JP5720614B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

  The waterproof connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a housing having a cavity, a seal member having a seal hole disposed at the rear of the housing and communicating with the cavity, and a through-hole disposed behind the seal member and communicating with the seal hole. And a holder having. A terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity of the housing from the rear. The terminal fitting is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire. When the terminal fitting is properly inserted into the cavity, the electric wire is inserted into the seal hole of the seal member in a liquid-tight manner and is loosely inserted into the through hole of the holder. Further, the holder is assembled so as to be movable from a temporary locking position arranged without pressing the sealing member against the housing to a full locking position arranged by pressing the sealing member. In this case, the holder is movable in the front-rear direction from the temporary locking position to the main locking position.

JP 2009-259693 A

  By the way, when the axis of the terminal fitting and the axis of the electric wire are shifted from each other, if the cavity and the through hole are positioned substantially coaxially, the axis of the electric wire and the axis of the through hole are It will shift. For this reason, the clearance between the outer periphery of an electric wire and the inner periphery of a through-hole has the situation that it is small in the deviation | shift direction of an electric wire, and becomes large in the opposite side to the deviation | shift direction of an electric wire. As a result, when the electric wire drawn rearward from the through hole is bent in a direction intersecting the front-rear direction and opposite to the direction of displacement of the electric wire, the amount of bending of the electric wire in the clearance increases, and the bending direction There is a possibility that the seal member may be greatly elastically deformed and a predetermined sealability cannot be ensured.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at preventing that sealing performance falls at the time of the bending of an electric wire.

  The connector of the present invention is connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire, and has a terminal fitting having an axis different from that of the electric wire, a housing having a cavity into which the terminal fitting is inserted from the rear, and a rear portion of the housing, A seal member having a seal hole into which the electric wire is inserted in a liquid-tight manner at a position communicating with the cavity; and a rearward position of the seal member, the temporary locking position to the final locking position with respect to the housing. It has a through hole into which the wire is loosely fitted and inserted at a position communicating with the seal hole, and the cavity and the through hole are located substantially coaxially at the temporary locking position. And a rear member movable so that the mutual axial centers of the electric wire and the through hole are substantially aligned with each other at the final locking position. ing Having the features the time.

  When the rear member is in the temporary locking position, since the cavity and the through hole are located substantially coaxially, the terminal fitting is smoothly inserted into the cavity from the through hole through the seal hole. On the other hand, when the rear member is in the final locking position, the mutual axial centers of the electric wire and the through hole substantially coincide with each other, so that the electric wire drawn backward from the through hole can be bent in any radial direction. A substantially uniform stress is applied to the seal member. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the seal member from being excessively elastically deformed when the electric wire is bent due to the mutual misalignment of the axial centers of the electric wire and the terminal fitting. As a result, a predetermined sealing property by the sealing member can be secured.

In the waterproof connector according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, it is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a rear member is in a temporary locking position. It is sectional drawing showing the state in which a rear member exists in this locking position. It is an exploded sectional view of a housing and a rear member assembled with a seal member. It is a disassembled side view of a housing and a rear member. It is a side view showing the state where the rear member was held in the temporary locking position. It is a side view showing the state where the rear member is held in the final locking position. It is a rear view of a rear member. It is a rear view of a housing.

The present invention can be embodied as follows.
The rear member is disposed without pressing the seal member at the temporary locking position, and is pressed with respect to the front-rear direction so as to press the seal member and compress between the housing at the final locking position. It is possible to move in an oblique direction. Since the sealing member is not pressed by the rear member at the temporary locking position, the insertion resistance does not become excessive when the terminal fitting passes through the sealing hole, and the insertion burden is reduced. On the other hand, since the seal member is pressed by the rear member and compressed between the rear member and the housing at the final locking position, the adhesion between the seal member and the electric wire is enhanced, and the sealing performance is improved.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector according to the first embodiment includes a terminal fitting 70, a housing 10, a seal member 30, and a rear member 50. The housing 10 can be fitted with a mating connector (not shown).

  The terminal fitting 70 is formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like, connected to a mating terminal fitting attached to the mating connector (not shown), and arranged behind the connection portion to connect the electric wire 90. And a barrel portion 71 connected to the terminal portion by crimping. The terminal fitting 70 has a strip-like base 72 that extends over substantially the entire length in the front-rear direction and connects the connecting portion and the barrel portion 71. As shown in FIG. 1, the base 72 has a stepped portion 73 in the barrel portion 71, and a rear portion of the barrel portion 71 with the stepped portion 73 as a boundary is shifted upward from the front portion. . The axis of the terminal fitting 70 is set at a position different from the axis of the electric wire 90. Specifically, the axial center of the electric wire 90 is set on the base 72 side of the terminal fitting 70.

  The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, a substantially rectangular block-shaped housing body 11 and a substantially rectangular tube shape that protrudes rearward from the rear end of the housing body 11. The fitting recess 12 and a pair of substantially plate-like locking plate portions 13 protruding rearward continuously from both sides of the rear end of the fitting recess 12 are provided.

  A plurality of cavities 14 are formed in alignment in the housing body 11. A terminal fitting 70 is inserted into each cavity 14 from behind. In a state where the terminal fitting 70 is properly inserted into the cavity 14, the terminal portion of the electric wire 90 is accommodated in the rear end portion of the cavity 14. In the case illustrated, the terminal portion of the electric wire 90 is disposed at the upper end portion in the cavity 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a seal member 30 is inserted into the fitting recess 12 from the rear. The seal member 30 is made of rubber such as silicon rubber, and is a mat-like batch rubber plug having a predetermined thickness in the front-rear direction. A seal hole 31 is formed in the seal member 30 at a position communicating with each cavity 14 in the assembled state. A plurality of inner peripheral lips 32 are formed around the inner peripheral surface of each seal hole 31 in the front-rear direction. The inner diameter of each inner peripheral lip 32 is smaller than the outer diameter of the electric wire 90. In a state where the terminal fitting 70 is normally inserted into the cavity 14, each inner peripheral lip 32 is elastically brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 90 so that the electric wire 90 and the seal member 30 are kept liquid tight. It has become. In this case, the axial centers of the electric wire 90 and the seal hole 31 substantially coincide with each other, and a substantially uniform pressure is applied to the electric wire 90 from the seal member 30 in the circumferential direction. Further, in a state where the seal member 30 is inserted into the fitting recess 12, the axis of the seal hole 31 is positioned so as to be shifted upward from the axis of the cavity 14.

  A plurality of outer peripheral lips 33 are formed around the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 30 in the front-rear direction. When the seal member 30 is assembled to the housing 10, each outer peripheral lip 33 is elastically brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the fitting recess 12, and the space between the seal member 30 and the housing 10 is held in a liquid-tight manner. ing.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a guide groove 15 extending in a predetermined direction is formed at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction of both locking plate portions 13. The guide groove 15 includes a terminal end 16 that extends substantially in the front-rear direction from the front end toward the rear, a transition portion 17 that is gradually inclined downward from the rear end of the terminal end 16 toward the rear, and a rear end of the transition portion 17. It is comprised with the introduction part 18 extended in the front-back direction substantially toward back. The introduction part 18 is configured to open at the rear end of the locking plate part 13. A guide protrusion 52 (described later) of the rear member 50 is inserted into the guide groove 15, and the inserted guide protrusion 52 can be displaced along the guide groove 15.

  In addition, on both the upper and lower sides of the both locking plate portions 13 with the guide groove 15 interposed therebetween, a substantially rectangular window-shaped locking hole 19 is formed to open. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a pair of upper and lower concave grooves 21 are formed in the inner surfaces of both locking plate portions 13. The concave groove 21 is configured to open at the rear end of the locking plate portion 13. First and second locking projections 53 and 54 (described later) of the rear member 50 are inserted into the locking hole 19, and the inserted first and second locking projections 53 and 54 are inside the locking hole 19. It can be locked with. The second locking projection 54 inserted into the locking hole 19 passes through the concave groove 21.

  The rear member 50 is made of synthetic resin, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the rear member 50 has a substantially rectangular block shape as a whole, and is assembled to the housing 10 so as to be movable from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. It is done. The front-rear dimension of the rear member 50 is larger than the front-rear dimension of the seal member 30 and is substantially the same as the front-rear dimension of the locking plate portion 13. The vertical dimension of the rear member 50 is larger than the vertical dimension of the seal member 30 and is substantially the same as the vertical dimension of the fitting recess 12.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rear member 50 is formed with a through hole 51 at a position communicating with each seal hole 31 in the assembled state. In a state where the terminal fitting 70 is properly inserted into the cavity 14, the electric wire 90 is loosely inserted into the through hole 51. As shown in FIG. 1, the through-hole 51 is located substantially coaxially with the cavity 14 at the temporary locking position, and is substantially coaxial with the seal hole 31 at the final locking position as shown in FIG. It is arranged at an eccentric position. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the electric wire 90 is arranged at the upper end portion in the through hole 51 at the temporary locking position, and is arranged at the center portion in the through hole 51 at the main locking position as shown in FIG. It has come to be.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a pair of columnar guide projections 52 are formed to project from substantially the center in the vertical direction on both side surfaces of the rear member 50. The guide protrusion 52 can slide on the groove surface of the guide groove 15. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide projection 52 is located in the introduction portion 18 at the temporary locking position, and as shown in FIG. In the process from the temporary locking position to the final locking position, the transition part 17 is positioned so as to be displaceable.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, a pair of claw-shaped first and second locking projections 53 and 54 project on both upper and lower sides of the rear member 50 on both sides of the guide projection 52. Is formed. The first locking protrusion 53 is located in front of the second locking protrusion 54 and above the second locking protrusion 54. The distance from the front end of the first locking projection 53 to the rear end of the second locking projection 54 is substantially the same as the opening dimension of the locking hole 19 in the front-rear direction. And the 1st latching protrusion 53 is located in the latching hole 19 in both the temporary latching position and this latching position, as shown in FIG.5 and FIG.6. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the second locking projection 54 is located at the rear end portion of the housing 10 in the temporary locking position, and as shown in FIG. It is supposed to be located.

The structure of the waterproof connector according to the first embodiment is as described above, and then the operation of the waterproof connector will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the seal member 30 is assembled in the fitting recess 12 of the housing 10. Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear member 50 is assembled to the housing 10 from the rear. When the rear member 50 reaches the temporary locking position, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide protrusion 52 is inserted into the introduction portion 18 of the guide groove 15, and the first locking protrusion 53 is inserted into the locking hole 19. The second locking projection 54 is disposed so as to be able to contact the rear edge of the concave groove 21. The first locking projection 53 contacts the rear edge of the locking hole 19 to prevent the holder from coming out backward, and the second locking projection 54 contacts the rear edge of the groove 21 to move the front of the holder. Movement to is regulated.

  In the state where the rear member 50 is held at the temporary locking position as described above, as shown in FIG. 1, the rear member 50 is spaced apart from the rear of the seal member 30, and the through hole 51 is almost the same as the cavity 14. Located on the same axis.

  Subsequently, the terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the cavity 14 of the housing 10 from the rear. The terminal fitting 70 is inserted into the cavity 14 from the through hole 51 through the seal hole 31. At this time, since the through hole 51 is positioned coaxially with the cavity 14, a smooth insertion operation of the terminal fitting 70 is ensured. When the terminal fitting 70 is properly inserted into the cavity 14, the electric wire 90 is inserted into the seal hole 31 in a liquid-tight manner.

  Thereafter, the rear member 50 is moved from the temporary locking position to the final locking position. When the rear member 50 is pressed forward, the locked state between the second locking protrusion 54 and the recessed groove 21 is released, and the rear member 50 is moved toward the final locking position. During this time, the guide protrusion 52 slides on the transition portion 17 of the guide groove 15, whereby the rear member 50 is moved obliquely upward with respect to the front-rear direction.

  When the rear member 50 reaches the final locking position, as shown in FIG. 6, the guide protrusion 52 is inserted into the terminal end portion 16 of the guide groove 15, and the first locking protrusion 53 is inserted into the locking hole 19. The second locking protrusion 54 is elastically fitted into the locking hole 19 and is disposed so as to be able to contact the rear edge of the locking hole 19. As a result, the rear member 50 is held in a movement restricted state in the front-rear direction at the final locking position.

  Further, in the final locking position, as shown in FIG. 2, the rear member 50 abuts against the rear surface of the seal member 30 to press the seal member 30, and the seal member 30 is moved back and forth between the housing 10 and the rear member 50. It is compressed and clamped elastically in the direction. Thereby, the seal member 30 is elastically deformed in the direction in which the seal hole 31 is reduced in diameter, and the adhesion between the seal member 30 and the electric wire 90 is enhanced.

  Furthermore, in the final locking position, as shown in FIG. 2, the axial center of the through hole 51 is eccentric above the axial center of the cavity 14, and substantially coincides with the axial center of the seal hole 31. That is, the through hole 51 communicates with the seal hole 31 coaxially. For this reason, the mutual axial centers of the through hole 51 and the electric wire 90 are also substantially coincident, and the electric wire 90 is positioned at the center of the through hole 51, so that the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 51 and the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 90 are The clearance between them is substantially constant in the vertical direction and substantially constant in the horizontal direction.

  By the way, in a state where the rear member 50 is held in the final locking position, the electric wire 90 drawn out to the rear of the through hole 51 may be bent in a direction crossing the front-rear direction. Then, although the electric wire 90 is inclined in the seal hole 31 and in the through hole 51, the electric wire 90 in the through hole 51 is bent at an almost constant inclination angle regardless of the radial direction and excessively bent. It is never done. For this reason, when the electric wire 90 is bent, the seal hole 31 does not greatly expand, and the predetermined adhesion between the seal member 30 and the electric wire 90 is maintained.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the rear member 50 is in the temporary locking position, the cavity 14 and the through hole 51 are located substantially on the same axis, so that the terminal fitting 70 extends from the through hole 51 to the seal hole 31. And smoothly inserted into the cavity 14. On the other hand, when the rear member 50 is in the full locking position, the axial centers of the electric wire 90 and the through hole 51 are substantially coincident with each other, so that the electric wire 90 drawn backward from the through hole 51 is bent in any direction. However, a substantially uniform stress is applied to the seal member 30. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the seal member 30 from being excessively elastically deformed when the electric wire 90 is bent due to the mutual misalignment between the axial centers of the electric wire 90 and the terminal fitting 70. As a result, a predetermined sealing property by the sealing member 30 can be ensured.

  Further, in the state where the rear member 50 is in the temporary locking position, the seal member 30 is not pressed by the rear member 50, so that the insertion resistance does not become excessive when the terminal fitting 70 passes through the seal hole 31. The burden is reduced. On the other hand, since the seal member 30 is pressed by the rear member 50 and compressed between the rear member 50 and the housing 10 at the final locking position, the adhesion between the seal member 30 and the electric wire 90 is improved, and the sealing performance is improved. It becomes good.

<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.
(1) The rear member may be configured to move along the rear surface of the seal member without moving forward from the temporary locking position toward the main locking position.
(2) In the temporary locking position, the rear member may be in contact with the rear surface of the seal member but may not press the seal member.
(3) Contrary to Embodiment 1, a guide protrusion may be provided on the inner surface of the fitting recess, and guide grooves may be provided on both side surfaces of the rear member.
(4) The locking structure for holding the rear member in the temporary locking position and the main locking position is arbitrary, and this kind of known locking structure can be adopted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 14 ... Cavity 15 ... Guide groove 30 ... Seal member 31 ... Seal hole 50 ... Rear member 51 ... Through-hole 52 ... Guide protrusion 70 ... Terminal metal fitting 90 ... Electric wire

Claims (2)

A terminal fitting connected to a terminal portion of the electric wire and having an axis different from the electric wire;
A housing having a cavity into which the terminal fitting is inserted from behind;
A seal member disposed at the rear of the housing and having a seal hole into which the electric wire is liquid-tightly inserted at a position communicating with the cavity;
It is disposed behind the seal member and is assembled to the housing so as to be movable from a temporary locking position to a final locking position, and the electric wire is loosely inserted into a position communicating with the seal hole. Having a through hole, and in the temporary locking position, the cavity and the through hole are positioned substantially coaxially, and the axial centers of the electric wire and the through hole are shifted. A waterproof connector comprising a movable rear member so that mutual axial centers of an electric wire and the through hole substantially coincide with each other.   The rear member is disposed without pressing the seal member at the temporary locking position, and is pressed with respect to the front-rear direction so as to press the seal member and compress between the housing at the final locking position. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof connector is movable in an oblique direction.

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