JPH0514386B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a waterproof connector that can be used safely even in locations with a high amount of moisture.

[Prior Art] Connection terminals in a connector housing made of electrically insulating synthetic resin receive force from the other connection terminal during connection, and in this case, movement within the housing must be avoided. Therefore, reliable fixation is required. Generally, the connecting terminal is inserted from the rear end of the housing, and in order to fix the connecting terminal within the housing, it is sufficient to provide a stopper in the housing for the front stop, but it is necessary to devise a rear stop.

For example, in the past, as shown in Fig. 8,
As shown in the drawings in Publication No. 14684, a locking lever member 3 that is flexible and is integral with the housing 1 and deforms as the connecting terminal 2 is inserted is provided in the housing 1, and the locking lever member 3 is provided in the housing 1 so that the connecting terminal 2 is inserted into a predetermined position. When this position is reached, the locking lever member 3 returns to its original state and locks a portion 2' of the connecting terminal 2, thereby preventing the connecting terminal 2 from moving backward. In order to further secure the rear end, the terminal holding plate 4 for holding the connection terminal is pushed in from the rear of the housing 1, and the locking part 4' formed on the terminal holding plate 4 is inserted into the locking part 1' of the housing 1. At the same time, the protrusion 2'' of the connecting terminal 2 is locked by the front end 4''. However, in this structure, the respective positions at which the connecting terminal 2 is locked are dispersed in the longitudinal direction of the connecting terminal 2.
If there is a manufacturing error in each part, the locking position may shift significantly, and there is a risk that simultaneous locking will not be possible and the locking will be insufficient.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present applicant has already disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 59-104364 and 104365 that a locking lever member separate from the locking lever member 3 provided in the housing is provided on the front surface of the housing. Therefore, we proposed a mounting structure in which the locking claw of the locking lever member is inserted into the locking hole provided at the bottom of the connection terminal, which is operated by a push-in member separate from the housing. However, although these systems are considerably more effective than conventional mechanisms, it may become impossible to fit the locking pawl into the connection terminal locking hole due to dimensional accuracy.

In addition, in conventional waterproof connectors, a waterproof rubber gasket is inserted deep into the front end of the housing, but it is difficult to securely fix this rubber gasket in the specified position, and the rubber gasket tends to slip out when the connectors are separated. There's a problem.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a waterproof rubber gasket that can be reliably fixed in its normal position along with a large number of connection terminals housed inside the housing by an extremely simple means. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable waterproof connector.

[Summary of the invention] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows:
In a connector that accommodates a plurality of connection terminals inserted into the housing from the rear and an annular waterproof rubber gasket inserted from the front, the base is attached to the rear of the housing, the front end is a free end, and the free end is A flexible locking lever member having a sloped portion at its tip and having its free end engaged with a locked portion provided on the connection terminal; By pressing the slope portion of the locking lever member,
a pushing member whose free end is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the pushing direction to engage the locked portion of the connecting terminal, and whose cross section is annular and whose outline is slightly smaller and similar to the waterproof rubber packing; The waterproof connector is characterized in that the end face of the push-in member is opposed to the side surface of the waterproof rubber packing.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Figures 1 to 4 show examples of the waterproof connector according to the present invention, and Figures 5 to 7 show examples of the waterproof connector according to the present invention.
A mating connector that is coupled to the waterproof connector shown in the figure is shown.

In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in addition to the conventional locking lever member 3a for preventing slipping off, a new slipping preventing means according to the present invention is provided. That is, in the embodiment, for example, 12 female connection terminals 2a, each connected with an electric wire 5a, are inserted into the respective insertion holes from the rear into the housing 1a and arranged in two rows and six rows.
They are each fixed at a predetermined position by a locking lever member 3a extending forward from the back side of the housing 1a. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, a locking pawl 7a is protruded from a portion of the bottom 6a of each connection terminal 2a by a cut or embossed structure, and this locking pawl 7a serves as a locking lever described below. It serves as a locked portion that is coupled to the free end of the member 8a. Further, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3, the housing 1a is provided with a flexible locking lever member 8a for each connection terminal 2a. This locking lever member 8a is integrated with the housing 1a, and its base is fixed to the rear part of the housing 1a, extends from the rear toward the front, and has a free end 9a having a sloped portion at the front end.

When the connecting terminal 2a is inserted into the housing 1a, the locking lever member 8a is in the state shown by the dotted line in FIG. The back part of the member 8a is pressed down as shown by the solid line, and the free end 9a is engaged with the locking pawl 7a, which is the locked part, thereby locking the member 8a. As shown in FIG. 1, this pushing member 10a is separate from the housing 1a, and after the connecting terminal 2a is inserted, it is pushed into the space between the housings 1a from the front of the housing 1a.

In this embodiment, the connection terminals 2a are vertically symmetrically arranged, and the locking lever members 8a are locked by respectively entering the pushing members 10a inwardly. Therefore, the pushing member 10a has an annular cross section as shown in FIG. 2, and is pushed in from the front end of the housing 1a, and the pushing end 11a pushes the slope of the free end 9a of the locking lever member 8a inward. When the pushing member 10a reaches a predetermined position, the free end 9a of the locking lever member 8a
is reliably engaged with the locking claw 7a, and even if an excessive force is applied to the connecting terminal 2a, the connecting terminal 2a is firmly fixed by the locking lever member 8a.

Furthermore, locking levers 12a are provided at a plurality of locations on the tip of the pushing member 10a, with a base portion provided at the tip and folded back along the inside. A claw portion 13a is formed at the free end of this locking lever 12a, and when the pushing member 10a is pushed into a predetermined position, the locking lever 12a is restored and the housing 1
The claw portion 13a engages with a locking portion 14a provided on the portion a, and the pushing member 10a is prevented from falling off easily. In addition, 15 is a lever for locking with the other housing, and the housing 1
It is molded integrally with a. A waterproof rubber gasket 17a is fitted to each electric wire 5a that is crimped to each connection terminal 2a, and the housing 1
This prevents water from entering from the rear of a.

In addition, in order to prevent water from entering from the front of the housing 1a, that is, the connection surface with the mating connector,
Another annular waterproof rubber gasket 18 is fitted in the back of the housing 1a, and the push-in member 10a
In the inserted state, the pushing member 10a prevents the rubber packing 18 from coming off.
The end surface of a and the side surface of the rubber gasket 18 are arranged to face each other, and the contour line of the pushing member 10a has a similar shape that is slightly smaller than that of the waterproof rubber gasket 18. That is, the pushing member 10a not only presses the locking lever member 8a and fixes the connection terminal, but also plays the role of fixing the rubber packing 18 in a predetermined position with its end facing the side surface of the waterproof rubber packing 18. .

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the previous embodiment, in which the locking lever member 8a is adapted to engage with the stepped portion 19a on the front side of the connecting terminal 2a, and the locking lever member 3a
is adapted to fit into an engagement hole (not shown) provided at the bottom of the connection terminal 2a.

In the above embodiment, the conventional locking lever member 3 is also used to prevent the connection terminal from coming off, but this locking lever member 3 is not necessarily required.

5 and 6 show a mating connector to be combined with the connector shown in FIG. 1 or 4, and a housing 1b has a male connecting terminal 2b connected to the female connecting terminal 2a in FIG. is built-in. The lock lever member 3b in this case is provided from the rear to the front of the housing 1b and engages with the connection terminal 2b. The locking lever member 8b is directed from the inside to the outside, and the pushing member 10b in this case has a rectangular cross section, and the pressing end 11b inserted between the locking lever members 8b pushes the locking lever member 8b outward. By expanding, the free end 9 of the locking lever member 8b
b engages with the locking claw 7b of the connection terminal 2b. 16 is fitted with the lever 15 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, and the housings 1a, 1
b It is a locking claw for locking a comrade.

The pushing member 10b is provided with claws 13b at three locations, for example, as shown in FIGS. After inserting the housing 1
It is locked by the locking part 14b of b.

Also in this mating connector, connection terminal 2b
A waterproof rubber gasket 17b is fitted to each electric wire 5b which is crimped and connected to the housing 1b to prevent water from entering from the rear of the housing 1b.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the waterproof connector according to the present invention has a structure in which a dedicated locking claw is provided at the bottom of the connection terminal, and a locking lever member is locked to this locking claw. Since the locking mechanism is actuated by a separate pushing member, locking can be performed more reliably than conventional locking. In addition, the waterproof rubber gasket is securely fixed in place by inserting the push-in member.
It also has a good waterproof effect and is highly reliable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show embodiments of the connector according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of main parts, and FIG. The figure is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a mating connector to be combined with the connector of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG. 5, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a conventional housing and a connecting terminal are engaged. 1a is the housing, 2a is the connection terminal, 3a
1 is a locking lever member, 7a is a locking pawl, 8a is a locking lever member, 9a is a free end, 10a is a pushing member, 1
8 is a rubber gasket, and 19a is a stepped portion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a connector that accommodates a plurality of connection terminals inserted into the housing from the rear and an annular waterproof rubber gasket inserted from the front, the base is attached to the rear of the housing, the front end is a free end, and the free end is a flexible locking lever member having a sloped portion at the tip thereof, the free end of which engages with a locked portion provided on the connection terminal; By pressing the slope portion of the locking lever member, the free end is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the pushing direction and engaged with the locked portion of the connection terminal, and the contour of the locking lever member is annular in cross section. 1. A waterproof connector comprising: a pushing member having a similar shape that is slightly smaller than the waterproof rubber packing, the end face of the pushing member facing a side surface of the waterproof rubber packing.