JPH10340755A - Electronic control unit and electrical connector for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small, simplified connector by arranging a sleeve part which extends rearwards to the range housing an inner housing and the connection wire part of a contact projecting rearwards from the inner housing in an outer housing, and fitting a cylindrical case surrounding a circuit board to the outer housing in the sleeve part via a sealing member. SOLUTION: A case 40 is held, and an inner housing 20 is inserted into an outer housing 30. A circuit board P is guided by supporting the both side edges with a guide groove 36, the inner housing 20 is guided with the inner surface of the outer housing 30, advanced to the specified position, and a locking claw 24A of an elastic locking arm 24 is engaged with a locking projection 35A of the outer housing 30 for preventing a slip off. At the same time, a locking projection 41 of the case 40 is locked in a notch 30A of an elastic locking arm 38 so as to prevent slip off. The seal between the outer housing 30 and the case 40 is ensured by firmly pressing a gasket 42. Thereby, assembly work is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic control unit for accommodating a circuit board connected to an electric connector in a case in a sealed state, and an electric connector therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As this kind of electronic control unit, there is known an electronic control unit as shown in FIG. The unit shown in FIG. 4 incorporates an electronic control circuit for a vehicle in a case and can be connected to the outside via a connector, and is usually installed in an engine room of the vehicle. Therefore, the case is required to be strong,
It must have sealing properties, especially waterproofness.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 51 denotes a metal case such as aluminum, which has a large opening 5 extending upward.
2 are formed. A peripheral groove is formed around the opening 52, and a packing 53 is housed therein as a seal member. Further, a plurality of screw holes 54 are formed. A cover member 55 is arranged in the opening 52, and the case 51 can be sealed in a waterproof state by screwing a screw 57 passed through the hole 56 into the screw hole 54.

The case 51 has a window 58 for attaching a connector on the side, and a circuit board P on the inner bottom.
Has a step-like support portion 59 for supporting the support.

The connector 60 is connected to the housing 61 by the contact 6.
3 are planted. The housing 61 has a receiving recess 62 formed in a front portion for receiving a mating connector (not shown), and a groove 64 for fitting a connecting portion of the mating connector.
Is formed, and the connection portion 63A of the contact 63 faces here. The contact 63 is bent in an L-shape, and a connection portion 63B serving as a lower end portion is held at a predetermined interval by a holding plate 65 called a retainer, and the front end thereof is soldered to a predetermined circuit portion of the circuit board P by soldering. ing. The housing 61
62A around the bottom of the front recess 62
Is formed, and one end of a packing 66 serving as a sealing member disposed to be located on the inner peripheral edge of the bottom of the receiving recess 62A for receiving a mating connector formed on the right is pressed into the packing holding groove 62A. Is held.

The connector 60 is provided with a holding plate 65 for fixing the position of the connection portion 63B of the contact 63, and then mounted on a circuit board P on which various electronic components are connected to a circuit. And the connection portion 63B is connected to the circuit board P.
Is soldered to the corresponding circuit section. Thereafter, the assembly of the connector 60 and the circuit board P is inserted into the case 51 through the opening 52, and the front end of the housing 61 is attached to the side wall of the case 51 via another packing 67.
After the front end of the housing 61 is fitted to the window 58 of the case 51, it is fixed to the case 51 by screws or the like (not shown) so that it can be connected to a mating connector. Further, the rear edge of the circuit board P is supported by the support portion 59 of the case 51.
Finally, the lid member 55 is fixed with the screw 57.

[0007]

In such an electronic control unit, the connector housed in the case together with the circuit board is connected to the contacts of the connector in terms of connection with the circuit board and assembly into the case. The parts are soldered to the circuit board, and they must be attached to the window of the case via a seal. Since the connector is housed in the case so as to completely surround the connector, the number of parts such as seals increases, and the structure for waterproofing becomes complicated, resulting in a problem that the unit becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic control unit which solves the above-mentioned problems, simplifies the configuration and enables downsizing, and an electrical connector therefor.

[0009]

An electric connector for an electronic control unit according to the present invention comprises a front end of the contact in a receiving space for receiving a mating connector formed in a front portion of a housing in which the contact is implanted. The connecting part forming the part protrudes and faces. In such a connector, a connection portion on the rear end side of the contact is connected to a circuit board, and the circuit board is enclosed in a case with an external housing via a seal member so as to be surrounded. An electronic control unit is thus formed.

[0010] In the present invention, the housing has an inner housing in which the contacts are implanted and an outer housing for accommodating the inner housing. The outer housing has a connection portion of the contacts protruding rearward from the inner housing. And a cylindrical case surrounding the circuit board is fitted to the external housing at the sleeve via a seal member.

In the present invention having the above structure, the external housing is not covered by the case on the connection side with the mating connector, and only the connection side connected to the circuit board is covered by the case containing the circuit board. In this way, the case is fitted and assembled, so that the whole is reduced in size. Further, since the case and the outer housing are fitted and assembled, no screws or the like are required, and accordingly, the number of parts is reduced and the assembling work is simplified.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 to FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the above.

In FIG. 1, the connector 10 is in a state of being separated from an inner housing 20 and an outer housing 30 formed by molding an insulating material. A contact 21 is implanted in the inner housing 20, and a holding plate 22 called a retainer is provided on the inner housing 20 so as to hold a connection portion 21 </ b> A on the rear end side of the contact 21 bent in an L shape. Housing 20
It is attached to the lower surface side of. The internal housing 20 and the holding plate 22 are disposed on a circuit board P on which electronic components (not shown) are connected to the electronic circuit, are held by the circuit board P, and have a connection portion 21 penetrating the holding plate 22.
A is connected to a corresponding circuit portion of the circuit board P by soldering or the like (see also FIG. 2). Thus, the inner housing 20, in which the contacts 21 are implanted, the holding plate 22, and the circuit board P
And form an assembly.

As shown in FIG. 2, the inner housing 20 has a groove 23 formed in a front portion (right portion in FIG. 2) for receiving a connection portion (not shown) of a mating connector. The connecting portion 21B having elasticity of the contact 21 faces. Elastic locking arms 24 each having a locking claw 24A formed at the tip are provided on both side surfaces (the front side and the back side of the paper surface in FIG. 2) of the housing.

The outer housing 30 has a cylindrical shape, and as shown in FIG. 2, a penetrating internal space is formed in front and rear (right and left in the figure). A stepped receiving portion 31 is formed on the inner surface of the outer housing 30 at an intermediate position in the front-rear direction, and performs a positioning function when the inner housing 20 is received. On the front side of the receiving portion 31, a packing holding groove 32 is formed similarly to the conventional connector shown in FIG. 4, and a receiving concave portion 33 formed on the right side for receiving a mating connector is formed. One end of a packing 34 serving as a sealing member disposed at the inner peripheral edge of the bottom is pressed into and held by the packing holding groove 32. In the present embodiment, the housing space 3 for receiving the inner housing 20 which forms the left part of the inner space of the outer housing 30 is used.
A relief groove 35 is formed on the inner wall surface of the inner housing 4 to escape the locking claw 24A of the elastic locking arm 24 when the inner housing 20 is inserted, and the locking claw 24A is provided at a predetermined position. And a locking projection 35A that locks with the locking projection 35A.
A guide groove 36 for guiding a side edge of the circuit board P is formed below the clearance groove 35, and has an opening that expands in a tapered shape.

Further, the outer housing 30 has a window-shaped locking opening 37 formed in a front upper wall. The locking opening 37 is for locking the lock projection of the elastically bendable lock arm of the mating connector to prevent the mating connector from being disengaged when the mating connector is inserted into the receiving recess 33. An elastic locking arm 38 for locking with the locking projection 41 of the case 40 shown in FIG. The elastic locking arm 38 extends so as to open backward a space corresponding to the thickness of the case 40 on the opening side, and has a notch 38A for locking.

The case 40 is usually made of a metal such as an aluminum alloy and has a length sufficient to accommodate a circuit board P extending rearward from the inner housing 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the case 40 has a cylindrical shape that opens to the right, and a plurality of ridges 40A for increasing the heat radiation area are formed on the outer surface thereof. The ridge 40A is omitted). On the upper and lower surfaces of the case 40, locking projections 41 for locking with the notches 38A of the elastic locking arms 38 of the outer housing 30 are provided.

The opening-side inner surface 40B of the case 40 has a shape and dimensions suitable for fitting into the outer surface of the sleeve portion 30A of the outer housing 30. Further, the case 40 is formed to be thicker than the inner surface 40B on the opening side through a step portion so as to secure its strength. A circumferential groove is formed in the step portion so as to open frontward and rearward, and a packing 42 is inserted into the groove as a seal member.
Further, a circuit board P
A holding groove 43 for holding the trailing edge is formed.

The connector according to the present embodiment is assembled and accommodated in a case in the following manner.

First, an assembly as shown in FIG. 1 constituted by the internal housing 20, the holding plate 22, and the circuit board P in which the above-described contacts 21 are implanted is assembled into a case 40 as shown in FIG. That is, the rear edge of the circuit board P is pushed into the holding groove 40 of the case 40 to be held.
The circuit board P is also supported by the inner bottom surface of the case 40.

The inner housing 20 is inserted into the outer housing while holding the case 40. The circuit board P is guided by the guide grooves 36 on both side edges, and the inner housing 20 enters the predetermined position while being guided by the inner surface of the outer housing 30, and as shown in FIG. 24A is the locking projection 3 of the housing 30
It locks with 5A to prevent the connection. At the same time,
In the case 40, the locking projection 41 is locked to the notch 38A of the elastic locking arm 38 of the outer housing 30, and the case 40 is also prevented from coming off. At this time, the packing 42 of the case 40 is strongly pressed against the rear end edge of the outer housing 30 to secure a seal between the outer housing 30 and the case 40. Thus, the electronic control unit is completed.

In use, a mating connector (not shown) is coupled to the unit fixedly arranged at a predetermined position in the receiving recess 33 of the connector of the unit from the right in FIG. The lock projection of the lock arm of the mating connector is locked to the edge of the lock opening 37, and the lock projection is prevented from coming off. In addition, the mating connector to which the seal is applied is joined, and the inner housing 20 is completely sealed to the outside by the mating connector and the packing 34.

[0023]

As described above, according to the electronic control unit of the present invention, the outer housing circuit board is mounted on the inner housing receiving side of the outer housing that houses the inner housing, that is, on the circuit board side extending from the inner housing. Since the covering case is fitted, the unit is reduced in size, the number of parts is reduced and simplified, and the assembling work is simplified. Further, according to the connector of the present invention, the above-mentioned unit can be easily handled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electronic control unit of the present invention,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view when an inner housing, a circuit board, a case, and an outer housing are separated from each other.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the unit of FIG. 1 before assembly with an external housing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the unit of FIG. 1 after assembly into an outer housing.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 inner housing 21 contact 21A connection part 21B connection part 30 outer housing 30A sleeve part 33 receiving space 40 case 42 seal member (packing) P circuit board

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connecting portion forming a front end of the contact protrudes and faces a receiving space formed in a front portion of a housing in which the contact is implanted, for receiving a mating connector. In an electronic control unit in which a connection portion forming a rear end is connected to a circuit board and the housing is attached to a case via a sealing member so as to surround the circuit board, the housing has an interior in which contacts are implanted. A housing and an outer housing for accommodating the housing; the outer housing having a sleeve portion extending rearward to a range for accommodating the inner housing and a connection portion of a contact projecting rearward from the inner housing; An electronic control unit, wherein a surrounding cylindrical case is fitted to an external housing at the sleeve portion via a sealing member. 2. A connecting portion forming a front end of the contact protrudes into a receiving space for receiving a mating connector formed in a front portion of a housing in which the contact is implanted. In an electrical connector for an electronic control unit in which a connection portion forming a rear end is connected to a circuit board and a housing is attached to a case via a sealing member so as to surround the circuit board, the housing has a contact. It has an implanted inner housing and an outer housing for accommodating the implanted inner housing, and the outer housing has a sleeve portion extending rearward to a range that accommodates the inner housing and a connection portion of a contact that projects rearward from the inner housing. And a cylindrical case surrounding the circuit board can be fitted to the external housing at the sleeve portion via a sealing member. Electrical connector for control unit.