JP2013054897A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To drain water entering between a holder and a rubber plug reliably.SOLUTION: A rubber plug 40 is received in a reception recess 24 of a connector housing 20. A holder 60 is attached to a housing body 21 of the connector housing 20, and the rubber plug 40 is prevented from slipping off from the reception recess 24 by means of the holder 60. On the surface in the rubber plug 40 facing an abutting surface 69A of the holder 60, an inclined plane 46 for drainage that inclines in a direction receding from the side where the abutting surface 69A of the holder 60 is located toward the peripheral edge of the rubber plug 40 is formed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

  A conventional waterproof connector is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This is a terminal fitting connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire, a connector housing in which a plurality of cavities into which the terminal fitting is inserted and an accommodation recess is formed, a rubber plug accommodated in the accommodation recess, And a holder that is attached to the connector housing and restricts the rubber stopper from coming out of the housing recess. The rubber plug is formed with a plurality of seal holes through which electric wires are inserted. The outer peripheral surface of the electric wire is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the seal hole, whereby the seal around the electric wire is taken. Further, the rubber plug is formed with a plurality of through holes through which the electric wires are inserted in a loosely fitted state. A space is formed between the rubber stopper and the holder, and water enters the space from the through hole of the holder.

JP-A-8-279372

  By the way, in the case of the above conventional waterproof connector, for example, when the holder is installed so as to be positioned above, the surface of the rubber plug facing the holder is arranged almost horizontally, so that it has entered the space. There has been a risk that the water will not be sufficiently drained to the outside, and water will enter the connector housing and the predetermined waterproofness will be impaired.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at ensuring that the water which infiltrated between the holder and the rubber stopper can be drained.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a connector housing in which a housing recess is formed, a rubber plug that is housed in the housing recess and has a plurality of seal holes, and the connector housing. A plurality of through holes communicating with the respective seal holes, and a holder for restricting the rubber plugs from coming out of the housing recesses by coming into contact with the rubber plugs. Is inserted, the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire is brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the seal hole, the seal around the electric wire is taken, and the electric wire is inserted into the through hole in a loosely fitted state. The surface of the rubber plug that faces the contact surface of the holder is a drainage slant that is inclined toward the peripheral portion of the rubber plug in a direction away from the side where the contact surface of the holder is located. Characterized in place but are formed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the inclined surface is a dome-shaped configuration that inclines in a direction away from the side where the contact surface of the holder is located from the center portion to the peripheral portion of the rubber plug. It has the characteristics that it is said.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the one according to the first or second aspect, a groove-shaped drainage channel is formed on a surface of the connector housing and the holder that faces the inclined surface in either one or both. However, it has characteristics.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the rubber plug according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the rubber plug has a peripheral surface of the rubber plug on a surface opposite to the surface facing the contact surface of the holder. It is characterized in that another inclined surface that is inclined toward the portion in a direction approaching the side where the contact surface of the holder is located is formed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Even if water enters between the holder and the rubber plug through each through hole of the holder, the surface of the rubber plug that faces the holder contact surface faces the peripheral edge of the rubber plug. Since the slope for drainage which inclines in the direction away from the side where the surface is located is formed, the infiltrated water is drained to the outside along the slope. Therefore, the water that has entered between the holder and the rubber plug can be reliably drained.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The slope is formed in a dome shape that is inclined from the center of the rubber plug to the peripheral edge in a direction away from the side where the contact surface of the holder is located, so water can enter any position between the holder and the rubber plug. Even so, this water can be reliably drained.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since a groove-like drainage channel is formed on the surface of the connector housing and / or the holder facing the inclined surface, the water that has entered between the holder and the rubber plug is guided to the drainage channel while being guided to the outside. It is surely drained.

<Invention of Claim 4>
On the surface of the rubber plug opposite to the surface facing the contact surface of the holder, another inclined surface that is inclined toward the side where the contact surface of the holder is located is formed toward the peripheral edge of the rubber plug. Therefore, even if the rubber plug is turned upside down and accommodated in the accommodation recess, this other slope can be used as a slope for drainage. Therefore, the trouble of identifying the front and back of the rubber plug can be saved.

1 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention before a holder is attached. It is a perspective view of a waterproof connector. It is a rear view of a waterproof connector. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3. It is CC sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the DD sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the EE sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a front view of a holder. FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 9. It is the GG sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a rear view of a connector housing. It is the HH sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a rear view of a rubber stopper. It is a side view of a rubber stopper.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector 10 according to this embodiment includes a connector housing 20, a rubber plug 40, and a holder 60.

  The connector housing 20 is made of synthetic resin, and has a block-shaped housing body 21 and a cylindrical hood portion 22 that protrudes forward from the peripheral edge of the front end of the housing body 21 as shown in FIGS. doing. The hood portion 22 is slightly larger than the housing body 21.

  The housing body 21 is formed with a plurality of insertion holes 23 through which the electric wires 80 (shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 8) are inserted in the front-rear direction. A housing recess 24 in which the rubber plug 40 is housed is formed on the rear surface of the housing body 21 so as to open. The housing recess 24 is defined by a concave curved surface 25 that opens at the rear end of each insertion hole 23 and an inner peripheral surface 26 that is connected to the periphery of the curved surface 25 and is arranged inside the rear end of the housing body 21. Has been. The curved surface 25 is configured to bend so as to gradually incline backward from the central portion of the housing body 21 to the entire periphery of the peripheral portion. In other words, the curved surface 25 is configured to be curved and recessed in a direction in which the depth gradually increases from the entire periphery of the peripheral portion of the housing body 21 to the central portion. As shown in FIG. 12, a back-view spindle-shaped concave curved surface 27 extending in the height direction with increasing depth is formed at the center in the width direction of the curved surface 25. And each insertion hole 23 is divided | segmented and arrange | positioned in the width direction both sides on which the concave curved surface 27 is pinched | interposed.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a pair of left and right lock portions 28 are formed at the center in the height direction of both outer surfaces of the housing body 21. As shown in FIG. 1, the lock portion 28 includes a ridge portion 29 that extends in the front-rear direction and is connected to both outer surfaces of the hood portion 22 without a step, and a lock protrusion 31 that protrudes outward from the front end of the ridge portion 29. . Further, a groove-shaped housing side drainage channel 32 is cut out at the front end of the housing body 21. This housing side drainage channel 32 is located at both ends in the height direction and has a pair of upper and lower first housing side drainage channels 32A that penetrates in the height direction, and a pair of left and right that is located at both ends in the width direction and penetrates in the width direction. Each of the second housing side drainage channels 32B. The second housing side drainage channel 32 </ b> B is arranged in pairs on both sides in the height direction across the lock portion 28.

  The rubber plug 40 is made of rubber such as silicon rubber, and as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a pair of front and rear bulges formed by embedding the flat mat-like main body 41 and the front and rear surfaces of the main body 41. Part 42. A plurality of seal holes 43 coaxially communicating with the respective insertion holes 23 are formed in the rubber plug 40 so as to penetrate both the main body portion 41 and the bulging portion 42 in the front-rear direction. An electric wire 80 is inserted into each seal hole 43.

  Two front and rear outer peripheral lips 44 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 41. The outer peripheral lip 44 circulates around the outer peripheral surface of the main body 41 and, as shown in FIG. 4, is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface 26 of the housing recess 24 in a compressed state, thereby liquid-tightening the interior of the housing recess 24. To serve as a seal. In addition, two inner peripheral lips 45 are formed on the inner peripheral surface of each insertion hole 23 of the main body 41. The inner peripheral lip 45 is configured to go around the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 23, and is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 80 in a compressed state, thereby playing a role of sealing the periphery of the electric wire 80 in a liquid-tight manner. On the other hand, the inner peripheral surface of each seal hole 43 of the bulging portion 42 does not have the inner peripheral lip 45 and is a circumferential surface without unevenness. An electric wire 80 is inserted into each seal hole 43 of the bulging portion 42 in a loosely fitted state.

  The bulging part 42 is configured to gradually reduce the wall thickness from the central part (the central part in the width direction and the central part in the height direction) of the rubber plug 40 to the entire periphery of the peripheral part (the main body part 41 side). As shown in FIG. 15, the rubber plug 40 is formed in a spindle shape as viewed from the side by the pair of front and rear bulging portions 42.

  On the rear surface of the bulging portion 42, a dome-shaped slope 46 is formed that gradually slopes forward from the central portion of the rubber plug 40 to the entire periphery. The peripheral edge of the slope 46 is continued to the rear end peripheral edge of the main body 41. A rear-view spindle-shaped convex curved surface 47 that protrudes further forward and extends in the height direction is formed at the center in the width direction of the slope 46. When water enters between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40, the water flows along the slope 46 toward the peripheral edge side of the rubber plug 40. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear surface of the bulging portion 42 is a surface facing a contact surface 69 </ b> A (described later) of the holder 60 when the holder 60 is attached to the housing body 21. In this case, the inclined surface 46 is disposed so as to be inclined from the center portion to the peripheral portion of the rubber plug 40 in a direction away from the side where the contact surface 69A of the holder 60 is located.

  Further, another dome-shaped slope 48 is formed on the front surface of the bulging portion 42, which gradually inclines backward from the central portion of the rubber plug 40 to the entire periphery. The peripheral edge of another slope 48 is connected to the front end peripheral edge of the main body 41. Further, another convex curved surface 49 having a spindle shape in front view that extends rearward and extends in the height direction is formed at the center portion in the width direction of another slope 48. The inclined surface 46 and the other inclined surface 48 have the same shape including the convex curved surface 47 and the other convex curved surface 49, and the rubber plug 40 as a whole has a longitudinally symmetrical shape with respect to the center in the front-rear direction. Note that the front surface of the bulging portion 42 is a surface opposite to the surface (rear surface of the bulging portion 42) facing the contact surface 69 </ b> A of the holder 60 in a state where the holder 60 is attached to the housing body 21. In this case, the other inclined surface 48 is disposed so as to be inclined from the center portion to the peripheral portion of the rubber plug 40 in a direction approaching the side where the contact surface 69A of the holder 60 is located.

  The holder 60 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the holder 60 has a cap shape as a whole, and has a flat plate shape having a contact surface 69 </ b> A that can contact the rear surface (slope 46) of the rubber plug 40. It has a holder body 61 and a cylindrical cover 62 that protrudes forward from the peripheral edge of the holder body 61. The cover portion 62 is externally fitted to the housing body 21 and surrounds the periphery of the housing body 21 over the entire circumference. As shown in FIG. 2, when the holder 60 is attached to the housing body 21, a gap 90 is formed between the front end of the cover portion 62 and the rear end of the hood portion 22.

  A pair of left and right lock receiving portions 63 are formed at positions facing the lock portion 28 in the center in the height direction of both side walls of the cover portion 62. The lock receiving portion 63 includes a lock hole 64 having a substantially rectangular shape in side view that penetrates both side walls of the cover portion 62, and a thin receiving main body portion 65 that defines a front end portion of the lock hole 64. In the process in which the holder 60 is attached to the housing main body 21, the receiving main body portion 65 rides on the lock protrusion 31 while being bent and deformed. When the holder 60 is properly attached to the housing main body 21, the lock projection 31 is fitted into the lock hole 64, and the receiving main body portion 65 is elastically restored so that the locking protrusion 31 can be locked behind the receiving main body portion 65. As a result, the holder 60 is held in the housing body 21 in a retaining state.

  A plurality of through holes 66 are formed in the holder main body 61 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction at positions that communicate with the seal holes 43 coaxially. An electric wire 80 is inserted into the through hole 66 in a loosely fitted state, and the electric wire 80 is pulled out from the through hole 66 to the outside rear. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 11, a concave holder-side curved surface 67 is formed on the front surface of the holder main body 61 so as to gradually recede from the center to the entire periphery. In other words, the holder-side curved surface 67 is configured to be curved and recessed in a direction in which the depth gradually increases from the entire circumference of the peripheral edge of the holder main body 61 to the center. As shown in FIG. 9, a front-side spindle-shaped holder-side concave curved surface 68 extending in the height direction with increasing depth is formed at the center in the width direction of the holder-side curved surface 67. And each through-hole 66 is divided | segmented and arrange | positioned on both sides of the width direction on both sides of the holder side concave curved surface 68.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a contact portion 69 that can contact the peripheral portion of the slope 46 of the rubber plug 40 and the rear end peripheral portion of the housing body 21 protrudes from the front surface of the holder body 61. Is formed. A plurality of contact portions 69 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction at the peripheral edge portion of the front surface of the holder main body 61. The contact surface 69 </ b> A is a protruding end surface of each contact portion 69. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, a groove-shaped holder-side drainage channel 71 is formed on the front surface of the holder main body 61 between the contact portions 69 adjacent to each other. This holder-side drainage channel 71 includes a pair of upper and lower first holder-side drainage channels 71A that are positioned at both ends in the height direction and extend in the height direction, and a pair of left and right that are positioned at both ends in the width direction and extend in the width direction. It consists of the 2nd holder side drainage channel 71B.

The above is the structure of the waterproof connector 10 according to the present embodiment. Next, the operation of the waterproof connector 10 will be described.
A rubber plug 40 is inserted into the housing recess 24 of the housing body 21 from the rear, and a holder 60 is attached to the housing body 21. When the lock portion 28 elastically locks the lock receiving portion 63, the holder 60 is held by the housing main body 21, and rubber is provided between the holder-side curved surface 67 of the holder 60 and the curved surface 25 of the housing recess 24. The stopper 40 is clamped in the front-rear direction. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the inclined surface 46 of the rubber plug 40 is fitted and fitted to the holder-side curved surface 67 of the holder 60, and another inclined surface 48 of the rubber plug 40 is curved in the housing recess 24. Fits on surface 25. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the convex curved surface 47 is fitted and fitted to the holder-side concave curved surface 68, and another convex curved surface 49 is fitted and fitted to the concave curved surface 27. At this time, the inclined surface 46 of the rubber plug 40 comes into contact with the contact surface 69A of the holder 60 in a pressed state. Thus, the rubber plug 40 is held in a positioned state between the holder 60 and the housing body 21. Further, a gap is formed between the rubber plug 40 and the holder 60 and between the holder 60 and the housing body 21 including the holder side drainage channel 71 and the housing side drainage channel 32.

  Subsequently, a terminal fitting (not shown) is inserted into the connector housing 20. The terminal fitting is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 80, whereby the electric wire 80 is coaxially inserted into the insertion hole 23 of the housing body 21, the seal hole 43 of the rubber plug 40, and the through hole 66 of the holder 60 and penetrates. It is pulled out from the hole 66 to the outside rear. In this case, the electric wire 80 is inserted in the insertion hole 23, the seal hole 43 of the bulging portion 42, and the through-hole 66 in a loose fit state, and the inner peripheral lip 45 is compressed in the seal hole 43 of the main body portion 41. Inserted in close contact. Thereafter, the connector housing 20 is fitted into a mating connector housing (not shown), and the terminal fitting is electrically connected to a mating terminal fitting (not shown) accommodated in the mating connector housing.

  Incidentally, the waterproof connector 10 according to the present embodiment may be installed such that the holder 60 is positioned at the uppermost stage with the rear surface of the holder 60 facing upward. In this case, since each through-hole 66 of the holder 60 is arranged along the up-and-down direction, it becomes a structure in which water easily enters between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40 through each through-hole 66. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the inclined surface 46 is inclined downward from the central portion to the peripheral portion of the rubber plug 40, so that water enters between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40 through each through hole 66. Even so, the water slides down the slope 46 of the rubber plug 40, is guided to the peripheral edge of the rubber plug 40, and is further drained from there.

  Specifically, the water that has entered between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40 can be drained through, for example, two drainage paths X and Y. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, in the first drainage path X, the water flows along the first holder side drainage path 71A and further communicates with the first holder side drainage path 71A. After flowing through 32 </ b> A, it flows into a narrow channel 50 as a minute gap formed between the housing body 21 and the holder 60, and is drained from the narrow channel 50 to the outside through a clearance 90. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, in the second drainage path Y, water flows along the second holder side drainage path 71B, and further communicates with the second holder side drainage path 71B. It flows into the drainage channel 32B, passes through both sides of the lock portion 28 from the second housing side drainage channel 32B, and is drained to the outside. Therefore, water does not stay between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40, and the water is quickly and reliably drained to the outside along the slope 46.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the slope 46 for drainage that is inclined downward is formed on the rear surface of the rubber plug 40 toward the periphery of the rubber plug 40, and is inclined downward from the side where the contact surface 69 </ b> A of the holder 60 is located. Therefore, even if water enters between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40 through each through-hole 66, the intruded water is quickly and reliably drained to the outside along the slope 46.

  Further, since the inclined surface 46 is formed in a dome shape inclined from the center portion to the peripheral portion of the rubber plug 40 in a direction away from the side where the holder main body 61 of the holder 60 is located, the slope 46 is formed between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40. Regardless of where the water enters, the water can be reliably drained to the outside.

  Further, since the housing side drainage channel 32 is formed in the housing main body 21 and the holder side drainage channel 71 is formed in the holder 60, the water that has entered between the holder 60 and the rubber plug 40 is drainage channel 32. , 71 is surely drained to the outside while being guided.

  In addition, the front surface of the rubber plug 40 is formed with another inclined surface 48 inclined toward the side where the contact surface 69A of the holder 60 is located toward the peripheral edge thereof, so When the front and back sides are turned upside down and accommodated in the accommodation recess 24, this other slope 48 can be used as the slope 46 for drainage. Therefore, the trouble of identifying the front and rear of the rubber plug 40 can be saved.

<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 inclined surface may be arranged to be inclined in a direction away from the holder from the portion other than the central portion of the rubber plug toward the peripheral portion.
(2) Either one or both of the housing-side drainage channel and the holder-side drainage channel can be omitted.
(3) It is possible to omit another slope.
(4) Another drainage path may be constructed other than the first drainage path and the second drainage path.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Waterproof connector 20 ... Connector housing 23 ... Insertion hole 24 ... Housing recessed part 32 ... Housing side drainage channel (drainage channel)
40 ... Rubber plug 43 ... Seal hole 46 ... Slope 48 ... Another slope 60 ... Holder 66 ... Through hole 69A ... Abutting surface 71 ... Holder side drainage channel (drainage channel)
80 ... Electric wire

Claims (4)

A connector housing formed with an accommodation recess, a rubber plug accommodated in the accommodation recess and formed with a plurality of seal holes, and a plurality of through holes attached to the connector housing and communicating with the seal holes. A holder for restricting the rubber plug from coming out of the receiving recess by contacting the rubber plug, and inserting the electric wire into the seal hole allows the inner surface of the seal hole to A waterproof connector in which an outer peripheral surface is in close contact and a seal around the electric wire is taken, and the electric wire is inserted into the through hole in a loosely fitted state,
On the surface of the rubber plug that faces the contact surface of the holder, a slope for drainage that is inclined toward the peripheral portion of the rubber plug in a direction away from the side where the contact surface of the holder is located is formed. Waterproof connector characterized by having   2. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface has a dome shape that is inclined from a center portion to a peripheral portion of the rubber stopper in a direction away from a side where the contact surface of the holder is located. 3. .   The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein a groove-like drainage channel is formed on a surface of the connector housing and / or the holder facing the inclined surface.   On the surface of the rubber plug opposite to the surface facing the contact surface of the holder, another inclined surface that inclines toward the periphery of the rubber plug toward the side where the contact surface of the holder is located. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof connector is formed.

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