JP6879624B1 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of surely realizing a waterproof function for a private room even with a simple configuration. SOLUTION: A housing portion 13 having a flat seal installation surface 13a on one end side, a cover portion 14 mounted on the housing portion 13 so as to cover the seal installation surface 13a, and the seal having elasticity. In a waterproof connector including a seal member 15 arranged so as to be interposed between the installation surface 13a and the cover portion 14, the seal member 15 has a facing surface 15a facing the seal installation surface 13a and the sealing member 15a. It has an insertion port 15b arranged so as to correspond to an opening in the housing portion 13, and a convex rib portion 15c protruding toward the seal installation surface 13a is provided on the facing surface 15a. The rib portion 15c is provided so as to surround the insertion port 15b, and the rib portion 15c has a tip-shaped portion 15d that makes line contact with the seal mounting surface 13a at the initial contact with the seal mounting surface 13a. [Selection diagram] Fig. 4

Description

The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

Some waterproof connectors with a multi-pin configuration have a so-called private room waterproof function, in which a waterproof function is individually added to each terminal fitting. As a waterproof connector having a private room waterproof function, for example, ribs are formed in a grid pattern on the fitting end surface of the housing so as to surround the terminal insertion port, etc., and the contact surface of the sealing member bites into the ribs. Some are pressed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3928460

In the waterproof connector having the above-mentioned conventional configuration, it is necessary to form ribs on the housing side, which complicates the housing shape. The complexity of the housing shape is not preferable in terms of improving the accuracy of parts, suppressing manufacturing costs, improving yield, ensuring reliability, and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector capable of reliably realizing a private room waterproof function even with a simple configuration.

According to one aspect of the invention
With terminal fittings
A housing portion having a cavity portion for accommodating the terminal fitting, a flat seal installation surface on one end side, and an opening communicating with the cavity portion on the seal installation surface.
A cover portion mounted on the housing portion so as to cover the seal installation surface, and a cover portion.
A seal member having elasticity and arranged so as to be interposed between the seal installation surface in the housing portion and the cover portion mounted on the housing portion is provided.
The seal member has an facing surface facing the seal installation surface and an insertion port arranged so as to correspond to the opening in the housing portion.
On the facing surface, a convex rib portion protruding toward the side of the seal installation surface is provided so as to surround the insertion port.
The rib portion is provided with a waterproof connector having a tip-shaped portion in which the protruding tip makes line contact with the seal mounting surface at the initial contact with the seal mounting surface.

According to the present invention, the rib portion is provided not on the housing portion having relatively high rigidity but on the side of the elastic sealing member. Therefore, the followability of the rib portion is improved, and it is possible to surely realize the waterproof function of the private room while suppressing the complicated shape of the housing portion.

It is explanatory drawing which shows one specific example of the whole structure of the waterproof connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a side sectional view. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the F connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the housing part in the F connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structural example of the seal member in the F connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a cross-sectional view of AA. It is a perspective view which shows the arrangement example of the seal member in the F connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall Configuration of Waterproof Connector First, the overall configuration of the waterproof connector according to the present embodiment will be briefly described.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of the overall configuration of the waterproof connector.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the waterproof connector 1 according to the present embodiment is the same as the female connector (hereinafter, also referred to as “F (female) connector”) 10 having a multi-pin (for example, 48-pin) configuration. It includes a male connector (hereinafter, also referred to as “M (male) connector”) 20 having a pin configuration. Then, the F connector 10 and the M connector 20 are configured to be fitted to each other so that the electrical connection between the terminal fittings can be secured and the fitted state between the respective terminal fittings can be released.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the F connector 10 includes a female terminal fitting 12 to which the core wire of the cable 11 is connected, a housing portion 13 accommodating the terminal fitting 12, and one end of the housing portion 13. A cover portion 14 mounted on the side, a seal member 15 arranged so as to be interposed between the housing portion 13 and the cover portion 14, a cable seal 16 for sealing the arrangement side of the cable 11, and a cable seal 16 thereof. It is configured to include a retainer member 17 that holds down the cable seal 16.

On the other hand, the M connector 20 includes a male terminal fitting 21 that is a fitting partner of the terminal fitting 12 of the F connector 10 and a housing portion 22 that accommodates the terminal fitting 21. Here, a case where the M connector 20 is directly mounted on a wiring board, that is, a so-called board-mounted type is illustrated, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the cable is similar to the F connector 10. May be configured to be connected.

The F connector 10 and the M connector 20 have a multi-pin configuration, and the terminal fittings 12 and 21 are arranged in a matrix. Specifically, for example, in the case of a 48-pin configuration, the terminal fittings 12 and 21 are arranged in a matrix of 3 columns × 16 rows.

(2) Main part configuration of the waterproof connector Next, the main part configuration of the waterproof connector according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.
The waterproof connector 1 according to the present embodiment has a major feature in the configuration of the F connector 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the F connector.
In the F connector 10, the cover portion 14 is mounted on one end side of the housing portion 13 (specifically, the fitting side with the M connector 20), and the seal member 15 is attached between the cover portions 14. Is configured to intervene. Hereinafter, each of these components will be described in more detail.

(Housing part)
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of the housing portion.
The housing portion 13 is formed by integrally molding a resin material having an insulating property (for example, polybutylene terephthalate: PBT), and is configured to accommodate the terminal fitting 12 inside. More specifically, the housing portion 13 is configured to include a cavity (cavity) portion (not shown) for accommodating the terminal fitting 12, as many as the number of terminal fittings 12 to be accommodated (for example, 48). It is assumed that the cavity portion is provided with a lance (locking piece) (not shown) that locks with the terminal fitting 12.

Further, the housing portion 13 is configured to have a flat seal installation surface 13a on one end side on which the cover portion 14 is mounted. The seal installation surface 13a is provided with an opening 13b that communicates with the cavity portion in the housing portion 13. The opening 13b is provided with the number of terminal fittings 12 (for example, 48) to accommodate only the number corresponding to the cavity portion. Therefore, in the case of the 48-pin configuration, the openings 13b are arranged in a matrix of, for example, 3 columns × 16 rows. Each opening 13b has a portion formed with a size that allows the terminal fitting 21 to be fitted to the terminal fitting 12 accommodated in the cavity portion to be inserted and removed, and the terminal fitting 12 and the lance are released from the lock. It is assumed that the stop release jig has a portion formed in a size that allows it to be inserted and removed. If the terminal fitting 21 and the unlocking jig can be inserted and removed, each opening 13b may have a portion for inserting and removing the terminal fitting 21 and a portion for inserting and removing the unlocking jig separately.

(Cover part)
The cover portion 14 is formed by integrally molding a resin material (for example, PBT) having an insulating property like the housing portion 13, and is formed in a shape to be mounted on the housing portion 13 so as to cover the seal installation surface 13a. Has been done. It is assumed that the surface of the cover portion 14 facing the seal installation surface 13a is provided with an opening for inserting and removing the terminal fitting 21 (for example, FIG. 2), similarly to the seal installation surface 13a. reference).

(Seal member)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the seal member.
The seal member 15 is formed by molding an elastic material (for example, silicon rubber) having excellent water resistance, heat resistance, and chemical resistance, and is mounted on the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13 and the housing portion 13. By interposing it between the cover portion 14 and the cover portion 14, the space inside the cavity portion in the housing portion 13 is sealed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4A, the seal member 15 has a planar shape that matches the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13 and may be interposed between the seal installation surface 13a and the cover portion 14. It is formed in a flat plate shape with a thickness, and one surface of the flat plate shape is configured to be a facing surface 15a facing the seal installation surface 13a. Further, the seal member 15 is provided with an insertion port 15b that penetrates the facing surface 15a and the surface on the opposite side thereof so as to correspond to the opening 13b in the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13. Here, "arranged so as to correspond to the opening 13b" means that the insertion port 15b is provided at a position individually overlapping with the opening 13b. Therefore, for example, when the openings 13b are arranged in a matrix of 3 columns × 16 rows, the insertion openings 15b are also arranged in a matrix of 3 columns × 16 rows. However, when the opening 13b has a portion for inserting / removing the terminal fitting 21 and a portion for inserting / removing the unlocking jig, the insertion port 15b may be provided only corresponding to the portion for inserting / removing the terminal fitting 21. .. The unlocking jig is not inserted or removed when the cover portion 14 and the sealing member 15 are attached, and the space inside the cavity portion is sealed by closing the insertion / extraction portion of the unlocking jig with the sealing member 15. This is preferable in the above.

In the seal member 15, a convex rib portion 15c protruding toward the seal installation surface 13a is provided on the facing surface 15a so as to surround the insertion port 15b. When the seal member 15 has a plurality of insertion ports 15b, the rib portion 15c is provided so as to individually surround each of the plurality of insertion ports 15b.

When a plurality of insertion openings 15b are arranged in a matrix, the rib portion 15c may be provided so as to separately surround the insertion openings 15b row by row or column by column. Specifically, when the insertion ports 15b are arranged in a matrix of 3 columns × 16 rows, for example, separate rib portions 15c are provided for each column, and the rib portions 15c surrounding each column are provided with each other. It is conceivable to arrange them at intervals.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the rib portion 15c provided so as to protrude from the facing surface 15a has a protruding tip with the seal mounting surface 13a at the initial contact with the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13. It is formed so as to have a tip-shaped portion 15d that makes line contact. The term "line contact" as used herein refers to a state in which contact is made by a line when no load is applied, and in particular, a state in which contact points are linearly continuous along the direction in which the rib portion 15c extends. The tip-shaped portion 15d that makes line contact when there is no load (that is, at the beginning of contact with the seal installation surface 13a) does not necessarily have to be formed over the entire extending direction of the rib portion 15c, and the extending direction. It may be formed as a part of.

Specifically, the rib portion 15c has a tip-shaped portion 15d formed in an arc-shaped cross section, whereby the top portion having an arc-shaped cross section comes into line contact with the seal installation surface 13a. The specific shape and size of the arc shape are not particularly limited, and may be appropriately set.

In the F connector 10, other parts other than those described above may be configured by using a known technique, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Similarly, the M connector 20 may be configured by using a known technique, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

(3) Usage of the waterproof connector Next, the usage of the waterproof connector 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

The waterproof connector 1 is used by fitting the F connector 10 and the M connector 20 to each other and electrically connecting the terminal fittings 12 and 21 of each. As a result, the core wire of the cable 11 connected to the terminal fitting 12 and the wiring pattern on the wiring board connected to the terminal fitting 21 are ensured to be electrically connected to each other.

Prior to such fitting of the F connector 10 and the M connector 20, the F connector 10 is subjected to the assembly process as described below.

First, the terminal fittings 12 to which the core wires of the cable 11 are connected are prepared for the number of pins of the waterproof connector 1.

On the other hand, for the housing portion 13 in which the prepared terminal fittings 12 are to be inserted into the cavity portion, the seal member 15 is arranged on the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an arrangement example of the seal member.
When the seal member 15 is arranged, the seal member 15 covers the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13. At this time, the seal member 15 is arranged with the facing surface 15a facing the seal installation surface 13a. That is, the seal member 15 is arranged so that the rib portion 15c provided on the facing surface 15a faces the seal installation surface 13a. In that case, if the seal member 15 is configured to have asymmetry by providing, for example, a notch portion 15e or a protruding boss portion 15f in the vicinity of a certain corner portion, it is possible to prevent misalignment of the orientation. Will be useful in. However, the notch portion 15e, the protruding boss portion 15f, and the like are not essential.

After arranging the seal member 15, the cover portion 14 is subsequently attached to one end side of the housing portion 13 in which the seal member 15 is arranged. As a result, the seal installation surface 13a and the seal member 15 are covered by the cover portion 14 (see FIG. 2). A known locking mechanism is provided in the housing portion 13 and the cover portion 14. Therefore, when the cover portion 14 is attached, the attached state of the cover portion 14 to the housing portion 13 is maintained unless the lock mechanism is unlocked.

When the cover portion 14 is attached to the housing portion 13, the seal member 15 is interposed between the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13 and the cover portion 14. At this time, the seal member 15 is elastically deformed by being pressed in the thickness direction while being sandwiched between the seal installation surface 13a and the cover portion 14.

When the seal member 15 is elastically deformed, on the side of the facing surface 15a of the seal member 15, first, at the initial contact between the protruding tip of the rib portion 15c and the seal installation surface 1a3 of the housing portion 13, the rib portion 15c The tip shape portion 15d comes into line contact with the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13. Then, as the elastic deformation of the seal member 15 progresses, the contact area between the rib portion 15c and the seal installation surface 13a expands to shift to surface contact, and the pressing force of the rib portion 15c on the seal installation surface 13a increases.

As a result, between the seal installation surface 13a and the seal member 15, the periphery of the opening 13b and the insertion port 15b is sealed in a state of being individually surrounded by the contact between the rib portion 15c and the seal installation surface 13a. That is, a so-called private room waterproof function is realized in which the terminal fitting 12 in the cavity portion communicating with the opening 13b is individually provided with a waterproof function for each terminal fitting 12.

Further, in the seal member 15, the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c is in line contact with the seal installation surface 13a, and then the contact area between the rib portion 15c and the seal installation surface 13a is increased due to the elastic deformation of the seal member 15. It spreads and becomes surface contact. Therefore, due to the elastic deformation from the line contact, the continuity of the rib portion 15c in the extending direction is not interrupted, and the contact area gradually expands. The circumference of the insertion port 15b can be reliably sealed. That is, by bringing the elastic convex rib portion 15c into contact with the flat seal installation surface 13a, the rib portion 15c can be made to follow the seal installation surface 13a in a good and reliable manner. Moreover, since the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c is formed in a shape that makes line contact with the seal installation surface 13a, the seal member 15 is elastically deformed with a relatively small force at the initial contact with the seal installation surface 13a. It is possible to prevent the force required for the elastic deformation from becoming excessive.

Further, the seal member 15 is in contact with the seal installation surface 13a in a state of being elastically deformed in the thickness direction. Therefore, the rib portion 15c comes into close contact with the seal installation surface 13a by a sufficient pressing force obtained by elastic deformation, whereby the periphery of the opening 13b and the insertion port 15b can be reliably sealed.

As described above, if the cover portion 14 is attached to one end side of the housing portion 13 and the seal member 15 is elastically deformed, the rib portion 15c of the F connector 10 satisfactorily follows the seal installation surface 13a, whereby the seal member 15 is elastically deformed. It is possible to surely realize the waterproof function of the private room.

As described above, the F connector 10 is provided with the seal member 15 incorporated. After that, if each of the prepared terminal fittings 12 is inserted into the cavity portion of the housing portion 13 and each terminal fitting 12 is housed in the cavity portion, the assembly process for the F connector 10 is completed. The number of terminal fittings 12 to be accommodated does not necessarily have to be the same as the number of cavity portions of the housing portion 13. For example, as in the case of using a dummy plug, the number of terminal fittings 12 may not be the number of cavities.

(4) Effects obtained by the present embodiment According to the present embodiment, one or more of the following effects can be obtained.

(A) In the present embodiment, a convex rib portion 15c is provided on the facing surface 15a of the seal member 15, and the rib portion 15c is arranged so as to individually surround the opening 13b and the insertion port 15b. Achieve a private room waterproof function. At that time, since the arrangement portion of the rib portion 15c is brought into close contact with the seal installation surface 13a with a sufficient pressing force obtained by elastic deformation, the periphery of the opening 13b and the insertion port 15b can be reliably sealed. Moreover, since the tip-shaped portion 15d of the elastic rib portion 15c has a shape that makes line contact at the initial contact with the seal installation surface 13a, the continuity of the rib portion 15c in the extending direction is not interrupted, and the seal member. The elastic deformation of the 15 gradually expands the contact area, and the rib portion 15c can be made to follow the seal installation surface 13a in a good and reliable manner. Moreover, since the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c has a shape that makes linear contact at the initial contact with the seal installation surface 13a, the rib portion 15c is suppressed from excessive force required for elastic deformation. Can be made to follow the seal installation surface 13a satisfactorily.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the convex rib portion 15c is provided on the facing surface 15a of the seal member 15, the seal installation surface 13a of the housing portion 13 is provided even when the private room waterproof function is realized. It may be flat, and as a result, the shape of the housing portion 13 can be suppressed from becoming complicated. This makes it easy to improve the accuracy of parts, reduce manufacturing costs, improve yield, ensure reliability, etc., especially when the housing portion 13 is formed by integrally molding a resin material (for example, injection molding). It is very preferable in that it can be realized.
That is, according to the present embodiment, the rib portion 15c is provided on the side of the elastic sealing member 15 instead of the housing portion 13 having a relatively high rigidity. Therefore, the followability of the rib portion 15c is improved, and it is possible to surely realize the waterproof function of the private room even with a simple configuration while suppressing the complicated shape of the housing portion 13.

(B) As described in the present embodiment, if the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c is formed in an arc shape in cross section, it is very suitable for making the tip-shaped portion 15d in line contact with the seal installation surface 13a. It will be something like that. If the cross section is arcuate, for example, even if the rib portion 15c is tilted in the protruding direction, any part of the arcuate contact with the seal installation surface 13a, and the contact of the rib portion 15c This is because continuity in the extension direction is ensured. That is, if the tip shape portion 15d has an arcuate cross section, the tip shape portion 15d of the rib portion 15c can be reliably line-contacted with the seal installation surface 13a without requiring higher accuracy of the rib portion 15c than necessary. become.

(C) As described in the present embodiment, in the case of a multi-pin configuration in which a plurality of terminal fittings 12 are arranged in a matrix, the rib portion 15c is provided so as to separately surround the insertion port 15b for each row. If this is the case, it will be preferable in order to further ensure the waterproof function. For example, even if the rib portion 15c surrounding a certain row is damaged, it is possible to prevent the influence of the deterioration of the waterproof function from affecting the rib portion 15c surrounding the other row.
Here, the case where the rib portion 15c is provided for each column is mainly given as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the case where the rib portion 15c is provided for each row is used. Even if the rib portions 15c are provided row by row and column by column, it is preferable in order to further ensure the waterproof function. However, considering that the insertion / removal portion of the terminal fitting 21 of each opening 13b and the insertion / removal portion of the unlocking jig are arranged in the row direction in the housing portion 13, the waterproof function is further ensured. In order to realize the miniaturization of the housing portion 13 by arranging the terminal fittings 12 at a narrow pitch, it is preferable that the rib portions 15c are provided for each row.

(5) Modifications and the like Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist thereof.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c is formed in an arc-shaped cross section and the top portion having the arc-shaped cross section is in line contact with the seal installation surface 13a has been described as an example. The present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the rib portion 15c may be formed in a shape having an apex at the tip shape portion 15d, as in the case where the tip shape portion 15d has a triangular cross section. Even in that case, since the tip-shaped portion 15d of the rib portion 15c comes into line contact with the seal installation surface 13a, the same effect as in the case of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the tip-shaped portion 15d in line contact with the seal mounting surface 13a is continuous in the extending direction of the rib portion 15c has been described as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. There is nothing. For example, even if the tip shape portion 15d is intermittently arranged in the extending direction of the rib portion 15c, and a part of the rib portion 15c is formed so as to make surface contact at the initial contact with the seal installation surface 13a. Good. Even in that case, if the rib portion 15c has at least a tip-shaped portion 15d that makes line contact with the seal mounting surface 13a, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained in that portion.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the configuration of the F connector 10 in the waterproof connector 1 has a major feature has been described as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. The private room waterproof function by the rib portion 15c provided on the seal member 15 may be realized, for example, not in the F connector 10 but in the M connector 20, or in each of the F connector 10 and the M connector 20. May be good.

1 ... Waterproof connector, 10 ... F connector, 11 ... Cable, 12 ... Terminal metal fittings, 13 ... Housing part, 13a ... Seal installation surface, 13b ... Opening, 14 ... Cover part, 15 ... Seal member, 15a ... Opposing surface, 15b ... Insertion port, 15c ... Rib part, 15d ... Tip shape part, 15e ... Notch part, 15f ... Protruding boss part, 16 ... Cable seal, 17 ... Retainer member, 20 ... M connector, 21 ... Terminal fitting, 22 ... Housing Department

Claims (4)

With terminal fittings
And having a plurality of cavity for accommodating the terminal fitting has a planar seal installation surface on one end side, a plurality of openings in said sealing installation surface in communication with each of the plurality of the cavity is a matrix The housing parts that are arranged in a shape and
A cover portion mounted on the housing portion so as to cover the seal installation surface, and a cover portion.
A seal member having elasticity and arranged so as to be interposed between the seal installation surface in the housing portion and the cover portion mounted on the housing portion is provided.
The seal member has a facing surface facing the seal installation surface and a plurality of insertion ports arranged in a matrix so as to correspond to the plurality of openings in the housing portion.
On the facing surface, convex rib portions projecting toward the side of the seal installation surface are provided so as to individually surround each of the plurality of insertion ports.
The rib portion has a tip-shaped portion in which the protruding tip makes line contact with the seal installation surface at the beginning of contact with the seal installation surface, and the contact area with the seal installation surface expands due to elastic deformation of the seal member. It is configured to shift to surface contact and increase the pressing force on the seal installation surface .
Further, the rib portions are arranged in a single layer between the insertion ports adjacent to each other in either the row direction or the column direction of the matrix, and the rib portions are arranged in a single layer in either the row direction or the column direction of the matrix. A waterproof connector that is doubly arranged at intervals between the adjacent insertion ports and is provided so as to separately surround the plurality of insertion holes for each row or column. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the tip-shaped portion of the rib portion has a protruding tip formed in an arc shape in cross section. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the tip-shaped portion of the rib portion is formed in a shape having an apex at the protruding tip. The opening in the housing portion has an insertion / extraction portion for the terminal fitting and an insertion / extraction portion for the unlocking jig, and the insertion / extraction portions are arranged side by side in the row direction in the matrix. And
The rib portions are arranged in a single layer between the insertion ports adjacent to each other in the row direction of the matrix, and are arranged in double with a space between the insertion ports adjacent to each other in the row direction of the matrix. It is provided so as to separately surround the plurality of insertion holes for each row or column.
The waterproof connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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