JP2013165019A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent increase in the size of a connector.SOLUTION: A connector 10 includes: a housing 40 having a cavity 45 to which a terminal metal fitting 20 can be inserted from the back side; and a seal member 70 which is fitted before the cavity 45 in the housing 40 and is elastically compressed between a mating connector 100 and the housing 40 while fitted to the mating connector 100 for sealing. In the seal member 70, an abutting stop portion 79 on which the terminal metal fitting 20 normally inserted can be made to abut and stop is installed on a surface facing the cavity 45.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional connector. The connector includes first and second housings that can be fitted to each other. The first housing has a cavity, and a terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity from the rear. A front wall is formed on the front surface of the first housing to hold the terminal fitting. The second housing has a block-shaped housing main body and a cylindrical hood portion that protrudes forward from the front peripheral edge of the housing main body. A seal member is attached to the second housing. The seal member is disposed in contact with the inner surface of the hood portion which is the front surface of the housing body. In a state where the first and second housings are fitted, the seal member is elastically compressed between the first and second housings, so that the seal between the fitting surfaces of the first and second housings is taken. It has become.

JP 2002-231374 A

  In the case of the conventional connector, the front wall of the first housing, the seal member, and the back wall of the hood portion are arranged side by side in the state where the first and second housings are fitted. There was a concern of increasing the size.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent the connector from becoming large.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a connector in which the mating connector can be fitted from the front, and the terminal fitting has a cavity that can be inserted from the rear, and the housing in the housing. A terminal fitting that is mounted in front of the cavity and is elastically compressed and sealed between the mating connector and the housing in a state of being fitted with the mating connector, and is normally inserted on the surface facing the cavity And a sealing member having a stopper portion capable of stopping the contact.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the seal member is formed with a seal hole through which a tab is inserted in a liquid-tight manner in the front-rear direction, and the stopper portion is an inner surface of the seal hole. It is characterized in that it is formed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the terminal fitting normally inserted in the cavity can be elastically locked to the outer surface of the terminal fitting or the inner surface of the cavity. The lance is formed so as to be able to bend, and the seal member is characterized in that an insertion port into which a jig for releasing the locked state of the lance can be inserted.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the seal member has a stopper part, and the terminal fitting that is normally inserted in the cavity can be stopped against the stopper part, it is not necessary to separately provide a front wall in front of the cavity in the housing. The front and rear length of the connector can be shortened.

<Invention of Claim 2>
The seal member is formed with a seal hole through which the tab is inserted in the front and rear, and the stopper is formed on the inner surface of the seal hole so that it fits in the front and rear range of the seal hole. Can be suppressed more effectively. Further, the length of the front and rear of the tab can be shortened by the amount that the front wall is omitted from the housing.

<Invention of Claim 3>
The seal member is formed with an insertion port into which a jig for releasing the locking state of the lance can be inserted, so there is no need to provide a separate insertion port in the housing, and the configuration of the housing can be further simplified. it can.

It is sectional drawing which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention and represents the state by which the connector was fitted with the other party connector. It is sectional drawing of a connector. It is sectional drawing of the connector before a terminal metal fitting is inserted. It is sectional drawing of a housing. It is a front view of a housing. It is a front view of a connector. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken at a position different from that in FIG. 1 when the connector is fitted with the mating connector.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector 10 according to the first embodiment can be fitted to the mating connector 100 and includes a terminal fitting 20, a housing 40, and a seal member 70.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mating connector 100 includes a mating housing 110 made of a synthetic resin and a mating terminal fitting 130 made of metal. The mating terminal fitting 130 has a cylindrical main body portion 131 into which a tab 24 described later is inserted, and a mating barrel portion 132 that is crimped and connected to the terminal core wire 201 and the mating rubber plug 220 of the electric wire 200. . The main body 131 is formed with a pair of counterpart lances 133 that can bend and project in both the upper and lower directions.

  The mating housing 110 has a substantially square block shape and has a plurality of mating cavities 111 in the width direction. A pair of upper and lower mating locking protrusions 112 are fixedly formed on the inner surface of the mating cavity 111. A front wall 113 that partially closes the front of the counterpart cavity 111 is formed on the front surface of the counterpart housing 110. The mating terminal metal fitting 130 is inserted into the mating cavity 111 from the rear, and the mating terminal metal fitting 130 that is normally inserted is brought into contact with the front wall 113 so that further insertion operation is restricted, and the mating lance 133 is against the mating lance 133 By being elastically locked to the locking protrusion 112, the escape from the counterpart cavity 111 is restricted. Further, when the mating terminal fitting 130 is inserted into the mating cavity 111, the mating rubber plug 220 is elastically adhered to the inner surface of the mating cavity 111.

  A step 114 is formed on the outer surface of the mating housing 110, and the front region with the step 114 as a boundary is shaped to be one step lower than the rear region. A lock portion 115 is formed so as to protrude from a substantially central portion in the upper surface width direction of the front region of the counterpart housing 110.

  The terminal fitting 20 is formed by bending a metal plate or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal fitting 20 has a connecting portion 21 that can be connected to the mating terminal fitting 130, and a barrel portion 22 arranged behind the connecting portion 21. doing. The connecting portion 21 includes a cylindrical box portion 23 and a tab 24 that protrudes forward from the front end of the box portion 23. At the front end portion of the box portion 23, an inclined portion 25 that is inclined from the vertical corner portion to the proximal end portion of the tab 24 is formed. In addition, a pair of lances 26 are formed on the box portion 23 so as to protrude in both the upper and lower directions. The front surface of the lance 26 is configured to be inclined rearward, and the rear surface of the lance 26 is configured to stand up and down. The tab 24 is flat in the width direction and elongated in the front-rear direction.

  In the case of this embodiment, the terminal metal fitting 20 is comprised by the inner member 27 and the outer member 28 separate from the inner member 27 attached to the inner member 27 from the outside. The main body portion 131 of the box portion 23 and the tab 24 are formed on the inner member 27, and the inclined portion 25 and the lance 26 are formed on the outer member 28. The rear end of the box portion 23 of the inner member 27 is integrally connected to the connecting portion 29, and the connecting portion 29 is arranged in a constricted shape between the box portion 23 and the barrel portion 22.

  The barrel portion 22 is crimped and connected to the wire barrel 31 that is crimped and connected to the core wire 301 at the terminal portion of the electric wire 300 and the rubber plug 400 that is fitted to the covering 302 at the terminal portion of the electric wire 300. It consists of a barrel 32.

  The housing 40 is made of synthetic resin and has a flat shape in the width direction as a whole. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the housing main body 41 having a substantially square block shape and the front peripheral edge of the housing main body 41 forward. It consists of a substantially square tube-shaped hood portion 42 that protrudes. A lock hole 43 is formed through substantially the center in the width direction of the upper wall 44 of the hood portion 42. When the two connectors 10 and 100 are fitted into the lock hole 43, the lock portion 115 of the mating connector 100 is elastically fitted from the inside, whereby both the connectors 10 and 100 are held in the fitted state. .

  The housing body 41 has a plurality of cavities 45 into which the terminal fittings 20 are inserted from the rear. Each cavity 45 has a form extending in the front-rear direction, and a plurality (three in the illustrated case) are arranged in the width direction so as to correspond to each counterpart cavity 111. A pair of upper and lower locking projections 46 are fixedly formed on the inner surface of each cavity 45. Both the locking projections 46 are located near the front surface of the housing main body 41, have the same shape, and are arranged at substantially the same front and rear positions. The rear surfaces of both locking protrusions 46 are inclined forward, and the front surfaces of both locking protrusions 46 are vertically raised.

  Here, the front region sandwiching the locking projection 46 in each cavity 45 is an opening 47 that is smaller than the rear region and has substantially the same vertical dimension toward the front surface of the housing body 41. That is, the front wall that closes the front of each cavity 45 is not formed on the front surface of the housing body 41.

On the front surface of the housing body 41 (the back surface of the hood portion 42), a pair of upper and lower holding pieces 48 are formed to protrude forward between adjacent cavities 45. A retaining protrusion 49 that prevents the seal member 70 from coming off is formed at the tip of each holding piece 48. Each retaining protrusion 49 protrudes upward in the upper holding piece 48, protrudes downward in the lower holding piece 48, and protrudes in the opposite direction vertically. Each holding piece 48 is bent and deformed up and down with the front surface of the housing body 41 as a fulcrum. The seal member 70 is a soft elastic body such as silicon rubber, and as shown in FIGS. It has a long mat shape in the width direction and is elastically fitted into the hood portion 42. The longitudinal length of the seal member 70 is longer than the longitudinal length of the holding piece 48.

  On the outer surface of the seal member 70, a plurality of lips 71 are formed in the front-rear direction. Each lip 71 is configured to circulate around the outer surface of the seal member 70, and in a state where the seal member 70 is mounted on the housing 40, the lip 71 is elastically compressed and adhered to the inner surface of the hood portion 42 over the entire circumference. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the seal member 70 is formed with a pair of holding holes 72 through which the holding pieces 48 are inserted. Both holding holes 72 have a flat hole shape elongated in the vertical direction, and the upper and lower holding pieces 48 are inserted therein. In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, a pair of upper and lower stepped portions 73 are formed on the inner surfaces of both holding holes 72 so as to stand up and down, and the rear region sandwiched between the stepped portions 73 is formed in the upper and lower direction than the front region. The shape is expanded. The stopper member 49 is elastically brought into contact with the stepped portion 73 from the front, so that the seal member 70 is held in the hood portion 42.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the seal member 70 is formed with a plurality of seal holes 74 penetrating in the front-rear direction. A plurality of seal holes 74 (three in the illustrated case) are arranged in the width direction, and both holding holes 72 are arranged between adjacent seal holes 74. Each seal hole 74 has a flat hole shape elongated in the width direction, and the tab 24 is inserted into the seal hole 74 from behind. The tab 24 is disposed so as to protrude into the hood portion 42 from the front end of each seal hole 74.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a seal hole body 75 is formed at the front end portion of each seal hole 74 so as to be narrowed. An inner peripheral lip 76 is formed around the inner surface of the seal hole body 75. When the tab 24 is inserted into the seal hole 74, the inner peripheral lip 76 is elastically brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion of the tab 24, whereby the base end portion of the tab 24 is liquid-tight in the seal hole main body 75. It is designed to be sealed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each seal hole 74 has an expanded portion 77 that expands in a taper shape in the vertical direction from the rear end of the seal hole body 75 to the rear, and further, An introduction portion 78 is provided that extends from the rear end to the rear end of the seal hole body 75 with substantially the same diameter. The opening diameter of the introduction part 78 is substantially the same as the opening diameter of the front opening of the cavity 45.

  In a state in which the seal member 70 is mounted on the housing 40, the expanding portion 77 is arranged so that the inclined surface of the expanding portion 77 faces the cavity 45 through the introduction portion 78. When the terminal fitting 20 is properly inserted into the cavity 45, the front end portion of the box portion 23 is fitted into the introduction portion 78 and inserted in a positioned state, and the inclined portion 25 is an inclined surface of the expanded portion 77. Are arranged facing each other from the rear. For this reason, when the terminal fitting 20 is further pushed from the normal insertion position, the inclined portion 25 comes into contact with the inclined surface of the expanding portion 77, and further insertion operation of the terminal fitting 20 is restricted. That is, the inclined surface of the expanded portion 77 serves as a stopper portion 79 for front-stopping the terminal fitting 20, and has substantially the same inclination angle as that of the inclined portion 25.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the seal member 70 is formed with a pair of insertion ports 81 on both the upper and lower sides across each seal hole 74. Each insertion port 81 has a shape of a flat hole elongated in the width direction, and is configured to penetrate the seal member 70 straight back and forth. The substantially rear half of each insertion port 81 communicates with the introduction portion 78 of each seal hole 74 on the inside. In a state where the seal member 70 is mounted on the housing 40, each insertion hole is disposed coaxially and oppositely to each lance 26 and each locking projection 46 through the opening 47, and is inserted into each insertion hole (not shown). Thus, the locked state of each lance 26 can be released.

Next, the operation of the connector 10 according to the first embodiment will be described.
At the time of assembly, the seal member 70 is inserted into the hood portion 42 from the front. In the insertion process of the seal member 70, the retaining protrusions 49 slide on the inner surfaces of the retaining holes 72, whereby the retaining pieces 48 are bent and deformed inward. At the time of normal insertion of the seal member 70, each holding piece 48 is elastically restored, and each retaining projection 49 is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with each step 73 from the front (see FIG. 7). As a result, the rear surface of the seal member 70 comes into contact with the front surface of the housing body 41 (the inner surface of the hood portion 42) in a substantially tight contact state, and each lip 71 of the seal member 70 is placed on the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 42 on the entire circumference. It adheres elastically (see FIGS. 3 and 6).

  Subsequently, the terminal fitting 20 with the electric wire 300 is inserted into each cavity 45 of the housing body 41 from the rear. In the process of inserting the terminal fitting 20, the front surface of each lance 26 slides on the rear surface of each locking projection 46, and each lance 26 is bent and deformed inward. When the terminal fitting 20 is normally inserted, each lance 26 is elastically restored, and the rear surface of each lance 26 is disposed so as to be in contact with the front surface of each locking projection 46 from the front. In addition, when the terminal fitting 20 is normally inserted, the inclined portion 25 is disposed so as to be able to contact the stopper portion 79 of the seal member 70 from behind. As a result, the terminal fitting 20 is held in the cavity 45 in a state in which movement is restricted in the front-rear direction.

  Furthermore, when the terminal fitting 20 is properly inserted, the rubber plug 400 is elastically adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the cavity 45 over the entire circumference, and the inner peripheral lip 76 of the seal hole 74 is the outer periphery of the proximal end portion of the tab 24. The inside of the cavity 45 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner.

  Thereafter, the mating connector 100 is fitted into the hood portion 42. In the fitting process of both the connectors 10 and 100, the lock part 115 slides on the inner surface of the upper wall 44 of the hood part 42, and the upper wall 44 is bent and deformed. When both the connectors 10 and 100 are properly fitted, the lock portion 115 is elastically restored from the upper wall 44, the lock portion 115 is fitted into the lock hole 43 of the upper wall 44, and both the connectors 10 and 100 are restricted from being detached. Retained (see FIG. 1). At this time, the front end of the hood portion 42 is disposed to face the step 114 of the mating housing 110. Further, the tab 24 is inserted and connected to the main body 131 of the mating terminal fitting 130 at a normal depth, and both the terminal fittings 20 and 130 are electrically connected. Further, when both the connectors 10 and 100 are properly fitted, the seal member 70 is elastically compressed back and forth between the mating housing 110 and the housing body 41, and the fitting area between both the connectors 10 and 100 is liquid-tight. Sealed.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the seal member 70 is attached to the front position of each cavity 45 in the housing 40, and the terminal fitting 20 can be abutted against the abutment portion 79 of the seal member 70. In addition, it is not necessary to separately provide a front wall in front of the cavity 45 in the housing 40, and accordingly, the longitudinal length of the connector 10 can be shortened.

  Further, a seal hole 74 into which the tab 24 is inserted is formed through the seal member 70 in the front-rear direction, and a stopper 79 is formed on the inner surface of the seal hole 74 so as to be within the front-rear range of the seal hole 74. Therefore, it can suppress more effectively that the front-back length of the connector 10 becomes long. In addition, since the housing 40 has no front wall, the longitudinal length of the tab 24 can be shortened.

  Further, since the insertion member 81 into which a jig for releasing the locking state of the lance 26 can be inserted is formed in the seal member 70, there is no need to provide the insertion member 81 in the housing 40. The configuration can be further simplified.

<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 seal member may be mounted on the front surface of a block-shaped housing in the female connector.
(2) The stopper part may be formed on the opening peripheral part of the seal hole on the rear surface of the seal member.
(3) The lance may be a resin lance formed so as to protrude from the inner surface of the cavity.
(4) The insertion opening may be formed in a concave shape on the outer surface of the seal member.
(5) It is also possible to omit the insertion port from the seal member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 20 ... Terminal metal fitting 26 ... Lance 40 ... Housing 41 ... Housing main body 42 ... Hood part 45 ... Cavity 70 ... Sealing member 74 ... Seal hole 79 ... Stopping part 81 ... Insertion port 100 ... Mating connector

Claims (3)

The mating connector can be fitted from the front,
A housing having a cavity into which the terminal fitting can be inserted from behind;
Mounted in front of the cavity in the housing, in a state of being fitted with the mating connector, is elastically compressed between the mating connector and the housing to take a seal, and is inserted into a surface facing the cavity. And a sealing member having a stopper portion that can stop the terminal fitting.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a seal hole into which the tab is inserted in a liquid-tight manner is formed in the seal member so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction, and the stopper is formed on an inner surface of the seal hole. .   On the outer surface of the terminal fitting or on the inner surface of the cavity, a lance capable of elastically locking the terminal fitting inserted into the cavity is formed so as to be able to bend. The connector according to claim 1, wherein an insertion port into which a jig for releasing the stop state can be inserted is formed.

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