of the second elastic piece is protected by the first elastic piece. Is prevented.
(4) The opening edge of the insertion hole on the rear surface of the holder may be formed with a recess into which the protrusion of the dummy plug fits.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 11 ... Cavity 30 ... Rubber plug 31 ... Seal hole 40 ... Holder 43 ... Insertion hole 45 ... Locking receiving surface 46 ... Non-locking receiving surface 60 ... Dummy plug 62 ... Projection piece 63 ... Elastic locking part 64 ... Seal portion 66 ... first elastic piece 67 ... second elastic piece 71 ... jig guide surface

Claims (6)

A housing having a cavity;
A rubber stopper mounted on the housing and having a seal hole corresponding to the cavity;
A holder mounted on the housing while holding the rubber plug between the housing and an insertion hole corresponding to the seal hole;
The seal hole is inserted into the seal hole from the insertion hole and is in close contact with the inner surface of the seal hole, and the locking receiving surface of the insertion hole is elastically locked to be removed from the insertion hole. A waterproof connector comprising: an elastic locking portion that forms a stop, and a dummy plug that seals the corresponding cavity. The dummy plug has a projecting piece that abuts against the end face of the holder and restricts further pushing when inserted into the insertion hole.
2. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the protruding piece has a portion facing an opening of the adjacent insertion hole when the dummy plug assumes an erroneous insertion posture.   The elastic locking portion is provided with a first elastic piece that is inclined along the direction of insertion into the insertion hole, and a second elastic piece that is inclined along the direction of separation from the insertion hole. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof connector is provided. In addition to the locking receiving surface, the insertion hole is provided with a non-locking receiving surface that is not locked to the elastic locking portion,
4. The elastic locking portion is displaced between corresponding positions of the locking receiving surface and the non-locking receiving surface by rotating the dummy plug around an axis. The waterproof connector according to item 1.   The waterproofing according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elastic locking portion is provided with a jig guide surface for extraction that is inclined along a direction of detachment from the insertion hole. connector. A dummy plug that is attached to a holder attached to the housing while holding a rubber plug between the housing and seals the corresponding cavity of the housing,
The seal hole is inserted into the seal hole of the rubber plug from the insertion hole of the holder and is in close contact with the inner surface of the seal hole, and the locking receiving surface of the insertion hole is elastically locked to Has an elastic locking part that prevents the insertion hole from coming off,
The elastic locking portion is provided with a first elastic piece that is inclined along the direction of insertion into the insertion hole, and a second elastic piece that is inclined along the direction of separation from the insertion hole. A dummy stopper characterized by

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