JP3064889B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof connector having a waterproof function for a private room.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector used in a place exposed to the outside and easily exposed to moisture, such as a connector used in a motorcycle, requires a strong waterproof structure. For example, in a normal waterproof connector, a rubber plug provided at the rear of the terminal fitting is fitted to the entrance of the terminal accommodating chamber, and a seal ring is interposed at a fitting portion of the male and female housings, so that water from outside the housing is provided. In addition, when the other end of the wire drawn from the connector is exposed to moisture, water flows through the wire due to the capillary phenomenon and leaks into the terminal accommodating chamber. There is a risk of short-circuiting between matching terminal fittings. Therefore, it is necessary to perform so-called private room waterproofing, which seals the space between each terminal accommodating chamber.

Conventionally, the following is known as an example of such a waterproof connector having a waterproof function for a private room. The female connector housing is provided with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers, and their distal ends are formed in a separated shape with a gap therebetween, while the mating male connector housing has the terminal accommodating chambers. A fitting recess is formed in which the leading ends are fitted together. Further, the seal member is formed so as to cover around the distal end portion of all the terminal accommodating chambers and to be attached so as to fill the gap. A groove into which the provided entrance is inserted is formed.

When the female housing on which such a sealing member is mounted is fitted into the fitting recess of the male housing, the outer peripheral portion of the sealing member is sandwiched between the terminal receiving chamber and the fitting recess. Then, the housing is sealed between the housings, and the insertion portion is inserted while widening the groove, and the portion buried in the gap is pressed around each independent terminal housing. Is to be sealed.

[0005]

However, in the prior art, the outer peripheral surface of the seal member contacts almost the entire inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess of the male housing, and the contact area between the entry portion and the groove is large. Because of this structure, the frictional resistance at the time of fitting the two housings is large, so that a large fitting force is required, and the workability is poor. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a waterproof connector capable of reducing a fitting operation force without impairing a waterproof function between both housings and a private room waterproof function.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is to provide a female connector housing provided with a plurality of terminal receiving chambers for receiving female terminal fittings. A fitting recess is provided in which the female connector housing is fitted inside, and a male terminal fitting connected to each of the female terminal fittings is housed in a state of protruding into the fitting recess. Side connector housing, and a sealing member that can be mounted around the female side connector housing, by sandwiching the sealing member between the fitting recess, between the two connector housings and the female side connector A waterproof connector capable of sealing between the respective terminal accommodating chambers of the housing, wherein the sealing member has a lengthwise direction.
The large-diameter portion on the rear end side fits inside the fitting recess.
And the connector housing is sealed.
The terminal of the sealing member is pinched so that each terminal
The space between the accommodation chambers is sealed, and the end of the sealing member is
A small diameter portion between the sealing portion between the child accommodation chambers and the large diameter portion.
Is formed, and the two connector housings are fitted to each other.
In this case, the outer circumference of the small diameter portion is closed to the inner circumference of the fitting recess.
It has a feature in that it is configured to correspond with a clearance .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, each terminal accommodating chamber of the female connector housing is
At least the distal end side is formed in a separated shape with a gap therebetween, and on the distal end side of the sealing member, a cap portion which separately covers the separated portions of the respective terminal accommodating chambers and opens an insertion port of the male terminal fitting. A lip is provided on the outer periphery of each cap portion, and a lip is squeezed between the lip and the inner side of the fitting recess to seal the terminal accommodating chambers. It is characterized by

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a covering portion that covers the distal end surface of each of the terminal accommodating chambers and that opens the insertion opening of the male terminal fitting is provided on the distal end surface of the seal member. A lip is formed around each insertion opening on the surface of the cover portion, and the lip is crushed between the lip and the inner surface of the fitting concave portion, whereby each of the terminal accommodating chambers is formed. It is characterized in that it is configured to seal between spaces.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second or third aspect of the present invention, the seal member is separately formed into a front end side and a rear end side clamping portion. ,
It is characterized in that the front-side clamping portion is made of a softer material than the rear-side clamping portion.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the seal member is pressed only at the front end and the rear end thereof.
Each is designed to provide waterproofing between the housing and waterproofing in the private room, and a gap is provided between the pinching portions and the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess. Can reduce frictional resistance at
There is an effect that the fitting operation can be performed smoothly.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the lip provided on the outer periphery of the cap portion is crushed for waterproofing the private room, the frictional resistance at the time of fitting can be reduced while ensuring the waterproofness of the private room. it can. According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the lip provided around the insertion opening is crushed to perform the waterproofing of the private room, the frictional resistance at the time of fitting can be suppressed small while the waterproofing of the private room is secured. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the clamping portion for waterproofing the private room can be more easily deformed, and the fitting force can be further reduced.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the waterproof connector of the present embodiment is roughly divided into a female connector housing 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a female housing) and a male connector housing 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as a male housing).
And a seal member 3.

The female housing 1 is formed of a synthetic resin material and has a flat and horizontally long shape. On the front surface (the left side in FIG. 2) of the main body 5, eight housing cylinders 6 each of which is divided into upper and lower stages are shown.
The terminal housings 7 are formed from the inside of the main body 5 to the respective housing cylinders 6 so as to form gaps therebetween and to be alternately arranged in the upper and lower steps. A female terminal fitting 9 fixed to the terminal of the electric wire 8 is inserted from the rear side into each terminal accommodating chamber 7, and a waterproof rubber plug 10 fixed to the rear of the female terminal fitting 9 is provided at the entrance of the terminal accommodating chamber 7. , And is locked by a lance 11 provided on the bottom side of the terminal accommodating chamber 7, so that the terminal accommodating chamber 7 is accommodated in a retaining state.

At the base of the housing cylinder 6, all the housing cylinders 6
The peripheral surface portion 13 is formed so as to continuously cover the outside of the housing. Further, a hood portion 14 is formed from the front surface of the main body portion 5 to a region forward of the tip of the housing cylinder portion 6, and a lock arm 15 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the hood portion 14 in the width direction. I have. The lock arm 15 is for locking in a fitted state when the lock arm 15 is fitted to the male housing 2 described later, and is swingable around a fulcrum 16 and provided on the upper surface of the male housing 2. A locking hole 18 is provided for fitting and locking the formed projection 17.

The male housing 2 is formed of a synthetic resin material into a shape that can be tightly fitted into the hood portion 14 of the female housing 1 described above. This male housing 2
A fitting recess 21 is formed in the front surface of the female housing 1 so that all the housing cylinders 6 of the female housing 1 can be fitted together inside. The inner peripheral side of the fitting concave portion 21 has a flat thin shape with a predetermined dimension on the distal end side, and gradually becomes thicker from there toward a little toward the far end, and becomes flat thick on the far end side. It is formed in a stepped shape.

A total of 16 terminal insertion holes 26 are provided in the upper and lower two stages in the back surface of the fitting recess 21 of the male housing 2 so as to correspond to the positions of the respective housing cylinders 6 of the female housing 1. Is formed. An L-shaped male terminal fitting 27 is press-fitted from the rear side into each terminal insertion hole 26, protrudes by a predetermined dimension into the fitting recess 21, and can be connected to the corresponding female terminal fitting 9. Housed in state. The other end of each male terminal fitting 27 projects downward from the rear surface of the male housing 2 and is lowered downward to the same height. The male housing 2 is provided with mounting portions 28 provided at both ends of the rear surface.
, The lower end of each male terminal fitting 27 is connected to a contact on the board by soldering or the like.

Next, the seal member 3 will be described.
The sealing member 3 is made of rubber, and is formed in a cap shape that can be tightly covered from the front surface to the outer peripheral portion of the entire housing cylinder 6 of the female housing 1. For details,
As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end side (the right side in FIG. 3) is a large-diameter portion 31 that is fitted to the outer periphery of the peripheral surface portion 13 formed at the base of the housing cylinder portion 6, and has a large diameter. The outer peripheral surface of the portion 31 is the thin portion 22 of the fitting concave portion 21 of the male housing 2.
The three lips 32
Are formed.

A portion ahead of the large diameter portion 31 is a small diameter portion 33 having a small outer peripheral surface. A cap portion 34 to be separately fitted is provided. When the male and female housings 1 and 2 are fitted, the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 33 has a clearance 38 between the male and female housings 1 and 2 with the tapered portion 23 of the fitting concave portion 21 of the male housing 2. (See FIG. 5).

The caps 34 are formed with a gap 35 around each other, and an opening 36 through which the male terminal fitting 27 can be inserted is opened in the front surface. The outer periphery of the front end portion of each cap portion 34 is formed in a tapered shape gradually expanding toward the rear end side, and a lip 37 is formed by the skirt portion.

On the other hand, on the inner surface of the fitting concave portion 21 of the male housing 2, each cap portion 3 of the seal member 3 described above is provided.
An entry portion 39 that can enter the gap 35 between the projections 4 is protruded. The entry portion 39 crushes the lip 37 and
Is entered. The lip 37 on the outside of each cap portion 34 is pressed against the thick portion 24 of the fitting recess 21.

The first embodiment has the above structure, and the assembling procedure will be described below. First, female housing 1
A female terminal fitting 9 fixed to the terminal of the electric wire 8 and a waterproof rubber plug 10 are inserted and accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 7. Each terminal accommodating chamber 7 is sealed from the outside by the waterproof rubber stopper 10. Subsequently, each housing cylinder 6 of the female housing 1
As shown by the arrow in FIG.
Is fitted. As shown in FIG. 4, the seal member 3 is attached in close contact with the outer surface of each of the housing cylinder portions 6 including the peripheral surface portion 13 and in close contact with the space between the distal ends of the housing cylinder portions 6 while filling the gaps. You.

Next, the female housing 1 on which the seal member 3 is mounted as described above is fitted toward the male housing 2 fixed to the printed wiring board as shown by the arrow in FIG. The female housing 1 is pushed in while sandwiching the seal member 3 between the inner peripheral surface of the fitting concave portion 21 and when the front surface of the cap portion 34 abuts against the inner surface of the fitting concave portion 21 as shown in FIG. , The pushing is stopped. During this time,
The male terminal fitting 27 enters the corresponding terminal accommodating chamber 7 through the insertion opening 36 of the cap portion 34 and is connected to the mating female terminal fitting 9, and the lock arm 15 swings while the locking arm 15 swings. The projection 17 is fitted to the housing 18 and the housings 1 and 2 are locked in the fitted state. In addition, the entry portion 39 protruding from the inner surface of the fitting concave portion 21 is
4 into the gap 35.

When the housings 1 and 2 are fitted in this manner, the large diameter portion 31 on the rear end side of the seal member 3
2 is crushed and sandwiched between the peripheral surface portion 13 and the thin portion 22 of the fitting concave portion 21, thereby sealing between the housings 1 and 2. On the tip end side of the seal member 3, the lip 37 provided on each cap portion 34
Entry portion 39 protruding from the inner surface of fitting 1 and fitting recess 21
By pressing against the inner peripheral surface of the thick portion 24, the space between the terminal accommodating chambers 7 is sealed.

That is, when the two housings 1 and 2 are fitted, the large-diameter portion 3
1 causes a certain amount of frictional resistance, but the lip 3 of the cap portion 34
Since it only crushes 7, the frictional resistance is negligible,
As a whole, the frictional resistance is kept small, and the fitting operation can be performed smoothly accordingly.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the female housing 1a of the second embodiment, the housing portion 42 protruding from the front side of the main body portion 41 is formed in a block shape without providing a gap between the housing cylinder portions 6 of the first embodiment. A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 7 are formed in two upper and lower stages from the main body 41 to the interior of the accommodating part 42. That is,
The distance between the upper and lower terminal receiving chambers 7 is smaller than in the first embodiment. Other structures are basically the same as those of the first embodiment. Parts having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals and need not be described again, but the interval between the upper and lower terminal accommodating chambers 7 is narrow. As a result, the entire female housing 1a has a more flattened shape.

On the front surface of the male housing 2a, there is formed a fitting recess 44 into which the housing portion 42 of the female housing 1a can be fitted. The tapered surface 46 gradually narrows from there toward the back end. The male terminal fittings 27 protruding from the inner surface of the fitting recess 44 have narrower vertical intervals corresponding to the narrower vertical intervals of the terminal accommodating chamber 7 of the female housing 1a. Further, a portion corresponding to the approach portion 39 of the first embodiment is not provided. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the entire male housing 2a has a flat shape as a result of the reduced space between the upper and lower male terminal fittings 27.

The sealing member 50 is formed in a cap shape that can be tightly covered from the front surface to the outer peripheral surface of the housing portion 42 of the female housing 1a, and the rear end (the right end in FIG. 6) is a large diameter portion 51. , And has a stepped shape with a small-diameter portion 52 on the distal end side. The outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 51 comes into contact with the flat surface 45 of the fitting concave portion 44 of the male housing 2a, and three lips 53 are formed. The outer peripheral surface of one small diameter portion 52 is adapted to have a clearance 58 between itself and the tapered surface 46 of the fitting concave portion 44.

The front plate 56 of the seal member 50 has an opening 54 in which the male terminal fitting 27 can be inserted, corresponding to the position of each terminal accommodating chamber 7. A lip 55 forming an annular ridge is formed around each insertion opening 54.

The assembling procedure of the second embodiment is as follows. After inserting and housing the female terminal fitting 9 and the waterproof rubber plug 10 fixed to the terminal of the electric wire 8 in each terminal accommodating chamber 7 of the female housing 1a, from the front side of the accommodating portion 42 of the female housing 1a, The seal member 50 is fitted as shown by the arrow in FIG. The seal member 50 is attached in close contact from the front surface to the outer peripheral surface of the housing section 42.

Next, the female housing 1a on which the seal member 50 is mounted is fitted toward the male housing 2a. When the female housing 1a is pushed into a predetermined position as shown in FIG. 7, the lip 55 provided on the front plate 56 of the seal member 50 is pressed against the inner surface of the fitting concave portion 44, and the male terminal fitting 27 is interposed therebetween. It is connected to the corresponding female terminal fitting 9 through the insertion port 54, and the projection 17 is fitted into the locking hole 18 of the lock arm 15, and the two housings 1 a, 2
a is locked in the fitted state.

When the two housings 1a and 2a are fitted in this manner, the large-diameter portion 51 on the rear end side of the seal member 50 fits with the outer periphery of the base of the housing portion 42 while crushing the lip 53. The housing 1a, 2a is sealed between the flat surface 45 of the recess 44 and the flat surface 45. Further, the lip 55 of a ring-shaped ridge provided around the insertion opening 54 of the seal member 50 is pressed against the inner surface of the fitting recess 44, thereby sealing between the terminal accommodation chambers 7.

That is, when the two housings 1a, 2a are fitted, a certain degree of frictional resistance is generated by sandwiching the large diameter portion 51 of the seal member 50. Since only the lip 55 is crushed, the frictional resistance is small as a whole, and the fitting operation can be performed with a small force. In the second embodiment, the male and female housings 1a and 2a have a flatter shape.
The connector can be made more compact.

<Third Embodiment> FIGS. 8 to 10 show a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the male and female housings 1 and 2 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the seal members include two seal members 61 and 62 as shown in FIG.

The first seal member 61 is formed in an annular shape such that the large-diameter portion 31 of the seal member 3 of the first embodiment is formed as a single body.
3 can be mounted in close contact with the outer periphery, and three lips 32 are also formed on the outer peripheral surface. This first seal member 61 is formed of hard rubber.

The second sealing member 62 is formed in a lid-like shape in which the cap portions 34 of the sealing member 3 of the first embodiment are integrated and taken out. It can be mounted in close contact with the outside and between the gaps of the respective housing cylinders 6. Similarly, the lip 37 is formed in the insertion opening 36 of the male terminal fitting 27 and the tapered skirt of each cap portion 34. The second seal member 62 is formed of soft rubber unlike the first seal member 61.

The assembling procedure of the third embodiment is as follows. As shown in FIG. 9, first, the first seal member 61 is mounted on the outer periphery of the peripheral surface portion 13 of the female housing 1, and then the second seal member 61 is
A seal member 62 is mounted on the front surface of each of the housing cylinders 6. When the male and female housings 1 and 2 are fitted and locked in this state, the first seal member 61 is pinched between the peripheral surface portion 13 and the thin portion 22 of the fitting concave portion 21 while crushing the lip 32, The space between the housings 1 and 2 is sealed, and the lip 37 of the second seal member 62 is
Of the terminal accommodating chambers 7 by being pressed against the entry portion 39 protruding from the inner surface of the inner wall of the thick portion 24 of the fitting concave portion 21.

According to the third embodiment, since the second seal member 62 is formed of soft rubber, the resistance is further reduced as compared with the first embodiment, and the fitting operation of the two housings 1, 2 can be performed. It can be done more smoothly.
Further, since the crushing amount can be increased by using the soft rubber, the sealing property is also excellent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded vertical sectional view thereof.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a seal member.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a seal member is mounted.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which male and female housings are fitted.

FIG. 6 is an exploded vertical sectional view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which male and female housings are fitted.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a seal member according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a seal member is mounted.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which male and female housings are fitted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Female housing 2 ... Male housing 3 ... Seal member 6 ... Housing cylinder part 7 ... Terminal accommodating chamber 9 ... Female terminal fitting 21 ... Fitting recess 27 ... Male terminal fitting 31 ... Large diameter part 32 ... Lip 33 ... Small diameter Portion 34 ... Cap portion 35 ... Void 36 ... Insertion opening 37 ... Lip 38 ... Clearance 1a ... Female housing 2a ... Male housing 44 ... Mating recess 50 ... Seal member 51 ... Large diameter portion 52 ... Small diameter portion 53 ... Lip 54 ... Insertion Mouth 55: Lip 56: Front plate 58: Clearance 61: First seal member 62: Second seal member

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A female connector housing provided with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers for accommodating female terminal fittings, and a fitting recess into which the female connector housing is fitted. A male connector housing in which a male terminal fitting connected to each female terminal fitting is housed in a state of protruding into its fitting concave portion; and a seal member mountable around the female connector housing. A waterproof connector that can seal between the two connector housings and between the respective terminal housing chambers of the female connector housing by sandwiching the seal member between the fitting recesses . The large diameter part on the rear end side in the length direction is the front
The connector housing is fitted to the inner periphery of the fitting recess.
Of the seal member and the front end of the seal member.
Between the terminal accommodating chambers is sealed by being pressed, and a sealing portion between the terminal accommodating chambers in the sealing member is provided.
A small diameter portion is formed between the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion.
The outer circumference of the small diameter part is
Corresponds to the inner circumference of the fitting recess with clearance
A waterproof connector characterized in that the connector is configured to: 2. The terminal housing chambers of the female connector housing are formed at least at their distal ends so as to be separated from each other with a gap therebetween, and at the distal end side of the sealing member, separated portions of the terminal housing chambers are provided. And a cap portion that covers the opening of each of the male terminal fittings is provided,
A lip is provided around the outer periphery of each cap portion, and the lip is crushed between the fitting recess and the back side to seal the terminal accommodation chambers. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein 3. A front end surface of the seal member is formed with a cover portion which covers the front end surface of each of the terminal accommodating chambers and has an opening for inserting a male terminal fitting therein. A lip is formed around each of the insertion ports, and the lip is squeezed between the lip and the inner surface of the fitting concave portion to seal the terminal accommodation chambers. The waterproof connector according to claim 1. 4. The seal member is formed separately from a front end side and a rear end side pressing part, and is made of a material which is softer than the front end side pressing part compared to the rear end side pressing part. 4. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof connector is formed by: