JP2725672B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector, and more particularly, to a waterproof connector used in a place where rainwater enters, such as an engine room of an automobile. The present invention relates to a waterproof connector having means for confirming that a terminal is housed and locked in a predetermined position of a terminal housing chamber provided in a connector housing and for maintaining the locked state. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional connector of this kind is disclosed, for example, in European Patent Application No. 91,770. In this connector, as shown in FIG. 8, a cantilever-shaped elastic arm 37 protruding from the inner surface is provided in a housing chamber 36 of a connector housing 35, and a projection provided at a free end of the elastic arm 37 is provided. 38 is locked to the step of the terminal inserted into the accommodation chamber 36 by utilizing the bending of the elastic arm 37,
The terminal is held at a predetermined position in the accommodation room 36. The accommodation room 36 is provided with a space in which the elastic arm 37 is displaced by bending. Also,
On the side of the rear portion 39 of the housing 35, there is provided a comb-shaped retainer 40 that can be inserted with the terminal housed in a predetermined position and that prevents the terminal from coming off after being inserted. On the other hand, a peripheral wall 43 which forms an outer shell of the connector housing 41 which is paired with the connector housing 35
A seal ring 42 is wound thereon, and the seal rings 42 seal the housings 35 and 41. The seal ring 42 is engaged with the concave portion 44 in a state where the concave portion 44 is fitted in a rib 45 provided on the peripheral wall 43. [0004] By the way, in the case of wiring of an automobile or the like, a plurality of pairs of connectors having the same number of poles may be used at the same place. Some of them are formed so that the housing shapes or colors of the mating connectors are different from each other and are provided for use. [0005] In the above-described connector, since the housings or colors of the mating connectors are different from each other, the connectors cannot be shared. However, there is a problem that the number of parts increases. The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems in the conventional connector. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a terminal connected to the end of an electric wire, a connector housing having therein accommodation rooms for accommodating the terminals, and a front part of the connector housing. A cap that is detachably covered and locked, has a window for inserting a mating terminal on the bottom wall thereof, and has a concave groove extending in the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The cap is prepared by changing the position of the concave groove and / or the number of grooves, and corresponds to the convex line provided at the fitting portion of the mating connector housing to be fitted with the connector housing. A connector having a configuration in which a cap having a concave groove is selectively used. In the connector according to the present invention, the cap is prepared by changing the position of the concave groove and / or the number of grooves as the cap, and the mating connector housing fitted with the connector housing is prepared. By selecting and using a cap having a concave groove corresponding to the convex line provided in the fitting portion of the above, by changing the type of cap covered with the connector housing, a mating connector is selected and fitted. be able to. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state before assembling a connector according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a pair of housing chambers 2 and 2 'for housing terminals 12 and 12', respectively. This is a connector housing having an annular convex portion 4 provided thereon. A housing 1 is provided between the accommodation chambers 2 and 2 '.
Is formed in a pocket portion 9 opening forward. Each of the storage chambers 2, 2 'and the pocket portion 9 are partitioned by a side wall 6 forming a partition. On the rear side of the side wall 6, a hook-shaped protrusion 5 protruding toward the storage chambers 2, 2 'is provided. A window 10 is formed at the rear end of the side wall 6 to communicate from the pocket 9 to the storage chambers 2, 2 '.
The front portion of the opening end of the window 10 is a locking step portion 11 which is recessed from the pocket portion 9 side to the accommodation chamber 2, 2 'side. In the present invention, the locking step 1 is not always required.
1 does not need to be formed at the opening end of the window 10, but may be formed at the stepped portion of the portion depressed from the pocket 9 side. At a position facing the side wall 6 of the outer peripheral wall of the housing 1 with the storage chambers 2 and 2 'therebetween, a piece having a free end portion 7 which can be displaced to the outside is provided at a position corresponding to the projection 5. An elastic arm 8 in the form of a beam is provided. The elastic arm 8 has a function of detecting half-fitting of the terminals 12, 12 'described later, and also has a function as a partition wall between the storage chambers 2, 2' and the outside. Reference numeral 14 denotes a cap provided with a waterproof function, which is covered by the front part of the connector housing 1. The cap 14 includes a bottom wall portion 15 and a peripheral wall portion 16. Bottom wall 1
5 has a pair of windows 17, 17 '. Further, from the portion between the windows 17 and 17 'of the bottom wall portion 15, it extends in the opening direction of the cap 14, and at least the tip portion becomes bifurcated, and the hook portions 18 and 18' A flexible arm 19 having a projection is provided. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the cap 14, two concave grooves 26, 26 'running in the axial direction are provided. When the cap 14 is covered with the front part of the connector housing 1, the peripheral wall 16
However, it is configured such that it is located on the displacement point of the free end portion 7 of the elastic arm 8 described above. The cap 14 covers the connector housing 1 so as to form an annular concave portion 21 between the open end 20 and the annular convex portion 4 provided on the peripheral wall 3 at the central portion of the connector housing. Make up. Further, the cap 14 is fitted into the fitting portion 28 of the mating connector 27 (see FIG. 4) while being covered with the connector housing 1, and the mating connector 27
Of the cap 14 on the outer peripheral surface of the cap 14
The same number of protrusions 29 as 6 are provided at corresponding positions. In this embodiment, the cap is provided with two concave grooves, but in the present invention, the number of concave grooves is not particularly limited. For example, FIG. 5 (A) (B), FIG. 6
FIGS. 5A and 5B show the correspondence between the concave groove and the convex groove provided at the fitting portion of the connector, respectively.
In FIG. 6B, the number is two, and in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the number is one. Reference numeral 22 denotes a rubber seal ring wound around the peripheral wall of the connector housing 1. The seal ring 22 is fitted from the front of the housing 1 to a position where the seal ring 22 comes into contact with the annular projection 4, and is formed between the open end 20 of the cap 14 and the annular projection 4 covered with the front of the housing 1 in a later step. while
(Annular recess), and movement in the axial direction is regulated. Reference numerals 23, 23 'denote lead wires connected to the electric wire gripping portions 24 of the terminals 12, 12' described above. Reference numerals 25, 25 'denote rubber plugs which are attached to the lead wires 23, 23', and whose narrow portions are gripped by the covering grips 24a, 24a 'of the wire grip 24 described above. This rubber stopper 2
5, 25 'is the terminal 12, 12'
Is sealed in the accommodation chambers 2, 2 'while the rear openings of the accommodation chambers 2, 2' are sealed. Next, an operation of assembling the connector having the above-described configuration according to the present embodiment will be described. First, the terminals 12, 12 'are inserted from the rear of the accommodation chambers 2, 2', respectively. During the insertion, the terminals 12, 12 'ride on the protrusions 5 as shown in FIG. Then, the free end portion 7 of the elastic arm 8 is pushed up to the outside of the accommodation chamber 2, 2 'and enters. When the terminals 12, 12 'enter the predetermined positions, the protrusions 5 are fitted into the recessed portions 13 of the terminals 12, 12', and the free end portion 7 of the elastic arm 8 is in the original state, that is, the accommodation chamber 2 , 2 '. Before and after the above operation, a seal ring is wound around the peripheral wall of the housing. Next, the cap 14 is put on the front part of the connector housing 1. The hooks 18, 18 'are the locking steps 1.
1, so that the cap 14 is fixedly locked to the connector housing 1. Since the hook portions 18, 18 'and the locking portion of the locking step portion 11 are arranged in the pocket portion 9, no direct force is applied from the outside, and the cap 14
Is not removed from the connector housing 1. When the cap 14 is covered as described above, the peripheral wall 16 of the cap 14 is configured to be located on the displacement point of the free end portion 7 of the elastic arm 8 described above. 12 and 12 'do not fit in the predetermined positions of the storage chambers 2 and 2',
When the protruding portion 5 is not fitted, that is, when the free end portion 7 is on the protruding portion 5 and is displaced to the outside, the cap 14 contacts the free end portion 7. Contact, making it impossible to cover (see Fig. 2). By confirming this situation, the operator confirms that the terminals 12, 12 'are not sufficiently inserted into the accommodation chambers 2, 2'. In the present embodiment, the protrusions 5 provided on the side wall 6 are fitted into the recesses of the terminals 12, 12 'as described above, while the terminals 12, 12' are engaged with the elastic arm 8. Therefore, even if a force is applied to pull out the terminals 12 and 12 ′ by pulling the lead wire 23 or the like, the protrusion 5
Does not bend, and no force acts on the elastic arm.
Therefore, the terminals 12, 12 'do not rattle due to the pulling force, and the elastic arm 8 does not break or break. The mating connector is connected with the cap 14 fixed to the connector housing 11 as described above. At this time, since the mating connector has a ridge corresponding to the concave groove 26 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cap 14, if the concave groove 26 does not correspond to the convex, the two connectors are connected. Can not do it. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent a worker from confusing a connector to be connected. Further, in the connector of the present embodiment, a paired connector can be specified by the correspondence between the concave groove 26 and the convex line, so that even when connectors having the same number of poles are used in the same place, the cap can be used. The housing itself can be shared if the number and arrangement of the grooves are different. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, a locking projection 31 may be provided on the mating connector 27 and the distal ends of the lock arms 30 may be locked on the locking projections 31 to hold the connectors in a coupled state. As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the number of the concave grooves provided on the cap and the number of the convex grooves provided on the mating portion of the mating connector correspond to each other. In the case where connectors having the same number of poles are used in the same place in wiring of an automobile or the like, a pair of connectors can be specified by the corresponding relationship between the concave groove and the convex line, so that the housing is shared. And cost can be reduced. Since the seal ring is gripped between the annular projection on the central peripheral wall of the housing and the open end of the cap, it is possible to prevent the seal ring from deviating from a predetermined position even when the connectors are inserted and removed. . Also, if the terminal is not accommodated in a predetermined position in the accommodation room,
Since the cap cannot be covered by the front part of the housing, the operator can confirm in advance that the terminal is half-inserted. Further, a hook provided at the distal end of the flexible arm protruding from the bottom wall of the cap is engaged with an engaging step provided on a side wall for partitioning the pocket and the accommodation chamber, and the cap is connected to the connector housing. Since the locking portion is housed in the pocket portion, no force is applied directly from the outside, and the cap can be firmly mounted on the connector housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a state before assembling a connector according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which the connector is being assembled. FIG. 3 is a partially broken perspective view showing a state after the connector is assembled. FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view showing a state before the connector is connected to a mating connector. 5 (A) and 5 (B) show a correspondence relationship in the case where the number of concave grooves and the number of convex grooves provided in each of the fitting portion of the connector according to the present invention and the fitting portion of the mating connector are two. FIG. 4 is a front view of the respective connectors, which shows the same. FIGS. 6A and 6B are front views of respective connectors showing a corresponding relationship when the number of the concave groove and the number of the convex groove are each one. FIG. 7 is an exploded sectional view showing another embodiment for connecting the connector to a mating connector via a cap. FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional connector. [Description of Signs] 1 ... Connector housing 2 ... Terminal accommodation chamber 3 ... Central peripheral wall 4 ... Circular projection 5 ... Protrusion 6 ... Side wall 7 ... Free end portion 8 ... Elastic arm 9 ... Pocket 10 ... Window 11 Locking step 12 Terminal 13 Depressed portion 14 Cap 15 Bottom wall 16 Peripheral wall 17 Window 18 Hook 19 Flexible arm 20 Open end 21 Annular recess 22 Seal ring 23 Lead wire 24 ... wire gripping part 24a ... sheath gripping part 25 ... rubber stopper 26 ... concave strip 27 ... mating connector 28 ... fitting part 29 ... convex strip 30 ... lock arm 31 ... locking projection

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A terminal connected to the end of the electric wire, a connector housing having an accommodation chamber for accommodating each of the terminals, and a detachably covered and locked front portion of the connector housing, and a counterpart on the bottom wall thereof. A cap having a terminal insertion window and having a groove extending in the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface thereof is provided, and the cap determines the position of the groove and / or the number of grooves. A different cap is prepared, and a cap having a concave groove corresponding to a convex ridge provided in a fitting portion of a mating connector housing to be fitted with the connector housing is selectively used. And connectors.