JP5297263B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of smoothly performing the insertion of terminals by regulating the dislocation of a mat seal and suppressing an increase in insertion resistance of the terminals. <P>SOLUTION: The waterproof connector includes: an inner housing 20 which has terminal housing chambers 23 and of which the rear end surface is used as a seal-setting surface 28; an outer housing 10 having a rear wall 12; and the mat seal 30 which has through-holes 31 to insert terminals therethrough, and shuts off water from a space between an electric wire and itself by attaching the mat seal between the seal-setting surface of the inner housing and the rear wall of the outer housing before the insertion of the terminals, and then allowing the terminals to be inserted into the terminal housing chambers through the through-holes. The mat seal 30 is molded integrally on an inner surface of the rear wall 12 of the outer housing 10, a circular recess 37 concentric with the through-holes are formed in an opening on a surface 38 side in close contact with the seal-setting surface 28 of several through-holes 31 out of the through-holes 31 formed at the mat seals 30, and a cylinder projection 24 fitted into the circular recess of the mat seal is formed on the seal-setting surface of the inner housing 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector having an integral mat seal that prevents water from entering the connector housing.

  Conventionally, as a waterproof connector, what was described in patent document 1, for example is proposed.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the waterproof connector 100 includes a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 111 for accommodating a plurality of terminals 102 in a connector housing 110 made of a hard resin material. Are inserted from the rear end of the connector housing 110 in a state of being crimped and joined to each other.

  A mat seal 130 made of an elastic material having a through hole 131 corresponding to the terminal accommodating chamber 111 is attached to the rear end of the connector housing 110, and the mat seal 130 is attached to the connector housing 110 by the rear holder 120 disposed behind the mat seal. Between the rear end face and the rear holder 120 in a compressed state.

  Further, a guide cylinder portion 132 extending from each through hole 131 is provided at the front end of the mat seal 130, and the mat seal 130 is inserted by inserting each guide cylinder portion 132 into the rear end inlet of the terminal accommodating chamber 111. Even if there is a slight misalignment between the through hole 131 of the connector housing 110 and the terminal housing chamber 111 of the connector housing 110, the terminal 102 and the electric wire W can be smoothly inserted into the terminal housing chamber 111 through the through hole 131 of the mat seal 130. It is like that.

JP 2008-300308 A JP 2006-66208 A

  By the way, in the conventional waterproof connector 100 described above, since the guide tube portion 132 of the mat seal 130 is inserted into the rear end entrance of the terminal accommodating chamber 111 of the connector housing 110, the influence of the positional deviation can be eliminated to some extent, Since there is no escape to the outside of the guide tube portion 132 when inserting 102, there is a possibility that the insertion resistance of the terminal 102 becomes too large.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention can control the positional displacement between the terminal receiving chamber of the housing and the through hole of the mat seal, and can smoothly insert the terminal. It aims at providing the waterproof connector which can suppress the increase in resistance.

  In order to solve the above problem, the waterproof connector of the invention of claim 1 has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers into which terminals attached to the front ends of the electric wires can be inserted from the rear end, and the rear of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers. The housing has a first housing made of a hard resin material having a rear end surface that is open at its end as a seal set surface, and a rear wall that faces the seal set surface of the first housing, and the terminal housing chamber is provided on the rear wall. A thick resin plate having a plurality of through holes for inserting a second housing made of a hard resin material having an insertion hole corresponding to each of the terminals and a terminal attached to the tip of the electric wire. The first housing is installed between the seal setting surface of the first housing and the rear wall of the second housing before being inserted into the receiving chamber, and thereafter, the first housing is inserted through the insertion hole and the through hole of the rear wall of the second housing. By inserting the terminal into each terminal accommodating chamber of the housing, the inner peripheral surface of the through hole is brought into close contact with the outer periphery of the electric wire extending behind each terminal, and the gap between the electric wire and the first housing is increased. In a waterproof connector including a mat seal made of an elastic material that stops water, the mat seal is formed integrally with the second housing, and at least a plurality of through-holes among the through-holes formed in the mat seal, A circular concave portion concentric with the through hole is formed in the opening portion on the close contact surface side with the seal set surface, and corresponds to the through hole in which the circular concave portion is formed in the terminal housing chamber of the first housing. A cylindrical convex portion that fits into a circular concave portion of the mat seal is formed around an opening portion that opens to the seal set surface of the terminal accommodating chamber.

  The waterproof connector of the invention of claim 2 is the waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the inner periphery of the cylindrical convex portion is formed so as to be smoothly continuous with the inner periphery of the terminal accommodating chamber, When the cylindrical convex portion and the circular concave portion are fitted together, the through hole on the mat seal side is formed to be smoothly continuous.

  A waterproof connector according to a third aspect of the present invention is the waterproof connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein the through holes and the terminal accommodating chambers are linearly arranged in a plurality of vertical and horizontal rows at a constant pitch, Circular recesses are provided in a staggered arrangement with one jump in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  A waterproof connector according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the waterproof connector according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the second housing has a cylindrical shape forward from the outer peripheral edge of the rear wall and the rear wall. In the state where the first housing has an annular insertion space into which the mating connector housing is inserted between the hood portion and the hood portion. The mat seal is integrally formed on the front surface of the rear wall inside the outer housing, and the mating connector housing is inserted into the annular insertion space on the outer periphery of the mat seal. An outer peripheral lip is provided that comes into close contact with the inner periphery of the mating connector housing and stops water between the mating connector housing and the first housing. It is characterized in that is.

  According to the invention of claim 1, the mating seal through hole is formed by fitting the cylindrical convex portion formed on the seal set surface of the first connector housing into the circular concave portion formed in the opening of the mat seal through hole. And the terminal housing chamber of the first housing can be communicated with each other while restricting the positional deviation. At that time, since the circular concave portion on the mat seal side fits on the outer periphery of the cylindrical convex portion on the first housing side, deformation of the mat seal occurs when a terminal or an electric wire is passed through the mat seal through hole. However, the influence of the deformation does not reach the inside of the cylindrical convex portion, and the terminal and the electric wire can be smoothly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber while being guided by the inner periphery of the cylindrical convex portion. Therefore, unlike the conventional example, the insertion of the mat and the wire can be suppressed by inserting the cylindrical portion of the mat seal into the terminal accommodating chamber to prevent misalignment. . In addition, since the mat seal can be prevented from being damaged by the terminal and the electric wire due to the positional displacement restriction, the water stoppage can be increased. In addition, since the terminal and the electric wire can be smoothly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the terminal insertion workability can be improved. Further, since the mat seal is integrated with the second housing in advance, the mat seal can be held in a stable state, and the first housing, the second housing, and the mat seal can be smoothly combined. it can.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the through hole on the mat seal side and the terminal accommodating chamber on the first housing side can be smoothly connected without any step, so that the terminal and the electric wire can be inserted smoothly.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the cylindrical convex portion and the circular concave portion are provided in a staggered arrangement of one jump in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, it is possible to avoid the interference between the adjacent circular concave portion and the cylindrical convex portion. The storage chambers can be arranged at a narrow pitch.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the second housing is configured as an outer housing having a hood portion, and the first housing is configured as an inner housing protected inside the hood portion. Can be performed smoothly. Further, since the outer peripheral lip of the mat seal stops water between the mating connector housing and the inner housing (first housing) in the connector fitting state, the terminal inside the mating connector housing and the terminal inside the inner housing The connection space can be reliably stopped.

It is sectional drawing of the waterproof connector of embodiment of this invention. It is an AA arrow line view of FIG. It is a perspective view of the said waterproof connector at the time of cut | disconnecting by the BB line of FIG. It is a sectional side view which shows the assembly state of an outer housing and a mat | matte seal before mounting | wearing with an inner housing. It is CC arrow line view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the outer housing. It is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the said inner housing and a mat seal. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 7 showing only the mat seal. It is a rear view of the same mat seal. It is sectional drawing of the conventional waterproof connector.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a cross-sectional view of a waterproof connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the waterproof connector when cut along line BB in FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the assembly state of the outer housing and the mat seal before mounting the inner housing, FIG. 5 is a view taken along the line CC of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the outer housing, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the mat seal, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a rear view of the mat seal.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the waterproof connector 1 includes an inner housing (first housing) 20 made of a hard synthetic resin material, an outer housing (second housing) 10 made of a hard synthetic resin material, rubber, and the like. And a mat seal 30 made of an elastic material.

  The columnar housing body 21 of the inner housing 20 is provided with a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 23 into which the terminals 2 attached to the front ends of the electric wires W can be inserted from the rear end, and the rear ends of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 23 are The rear end surface of the housing body 21 that opens is a seal set surface 28 to which the front end surface 38 of the mat seal 30 is in close contact.

  The outer housing 10 includes a cylindrical hood portion 11 that extends forward, and a rear wall 12 that closes the rear end of the hood portion 11. The rear wall 12 is a wall facing the seal set surface 28 of the inner housing 20, and the insertion holes 13 corresponding to the terminal accommodating chambers 23 of the inner housing 20 are formed in the rear wall 12. These insertion holes 13 are set to a size that allows the terminal 2 and the electric wire W to pass through easily.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the mat seal 30 has a thick plate shape having a plurality of through holes 31 for inserting the terminals 2 attached to the ends of the electric wires W, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, before the terminals 2 are inserted into the respective terminal accommodating chambers 23, they are mounted between the seal set surface 28 of the inner housing 20 and the rear wall 12 of the outer housing 10. As shown, the terminals 2 are inserted into the respective terminal accommodating chambers 23 of the inner housing 20 through the insertion holes 13 and the through holes 31 of the rear wall 12 of the outer housing 10 and then the electric wires extending to the rear of the terminals 2. An inner peripheral lip 34 having a mountain-shaped cross section on the inner periphery of the through hole 31 is brought into intimate contact with the outer periphery of W to stop water between the electric wire W and the inner housing 20. In addition, before and behind the inner peripheral lip 34 of each through hole 31, tapered portions 35 and 36 for facilitating insertion of the terminal 2 and the electric wire W are provided.

  In the waterproof connector according to the present embodiment, the mat seal 30 is integrally formed on the front surface of the rear wall 12 inside the outer housing 10 as one feature point, which will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, of the through holes 31 formed in the mat seal 30, at least the plurality of through holes 31 on the close contact surface (front end surface 38) side with the seal set surface 28 of the inner housing 20. A circular recess 37 concentric with the through hole 31 is formed in the opening. Note that a forehead portion 33 is provided on the outer periphery of the rear end of the mat seal 30 so as to protrude in the outer peripheral direction over the entire periphery. 7-9, the part shown by 39 shows the gate and overflow part at the time of shaping | molding.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, in the terminal accommodating chamber 23 of the inner housing 20, an opening opening in the seal setting surface 28 of the terminal accommodating chamber 23 corresponding to the through hole 31 in which the circular recess 37 is formed. The cylindrical convex part 24 which fits in the circular recessed part 37 of the mat seal | sticker 30 is formed in the circumference | surroundings.

  The inner circumferences of these cylindrical projections 24 are formed so as to be smoothly continuous with the inner circumference of the terminal accommodating chamber 23, and when the cylindrical projections 24 and the circular depressions 37 are fitted together, The through hole 31 is also formed to be smoothly continuous.

  Further, in the waterproof connector 1, the through holes 31 of the mat seal 30, the terminal accommodating chambers 23 of the inner housing 20, and the insertion holes 13 of the outer housing 10 are linearly arranged at a constant pitch in a plurality of rows and columns. -As shown in FIG. 7, the cylindrical convex part 24 and the circular recessed part 37 are provided in the zigzag arrangement | sequence of one jump in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.

  The inner housing 20 is inserted into the inner side of the hood portion 11 of the outer housing 10 after the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30 are integrally formed. The mating connector housing is inserted between the inner housing 20 and the hood portion 11. The annular insertion space 15 is secured. The rear end seal setting surface 28 is disposed in close contact with the front end surface 38 of the mat seal 30.

  Further, on the outer periphery of the mat seal 30, when the mating connector housing is inserted into the annular insertion space 15, the mating connector housing is in close contact with the inner circumference of the mating connector housing, and water is stopped between the mating connector housing and the inner housing 20. An outer peripheral lip 32 is provided.

  Next, an integral molding structure of the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30 will be described.

  The outer housing 10 is molded by injection molding in which molten polyamide resin is injected into a mold. The mat seal is formed by performing two-color molding (or insert molding) on the molded outer housing 10. By using the outer housing 10 as a part of the molding die, the rear of the outer housing 10 is formed. It is in close contact with the inner surface of the wall 12 without a gap.

  The mat seal 30 exhibits an adhesive force with respect to the polyamide resin constituting the outer housing 10, but has a selective adhesive property that does not exert an adhesive force with respect to the metal material (chrome steel) constituting the injection mold. Because it is molded using the “liquid silicone rubber selective adhesive material for polyamide resin” (product number: X-34-1625A / B, hereinafter referred to as “selective adhesive material”) manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical, which is a material having The outer housing 10 is bonded simultaneously with the molding, and the rear end surface of the mat seal 30 and the forehead portion 33 are surrounded by the triangular protrusion 18 (see FIG. 1) on the inner surface of the rear wall 12 of the outer housing 10. It is glued to the inner surface of the.

  In order to manufacture an integral part of the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30, first, the outer housing 10 is formed by injecting molten polyamide resin into a mold. Next, when the polyamide resin of the outer housing 10 is solidified, the mold that molds the inner surface of the rear wall of the outer housing 10 is replaced with a mold that molds the mat seal 30, and the molten selective adhesive material is molded into the mold. Inject into mold.

  Here, since the melting point of the polyamide resin constituting the outer housing 10 is set to be higher than the melting point of the selective adhesive material, the outer housing 10 is melted when the two-color molding is performed in the above procedure. There is no. Further, since the selective adhesive material does not exhibit an adhesive force to the metal constituting the mold, the mat seal 30 has the rear end face and the frame portion 33 at the outer end portion 33 without damaging the bonding portion between the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30. The outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30 are removed from the mold in a state where the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30 are adhered to the joint portion on the inner surface of the rear wall 12 of the housing 10.

  Thus, after obtaining the integrally formed outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30, the inner housing 20 is inserted into the outer housing 10, and the cylindrical convex portion 24 of the inner housing 20 is replaced with the circular concave portion 37 of the mat seal 30. The seal set surface 28 at the rear end of the inner housing 20 is brought into close contact with the front end surface 38 of the mat seal 30 while being fitted into the inner seal 20.

  Next, the terminal 2 attached to the tip of the electric wire W is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 23 of the inner housing 20 through the insertion hole 13 of the outer housing 10 and the through hole 31 of the mat seal 30, and each terminal 2 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. 23 is fixed.

  In this case, the cylindrical convex portion 24 formed on the seal setting surface 28 of the inner housing 20 is fitted in the circular concave portion 37 formed in the opening portion of the through hole 31 of the mat seal 30, so that the penetration of the mat seal 30 is achieved. The hole 31 and the terminal accommodating chamber 23 of the inner housing 20 can be communicated with each other while restricting the positional deviation. At that time, since the circular concave portion 37 on the mat seal 30 side fits on the outer periphery of the cylindrical convex portion 24 on the inner housing 20 side, when passing the terminal 2 and the electric wire W through the through hole 31 of the mat seal 30, Even if the mat seal 30 is deformed, the influence of the deformation does not reach the inside of the cylindrical convex portion 24, and the terminal 2 and the electric wire W are smoothly guided while being guided to the inner periphery of the cylindrical convex portion 24. It can be inserted up to the storage chamber 23.

  Therefore, unlike the conventional example, when the cylindrical portion of the mat seal is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber to prevent the positional deviation, an increase in the insertion force when inserting the terminal 2 or the electric wire W is suppressed. be able to. Moreover, since the mat seal 30 can be prevented from being damaged by the terminals 2 and the electric wires W due to the positional displacement restriction, the water stoppage can be increased.

  Moreover, since the terminal 2 and the electric wire W can be smoothly inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, the workability of inserting the terminal 2 can be improved.

  Further, since the mat seal 30 is integrated with the outer housing 10 in advance, the mat seal 30 can be held in a stable state, and the combination of the inner housing 20, the outer housing 10 and the mat seal 30 is also smooth. It can be carried out.

  Next, a mating connector (not shown) is fitted with the waterproof connector 1 of this embodiment. Then, the mating connector housing is inserted into the annular insertion space 15 inside the hood portion 11 of the outer housing 10 and is fitted to the inner housing 20, and at the same time, the terminals 2 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 23 of the inner housing 20 are mated with the mating connector. The wires are connected to the terminals accommodated in the housing, and the wires are connected to each other.

  In such a state, the inner peripheral lip 34 of the mat seal 30 is elastically adhered to the outer periphery of the electric wire W inserted through the through hole 31 of the mat seal 30, so that water or the like is in contact with the inner housing 20. It can be surely prevented from entering inside. Further, the outer peripheral lip 32 of the mat seal 30 stops water between the mating connector housing and the inner housing 20, so that the connection space between the terminal inside the mating connector housing and the terminal inside the inner housing 20 is surely stopped. can do.

  Further, according to the waterproof connector of the present embodiment, the through hole 31 on the mat seal 30 side and the terminal accommodating chamber 23 on the inner housing 20 side can be smoothly connected without any step, so that the terminal 2 and the electric wire W can be inserted. It can be done smoothly.

  Further, since the cylindrical convex portion 24 and the circular concave portion 37 are provided in a staggered arrangement of one jump in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the terminal accommodating chamber 23 is avoided while avoiding interference between the adjacent circular concave portion 37 and the cylindrical convex portion 24. Can be arranged at a narrow pitch, which contributes to miniaturization of the connector.

  Further, since the second housing is configured as the outer housing 10 having the hood portion 11 and the first housing is configured as the inner housing 20 protected inside the hood portion 11, the fitting with the mating connector housing is smoothly performed. Can be done.

1 waterproof connector 2 terminal 10 outer housing (second housing)
11 Hood part 12 Rear wall 13 Insertion hole 15 Annular insertion space 20 Inner housing (second housing)
23 Terminal receiving chamber 24 Cylindrical convex portion 28 Seal set surface 30 Mat seal 31 Through hole 32 Outer peripheral lip 34 Inner peripheral lip 37 Circular concave portion 38 Front end surface W Electric wire

Claims (4)

It is made of a hard resin material having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers into which terminals attached to the front ends of the electric wires can be inserted from the rear end, and a rear end surface of the housing where the rear ends of the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are open as seal setting surfaces A second housing made of a hard resin material having a rear wall facing the seal set surface of the first housing, and having an insertion hole corresponding to the terminal accommodating chamber on the rear wall, A thick plate shape having a plurality of through holes for inserting terminals attached to the ends of the electric wires, respectively, and before inserting the terminals into the terminal accommodating chambers, the seal set surface of the first housing and the first And the terminal is inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the first housing through the insertion hole and the through hole in the rear wall of the second housing. In a waterproof connector comprising: a mat seal made of an elastic material that keeps an inner peripheral surface of the through hole in close contact with an outer periphery of the electric wire extending rearward of each terminal and stops water between the electric wire and the first housing. ,
The mat seal is formed integrally with the second housing, and at least a plurality of through holes among the through holes formed in the mat seal have an opening on the close contact surface side with the seal set surface. A concentric circular recess is formed around the opening of the terminal housing chamber of the first housing corresponding to the through hole in which the circular recess is formed and opening in the seal set surface of the terminal housing chamber Further, a cylindrical convex portion that fits into a circular concave portion of the mat seal is formed. The waterproof connector according to claim 1,
The inner circumference of the cylindrical convex portion is formed so as to be smoothly continuous with the inner circumference of the terminal accommodating chamber, and when the cylindrical convex portion and the circular concave portion are fitted together, the mat seal side through hole A waterproof connector characterized by being formed so as to be smoothly continuous. The waterproof connector according to claim 1 or 2,
The through holes and terminal accommodating chambers are linearly arranged at a constant pitch in a plurality of vertical and horizontal rows, and the cylindrical convex portions and circular concave portions are provided in a staggered arrangement of one jump in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Waterproof connector. The waterproof connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The second housing is configured as an outer housing having a rear wall and a hood portion extending forward from the outer peripheral edge of the rear wall, and the first housing is disposed on the inner side of the hood portion. The inner housing is arranged in a state where an annular insertion space into which the mating connector housing is inserted is secured between the hood and the mat seal is integrally formed on the front surface of the rear wall inside the outer housing. When the mating connector housing is inserted into the annular insertion space on the outer periphery of the mat seal, the mating seal is brought into close contact with the inner periphery of the mating connector housing to stop the mating connector housing from the first housing. A waterproof connector characterized in that an outer peripheral lip for water is provided.

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