JP4495091B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector, and more particularly to a waterproof connector in which a housing seal is mounted on a female housing of a female connector.

  In general, the waterproof connector is used for electrical connection at a location requiring waterproofing such as an engine room of an automobile, for example.

  4A and 4B are side sectional views showing a conventional waterproof connector, in which FIG. 4A shows a state before fitting the waterproof connector, FIG. 4B shows a state during fitting, and FIG. 4C shows a state after fitting. Show.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, a conventional waterproof connector 50 includes a male connector 1 and a female connector 2 that can be fitted to each other.

  The male connector 1 includes a male housing 3 made of synthetic resin or the like and a male terminal fitting 4 held by the male housing 3. The female connector 2 has a female housing 5 made of a synthetic resin or the like and a female terminal fitting 6 accommodated in the female housing 5.

  A cylindrical hood portion 7 that can be fitted to the female housing 5 is provided at the distal end portion of the male housing 3. A lock portion 9 that is engaged with a lock hole 8 formed in the female housing 5 is provided on the outer peripheral portion on the front end side of the hood portion 7 so as to protrude outward.

  The male terminal fitting 4 protrudes from the base end surface 3 a of the male housing 3 and is held inside the hood portion 7.

  On the other hand, the female housing 5 is connected to the inner cylinder part 10 and the inner cylinder part 10, and is connected so as to cover the outer cylinder part 11 surrounding the outer periphery of the inner cylinder part 10 and the tip of the inner cylinder part 10, and a male terminal And a retainer 19 having a terminal insertion hole 19a into which the metal fitting 4 is inserted.

  A plurality of (three chambers in FIG. 4) cavities 12 into which the female terminal fitting 6 can be inserted from the base end side (right side in FIG. 4) are arranged in the inner cylinder portion 10. The female terminal fitting 6 has a connecting portion 6a connected to the male terminal fitting 4 and an electric wire fixing portion 6b that is crimped and fixed to the core wire exposed from the tip of the electric wire W by caulking or the like. At the rear end of the wire fixing portion 6b, a waterproof rubber plug 13 fitted to the covering portion of the wire W is attached. The waterproof rubber plug 13 seals the inside of the cavity 12 by being in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cavity 12.

  A lance 14 for locking the female terminal fitting 6 projects from the cavity 12. The lance 14 is elastically deformed by being pressed by the connecting portion 6a while the female terminal fitting 6 is being inserted into the cavity 12, and when the female terminal fitting 6 is inserted to a predetermined position, the lance 14 is elastically restored, It enters into the locking hole 6c formed in the connecting portion 6a and locks the female terminal fitting 6.

  Between the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder part 10 and the retainer 19, and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder part 11, the hood part 7 of the male connector 1 is inserted and the fitting hole 15 which is fitted is formed.

  A housing seal 16 made of a rubber ring or the like is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 10 on the proximal end side of the fitting hole 15.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the outer cylinder portion 11, a lock hole 8 is formed in which the lock portion 9 of the male connector 1 is locked.

  Next, a procedure for fitting work between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 will be described.

  First, the hood portion 7 of the male housing 3 is inserted into the fitting hole 15 of the female housing 5. At that time, as shown in FIG. 4B, the tip of the hood portion 7 abuts against the housing seal 16 of the female housing 5. Since the housing seal 16 in contact with the hood portion 7 is elastically deformed, the hood portion 7 can enter. Further, the male terminal fitting 4 passes through the terminal insertion hole 19 a of the retainer 19 and is inserted into the female terminal fitting 6.

  When the hood portion 7 is further advanced, the distal end portion of the hood portion 7 gets over the housing seal 16 and comes into contact with the proximal end portion of the fitting hole 15. At the same time, the lock portion 9 of the hood portion 7 is formed in the female housing 5. The lock hole 8 is engaged. At that time, the male terminal fitting 4 is fitted to the female terminal fitting 6 (see FIG. 4C). Thereby, the fitting operation between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 is completed (hereinafter, this technique is referred to as Conventional Example 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a waterproof connector having an inertia lock function. In this waterproof connector, in the process of fitting the male housing and the female housing, the seal ring and the peripheral surface of the mating housing come into contact with each other before the resistance arm and the abutting portion abut against each other. In this configuration, the value of the fitting resistance generated due to this is maximized (hereinafter, this technique is referred to as Conventional Example 2).

  Patent Document 2 discloses a waterproof connector that can prevent buckling deformation of a seal member. In this waterproof connector, a seal member is externally fitted to the fitting portion of the housing, and the elastic contact portion at the front end of the seal member is tightly sealed to the hood portion, and the elastic contact portion is caused by frictional resistance when fitted to the hood portion. Even when pressed backward, the elastic contact portion prevents the elastic contact portion from being dragged by the hood portion and moving backward. Thus, even if the front and rear length of the seal member is long and the elastic contact portion is provided at the front end portion of the seal member, it is possible to prevent the buckling deformation of the seal member (hereinafter, this technique is conventionally known). Example 3).

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a waterproof connector provided with an inertia lock mechanism including a resistance arm and an abutment rib. This waterproof connector is configured such that the annular protrusion on the front side of the waterproof ring fitted to the female housing abuts against the front end of the hood portion of the male housing at the timing of abutment in the fitting process of both housings. As a result, the fitting resistance value peak due to the waterproof ring overlaps with the fitting resistance value peak due to the inertia lock mechanism, resulting in a large fitting resistance. Conventional example 4).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-264031 JP 2003-264032 A JP 2000-40548 A

In general, the connector mating force generated when mating male and female connectors is
(1) Terminal fitting force generated when the male terminal fitting is inserted and fitted into the female terminal fitting (2) Seal fitting force generated when the front end of the hood over the housing seal (3) Locking of the hood It can be divided into three types of lock fitting force generated when the portion is locked in the lock hole formed in the female housing.

  When the waterproof connector is multipolar, the number of terminals increases, so that the fitting opening becomes wide. As the fitting opening widens, the terminal fitting force and the seal fitting force increase.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the fitting amount and the fitting force of the waterproof connector of Conventional Example 1.

  In Conventional Example 1, after the hood portion 7 of the male housing 3 contacts the housing seal 16 of the female housing 5, the seal fitting force reaches a peak when the housing seal 16 is crushed. As shown in FIG. 5, at the same time when the seal fitting force reaches a peak, the terminal fitting force generated when the male terminal fitting 4 is fitted to the female terminal fitting 6 reaches a peak.

  Therefore, since the total connector fitting force becomes very high, there is a problem that the connector fitting operation is difficult and workability is deteriorated. In addition, there is a problem that the connector fitting is likely to be insufficient, leading to poor conduction such as causing poor conduction.

  In the waterproof connector of Conventional Example 2, the resistance arm provided in one housing is abutted against the abutting portion of the other housing before the fitting resistance is generated in the process of fitting the male housing and the female housing. An object of the present invention is to improve the reliability of the inertia lock function of intentionally generating a resistance force larger than the fitting resistance. Therefore, since the peak of the fitting force more than necessary is first generated, there is a problem that the total connector fitting force becomes very high.

  Since the seal member used for the waterproof connector of Conventional Example 3 is configured to substantially cover the outer periphery of the fitting portion of the female housing, a long cylindrical seal ring is used from the distal end to the proximal end. However, the long cylindrical seal ring is difficult to attach to the fitting portion, and there is a problem that workability of assembling the waterproof connector is deteriorated.

  The waterproof connector of Conventional Example 4 has an inertia lock function, and similarly to Conventional Example 1, there is a problem that the total connector fitting force becomes very high.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector in which the total connector fitting force is reduced and the assembly workability is improved.

The waterproof connector of the present invention is
A male connector having a male housing with a cylindrical hood, and a male terminal fitting held by the male housing;
A female housing having a fitting hole into which the hood portion is inserted and fitted, and a female connector held in the female housing and having a female terminal fitting into which the male terminal fitting is inserted and fitted. ,
A housing seal is provided inside the fitting hole ,
A lock portion is provided on the outer periphery of the hood portion,
In the waterproof connector in which the lock hole in which the lock portion is locked is formed in the female housing ,
The female housing includes an inner cylindrical portion that inserts and holds the female terminal fitting from the base end side, an outer cylindrical portion that is connected to the inner cylindrical portion and surrounds the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion, and the inner cylindrical portion. A retainer that is connected to cover the tip and has a terminal insertion hole into which the male terminal fitting is inserted;
The fitting hole is formed between an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder part and the retainer and an inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder part,
The housing seal is disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion located between a retainer extending to an intermediate portion of the fitting hole and a locking portion formed on a proximal end side of the inner cylinder portion. In addition, before the peak of the terminal fitting force necessary for fitting the male terminal fitting to the female terminal fitting occurs, the seal fitting force necessary for the tip of the hood portion to get over the housing seal is increased. Placed so that the peak ends ,
The lock portion is a lock that is generated when the lock portion is locked in the lock hole after the peak of the terminal fitting force required for fitting the male terminal fitting to the female terminal fitting is reached. It is provided so that the peak of the fitting force occurs ,
It is characterized by this.

  The locking portion may be formed in a diameter-expanded state as compared to the distal end side of the inner cylinder portion.

  The waterproof connector according to the present invention has the following excellent effects.

  (1) The housing seal has a seal fitting force required for the tip of the hood to get over the housing seal before the peak of the terminal fitting force required for fitting the male terminal fitting to the female terminal fitting occurs. Therefore, the fitting peaks are dispersed and the total connector fitting force can be reduced. As a result, connector fitting work becomes easy and workability is improved. In addition, since connector fitting is less likely to be insufficient, poor conduction is less likely to be achieved, and quality can be improved.

  (2) Since the housing seal is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion located between the retainer extending to the middle portion of the fitting hole and the inner cylinder portion, the housing seal has a long cylindrical shape extending to the tip of the inner cylinder portion. Instead of a housing seal, a short cylindrical housing seal can be used. As a result, the mounting work of the housing seal is facilitated, and the workability of assembling the waterproof connector is improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same members as those of the conventional example 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

  1 and 2 are side sectional views showing a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (A) shows a state before the waterproof connector is fitted, and FIG. 1 (B) shows a seal fitting force. 2A shows a peak state, FIG. 2A shows a state where seal fitting is completed, FIG. 2B shows a state where terminal fitting force is at a peak, and FIG. 2C shows a state where connector fitting is finished.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing seal 16 of the waterproof connector 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention is located between the retainer 19 extending to the middle part of the fitting hole 15 and the inner cylinder part 10. The front end of the hood portion 7 gets over the housing seal 16 before the peak of the terminal fitting force necessary for fitting the male terminal fitting 4 to the female terminal fitting 6 occurs on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 10. It is arranged so that the peak of the seal fitting force necessary for the end is completed.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 10, a locking portion 17 that extends from the proximal end side of the fitting hole 15 to the distal end side and locks the end surface of the housing seal 16 is provided. The locking portion 17 is formed in a diameter-expanded state as compared to the distal end side of the inner cylinder portion 10, thereby preventing the housing seal 16 from falling off or being displaced.

  Next, a procedure for fitting work between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 will be described.

  First, the hood portion 7 of the male housing 3 is inserted into the fitting hole 15 of the female housing 5. At that time, as shown in FIG. 1B, the tip of the hood portion 7 comes into contact with the housing seal 16. The housing seal 16 in contact with the hood portion 7 is elastically deformed, and the seal fitting force generated when the tip of the hood portion 7 gets over the housing seal 16 reaches a peak. At this point, the male terminal fitting 4 passes through the terminal insertion hole 19a of the retainer 19 and is inserted into the female terminal fitting 6 (note that terminal fitting has not started).

  Next, when the hood portion 7 is entered, the seal fitting is completed as shown in FIG. At this time, the male terminal fitting 4 is not fitted to the female terminal fitting 6.

  Next, when the hood portion 7 is further advanced, the terminal fitting force generated when the male terminal fitting 4 is fitted to the female terminal fitting 6 reaches a peak as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2C, the lock portion 9 of the hood portion 7 is engaged with the lock hole 8 formed in the female housing 5. Thereby, the fitting operation between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 is completed.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the fitting amount and the fitting force of the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, according to the waterproof connector 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention, before the peak of the terminal fitting force necessary for fitting the male terminal fitting 4 to the female terminal fitting 6 occurs. Since the peak of the seal fitting force necessary for the front end of the hood portion 7 to get over the housing seal 16 is terminated, the fitting peak is dispersed and the total connector fitting force can be reduced. . As a result, connector fitting work becomes easy and workability is improved. In addition, since connector fitting is less likely to be insufficient, poor conduction is less likely to be achieved, and quality can be improved.

  Further, the housing seal 16 has an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion 10 positioned between a retainer 19 extending to the middle portion of the fitting hole 15 and a locking portion 17 formed on the proximal end side of the inner cylinder portion 10 ( Since it is provided on the bottom surface of the groove portion 18 formed in the circumferential direction by the retainer 19 and the inner cylinder portion 10 shown in FIG. 1C, it is not a long cylindrical housing seal that extends to the distal end portion of the inner cylinder portion 10. A short cylindrical housing seal can be used. As a result, the mounting work of the housing seal 16 is facilitated, and the workability of assembling the waterproof connector is improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims.

  The waterproof connector of the present invention is used to make an electrical connection at a location requiring waterproofing such as an engine room of an automobile.

(A) And (B) is side sectional drawing which shows the waterproof connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention, (A) is the state before fitting of a waterproof connector, (B) is a seal fitting force peaking. Indicates the state. (C) is a reference sectional view showing a groove formed in the circumferential direction by the retainer and the inner cylinder. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the waterproof connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention, (A) is the state which seal fitting ended, (B) is the state where terminal fitting force is a peak, (C) is connector fitting Indicates the state where is completed. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the fitting amount and fitting force of the waterproof connector which concerns on the example of embodiment of this invention. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the conventional waterproof connector, (A) is the state before fitting of a waterproof connector, (B) is in the state during fitting, (C) shows the state after fitting. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the fitting amount of the waterproof connector of the prior art example 1, and fitting force.

Explanation of symbols

1: Male connector 2: Female connector 3: Male housing 4: Male terminal fitting 5: Female housing 6: Female terminal fitting 7: Hood portion 8: Lock hole 9: Lock portion 10: Inner tube portion 11: Outer tube portion 12: Cavity 13: Waterproof rubber plug 14: Lance 15: Fitting hole 16: Housing seal 17: Locking portion 18: Groove portion 19: Retainer 19a: Terminal insertion hole 20: Waterproof connector

Claims (2)

A male connector having a male housing with a cylindrical hood, and a male terminal fitting held by the male housing;
A female housing having a fitting hole into which the hood portion is inserted and fitted, and a female connector held in the female housing and having a female terminal fitting into which the male terminal fitting is inserted and fitted. ,
A housing seal is provided inside the fitting hole ,
A lock portion is provided on the outer periphery of the hood portion,
In the waterproof connector in which the lock hole in which the lock portion is locked is formed in the female housing ,
The female housing includes an inner cylindrical portion that inserts and holds the female terminal fitting from the base end side, an outer cylindrical portion that is connected to the inner cylindrical portion and surrounds the outer periphery of the inner cylindrical portion, and the inner cylindrical portion. A retainer that is connected to cover the tip and has a terminal insertion hole into which the male terminal fitting is inserted;
The fitting hole is formed between an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder part and the retainer and an inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder part,
The housing seal is disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder portion located between a retainer extending to an intermediate portion of the fitting hole and a locking portion formed on a proximal end side of the inner cylinder portion. In addition, before the peak of the terminal fitting force necessary for fitting the male terminal fitting to the female terminal fitting occurs, the seal fitting force necessary for the tip of the hood portion to get over the housing seal is increased. Placed so that the peak ends ,
The lock portion is a lock that is generated when the lock portion is locked in the lock hole after the peak of the terminal fitting force required for fitting the male terminal fitting to the female terminal fitting is reached. peak of fitting force is provided so as to emit,
Waterproof connector characterized by that.   The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is formed in a diameter-expanded state as compared to a distal end side of the inner cylinder portion.

Images