JP2017010734A - Terminal cover body and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the movement of a multicore cable in a housing with a terminal part of the multicore cable waterproofed.SOLUTION: A terminal cover body includes: a base 47 formed in a discoidal shape; and an attachment part 49 attached to the terminal part of a multicore cable W1. The base and the attachment part are formed of an elastic material. The base includes a plurality of cable insertion holes 51, into which the plurality of cables W1 exposed from the terminal part are inserted, with the outer peripheral side formed harder than the periphery of the cable insertion hole.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal cover and a connector, and more particularly to a terminal cover mounted on a terminal portion of a multicore cable.

  Conventionally, a charging connector has been used to charge a battery mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid car. In this charging connector, a housing is formed by assembling a pair of halves so as to overlap each other. The housing houses the terminal part of a multi-core cable in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled together and covered with an outer sheath, and the charging terminal to which the plurality of electric wires exposed from the terminal part are connected is held in place. Has been.

  By the way, when water such as rainwater enters into this type of charging connector, it is conceivable that the infiltrated water enters the outer sheath of the multicore cable through each electric wire. In order to prevent such water from entering the multicore cable, for example, a plurality of wire insertion holes are formed at the bottom of a rubber plug formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and the multicore cable is inserted into each wire insertion hole. By inserting a plurality of wires exposed from the terminal part and covering the outer cover of the terminal part with a rubber plug, the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire passed through the electric wire insertion hole and the inner peripheral surface of the electric wire insertion hole is sealed. In addition, a waterproof structure for a terminal portion that seals the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the rubber plug and the outer coating is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses that the rubber plug is covered with a cup-shaped regulating member formed of a synthetic resin, that is, a member harder than the rubber plug, thereby reducing the sealing performance due to deformation or expansion of the rubber plug. It is described to prevent.

JP2013-97889A

  However, when the waterproof structure is composed of two parts as in Patent Document 1, a process of assembling these parts is required. For example, if the dimensions of each part vary, the assembling workability may deteriorate. There is. Moreover, there is a concern about an increase in manufacturing cost due to an increase in the number of parts.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and retains the terminal cover body and the terminal cover body which can suppress a decrease in waterproofness of the terminal portion due to expansion or deformation without increasing the number of parts. It is an object to provide a connector.

  In order to solve the above problems, a terminal cover according to the present invention includes a base portion formed in a disk shape, and an attachment portion that stands up in a cylindrical shape from the periphery of the base portion and is attached to the terminal portion of the multicore cable. The base portion and the adherend portion are formed of an elastic material, the base portion has a plurality of wire insertion holes through which the plurality of electric wires exposed from the terminal portion are inserted, and the outer peripheral side is a wire insertion hole. It is characterized by being harder than the surroundings.

  According to this, since the periphery of the electric wire insertion hole of the base is formed of a relatively soft material, the inner peripheral surface of the electric wire insertion hole can be brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire inserted into the electric wire insertion hole. Furthermore, the terminal part of the multi-core cable can be waterproofed by covering the terminal part of the multi-core cable with the adherent part. In addition, since the terminal cover has at least the outer peripheral surface of the base formed harder than the periphery of the wire insertion hole, it is possible to suppress deformation of the base and deformation due to external force, and as a result, the terminal cover is inserted into the wire insertion hole. The contact state between the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire and the inner peripheral surface of the wire insertion hole can be maintained. Thus, since the terminal cover of the present invention is formed hard on the outer peripheral side of the softly formed portion around the electric wire, the waterproofness around the electric wire is reduced due to deformation or expansion without increasing the number of parts. Can be prevented.

  In this case, it is preferable that the adherend portion is formed to have an inclined portion whose outer peripheral surface expands toward the base portion. According to this, since the terminal cover is formed by projecting the hard part of the base in the radial direction, the base formed by the terminal cover is held at a predetermined part of the housing in which the terminal cover is accommodated. Thus, the terminal cover can be easily held.

  By the way, in order to pass the electric wire exposed from the multicore cable through the electric wire insertion hole of the terminal cover, it is necessary to visually recognize the position of the electric wire insertion hole from the opening on the side opposite to the base of the attachment portion. When the total length of the portion becomes long, it becomes difficult to see the electric wire insertion hole from the opening side, and it becomes difficult to pass the electric wire through the electric wire insertion hole. Therefore, it is assumed that a notch extending in the axial direction from the end surface opposite to the base is formed in the adherend. According to this, since the entire length of the adherend portion can be easily shortened by folding the adherend portion outward through the notch portion, the operation of passing the electric wire is facilitated.

  The connector of the present invention includes a housing for holding the terminal cover, and the housing is formed by combining a pair of halves, and each half projects from the inner surface of each half. It has the protrusion which presses the outer peripheral surface of the base part of a terminal cover body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to this, the terminal cover can be held in the housing by pressing the hard outer peripheral surface of the base of the terminal cover with the protrusion. In this case, since the terminal cover body is not deformed even when the outer peripheral surface of the base portion is pressed, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the sealing performance around the electric wire. Therefore, according to the connector of the present invention, since the terminal cover can be held in the housing by pressing the protrusion directly against the base of the terminal cover, the terminal cover can be easily held. Since no part is required to hold the terminal cover in the housing, the connector can be downsized and the degree of design freedom can be improved.

  In addition, instead of the above-mentioned protrusions, each half-divided body protrudes from the inner surface of each half-divided body and comes into contact with the end face on the base side of the terminal cover, and from the inner surface of each half-divided body It has a 2nd protrusion part which protrudes and presses the outer peripheral surface of a to-be-adhered part.

  According to this, it is possible to position (press-fit or the like) a relatively hard part of the base portion of the terminal cover between the first and second protrusions and hold the terminal cover in the housing. Therefore, the holding power of the terminal cover can be increased.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the connector which hold | maintains the terminal cover body which can suppress the fall of the waterproofness of the terminal part by expansion | swelling or a deformation | transformation, and this terminal cover body can be provided, without increasing a number of parts.

It is a figure which shows the structure inside the charging connector to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the state which mounted | wore the terminal cover to the terminal part of a multicore cable. It is the perspective view which looked at the terminal cover body from the front. It is sectional drawing of a terminal cover.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a terminal cover to which the present invention is applied and a connector for holding the terminal cover will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a charging connector 11 that is a connector to which the present invention is applied. The charging connector 11 is fitted with a mating connector (not shown) mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle, and is for charging a battery mounted on the vehicle. The connector to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the charging connector, and can be applied to various connectors such as a power feeding connector that is mounted on the vehicle side and supplies power to devices outside the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the charging connector 11 includes a pair of resin halves 13 and 13 (one is omitted) forming a connector housing (not shown) and a charging terminal to which a plurality of electric wires W1 are connected. (Not shown) when the connector main body 15 accommodated in the case, the rubber terminal cover 17 attached to the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2, and the mating connector and the connector main body 15 are fitted. And a locking mechanism 19 that prevents the mutual separation.

  The pair of halves 13 and 13 are formed symmetrically with respect to the dividing surface, and form a connector housing by overlapping and combining the dividing surfaces. Below, the direction (left side of FIG. 1) connected with the other party connector of the charge connector 11 is made into the front, and the direction (right side of FIG. 1) from which the multi-core cable W2 is pulled out is demonstrated as back.

  The halved body 13 includes a main body accommodating portion 21 that accommodates the connector main body 15, a cable accommodating portion 23 that accommodates the multi-core cable W2, and a plurality of electric wires W1 exposed from the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2. 15, and a lock accommodating portion 27 that accommodates the lock mechanism 19 above the main body accommodating portion 21 and the electric wire accommodating portion 25.

  The connector main body 15 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and a positioning groove 29c formed between two locking ribs 29a and 29b protruding in the circumferential direction from the outer peripheral surface is formed at the front end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the main body accommodating portion 21. The ring-shaped protruding portion 31 is engaged and positioned. The connector body 15 is provided so that the front side of the protrusion 31 protrudes forward of the body housing part 21, and when the charging connector 11 is fitted to the mating connector, the charging terminal is connected to the mating terminal. It has become.

  The electric wire accommodating portion 25 of the half-divided body 13 forms a handle that is held by an operator. Two ribs 33a and 33b (first and second protrusions) corresponding to the outer peripheral surface of the multicore cable W2 are provided in the cable housing portion 23 so as to protrude from the inner peripheral surface at a predetermined interval. In the vicinity of the opening 35 through which the multicore cable W2 of the cable housing portion 23 is extracted to the outside, a groove portion 35a for housing the annular holding member 37 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the multicore cable W2 is formed.

  The lock mechanism 19 accommodated in the lock accommodating portion 27 includes a lock arm 39, a lock claw 41 provided at the front end of the lock arm 39 and engaging the mating connector, and a lock arm 19 provided at the rear end of the lock arm 39. A lock operation unit 43 for operating the arm 39 and a coil spring 45 for urging the lock arm 39 to return to the set position are provided.

  By the way, this type of charging connector 11 is held with, for example, a gap between the split surfaces of the halves 13 and 13, a gap between the connector main body 15 and the main body accommodating portion 21, or an opening 35 of the cable accommodating portion 23. Water may enter the inside through a gap with the member 37 or the like. In this case, for example, the water that has entered the electric wire housing part 25 may enter the inner side of the outer sheath of the multicore cable W2 through the electric wire W1.

  Further, when the charging connector 11 is used, if an external force in the pulling direction or an external force in the rotating direction acts on the multicore cable W2, the terminal portion of the multicore cable W2 accommodated in the connector housing may move inside the connector housing. is there. In this case, in the charging connector 11 described above, the holding member 37 is attached to the multicore cable W2, but the holding member 37 holds the multicore cable W2 extracted from the opening 35 in the opening 35. However, it does not restrict the axial movement or rotation of the multi-core cable W2. Therefore, when the multi-core cable W2 moves inside the connector housing, the electric wire W1 exposed from the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2 may be disconnected or twisted.

  Hereinafter, the structure of the characteristic part of this embodiment which solves such a problem is demonstrated.

  2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the terminal cover 17 is attached to the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the terminal cover 17 as viewed from the front, and FIG. 4 is a cross-section of the terminal cover 17 FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the terminal cover body 17 is made of an elastic material (for example, synthetic rubber), and has a base portion 47 formed in a disk shape and a cylindrical shape standing from the periphery of the base portion 47. And an attaching portion 49 attached to the end portion of the multi-core cable W2.

  The base 47 has a plurality of wire insertion holes 51 through which the plurality of wires W1 exposed from the terminal portion of the multicore cable W2 are respectively inserted. As shown in FIG. 4, each electric wire insertion hole 51 is provided with a plurality of annular lips 53 that press the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire W1 inserted through the electric wire insertion hole 51 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. Each of the electric wire insertion holes 51 is not set to have the same inner diameter, but the inner diameter dimension is set according to the outer diameter of the inserted electric wire W1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the adherend portion 49 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a thickness smaller than the thickness of the base portion 47, the outer peripheral side (outer peripheral portion 55) of the base portion 47 is set to the maximum outer diameter, and the outer peripheral portion 55. It has the inclined part 57 whose outer peripheral surface expands toward. In the adherend portion 49, a plurality of annular lips 59 that press the outer covering of the multi-core cable W <b> 2 are provided on the inner peripheral surface behind the inclined portion 57 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. Further, the adherend portion 49 includes an annular bulging portion 59 that bulges in the circumferential direction from the outer peripheral surface of the rear end portion on the side opposite to the base portion 47, and a pair of notches extending forward in the axial direction from the rear end. Parts 61 and 61 (only one is shown).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal cover body 17 of the present embodiment is formed of a relatively soft material (a material having a relatively high elasticity) around the wire insertion hole 51 formed in the base 47. The outer peripheral portion 55 (the outer peripheral side of the dotted line L in FIG. 4) located on the outer peripheral side is formed of a relatively hard material (a material having a relatively low elasticity). That is, the base 47 has higher hardness on the outer side than on the inner side. In addition, the adherend portion 49 that rises in a cylindrical shape from the base portion 47 is formed of the same material as the outer peripheral portion 55 of the base portion 47 and has the same hardness as the outer peripheral portion 55. Thus, the terminal cover body 17 is formed having a relatively soft portion that forms the inside of the base portion 47 and a relatively hard portion that surrounds the periphery of the terminal cover body 17 in an annular shape.

  Such a terminal cover body 17 can be formed by two-color molding using two kinds of materials having different hardnesses, but can also be formed by bonding two parts molded in advance with different materials. . In addition, the material which forms the terminal cover body 17 is not restricted to a synthetic rubber, If it has predetermined elasticity, it can also form with another material. For example, the lower hardness may be formed of an elastomer or the like.

  Next, the structure which hold | maintains the terminal cover body 17 mentioned above in each half body 13 (connector housing) is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a pair of ribs 33a and 33b protruding from the inner surface of the cable housing portion 23 of the half body 13a are provided. A gap G that accommodates the base 47 of the terminal cover 17 is formed between the ribs 33a and 33b, and the width dimension in the axial direction of the gap G is equal to or greater than the axial thickness of the base 47. It is set small.

  Each of the ribs 33a and 33b is formed with a semicircular groove. Each of these grooves is formed to have a diameter smaller than the outer diameter dimension of the base portion 47, and the diameter of the groove of the rib 33 b is a size corresponding to the inclined portion 57 of the terminal cover body 17 (of the inclined portion 57. The predetermined position is set to a size that can be pressed in the circumferential direction). When the halves 13a and 13a are combined, the ribs 33a and 33b form a circular opening having a size through which all the electric wires W1 exposed from the multicore cable W2 pass between the pair of ribs 33a and 33a. A circular opening is formed between the pair of ribs 33b and 33b to sandwich the inclined portion 57 of the terminal cover 17.

  Next, the procedure for holding the multicore cable W2 in the half body 13 and the operation of the terminal cover will be described.

  First, the terminal cover body 17 is attached to the terminal portion of the multicore cable W2 through which the holding member 37 is inserted. After the terminal cover 17 inserts the plurality of electric wires W1 exposed from the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2 from the rear end portion of the adherend portion 49 to the inside of the adherend portion 49 and passes through the wire insertion hole 51, respectively. It is attached by covering the terminal part with the attaching part 49.

  At this time, the terminal cover body 17 grips the bulging portion 59, folds the adherend portion 49 divided into two in the circumferential direction by the pair of cutout portions 61, 61, respectively, and the axial direction of the adherend portion 49 By shortening the length, the wire insertion hole 51 becomes easy to see, and the work of passing the wire W1 through the wire insertion hole 51 becomes easy.

  The terminal cover body 17 in which the electric wires W1 are passed through the electric wire insertion holes 51 moves to the outer sheath side of the multi-core cable W2 along the electric wires W1 by pulling out the electric wires W1 from the electric wire insertion holes 51. The covering portion 49 is put on the covering. Thereby, since the some lip 59 presses an outer coating over the perimeter, the clearance gap between the coating part 49 and an outer coating is sealed watertight. In this embodiment, since the adherend portion 49 is formed to be relatively hard, even when an external force is applied to the adherend portion 49 via the multicore cable W2, the close contact state between the lip 59 and the outer covering is maintained. Can be secured.

  On the other hand, since the periphery of the wire insertion hole 51 of the base 47 is formed relatively softly, each of the electric wires W1 passed through the wire insertion hole 51 has a plurality of lip 53 and an outer peripheral surface (covering surface of the wire). It is pressed over the circumference. Thereby, the clearance gap between the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire W1 and the lip | rip 53 is sealed watertight.

  As described above, the multicore cable W2 is waterproofed by attaching the terminal cover 17 to the terminal portion, and water can be prevented from entering inside the outer coating of the multicore cable W2. .

  Next, the terminal cover body 17 attached to the multicore cable W2 is assembled to the half body 13. The multi-core cable W2 is assembled by assembling the holding member 37 attached to the outer sheath into the groove portion 35a of the half body 13, and then press-fitting the base portion 47 of the terminal cover body 17 into the gap G between the ribs 33a and 33b. In the terminal cover body 17 in which the base portion 47 is press-fitted into the gap G, the front end surface (the end surface on the base portion 47 side of the terminal cover body 17) is brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the groove of the rib 33a, and the inclined portion 57 is placed in the groove of the rib 33b. Is assembled. Thereby, the terminal cover body 17 is clamped so that both end surfaces in the axial direction of the outer peripheral portion 55 formed relatively hard are pressed against the ribs 33a and 33b, respectively.

  Subsequently, the other half 13 is combined with the half 13 holding the terminal cover 17. As a result, the outer peripheral portion 55 of the base portion 47 is sandwiched and held between a wall formed by contacting the pair of ribs 33a and 33a and a wall formed by contacting the pair of ribs 33b and 33b. The Here, since the outer peripheral portion 55 is formed to be relatively hard and has a large elastic restoring force when pressed, the outer peripheral portion 55 is pressed between the ribs 33a and 33b of the respective halves 13 and is interposed between the ribs 33a and 33b. Retained. As a result, the terminal cover 17 held by the connector housing is restricted from rotating in the rotational direction and the axial direction, and as a result, the rotational direction and the axial movement of the terminal portion of the multi-core cable W2 are also restricted. .

  Moreover, although the base 55 is press-fitted between the ribs 33a and 33b, the terminal cover 17 of this embodiment can suppress deformation of the base 55 because the base 55 is formed hard. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the sealing performance around the electric wire W <b> 1 due to the deformation of the terminal cover 17 around the base 55. That is, according to the present embodiment, for example, the terminal cover body 17 can be prevented from being deformed or expanded without surrounding the terminal cover body 17 using another member (for example, a synthetic resin member). Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the present embodiment, by attaching the terminal cover 17 to the terminal portion of the multicore cable W2, the terminal portion of the multicore cable W2 can be waterproofed. Since it can hold | maintain in the predetermined position of the body 13, the motion of the terminal part of the multi-core cable W2 can be suppressed. Thereby, since the twist of the electric wire W1 in the inside of a connector housing and the movement of the extraction | drawer direction can be suppressed and a disconnection etc. of the electric wire W1 can be prevented, durability of the charge connector 11 can be improved. In addition, according to the present embodiment, the ribs 33a and 33b formed in the connector housing can be directly pressed against the terminal cover body 17, and thus the structure for holding the terminal cover body 17 on the connector housing is simplified. The connector can be downsized and the degree of design freedom can be improved.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, since the terminal cover 17 has the inclined part 57, the outer peripheral part 55 formed hard of the base part 47 can be formed by projecting in the radial direction. Therefore, by pressing the rib 33b against the outer peripheral surface of the inclined portion 57, for example, the hard outer peripheral portion 55 can be hooked and locked on the rib 33b. Although the inclined portion 57 is not essential, the terminal cover 17 has a tapered surface on the outer peripheral surface of the adherend portion 49 so that the outer diameter size of the base portion 47 is larger than the outer diameter size of the adherend portion 49. It is preferable to form a stepped portion.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and can be changed or modified within the scope of the claims.

  For example, in the present embodiment, an example in which the adherend portion 49 that rises in a cylindrical shape from the base portion 47 of the terminal cover body 17 is formed to be harder than the periphery of the wire insertion hole 51, like the outer peripheral portion 55 of the base portion 47. However, if at least the outer peripheral portion 55 is formed to be harder than the periphery of the wire insertion hole 51, the hardness of the adherend portion 49 can be reduced. However, since the adherend portion 49 is easily affected by external force via the multi-core cable W2, the outer peripheral portion 55 is required to maintain a high sealing performance between the outer sheath of the multi-core cable W2 and the adherend portion 49. It is preferable that it is formed with the same hardness.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the ribs 33a and 33b protruding from the inner peripheral surface of the half body 13 are formed in a shape having a circular groove, but the rib 33a is at least the base 47 of the terminal cover 17. If the end surface has a side surface that abuts, the circular groove may not be provided, and the rib 33b may include at least a protrusion that presses the adherend portion 49 (inclined portion 57). For example, the circular groove may not be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Charging connector 13 Half body 17 Terminal cover body 33a, 33b Rib 47 Base part 49 Adhered part 51 Electric wire insertion hole 57 Inclination part 61 Notch part W1 Electric wire W2 Multicore cable

Claims (5)

A base portion formed in a disc shape, and an attachment portion that stands up in a cylindrical shape from the periphery of the base portion and is attached to the terminal portion of the multicore cable,
The base and the adherend are formed of an elastic material,
The terminal cover has a plurality of wire insertion holes through which the plurality of electric wires exposed from the terminal portion are inserted, and the outer peripheral side is formed to be harder than the periphery of the wire insertion hole.   The terminal covering according to claim 1, wherein the adherend is formed with an inclined portion whose outer peripheral surface diameter increases toward the base.   The terminal cover according to claim 1, wherein the adherend is formed with a notch extending in an axial direction from an end surface opposite to the base. In the connector provided with the housing holding the terminal cover according to claim 1,
The housing is formed by combining a pair of halves, and each of the halves has a protrusion that protrudes from the inner surface of each of the halves and presses the outer peripheral surface of the base of the terminal cover. Connector. In the connector provided with the housing holding the terminal cover according to claim 1,
The housing is formed by combining a pair of halves, and each of the halves projects from an inner surface of each of the halves, and a first protrusion that abuts the end surface of the terminal cover on the base side And a second protrusion that protrudes from the inner surface of each halved body and presses the outer peripheral surface of the adherend.

Images