JP6134303B2 - Waterproof stopper - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof plug that adheres in a liquid-tight manner to an outer surface of a coated wire and an inner peripheral surface of a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing.

  A connector is provided at the end of a wire harness composed of a plurality of electric wires, and a waterproof plug is conventionally used to provide the connector with waterproof performance (specifically, waterproof performance between the connector housing and the electric wire). Waterproof plugs are used for securing).

5 and 6 (a), for example, waterproof plug 1 disclosed in Patent Document 1 (so-called rubber stopper) is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having elasticity. The waterproof plug 1 has a wire insertion hole 2 formed inside thereof. Further, lip portions 4 and 5 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 3 of the waterproof plug 1. In addition, the waterproof plug 1 is formed with a crimping portion 10 that is crimped together with the covering 9 of the electric wire 8 by the covering crimping piece 7 of the terminal fitting 6. The waterproof plug 1 is formed so as to be in liquid-tight contact with the outer peripheral surface of the covering of the electric wire 8. The waterproof plug 1 is formed so that the lip portions 4 and 5 are in liquid-tight contact with the inner peripheral surface 13 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the connector housing 11.

6 (a), the lip 4 and 5 are respectively formed in an annular shape. Explaining it in more detail, the waterproof plug 1 is formed in a portion projecting outward from the outer peripheral surface 3 of the waterproof plug 1 in a cross-sectional mountain shape. Further, the lip portions 4 and 5 having a mountain-shaped cross section are formed so that the top portions thereof are located on an axis C2 orthogonal to the central axis C1 of the waterproof plug 1 (the axis of the electric wire insertion hole 2). The lip portions 4 and 5 are formed side by side (continuously) without any interval. The lip portions 4 and 5 are formed so that the height of the lip portion 4 protruding toward the terminal accommodating chamber 12 is lowered. The lip portions 4 and 5 are formed to have an outer diameter larger than the diameter of the inner peripheral surface 13 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12.

  In the above configuration and structure, when the waterproof plug 1 is assembled to the electric wire 8 and inserted in the terminal housing chamber 12 of the connector housing 11 in this state, first, the lip portion 4 contacts the opening edge 14 of the terminal housing chamber 12. . The lip portion 4 is elastically deformed and crushed by the action related to insertion, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12 by this crushed. When the lip portion 4 is inserted, the lip portion 5 then contacts the opening edge 14 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12. The lip portion 5 is also elastically deformed and crushed in the same manner as the lip portion 4, and the lip portion 5 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 12 by the crushed portion.

The above in the conventional art, the portion from the top of the lip 4 and 5 are formed on the annular rib shaped as to be positioned on the axis C2, in contact with the opening edge of the terminal accommodating chambers 12, FIG. 6 It matches the hatched portions 4a and 5a in (b) and (c). That is, each of the lip portions 4 and 5 contacts the opening edge 14 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 over the entire circumference. Since the lip portions 4 and 5 abut against the opening edge 14 of the terminal accommodating chamber 12 over the entire circumference, the insertion load naturally increases.

  The prior art attempts to reduce the initial insertion load by changing the protruding height of the lip portions 4 and 5, but the effect is slight. This is because the lip portions 4 and 5 are arranged side by side without any interval. Thereby, the volume movement related to the strain when the lip portion 4 is elastically deformed is hindered by the presence of the lip portion 5 and is not smoothly performed, and therefore the effect is slight. When the insertion load is increased, the lip portions 4 and 5 may be cut. When cutting occurs, it is difficult to ensure waterproof performance.

By the way, in order to reduce the initial insertion load, the following technique is disclosed in Patent Document 2 below. Patent Document 2 is proposed for the purpose of reducing the insertion load when the connector is inserted into the housing. Briefly described with reference to FIG. 7 , a connector insertion hole 16 is formed in the housing 15. On the other hand, the connector 17 is formed with a shaft portion 18 to be inserted into the connector insertion hole 16. One annular groove 19 is formed in the shaft portion 18, and an elastic member 20 is attached to the annular groove 19. The elastic member 20 is formed in a shape that is in liquid-tight contact with the annular groove 19 and the connector insertion hole 16. The size of the elastic member 20 is set according to the shape of the annular groove 19. The annular groove 19 is formed in the groove of the axis C3 that is inclined with respect to the axis of the connector insertion hole 16.

  In the above configuration and structure, when the elastic member 20 is assembled in the annular groove 19 and the shaft portion 18 of the connector 17 is inserted into the connector insertion hole 16 of the housing 15, the arrow A portion of the elastic member 20 is at the opening edge of the connector insertion hole 16. Abut. The arrow A portion of the elastic member 20 is elastically deformed and crushed by the action related to insertion, and is inserted into the connector insertion hole 16 by this crushed. When the elastic member 20 is gradually elastically deformed as it is inserted, the elastic member 20 is finally elastically deformed up to the arrow B portion, so that the entire elastic member 20 is inserted into the connector insertion hole 16.

The present inventor has same shape as the elastic member 20, i.e., shaped like oblique to the axis of the connector insertion hole 16, in the same arrangement and number is formed on the outer circumferential surface 3 of the waterproof plug 1 in FIG. 6, which Was considered as an alternative to the lip portions 4 and 5. However, the waterproof plug 1 is assembled to the electric wire 8. When an external force is applied to the electric wire 8 and the electric wire 8 is shaken, at this time, if the number of alternative parts is one, the electric wire 8 is shaken. The inventor of the present application thought that the rocking occurred, and as a result, the waterproof performance at the alternative portion could not be secured stably. That is, the present inventor considered that simply adopting the technique of Patent Document 2 is insufficient and there is room for improvement.

JP 2013-152803 A JP 2007-31224 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and can reduce the insertion load to prevent breakage and the like. For example, even if the electric wire is swung, it is possible to stabilize the waterproof performance. Another object is to provide a waterproof plug.

The present invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above problems, is a substantially cylindrical member having elasticity, wherein an electric wire insertion hole is formed inside, and an annular lip portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface. The wire insertion hole is formed in liquid-tight contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire provided with a terminal fitting at the terminal, and the lip portion is in liquid-tight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing. In the waterproof plug, the plurality of lip portions are formed as independent annular portions , and the plurality of lip portions are formed as oblique lip portions extending in a direction inclined with respect to the axis of the wire insertion hole , and The direction of tilting is a direction tilted in a “<” shape in two axes that are symmetric with respect to the axis of the wire insertion hole in a side view of the waterproof plug, and in the plan view and the bottom view, On the axis Is a direction inclined to the inverted "V" shape in two axes to be axially symmetric, and the plurality of oblique lip portions being arranged at a predetermined interval along the axis of the wire insertion holes It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention having such a feature, when the insertion of the waterproof plug into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing is started, a part of the oblique lip portion to be inserted first among the plurality of terminals is housed in the terminal housing. Abuts against the opening edge of the chamber. The above-mentioned part of the oblique lip portion is elastically deformed and crushed by the action related to insertion, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber by this crushed. The oblique lip portion is gradually elastically deformed as it is inserted, and when the whole is finally elastically deformed, the first oblique lip portion is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. The oblique lip portion to be inserted next is also in the same state as described above during the insertion process.

Since the oblique lip portions are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval, when all the oblique lip portions are inserted, the waterproof plug is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber at each formation position of the plurality of oblique lip portions. Adhere closely. At this time, the waterproof plug is in a state where the hooks are held at a plurality of locations, and the waterproof plug may affect the securing of the waterproof performance even if the wire to which the waterproof plug is assembled is shaken. Oscillation does not occur.
According to the present invention having the above-described features, the oblique lip portion is formed in such a setting that the contact of the connector housing with the terminal accommodating chamber is at a plurality of locations. That is, the setting is not such that the contact is made over the entire circumference (the initial insertion load can be reduced).

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the waterproof plug according to the first aspect, each of the plurality of oblique lip portions has an initial contact portion and a final contact portion with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber. In addition, as the predetermined interval, the position of the final contact portion of the oblique lip portion inserted first into the terminal accommodating chamber and the position of the initial contact portion of the oblique lip portion inserted next Is set to be the shortest interval on the axis.

According to the present invention having such a feature, for example, during the insertion of the oblique lip portion to be inserted first, the insertion of the oblique lip portion to be inserted next is not started. In the present invention, the insertion of the oblique lip portion to be inserted next is started at the timing when the insertion of the first oblique lip portion is completed or at the timing after the insertion is completed .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the insertion load can be reduced to prevent breakage and the like. Moreover, according to this invention, even if an electric wire shakes, for example, there exists an effect that ensuring of waterproof performance can be stabilized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is an effect that the insertion load can be reduced .

A terminal electric wire with waterproof plug according to the present invention is assembled, Ru perspective view showing a connector housing made in accommodating the wire with terminals. Ru side view der of the waterproof plug shown in FIG. 1. The waterproof plug of Fig. 2 Ru schematic view showing a state when inserted into the terminal receiving chamber. Ru front view der the waterproof plug shown schematically initially abutting portion when the waterproof plug of FIG 2 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber. It is a figure which concerns on a prior art example, and is sectional drawing which shows the state by which the electric wire with a terminal with which the waterproof plug was assembled | attached was half inserted in the terminal storage chamber. It is a figure which concerns on the waterproofing stopper of FIG. 5 , (a) is sectional drawing, (b) And (c) is a front view of the waterproofing stopper which shows a contact location typically. It is a figure which concerns on another prior art example, and is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the axial part of the connector with which the elastic member was assembled | attached was inserted in the connector insertion hole.

  The waterproof plug is a substantially cylindrical elastic member whose inner side is in liquid tight contact with the outer peripheral surface of the wire covering and whose outer side is in liquid tight contact with the inner peripheral surface of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing. An annular lip portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the waterproof plug. A plurality of lip portions are formed. The plurality of lip portions are formed as oblique lip portions extending in a direction inclined with respect to the axis of the hole through which the electric wire is inserted. The plurality of oblique lip portions are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval along the axis. Each of the plurality of oblique lip portions has an initial contact portion and a final contact portion with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric wire with a terminal to which a waterproof plug according to the present invention is assembled, and a connector housing serving as an accommodation destination of the electric wire with a terminal. 2 is a side view of the waterproof plug, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state when the waterproof plug is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and FIG. It is a front view of the waterproof stopper which shows the part which touches typically.

<Overall configuration>
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 indicates a connector housing of a connector used for electrical connection. The connector housing 21 is a molded product formed by injection molding an insulating resin material, and has a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 22. The terminal accommodating chamber 22 is defined by a cylindrical tube portion 23 at the rear portion of the connector housing 21. The opening edge of the cylinder part 23 is an insertion start part of the electric wire 24 with a terminal.

  The electric wire with terminal 24 includes an electric wire 25, a terminal fitting 26 provided at the end of the electric wire 25, and a waterproof plug 27 that prevents intrusion of moisture or the like through the electric wire 25. The electric wire 25 is a well-known one having a circular cross section, and includes a conductor and a coating (insulator). The terminal fitting 26 is formed by pressing a conductive metal plate. The terminal fitting 26 is female in this embodiment, and has a substantially box-shaped electrical contact portion 28, a pair of conductor crimping pieces 29, and a pair of covering crimping pieces 30. In the drawing, the conductor crimping piece 29 and the covering crimping piece 30 after crimping are shown.

<About waterproof plug 27>
1 and 2, the waterproof plug 27 is a substantially cylindrical member having elasticity such as rubber or elastomer, and is provided at the terminal of the electric wire 25 together with the terminal fitting 26. The waterproof plug 27 is generally called a rubber plug, and may be read as such.

The waterproof plug 27 includes a waterproof plug body 31 and a crimping portion 32 continuous with the waterproof plug body 31. Further, the waterproof plug 27 has an electric wire insertion hole 33 (see FIG. 4) that is coaxial with the central axis C1. The waterproof plug 27 is formed so that the outer side thereof is in liquid-tight contact with the inner peripheral surface 34 (see FIG. 3) of the terminal accommodating chamber 22 of the connector housing 21. Further, the waterproof plug 27 is formed so that the inner side thereof is in liquid-tight contact with the outer peripheral surface of the covering of the electric wire 25. Further, the waterproof plug 27 is formed such that the crimping portion 32 is compressed by crimping the covering crimping piece 30 (see FIG. 1). In addition, regarding the crimping | compression-bonding part 32, this formation shall be arbitrary. That is, the waterproof plug 27 may be configured only by the waterproof plug body 31 .

In FIG. 2 , the waterproof plug body 31 is formed with a predetermined length along the central axis C1. The outer peripheral surface 35 of the waterproof plug body 31 is formed into a smooth curved surface. Two oblique lip portions 38 (lip portions), which are characteristic portions of the present invention, are formed on the side where the crimping portion 32 is continuous (the number is an example, and a plurality of lip portions) may be used.

<About the oblique lip 38>
The oblique lip portion 38 is formed as a portion protruding outward from the outer peripheral surface 35 in a cross-sectional mountain shape (cross-sectional semicircular shape). In addition, the oblique lip portion 38 having a mountain-shaped cross section is located on axes C3 and C3 ′ whose tops are inclined at predetermined angles θ and θ ′ with respect to the central axis C1 of the waterproof plug 27 (axis of the wire insertion hole 33). (In other words, it is formed at a position different from the axis C2 orthogonal to the central axis C1. In this embodiment, θ = θ ′).

  There are two oblique lip portions 38 in the present embodiment, and each is formed in an independent annular portion (an annular portion in which a plurality of inclined portions are continuous). The two oblique lip portions 38 are formed in the same shape. Such two oblique lip portions 38 are arranged side by side with a predetermined distance D along the central axis C1.

Here, the predetermined distance D will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Each of the two oblique lip portions 38 has an inner peripheral surface 34 of the terminal accommodating chamber 22 (an inner peripheral surface 34 of the cylindrical portion 23). ) And the position of the final contact portion B of the oblique lip portion 38a (38) inserted first into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 and the oblique lip portion to be inserted next. 38b (38) and a position of initial contact portion a of the is set to the distance D such that substantially matches on the center axis C1 as the shortest (in the case of placing side by side without a spacing D, background There is a concern about the problem of Patent Document 1 described in the column of (1), as will be understood from the following description, but spacing D as in the present invention is effective in reducing the insertion load) .

<Operational effects of the oblique lip 38>
In FIG. 3 , when the insertion of the waterproof plug 27 into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 is started, the oblique lip portion 38a (38) inserted first is part of this, that is, the initial contact portion A (see FIG. 4 ). It contacts the opening edge 37 of the terminal accommodating chamber 22. The initial contact portion A of the oblique lip 38a is elastically deformed and crushed by the action related to insertion, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 due to this crushed. The oblique lip portion 38a is gradually elastically deformed as it is inserted, and finally, when the entire lip portion 38a is elastically deformed, the oblique lip portion 38a is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22.

  The oblique lip 38b (38) to be inserted next is also in the same state as described above during the insertion process. That is, a part of the oblique lip portion 38 b to be inserted next, that is, the initial contact portion A abuts against the opening edge 37 of the terminal accommodating chamber 22. The initial contact portion A of the inclined lip portion 38b is elastically deformed and crushed by the action related to insertion, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22 by this crushed. The oblique lip portion 38b is gradually elastically deformed as it is inserted, and finally, when the entire lip portion 38b is elastically deformed, the oblique lip portion 38b is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 22.

  As can be seen from the above and the drawings, the insertion of the oblique lip 38b (38) to be inserted next is started at the timing when the insertion of the oblique lip 38a (38) to be inserted first is finished.

Since the two oblique lip portions 38 (38a, 38b) are arranged side by side with a predetermined distance D, when all of the waterproof plugs 27 are inserted, the waterproof plug 27 is attached to each of the two oblique lip portions 38. It is liquid-tightly adhered to the inner peripheral surface 34 of the terminal accommodating chamber 22 at the position of the formation location. At this time, the waterproof plug 27 is in a state where the hook is also held at two places, and even if the electric wire 25 (see FIG. 1 ) to which the waterproof plug 27 is assembled is shaken, the waterproof plug 27 There is no oscillation that affects the securing of waterproof performance.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 , according to the present invention, there is an effect that the insertion load can be reduced (particularly, the initial insertion load can be reduced). Thereby, there also exists an effect that cutting etc. can be prevented. Moreover, according to this invention, even if the electric wire 25 shakes, there exists an effect that ensuring of waterproof performance can be stabilized.

  In addition, the present invention can of course be modified in various ways within the scope not changing the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Connector housing, 22 ... Terminal accommodation chamber, 23 ... Tube part, 24 ... Electric wire with a terminal, 25 ... Electric wire, 26 ... Terminal metal fitting, 27 ... Waterproof plug, 28 ... Electrical contact part, 29 ... Conductor crimping piece, 30 ... coating crimping pieces, 31 ... waterproof plug body 32 ... crimping portion 33 ... wire insertion hole, 34 ... inner circumferential surface, 35 ... outer circumferential surface, 3 8 ... oblique lip (lip), the 3 8a ... previously oblique lip portion to be inserted, oblique lip portion inserted 3 8b ... then, 37 ... opening edge, A ... initial contact portion, B ... final contact portion

Claims (2)

A substantially cylindrical member having elasticity, an electric wire insertion hole is formed on the inner side, an annular lip portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the electric wire insertion hole has an electric terminal provided with a terminal fitting In the waterproof plug that adheres liquid tightly to the outer peripheral surface of the cover, and the lip portion adheres liquid tightly to the inner peripheral surface of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing,
A plurality of the lip portions are formed as independent annular portions , and the plurality of lip portions are formed as oblique lip portions extending in a direction inclined with respect to the axis of the wire insertion hole , and the direction of inclination is In a side view of the waterproof plug, two axes that are symmetric with respect to the axis of the wire insertion hole are inclined in a "<" shape, and in a plan view and a bottom view, the axis is relative to the axis of the wire insertion hole. is a direction inclined to the inverted "V" shape in two axes which are symmetrical, and the plurality of oblique lip being arranged side by side at predetermined intervals along the axis of the wire insertion holes Waterproof stopper characterized by. The waterproof plug according to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of oblique lip portions has an initial contact portion and a final contact portion with respect to the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber, and the predetermined interval is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber first. The interval at which the position of the final contact portion of the oblique lip portion and the position of the initial contact portion of the oblique lip portion to be inserted next substantially coincide with each other on the axis is set as the shortest. Waterproof stopper .

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