JP3752982B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an example of a conventional waterproof connector, one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-60072 is known. This is a shape in which the periphery of the housing that forms the cavity in which the terminal fitting is accommodated is covered with a hood. A front type retainer is mounted on the front surface of the housing, and on the outer periphery of the base end portion of the housing. Packing is fitted. When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, it is primarily locked by the lance. Subsequently, when the retainer is pushed into the main locking position, it enters the bending space of the lance and restricts its deformation. In addition to being stopped, an individual rubber plug provided behind each terminal fitting seals the entrance of each cavity. When mated with the mating connector in such a state, the packing is elastically compressed and sandwiched between the two connectors to seal between the two connectors.
[0003]
The above uses individual rubber plugs for sealing the entrance of the cavity. However, there is also a type using a batch type rubber plug mainly for the purpose of simplifying the assembly work (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-282892). This batch type rubber plug has a size that covers all the cavities, and has a shape in which electric wire insertion holes for tightly inserting electric wires are opened at positions corresponding to the cavities. Installed. The terminal fitting is inserted into the corresponding cavity while expanding the wire insertion hole, and the inlet side of the cavity is sealed by the inner periphery of the wire insertion hole being in close contact with the electric wire.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By using a batch type rubber plug in this way, a waterproof connector that simplifies the assembly work can be realized. However, structurally, the housing and retainer are still excluded except for the terminal fitting and the electric wire. In addition, five parts, such as a packing, a batch rubber stopper, and a rubber stopper retainer, are required, and further reduction of the number of parts has been eagerly desired from the viewpoint of cost reduction.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a housing having a cavity in which the terminal fitting is accommodated, a hood assembled so as to cover the housing around the housing, and a mating connector are provided on the outer periphery of the housing. A seal member formed by connecting a gasket to be fitted and a collective rubber plug to be fitted over the rear surface of all the cavities, and a retainer on the side surface of the housing allows insertion and removal of the terminal fitting. As a result, the retainer is integrally provided so that it can be pushed in from the retracted position retracted from the cavity to the advanced position where it is advanced into the cavity to be engaged with the terminal fitting, and the retainer is pushed into the hood. and push port for operating, is provided with a rubber plug holder for pressing the rear surface of the rubber plug in the seal member, and The opening edge of the serial push port, at where the structure overlapping the edges are pressed is in the retainer with the features.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, between the housing and the hood, the seal member is interposed between the housing and the hood by interposing the seal member therebetween. It is characterized in that a lock mechanism for locking the hood in the assembled state is provided.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first and second aspects, the seal member and the guide recess provided in the other of the housing and the hood are provided in one of the housing and the hood. It is characterized in that a guide that is inserted through is protruded.
[0007]
[Action and effect of the invention]
<Invention of Claim 1>
The housing and the hood are assembled with the seal member in between. The terminal fitting passes through the rubber plug of the seal member and is inserted into the corresponding cavity, and the retainer is pushed into the advanced position through the push-in opening opened in the hood, and the terminal fitting is locked in the retaining state. The seal with the mating connector is taken by the seal member packing.
A waterproof connector that has a waterproof function between the rear surface of the cavity and the mating connector, and has a function to prevent the terminal fitting from being removed by the retainer, can be composed of three parts: a housing, a hood, and a seal member, greatly reducing costs. Can be achieved.
[0008]
<Invention of Claim 2>
By the lock mechanism, the housing and the hood are held in an assembled state with the seal member interposed therebetween.
<Invention of Claim 3>
The guide is assembled while being inserted into the guide recess, and the positioning is performed accurately and the assembly operation is performed smoothly.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In this embodiment, a female-side waterproof connector is illustrated. 1 and 2, the waterproof connector includes a housing 20, a hood 40, and a seal member 50. As shown in FIG. 3, a female-side terminal fitting 11 fixed to the end of the electric wire 10 is attached. It has come to be.
The housing 20 and the hood 40 are made of a hard synthetic resin, while the seal member 50 is made of a soft synthetic resin, and are molded separately by two-color molding in the same molding die and assembled in the same die. It is like that.
[0010]
The housing 20 is formed in a flat block shape, and five cavities 21 shown in the figure into which the female terminal fittings 11 are inserted are formed in a horizontal row. On the ceiling surface of each cavity 21, a lance 22 that is primarily engaged with the female terminal fitting 11 is provided so as to be able to bend and deform.
A rear end portion of the lower surface of the housing 20 is formed in a stepped shape that is lowered by one step, and a retainer insertion port 24 is opened across the five cavities 21 in front of the stepped portion 23. As shown in FIG. 7, the retainer insertion port 24 has a front edge corresponding to the position of the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11 that is properly inserted into the cavity 21, and a rear edge that is a wire barrel. 13 corresponds to the position of the rear end.
[0011]
A retainer 25 is provided in the retainer insertion port 24. The retainer 25 is integrally formed from the front edge of the stepped portion 23, and has a substrate 26 that covers the retainer insertion port 24 from the front edge to a portion slightly ahead. As shown in FIG. 4, a locking plate 27 is erected on the upper surface of the substrate 26 at each position corresponding to each cavity 21. The locking plate 27 is formed in a mountain shape that gradually becomes shorter from the position slightly inward from the front end of the substrate 26 to the vicinity of the base end, and the highest portion is related to the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11. It becomes the latching | locking part 28 to stop. Further, the retainer 25 is swingable on the tip side with the base portion of the substrate 26 as a hinge 30.
[0012]
When the housing 20 is molded, the retainer 25 is molded in a state where the substrate 26 is in a downwardly lowered position and the locking portion 28 is in the retracted position retracted into the retainer insertion port 24 as shown in FIG. It has become so. On the other hand, when the tip of the retainer 25 is pushed upward, the latching portion 32 formed on the front surface of the locking plate 27 is formed when the tip of the substrate 26 abuts against the front edge on the outer surface side of the retainer insertion port 24. The retainer insertion port 24 is held at the advanced position by being hooked on the front edge on the inner surface side, and at this advanced position, as shown in FIG. It can be locked to the jaw 12 of the side terminal fitting 11.
A guide plate 34 protrudes from the center of the upper edge of the rear surface of the housing 20 in the width direction, and a locking bar 35 is formed at the center of the protruding end of the guide plate 34 in the width direction. In addition, stepped guide pins 36 having a reduced diameter on the front end side are projected from the left and right ends on the lower side of the rear surface of the housing 20.
[0013]
The hood 40 is formed in a flat ring shape that covers the periphery of the housing 20 described above, a reduced diameter portion 41 is formed on the rear end side thereof, and a slightly thick rubber plug is formed on the rear surface of the reduced diameter portion 41. The presser 42 is stretched. A lock arm 43 for locking the housing (not shown) of the mating male connector in a fitted state is provided at the center position in the width direction of the upper surface of the hood 40.
At the center in the width direction on the lower surface of the hood 40, a push-in opening 45 for pushing the retainer 25 provided in the housing 20 toward the advanced position is opened. Here, as will be described in detail later, the opening edge 45A in front of the push-in opening 45 is set to be positioned behind the front end of the retainer 25 by a predetermined dimension S when the hood 40 and the housing 20 are assembled. (See FIG. 3). In other words, when viewed from directly below, the opening edge 45A in front of the push-in port 45 and the distal end side of the retainer 25 overlap each other by a predetermined dimension S.
[0014]
The rubber plug retainer 42 of the hood 40 is formed with a terminal insertion hole 46 through which the female terminal fitting 11 can be inserted, corresponding to the arrangement of the cavities 21.
A locking hole 47 that can be locked to a locking rod 35 of a guide plate 34 projecting from the rear surface of the housing 20 is formed in the upper part of the rubber stopper presser 42, and at the left and right ends of the lower part, A guide hole 48 that penetrates the small-diameter portion 37 on the distal end side of the guide pin 36 almost closely is opened in a penetrating manner.
[0015]
The sealing member 50 has a shape in which a thick rubber plug 52 is continuously provided on the rear side of the packing 51 having a flat ring shape. The packing 51 is for sealing between the housing 20 and the opposite male housing, and can be tightly fitted to the outer periphery of the rear end side of the housing 20.
One rubber plug 52 is applied over the inlets 21 </ b> A of all the cavities 21 to seal the inlets 21 </ b> A in a lump, and can be fitted in the reduced diameter portion 41 of the hood 40. In the rubber plug 52, an electric wire insertion hole 54 through which the electric wire 10 can be inserted tightly is formed corresponding to the arrangement of the cavity 21 and the terminal insertion hole 46.
The rubber stopper 52 is formed with guide grooves 55 on the upper side thereof for tightly inserting the guide plate 34 projecting from the rear surface of the housing 20, and the guide pins 36 are provided at the left and right ends of the lower part. A guide hole 56 is formed through which the large-diameter portion 38 on the base end side is tightly inserted.
[0016]
Then, the effect | action of this embodiment is demonstrated.
As described above, the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are separately formed by two-color molding in the same molding die. At this time, the retainer 25 is integrally formed with the housing 20 in a state of being in the retracted position.
Next, with the mold opening, the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are assembled in the mold.
As an example of the assembly procedure, first, the seal member 50 is pressed against the rear side of the housing 20. Here, the guide plate 34 and the guide pin 36 projecting from the rear surface of the housing 20 are pushed into the guide groove 55 and the guide hole 56 of the rubber plug 52 while relatively entering, and the front surface of the rubber plug 52 is the housing 20. Pushing is stopped by hitting the rear surface, and the packing 51 is fitted to the outer periphery of the rear end portion of the housing 20. At this time, the locking rod 35 and the small-diameter portion 37 at the tip of both guide pins 36 are in a state of protruding from the rear surface of the rubber stopper 52.
[0017]
Next, the housing 20 integrally assembled with the seal member 50 is pushed into the hood 40 from the front. At the final stage of pushing, the locking rod 35 is pushed into the locking hole 47 of the rubber plug retainer 42 of the hood 40 while being bent and deformed, and the small diameter portion 37 of the guide pin 36 is inserted into the guide hole 48, and the sealing member 50 packings 51 are fitted in the reduced diameter portion 41 of the hood 40. When the packing 51 hits the rubber stopper presser 42, the pushing operation is stopped. At that time, the locking rod 35 is restored and deformed and locked in the locking hole 47, whereby the housing 20 is sandwiched between the seal member 50 and the hood 40. It is assembled in a retaining state. When the housing 20, the hood 40, and the seal member 50 are assembled in this manner, they are taken out as products from the mold.
[0018]
In this assembled state, as shown in FIG. 3, the retainer 25 is located at the retracted position, and the opening edge 45 </ b> A in front of the push-in opening 45 opened on the lower surface of the hood 40 is connected to the distal end side of the retainer 25. Overlap over a predetermined dimension S. The connector is stocked in this assembled state and is appropriately transported to the terminal assembling site. The push-in opening 45 opened in the hood 40 has a width of the hood 40 as shown in FIGS. Since the front opening edge 45A is overlapped and protected by the front end side of the retainer 25, it is avoided that foreign matter hits the retainer 25 at the retracted position through the push-in opening 45 as much as possible. This prevents the retainer 25 from being inadvertently pushed into the advanced position.
[0019]
At the terminal assembly site, the female terminal fitting 11 fixed to the end of the electric wire 10 is inserted into the corresponding terminal insertion hole 46 of the electric wire retainer 42 from behind. The female terminal fitting 11 is pushed in while expanding the wire insertion hole 54 of the rubber plug 52 of the seal member 50, is inserted into the corresponding cavity 21, and is primarily locked by the lance 22 when pushed into the normal position.
When the insertion of all the female terminal fittings 11 is completed, as shown by the chain line in FIG. 7, the jig 58 is inserted in a slightly oblique posture from the push-in opening 45 opened in the hood 40, and the distal end side of the retainer 25 is moved. Push upwards. Then, the retainer 25 swings about the hinge 30, and when the front end of the substrate 26 abuts against the front edge on the outer surface side of the retainer insertion port 24, as shown in FIG. It is hooked on the front edge on the inner surface side of and held in the advanced position. At this time, each locking portion 28 enters the corresponding cavity 21 and locks to the jaw portion 12 of the female terminal fitting 11.
[0020]
If any of the inserted female terminal fittings 11 is held in the half-inserted state, when the retainer 25 is pushed toward the advanced position, the locking portion 28 is a box of the female terminal fitting 11. The pressing is restricted by hitting the portion 14, and it is detected that the half-inserted female terminal fitting 11 is present. Then, the female terminal fitting 11 may be pushed in again.
When the retainer 25 is held in the advanced position as described above, each female terminal fitting 11 is double-locked and accommodated in the cavity 21, and the rubber plug 52 of the seal member 50 causes the inlet 21 </ b> A of each cavity 21 to be accommodated. Assembly of the sealed female waterproof connector is completed.
When the mating connector is mated with the mating male connector, the male and female terminal fittings are connected to each other, and the packing 51 of the seal member 50 is sandwiched between the female housing 20 and the mating male housing. The space between both housings is sealed.
[0021]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the waterproof connector having a waterproof function between the inlet 21A of the cavity 21 and the mating connector and having the retaining function of the female terminal fitting 11 by the retainer 25 is provided in the housing. 20, a hood 40 and a seal member 50. Thus, significant cost reduction can be achieved.
[0022]
<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) The assembling procedure of the above embodiment is an example, and other procedures such as sequentially pushing the seal member and the housing into the hood may be taken.
(2) The present invention can also be applied to a male waterproof connector.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention before assembling. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the waterproof connector. [Fig. 4] Front view of waterproof connector after assembly completed [Fig. 5] Bottom view thereof [Fig. 6] Rear view thereof [Fig. 7] Longitudinal cross-sectional view after completion of insertion of female terminal fitting [Fig. Longitudinal sectional view with heavy locking [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Female terminal metal fitting 20 ... Housing 21 ... Cavity 25 ... Retainer 28 ... Locking part 34 ... Guide plate 35 ... Locking hook 36 ... Guide pin 37 ... Small diameter part 38 ... Large diameter part 40 ... Hood 42 ... Rubber stopper presser 45 ... Push-in port 47 ... Locking hole 48 ... Guide hole 50 ... Seal member 51 ... Packing 52 ... Rubber plug 55 ... Guide groove 56 ... Guide hole

Claims (3)

A housing having a cavity in which the terminal fitting is accommodated;
A hood assembled to cover the housing with respect to the housing;
A seal member formed by connecting a packing that is fitted to the outer periphery of the housing to take a seal with the mating connector, and a batch type rubber stopper that is attached over the rear surface of all the cavities;
The retainer is integrated with the side surface of the housing so that the retainer can be pushed in from the retracted position retracted from the cavity to allow insertion / extraction of the terminal metal fitting to the advanced position to advance into the cavity to be engaged with the terminal metal fitting. And the hood is provided with a push-in opening for pushing the retainer and a rubber plug presser for pressing the rear surface of the rubber plug in the seal member ,
In addition , the waterproof connector is characterized in that an opening edge of the push-in opening and an end edge to be pushed in the retainer overlap .   Between the housing and the hood, there is provided a lock mechanism that locks the housing and the hood in an assembled state with the seal member interposed therebetween by engaging with each other through the seal member. The waterproof connector according to claim 1.   The one of the housing and the hood is provided with a guide projecting through the seal member and a guide recess provided in the other of the housing and the hood. The waterproof connector according to claim 2.

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