JPH08298154A - Structure and method for fitting and holding cover relating to connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform fitting so that a condition of filling with grease can be visually confirmed, by performing the fitting in a respective lock part, in the case of fitting a peripheral surface of a connector housing to an internal peripheral surface of a cover through a ring member. CONSTITUTION: A cover 16 is fitted through wire harness W/H, to receive each terminal 7 to each receiving chamber 15a of a connector housing 15. Under a condition where a cover part 17c is opened, a ring member 17 is fitted from a direction orthogonal to a lengthwise direction of the wire harness W/H, and a cut 17a is closed by the cover part 17c, to lock the cover part 17c by a lock protrusion 17d and a lock recessed part 17e. Next, the ring member 17 is fitted to a fitting part 16a of the cover 16, to engage a lock protrusion 17f with a lock hole 16b, so as to lock the cover 16 to the ring member 17. Thereafter, from the front of the connector housing 15, grease is injected by visually confirming it in the receiving chamber 15a. Next, a lock hole 17g is engaged with a lock protrusion 15b, to lock the ring member 17 to the connector housing 15.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for fitting and holding a cover to a connector, and more particularly, to a fitting and holding method, and more particularly, in a connector housing in which grease is injected into a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating terminals of a wire harness. The injection state can be visually confirmed, and the cover can be securely fitted and held in the connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 3, when a wire harness W / H is installed between a panel 1 on a vehicle body side and a panel 2 on a door side of an automobile, the wiring harness W / H is installed on the inner surface of the panel 2 on the door side. In the attached male (or female) connector housing 3, the female (or male) connector housing 5 at the tip of the wire harness W / H drawn from the panel 1 on the vehicle body side through the grommet 4 is inserted between the panels 1 and 2. It is connected outside the car.

Therefore, in order to prevent the terminals inside the both connector housings 3 and 5 from being corroded by the influence of rainwater or the like, before the terminals are inserted and connected, grease is provided in the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing 5 on the outside of the vehicle. It is necessary to inject G. Further, at the rear portion of the connector housing 5 on the terminal insertion side, the grease G is prevented from flowing out and the wire harness W is provided.
A bellows-shaped rubber cover 6 is attached for protection of / H.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connector housing 5 has a terminal accommodating chamber 5 in which the terminals 7, ..., 7 of the wire harness W / H are inserted and accommodated from the rear.
, 5a, and a lock projection 5b is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rear portion. Further, the cover 6 is
The connector housing 5 has a large-diameter fitting portion 6a that fits from the rear side on the outer surface, and the inner surface of the fitting portion 6a is integrally formed with a lock recess 6b that is locked by the lock protrusion 5b during fitting. are doing.

The procedure for assembling the connector housing 5 and the cover 6 to the wire harness W / H is as follows. After passing the cover 6 through the wire harness W / H (the state of FIG. 4), the terminals 7 are connected to the terminals of the connector housing 5. The cover 6 is attached to the connector housing 5 by being housed in the housing chamber 5a, and the cover 6 is externally fitted to the rear portion of the connector housing 5 on the terminal insertion side to lock the lock recess 6b with the lock protrusion 5b. (State of FIG. 5). After the cover 6 is attached to the connector housing 5 as described above, the grease G is injected into each terminal accommodating chamber 5a from the front end portion of the connector housing 5.

[0006]

However, when injecting the grease G, the flow direction of the grease G greatly depends on the injection pressure and the form of the injection side. That is, the amount of grease G injected is different between the terminal accommodation hole chamber 5a in which the terminal 7 is accommodated and the terminal accommodation hole chamber 5a in which the terminal 7 is not accommodated. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6 (A), when the grease G is completely injected into all the terminal accommodating hole chambers 5a, the product is acceptable, but as shown in FIG. 6 (B), the grease G is If it is not completely injected, it will be rejected and rejected. Incomplete injection of grease G
The terminals 7 inside the connector housings 3 and 5 may be corroded.

The best way to judge whether the product is a good product or a defective product is to visually check the injection state of the grease G from the rear end of the connector housing 5 on the terminal insertion side. If grease G is injected after the combined holding, it is impossible to visually confirm.

On the other hand, there is a procedure of injecting grease G before fitting and holding the cover 6 in the connector housing 5, visually confirming the grease injection state, and then fitting and holding the cover 6. . However, with this method,
Grease G protruding from the rear end of the connector housing 5
However, there is a problem that during the fitting operation of the cover 6, the cover 6 adheres to the inner surface of the cover 6, the outer surface of the connector housing 5 and the lock projection 5b, and the lubrication action makes the cover 6 easily come off.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and provides a fitting and holding structure for a connector with which a cover can be securely fitted and held in a connector housing while visually confirming a grease injection state. The purpose is to do.

[0010]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wire harness connecting side to a connector for injecting grease into a terminal accommodating chamber accommodating a terminal of a wire harness in claim 1. A rubber cover is fitted from the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing to the outer periphery of the wire harness, and a ring member made of synthetic resin that is fitted between the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing and the inner peripheral surface of the cover is provided. The ring member and the cover are each provided with a first lock portion that locks them when fitted together, and the ring member and the connector housing are each provided with a second lock portion that locks them together. A fitting and holding structure for a cover with respect to a connector is provided.

The cover has a connecting and closing portion for connecting a rectangular frame-shaped fitting portion externally fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing via the ring member and a cylindrical fitting portion externally fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness. It is a shape integrally molded through, while,
The ring member is in the shape of a rectangular frame that fits into the rectangular outer periphery of the connector housing, and one end of the one side frame is divided from the adjacent other side frame and the other end is hingedly connected to the adjacent other side frame to be opened and closed. And a third lock for locking the divided portion is provided, and the lid is opened and attached to the wire harness in a direction orthogonal to the length direction,
The lid is closed and locked after mounting (Claim 2). It is not always necessary to provide the lid as described above, and the ring member is formed as an endless rectangular frame and made of a rubber cover. May be extended to fit the ring member internally. The cover is not limited to rubber, but may be formed of elastomer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a rubber cover which covers the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing on the wire harness connection side and covers the outer periphery of the wire harness in the vicinity of the connector housing is used. After passing through, fit the resin ring member inside the cover,
Then, insert the terminal at the tip of the wire harness through the cover from the rear into the terminal housing of the connector housing, then fill the terminal housing of the connector housing with grease from the front, and then from the rear of the connector housing. A method for fitting and holding a cover with respect to a connector, characterized in that the cover is covered, and the ring member mounted inside the cover is brought into contact with an outer peripheral surface of a connector housing to be locked.

[0013]

According to the present invention, a ring member made of synthetic resin is fitted to the inner surface of a rubber cover to lock both of them in advance by the first lock portion, while grease is injected into the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing. After visually confirming the injection state from the rear end of the connector housing, the ring member is fitted to the outer surface of the connector housing together with the cover, and the second
Both are locked by the lock part.

As described above, since the cover is put on the connector housing after the grease is injected, the injected state of the grease can be visually confirmed from the rear end portion of the connector housing. Further, when the ring member is fitted to the outer surface of the connector housing together with the cover, the grease protruding from the rear end portion of the connector housing is
Even if the ring member and the connector housing are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing or the second lock portion, both the ring member and the connector housing are harder and less flexible than the rubber cover, so that they can be securely fitted and held by the second lock portion. There is no risk that the cover will fall out of the connector housing together with the ring member and come off.
Since the cover and the ring member are fitted to each other in advance before the fitting operation to the connector housing and locked by the first lock portion, grease does not adhere between them, and thus the cover is ring-shaped. There is no danger of coming off the member.

Further, when the ring member is provided with the lid portion as in claim 2, it is not necessary to previously thread the ring member into the wire harness, and the ring member can be fitted in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and then threaded. And the workability of assembly is improved.

When the grease is injected into the connector housing before the cover is attached as in claim 3, the grease injection state can be visually checked, and the number of defective products with insufficient grease injection can be significantly reduced. , Corrosion of terminals can be prevented.

[0017]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. It should be noted that parts having the same configurations and functions as those of the prior art shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows a fitting and holding structure of the first embodiment. Square frame-shaped synthetic resin fitted between the terminal insertion side outer peripheral surface of the synthetic resin connector housing 15 on the wire harness side and the inner peripheral surface of the large-diameter square frame-shaped fitting portion 16 a of the rubber cover 16. The ring member 17 is interposed.

In the ring member 17, one end of the lower side frame is divided by a notch 17a, and the thin hinge portion 1 is provided at the other end.
The lower side frame is integrally formed as a lid portion 17c by being connected to the adjacent side via 7b, and the lower side can be opened and closed by the lid portion 17c. A third lock is provided between the tip of the lid 17c and the adjacent frame. In the third lock, an Ω-shaped lock projection 17d is formed at the tip of the lid 17c, and an Ω-shaped lock recess 17e is formed at the lower end of the other side surface, so that the notch 17a is closed by the lid 17c. [Refer to the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1 (A)]
The d is engaged with the lock recess 17e so that the lid 17c is locked.

First lock projections 17f, ..., 17f in the form of hooks that rise upward and are bent forward are integrally formed at a total of three locations on the upper side frame and both side frames of the ring member 17, and both sides are formed. Rectangular face-shaped second lock holes 17g, ..., 17g are formed in the surface portion, respectively.

The cover 16 is for the connector housing 1.
5, a fitting portion 16a in the shape of a rectangular frame that is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the terminal insertion side, a cylindrical fitting portion 16d that is fitted to the outer circumference of the wire harness W / H, and the fitting portions 16a and 16d. And a quadrangular pyramid-shaped connection closing part 16e for connecting the and. The rectangular frame-shaped fitting portion 16a has a rectangular first lock hole 16 corresponding to each of the first lock protrusions 17f.
, 16b are formed, and an inward folding portion 16c that engages with the tip surface of the fitted ring member 17 is formed at the tip of the fitting portion 16a. Each of the second lock holes 1 is provided on both side surfaces of the connector housing 15.
The second lock protrusions 15b and 15b corresponding to 7g are integrally molded.

In the construction of the first embodiment, the procedure for assembling the connector housing 15 and the cover 16 to the wire harness W / H is as follows.
After passing through, the terminals 7 are housed in the terminal housing chambers 15 a of the connector housing 15.

Next, the ring member 17 is fitted into the wire harness W / H from the direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction with the lid portion 17c opened and then passed through, and the notch 17a is closed by the lid portion 17c and locked. The lid 17c is locked with one touch by the protrusion 17d and the lock recess 17e. Then, when the ring member 17 is fitted into the fitting portion 16a of the cover 16, the first lock protrusions 17f are engaged with the first lock holes 16b, and the ring member 17 is locked to the cover 16 with one touch. .

Then, grease G is injected into each terminal accommodating chamber 15a from the front end portion of the connector housing 15.
At this time, before the cover 16 is fitted and held in the connector housing 15, the injection state of the grease G can be visually confirmed from the rear end portion of the connector housing 15. Therefore, as a result of this visual confirmation, only the good products (OK products) in which the grease G has been completely injected into all the terminal accommodating chambers 15a of the connector housing 15 are defective products (NG products).
Since no product) is present, there is no risk of corrosion of the terminals inside the connector housing 15.

Then, together with the cover 16, the ring member 1
When 7 is fitted to the outer surface of the connector housing 15, each second lock hole 17g of the ring member 17 engages with each second lock protrusion 15b of the connector housing 15, and the ring member 17 is attached to the connector housing 15 with one touch. Locked. At this time, even if the grease G protruding from the rear end portion of the connector housing 15 adheres to the inner surface of the ring member 17, the outer surface of the connector housing 15 and the second locking projection 15b, the ring member 17 and the connector housing 15 are
Since each of them is made of synthetic resin that is harder and less flexible than the rubber cover 16, there is little risk that the second lock hole 17g will come off from the second lock protrusion 15b due to the lubricating action of the grease G. In addition, the ring member 17 has the second lock hole 17g and the second lock protrusion 15b, and thus the connector housing 1
5, the cover 16 and the ring member 17 are less likely to come off and come off from the connector housing 15.

Since the cover 16 and the ring member 17 are fitted in advance before fitting into the connector housing 15 and locked by the first lock protrusions 17f and the first lock holes 16b, during the fitting work. The grease G does not adhere between them, and there is no risk that the cover 16 will come off from the ring member 17. In particular, since the first lock protrusion 17f has a hook shape, even if the cover 16 is strongly pulled backward, the first lock hole 16b does not come off from the first lock protrusion 17f.

The ring member 17 is provided with a lid 17c which can be opened and closed on the lower surface, but may be integrally formed in a rectangular frame shape.

FIG. 2 shows a fitting and holding structure according to the second embodiment.
The difference from the first embodiment is that the mushroom-shaped first locking protrusions 17f and 17f are integrally formed on both side surfaces of the ring member 17, and the fitting portion 16a of the cover 16 is provided with each of the above-mentioned first parts.
Circular first lock hole 16 corresponding to the lock protrusion 17f
b and 16b are formed.

Also in the configuration of the second embodiment, the ring member 1
When 7 is fitted into the rectangular frame-shaped fitting portion 16a of the cover 16, the first lock protrusions 17f engage with the first lock holes 16b, and the ring member 17 is locked to the cover 16. Especially, since the first lock protrusion 17f has a mushroom shape,
Even if the cover 16 is strongly pulled rearward, the first lock hole 16b does not come off from the first lock protrusion 17f.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, in the fitting and holding structure of the cover for the connector of the present invention, the ring member is fitted to the inner surface of the cover, and the first locking portion locks both members in advance. After injecting grease into the terminal accommodating chamber of the connector housing and visually confirming the injecting state from the rear end of the connector housing, the ring member is fitted to the outer surface of the connector housing together with the cover, and the second
Since both are locked by the lock part, it is possible to easily check the grease injection state visually from the rear end of the connector housing, and since there is no defective product by this confirmation, the grease injection is insufficient. Therefore, there is no possibility that the terminals inside the connector housing will be corroded due to.

When the ring member is fitted to the outer surface of the connector housing together with the cover, the grease protruding from the rear end of the connector housing adheres to the inner surface of the ring member, the outer surface of the connector housing and the second lock portion. Also, since the ring member and the connector housing are both made of a synthetic resin that is harder and less flexible than the elastomer or rubber cover, they can be securely fitted and held by the second lock portion. At the same time, it becomes difficult for the connector housing to come off.

Further, when the ring member is provided with the notch and the lid as in claim 2, it is not necessary to thread the ring member in advance into the wire harness, and the ring member is fitted in the direction orthogonal to the length direction and then passed through the wire harness. And the workability of assembly is improved.

Further, according to the method of claim 3, since the cover is attached to the connector housing after the grease is injected,
The grease injection state can be visually checked, and rejected products with insufficient grease injection are hard to come out, and the corrosion of the terminals can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a fitting and holding structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
(A) is an exploded perspective view before fitting, and (B) is a longitudinal sectional view after fitting.

FIG. 2 is a fitting and holding structure of a second embodiment, (A) is an exploded perspective view before fitting, and (B) is a cross-sectional view after fitting.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a conventional connector housing and a cover provided between a vehicle body panel and a door panel.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional fitting and holding structure before fitting.

FIG. 5 is a conventional fitting and holding structure, (A) is a perspective view after fitting, and (B) is a vertical cross-sectional view after fitting.

FIG. 6 is a grease injection state, (A) is a perspective view of a non-defective product, and (B) is a perspective view of a defective product.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W / H wire harness G grease 7 terminal 15 connector housing 15a terminal accommodating chamber 15b second lock protrusion 16 cover 16a fitting portion 16b first lock hole 17 ring member 17a notch 17b hinge portion 17c lid portion 17f first lock protrusion 17g second 2 lock holes

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rubber cover is fitted to a connector for injecting grease into a terminal accommodating chamber accommodating a terminal of a wire harness, from the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing on the wire harness connection side to the outer periphery of the wire harness. A first lock part for locking a ring member made of a synthetic resin to be fitted between the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing and an inner peripheral surface of the cover, and locking the ring member and the cover at the time of fitting And a second lock portion that locks the ring member and the connector housing at the time of fitting, respectively. 2. The cover has a square frame-shaped fitting portion that is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing via the ring member, and a cylindrical fitting portion that is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness. On the other hand, the ring member is shaped like a square frame that fits around the rectangular fitting portion of the connector housing, and one end of the one side frame is adjacent to the other side frame. And the other end is hinged to the adjacent other side frame to form an openable / closable lid part, and a third lock is provided for locking the divided part in a closed state, and the lid part is opened to open the wire harness. The fitting and holding structure for the connector with respect to the connector according to claim 1, wherein the connector is attached in a direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction, and the lid is closed and locked after the attachment. 3. A rubber cover which covers the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing on the wire harness connection side and covers the outer periphery of the wire harness in the vicinity of the connector housing. After the wire harness is passed through the cover, a resin ring is used. Insert the member inside the cover, then insert the terminal of the tip of the wire harness passed through the cover into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from the rear, and then fill the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing with grease from the front. Then, the cover is fitted from the rear of the connector housing, and the ring member mounted inside the cover is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing to lock the cover, and the method for fitting and holding the cover to the connector.