JP7134700B2 - Connector assembly and waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector assembly consisting of two connectors mated together, and a waterproof connector which is one of the connectors constituting the connector assembly.

A waterproof connector with a slider that mates with a mating connector with a hood-shaped housing is known. In this waterproof connector, a waterproof seal member is pressed against the inner wall surface of the hood-shaped housing of the mating connector. Therefore, depending on environmental temperature conditions and the like, the housing of the mating connector may be deformed due to the pressing force, and the waterproofness may deteriorate.

Patent Document 1 discloses a structure for preventing thermal deformation of the small hood portion by pressing the hood portion (small hood portion) of the male housing with the hood portion (large hood portion) of the female housing provided with a seal member and a slider. A waterproof connector is disclosed. This patent document 1 also suggests pressing the small hood portion with a slider.

JP-A-2002-373732

In the case of Patent Document 1 cited above, a structure is required in which the large hood portion holds the slider in order to hold the small hood portion, which may increase the size of the female housing. Moreover, although this patent document 1 suggests pressing the small hood portion with a slider, the specific structure is not clear. When the small hood portion is pressed by the slider, there is a risk of an increase in the operating force associated with the sliding operation of the slider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a waterproof connector that prevents deformation of the hood portion of the mating connector while suppressing an increase in the operating force of the slider, and a connector assembly comprising the waterproof connector and the mating connector. intended to

The connector assembly of the present invention that achieves the above object comprises:
A first connector comprising a first housing having a receptacle opening forward in a mating direction, the receptacle being formed with a boss protruding outward, and an inner having a fitting portion to be fitted with the first connector. A first assembly comprising a housing, a sealing member that surrounds the inner housing around one circumference and is in contact with the inner wall surface of the receptacle for waterproofing the gap with the first connector, and a fitting direction with the first connector. an outer housing that opens forwardly of the connector and accommodates the first assembly with a gap around the fitting portion for fitting the receptacle; and a cam groove for fitting the first connector is formed by sliding while receiving the boss, and a pressing portion for pressing the hood portion inward is provided in the central portion excluding both ends in the sliding direction. a second connector having a second assembly with a slider and a lever for sliding the slider;
The outer housing has support openings for receiving and supporting the slider at both ends in the sliding direction,
The pressing portion is provided in the central portion of the slider, which is not supported by the support opening in the entire sliding range of the lever, and has a shape that rises above both ends of the slider and spreads flat around the cam groove. has
At least a portion of the second surface of the slider, which is the back surface of the first surface on which the pressing portion is formed, is in contact with the sealing member in the fitting direction when the first connector and the second connector are fitted together. It is characterized by having ribs extending in the sliding direction at overlapping positions .

Further, the waterproof connector of the present invention for achieving the above invention is
A connector to be fitted with a mating connector having a first housing having a receptacle opening forward in a mating direction, the receptacle being formed with a boss protruding outward,
A first set comprising an inner housing having a fitting portion that fits with a mating connector, and a sealing member that encircles the inner housing and contacts the inner wall surface of the receptacle to waterproof the mating connector. an outer housing that is open forward in the three-dimensional shape and in the direction of mating with the mating connector and accommodates the first assembly with a gap around the mating part for the receptacle to be fitted into, and the mating direction of the mating connector; It is supported by the outer housing so as to be slidable in the sliding direction that intersects with the , and is formed with a cam groove for fitting the mating connector by receiving the boss and sliding. a second assembly comprising a slider having a pressing portion that presses inward and a lever that slides the slider;
The outer housing has support openings for receiving and supporting the slider at both ends in the sliding direction,
The pressing portion is provided at the central portion of the slider, which is not supported by the support opening in the entire sliding range of the lever, and has a shape that rises above both ends of the slider and spreads flat around the cam groove. have
At least a portion of the second surface of the slider, which is the back surface of the first surface on which the pressing portion is formed, is in contact with the sealing member in the fitting direction when the first connector and the second connector are fitted together. It is characterized by having a rib extending in the sliding direction at the overlapping position .

In the connector assembly and the waterproof connector of the present invention, the pressing portion for pressing the receptacle is provided in the central portion of the slider, excluding both ends in the sliding direction. Therefore, deformation of the hood portion is prevented while suppressing an increase in the operating force accompanying the slide.

Further , in the connector assembly and the waterproof connector of the present invention, since the pressing portion is provided at a position separated from the support opening, an increase in the operating force accompanying the slide can be further suppressed.

According to the present invention described above, a connector assembly and a waterproof connector are realized in which deformation of the receptacle is prevented while suppressing an increase in the operating force of the slider.

1 is an external perspective view of a connector assembly as one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first connector viewed from an angle different from that of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the second connector showing the inside of the outer housing; 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a slider; FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of the connector assembly in a state where the first connector and the second connector are fitted together, viewed from the first connector side; 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow AA shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of the ellipse R shown in FIG. 6A.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a connector assembly as one embodiment of the present invention.

This connector assembly 100 is composed of a first connector 10 and a second connector 20 that are mated with each other.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the first connector viewed from an angle different from that of FIG. 1;

First, the first connector 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

The first connector 10 has a housing 11 made of insulating resin. The housing 11 is provided with a receptacle 111 that opens in the direction of fitting with the second connector 20 (the direction of the arrow X). A male metal contact 12 supported by the housing 11 is arranged in the receptacle 111 . A boss 112 projecting outward is formed on the hood portion 111 . Here, this first connector 10 corresponds to an example of the first connector in the connector assembly of the present invention. Also, the first connector 10 corresponds to an example of a mating connector to be combined with the waterproof connector of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the second connector showing the inside of the outer housing. In FIG. 3, the outer housing 41 is indicated by dotted lines.

The second connector 20 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. FIG.

The second connector 20 has a first assembly 30 and a second assembly 40 .

The first assembly 30 has an inner housing 31 . The inner housing 31 is provided with a fitting portion 311 that fits with the first connector 10 . The inner housing 31 supports contacts (not shown) electrically connected to the contacts 12 of the first connector 10 .

The first assembly 30 also includes a seal member 32 that surrounds the inner housing 31 over the entire circumference. The seal member 32 is in contact with the inner wall surface 113 (see FIG. 2) of the receptacle 111 of the housing 11 of the first connector 10 to waterproof the first connector 10 .

The second assembly 40 also includes an outer housing 41 that opens forward in the direction of engagement with the first connector 10 (the direction of the arrow X'). The outer housing 41 accommodates the first assembly 30 with a gap 21 around the fitting portion 311 of the inner housing 31 , into which the hood portion 111 of the housing 11 of the first connector 10 is fitted.

The second assembly 40 also includes a slider 50 that is slidable in a sliding direction (direction of arrows Y-Y' shown in FIG. 3) that intersects the direction of engagement with the first connector 10. As shown in FIG. Support openings 42a and 42b for supporting the slider 50 are formed in the outer housing 41 on both sides in the sliding direction. The slider 50 is supported by the outer housing 41 by entering the support opening 42a at one end and the support opening 42b at the other end of the outer housing 41 according to the sliding position in the sliding direction.

A cam groove 51 (see FIG. 4) for receiving the boss 112 of the first connector 10 is formed in the slider 50 . The slider 50 is a member that receives the boss 112 and slides to fit the first connector 10 to the second connector 20 . This slider 50 will be further described later.

In addition, the second assembly 40 is provided with a lever 60 that is pivotally operated. When this lever is rotated, the slider 50 slides.

Further, this second assembly 40 is provided with a wire cover 70 . This wire cover 70 is a member that covers the vicinity of the tip of the electric wire (not shown) connected to the contact (not shown) of the second connector 20 .

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the slider.

The second connector 20 is provided with a pair of upper and lower sliders 50 . Each slider 50 is provided with the above-described cam groove 51 . This cam groove 51 is for drawing the first connector 10 relatively to the second connector 20 to fit them together. Each slider 50 is provided with a rack 52 . The lever 60 is provided with a pinion (not shown) that engages with the rack 52 thereof. As a result, when the lever 60 is rotated, the slider 50 slides.

Further, each slider 50 is provided with a base portion 53 . The hatching shown in FIG. 4 is for clearly showing the base portion 53 . The base portion 53 corresponds to an example of the pressing portion according to the present invention. The base portion 53 is provided in the central portion of the slider 50 excluding both end portions 54 in the sliding direction (direction of arrows Y-Y'), and has a slightly raised shape than the end portions 54 . That is, the thickness of the slider 50 at the base portion 53 is greater than the thickness of the slider 50 at the end portions 54 .

Here, the slider 50 is supported by the outer housing 41 by entering the support openings 42a and 42b provided in the outer housing 41, as described above. The dimensions of these support openings 42a, 42b are dimensioned to match the dimensions of the ends 54 of the slider 50. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the connector assembly in a state where the first connector and the second connector are fitted together, viewed from the first connector side.

6 is (A) a cross-sectional view along arrow AA shown in FIG. 5, and (B) an enlarged view of the ellipse R shown in FIG. 6A. Here, the contacts of the second connector 20 and the electric wires having the contacts at their ends are omitted from the illustration. In addition, although the detailed structure of the second connector 20 appears on this cross-sectional view, description of the detailed structure of portions unrelated to the characteristic portions of the present embodiment will be omitted.

By rotating the lever 60, the slider 50 is slid and the first connector 10 is relatively drawn into the second connector 20 to fit them together. Then, the seal member 32 surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 31 of the second connector 20 is pressed against the inner wall surface 113 of the receptacle 111 of the first connector 10 . 6A and 6B, the sealing member 32 is shown in its original size before being pressed against the receptacle 111. As shown in FIG. However, in reality, the seal member 32 is compressed by the hood portion 111 , and the reaction force exerts a force on the hood portion 111 in the direction of expanding the hood portion 111 . Therefore, if the features of this embodiment described below are not provided, the receptacle 111 may be deformed depending on environmental temperature conditions and the like.

In the case of this embodiment, in order to suppress this deformation, a base portion 53 is provided at the central portion of the slider 50 in the sliding direction. FIG. 6 shows the slider 50 with the designed dimensions. The base portion 53 has a dimension such that it bites into the hood portion 111 by a distance d shown in FIG. 6(B). However, the base portion 53 of the slider 50 does not bite into the hood portion 111 and pushes the hood portion 111 by the distance d. The direction in which the base portion 53 pushes the hood portion 111 is an inward direction opposite to the direction in which the seal member 32 pushes the hood portion 111 apart. As described above, in the case of the present embodiment, by providing the base portion 53 on the slider 50, deformation of the hood portion 111 is suppressed even under conditions such as environmental temperature conditions that tend to cause deformation.

Here, the slide 50 does not push the receptacle 111 over the entire area in the sliding direction, but the receptacle 111 is pushed, as shown in FIG. limited. Therefore, an increase in the operating force required for sliding the slider 50 is suppressed to a slight increase. In the case of the present embodiment, the deformation of the receptacle 111 is effectively suppressed while suppressing such an increase in the operating force to a slight increase.

Further, as described above, the slider 50 is supported by the outer housing 41 by entering the support openings 42a and 42b provided in the outer housing 41. As shown in FIG. The dimensions of these support openings 42a, 42b are dimensioned to match the dimensions of the ends 54 of the slider 50. As shown in FIG. In other words, the width of the support openings 42a, 42b is narrower than the thickness of the base portion 53, and when the base portion 53 is passed through the support openings 42a, 42b, a large resistance is received. Here, the portions of the slider 50 supported by the support openings 42 a and 42 b change depending on the slide position of the slider 50 . However, the portions of the slider 50 supported by the support openings 42a and 42b are limited to both ends 54 of the slider 50 regardless of which position the slider 50 slides to by rotating the lever 60 . That is, even if the slider 50 is slid to any position by rotating the lever 60, the pedestal 53 is prevented from being clamped between the support openings 42a and 42b. In the case of this embodiment, this further suppresses an increase in the operating force of the slider 50 .

In this embodiment, the slider 50 is provided with a surface-shaped base portion 53 , and the base portion 53 pushes the hood portion 111 . However, the shape of the pressing portion referred to in the present invention, which presses the hood portion 111, does not need to be a surface shape like the base portion 53. FIG. For example, a structure may be employed in which a plurality of ribs extending in the sliding direction are formed and the ribs press the hood portion. Alternatively, a structure in which a plurality of projections are formed and the hood portion is pressed by these projections may be used. By adopting a structure in which the hood portion is pressed by ribs or protrusions in this manner, an increase in the operating force accompanying the slide can be further suppressed.

10 first connector (mating connector)
11 housing 111 hood portion 112 boss 113 hood portion inner wall surface 12 contact 20 second connector 21 gap 30 first assembly 31 inner housing 311 fitting portion 32 sealing member 40 second assembly 41 outer housing 42a, 42b support opening 50 Slider 51 Cam groove 52 Rack 53 Base 54 End 60 Lever 70 Wire cover 100 Connector assembly

Claims (2)

A first connector comprising a first housing having a receptacle opening forward in a mating direction, the receptacle being formed with a boss protruding outward, and a fitting part that is fitted with the first connector. and a sealing member that surrounds the inner housing around one circumference and is in contact with the inner wall surface of the receptacle to waterproof the first connector, and the first connector. and an outer housing that accommodates the first assembly with a gap around the fitting portion for fitting the receptacle and the fitting direction of the first connector. is slidably supported by the outer housing in a sliding direction intersecting with the outer housing, a cam groove for fitting the first connector is formed by receiving the boss and sliding, and a central portion excluding both ends in the sliding direction a second connector having a second assembly including a slider having a pressing portion for pressing the hood portion inward and a lever for sliding the slider;
The outer housing has support openings for receiving and supporting the slider at both ends in the sliding direction,
The pressing portion is provided at a central portion of the slider which is not supported by the support opening in the entire sliding range of the lever by operating the lever. It has a shape that spreads flat,
At least a portion of the second surface of the slider, which is the back surface of the first surface on which the pressing portion is formed, is in contact with the sealing member in the fitting direction when the first connector and the second connector are fitted. A connector assembly comprising a rib extending in the sliding direction at an overlapping position . A connector to be fitted with a mating connector comprising a first housing having a receptacle opening forward in a mating direction, the receptacle being formed with a boss protruding outward,
An inner housing having a fitting portion that fits with the mating connector, and a sealing member that surrounds the inner housing around the circumference and is in contact with the inner wall surface of the receptacle to waterproof the mating connector. a first assembly, and an outer housing that is open forward in a mating direction with the mating connector and accommodates the first assembly with a gap around the fitting portion into which the receptacle fits; The connector is supported by the outer housing so as to be slidable in a sliding direction crossing the mating direction with the mating connector, and a cam groove for fitting the mating connector is formed by sliding while receiving the boss, and the sliding direction. a second assembly comprising a slider having a pressing portion that presses the hood portion inward, and a lever that slides the slider, in the center portion excluding both ends of the
The outer housing has support openings for receiving and supporting the slider at both ends in the sliding direction,
The pressing portion is provided at a central portion of the slider which is not supported by the support opening in the entire sliding range of the lever by operating the lever. It has a shape that spreads flat,
At least a portion of the second surface of the slider, which is the back surface of the first surface on which the pressing portion is formed, is in contact with the sealing member in the fitting direction when the first connector and the second connector are fitted together. A waterproof connector characterized by having a rib extending in the sliding direction at an overlapping position .

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