JP7256096B2 - Connectors and connector assemblies - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to connectors and connector assemblies.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in electric wire connectors used in automobiles and the like, in order to prevent rainwater, washing water, etc. from entering the interior, a cover is attached to the connector body to cover the base of the electric wire. (See Patent Document 1, for example).

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view of a conventional connector.

In the figure, 811 is a connector housing integrally formed of synthetic resin, and is formed with a plurality of terminal receiving holes 813 for receiving terminals 851 connected to the ends of electric wires 891 . A seal accommodating portion 815 that accommodates a mat seal 831 and a rear seal cover 821 is formed behind the connector housing 811 (upper in the figure). The mat seal 831 is a thick plate member made of an elastic sealing material, and has a plurality of wire insertion holes 833 formed at positions corresponding to the terminal accommodation holes 813 . The rear seal cover 821 is a thick plate member made of synthetic resin, and has a plurality of wire through holes 823 formed at positions corresponding to the terminal accommodating holes 813 and the wire insertion holes 833 . A plurality of electric wires 891 are connected to the connector housing 811 by each passing through the electric wire insertion hole 833 and the electric wire through hole 823, and the terminal 851 connected to the end being accommodated in the terminal accommodation hole 813. .

A wire cover 841 is attached to the rear surface (upper surface in the figure) of the connector housing 811 . The wire cover 841 is configured to bend the wire 891 drawn out from the wire through hole 823 of the rear seal cover 821 in a predetermined wire extraction direction (diagonally upward left direction in the figure) and accommodate it.

Since the wire cover 841 is attached to the rear surface of the connector housing 811 and the mat seal 831 and the rear seal cover 821 are housed in the seal housing portion 815, watertightness can be ensured and terminals can be housed. It is possible to reliably prevent water from entering the hole 813 from behind.

JP 2015-041424 A

However, in the conventional connector, when the wire cover 841 is attached to the rear surface of the connector housing 811 and the wire 891 is bent in the wire extraction direction, the wire penetration on the opposite side of the wire extraction direction (the right side in the drawing) is particularly difficult. The degree of bending of the electric wire 891 led out from the hole 823 increases, and due to the bending, the electric wire insertion hole 833 of the mat seal 831 receives a load directed in the electric wire extraction direction and is deformed. . The location of the bend is the rear end (upper end in the drawing) of the wire through-hole 823 of the rear seal cover 821. The shorter the distance from the location of the bend to the mat seal 831, the more the wire insertion hole 833 is bent by the load. deformation increases.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable connector and a connector assembly which are compact and low in height, can maintain high waterproofness, and are capable of solving the problems of the conventional connector.

For this purpose, the connector comprises a fixed wire guide plate having a wire passage hole formed thereon, a connector main body including a terminal receiving hole, and a terminal received in the terminal receiving hole and extending in the fitting direction. a terminal to which a wire is connected so as to extend rearward in a fitting direction; and a wire seal having a wire passage hole formed therein, the wire seal being disposed between the terminal receiving hole and a fixed wire guide plate. a cover member attached to the rear end of the connector body in the fitting direction, the cover member being slidably attached to the connector body in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction; a movable wire guide plate having a passage hole formed thereon, the movable wire guide plate being disposed behind the fixed wire guide plate in the fitting direction so as to be displaceable in the fitting direction; When the formed cam pin engages with the cam groove formed in the movable wire guide plate and the cover member is displaced forward in the sliding direction, the movable wire guide plate is displaced rearward in the fitting direction.

In another connector, the movable wire guide plate further includes a cam groove forming piece in which at least a part of the cam groove is formed, the cam groove forming piece projecting forward in the fitting direction, The fixed wire guide plate includes a cam groove forming piece accommodating recess capable of accommodating the cam groove forming piece.

In still another connector, the fixed wire guide plate further includes a guide projection extending forward and backward in the mating direction, and the movable wire guide plate extends in the mating direction and the guide projection including a guide groove that accommodates the

In still another connector, the wire passage holes of the fixed wire guide plate, the wire seal, and the movable wire guide plate extend in the fitting direction, and the wires pass through the wire passage holes of the movable wire guide plate. is bent forward in the sliding direction of the cover member at the rear in the fitting direction, and is taken out forward in the sliding direction.

In still another connector, the cover member includes a cover surface portion that covers the rear side of the connector body in the fitting direction, and a wire passage opening that opens at the front end in the sliding direction, and the wires pass through the wire passage opening. derived.

In still another connector, the connector body includes a slide rail portion formed at the rear end in the fitting direction and extending in the sliding direction of the cover member, and is engaged with at least one point of the slide rail portion. A locking recess is formed, the cover member includes a slider portion that engages with the slide rail portion, and at least one portion of the slider portion is formed with a locking projection that locks into the locking recess. there is

A connector assembly consists of a connector of the present disclosure and a mating connector that mates with the connector.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to maintain high waterproofness while being small and low in height, thereby improving reliability.

3 is an exploded view of the connector and the mating connector in the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the outer housing and strain relief of the connector according to the present embodiment; FIG. 4 is a side view of a state in which the mating of the connector and the mating connector is completed; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, where (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 3, and (b) is an enlarged view of part B in (a). FIG. 4 is a two-sided view showing a state before the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment is slid, wherein (a) is a top view and (b) is a side view; 5(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 5(a), and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 5(a); FIG. is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD. FIG. 5A is a two-sided view showing a state after the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment is slid, where (a) is a side view and (b) is at the same position as the CC arrow cross section in FIG. 5(a). is a cross-sectional view of. 5(a) is a cross-sectional view showing the state after the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment is slid, where (a) is a cross-sectional view at the same position as the DD arrow cross section in FIG. 5(a), and (b). is an enlarged view of part E in (a). 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a conventional connector; FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the connector and the mating connector in this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the outer housing and the strain relief of the connector in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a fitting of the connector and the mating connector. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3. FIG. In FIG. 4, (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3, and (b) is an enlarged view of portion B in (a).

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a connector according to the present embodiment, which serves as one side of a connector assembly. The connector 1 is a so-called wire connector, is connected to the tip of a wire that is a bundle of a plurality of wires 91, and is mated with a mating connector 101 as the other side of the connector assembly. Further, the mating connector 101 is attached to a panel member which is a side wall of a housing for housing an electric device, an electronic device, etc., for example, and is connected to a printed circuit of the electric device, the electronic device, etc. arranged inside the housing. It is a board-side connector that is connected to a board such as a board. The electrical equipment, electronic equipment, etc. are used, for example, in control devices for railway vehicles such as electric trains, trucks, road vehicles such as passenger cars, etc., but may be used for any purpose. There may be, and it may be of any kind.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, expressions indicating directions such as up, down, left, right, front, and back used to describe the configuration and operation of each part of the connector 1 and the mating connector 101 are absolute. It is not a thing but a relative one, and is appropriate when each part of the connector 1 and the mating connector 101 is in the posture shown in the figure. should be interpreted as In this embodiment, each part of the connector 1 and the mating connector 101 is configured so that the mating direction in which the connector 1 is mated with the mating connector 101 is the vertical direction, and the front side of the mating direction is the downward direction. A description will be given of a case in which the rear side faces upward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 1 includes an outer housing 11 as a first connector main body integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin, and a composite housing 11 housed in the outer housing 11 . An inner housing 15 as a second connector body integrally formed of an insulating material such as resin, and a composite connected to the lower side (Z-axis negative direction side) that is the front side in the fitting direction of the inner housing 15 A front cover 18 as a third connector body integrally formed of an insulating material such as resin and an upper end (Z-axis positive direction end), which is the rear end in the fitting direction, of the outer housing 11 are provided in the fitting direction. A wire cover 41 as a cover member integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin is provided so as to be slidable in an orthogonal direction. When the outer housing 11, the inner housing 15, and the front cover 18 are collectively described, they are described as housings that are connector bodies.

Further, the connector 1 includes a strain relief 21 as a movable wire guide plate interposed between the outer housing 11 and the wire cover 41, and a wire seal interposed between the outer housing 11 and the inner housing 15. a mat seal 31 and a ring seal 38 as a housing seal; a retainer 28 as a terminal holding member attached to the inner housing 15;

The electric wire 91 in the present embodiment includes a power line 91A connected to a power line and a signal line 91B connected to a signal line. A terminal 51 made of conductive metal connected to the tip of the electric wire 91 includes a power terminal 51A connected to the power line 91A and a signal terminal 51B connected to the signal line 91B. When the power line 91A and the signal line 91B are collectively described, and when the power terminal 51A and the signal terminal 51B are collectively described, they are described as the electric wire 91 and the terminal 51, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric wire 91 is connected to the terminal 51 so as to extend rearward in the fitting direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer housing 11 includes an upper concave portion 11d formed so as to be concaved downward from an upper surface 11a, which is an upper end surface, and an upper concave portion extending in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. A partition wall 12 as a fixed wire guide plate formed so as to close the bottom surface of 11d is included. The partition wall 12 is formed with a plurality of power line passing holes 13A and signal line passing holes 13B through which the power lines 91A and signal lines 91B are inserted. When the power line passage hole 13A and the signal line passage hole 13B are collectively described, they will be described as the electric wire passage hole 13. As shown in FIG. The wire passage hole 13 is a through hole that vertically penetrates the partition wall 12 from its upper surface 12a to its lower surface (not shown).

A part including at least the lower end of the strain relief 21 is accommodated in the upper concave portion 11d. The strain relief 21 is a thick plate-like member integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin, and its shape in plan view is roughly the same as the upper concave portion 11d. It is circular or oval. Further, the strain relief 21 is formed with a plurality of power line passing holes 23A and signal line passing holes 23B through which the power lines 91A and signal lines 91B are inserted. When the power line passage hole 23A and the signal line passage hole 23B are collectively described, they will be described as the electric wire passage hole 23. As shown in FIG. The wire passage hole 23 is a through hole vertically penetrating the strain relief 21 from its upper surface 21a to its lower surface 21b.

In addition, vertical guide grooves 22 as guide grooves penetrating vertically from the upper surface 21a to the lower surface 21b are formed at a plurality of locations (four locations in the example shown in the drawing) of the side surface 21c of the strain relief 21. . Each of the upper and lower guide grooves 22 can vertically slide each of the upper and lower guide projections 12d as guide projections projecting upward from the upper surface 12a of the partition wall 12 along the inner peripheral surface of the upper recess 11d. housed in

Further, a flat surface extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the side surface 21c of the strain relief 21 is formed with an inclined groove 24 extending obliquely as a cam groove. In the illustrated example, two inclined grooves 24 are formed on each side in the width direction (Y-axis direction), but the number can be set arbitrarily. Each inclined groove 24 has an inlet portion 24a that opens on the upper surface 21a of the strain relief 21, and a main body that is inclined linearly downward (negative Z-axis direction) as it advances forward in the longitudinal direction (positive direction of the X-axis). It includes a portion 24b and a flat, non-inclined terminal portion 24c at the lower end of the body portion 24b. In addition, each inclined groove 24 extends downward to such an extent that the portion near the terminal end 24c is located below the lower surface 21b. Therefore, the strain relief 21 is a downward protruding piece as a cam groove forming piece formed so as to surround at least a part of each inclined groove 24, more specifically, the end portion 24c of each inclined groove 24 and its vicinity. 25. Each downward protruding piece 25 has a shape such that a part of the side surface 21c protrudes downward from the lower surface 21b. Each of the downward projecting pieces 25 can be accommodated in a projecting piece accommodating recess 12c as a cam groove forming piece accommodating recess recessed downward from the upper surface 12a of the partition wall 12. As shown in FIG.

The upper surface 11 a of the outer housing 11 is formed with a cover engaging portion 14 protruding upward for engaging with the wire cover 41 . The cover engaging portion 14 includes a pair of linear portions 14a extending in the longitudinal direction (the sliding direction of the wire cover 41) and a curved portion 14b connecting one end of each linear portion 14a. Each linear portion 14a is formed with a slide rail portion 14c that is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction and extends linearly in the longitudinal direction. An open portion 14d is formed near the center of the slide rail portion 14c in the front-rear direction. Further, at least one side surface of the slide rail portion 14c is formed with a locking recess 14e that opens to the side surface 11c of the outer housing 11. As shown in FIG.

A flat surface extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the side surface 11c of the outer housing 11 is formed with a lever rotating shaft 75, which is a protruding shaft with a circular cross section, for mounting the fitting lever 81 thereon. It is A locking piece 76 for locking the fitting lever 81 in a predetermined posture and a pair of protective plates covering both sides of the locking piece 76 are provided at one of the front and rear ends of the side surface 11c. A portion 77 is formed. The locking piece 76 is a cantilever-shaped elastically deformable member whose upper end is integrally connected to the side surface 11c, and a locking projection 76a is formed at its lower end, which is a free end.

Further, a lower concave portion 11e is formed on the lower side of the partition wall 12 in the outer housing 11 so as to be concave upward from the lower surface 11b. The inner housing 15 to which the retainer 28 is attached, the mat seal 31, the ring seal 38, and the front cover 18 are accommodated in the lower concave portion 11e. Neighborhood parts are inserted. In the vicinity of the lower end of the longitudinally extending flat surface of the side surface 11c of the outer housing 11, a notch portion 11f is formed to open to the lower surface 11b. The cutout portion 11f is integrally formed as a protruding shaft on the side surface of the mating connector housing 111, which is the housing of the mating connector 101 and is integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. The locked pin 181 enters.

The wire cover 41 is a hollow dome-shaped member having a curved and closed upper surface 41a as a cover surface portion, a substantially U-shaped lower surface 41b with an open inner side, the upper surface 41a and the lower surface. 41b, and is attached to the upper end portion of the outer housing 11 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). The rear end side of the wire cover 41 is closed by the side wall 41c, but the front end side is not closed by the side wall 41c and serves as a wire passage opening 41e through which the wire 91 passes. A canopy portion 41d extending forward in the sliding direction from the upper surface 41a is present above the wire passage opening 41e. The upper surface 41a includes a horizontal portion 41a1 extending in the front-rear direction, and an inclined portion 41a2 inclined obliquely downward from the rear end (X-axis negative direction end) of the horizontal portion 41a1 in the sliding direction. .

A boss 43 as a cam pin protruding inward is formed on the inner surface of the side wall 41c of the wire cover 41 near the lower surface 41b. The bosses 43 are members slidably fitted into the inclined grooves 24 of the strain relief 21. In the example shown in the figure, two bosses 43 are formed on the inner surfaces of the side walls 41c on both sides. and positions can be arbitrarily set so as to correspond to the inclined grooves 24 .

A slider portion 42 projecting outward is formed in the vicinity of the lower surface 41b on the outer surface of the side wall 41c of the wire cover 41. As shown in FIG. The slider portion 42 is a member slidably engaged with the slide rail portion 14c of the outer housing 11. In the example shown in the figure, two slider portions 42 are formed on the outer surfaces of the side walls 41c on both sides. The number and position can be arbitrarily set so as to correspond to the slide rail portion 14c. Each slider portion 42 has a substantially L-shaped shape when viewed from the left-right direction, and includes a rectilinear portion 42a extending linearly in the sliding direction and a stop portion extending upward from the rear end of the rectilinear portion 42a. and a portion 42b. At least one portion of the slider portion 42, in the example shown in the figure, is formed with a locking projection 42c protruding outward from the outer surface of the rectilinear portion 42a of the slider portion 42 positioned rearward in the sliding direction. It is The locking projection 42c is a member that is locked into the locking recess 14e of the outer housing 11, and as shown in FIG. Although it is a vertical surface, its front end is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the outer side surface of the rectilinear portion 42a. Further, as shown in FIG. 4(a), a cavity 42d is formed inside the rectilinear portion 42a near the locking projection 42c, so that the outer surface of the rectilinear portion 42a near the locking projection 42c is flexible. It is elastically deformable. Therefore, the locking projection 42c can be flexibly and elastically displaced in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the outer housing 11 .

The inner housing 15 includes a main body portion 15d and an enlarged portion 15c connected to the upper end of the main body portion 15d. The end surface is the upper surface 15 a of the inner housing 15 . A seal accommodating concave portion 16, which will be described later, is formed in the enlarged portion 15c. The seal accommodating recess 16 is a recess recessed downward from the upper surface 15a, and the mat seal 31 is accommodated therein. The inner housing 15 is displaced and housed in the lower concave portion 11e of the outer housing 11 so as to relatively rise from below, and the upper surface 15a of the inner housing 15 is in contact with or close to the lower surface of the partition wall 12 of the outer housing 11. becomes. As a result, the upper surface of the mat seal 31 accommodated in the seal accommodation recess 16 is brought into contact with the lower surface of the partition wall 12 .

The mat seal 31 is, for example, a thick plate-like member integrally molded with a sealing material such as a flexible resin such as silicone rubber. It is roughly oval or elliptical with the X axis as the major axis. Further, the mat seal 31 is formed with a plurality of power line passing holes 33A and signal line passing holes 33B through which the power lines 91A and the signal lines 91B are inserted. When the power line passage hole 33A and the signal line passage hole 33B are collectively described, they will be described as the electric wire passage hole 33. As shown in FIG. The wire passage hole 33 is a through hole vertically penetrating the mat seal 31 from its upper surface to its lower surface, and its arrangement is the same as the arrangement of the wire passage hole 13 formed in the partition wall 12 .

Further, the inner housing 15 has a plurality of power terminal accommodating holes 17A and signal terminal accommodating holes 17B for accommodating power terminals 51A connected to the tips of the power lines 91A and signal terminals 51B connected to the tips of the signal lines 91B. formed. When the power terminal accommodating hole 17A and the signal terminal accommodating hole 17B are collectively described, they will be referred to as the terminal accommodating hole 17. As shown in FIG. The terminal receiving hole 17 is a through hole vertically penetrating the inner housing 15 from the bottom surface of the seal receiving recess 16 to the lower surface 15b. be.

The main body portion 15d is formed with an elongated retainer accommodating concave portion 15e extending in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction). The retainer accommodating recess 15e is a recess for accommodating the retainer 28, and is formed so as to cross a part of each terminal accommodating hole 17 extending in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). The retainer 28 is a member integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin. and a plurality of engaging portions 28b extending in the width direction (Y-axis direction). The retainer 28 accommodated in the retainer accommodation recess 15 e is displaced to the width direction front side (Y-axis positive direction) of the inner housing 15 , and the body portion 28 a of the retainer 28 protrudes from the outer surface of the body portion 15 d of the inner housing 15 . After that, the retainer 28 is returned to the inner housing 15 in the width direction (negative direction of the Y-axis) so that the retainer 28 is completely inserted into the retainer receiving recess 15e. 2, each engaging portion 28b engages with the corresponding terminal 51 to prevent the terminal 51 from being displaced in the vertical direction. This prevents the terminal 51 from coming off from the terminal receiving hole 17 .

Further, a ring seal 38 is fitted around the outer periphery of the body portion 15d. The ring seal 38 is, for example, an annular member integrally molded with a sealing material such as a flexible resin such as silicone rubber, and is attached to the boundary portion between the outer circumference of the main body portion 15d and the enlarged portion 15c. .

The front cover 18 includes a concave portion (not shown) recessed downward from the upper surface 18a thereof, and the main body portion 15d of the inner housing 15 is displaced and accommodated in the concave portion so as to be relatively lowered from above. be. The lower surface of the bottom wall 18c of the recess forms the lower surface 18b of the front cover 18. As shown in FIG. The bottom wall 18c is formed with a plurality of mating power terminal passing holes 19A and mating signal terminal passing holes 19B through which mating power terminals and mating signal terminals (not shown) mounted in the mating housing 111 of the mating connector 101 are inserted. It is When the counterpart power terminal passage hole 19A and the counterpart signal terminal passage hole 19B are collectively described, they will be described as the counterpart terminal passage hole 19. As shown in FIG. The mating terminal passage holes 19 are through holes that vertically pass through the bottom wall 18c from its upper surface to its lower surface 18b. is similar to

The fitting lever 81 is, for example, a member integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin, but may be a member formed by stamping or bending a metal plate. The fitting lever 81 has a generally U-shaped or arch-shaped shape when viewed from above, and includes a pair of plate-shaped arms 82 corresponding to both legs of the arch and one end of the arm 82. and connecting portions 83 corresponding to the tops of the arches connecting them. A rotation hole 85 and a locking recess 86 are formed in each arm portion 82 . A lever rotation shaft 75 of the outer housing 11 is inserted into the rotation hole 85 , so that the fitting lever 81 is attached to the outer housing 11 so as to be rotatable about the lever rotation shaft 75 . 1, the lock recess 86 includes an inlet portion 86a positioned at the lower end of the arm portion 82 and a lock portion 86b positioned close to the rotation hole 85 so that the connector 1 can be fitted with the mating connector 101. When mating, the lock pin 181 formed on the side surface of the mating housing 111 enters the lock recess 86 from the entrance portion 86a, and the mating lever 81 is rotated to take the posture shown in FIG. Then, the lock pin 181 moves relatively to the lock portion 86b. As a result, the connector 1 and the mating connector 101 are locked in a fitted state.

Further, on the inner surface of the connection portion 83, a lever locking projection 83a that can be locked to the locking projection 76a of the outer housing 11 is formed. An operation projection 84 is formed to facilitate the operation of the . When the fitting lever 81 is rotated and assumes the posture shown in FIG. 76a. In this way, when the lever locking projection 83a is locked by the locking projection 76a, the fitting lever 81 cannot change its posture as shown in FIG. , the lock cannot be unlocked.

Next, the operation of sliding the wire cover 41 in the connector 1 configured as described above will be described.

5 is a two-sided view showing the state before the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment is slid, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the state before the wire cover of the connector is slid according to the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a two-sided view showing the state after the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment has been slid, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the state after the wire cover of the connector according to the present embodiment has been slid. 5, (a) is a top view, (b) is a side view, and in FIG. 6, (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 7, (a) is a side view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view at the same position as the CC arrow cross section in FIG. 5 (a), In FIG. 8, (a) is a cross-sectional view at the same position as the DD arrow cross-section in FIG. 5 (a), and (b) is an enlarged view of part E in (a).

In the present embodiment, wire cover 41 is attached to the upper end of outer housing 11 after the tip of a wire, which is a bundle of multiple electric wires 91 , is connected to connector 1 . As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in a state in which the ends of the wires, which are a bundle of a plurality of wires 91, are connected to the connector 1, the terminals 51 connected to the ends of the wires 91 are connected to the inner housing 15, respectively. The wires 91 accommodated in the terminal accommodation holes 17 , engaged with the retainer 28 , and connected to the rear ends of the terminals 51 pass through the wire passage holes 33 formed in the mat seal 31 and the partition wall of the outer housing 11 . 12 and each wire passage hole 23 formed in the strain relief 21, and after leading out from the wire passage hole 23, the wire is pulled out in a predetermined direction (FIG. 6A). leftward) and removed from the connector 1 .

It should be noted that in FIGS. 5 to 8, drawing of a part of the electric wire 91 is omitted for convenience' sake.

In this state, the inner housing 15 to which the retainer 28 is attached is accommodated in the lower concave portion 11 e of the outer housing 11 and connected to the outer housing 11 , and the upper surface 15 a of the inner housing 15 contacts the lower surface of the partition wall 12 of the outer housing 11 . or in close proximity. The mat seal 31 is accommodated in the seal accommodating recess 16 formed in the enlarged portion 15 c of the inner housing 15 , the lower surface of which contacts the bottom surface of the seal accommodating recess 16 and the upper surface of which contacts the lower surface of the partition wall 12 . ing. Furthermore, the strain relief 21 is accommodated in the upper recess 11 d of the outer housing 11 and its lower surface 21 b is in contact with or close to the upper surface 12 a of the partition wall 12 . The downward projecting piece 25 of the strain relief 21 is accommodated in the projecting piece accommodating recess 12c, and the vertical guide groove 22 of the strain relief 21 is fitted with the vertical guide projection 12d.

A wire cover 41 is attached to the upper end of the outer housing 11 . Specifically, the wire cover 41 is relatively lowered from above the outer housing 11, and in the wire cover 41, the slider portion 42 located in the front enters the opening portion 14d of the slide rail portion 14c, and moves backward. The front end of the rectilinear portion 42a of the slider portion 42 located at .vertline.2 faces the rear end of the slide rail portion 14c. A boss 43 formed on the inner surface of the side wall 41c of the wire cover 41 enters from above into the inlet portion 24a of the inclined groove 24 of the strain relief 21, as shown in FIG. 6(a). Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the wire cover 41 is positioned at the open position where the upper portion of the outer housing 11 near the front end is open.

When the wire cover 41 is at the open position, the fitting lever 81 is held in such a posture that the operating projection 84 is positioned below the upper end of the outer housing 11, as shown in FIG. 5(b). .

Subsequently, the operator slides the wire cover 41 toward the front of the outer housing 11 (positive direction of the X-axis) with fingers. Then, the linear portion 42a of the slider portion 42 slides while being fitted to the slide rail portion 14c. Therefore, the wire cover 41 slides toward the front of the outer housing 11 without being vertically displaced with respect to the outer housing 11 . At this time, the boss 43 of the wire cover 41 is displaced forward while being engaged with the linearly inclined body portion 24b in the inclined groove 24, while the strain relief 21 is engaged with the vertical guide groove 22 and the vertical guide projection. 12d is fitted, it can only be displaced in the vertical direction and cannot be displaced forward. Displace upward.

Then, when the wire cover 41 reaches the closed position, which is the position closest to the front, almost the entire upper portion of the outer housing 11 is covered with the wire cover 41 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, water such as rainwater and washing water is prevented to a considerable extent from entering the outer housing 11 . Also, the electric wire 91 passes through the wire passage hole 23 of the strain relief 21 from top to bottom, passes through the wire passage hole 13 of the partition wall 12, and further passes through the wire passage hole 33 of the mat seal 31. , and are connected to the terminals 51 in the terminal accommodating holes 17 of the inner housing 15 , so even if moisture enters the outer housing 11 , the moisture does not reach the terminals 51 in the terminal accommodating holes 17 . is reliably prevented. In particular, the mat seal 31 is made of a flexible sealing material, and as shown in FIG. Since the wire 33a is pressed against the outer periphery of the electric wire 91 and deformed, and is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter, the waterproof property is extremely high, and the terminal 51 in the terminal receiving hole 17 is protected from moisture. can be very effectively prevented from reaching.

Further, when the wire cover 41 reaches the closed position, the boss 43 of the wire cover 41 reaches the lowermost end portion 24c of the inclined groove 24, as shown in FIG. 7(b). Therefore, the strain relief 21 rises to the highest position with respect to the outer housing 11 , and its lower surface 21 b is largely separated from the upper surface 12 a of the partition wall 12 . Further, as shown in FIG. 8A, the upper surface 21a of the strain relief 21 is further separated from the upper surface of the mat seal 31. As shown in FIG.

In this state, since the upper side of the outer housing 11 is covered with the upper surface 41a of the wire cover 41, the electric wire 91 led out from the electric wire passing hole 23 of the strain relief 21 and taken out in the electric wire taking out direction passes through the electric wire passing hole. The top surface 21a of the strain relief 21, which is the top end of the strain relief 23, is bent greatly. Due to such bending, the electric wire passage hole 33 of the mat seal 31 is deformed by receiving a load directed in the electric wire extraction direction. Since the distance from the upper surface 21a of the strain relief 21 where the electric wire 91 is bent to the mat seal 31 is long, there is almost no deformation of the wire passage hole 33 due to the bending of the electric wire 91. Therefore, the mat seal 31 is waterproof. There is almost no loss of sex.

Moreover, since the waterproofness of the mat seal 31 does not deteriorate even if the electric wire 91 is bent greatly, the height of the wire cover 41 (the distance from the lower surface 41b to the upper surface 41a) can be reduced, and the connector 1 can be made compact and low-profile. can be Furthermore, since the distance from the upper surface 21a of the strain relief 21 to the mat seal 31 is long, even if the electric wire 91 is subjected to vibration, the vibration does not affect the waterproofness of the mat seal 31. Since the distance is long, the contact reliability of the contact is high even when subjected to vibration.

When the wire cover 41 is in the closed position, the fitting lever 81 may be positioned such that the operating projection 84 is located above the upper end of the outer housing 11, as shown in FIG. 7(a). can. In this posture, the entrance portion 86a of the lock recess 86 formed in the arm portion 82 faces downward, and the lock pin 181 formed on the side surface of the mating housing 111 can enter the lock recess 86. Therefore, the connector 1 can be mated with the mating connector 101 .

As described above, in the present embodiment, the connector 1 includes a housing (outer housing 11, inner housing 15, and front cover 18) including the partition wall 12 having the wire passage hole 13 formed therein, the terminal receiving hole 17, and the terminal housing. A terminal 51 that is housed in the receiving hole 17 and extends in the fitting direction, and to which a wire 91 is connected so as to extend rearward in the fitting direction, and a wire passage hole 33 are formed. The mat seal 31 is disposed between the terminal receiving hole 17 and the partition wall 12, and the wire cover 41 is attached to the rear end of the housing in the fitting direction and extends perpendicularly to the fitting direction. A wire cover 41 attached to the housing so as to be slidable in the direction of sliding and taking out the wires 91 forward in the sliding direction; A strain relief 21 is provided on the rear side so as to be displaceable in the fitting direction. is displaced forward in the sliding direction, the strain relief 21 is displaced rearward in the fitting direction.

As a result, the distance between the strain relief 21 and the mat seal 31 is increased, so even if the electric wire 91 led out from the wire passage hole 23 of the strain relief 21 is bent, the waterproof property of the mat seal 31 is not deteriorated. . Therefore, the connector 1 can maintain high waterproofness while being compact and low-profile, and the reliability of the connector 1 is improved.

Further, the strain relief 21 includes a downward protruding piece 25 in which at least a part of the inclined groove 24 is formed and which protrudes forward in the fitting direction. includes a protruding piece accommodating recess 12c capable of accommodating the . Thereby, the length of the inclined groove 24 in the fitting direction can be increased, and the amount of displacement of the strain relief 21 with respect to the partition wall 12 and the mat seal 31 can be increased.

Further, the partition wall 12 includes an upper and lower guide projection 12d extending forward and backward in the fitting direction, and the strain relief 21 includes an upper and lower guide groove 22 extending in the fitting direction and accommodating the upper and lower guide projection 12d. I'm in. Therefore, the strain relief 21 can be smoothly displaced rearward in the fitting direction. Furthermore, the wire passage holes 13, 33, and 23 of the partition wall 12, the mat seal 31, and the strain relief 21 extend in the fitting direction, and the wire 91 is positioned behind the wire passage hole 23 of the strain relief 21 in the fitting direction. It bends forward in the sliding direction of the wire cover 41 . Further, the wire cover 41 includes an upper surface 41a that covers the rear side of the housing in the fitting direction, and a wire passage opening 41e that opens at the front end in the sliding direction, from which the wires 91 are led out. Further, the housing includes a slide rail portion 14c formed at the rear end in the fitting direction and extending in the sliding direction of the wire cover 41. At least one locking recess 14e is formed in the slide rail portion 14c, and the wire The cover 41 includes a slider portion 42 that engages with the slide rail portion 14c, and at least one portion of the slider portion 42 is formed with a locking projection 42c that locks into the locking recess 14e.

It should be noted that this disclosure describes features of preferred exemplary embodiments. Various other embodiments, modifications and variations within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto will naturally occur to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the disclosure herein. be.

The present disclosure is applicable to connectors and connector assemblies.

1 Connector 11 Outer housing 11a, 12a, 15a, 18a, 21a, 41a Upper surface 11b, 15b, 18b, 21b, 41b Lower surface 11c, 21c Side surface 11d Upper concave portion 11e Lower concave portion 11f Notch portion 12 Partition wall 12c Protruding piece accommodating concave portion 12d Upper and lower guide projections 13, 23, 33 Wire passage holes 13A, 23A, 33A Power line passage holes 13B, 23B, 33B Signal line passage hole 14 Cover engaging portion 14a Straight portion 14b Curved portion 14c Slide rail portion 14d Open portion 14e Lock recess 15 Inner housing 15c Enlarged portions 15d, 24b, 28a Body portion 15e Retainer housing recess 16 Seal housing recess 17, 813 Terminal housing hole 17A Power terminal housing hole 17B Signal terminal housing hole 18 Front cover 18c Bottom wall 19 Mating terminal passage hole 19A Mating party Power terminal passage hole 19B Opposite signal terminal passage hole 21 Strain relief 22 Upper and lower guide grooves 24 Inclined grooves 24a, 86a Entrance portion 24c Termination portion 25 Lower projecting piece 28 Retainer 28b Engagement portion 31, 831 Mat seal 33a Projection 38 Ring seal 41 Wire Cover 41a1 Horizontal portion 41a2 Inclined portion 41c Side wall 41d Eaves portion 41e Wire passage opening 42 Slider portion 42a Straight portion 42b Stop portion 42c, 76a Locking projection 42d Cavity 43 Boss 51, 851 Terminal 51A Power terminal 51B Signal terminal 75 Lever rotation shaft 76 locking piece 77 protective plate portion 81 fitting lever 82 arm portion 83 connecting portion 83a lever locking projection 84 operating projection 85 rotation hole 86 locking recessed portion 86b locking portion 91, 891 electric wire 91A power line 91B signal line 101 counterpart connector 111 counterpart Housing 181 Lock pin 811 Connector housing 815 Seal accommodating portion 821 Rear seal cover 823 Wire through hole 833 Wire insertion hole 841 Wire cover

Claims (7)

(a) a connector body including a fixed wire guide plate having a wire passage hole formed therein and a terminal receiving hole;
(b) a terminal that is housed in the terminal housing hole and extends in the fitting direction, and to which an electric wire is connected so as to extend rearward in the fitting direction;
(c) a wire seal having a wire passing hole formed therein, the wire seal being arranged between the terminal receiving hole and the fixed wire guide plate;
(d) a cover member attached to the rear end of the connector body in the mating direction, the cover member being slidably attached to the connector body in a direction perpendicular to the mating direction;
(e) a movable wire guide plate having a wire passage hole formed thereon, the movable wire guide plate being displaceable in the fitting direction on the rear side of the fixed wire guide plate in the fitting direction;
(f) When the cam pin formed on the cover member engages with the cam groove formed on the movable wire guide plate and the cover member is displaced forward in the sliding direction, the movable wire guide plate moves in the fitting direction. A connector characterized by being displaced toward the rear. The movable wire guide plate includes a cam groove forming piece in which at least a part of the cam groove is formed, the cam groove forming piece protruding forward in the fitting direction. 2. The connector according to claim 1, including a cam groove forming piece receiving recess capable of receiving the cam groove forming piece. The fixed wire guide plate includes a guide projection extending forward and backward in the fitting direction, and the movable wire guide plate includes a guide groove extending in the fitting direction and accommodating the guide projection. 3. The connector according to 1 or 2. The wire passage holes of the fixed wire guide plate, the wire seal, and the movable wire guide plate extend in the fitting direction, and the wires extend behind the wire passage holes of the movable wire guide plate in the fitting direction. 4. The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the member is bent forward in the sliding direction and is removed forward in the sliding direction. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cover member includes a cover surface portion that covers the rear side of the connector body in the fitting direction, and a wire passage opening that opens at a front end in the sliding direction, and the wires are led out from the wire passage opening. A connector according to any one of the preceding claims. The connector main body includes a slide rail portion formed at a rear end in a fitting direction and extending in a sliding direction of the cover member. includes a slider portion that engages with the slide rail portion, and at least one portion of the slider portion is formed with a locking projection that locks into the locking recess. 1. The connector according to item 1. A connector assembly comprising the connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and a mating connector to be fitted with the connector.

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