JP2015035404A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of obtaining waterproofness even when an electric wire is pulled.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: an outer housing 10 having a plurality of inner housing chambers 12 through a partition 11; an inner housing 30 housed in each inner housing chamber 12; a seal member 50 inserted between the inner housing 30 and the inner housing chamber 12; and a holder 70 arranged to sandwich the seal member 50 with the inner housing 30. In the outer housing 10, lock holder parts 14 are provided at positions except the partition 11 in the periphery of each inner housing chamber 12. In the holders 70, portions arranged according to the inner housing chambers 12 adjacent to each other are coupled over the partition 11.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an outer housing, an inner housing assembled in the outer housing, and a seal member (wire seal) that is accommodated in the inner housing and is prevented from being detached from the outer housing as the inner housing is assembled in the outer housing. The connector provided with these is disclosed. A plurality of cavities are formed in the inner housing and the outer housing, and a plurality of seal holes (contact insertion holes) are formed in the seal member. A terminal fitting connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire is inserted into each cavity, and the electric wire is inserted into each seal hole in a liquid-tight manner.

JP2011-129391A

  By the way, a plurality of inner storage chambers are provided in the outer housing via partition walls, the inner housings are inserted into the inner storage chambers, and a seal member is assembled to the inner housing, and the seal member is sandwiched between the inner housings. There is also known a connector in which the holder is disposed and the holder is locked to the outer housing, thereby restricting the inner housing and the seal member from coming out of the inner housing chamber.

  In this case, a plurality of lock receiving portions are provided around each inner housing chamber of the outer housing, a plurality of lock portions are provided on the outer periphery of the holder, and each lock portion is locked to a corresponding lock receiving portion. The holder is held by the outer housing, and at the same time, the inner housing and the seal member are restricted from coming out of the inner housing chamber. However, in the case of this type of connector, in order to avoid an increase in size of the outer housing, the thickness of the partition wall is often kept small, and it is difficult to provide a lock receiving portion on the partition wall. If the partition is not provided with a lock receiving portion, when the electric wire drawn from the holder is pulled in a direction that intersects the fitting direction of the connector, the holder is separated from the partition side, There is a possibility that the locked state between the lock portion and the lock receiving portion is released. When the locking state between the lock portion and the lock receiving portion is released in this way, the holding reliability of the holder with respect to the seal member is impaired, and as a result, the waterproofness of the seal member may not be maintained.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at providing the connector which can ensure waterproofness, even when an electric wire is pulled.

  The connector of the present invention includes an outer housing having a plurality of inner storage chambers arranged adjacent to each other via a partition wall, and having a lock receiving portion at a position excluding the partition wall in the periphery of each inner storage chamber; An inner housing having a cavity into which a terminal fitting that is housed in each of the inner housing chambers and connected to a terminal portion of the electric wire can be inserted, and an electric wire drawing surface from which the electric wire is drawn out, and the electric wire drawing out of the inner housing The seal member is sandwiched between the inner housing and a seal member that is disposed in close contact with the surface and is inserted into the inner housing chamber together with the inner housing, and has a seal hole into which the electric wire is inserted in a liquid-tight manner. And the inner housing and the seal member are locked by the lock receiving portion. A lock portion for restricting the exit from the inner storage chamber, a through hole into which the electric wire is loosely inserted, and portions disposed corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other are the partition walls. And a holder that is connected to each other.

  Since the partition wall is not provided with a lock receiving portion, the thickness of the partition wall can be kept small, and the increase in size of the outer housing can be avoided. In this case, when the portions of the holders arranged corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other are connected across the partition walls, the electric wires led out from the through holes of the holder are pulled. In addition, the holder is not easily separated from the partition wall side, and the locked state between the lock portion and the lock receiving portion is stably maintained. As a result, the orientation of the holder is also maintained, and the waterproofness of the seal member is ensured satisfactorily.

It is a perspective view of the connector of Example 1 of the present invention. It is a rear view of a connector. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view of the unit which has a pair of holder in the state connected via the connection part. It is a rear view of a unit. It is BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is a side view of a unit. It is a perspective view of an outer housing. It is a rear view of an outer housing. It is a front view of an outer housing. It is a perspective view of an inner housing. It is a side view of an inner housing. It is a perspective view of a holder. It is a rear view of a holder. It is a perspective view of a sealing member. It is a rear view of the unit of Example 2.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
Of the holder, portions disposed corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other are configured as separate bodies and have connecting portions that engage with each other. Thereby, a holder can be provided corresponding to each inner housing and seal member individually.

  The entire holder is accommodated in the inner accommodating chamber, and a recess into which the connecting portion is inserted is provided at an edge of the partition wall. Since the connecting portion is inserted into the recess of the partition wall, the connecting portion does not protrude greatly in the assembling direction of the holder, and the enlargement of the holder and the damage of the connecting portion are prevented.

  The part arrange | positioned corresponding to the said inner storage chamber adjacent to the said holder among the said holders is comprised integrally. According to this, a number of parts can be reduced rather than providing a holder individually corresponding to each inner storage chamber.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The connector includes an outer housing 10, an inner housing 30, a seal member 50, a holder 70, and a terminal fitting 90.

  The outer housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin and has a rectangular box shape as a whole as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10. The outer housing 10 has a partition wall 11 at substantially the center in the height direction as shown in FIG. A pair of inner storage chambers 12 penetrating in the front-rear direction are provided at positions adjacent to each other on both sides of the sandwiched height direction. As will be described later, the inner housing 30, the seal member 50, and the holder 70 are collectively accommodated in each inner housing chamber 12. The partition wall 11 is in the form of a substantially horizontal thin plate. On both sides in the width direction of the rear end edge of the partition wall 11, a pair of notch-shaped recesses 13 are provided to be opened. The recess 13 has a shape that opens in a rectangular cross section, and a connecting portion 77 of a holder 70 described later can be inserted therein.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the inner rear end of each inner housing chamber 12 in the outer housing 10 has both ends in the width direction, which is the left-right direction in the figure, and the outside in the height direction and substantially the center in the width direction. A plurality of notch-shaped lock receiving portions 14 are provided at the positions. The lock receiving portion 14 can be locked with a later-described lock portion 74 of the holder 70 and is not provided in the partition wall 11. Relief grooves 15 are formed in the rear end edges of the inner storage chambers 12 so as to extend to a pair of lock receiving portions 14 provided on both ends in the width direction. A rib 75 on the lock portion 74 side is inserted into the escape groove 15 in the process of assembling the holder 70.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a pair of notched inner lock receiving portions 16 are provided on the inner surfaces of the inner storage chambers 12 in front of the lock receiving portions 14 at both ends in the width direction. ing. An inner lock portion 37 (described later) of the inner housing 30 can be locked to the inner lock receiving portion 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of substantially cylindrical support shafts 17 are provided at the outer rear end portions of the upper and lower walls of the outer housing 10 at substantially the center in the width direction. A lever (not shown) is rotatably supported on each support shaft 17. The lever is engaged with a mating housing by a turning operation while engaged with a mating housing (not shown). In addition, a pair of bag-like pocket portions 18 are provided at the outer front end portions of the upper and lower side walls of the outer housing 10. A part of the side plate of the lever is inserted into the pocket portion 18 so that the expansion of the side plate is restricted.

  A retainer insertion opening 19 for allowing a retainer (not shown) to pass through is provided in one of the side walls of the outer housing 10 so as to be opened. The retainer insertion opening 19 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the side, and is open to the front end of the side wall of the outer housing 10. The partition wall 11 described above is not provided at the front-rear position corresponding to the retainer insertion opening 19.

  The inner housing 30 is also made of a synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inner housing 30 has a generally rectangular block shape that is flat in the width direction as a whole. The inner housings 30 can be fitted into the respective inner storage chambers 12, and two inner housings 30 are provided corresponding to the respective inner storage chambers 12.

  A plurality of cavities 31 are provided in the inner housing 30 so as to extend in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the cavities 31 are divided into two upper and lower stages and arranged in alignment. A lance 32 is provided at the front end of each cavity 31 so as to protrude forward. Terminal fittings 90 are inserted into the cavities 31 of the inner housing 30 from the rear, and the terminal fittings 90 that are properly inserted are elastically locked to the lances 32 so as to be prevented from coming into the cavities 31. Here, the terminal fitting 90 is formed by bending a metal plate or the like, and a connection portion 91 that can be connected to the mating terminal, and a barrel portion that is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 100 by crimping, connected to the rear of the connection portion 91. 92.

  On both the upper and lower surfaces of the inner housing 30, slit-like retainer mounting holes 33 having a depth communicating with the cavities 31 and extending in the width direction are provided immediately after the lances 32. In a state in which the inner housing 30 is housed in the inner housing chamber 12, a retainer (not shown) is inserted into the retainer mounting hole 33 of the inner housing 30 through the retainer insertion port 19 of the outer housing 10. The terminal fitting 90 thus made is secondarily prevented from coming off.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a plurality of small columnar housing-side protrusions 34 are provided on the rear surface of the inner housing 30 serving as a wire drawing surface. A pair of plate-like protrusions 35 are provided on the rear surface of the inner housing 30. In this case, the housing-side protrusions 34 are arranged in the width direction on both the upper and lower sides of the rear surface of the inner housing 30 across the opening portion of the cavity 31, and the protrusions 35 are the upper end portions of the rear surface of the inner housing 30. Or it arrange | positions along with the width direction in the lower end part. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, each protruding piece 35 has a protruding dimension that penetrates the holder 70 in the front-rear direction and reaches the rear surface of the holder 70. As shown in FIG. 11, a locking recess 36 is provided at the tip of each protruding piece 35.

  On both side surfaces of the inner housing 30, a pair of inner lock portions 37 protrude from the retainer mounting hole 33. The inner lock portion 37 is locked to the inner lock receiving portion 16 of the outer housing 10, so that the inner housing 30 is prevented from being detached from the inner housing chamber 12.

  The seal member 50 is made of rubber such as silicon rubber and has a flat mat shape that is long in the width direction as a whole, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the seal member 50 is attached in close contact with the rear surface of the inner housing 30, and has a plurality of seal holes 51 at positions where it is coaxially communicated with the cavities 31 when attached. After passing through the terminal fitting 90, the electric wire 100 connected to the terminal fitting 90 is inserted into each seal hole 51 in a liquid-tight manner.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a housing-side receiving hole 52 into which each housing-side protrusion 34 of the inner housing 30 is fitted when recessed to the inner housing 30 is recessed in the front surface of the seal member 50. Further, as will be described later, a holder-side receiving hole 53 into which each holder-side protrusion 72 (to be described later) of the holder 70 is fitted is recessed in the rear surface of the seal member 50 as described later. . Further, an inner housing is provided at the upper end of the seal member 50 (in the case of the seal member 50 inserted into the upper inner storage chamber 12) or at the lower end (in the case of the seal member 50 inserted into the lower inner storage chamber 12). A pair of through holes 54 through which the respective projecting pieces 35 of the inner housing 30 are inserted in a liquid-tight manner when attached to the inner housing 30 are provided.

  Here, the projecting pieces 35 are inserted into the respective insertion holes 54 of the seal member 50, whereby the seal member 50 is held in the inner housing 30 in a state where erroneous assembly is restricted. Further, each housing-side protrusion 34 is fitted in each housing-side receiving hole 52, whereby the seal member 50 is positioned with respect to the inner housing 30, and each holder-side protrusion 72 is fitted in each holder-side receiving hole 53. As a result, the seal member 50 is positioned with respect to the holder 70.

  In addition, a plurality of outer peripheral lips 55 are provided around the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 50 in the front-rear direction. When the inner housing 30 is inserted into the inner storage chamber 12, the seal member 50 is also inserted into the inner storage chamber 12, whereby each outer peripheral lip 55 of the seal member 50 is elastically adhered to the inner surface of the inner storage chamber 12. The space between the inner housing 30 and the outer housing 10 is liquid-tightly sealed. The seal member 50 is used without any structural difference in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction, and the housing side receiving hole 52 and the holder side receiving hole 53 described above are names for convenience used only during use.

  Next, the holder 70 will be described. The holder 70 is made of synthetic resin, and has a plate shape that is long in the width direction as a whole, as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, the holder 70 is attached to the rear surface of the seal member 50, and has a plurality of through holes 71 at positions where the holder 70 is coaxially communicated with the seal holes 51. After passing through the terminal fitting 90, the electric wire 100 connected to the terminal fitting 90 is loosely inserted into each through hole 71 and inserted. On the front surface of the holder 70, a plurality of holder-side protrusions 72 are provided side by side in the width direction on both the upper and lower sides across the opening portion of each through hole 71.

  Further, a seal is formed on the inner housing 30 at the upper end of the holder 70 (in the case of the holder 70 inserted into the upper inner storage chamber 12) or the lower end (in the case of the holder 70 inserted into the lower inner storage chamber 12). In the state where the member 50 is attached and the holder 70 is attached to the seal member 50, the holding hole 69 through which the distal end portion of each projecting piece 35 of the inner housing 30 passes through the insertion hole 54 of the seal member 50 is inserted. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 14, locking protrusions 73 that can be locked in the locking recesses 36 of the projecting pieces 35 are provided on the inner surface of the holding hole 69. The holder 70 is held by the inner housing 30 by locking the locking recess 36 of each protruding piece 35 to the locking protrusion 73.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the holder 70, lock portions 74 are provided so as to protrude from the edge portions of three sides excluding the edge portion that becomes one side facing the partition wall 11 when inserted into the inner housing chamber 12. . The lock portion 74 has a rib shape along the corresponding edge. Among the lock portions 74, a pair of ribs 75 that can be inserted into the escape groove 15 are provided side by side in the height direction on the lock portions 74 provided at the edges on both sides in the width direction of the holder 70. Further, the holder 70 is provided with a slit-like lightening hole 76 at an inner position facing each lock portion 74. In the process in which the holder 70 is inserted into the inner housing chamber 12, each lock portion 74 interferes with each lock receiving portion 14 of the outer housing 10, so that each lock portion 74 has a direction in which the opening area of the lightening hole 76 becomes narrower. Is bent and deformed, and an elastic locking force for each lock receiving portion 14 can be obtained.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 14, a pair of connecting portions 77 in the width direction is formed on the edge portion which is one side facing the partition wall 11 in the state of being inserted into the inner housing chamber 12 in the outer peripheral surface of the holder 70. Protrusively provided. The connecting portion 77 includes a connecting base portion 78 that protrudes from the edge of the holder 70 and a connecting tip portion 79 that protrudes from the protruding end of the connecting base portion 78 in the width direction, and has a substantially L shape when viewed from the front. The connection tip 79 has an expanded shape so as to gradually approach the edge of the holder 70 from the connection base 78 toward one side in the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the holders 70 inserted into the respective inner housing chambers 12 of the outer housing 10 have the same form as being point-symmetric with respect to the center of the partition wall 11 in the width direction, and are connected to each other by a connecting portion 77. By locking each other, they are held in a state in which they are separated from each other. In such a connected state, the connecting tip portion 79 of the other connecting portion 77 is closely fitted in the inner space between the connecting base portion 78 and the connecting tip portion 79 in one connecting portion 77, and the connecting state of the respective holders 70. Is to be maintained.

Next, the effect of Example 1 is demonstrated.
At the time of assembly, the seal member 50 is attached to the rear surface of the inner housing 30, and the holder 70 is further attached to the rear surface of the seal member 50. As a result, the seal member 50 is elastically sandwiched between the inner housing 30 and the holder 70 via the projecting pieces 35 penetrating each through hole 54. In the case of the first embodiment, two subunits 80 </ b> A in which the inner housing 30, the seal member 50, and the holder 70 are assembled are provided corresponding to the inner housing chambers 12.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the connecting portions 77 of the respective holders 70 in the respective subunits 80 </ b> A are engaged and engaged with each other. As a result, a unit 80B is obtained in which the subunits 80A are connected to each other in a state in which they are separated from each other via the connecting portion 77. Next, the terminal fitting 90 is inserted into the cavity 31 of the inner housing 30. At this time, the terminal fitting 90 is inserted into the corresponding cavity 31 from the through hole 71 of the holder 70 through the seal hole 51. When the terminal fitting 90 is properly inserted into the cavity 31, the electric wire 100 connected to the terminal fitting 90 is liquid-tightly inserted into the seal hole 51 and is loosely inserted into the through hole 71. In addition, you may perform the insertion operation | work of the terminal metal fitting 90 in the stage of the subunit 80A before comprising as the unit 80B.

  Next, the unit 80 </ b> B is inserted into each inner housing chamber 12 of the outer housing 10. When each inner housing 30 constituting the unit 80B is properly inserted into the inner housing chamber 12, each inner lock portion 37 of the inner housing 30 is elastically locked to each inner lock receiving portion 16 of the outer housing 10. At the same time, each lock portion 74 of the holder 70 is elastically locked to each lock receiving portion 14 of the outer housing 10. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the unit 80 </ b> B is held in a state in which the unit 80 </ b> B is prevented from being detached from the inner storage chamber 12.

  When the unit 80 </ b> B is assembled to the outer housing 10, almost the entire inner housing 30, the seal member 50, and the holder 70 are accommodated in the inner accommodating chamber 12, and the respective holders are accommodated in the recesses 13 of the partition wall 11 of the outer housing 10. The connecting portion 77 of 70 is inserted in a fitted state, and the rear end of the inner housing chamber 12 and the rear surface of the holder 70 are substantially flush with each other. Finally, a retainer (not shown) is attached to the inner housing 30 to prevent the terminal fitting 90 inserted into the cavity 31 from coming off. Thereafter, a mating housing (not shown) is fitted to the outer housing 10 from the front.

  By the way, when the electric wire 100 drawn from each through hole 71 of each holder 70 is pulled in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction in a state where the unit 80B is assembled to the outer housing 10, the holder 70 follows the pulling direction. As a result, there is a risk of falling out of the inner storage chamber 12.

  However, according to the first embodiment, among the four side edges of the holder 70, the three side edges excluding the one side facing the partition wall 11 are formed between the lock portions 74 and the lock receiving portions 14. In addition to being firmly locked in the inner housing chamber 12 of the outer housing 10 by the locking action, the edge of one side facing the partition wall 11 is connected by the connecting action of the connecting portion 77 of the holder 70 respectively. Since the integrated state of the holder 70 is maintained, the holder 70 does not easily float from the inner storage chamber 12. As a result, the function of holding the seal member 50 by the holder 70 is satisfactorily exhibited, and a predetermined waterproof property of the seal member 50 can be ensured. In particular, according to the first embodiment, the connecting portion 77 that restricts the respective holders 70 from being separated from each other is provided in the portion corresponding to the thin partition wall 11 where it is difficult to provide the lock structure, and thus it can be efficiently performed in a narrow space. A structure that prevents the holder 70 from coming out can be realized.

  Moreover, since the connecting portion 77 is inserted into the recess 13 of the partition wall 11, the connecting portion 77 does not protrude rearward, and an increase in the size of the holder 70 and damage to the connecting portion 77 are prevented.

<Example 2>
FIG. 16 shows a second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the shape of the holder 70A is different from the first embodiment. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore, the description overlapping with the first embodiment is omitted, and the same or corresponding structures are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The holder 70A according to the second embodiment is integrally connected to a pair of holder portions 70P provided corresponding to the inner storage chambers 12 adjacent to each other and the opposing edges of the holder portions 70P. And a connecting portion 77A that is shared. The structure of the holder portion 70P is the same as the structure of the holder 70 of Example 1 except for the connecting portion 77A.

  According to the second embodiment, since the holder 70A is integrated across the adjacent inner storage chambers 12, the number of parts can be reduced.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) A configuration in which a part or all of the holder is not inserted into the inner housing chamber of the outer housing may be employed.
(2) The outer housing may be provided with three or more inner accommodating chambers.
(3) In the first embodiment, the respective holders may be connected to each other for the first time after being assembled to the outer housing.
(4) Arrangement | positioning and the number of a connection part are arbitrary, and are not necessarily limited to Example 1,2.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Outer housing 11 ... Partition 12 ... Inner storage chamber 13 ... Recess 14 ... Lock receiving part 30 ... Inner housing 50 ... Seal member 51 ... Seal hole 70, 70A ... Holder 71 ... Through-hole 74 ... Lock part 77, 77A ... Connection Part 90 ... Terminal fitting 100 ... Electric wire

Claims (4)

An outer housing having a plurality of inner storage chambers arranged adjacent to each other via a partition wall, and having a lock receiving portion at a position excluding the partition wall in the periphery of each inner storage chamber;
An inner housing having a wire lead-out surface from which the electric wire is drawn out, and having a cavity into which a terminal fitting connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire is housed and accommodated in each inner accommodating chamber;
A seal member disposed in close contact with the wire drawing surface of the inner housing, inserted into the inner housing chamber together with the inner housing, and having a seal hole into which the electric wire is inserted in a liquid-tight manner;
The seal member is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the inner housing, and has a lock portion that is locked to the lock receiving portion to restrict the inner housing and the seal member from coming out of the inner housing chamber. And a holder that has a through hole into which the electric wire is loosely inserted, and a portion that is arranged corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other and that is connected across the partition wall. That the connector.   The portion of the holder that is disposed corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other is configured as a separate body and has a connecting portion that engages with each other. The connector described.   3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the entire holder is accommodated in the inner accommodating chamber, and a recess into which the connecting portion is inserted is provided at an edge of the partition wall.   2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the holder that is disposed corresponding to the inner storage chambers adjacent to each other is integrally formed.

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