JP5368202B2 - Waterproof case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof case which can easily check whether a seal member is arranged. <P>SOLUTION: A circuit board case 1 includes a casing 4 having an opening surface 42 communicated with an internal space for accommodating a circuit board 3, a lid 5 assembled to the casing 4 to close the opening surface 42, and a seal member 60 arranged to keep a space between the casing 4 and the lid 5 watertight. The seal member 60 includes an annular seal body part 43 formed of an elastic material, and a tongue part projected on a part of an outer peripheral surface of the seal body part 43. Further, an opening part of the lid 5 has a shape in which the seal member 60 is arranged on the lid 5, a lid side peripheral part 46 is housed by the casing 4, and even if the seal body part 43 is covered by the casing 4 and the lid 5, the tongue part of the seal member 60 can be directly seen from the outside. Thus, even after the casing 4 and the lid 5 are assembled to each other, presence/absence of the seal member 60 to be interposed therebetween can be easily discriminated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof case for preventing water from adhering to a circuit board or the like.

  Conventionally, for example, a first part that accommodates damage such as an electrical short circuit or damage to a component due to adhesion of water, such as a circuit board (hereinafter referred to as a waterproof object), and an opening in the first part 2. Description of the Related Art A waterproof case for storing a waterproof object is known in which a second part for closing a surface is assembled with a seal member for preventing water from entering through a gap between the two parts.

  Among these, the sealing member is made of an elastic body such as rubber packing, and is arranged between the first part and the second part, and the first part and the second part are assembled, It is configured to keep watertight between the first part and the second part by elastically deforming with the pressure from the second part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-280697 A

  However, in the conventional waterproof case, when the first part and the second part are assembled with the seal member interposed, the seal member is covered with the first part and the second part. After the parts are assembled, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine the presence or absence of a seal member that should be interposed between the first part and the second part.

  In order to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof case capable of easily confirming whether or not a seal member is disposed.

The waterproof case according to claim 1, which is an invention made to achieve the above object, has an opening surface communicating with an internal space for accommodating an object damaged by adhesion of water (hereinafter referred to as a waterproof object). The first part having the first part and the second part having the front part that is assembled to the first part and closes the opening of the first part intervene a seal member for keeping the first part and the second part watertight. And is a case for storing a waterproof object. In addition, the internal space for accommodating the waterproof object may be provided only in the first part, or provided in the first part and the second part, and the first part and the second part are assembled. It may be configured to communicate with each other.

  Here, the seal member is a member arranged between the first part and the second part, and includes a seal body portion made of an annular or plate-like elastic body and a part of the outer peripheral surface of the seal body portion. And a tongue portion that protrudes from the top. Among these, the seal main body part is kept in a watertight state between the first part and the second part by elastically deforming with the pressure applied from both in the state where the first part and the second part are assembled. It is configured. In addition, about the shape of a seal | sticker main-body part, cyclic | annular is a shape which has an axial through-hole, and means the shape which can be arrange | positioned along the periphery of the opening surface of a 1st part. Moreover, plate shape is a shape which covers the opening surface of a 1st part, and if the structure where the internal space is provided in the 1st part and the 2nd part is assumed, it will be the shape which separates both internal space.

  Then, at least one of the first part and the second part has a sealing member from the outside of the waterproof case at a position where the tongue portion of the sealing member is disposed in a state where the first part and the second part are assembled. An opening having a shape that allows direct viewing of the tongue is provided.

  In the waterproof case configured as described above, when the seal member is disposed between the first part and the second part, and the first part and the second part are assembled, the tongue portion of the seal member is the first part. It will be in the state which can be visually recognized from the exterior through the opening part provided in at least one of the parts and the 2nd parts. For this reason, even after the first part and the second part are assembled, it is possible to easily determine the presence or absence of the seal member that should be interposed between the first part and the second part.

  Therefore, according to the waterproof case of the present invention, it is possible to easily confirm whether or not the seal member is arranged, and an evaluation test for confirming the presence of the seal member after assembling the first part and the second part. It is possible to save man-hours to be implemented and prevent the waterproof case from being used in a state where the seal member is missing.

In the present invention, the tongue of the sealing member is erected on the outer peripheral surface of the seal body portion and the second parts have a side peripheral surface to be fitted to the first part connected to the front portion, opening ing is formed on the second part side peripheral surface portion of the cutout-shaped in. The standing direction of the tongue includes a direction perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the seal body and a direction inclined by a predetermined angle α (α <90 °) from the vertical direction.

  In the waterproof case configured as described above, when the seal member is assembled between the first part and the second part, when the seal member is disposed on the inner side of the side peripheral surface of the second part, the tongue portion is the second part. It can be arranged in the opening without interfering with the edge of the side peripheral surface of the part. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the opening is formed in the form of a hole in a part of the side peripheral surface of the second part, the tongue is easily arranged in the opening of the second part. The arrangement of the seal member with respect to the parts can be facilitated.

Further, in the waterproof case of the present invention, the opening to allow direct viewing of the tongue of the sealing member from the direction of the multiple cutout space led from the edge of the side peripheral surface of the second part to a part of the front portion Is provided . Note that the plurality of directions here, we have two different or more directions.

  According to the waterproof case configured as described above, the position where the tongue portion of the seal member is disposed in the state where the first part and the second part are assembled is determined by the other member disposed around the waterproof case. Even if visibility from one direction is hindered, visibility from another direction may be possible, so the presence or absence of a seal member can be easily determined regardless of the arrangement of other members around the waterproof case. Improves.

  Further, assuming that the opening is provided with a waterproof case provided so that the tongue portion of the seal member can be directly viewed from a plurality of directions, and the other member is attached to the outside of the waterproof case, the opening is shielded by the other member. Instead, it is preferable to provide an opening at a position where the tongue of the sealing member that is to be located inside the other member can be directly viewed from at least one direction. The other member mentioned here includes, for example, a protective cover for protecting a waterproof case housing a circuit board as a waterproof object from flying objects.

  In this case, even after another member such as a protective cover is attached to the waterproof case, it is possible to easily determine whether there is a seal member that should be interposed between the first part and the second part.

It is a perspective view showing the state where protective cover 2 was attached to circuit board case 1 to which the waterproof case of the present invention was applied. 2 is an exploded view showing a state in which a protective cover 2 is removed from a circuit board case 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing a configuration of a circuit board case 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a seal member 60 provided in the circuit board case 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the cover body 5 with which the circuit board case 1 is provided. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an aspect in which a seal member 60 is arranged on the lid body 5.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<Overall configuration>
1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a protective cover 2 is attached to a circuit board case 1 to which a waterproof case of the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a state in which the protective cover 2 is removed from the circuit board case 1. FIG. The circuit board case 1 of the present embodiment is a case that houses a control circuit board 3 (see FIG. 3) that performs processing for detecting a specific gas component in the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine (engine) of an automobile.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board case 1 includes a cylindrical portion 20 formed in a cylindrical shape having a substantially oval cross section, and two end faces parallel to the substantially oval cross section in the cylindrical portion 20. The rear part 21 is formed by closing one end face, and the front part 22 is formed by closing the other end face.

  In the following, in the cylindrical portion 20, the portions forming the shorter side of the substantially oval cross section are referred to as case side wall portions 23 and 24, and the portion forming the longer side of the substantially oval cross section is the protective cover 2. The side to be covered is referred to as the case upper wall portion 25, and the side not covered by the protective cover 2 is referred to as the case bottom wall portion 26. Further, it is assumed that the case upper wall portion 25 is disposed above the case bottom wall portion 26 and the front surface portion 22 is disposed forward of the rear surface portion 21.

Among these, the front surface portion 22 is provided with a gas sensor male connector 6 and a harness 7 connected to an ECU connector (not shown).
The gas sensor male connector 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a substantially elliptical cross section and extends forward from the front surface portion 22, and is formed in a cylindrical shape having a substantially rectangular cross section. And a second cylindrical portion 28 provided above the one cylindrical portion 27. In the first cylindrical portion 27, one end of the terminal fitting 8 connected to the circuit board 3 protrudes from the inside of the circuit board case 1 so as to penetrate the front surface portion 22. In addition, a claw portion 29 for locking a female connector (not shown) of the gas sensor protrudes downward from an opening portion on the front side of the second cylindrical portion 28. The harness 7 is inserted into a hole 31 provided in the front surface portion 22 and connected to the relay terminal 17 (see FIG. 3) in the hole 31, and the relay terminal 17 is connected to the circuit board case 1. By being connected to the circuit board 3, electrical connection with the circuit board 3 is ensured.

  The gas sensor male connector 6 is connected to a female connector (not shown) of the gas sensor, and the harness 7 is connected to the engine control device via an ECU connector (not shown). The circuit board 3 is configured to convert the detection signal from the gas sensor into a concentration signal representing the concentration of the specific gas component and transmit the converted signal to the engine control device. Incidentally, examples of the gas sensor include an oxygen sensor that detects the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas, a full-range air-fuel ratio sensor, and a NOx sensor that detects the NOx concentration in the exhaust gas.

  Further, the front surface portion 22 is provided with a hole portion 31 that surrounds a predetermined length of a portion of the coating resin of the harness 7. And the cylindrical waterproof material 32 for hold | maintaining watertight between the harness 7 and the said hole part 31 in the hole part 31 is press-fit. The tubular waterproof material 32 is installed in the hole 31 in a state of being attached to the outer periphery of the harness 7.

  On the case side wall portions 23 and 24, a plurality of (four in total in the present embodiment) regulating members 9 that are formed in a columnar shape and support the circuit board case 1 and a plurality of mounting members for mounting the protective cover 2 (this embodiment) Then, a total of two) engaging grooves 11 are provided. A cylindrical cushion rubber 12 is provided on the end surface (upper side) of the regulating member 9 that contacts the protective cover 2.

  On the other hand, the protective cover 2 is disposed above the case upper wall portion 25 of the circuit board case 1 to cover the case upper wall portion 25 and the case side wall portions 23 and 24, and protect the circuit board case 1 from external impacts such as stepping stones. At the same time, the circuit board case 1 is held inside, and the circuit board case 1 is attached to a frame or the like under the floor of the vehicle.

  Further, the protective cover 2 includes a rectangular cover upper wall portion 33 and cover side wall portions 34, 35, and 36 formed to be connected to the cover upper wall portion 33 in three directions. Among them, a portion where the cover side wall portions 34 to 36 are not formed and a bottom surface facing the cover upper wall portion 33 are opened. Note that the opening portion 37 opened at the bottom surface facing the cover upper wall portion 33 is from the outer shape (planar shape) of the circuit board case 1 when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the case upper wall portion 25 of the circuit board case 1. The circuit board case 1 can be inserted through the opening 37.

  Of the cover side wall portions 34, 35, 36, the cover side wall portions 34, 35 facing each other are cut in a U-shape, and the lower end portion 38 without the cut is a fixed end, and the cut is made. A piece-like locking tool 13 having an upper end 39 as a free end is formed. The locking tool 13 is bent in a dogleg shape (substantially L shape) at an intermediate position between the lower end portion 38 and the upper end portion 39 to form a protruding portion 41 that protrudes toward the inside of the protective cover 2. . Thus, when the circuit board case 1 is inserted into the protective cover 2, the locking tool 13 of the protective cover 2 is fixed to the engaging groove 11 of the circuit board case 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

<Configuration of circuit board case 1>
Next, FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the configuration of the circuit board case 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the seal member 60 provided in the circuit board case 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the lid 5 included in the circuit board case 1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board case 1 includes a housing 4 as a first part having an opening 42 communicating with an internal space for housing a circuit board 3 that is a waterproof object, and a housing 4. A lid body 5 as a second part that is assembled and closes the opening surface 42 of the housing 4, and a seal member 60 that is disposed to keep the space between the housing 4 and the lid body 5 watertight. . Incidentally, the housing 4 includes the above-described back surface portion 21, and the lid body 5 includes the above-described front surface portion 22. When the housing 4 and the lid body 5 are assembled, the above-described cylindrical portion 20 is It is configured. In addition, the housing | casing 4 and the cover body 5 are the plurality (this embodiment) which extended the latching claw 14 standingly provided in the housing | casing 4 to the cover body 5 (this embodiment four pieces in total). Then, a total of four) engaging pieces 15 are respectively engaged with the square holes 16 and assembled.

  The seal member 60 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or fluororesin, and as shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. And a tongue portion 44 that protrudes from a part of the outer peripheral surface.

  The seal main body 43 has a plurality of ridges 53 whose outer peripheral surface and inner peripheral surface are formed in a pleat shape, and one of both end surfaces in the direction of the central axis 61 is orthogonal to the central axis 61. And a flange portion 45 that is formed slightly larger outward than the cross section. Further, the tongue portion 44 is erected on the outer peripheral surface of the flange portion 45. In the present embodiment, the tongue portion 44 is erected in a direction perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the flange portion 45.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lid 5 includes the above-described front surface portion 22, a lid-side peripheral portion 46 that is connected to the front-surface portion 22 and forms the above-described tubular portion 20, and a part of the lid-side peripheral portion 46. An opening 51 formed in a cutout shape, a groove portion 47 for accommodating the seal member 60, and a groove portion 47 that projects from the inner central portion of the front surface portion 22 together with the front surface portion 22 and the lid side peripheral portion 46. And a projecting portion 49 to be formed. In addition, the above-mentioned engagement piece 15 is extended in the attachment direction to the housing | casing 4 in the cover body peripheral part 46. As shown in FIG.

  The projecting portion 49 includes the above-described hole portion 31 extending inside the front surface portion 22, and the support member 18 for supporting the terminal fitting 8 (see FIG. 2) in the above-described first tubular portion 27. And a sandwiching member 19 for sandwiching and holding the circuit board 3.

  The lid-side peripheral portion 46 has an inner surface that is shaped to be fitted on the housing 4. The groove portion 47 has a bottom surface having a shape corresponding to an end surface of the flange portion 45 (hereinafter referred to as a flange surface), and a wall surface having a depth that accommodates most of the ridge portion 53.

  The opening 51 has a notch space having a width in which the seal member 60 can be disposed without the tongue portion 44 interfering with the edge of the lid side peripheral portion 46, and the notch space is formed on the lid side peripheral portion 46. It is formed to be connected from the edge portion to a part of the front surface portion 22 and communicates with the through-hole of the second tubular portion 28 described above.

  That is, in the opening 51, the flange 45 of the seal member 60 is disposed in the groove 47, and the lid side peripheral portion 46 is externally fitted to the casing 4, so that the seal main body 43 is connected to the casing 4 and the lid. 5, the tongue portion 44 (specifically, the upper surface of the tongue portion 44) of the seal member 60 can be seen directly from above, and the seal member 60 of the seal member 60 can be seen from the front side through the through hole of the second tubular portion 28. The tongue portion 44 (specifically, the front surface of the tongue portion 44) can be directly viewed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 4 is inserted from the above-described back surface portion 21, the housing-side peripheral portion 54 that is connected to the back surface portion 21 and forms the above-described tubular portion 20, and the opening surface 42. The inner wall 52 for holding the seal member 60 is provided, and the back surface 21, the casing side peripheral portion 54, and the inner wall 52 form an internal space that can accommodate the circuit board 3. ing. In addition, the above-mentioned latching claw 14 is erected on the opening surface 42 side of the casing side peripheral portion 54.

  The inner wall portion 52 projects from the inside of the housing side peripheral portion 54 and has a projecting surface having a shape corresponding to the end surface of the seal member 60 opposite to the flange surface. The position of the inner wall portion 52 is such that the distance between the projecting surface of the inner wall portion 52 and the bottom surface of the groove portion 47 is smaller than the thickness of the seal member 60 in a state where the housing 4 and the lid 5 are assembled. Is predetermined.

  That is, in the circuit board case 1, the seal body portion is formed by the pressure applied from the projecting surface of the inner wall portion 52 and the bottom surface of the groove portion 47 in a state where the housing 4 and the lid body 5 are assembled with the seal member 60 interposed. It is comprised so that between the housing | casing 4 and the cover body 5 may be kept watertight, when 43 deform | transforms elastically.

<Effect>
As described above, in the circuit board case 1 of the present embodiment, when the seal member 60 is disposed between the casing 4 and the lid 5 and the casing 4 and the lid 5 are assembled, the seal member The 60 tongues 44 are in a state that can be visually recognized from the outside through the opening 51 of the lid 5.

  Therefore, according to the circuit board case 1 of the present embodiment, the seal member 60 is disposed between the housing 4 and the lid 5 even after the housing 4 and the lid 5 are assembled. It can be easily confirmed whether or not.

  Further, in the circuit board case 1, when the sealing member 60 is disposed in the groove portion 47 of the lid body 5 when the casing 4 and the lid body 5 are assembled, the tongue portion 44 of the sealing member 60 is disposed on the lid side peripheral portion 46. Since it can arrange | position in the opening part 51, without interfering with an edge part, arrangement | positioning of the sealing member 60 with respect to the cover body 5 can be made easy (refer FIG. 6).

  Further, in the circuit board case 1, the opening 51 can directly view the tongue 44 of the seal member 60 from the upper side, and further directly view the tongue 44 of the seal member 60 through the through hole of the second tubular portion 28 from the front side. Since the protective cover 2 is attached to the circuit board case 1, the visual recognition from the front side is possible even if the visual recognition from the upper side is hindered. Thereby, not only the state of the circuit board case 1 alone, but also the state in which the protective cover 2 is attached to the circuit board case 1, the sealing member 60 to be interposed between the housing 4 and the lid 5. The presence or absence of can be easily determined.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to implement in various aspects.

  For example, in the circuit board case 1 of the above-described embodiment, the internal space having a size that can accommodate the circuit board 3 is formed only in the housing 4, but is not limited thereto. It may be formed in a state where the lid 5 is assembled.

  In addition, the opening 51 in the above embodiment is formed by cutting a part of the lid side peripheral portion 46 into a notch shape, but is not limited to this, and depending on the shape of the housing 4 and the lid 5, It may be formed in the casing side peripheral portion 54 or may be formed in the form of a hole.

  In addition, although the opening part 51 of the said embodiment has a shape which can directly view the tongue part 44 of the sealing member 60 from several directions, it is not restricted to this, The tongue part 44 of the sealing member 60 is at least one direction. Any shape that can be viewed directly is acceptable.

  Moreover, in the circuit board case 1 of the said embodiment, although the cyclic | annular sealing member 60 is used, it is not limited to this, According to the shape of the housing | casing 4 and the cover body 5, it forms in plate shape. A sealed member 60 may be used.

  In addition, in the sealing member 60 of the said embodiment, although the tongue part 44 is standingly arranged in the orthogonal | vertical direction with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the flange part 45, it is not limited to this. For example, the tongue 44 may be inclined toward the housing 4 or the lid 5 depending on the shape or position of the opening 51, or is erected on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the seal body 43. May be.

  Furthermore, in the circuit board case 1 of the above embodiment, the circuit board 3 is exemplified as the waterproof object. However, the circuit board 3 is not limited to this, and other various objects can be appropriately selected as the waterproof object. it can. Further, even when a circuit board is used as a waterproof object, it is not limited to a gas sensor connected to a gas sensor and a circuit for energizing other sensors such as a heater such as a glow plug and a temperature sensor. The substrate can also be a waterproof object.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Circuit board case, 2 ... Protective cover, 3 ... Circuit board, 4 ... Housing | casing, 5 ... Cover body, 6 ... Male connector for gas sensors, 20 ... Cylindrical part, 21 ... Back part, 22 ... Front part, 23 , 24 ... Case side wall part, 25 ... Case top wall part, 26 ... Case bottom wall part, 27 ... First cylindrical part, 28 ... Second cylindrical part, 29 ... Claw part, 42 ... Opening surface, 43 ... Seal Body part 44 ... tongue part 45 ... flange part 46 ... lid body side peripheral part 47 ... groove part 51 ... opening part 52 ... inner wall part 53 ... convex strip part 54 ... casing side peripheral part 60 ... seal Element.

Claims (1)

A first part having an opening surface that communicates with an internal space for accommodating the waterproof object;
A second part having a front surface part that is assembled to the first part and closes the opening surface;
A seal member disposed between the first part and the second part;
A waterproof case for storing the waterproof object,
The sealing member is
An elastic body made of a ring or a plate, and elastically deformed by pressure from the first part and the second part in a state where the first part and the second part are assembled, A seal body that keeps watertight between the second parts;
A tongue that protrudes from a part of the outer peripheral surface of the seal body,
At least one of the first part and the second part includes
In the position where the tongue is arranged in a state where the first part and the second part are assembled, an opening having a shape that allows direct viewing of the tongue from the outside of the waterproof case is provided ,
Of the seal member, the tongue is erected on the outer peripheral surface of the seal body,
The second part has a side peripheral surface that is connected to the front surface portion and is externally fitted to the first part.
The seal member is disposed inside the side peripheral surface,
The opening has a part of a side peripheral surface of the second part formed in a notch shape, and the front part is formed from an edge of the side peripheral surface so that the tongue can be directly viewed from a plurality of directions. A waterproof case characterized in that a notch space connected to the part is provided.

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