JP5874569B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

  For example, a waterproof connector described in Patent Document 1 below is known. The waterproof connector includes a male housing having a hood portion into which the female connector is fitted, and a male terminal held by the male housing. The male terminal is held by the male housing in a form protruding from the terminal insertion hole provided in the back wall of the hood part into the internal space of the hood part. Further, a standing wall is formed over the entire periphery of the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the inner wall of the hood portion so as to protect the base end portion of the male terminal protruding into the internal space of the hood portion. . When the hood portion of the male housing and the female connector are fitted, the standing wall is inserted into the through hole of the seal member provided on the front wall of the female connector, and the standing wall is the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. By being in close contact, the space between the hood portion and the front wall of the female connector is waterproofed.

JP 2003-297479 A

By the way, it has been studied to apply a male terminal locked from behind by a lance to the waterproof connector as described above.
However, with such a configuration, a jig insertion hole for inserting a jig for lance operation that releases the locked state between the male terminal and the lance is formed in the rear wall of the hood portion for maintenance work. It will be. However, if the jig insertion hole is formed together with the terminal insertion hole, the standing wall is enlarged by the amount of the jig insertion hole, and the hood part is also enlarged accordingly.

  This invention was completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at suppressing that a hood part enlarges, forming a jig | tool insertion hole collectively with a terminal insertion hole. .

As means for achieving the above object, the present invention is connected to a male housing provided with a hood part into which a female connector can be fitted, and a female terminal provided to the female connector. The male connector is a waterproof connector including a male terminal, wherein the male terminal protrudes into an internal space of the hood portion from a terminal insertion hole provided in a back wall of the hood portion. The male housing is retained from the rear side in the mating direction by an elastically deformable lance accommodated in the formed cavity and extending in a cantilevered manner from the inner wall of the cavity toward the front side in the mating direction. The opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the back wall of the hood part is formed with a standing wall that covers the base end part of the male terminal protruding from the back wall of the hood part. On the standing wall The and jig insertion hole the portion located in front of the lance in the open have a form cut in the fitting direction to face said lance in the fitting direction front side is formed, the vertical wall, the said receptacle When the female connector is fitted, the jig is inserted into the female cavity provided in the female connector so as to contact the inner peripheral surface of the female cavity. The opening edge is characterized in that when the hood portion and the female connector are fitted together, the opening edge is formed so as to contact the opening edge of the female cavity in the fitting direction .
According to the waterproof connector having such a configuration, the jig insertion hole can be formed together with the terminal insertion hole, and the jig for operating the lance can be inserted through the jig insertion hole from the front side in the fitting direction. it can. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the standing wall from being enlarged by the amount of the jig insertion hole, while forming the jig insertion hole and the terminal insertion hole all together. As a result, an increase in size of the hood portion can be suppressed.
In addition, the standing wall and the inner peripheral surface of the female cavity are brought into contact with each other, and the opening edge of the jig insertion hole is brought into contact with the opening edge of the female cavity so that the gap between the standing wall and the female connector is reached. Can be sealed. Thereby, the cavity can be individually waterproofed while suppressing an increase in the size of the standing wall and the hood portion.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the back wall of the hood portion is formed in a rectangular shape, and the standing wall is formed in a rectangular tube shape so as to correspond to the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole. It is good also as a structure. Here, “rectangular shape” means not only a rectangle with sharp corners, but also includes those with slightly rounded corners. This means that not only sharp square tubes but also those whose corners are slightly rounded.
If the standing wall is formed in a cylindrical shape so as not to block the terminal insertion hole with respect to the opening edge of the rectangular terminal insertion hole, the space between the inner peripheral surface of the standing wall and the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole In this case, an arc-shaped gap is formed, and the standing wall is unnecessarily enlarged by the amount of the arc-shaped gap. However, according to the above configuration, since the standing wall is formed in a rectangular tube shape so as to correspond to the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole, there is a gap between the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole and the standing wall. It can be prevented from occurring. Thereby, a standing wall can be reduced in size compared with the case where a standing wall is formed in a cylindrical shape. As a result, it can suppress that a food | hood part enlarges.

The proximal end portion of the standing wall is formed in a taper shape that widens toward the inner wall of the hood portion, and the proximal end portion of the standing wall disposed at the opening edge of the jig insertion hole is The hood portion and the female connector may be formed so as to come into surface contact with the opening edge of the female cavity when the female connector is fitted.
According to such a configuration, the distance between the outside of the cavity and the inside of the cavity is increased by bringing the proximal end of the standing wall in which the jig insertion hole is formed into surface contact with the opening edge of the female cavity. can do. Thereby, it can prevent more reliably that water permeates into the cavity through the jig insertion hole from the outside of the cavity.

In the standing wall, a notch hole in the form of notching the standing wall in a direction intersecting the fitting direction at a position opposite to the jig insertion hole with the axis of the terminal insertion hole as a center. The base end portion of the standing wall that is formed and arranged at the opening edge of the notch hole faces the opening edge of the female cavity when the hood portion and the female connector are fitted together. It is good also as a structure formed so that it may contact.
According to such a configuration, the notch hole is formed not only on the jig insertion hole side but also on the side opposite to the jig insertion hole side. The standing wall can be further downsized in the direction in which the cutout holes are arranged. Thereby, it can further suppress that a standing wall and a hood part enlarge. Also, in the notch hole, the base end portion of the standing wall in which the notch hole is formed is brought into surface contact with the opening edge of the female cavity, thereby preventing water from entering the cavity from the notch hole. Can do.

  According to the present invention, an increase in size of the hood portion can be suppressed while forming the jig insertion hole together with the terminal insertion hole.

Sectional drawing which shows the state before a male connector and a female connector fit Sectional drawing which shows the state which the male connector and the female connector fitted Front view of male housing Front view of female housing

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The waterproof connector of the present embodiment exemplifies the male connector 10 that accommodates a plurality of male terminals 50 and is fitted to the female connector 40. In the following description, the vertical direction refers to the vertical direction in FIG. 1, and the front-rear direction refers to the mutual fitting based on the fitting direction of the female connector 40 and the male connector 10 in FIG. The side to be used is the front side.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the female connector 40 includes a female housing 41 that houses a plurality of female terminals 20, and a lock arm that is provided on the upper surface of the female housing 41 so as to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction. 42.
The female terminal 20 is formed by pressing a metal plate having excellent conductivity, and includes a connecting tube portion 21 having a rectangular tube shape and a wire crimping portion 22 provided behind the connecting tube portion 21. It is prepared for. The connection cylinder part 21 is opened in the front-rear direction, and is electrically connected to the male terminal 50 by inserting the male terminal 50 of the male connector 10 from the front opening. The electric wire crimping portion 22 has a total of four clamping pieces 23 in pairs of front and rear. The front caulking piece 23 is crimped to the core wire exposed at the end of the electric wire W, and the rear caulking piece 23 is crimped to the cylindrical rubber plug G fitted on the electric wire W, so that the female terminal 20 Is connected to the terminal of the electric wire W.

  The female housing 41 has a long block shape in the front-rear direction, and a plurality of female-side cavities 43 penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed inside the female housing 41. On the upper inner wall of the female-side cavity 43, a cantilevered terminal locking portion 44 that extends obliquely downward and forward is formed. The terminal locking portion 44 holds the female terminal 20 in the female side housing 41 by locking the female terminal 20 inserted into the female side cavity 43 from behind. Further, when the female terminal 20 is accommodated in the female housing 41, the rubber plug G attached to the electric wire W comes into close contact with the rear inner peripheral surface of the female cavity 43, and the rear of each female cavity 43. Water is prevented from entering the inside from the side opening.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front opening edge of the female cavity 43 has a substantially rectangular shape. The front opening edge of the female cavity 43 has a tapered guide surface 45 that widens toward the front side. It is formed over the circumference. When the male connector 10 and the female connector 40 are fitted together, the guide surface 45 guides an electrical connection portion 51 (described later) of the male terminal 50 to the female terminal 20 in the female cavity 43. As shown in FIG. 2, the male terminal 50 is inserted into the connection tube portion 21. Thereby, the male terminal 50 and the female terminal 20 are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lock arm 42 is formed in a flat plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and can be elastically deformed in a seesaw shape with a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the lock arm 42 as a fulcrum. In addition, a lock hole 46 that penetrates the lock arm 42 in the vertical direction is formed in the front portion of the lock arm 42.

The male connector 10 includes a male housing 61 that houses a plurality of male terminals 50 therein.
The male terminal 50 includes an elongated pin-like electrical connection part 51 inserted into the connection cylinder part 21 of the female terminal 20, a cylindrical terminal body part 52 provided behind the electrical connection part 51, and a terminal body. An electric wire crimping portion 53 provided behind the portion 52 is provided.

  The terminal body portion 52 has a box shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The upper portion of the terminal body portion 52 is lowered to the front portion of the terminal body portion 52 by lowering the substantially central portion in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the terminal body portion 52. A lance locking portion 54 is formed. In addition, a locking projection 55 having a surface that is cut to the front side is projected from a substantially central portion in the width direction on the lower surface of the terminal main body 52.

  The electric wire crimping portion 53 has a total of four clamping pieces 56 of a pair of front and rear. The front caulking piece 56 is crimped to the core wire exposed at the end of the electric wire W, and the rear caulking piece 56 is crimped to the cylindrical rubber stopper G fitted on the electric wire W, so that the male terminal 50 Is connected to the terminal of the electric wire W.

  The front side of the male housing 61 is a hood portion 62 that fits the female side housing 41 inside, and the rear side is a block-like terminal accommodating portion 63 that is long in the front-rear direction. A plurality of male cavities 64 for accommodating the male terminals 50 from the rear are formed inside the terminal accommodating portion 63. The male side cavity 64 is configured in two upper and lower stages, and a cantilever lance 65 extending obliquely forward and downward is formed on the upper inner wall at the front end of each male side cavity 64. The lance 65 is elastically deformable toward a bending space S formed above the lance 65. When the male terminal 50 is inserted into the male cavity 64, the lance 65 is elastically deformed toward the bending space S by being pressed upward by the terminal body portion 52 of the male terminal 50. When the male terminal 50 is inserted to the normal position with respect to the male cavity 64, the pressed state by the terminal main body 52 is released, and the lance 65 is elastically restored, whereby the lance locking of the terminal main body 52 is performed. The portion 54 is locked by a lance 65 from the rear. Thereby, the male terminal 50 is held in the terminal accommodating portion 63 in a state where the male terminal 50 is prevented from being pulled backward.

  An escape groove 66 through which the locking projection 55 of the terminal main body 52 can pass is formed in the center of the bottom wall of the male cavity 64 in the width direction. The locking projection 55 is formed in front of the escape groove 66. A front stop portion 67 that is locked from the front is formed. For this reason, when the male terminal 50 is inserted into the male cavity 64, the locking projection 55 passes through the escape groove 66, and when the male terminal 50 is inserted to the proper position, the front stop portion 67 The locking projection 55 is locked from the front. Thereby, the male terminal 50 is held in the terminal accommodating portion 63 in a state where the male terminal 50 is stopped in front.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the hood portion 62 is configured to open toward the front, and a plurality of terminal insertion holes 68 penetrating in the front-rear direction are formed in the back wall 62 </ b> A of the hood portion 62. ing. Each terminal insertion hole 68 is formed to open in a substantially rectangular shape toward the front so as to communicate with each male cavity 64 of the terminal accommodating portion 63. When the male terminal 50 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 63, the electrical connection portion 51 of the male terminal 50 is inserted into the terminal insertion hole 68, and the electrical connection portion 51 is inserted into the hood from the rear wall 62A of the hood portion 62. It protrudes toward the internal space of the part 62.

At the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole 68 in the inner wall 62 </ b> A of the hood portion 62, a standing wall 69 that covers the proximal end portion of the electrical connection portion 51 protruding into the hood portion 62 is formed. The standing wall 69 includes a tapered portion 70 that tapers toward the front from the inner wall 62 </ b> A of the hood portion 62, and an extending portion 71 that extends forward from the tapered portion 70. .
The tapered portion 70 is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape so as to surround the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole 68 over the entire circumference, and an extending portion 71 is formed at the front end edge of the tapered portion 70.

  By the way, for example, when the standing wall is formed in a cylindrical shape so as not to block the terminal insertion hole with respect to the opening edge of the rectangular terminal insertion hole, the inner peripheral surface of the standing wall and the opening of the terminal insertion hole are formed. An arc-shaped gap is formed between the edges, and the standing wall is unnecessarily enlarged by the amount of the arc-shaped gap.

  However, according to the present embodiment, the tapered portion 70 of the standing wall 69 is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape so as to correspond to the substantially rectangular opening edge of the terminal insertion hole 68. It is possible to prevent a gap from being generated between the opening edge and the tapered portion 70. Thereby, it can suppress that the standing wall 69 enlarges to an up-down direction and the width direction compared with the case where a standing wall is formed in circular arc shape.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the female housing 41 is fitted in the hood portion 62, the standing wall 69 is inserted into the female cavity 43 of the female housing 41 together with the electrical connection portion 51. It has become so. Then, when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are brought into a proper fitting state, the outer peripheral surface of the extending portion 71 and the inner peripheral surface of the female cavity 43 are brought into surface contact. At the same time, the electrical connection portion 51 is inserted into the connection tube portion 21 of the female terminal 20 so that the male terminal 50 and the female terminal 20 are electrically connected.

  On the upper surface of the hood portion 62, a lock protrusion 72 that fits into the lock hole 46 in the lock arm 42 of the female connector 40 is formed, and the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 reach a proper fitting state. The hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are locked in a fitted state by being elastically fitted in the lock hole 46.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a jig insertion hole 73 for inserting a lance operation jig (not shown) is formed in the upper portion of each standing wall 69. The jig insertion hole 73 is a front-rear direction (fitting) between the lance 65 in the male cavity 64 and the upper inner wall of the terminal insertion hole 68 disposed in front of the bending space S of the lance 65 and the upper inner wall of the standing wall 69. In the direction), and is open to the front end surface of the tapered portion 70 on the upper side of the standing wall 69.
The jig insertion hole 73 formed in the upper inner wall of the standing wall 69 cuts out the upper inner wall of the upper tapered portion 70 and cuts out all the upper extending portions 71 extending forward from the upper tapered portion 70. Thus, the lance 65 in the male cavity 64 and the bending space S of the lance 65 face forward through the jig insertion hole 73. That is, the jig insertion hole 73 and the terminal insertion hole 68 are collectively formed on the inner side of the standing wall 69, and the standing wall 69 is small in the vertical direction by the notch of the upper extending portion 71. It has become.

  In addition, a notch hole 74 is formed in the lower portion of each standing wall 69. The notch hole 74 is disposed at a position opposite to the jig insertion hole 73 with the axis of the terminal insertion hole 68 as the center. The notch hole 74 is formed by notching the lower inner wall of the lower taper portion 70 and notching all of the lower extension portion 71 extending forward from the lower taper portion 70 in the vertical direction. In addition, the front end surface of the tapered portion 70 below the standing wall 69 is open. As a result, the upright wall 69 is downsized in the vertical direction by the amount by which the lower protrusion is removed. The pitch between the male cavities 64 is set to be extremely small by cutting out all the extending portions 71 on both the upper and lower sides of each standing wall 69.

  The upper taper portion (opening edge of the jig insertion hole 73) 70 in which the jig insertion hole 73 is formed is formed in the female cavity 43 when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are properly fitted. It is set so as to be in surface contact with the upper edge of the guide surface 45 provided at the opening edge. Further, the lower taper portion (opening edge of the notch hole 74) 70 in which the notch hole 74 is formed opens the female cavity 43 when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are properly fitted. It is set so as to be in surface contact with the lower edge of the guide surface 45 provided at the edge. In other words, when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are properly fitted, the opening edge of the jig insertion hole 73 and the opening edge of the cutout hole 74 are blocked by the guide surface 45 of the female cavity 43. It has become.

The male connector 10 of the present embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation and effect thereof will be described subsequently.
For example, in a connector in which a standing wall is formed at the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the back wall of the hood part, a jig insertion hole for operating a lance arranged in the back part of the terminal insertion hole is provided as a terminal insertion hole. At the same time, if it is formed in a lump, the standing wall is enlarged by the amount of the jig insertion hole, and the hood is also enlarged accordingly.

  However, according to the male connector 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper inner wall of the tapered portion 70 on the upper side of the standing wall 69 is cut out and the upper side of the standing wall 69 is extended. A jig insertion hole 73 is formed by cutting out all of the portion 71. As a result, while the jig insertion hole 73 and the terminal insertion hole 68 are collectively formed inside the standing wall 69, the standing wall 69 is large in the vertical direction by the amount corresponding to the cutout of the upper extending portion 71. Can be suppressed. Then, during maintenance work, the lance 65 is operated from the front of the male housing 61 through the jig insertion hole 73, and the lance 65 in the terminal accommodating portion 63 and the lance locking portion 54 of the male terminal 50 are engaged. The stop state can be released.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the notch hole 74 is formed at the lower position of the standing wall 69 and all the extending portions 71 on the lower side of the standing wall 69 are notched, An increase in the size of the installation wall 69 can be further suppressed. Furthermore, since all the vertically extending portions 71 of each standing wall 69 are notched, the pitch between the male cavities 64 can be remarkably reduced, and as a result, the hood portion 62 can be reduced in size.

  By the way, when the jig insertion hole 73 and the notch hole 74 are formed in the standing wall 69 as described above, the upper extension part 71 and the lower extension part 71 are notched, and the jig insertion hole There is a concern that water may enter the cavities 43 and 64 from the opening edge of 73 and the opening edge of the cutout hole 74.

However, according to the present embodiment, when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 reach the proper fitting state, the upper tapered portion in which the jig insertion hole 73 is formed (opening edge of the jig insertion hole 73). 70 and the lower tapered portion (opening edge of the notch hole 74) 70 in which the notch hole 74 is formed come into surface contact with the guide surface 45 provided at the opening edge of the female cavity 43, and the jig insertion hole 73 The opening edge and the opening edge of the cutout hole 74 are closed.
That is, when the hood portion 62 and the female housing 41 are properly fitted, the extending portions 71 are inserted into the female cavity 43 of the female housing 41 on both sides of the standing wall 69 in the width direction. The outer peripheral surface of the extending portion 71 and the inner peripheral surface of the female cavity 43 are in surface contact. At the same time, the upper taper portion (opening edge of the jig insertion hole 73) 70 and the lower taper portion (opening edge of the notch hole 74) 70 are provided on the both sides in the vertical direction of the standing wall 69. It is in surface contact with 43 guide surfaces 45. Thus, the space between the housings 41 and 61 is sealed so that water does not enter into the cavities 43 and 64 from the gap between the housings 41 and 61 while suppressing the upright wall 69 from being enlarged. 43 and 64 can be individually waterproofed.

<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 male side cavity is configured in two upper and lower stages, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the male side cavity is configured in one upper and lower stages or three or more upper and lower stages. May be.
(2) In the above embodiment, the notch hole 74 is configured in the lower part of the standing wall 69, but the present invention is not limited to such a mode. For example, the notch hole is not provided in the standing wall, You may make it the structure in which the lower seal part was provided.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the jig insertion hole 73 is formed in the upper inner wall of the tapered portion 70 on the upper side of the standing wall 69. However, the present invention is not limited to such a mode. For example, the upper taper portion may be entirely cut away.

10: Male connector (waterproof connector)
20: Female terminal 40: Female connector 43: Female cavity 50: Male terminal 61: Male housing 62: Hood 64: Male cavity (cavity)
65: Lance 68: Terminal insertion hole 69: Standing wall 73: Jig insertion hole 74: Notch hole

Claims (4)

A waterproof connector comprising a male housing provided with a hood part into which a female connector can be fitted, and a male terminal connected to a female terminal provided on the female connector,
The male terminal is accommodated in a cavity formed in the male housing in a form protruding from a terminal insertion hole provided in a back wall of the hood part into the internal space of the hood part. It is held in the male housing by being locked from the rear side in the fitting direction by an elastically deformable lance extending in a cantilevered manner from the inner wall toward the front side in the fitting direction,
On the opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the back wall of the hood part, a standing wall that covers the base end part of the male terminal protruding from the back wall of the hood part is formed,
In the standing wall, a jig insertion hole is formed for facing the lance to the front side in the fitting direction in a form in which a portion located in front of the lance is cut out in the fitting direction.
When the hood portion and the female connector are fitted, the standing wall is inserted into a female cavity provided in the female connector and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the female cavity. And
The opening edge of the jig insertion hole is formed to be in contact with the opening edge of the female cavity in the fitting direction when the hood portion and the female connector are fitted. The opening edge of the terminal insertion hole in the back wall of the hood part is formed in a rectangular shape,
The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the standing wall is formed in a rectangular tube shape so as to correspond to an opening edge of the terminal insertion hole. The base end portion of the standing wall is formed in a tapered shape that widens toward the inner wall of the hood portion,
The base end portion of the standing wall arranged at the opening edge of the jig insertion hole is in surface contact with the opening edge of the female cavity when the hood portion and the female connector are fitted. The waterproof connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the waterproof connector is formed on the waterproof connector. In the standing wall, a notch hole in which the standing wall is notched in a direction intersecting the fitting direction is formed at a position facing the jig insertion hole with the axis of the terminal insertion hole as a center. Has been
The base end portion of the standing wall arranged at the opening edge of the notch hole is formed so as to be in surface contact with the opening edge of the female side cavity when the hood portion and the female side connector are fitted to each other. The waterproof connector according to claim 3.

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