JP6991819B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector used for electrical connection.

As the structure of the connector, a structure in which the terminal and the housing are integrated by insert molding and a structure in which the terminal is inserted and held in the housing regardless of insert molding (Patent Document 1 below) are known.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-305659

In a connector with a structure in which the terminal and housing are integrated by insert molding, a gap is created between the terminal and the resin joint surface due to the difference between the terminal and the thermal expansion of the resin when mounting by applying heat such as reflow. There was a drawback that the waterproof property deteriorated. On the other hand, in the structure in which the terminal is inserted and held in the housing regardless of insert molding, an opening for inserting the terminal into the housing and an opening for allowing the terminal to face the outside of the housing for connection with the mating terminal are required. In addition, since a space is required for the terminal to move when connected to the other terminal, there is a lot of space around the terminal, and it is difficult to ensure waterproofness.

The present invention has been made in recognition of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector having good waterproofness.

One aspect of the invention is a connector. This connector is
With at least one terminal,
A connector comprising a housing that houses at least a portion of the terminal.
The housing is
A first opening for inserting the terminal into the housing,
It has a second opening for allowing the terminal to face the outside of the housing.
The connector is
An elastic body that closes the first opening,
A cover member for pressing the elastic body against a surface around the first opening of the housing is provided.

The terminal extends from the first opening through between the facing surfaces of the housing and the elastic body to the outside.
The gap adjacent to the terminal between the facing surfaces of the housing and the elastic body on the outside of the first opening may be sealed with a sealing material.

At least one of the housing and the elastic body has a recess connected to the first opening and through which the terminal is passed.
The gap adjacent to the terminal in the recess may be sealed by the sealing material.

The terminal may have a portion raised with respect to the elastic body on the outside of the first opening, and the sealing material may be filled on the entire circumference of the portion.

One of the cover member and the housing has a convex portion, and the other has a hole portion that engages with the convex portion.
The cover member may be locked to the housing in a state where the elastic body is pressed against the surface around the first opening of the housing by the engagement between the convex portion and the hole portion. ..

The cover member may have a tongue piece portion that is press-fitted into the housing.

The cover member may have legs fixed to a substrate on which the connector is mounted.

It should be noted that any combination of the above components and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between methods, systems and the like are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector having good waterproofness.

A perspective view of the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from diagonally above the front right. A perspective view of the connector 1 as viewed from diagonally above the rear right. An exploded perspective view of the connector 1 as viewed from diagonally above the rear right. An exploded perspective view of the connector 1 as viewed from diagonally lower right in front. Top view of connector 1. Front view of connector 1. Right side view of connector 1. FIG. 6A is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or equivalent components, members, etc. shown in the drawings are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the embodiment is not limited to the invention but is an example, and all the features and combinations thereof described in the embodiment are not necessarily essential to the invention.

The configuration of the connector 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. FIG. 1 defines the front-back, up-down, and left-right directions of the connector 1 that are orthogonal to each other. The front-back and left-right directions are parallel to the substrate 90 (FIG. 10) on which the connector 1 is mounted. The vertical direction is the direction perpendicular to the substrate 90. The left-right direction is the arrangement direction of the terminals 30 when there are a plurality of terminals 30. The connector 1 is an electrical connector used for electrical connection, and is an insulating housing 10, at least one conductive terminal 30 (three in the illustrated example), an insulating elastic body 50, and a cover plate ( Cover member) 70 and.

The housing 10 is, for example, a resin molded body that accommodates at least a part of the terminal 30, and has three first openings 11 (FIG. 4) for inserting the terminal 30 into the housing 10 and the terminal 30 in the housing 10. Three second openings 12 (for connecting to the terminal of the mating connector (not shown)) for facing outward, an injection port 13 for injecting the sealing material 20 (FIG. 8), and a terminal 30. Three guide recesses 14 (FIG. 4) through which the legs 33 of the above pass (guide), three guide recesses 15 (FIG. 4) through which the communication portion 35 of the terminal 30 is passed (guide), and an upright portion of the terminal 30. The three terminal holding holes 16 (FIG. 4) for inserting and holding the 36, the two plate holding holes 17 (FIG. 4) for press-fitting the press-fitting tongue piece portion 75 of the cover plate 70, and the cover plate 70 are engaged. It has six locking projections 18 (two on the anterior side and four on the posterior side) that engage the stopping tongue piece portion 73.

The three first openings 11 (the same number as the terminals 30) are opened side by side in the left-right direction on the lower surface of the housing 10 (the surface facing the substrate 90 side shown in FIG. 10). The three second openings (the same number as the terminals 30) straddle the front surface and the upper surface of the housing 10 and are opened side by side in the left-right direction. The inlet 13 opens on the back surface of the housing 10. Each of the three guide recesses 14 (as many as the terminals 30) is provided on the rear inner surface of the housing 10 and extends in the vertical direction. Each of the three guide recesses 15 (as many as the terminals 30) is provided on the lower surface of the housing 10 (the surface around the first opening 11), extends in the front-rear direction, and is connected to the first opening 11. Each of the three terminal holding holes 16 (as many as the terminals 30) is provided inside and above the first opening 11 and extends in the vertical direction. The two plate holding holes 17 are provided on both the left and right sides of the lower surface of the housing 10. Two locking protrusions 18 are provided on the lower front surface of the housing 10, and four locking protrusions 18 are provided on the lower back surface of the housing 10.

The terminal 30 is a sheet metal component formed by, for example, pressing a plate-shaped metal, and is electrically connected to a conductive pattern (not shown) on the substrate 90 (FIG. 10) on which the connector 1 is mounted by soldering or the like. A portion (foot portion) 31, a leg portion 33 rising from the connecting portion 31, a connecting portion 34 bent forward from the upper end of the leg portion 33, and a connecting portion 35 extending forward one step from the front end of the connecting portion 34. The standing portion 36 that bends and rises from the front end of the connecting portion 35, the inverted U-shaped leaf spring portion 37 that extends from the upper end of the standing portion 36, and the standing portion 37 that stands up in two forks from the front end of the leaf spring portion 37. It has a contact portion 38 and. The terminal 30 may be a molded product.

The connection portion 31 is exposed to the outside of the housing 10 as shown in FIG. 2 and the like. The legs 33 are passed through the guide recesses 14 of the housing 10. The convex portions 33a provided on both sides of the leg portion 33 in the width direction (left-right direction) bite into the inner surface of the guide recess 14 to generate a holding force by press-fitting (light press-fitting). Instead of holding (fixing) by press-fitting, the leg portion 33 may be formed into an arrowhead (lance) shape to prevent it from being removed, or it may be used to prevent it from being removed by using an adhesive. The connecting portion 34 extends in the front-rear direction while floating with respect to the upper surface of the elastic body 50. The gaps (the gap between the connecting portion 34 and the upper surface of the elastic body 50 and the gap between the connecting portion 34 and the inner surface of the housing 10) on all four sides (left and right and up and down) of the connecting portion 34 are the housing 10. It is sealed by the sealing material 20 injected from the injection port 13. The sealing material 20 is an epoxy-based adhesive (adhesive resin) that is also used for sealing integrated circuits, for example, and also seals the injection port 13.

The connecting portion 35 is passed through the guide recess 15, and is sandwiched between the upper surface of the elastic body 50 and the inner surface of the guide recess 15 facing the upper surface of the elastic body 50. As shown in FIG. 9, the gap adjacent to the connecting portion 35 in the guide recess 15 (the gap adjacent to the terminal 30 between the mutually facing surfaces of the housing 10 and the elastic body 50) is sealed by the sealing material 20. .. The terminal 30 is extended to the outside from the first opening 11 of the housing 10 through the mutual facing surfaces of the housing 10 and the elastic body 50 by the legs 33 and the connecting portions 34 and 35.

The upright portion 36 is inserted into the terminal holding hole 16 of the housing 10. The convex portions 36a provided on both sides of the vertical portion 36 in the width direction (left-right direction) bite into the inner surface of the terminal holding hole 16 to generate a holding force by press-fitting (light press-fitting). In addition, instead of holding (fixing) by press-fitting, the erecting portion 36 may be formed into an arrowhead (lance) shape to prevent it from being removed, or it may be used to prevent it from being removed by using an adhesive. The leaf spring portion 37 acts to give the contact portion 38 appropriate flexibility. The contact portion 38 faces the outside of the housing 10 by the second opening 12, and is in contact with the terminal of the mating connector (not shown).

The elastic body 50 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped rubber or other elastomer, and closes the three first openings 11 of the housing 10. Specifically, the upper surface of the elastic body 50 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 of the housing 10 by the cover plate 70. The elastic body 50 may have a guide recess (a recess connected to the first opening 11) instead of the guide recess 15 of the housing 10.

The cover plate 70 is a sheet metal part formed by, for example, pressing a plate-shaped metal, and has a flat plate-shaped base 71 in contact with the lower surface of the elastic body 50 and a predetermined number from both front and rear sides of the base 71 (in the illustrated example). A locking tongue piece 73 that rises from the front side (two from the front side and four from the rear side), a press-fitting tongue piece 75 that rises from both the left and right sides of the base 71 by a predetermined number (one in the illustrated example), and a base. It has a fixing tongue piece portion 77 as a leg portion extending downward by a predetermined number (one by one in the illustrated example) from both the left and right sides of the 71. The cover plate 70 may be an insulating resin molded body.

Each locking tongue piece portion 73 has a hole portion 73a that engages with the locking convex portion 18 of the housing 10 as shown in FIG. The cover plate 70 is locked to the housing 10 in a state where the elastic body 50 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 of the housing 10 by the engagement between the hole portion 73a and the locking convex portion 18. To. The hole portion 73a is a through hole in the illustrated example, but may be a non-through hole (recess). Further, the housing 10 may have a hole portion, and the cover plate 70 may have a convex portion engaged with the hole portion.

Each press-fitting tongue piece portion 75 is press-fitted (light press-fitted) into the plate holding hole 17 of the housing 10. Convex portions 75a provided on both sides of the press-fitting tongue piece portion 75 in the width direction (left-right direction) bite into the inner surface of the plate holding hole 17 to generate a holding force by press-fitting (light press-fitting). Instead of holding (fixing) by press-fitting, the press-fitting tongue piece portion 75 may be formed into an arrowhead (lance) shape to prevent it from being removed, or it may be used to prevent it from being removed by using an adhesive. The fixing tongue piece portion 77 is inserted into a hole (not shown) of the substrate 90 (FIG. 10) to which the connector 1 is mounted, and is fixed to the substrate 90 by soldering or the like. The fixing tongue piece portion 77 may be a leg portion that extends in an L shape and is mounted (fixed) on the surface of the substrate 90 by soldering or the like. The cover plate 70 is non-contact (non-conducting) with the terminal 30, and is irrelevant to the electrical connection of the connector 1.

Since the connector 1 of the present embodiment has a structure in which the terminal 30 is inserted and held in the housing 10 regardless of insert molding, the housing 10 has a first opening 11 for inserting the terminal 30 into the housing 10 and a mating party. A second opening 12 is required to allow the terminal 30 to face the outside of the housing 10 for contact with the terminal of the connector. Here, as shown in FIG. 10, the case 92 of the device on which the connector 1 is mounted and the outer surface of the housing 10 can be watertightly sealed by an elastic body 91 such as rubber. On the other hand, the water that has entered the housing 10 from the second opening 12 cannot be prevented from leaking to the substrate 90 side by the elastic body 91 described above, so that a separate measure is required. Therefore, in the present embodiment, by pressing the elastic body 50 against the surface around the first opening 11, the water that has entered the housing 10 from the second opening 12 leaks to the outside from the first opening 11. Is suppressed. Further, a gap (around the first opening 11) created by extending the terminal 30 to the outside through between the first opening 11 and the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 and the upper surface of the elastic body 50. The gap between the surface and the upper surface of the elastic body 50) is sealed with the sealing material 20 to prevent water from leaking from the gap.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) Since the elastic body 50 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 of the housing 10 by the cover plate 70, water that has entered the housing 10 from the second opening 12 leaks to the outside from the first opening 11. Can be suppressed. Therefore, even when the mating connector is not fitted to the connector 1, the waterproof property can be improved.

(2) The gap adjacent to the terminal 30 (the gap on both the left and right sides of the terminal 30 in the recess 15 in FIG. 9) between the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 and the upper surface of the elastic body 50 is formed by the sealing material 20. For sealing, it is possible to prevent water that has entered the housing 10 from the second opening 12 from leaking to the outside through the gap. Therefore, the waterproof effect can be further enhanced.

(3) Since the entire circumference (left and right and top and bottom) of the connecting portion 34 floating with respect to the upper surface of the elastic body 50 is sealed by the sealing material 20, the waterproof effect can be further enhanced.

(4) The cover plate 70 is formed on the peripheral surface of the first opening 11 of the housing 10 by engaging the hole 73a of its own locking tongue piece 73 with the locking convex portion 18 of the housing 10. Since the elastic body 50 is locked against the housing 10 in a pressed state, the elastic body 50 can be pressed against the housing 10 with a simple structure. Further, since the press-fitting tongue piece portion 75 of the cover plate 70 is press-fitted into the plate holding hole 17 of the housing 10 to generate a holding force, the comparison is made with locking only by engaging the hole portion 73a and the locking convex portion 18. Therefore, strong holding is possible.

(5) Since the cover plate 70 has a fixing tongue piece portion 77 that is inserted into a hole (not shown) of the substrate 90 (FIG. 10) to which the connector 1 is mounted and fixed to the substrate 90 by soldering or the like, the substrate 70 is a substrate. The connector 1 can be firmly mounted on the 90. Since the cover plate 70 for pressing the elastic body 50 against the housing 10 is used to increase the mounting strength of the connector 1 on the substrate 90, it is possible to suppress an increase in the number of parts.

Although the present invention has been described above by taking the embodiment as an example, it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to each component and each processing process of the embodiment within the scope of the claims. By the way.

1 connector (electric connector), 10 housing, 11 first opening, 12 second opening, 13 inlet, 14 guide recess, 15 guide recess, 16 terminal holding hole, 17 plate holding hole, 18 locking convex part, 20 encapsulant, 30 terminals (metal terminals), 31 connections, 33 legs, 34 contacts, 35 connectors, 36 standing, 36a convex, 37 leaf springs, 38 contacts, 50 elastics, 70 Cover plate (cover member), 71 base, 73 locking tongue piece, 73a hole, 75 press-fitting tongue piece, 75a convex part, 77 fixing tongue piece (leg), 90 substrate, 91 elasticity Body, 92 cases

Claims (6)

With at least one terminal,
A connector comprising a housing that houses at least a portion of the terminal.
The housing is
A first opening for inserting the terminal into the housing,
It has a second opening for allowing the terminal to face the outside of the housing.
The connector is
An elastic body that closes the first opening,
A cover member that presses the elastic body against the surface around the first opening of the housing is provided .
The terminal extends from the first opening through between the facing surfaces of the housing and the elastic body to the outside.
A connector in which a gap adjacent to the terminal between the facing surfaces is sealed with a sealing material . At least one of the housing and the elastic body has a recess connected to the first opening and through which the terminal is passed.
The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the gap adjacent to the terminal in the recess is sealed by the sealing material. The connector according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the terminal has a portion raised with respect to the elastic body on the outside of the first opening, and the sealing material is filled on the entire circumference of the portion. .. One of the cover member and the housing has a convex portion, and the other has a hole portion that engages with the convex portion.
The cover member is locked to the housing by engaging the convex portion with the hole portion in a state where the elastic body is pressed against the surface around the first opening of the housing. The connector according to any one of Items 1 to 3 . The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the cover member has a tongue piece portion to be press-fitted into the housing. With at least one terminal,
A connector comprising a housing that houses at least a portion of the terminal.
The housing is
A first opening for inserting the terminal into the housing,
It has a second opening for allowing the terminal to face the outside of the housing.
The connector is
An elastic body that closes the first opening,
A cover member that presses the elastic body against the surface around the first opening of the housing is provided.
The cover member is a connector having a leg portion fixed to a substrate on which the connector is mounted.

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