JPH08153550A - Water-proofing structure of thread-fastened connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the water-proofing structure of a thread-fastened connector in which sufficient water-proofing is ensured by maintaining air-tightness between a bolt and a boot for water proofing, and preventing the generation of the twisting or the deformation of the boot due to the rotation of the bolt. CONSTITUTION: An annular groove 36b is formed in the through hole 36 of a boot 32 for water proofing fitted to one connector, and an annular seal bearing 40 is fitted into the annular groove 36b. A bolt 50 for thread-fastening to the other connector is press-fitted into the inner ring 42 of the seal bearing 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a screw-fastened connector, and more particularly to a waterproof structure for a screw-fastened connector in which multipolar connectors are easily joined together.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a waterproof structure for a conventional screw tightening connector, there is one disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-87844. The waterproof structure of this screw tightening connector has a boot 12 made of rubber as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and the boot 12 is attached to the male connector 10. A hard resin boot cover 14 is attached to the boot 12. Through holes are coaxially formed in the male connector 10, the boot 12, and the boot cover 14, and bolts 16 are inserted into these through holes. And
By screwing the threaded portion 16a (see FIG. 7) of the bolt 16 protruding from the male connector 10 into the male connector 10, the nut portion 18a engaged with the female connector 18 is screwed. And the female connector 18 are integrally assembled. Further, the male connector 10 and the female connector 18 have terminals (not shown) connected to each other. Furthermore, when the male connector 10 and the female connector 18 are integrally coupled with the panel 20 sandwiched between the male connector 10 and the female connector 18, the seal portion 12a of the boot 12 attached to the male connector 10 surrounds the opening hole 20a of the panel 20. Is pressed against to seal the opening 20a of the panel 20. Also, the bolt 16
The through hole 12b (see FIG. 7) of the boot 12 through which the
The hole diameter is formed to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the bolt 16. As a result, the peripheral wall of the through hole 12b is pressed against the bolt 16 inserted into the through hole 12b of the boot 12 and the bolt 1
6 and the through hole 12b are sealed.

[0003]

However, when the bolt 16 is rotated while the peripheral wall of the through hole 12b of the boot 12 is in pressure contact with the bolt 16, the peripheral wall of the through hole 12b rotates with the bolt 16 by a frictional force. As a result, the peripheral wall of the through hole 12b is twisted or deformed, and the sealing performance between the bolt 16 and the through hole 12b is deteriorated, and the waterproof property is impaired. On the other hand, when the bolt 16 rotates, the through hole 1
If the hole diameter of the through hole 12b is set large so that the peripheral wall of 2b is not twisted or deformed, the bolt 16 and the through hole
There is a problem that the sealing property with 2b is deteriorated and sufficient waterproofness cannot be obtained. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the above-mentioned prior art, maintain a high sealing property between the bolt and the through hole of the boot, and prevent twisting of the waterproof boot due to rotation of the bolt. It is to provide a waterproof structure of a screw tightening connector that secures sufficient waterproofness.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a waterproof structure for a screw tightening connector according to the present invention has a structure in which a bolt is provided in one connector and a female screw is formed in the other connector. In a waterproof structure of a screw tightened connector in which the bolt is screwed into the female screw through a waterproof boot attached to the connector to integrally assemble the one connector and the other connector, the bolt has an annular seal bearing. Is externally fitted and is rotatably supported by the boot. Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that an annular seal bearing is fitted in an annular groove formed in the through hole of the boot, and a bolt is press-fitted in the annular seal bearing. Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that, in the annular seal bearing, the inner ring is rotatably supported by the outer ring, and the bolt is press-fitted into the inner ring. Alternatively, the present invention is characterized in that the waterproof boot is attached to the inner boot that accommodates and holds one connector and engages with the opening hole of the panel.

[0005]

[Operation] According to the present invention, the boot has the annular groove formed along the through hole, and the annular seal bearing is fitted in the annular groove. As a result, the seal bearing is hermetically supported by the boot. The seal bearing has an inner ring rotatably supported with respect to the outer ring, and a bolt is press-fitted into the inner ring. As a result, the seal bearing and the bolt are integrally fixed in a sealed state. Therefore, the bolt is rotatably supported by the boot through the seal bearing, and the space between the bolt and the boot is sealed by the seal bearing.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a waterproof structure for a screw tightened connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a waterproof structure of a screw tightening connector according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional perspective view of an essential part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an essential part of FIG. Waterproof structure of screw tightened connector 3
0 is a waterproof boot 32, an annular seal bearing 4
0 and bolts 50. The boot 32 is formed of an elastic member such as rubber into a substantially truncated cone shape, and a skirt portion 32a is formed in the lower portion thereof. Also, the boot sloped portion 32b
A small tube portion 34 for supporting the wire harness is attached to the top portion 32.
It is formed by extending from c. A wire harness 35 connected to a connector is fitted into the small tube portion 34. Further, a through hole 36 is formed in the center of the top of the boot 32,
An annular groove 36b is formed in the through hole 36 along the inner wall of the boot 32.
(See FIG. 3) are formed. An annular seal bearing 40, which will be described later, is provided so that it can be fitted into the annular groove 36b. By fitting the seal bearing 40, the seal bearing 40 is held in the boot 32 in a sealed state.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the seal bearing 40 is formed in a ring shape as a whole, and includes an inner ring 42 and an outer ring 44. The upper parts of the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 44 are hermetically connected by an upper seal piece 47, and the upper seal piece 47 is connected to the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 4.
4 are rotatably connected. Also, the inner ring 4
2 and the outer ring 44 are connected at their lower portions in a sealed state by a lower seal piece 48, and the lower seal piece 4
Reference numeral 8 rotatably connects the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 44. A plurality of steel balls 46, 46 ... Are rotatably arranged between the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 44. The steel balls 46, 46 ... Contact the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 44, respectively. Then, when the inner ring 42 is rotated, the steel ball 4
6 and 46 rotate in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the inner ring 42 to absorb the rotational force of the inner ring 42. Therefore, the rotational force of the inner ring 42 is not transmitted to the outer ring 44. As a result, the inner ring 4
2 can be rotated independently of the outer ring 44. Further, as described above, the inner ring 42 and the outer ring 44 are sealed by the upper seal piece 47 and the lower seal piece 48.

A bolt 50 is inserted into the inner ring 42 in a press-fitted state. More specifically, a straight step portion 50a is formed near the upper portion of the bolt 50,
The step 50a is fitted into the inner ring 42. As a result, the bolt 50 and the inner ring 42 are assembled in an integrated sealed state. Further, as described above, since the inner ring 42 can be rotated independently of the outer ring 44, the bolt 50 is attached to the outer ring 44.
Is rotatably supported independently of. As a result, the bolt 50 is rotatably supported by the boot 32 via the seal bearing 40 mounted and held by the boot 32. A seal bearing 40 seals between the bolt 50 and the boot 32. In addition, in FIG.
Reference numeral b denotes a male screw portion, which is screwed with a female screw portion 64a formed on a male connector 64, which will be described later, to realize connector coupling.

Next, the operation of the waterproof structure of the screw tightened connector of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to FIG. First, the seal bearing 40 is fitted into the annular groove 36b of the boot 32, and the bolt 50 is attached to the inner ring 42 of the seal bearing 40.
Press into. As a result, the bolt 50 is rotatably supported by the boot 32. Next, the boot 32 holding the bolt 50 is externally fitted to the rigid resin-made inner boot 60. Here, the inner boot 60 has a connector accommodating portion 61 in which the female connector 62 is inscribed, and a flange 63 vertically provided on the outer peripheral wall of the connector accommodating portion 61, and is provided in a substantially elliptical shape. The outer peripheral wall is configured to have a plurality of lock engaging claws 60a, 60a, ... For sandwiching the panel 70 with the flange 63. A female connector 62 is incorporated in the inner boot 60. That is, the female connector 62 is fitted and incorporated into the connector accommodating portion 61 of the inner boot 60 from below in the figure from the rear end side. Then, a wire harness (not shown) is penetrated through the small tube portion 34 of the boot 32 (see FIG. 1) to be connected to the female connector 62, and the boot 32 is fitted onto the outer peripheral wall of the inner boot 60. In this case, the threaded portion 50b of the bolt 50 is the boot 32 and the inner boot 60.
Through the through hole 62a of the female connector 62.
Next, the male connector 64 is incorporated into the female connector 62, and the male screw portion 50b of the bolt 50 is attached to the female connector 6
No. 4 internal thread portion 64a. Next, the bolt 50 is rotated so that the male screw portion 50b of the bolt 50 is replaced with the female screw portion 64a.
The female connector 62 and the male connector 64 are integrally assembled by screwing in. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the inner ring 42 of the seal bearing 40 is attached to the bolt 50.
And the steel balls 46, 46 ... Rotate counterclockwise. In this way, the steel balls 46, 4
6 rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the bolt 50, thereby preventing the rotational force of the bolt 50 from being transmitted to the outer ring 44 of the seal bearing 40. Therefore, even if the bolt 50 is rotated, the through hole 3 of the boot 32 is
No twist or deformation occurs on the peripheral wall of No. 6. Further, after the female connector 62 and the male connector 64 are integrally assembled, the lock engaging claws 60a, 60a of the inner boot 60 are formed.
Are arranged in the opening holes 71 of the panel 70, and the boot 32 is pressed toward the panel 70. As a result, the lock locking claws 60a, 60a ... Deform elastically, ride over the peripheral edge of the opening hole 71 and are locked to the peripheral edge of the opening hole 71, and the panel is provided between the lock locking claws 60a, 60a. By sandwiching 70, the inner boot 60 is fixed to the panel 70. At this time, the hem 32a of the boot 32 is brought into close contact with the surface of the panel 70.

[0010]

As described above, according to the waterproof structure of the screw tightening connector according to the present invention, the seal bearing is held in the hermetically sealed state by the seal bearing being fitted into the annular groove of the boot. Further, the bolt is press-fitted into the inner ring of the seal bearing to be integrally fixed to the seal bearing in a sealed state.
Therefore, the bolt is rotatably supported by the boot through the seal bearing, and the space between the bolt and the boot is sealed by the seal bearing. As a result, the sealing property between the bolt and the boot is improved, and the frictional resistance at the time of tightening the bolt is almost eliminated, so that the twisting or deformation of the boot due to the rotation of the bolt is prevented, and the sufficient waterproof property is provided between the bolt and the boot. Can be secured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a waterproof structure for a screw tightening connector of the present invention.

2 is an enlarged sectional perspective view of a main part of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a screw tightening connector to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the seal bearing.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a waterproof structure of a conventional screw tightening connector.

7 is a cross-sectional view of the waterproof structure of the screw tightening connector of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30 Waterproof structure of screw tightening connector 32 Boot 36 Through hole 36b Annular groove 40 Seal bearing 42 Inner ring 44 Outer ring 50 Bolt 60 Inner boot 62 Female connector 63 Flange 64 Male connector 64a Female screw part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bolt is provided through one connector, a female screw is formed on the other connector, and the bolt is screwed onto the female screw through a waterproof boot attached to the one connector. In a waterproof structure of a screw tightening connector in which one connector and the other connector are integrally assembled, the bolt is rotatably supported by the boot by externally fitting an annular seal bearing. Waterproof structure. 2. The annular seal bearing is fitted into an annular groove formed in a through hole of the boot, and the bolt is press-fitted into the annular seal bearing. Waterproof structure of the screw tightened connector. 3. The threaded connector according to claim 1, wherein an inner ring of the annular seal bearing is rotatably supported by an outer ring, and the bolt is press-fitted into the inner ring. Waterproof structure. 4. The waterproof structure for a screw-tightened connector according to claim 1, wherein the boot is attached to an inner boot that holds and holds the one connector and that engages with an opening hole of a panel. .