JP5733168B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

  Conventionally, a waterproof connector is known in which a seal ring mounted on a housing is sandwiched between a housing of a mating connector and seals the space therebetween. This type of waterproof connector is equipped with a means to prevent the seal ring from coming off in order to prevent the seal ring from coming off together with the mating connector housing when the mating connector is removed for maintenance or the like. ing.

  For example, in the waterproof connector described in Patent Document 1 below, a locking projection is provided at the rear end of the seal ring, and the locking ring is locked to the locking wall of the housing, thereby preventing the seal ring from coming off. I am trying. The locking projection has a shaft portion and a head portion protruding from the shaft portion on both sides, and the head portion penetrates a locking hole provided in the locking wall and locks to the rear surface. . The head of the locking projection protruding to the rear side of the locking wall is protected by being surrounded by a protective wall.

JP 2006-156081 A

  By the way, in a waterproof connector, when ensuring high sealing performance, it is desirable to be able to easily confirm that the seal ring is not forgotten to be attached and that the locking projection is not missing. However, when the protective wall is raised around the head of the locking projection like the above waterproof connector, it is difficult to see the head, so it is difficult to check for missing or missing seal rings. There was a problem.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector that can easily check for missing or missing seal rings.

The present invention is a seal ring mounted on the housing, is sandwiched between the housing and can fit mating housing, a waterproof connector for sealing between the said mating housing and the housing, wherein An electric wire cover for covering the electric wire drawn out from the housing is attached to the rear end portion of the housing, and the seal ring has a plurality of locking projections that are locked to a locking wall provided in the housing. and, wherein the locking projection includes a shaft portion, and a head portion projecting on both sides from the shaft portion, which the head is engaged with the rear face through the locking wall, the A rubber plug fitting portion for fitting a rubber plug attached to the electric wire is provided on the rear side of the locking wall . Similarly , a wall for attaching the electric wire cover is provided on the rear side of the locking wall. The head and the rubber plug A cylindrical protection wall covering together both coupling parts are provided, wherein the protective wall, the near each head, in which a window portion through said protective wall is formed. According to such a structure, since the presence or absence of the head of each latching protrusion can be visually recognized from each window part, the missing part and the defect | deletion of a seal ring can be confirmed easily.

  Moreover, the said window part is good also as what is formed in the edge part of the front side of the said protective wall. Here, when the waterproof connector is used in a posture in which the rear end faces upward (a posture in which the protective wall opens upward), water tends to accumulate inside the protective wall, so there is a concern that the sealing performance may be deteriorated. However, since the window portion is formed at the front end portion of the protective wall, it functions as a water drain hole, and water in the protective wall escapes from the window portion to the outside, so that the sealing performance can be prevented from being lowered.

  Moreover, it is good also as what can be visually recognized from the said window part at least the said edge part side among the said heads. According to such a configuration, it is easy to confirm whether or not the entire head penetrates the locking wall, that is, whether or not the locking protrusion is completely locked to the locking wall. Therefore, not only the missing or missing seal ring, but also the locking state of the locking projection can be easily confirmed.

  Moreover, a pair of said window part is good also as what is formed in the position which faces the said protective wall across the said head. According to such a configuration, the presence or absence of the head can be inspected depending on whether or not the laser light passes through the pair of windows, so that the inspection with the laser light can be easily performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the waterproof connector which can confirm easily the missing item and defect | deletion of a seal ring can be provided.

The top view which shows the state which is the waterproof connector in this embodiment, Comprising: The electric wire cover was attached Bottom view showing waterproof connector with wire cover attached Front view showing waterproof connector Rear view showing waterproof connector FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a waterproof connector, which is a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section at the position AA in FIG. 3. Side view of seal ring Top view of seal ring Rear view of seal ring

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The waterproof connector C in the present embodiment has a housing 10 that can be fitted with a housing (not shown) of a mating connector, and is sandwiched between the mating housing and the housing 10 inside the housing 10. A seal ring 30 that seals the gap is attached. The waterproof connector C is a lever-type connector including a lever 40, and an electric wire cover 50 that covers an electric wire (not shown) drawn from the waterproof connector C is attached to a rear end portion. In the following description, the fitting surface side of the housing 10 with the mating housing is the front, the opposite side is the rear, the upper side in FIG. 3 is the upper side, and the lower side is the lower side.

The housing 10 of the waterproof connector C is made of synthetic resin, and is formed by integrally forming a terminal accommodating portion 11 that accommodates a terminal fitting (not shown) and a hood portion 12 provided around the terminal accommodating portion 11. is there.
The terminal accommodating portion 11 is formed in a block shape having a horizontally long rectangular section as a whole, and a terminal fitting (not shown) can be individually accommodated therein.

  The hood part 12 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the periphery of the terminal accommodating part 11, and its front end is located in front of the front end of the terminal accommodating part 11 and covers the entire terminal accommodating part 11 (FIG. 5). reference). The hood portion 12 is connected to the rear end portion of the terminal accommodating portion 11 by a connecting wall (locking wall) 13, and a space surrounded by the terminal accommodating portion 11, the hood portion 12, and the connecting wall 13 includes a seal ring 30 and A mating space 14 with a bottom is provided in which the mating housing can be fitted from the front. A region on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 from the position where it is joined to the connecting wall 13 to the front is formed in a shape having no irregularities on the surface, so that the seal ring 30 is easily adhered.

  A seal ring 30 made of an elastic member (for example, rubber) is mounted in the fitting space 14 (see FIG. 3). The seal ring 30 is formed in an annular shape and is accommodated at the back end position of the fitting space 14, and the inner peripheral surface thereof is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11. A plurality of lips 31 are provided on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the seal ring 30. When the mating connector is fitted to the waterproof connector C, the hood portion of the mating housing (not shown) enters the fitting space 14 of the housing 10, and the tip portion of the hood portion is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring 30 and the hood. The lip 31 provided on the inner peripheral surface and outer peripheral surface of the seal ring 30 is crushed by entering the space between the inner peripheral surface of the portion 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11. Pressed against. Thereby, the waterproofness between the housing 10 and the other party housing is maintained.

  A pressing portion 32 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring 30 to press the assembly jig when the seal ring 30 is inserted into the fitting space 14 (see FIG. 7). The pressing portion 32 is formed in a flat plate shape, and a pair is provided at a symmetrical position in the longitudinal direction of the seal ring 30. Each pressing portion 32 is formed so as to project radially outward from the rear end portion of the outer peripheral surface of the seal ring 30, and the size of the projecting tip reaches the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 12.

  On the rear side surface of the pressing portion 32, a locking projection 33 that locks to the connecting wall 13 of the housing 10 is provided. A pair of locking protrusions 33 are provided on each pressing portion 32, and the pair of locking protrusions 33 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction in each pressing portion 32 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). .

  The locking projection 33 includes a shaft portion 34 projecting rearward from the rear side surface of the pressing portion 32 and a head portion 35 provided at the rear end of the shaft portion 34. The shaft portion 34 is formed in a columnar shape whose axis extends along the insertion direction of the seal ring 30, and protrudes rearward from the rear side surface of the pressing portion 32 by the thickness dimension of the connecting wall 13.

  The head portion 35 is formed to have a slightly larger diameter than the shaft portion 34 and has a shape protruding from the shaft portion 34 in all directions, and has a substantially circular cross section that is slightly larger than the shaft portion 34 (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 6). (See FIG. 7). The head 35 is elastically contracted and penetrates the connecting wall 13, and is restored and deformed to be locked to the rear surface. The head portion 35 is a portion between a root portion 35A that is an end portion on the shaft portion 34 side, a tip portion 35B that is an end portion on the opposite side to the shaft portion 34, and a portion between the root portion 35A and the tip portion 35B. An intermediate portion 35C. The root portion 35A of the head portion 35 has a disk shape with a constant diameter in the axial direction, and the intermediate portion 35C has a conical shape that tapers from the root portion 35A side toward the tip portion 35B side, and the tip portion 35B. Is a cylindrical shape with a small diameter.

  A fitting recess 15 into which the pressing portion 32 of the seal ring 30 is fitted is formed in the connecting wall 13 of the housing 10 (see FIG. 5). The fitting recess 15 is formed in a recess on the front side surface of the connecting wall 13 and has a depth dimension equivalent to the thickness dimension of the pressing part 32. A portion of the connecting wall 13 located on the back side of the fitting recess 15 (referred to as a back wall portion 13A) bulges to the rear side of the other portions of the connecting wall 13 in order to ensure a predetermined wall thickness. And protrudes to the rear side.

  Further, a locking hole 16 for locking a locking projection 33 provided on the seal ring 30 is formed in the connecting wall 13 of the housing 10 in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 5). A plurality of the locking holes 16 are provided at positions aligned with the locking protrusions 33 of the seal ring 30 and penetrate the back wall portion 13 </ b> A of the connecting wall 13. A pair of locking holes 16 are provided at symmetrical positions with the terminal accommodating portion 11 in between, and the pair of locking holes 16 located on the sides of the terminal accommodating portion 11 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. ing.

  On the rear side of the connecting wall 13 of the housing 10 (the rear side of the terminal accommodating portion 11), a rubber plug fitting portion 17 is provided to which a rubber plug (not shown) attached to the terminal portion of the electric wire is fitted (see FIG. 4). The rubber plug fitting portion 17 has a cylindrical shape and protrudes rearward from the connecting wall 13 and opens rearward. The rubber plug fitted into the rubber plug fitting portion 17 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire and the inner peripheral surface of the rubber plug fitting portion 17 and seals the space in a liquid-tight manner.

  A protective wall 18 is provided on the rear side of the connecting wall 13 of the housing 10 and rises around the head 35 of the locking projection 33 (see FIG. 4). The protective wall 18 is provided along the left and right side edges and the top and bottom side edges of the housing 10 and has a rectangular tube shape that is long in the horizontal direction. The rear end of the protection wall 18 is located behind the rear end of the locking projection 33 (see FIG. 5), and the entire head portion 35 of the locking projection 33 is covered and protected by the protection wall 18.

  Reinforcing walls 19A and 19B are connected between the protective wall 18 and the rubber plug fitting portion 17 (see FIG. 4). The reinforcing walls 19A and 19B are provided with a center side reinforcing wall 19A for connecting the center in the width direction of the rubber plug fitting portion 17 and the protective wall 18 in the vertical direction, and an end portion in the width direction of the rubber plug fitting portion 17 and the protection. An end-side reinforcing wall 19B that connects the wall 18 in the vertical direction is provided. A pair of the center side reinforcing wall 19 </ b> A and the end side reinforcing wall 19 </ b> B are provided above and below each rubber plug fitting portion 17. The protective wall 18 is partitioned into a plurality of regions by the reinforcing walls 19A and 19B and the rubber plug fitting portion 17. Note that a portion of the protective wall 18 between the pair of central reinforcing walls 19A provided above the rubber plug fitting portion 17 is cut away, and a fingertip is used to unlock the lever 40 in the fitting position. It is set as a finger insertion part 21 for inserting.

  Of the space in the protective wall 18, the head of the seal ring 30 is enclosed in a space surrounded by the protective wall 18, the rubber plug fitting portion 17, and the end-side reinforcing wall 19 </ b> B (referred to as a locking projection accommodating portion 22). 35 is arranged.

  The locking protrusion accommodating portion 22 is provided with a guide groove 23 into which a guide piece 54 of an electric wire cover 50 described later is inserted. The guide groove 23 is a groove that is provided along the end-side reinforcing wall 19 </ b> B in the locking protrusion accommodating portion 22. The guide grooves 23 are provided on both upper and lower sides of the locking projection accommodating portion 22, and are narrower in the width direction than other portions of the locking projection accommodating portion 22. Both end edges in the width direction of the guide piece 54 are inserted into the upper and lower guide grooves 23, and the head portion 35 of the locking protrusion 33 is disposed in the central portion of the locking protrusion accommodating portion 22 excluding the guide groove 23. Is done. Note that a window portion 26 is formed in the protection wall 18 in the vicinity of each head portion 35 so as to penetrate the protection wall 18, and the window portion 26 will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a mounting projection 24 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the protective wall 18 so as to lock a mounting piece 53 of a wire cover 50 described later. The mounting protrusion 24 is located at the opening end (rear end) of the protective wall 18. A pair of mounting protrusions 24 are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the protective wall 18 at a position on the center side of the end-side reinforcing wall 19B (see FIG. 4).

  The lever 40 is made of a synthetic resin, and includes a pair of arm portions 41 disposed along the left and right side walls of the housing 10 and an operation portion 42 that couples the arm portions 41 to each other. The lever 40 can be rotated between an initial position (see FIG. 5) and a fitting position (not shown). When the lever 40 is in the initial position and the mating connector is fitted, the lever 41 The cam pin of the mating connector enters the formed cam groove 41A, and the cam pin and the cam groove 41A are engaged with each other as the lever 40 is rotated, and the cam action is exhibited. When the lever 40 reaches the mating position, the mating connector and the waterproof connector C reach the proper mating state, and at the same time, the lock portion 43 provided in the operation portion 42 is provided with the cover provided in the housing 10. The lever 40 is locked to the lock portion 25 and locked in a state in which the rotation operation toward the initial position is restricted. The mating connector and the waterproof connector C are detached by rotating the lever 40 from the fitting position to the initial position.

  The electric wire cover 50 is made of a synthetic resin, and includes a cover main body 51 that covers the electric wires, and an electric wire outlet 52 for leading the electric wires upward is provided on the upper surface of the cover main body 51 (see FIG. 1). . The electric wire outlet 52 has a substantially rectangular shape with an attachment side to the housing 10 opened.

The electric wire cover 50 includes an attachment piece 53 that is engaged with the attachment protrusion 24 of the housing 10 and a guide piece 54 that is inserted into the guide groove 23.
A pair of attachment pieces 53 are provided on the upper surface and the lower surface of the wire cover 50 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), and the attachment pieces 53 on the upper surface side are provided on both sides of the wire outlet 52, and the attachment pieces on the lower surface side. 53 is provided at a position facing the mounting piece 53 on the upper surface side. As shown in FIG. 5, the attachment piece 53 has a flat plate shape along the outer peripheral surface of the protective wall 18 of the housing 10, and has an attachment hole 53 </ b> A into which the attachment protrusion 24 fits, and can be elastically bent in the vertical direction. Has been. The electric wire cover 50 is attached to the waterproof connector C and held by the attachment pieces 53 of the electric wire cover 50 being locked to the attachment protrusions 24 of the housing 10.

  A pair of guide pieces 54 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the wire cover 50 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The guide piece 54 has a thin plate shape and protrudes further forward than the attachment piece 53. When the guide piece 54 is inserted into the locking projection accommodating portion 22 of the protective wall 18, both end edges in the width direction are inserted into the guide groove 23, thereby guiding the mounting operation of the electric wire cover 50. The leading end of the guide piece 54 inserted into the locking projection accommodating portion 22 is located rearward from the head 35 of the locking projection 33, and interference between the guide piece 54 and the locking projection 33 is prevented. Yes.

  Now, in the protective wall 18, a window portion 26 is formed in the vicinity of each head 35 so as to penetrate the protective wall 18 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The window portion 26 is formed on the front end portion of the protective wall 18, in other words, immediately behind the connecting wall 13. The same number of window portions 26 as the locking projections 33 are provided, and a pair of windows 26 are arranged above and below the locking projection accommodating portion 22 (see FIG. 5). The pair of window portions 26 are formed at positions facing each other with the head portion 35 interposed therebetween. When the head portion 35 does not exist between the pair of window portions 26, the pair of window portions 26 can be seen from above the housing 10 through the pair of window portions 26. It has become. In addition, by forming the window part 26 on the upper wall and the lower wall of the protective wall 18, the window part 26 can be formed by a slide mold for forming the attachment protrusion 24.

  Each window portion 26 is opened in a rectangular shape that is slightly longer in the width direction of the housing 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The width dimension (longitudinal dimension) of the window portion 26 is larger than the width dimension of the head portion 35, and the width dimension of the widened portion (the end-side reinforcing wall 19 </ b> B and the protective wall 18 of the locking projection accommodating portion 22). Of these, the distance is equal to the distance between the thin wall portions). Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the height dimension of the window portion 26 (dimension in the short direction) is a step portion of the rear wall portion 13A (rear side of the other portions of the connecting wall 13). The height dimension of the protruding portion) and the axial dimension of the head portion 35 of the locking projection 33 combined with the base portion 35A and the intermediate portion 35C are equal to each other. These are visible from the side of the protective wall 18.

Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
In the waterproof connector C of the present embodiment, a seal ring 30 attached to the housing 10 is sandwiched between a mating housing that can be fitted with the housing 10 and seals between the housing 10 and the mating housing. The seal ring 30 has a plurality of locking protrusions 33 that are locked to the connecting wall 13 provided in the housing 10, and the locking protrusions 33 are formed on the shaft portion 34 and on both sides from the shaft portion 34. And a head 35 extending through the connecting wall 13 and locking to the rear surface of the head 35. On the rear side of the connecting wall 13, the protective wall 18 rises around the head 35. In the protective wall 18, a window portion 26 is formed in the vicinity of each head 35 so as to penetrate the protective wall 18.

  Accordingly, by looking into the inside of the protective wall 18 from each window portion 26, it is possible to visually recognize the presence or absence of the head 35 of each locking projection 33, whether or not a part of the head 35 is missing, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to easily check for missing or missing seal rings 30. In addition to the visual inspection, it is also possible to perform an inspection to check whether or not the jig pin is stuck into the window portion 26 and hit the head portion 35, an image inspection from the window portion 26, or the like.

  The window portion 26 is formed at the front end portion of the protective wall 18. Here, when the waterproof connector C is used in a posture in which the rear end faces upward (a posture in which the protective wall 18 opens upward), water easily collects inside the protective wall 18, so that the sealing performance is deteriorated. Is concerned. However, since the window part 26 is formed in the front edge part of the protective wall 18, in such a case, the water in the protective wall 18 escapes from the window part 26 to the outside, thus preventing deterioration of the sealing performance. be able to.

  Further, the base portion 35 </ b> A of the head portion 35 can be visually recognized from the window portion 26. Thereby, it is easy to confirm whether or not the entire head portion 35 penetrates the connecting wall 13, that is, whether or not the locking projection 33 is completely locked to the connecting wall 13. Therefore, not only the missing or missing seal ring 30 but also the locking state of the locking protrusion 33 can be easily confirmed. In addition, since the locking state of the locking protrusion 33 can be easily confirmed without unnecessarily enlarging the window portion 26, the strength of the protective wall 18 serving as the mounting portion of the wire cover 50 is sufficiently ensured. Can do.

  In addition, a pair of window portions 26 are formed on the protective wall 18 at positions facing each other with the head portion 35 interposed therebetween. Thereby, since the presence or absence of the head 35 can be inspected depending on whether or not the laser light passes through the pair of window portions 26, the inspection with the laser light can be easily performed.

<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) In the above embodiment, the waterproof connector C is a lever-type connector, but the present invention can also be applied to a connector without a lever .
( 4) In the above embodiment, the seal ring 30 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 so that the seal ring 30 is sandwiched between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 11 and the inner peripheral surface of the skirt portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a seal member is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion, and the seal member is sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion and the outer peripheral surface of the skirt portion. May be. In this case, the pressing portion may be formed to protrude on the inner peripheral side of the seal member.

(5) In the above embodiment, the head portion 35 protrudes in all directions from the shaft portion 34 and has a substantially circular cross section that is slightly larger than the shaft portion 34. It may be a thin plate that projects from the shaft to both sides, or a plurality of such thin plates may be provided radially around the shaft.
(6) In the above embodiment, the window 26 is formed at the front end of the protective wall 18. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the window is not necessarily in front of the protective wall as long as it is in the vicinity of each head. Even in such a case, when the waterproof connector is used sideways, the window portion functions as a drain hole.
(7) In the above embodiment, the window portion 26 is formed above and below the locking projection accommodating portion 22, but this is not a limitation, and the window portion is formed on the side of the locking projection accommodating portion. Also good.

C: Waterproof connector 10 ... Housing 13 ... Connecting wall (locking wall)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Protective wall 26 ... Window part 30 ... Seal ring 33 ... Locking protrusion 34 ... Shaft part 35 ... Head part 35A ... Root part (end part by the side of a shaft part)

Claims (4)

A seal ring attached to the housing is sandwiched between a mating housing that can be fitted with the housing, and is a waterproof connector that seals between the housing and the mating housing,
At the rear end of the housing, an electric wire cover for covering the electric wire drawn out from the housing is attached,
The seal ring has a plurality of locking projections that are locked to locking walls provided in the housing,
The locking projection has a shaft portion and a head portion projecting from the shaft portion on both sides, and the head portion penetrates the locking wall and is locked on the rear surface.
On the rear side of the locking wall, a rubber plug fitting portion for fitting a rubber plug attached to the electric wire is provided,
Similarly, on the rear side of the locking wall, a cylindrical protective wall that is a wall for attaching the wire cover and covers both the head and the rubber plug fitting portion is provided.
A waterproof connector, wherein a window portion is formed in the protective wall in the vicinity of each head so as to penetrate the protective wall.   The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the window portion is formed at an end portion on a front side of the protective wall.   The waterproof connector according to claim 2, wherein at least an end portion on the shaft portion side of the head portion is visible from the window portion.   The waterproof connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pair of the window portions are formed on the protective wall at positions facing each other with the head portion therebetween.

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