JP6580343B2 - Waterproof structure of connector housing - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a connector housing.

  Conventionally, a waterproof connector is known in which a gap between two connector housings (hereinafter abbreviated as a housing) is sealed with a seal member. Such a waterproof connector, for example, holds one terminal and holds the other terminal connected to the one terminal in the first resin-made housing having a rubber seal member mounted on the outer peripheral surface. It is formed by fitting a second housing made of resin.

  The first housing is, for example, a second member between an inner housing in which a seal member is mounted on the outer peripheral surface and the second housing is fitted outside, and an outer peripheral surface of the inner housing that is disposed outside the inner housing. And an outer housing that receives the housing. When the second housing is fitted to the first housing, the seal member presses the inner housing and the second housing, respectively, and the gap between the inner housing and the second housing is sealed.

  On the other hand, the outer housing of the first housing is formed with an elastic arm piece that is partially cut away to lock the second housing. The elastic arm piece is provided such that the base end is supported in a cantilever manner by the outer housing and extends in the axial direction. When the two housings are fitted, the elastic arm pieces engage with the engaging portions protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the second housing, so that both the housings are prevented from coming off.

  By the way, in the case of this type of waterproof connector, in the range where the inner housing and the second housing are covered by the outer housing, the external liquid is blocked by the outer housing and is difficult to enter the outer housing. However, since the outer housing is not continuous with the peripheral edge of the elastic arm piece, there is nothing to block the external liquid, and the liquid easily enters the inner side of the outer housing. Therefore, for example, when a liquid such as oil or chemical other than water enters and comes into contact with the seal member, the seal member may be deteriorated.

  On the other hand, a structure has been proposed in which a liquid barrier facing the end surface of the second housing is raised on the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing to narrow the path through which liquid entering from the outside reaches the seal member ( (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-182749 A

  However, even in Patent Document 1, since there is no change in the liquid intruding into the inner side of the outer housing from the open part of the outer housing, it is desired to eliminate such an open part in order to take a fundamental waterproof measure.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a problem, and makes it a subject to eliminate the open part which an external liquid penetrate | invades, and to improve the waterproofness of a connector.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a waterproof structure of a first and a second pair of resin connector housings, wherein the first (one) connector housing includes a base portion in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed. A cylindrical portion protruding forward from the front end portion of the base portion, and the cylindrical portion has an inner peripheral surface larger than the outer peripheral surface of the base portion to form a terminal accommodating chamber of the second (other) connector housing. The inner peripheral surface of the rear end portion of the cylindrical portion and the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the base portion are continuously formed with a sealing wall extending in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. The base portion of the second connector housing has a main body portion in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed, and a fitting portion that is connected to the rear of the main body portion and has a larger outer peripheral surface than the main body portion. The first connector housing is provided with a locking portion protruding from the first connector housing. And an elastic arm piece that is extended forward in the cylindrical portion and engageable with the locking portion of the second connector housing, and the sealing wall at a position where the elastic arm piece is supported. An operation piece extended rearward, and the tube portion of the first connector housing is formed with a fitted portion into which the fitting portion of the second connector housing is fitted at a front end portion, and the second connector. The fitting portion of the housing includes a large-sized portion having an outer dimension larger than an inner-dimension size of the fitted portion, and an inclined surface portion that continuously and continuously slopes toward the main body portion. And when the pair of connector housings are inserted to the normal fitting position, the outer peripheral surface of the large portion presses the inner peripheral surface of the fitted portion by being pushed into the fitted portion. It is formed .

According to the present invention, since the elastic arm piece is located inside the cylindrical portion of the first connector housing, an open portion is not formed on the cylindrical wall. Moreover, since the tapered inclined surface is formed in the fitting part of the second connector housing, the fitting part pushed into the fitting part of the cylindrical part is a state in which the inner peripheral surface of the fitting part is expanded. Thus, the fitting part and the fitting part are brought into watertight contact with each other. Thereby, when the pair of connector housings are fitted, the inside of the cylinder is sealed with water, so that liquid can be prevented from entering from the outside, and the waterproofness of the connector can be improved.

Further , since the elastic arm piece is supported so as to be interlocked with the operation piece extending from the outer surface of the cylinder portion to the outside of the cylinder, the locked state of one connector housing locked to the elastic arm can be easily made from the outside. It can be canceled.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the elastic arm piece and the operation piece are supported by a thin portion formed on the cylindrical wall at the periphery of the cylindrical portion. According to this, since the elastic arm piece and the operation piece can be easily moved (inclined) in the direction in which the thin portion is formed, the operability of the elastic arm piece can be improved.

  According to the present invention, since an open portion into which an external liquid enters is not formed, high waterproofness can be ensured.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the connector of embodiment of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of a male housing. FIG. 3 is an axial sectional view of the male housing of FIG. 2. It is an external appearance perspective view of a female housing. It is an operation | movement figure before fitting of a male connector housing and a female connector housing. It is an operation | movement figure after fitting of a male connector housing and a female connector housing. It is the elements on larger scale of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a waterproof structure of a connector housing to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a waterproof specification connector mounted on an automobile, a motorcycle, or the like will be described as an example. However, the waterproof structure of the present invention can be applied to other than this type of connector.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 11 according to this embodiment includes a male connector 13 and a female connector 15, and a male connector housing 17 (hereinafter abbreviated as a male housing 17) of the male connector 13 and a female of the female connector 15. A connector housing 19 (hereinafter abbreviated as a female housing 19) is engaged (fitted) with each other so that the male terminal 21 accommodated in the male housing 17 and the female terminal 23 accommodated in the female housing 19 are electrically connected. To connect to. An electric wire 25 is connected to the male terminal 21, and an electric wire 27 is connected to the female terminal 23. The female housing 19 is locked to the male housing 17 in a state where one end side is fitted inside the male housing 17. In this embodiment, an example in which two terminals are accommodated in each housing will be described, but the number of terminals accommodated is not limited to two. In the following description, the X direction in FIG. 1 is defined as the front-rear direction, the Y direction as the width direction, the Z direction as the height direction, the fitting direction of both connectors as the front, and the upper side of FIG.

  The male connector 13 has a male housing 17 formed in a cylindrical shape with an insulating resin, and a male terminal 21 accommodated in the male housing 17 from behind. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the male housing 17 includes a cylindrical base 31 in which a male terminal accommodating chamber 29 in which the male terminal 21 is accommodated, and a cylinder protruding rearward from the rear end portion of the base 31. And a cylindrical tube portion 35 that protrudes forward from the front end portion of the base portion 31.

  The male terminal accommodating chamber 29 divides and accommodates the two male terminals 21 by a partition (not shown), and engages each male terminal 21 with a lance (not shown) extending inside the male terminal containing chamber 29. It is held at the set position. As shown in FIG. 3, the male terminal accommodating chamber 29 is formed by connecting an opening end 37 that opens to the front end surface 36 of the base portion 31 and a wire insertion hole (not shown) that penetrates the wire holding portion 33 in the axial direction. The

  The cylindrical portion 35 is formed to have an inner peripheral surface larger than the outer peripheral surface of the base portion 31, and has an inner diameter into which the female housing 19 can be inserted. The inner peripheral surface of the rear end portion of the cylindrical portion 35 and the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the base portion 31 are continuously formed with a sealing wall 39 extending in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. The front end surface of the sealing wall 39 is formed substantially flush with the front end surface 36 of the base portion 31.

  The inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 35 has a fitting portion 43 for fitting a part (fitting portion 41) of the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 19 described later, and an inner diameter of the fitting portion 43 facing rearward (back side). And an inner peripheral wall 47 that extends to the sealing wall 39 by forming an inner peripheral surface reduced in diameter by the inclined surface 45. The fitted portion 43 is formed at the front end portion of the cylindrical portion 35, and a chamfered portion 49 is formed that widens toward the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 35. The fitted portion 43, the inclined surface 45, and the inner peripheral wall 47 are formed so that the cross section of each inner peripheral surface is a true circle.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the male housing 17 extends in a cantilevered manner from the front surface of the sealing wall 39 to the front in the axial direction, and is made of a resin elastic arm piece 51 disposed inside the cylindrical portion 35, and a sealing member. It has a resin-made operation piece 53 that extends in a cantilevered manner from the stop wall 39 to the rear in the axial direction, that is, outside the cylinder portion 35, and is arranged outside the cylinder portion 35. The elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53 are continuously formed in a straight shape inside and outside the cylindrical portion 35 via the sealing wall 39, and the elastic arm piece 51 is supported so as to be able to interlock with the operation piece 53. The elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53 are resin members formed integrally with the male housing 17, but are formed by insert molding a rigid member (for example, a metal piece) into the male housing 17. You can also.

  The elastic arm piece 51 has an arm part 55 extending forward from the sealing wall 39 and a lock part 57 protruding downward from the lower front end of the arm part 55. The arm portion 55 has a front end portion that can be displaced upward from the horizontal direction with a base end portion supported by the sealing wall 39 as a fulcrum. That is, the gap between the upper surface of the arm portion 55 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 35 is set to a size that allows the arm portion 55 to be displaced upward at a predetermined angle. The lock portion 57 is formed with an inclined surface 59 inclined backward from the front end toward the lower end.

  The operation piece 53 includes an arm portion 61 extending rearward from the sealing wall 39 and an operation portion 63 protruding upward from the upper rear end of the arm portion 61. The arm portion 61 has a rear end portion that can be displaced downward from the horizontal direction with a base end portion supported by the sealing wall 39 as a fulcrum. That is, the gap between the lower surface of the arm portion 61 and the outer peripheral surface of the base portion 31 is set to a size that allows the arm portion 61 to be displaced downward at a predetermined angle. In addition, the arm part 61 is formed wide from the middle in the axial direction, and it is easy to press the finger during operation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53 are supported by thin portions 65 formed on the periphery of the sealing wall 39 that is the cylindrical wall of the cylindrical portion 35. The thin portion 65 is formed by providing a groove 67 having an arcuate cross section in the sealing wall 39 along the width direction of the elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53. The groove 67 is formed below the elastic arm piece 51 inside the cylinder portion 35 and above the operation piece 53 outside the cylinder portion 35. Thereby, the thin-walled portion 65 is formed above and below the line connecting the elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the male terminal 21 is formed of a conductive metal plate or the like, and integrally includes an electric wire connection portion 69 that crimps and connects the core wire of the electric wire 25, and a male tab 71 that is connected to the female terminal 23. In preparation. The male tab 71 extends in the front-rear direction, is formed in a rod shape, and is arranged such that the tip protrudes forward from the opening end 37 in a state where the male terminal 21 is held at the set position of the male terminal accommodating chamber 29. .

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the female connector 15 has a female housing 19 formed in a cylindrical shape with an insulating resin, and female terminals 23 accommodated in the female housing 19 from the rear. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the female housing 19 is accommodated in the cylindrical portion 35 of the male housing 17 and has a cylindrical shape in which two female terminal accommodating chambers 73 for accommodating the female terminals 23 are formed. The base part 75 and the cylindrical electric wire holding part 77 which protrudes back from the base part 75 are integrally provided and formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the female terminal housing chamber 73 is formed by partitioning two female terminals 23 with a partition wall (not shown) and extending a lance (not shown) extending into the female terminal storage chamber 73. It engages with each female terminal 23 and is held at the set position. The female terminal accommodating chamber 73 is formed by communicating in the axial direction an opening end 81 that opens to the front end surface 79 of the base portion 75 and a wire insertion hole (not shown) that penetrates the wire holding portion 77 in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the base portion 75 of the female housing 19 is concentrically connected to a main body portion 83 having a half-moon-shaped cross section orthogonal to the axial direction, and the outer periphery of the main body portion 83. And a fitting portion 41 having an outer peripheral surface having a larger diameter than the surface. The main body portion 83 is provided with a locking portion 87 protruding upward at a position away from the fitting portion 41 of the flat outer surface 85. The locking portion 87 is set to a size that does not protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 41 when the female housing 19 is viewed from the front. The locking portion 87 is formed with an inclined surface 89 that is inclined from the upper end surface toward the front outer surface 85, and the elastic arm piece 51 is inserted when the base portion 75 of the female housing 19 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 35 of the male housing 17. The arm portion 55 is pushed up along the inclined surface 89.

  The fitting portion 41 of the female housing 19 has a large-diameter portion 90 having an outer peripheral dimension larger than the inner-diameter dimension of the fitted portion 43 of the cylindrical portion 35, and a large-diameter portion. 90 and an inclined portion 91 that is continuously inclined toward the main body portion 83 toward the main body portion 83. Thereby, when the female housing 19 is inserted to the proper fitting position of the male housing 17, the fitting portion 41 is pushed into the fitted portion 43, and the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 90 is The inner peripheral surface is pressed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 23 is formed of a conductive metal plate or the like, and a rectangular tube into which a wire connecting portion 93 for crimping and connecting a core wire of the electric wire 27 and a male tab 71 of the male terminal 21 are inserted and connected. And an electrical contact portion 95 in the form of a unit. The electrical contact portion 95 is disposed so that the tip end portion is located at a position retracted from the opening end 81 of the base 75 by a set distance in a state where the female terminal 23 is held at the set position of the female terminal accommodating chamber 73. .

  Next, an example of operation | movement at the time of fitting the male housing 17 and the female housing 19 is demonstrated. First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the male terminal 21 to which the electric wire 25 fitted with the rubber plug 97 is connected is accommodated together with the rubber plug 97 in the male terminal accommodating chamber 29 of the male housing 17. Further, the female terminal 23 to which the electric wire 27 fitted with the rubber plug 99 is connected is accommodated in the female terminal accommodating chamber 73 of the female housing 19 together with the rubber plug 99. In this state, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 5, the male housing 17 of the male connector 13 and the female housing 19 of the female connector 15 are brought close to each other, and the base portion 75 of the female housing 19 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 35 of the male housing 17. .

  When the insertion of the base portion 75 of the female housing 19 proceeds, the elastic arm piece 51 of the male housing 17 rides on the locking portion 87 along the inclined surface 89 of the locking portion 87, and the arm portion 55 is bent upward and deformed. . Then, when the lock portion 57 of the arm portion 55 rides on the locking portion 87, the arm portion 55 is elastically restored. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 87 is locked to the lock portion 57, the two housings are locked at the normal fitting position, and the female housing 19 is prevented from coming off.

  On the other hand, in the fitting portion 41 of the female housing 19, the large-diameter portion 90 is guided to the fitted portion 43 by inserting the front inclined portion 91 into the fitted portion 43 of the cylindrical portion 35 of the male housing 17. . Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when the female housing 19 is pushed to the proper fitting position, the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 90 pushed into the fitted portion 43 completely covers the inner circumferential surface of the fitted portion 43. Press evenly over the circumference. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the fitted portion 43 is bent and deformed outward by the fitting portion 41, and the elastic restoring force generated at this time is generated by the large-diameter portion 90 of the fitting portion 41. Press the outer peripheral surface. Thereby, the fitting part 41 and the to-be-fitted part 43 press each other, and contact | abut watertight over the perimeter. As a result, the inside of the cylindrical portion 35 is sealed with water from the outside, and the gap between the opening end 37 of the male terminal housing chamber 29 and the opening end 81 of the female terminal housing chamber 73 is sealed with water.

  Further, in order to release the fitting between the male housing 17 and the female housing 19, the operation part 63 of the operation piece 53 is rotated downward (to the base 31 side) and pushed down. As a result, the elastic arm piece 51 rotates upward in the cylinder in conjunction with the movement of the operation piece 53 and is pushed up, so that the lock portion 57 is separated from the locking portion 87 of the female housing 19. By pulling out, the lock is released.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the elastic arm piece 51 is formed to extend from the inner wall of the cylindrical portion 35, an open portion is formed in the cylindrical portion 35 regardless of the presence or absence of the elastic arm piece 51. It will not be done. Further, a space between the fitting portion 41 and the fitted portion 43 is water-sealed over the entire circumference. Therefore, when the male housing 17 and the female housing 19 are fitted to each other, the cylindrical portion 35 that surrounds the gap between the opening end 37 of the male terminal accommodating chamber 29 and the opening end 81 of the female terminal accommodating chamber 73 has liquid from the outside. Since the invading path is completely blocked and high waterproofness is ensured, a short circuit between terminals, corrosion of the terminals, and the like can be prevented, and the electrical reliability of the connector 11 can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the elastic arm piece 51 is formed so as to be interlocked with the operation piece 53, and the elastic arm piece 51 and the operation piece 53 are respectively supported by the thin wall portion 65 of the cylinder wall. Even if these are formed continuously, the elastic arm piece 51 in the cylinder can be easily operated from the outside. With such a structure, the elastic arm piece 51 can be provided at any position of the cylindrical portion 35. Therefore, not only the waterproof property of the connector 11 is improved, but also the connector 11 is complicated due to the lock structure. And increase in design freedom.

  Moreover, in the connector 11 of this embodiment, since the fitting part 41 of the female housing 19 is fitted to the fitting part 43 of the cylinder part 35 of the male housing 17 and water-sealed, a waterproof rubber packing or the like Is no longer necessary. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a decrease in waterproofness due to deterioration of the rubber packing over time, breakage of high-pressure water, and the like, and the waterproofness of the connector 11 can be maintained for a long time. In addition, since the space for providing the rubber packing is not required, the connector 11 can be easily downsized and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Further, the cylindrical portion 35 (particularly, the fitted portion 43) of the male housing 17 has elasticity (spring property) and is formed so as to be pressed against the fitting portion 41 of the female housing 19. Therefore, for example, even if vibration is propagated to the connector 11 and both housings vibrate, the fitted portion 43 elastically deforms and absorbs the vibration while maintaining a contact state with the fitting portion 41. Thereby, since the backlash of both housings can be reduced, it is possible to suppress deterioration with time of the connector 11 due to vibration.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with drawing, said embodiment is only the illustration of this invention, It can change and change within the range described in the claim. is there.

  For example, although the fitting part 41 and the fitting part 43 of this embodiment are each formed with a circular outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface, the fitting part 41 and the fitting part 43 are limited to this shape. For example, it can also be formed on a square outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface with rounded corners.

  Moreover, although the fitting part 41 of this embodiment demonstrated the example which has the large diameter part 90 with a uniform outer diameter dimension over the axial direction, and the inclination part 91 which becomes tapered toward the front, it formed. The present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the entire fitting portion 41 can be formed as a tapered inclined surface forward in the axial direction. Furthermore, in addition to this fitting part 41, the to-be-fitted part 43 can also be formed by making it incline in the taper shape ahead, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Connector 13 Male connector 15 Female connector 17 Male housing 19 Female housing 21 Male terminal 23 Female terminal 29 Male terminal accommodating chamber 35 Cylindrical part 37 Open end 39 Sealing wall 41 Fitting part 43 Fit part 51 Elastic arm piece 53 Operation piece 65 Thin portion 73 Female terminal accommodating chamber 81 Open end 87 Locking portion 90 Large diameter portion 91 Inclined portion

Claims (2)

A waterproof structure of the first and second pair of resin connector housings,
The first connector housing has a base portion in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed, a cylindrical portion protruding forward from a front end portion of the base portion, and the cylindrical portion has an inner peripheral surface larger than an outer peripheral surface of the base portion. A base portion in which the terminal housing chamber of the second connector housing is formed is insertable, and the inner peripheral surface of the rear end portion of the cylindrical portion and the outer peripheral surface of the front end portion of the base portion extend in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. Formed continuously with each other through a stiff wall,
The base portion of the second connector housing includes a main body portion in which a terminal accommodating chamber is formed, and a fitting portion having a larger outer peripheral surface that is connected to the rear of the main body portion and is larger than the main body portion. Protruding and provided with a locking part,
The first connector housing is supported by the sealing wall and extends forward in the cylindrical portion, and is formed so as to be engageable with the locking portion of the second connector housing, and the elastic arm piece includes An operation piece extended behind the sealing wall at a supported position,
The tube portion of the first connector housing is formed with a fitted portion into which the fitting portion of the second connector housing is fitted at a front end portion,
The fitting portion of the second connector housing has a large-sized portion having an outer dimension larger than the inner-shaped dimension of the fitted portion, and is continuously tapered from the large-sized portion and is tapered toward the main body portion. And when the pair of connector housings are inserted to the normal fitting position, the outer peripheral surface of the large portion presses the inner peripheral surface of the fitted portion. A waterproof structure of a connector housing formed to be . The operation piece is supported on the sealing wall at a position where the elastic arm piece is supported and supported rearward, and is extended to the outer surface side of the main body portion of the second connector housing, through the sealing wall. The elastic arm piece is integrally formed continuously in a straight shape, and a thin wall portion is formed on the sealing wall at the periphery of the continuous portion,
The waterproof structure of the connector housing according to claim 1, wherein the elastic arm piece is formed so as to rotate around a support position of the sealing wall so as to be detachable from the locking portion .

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