JPH11111382A - Liquid-tight connector and assembling method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the leak of oil, while perfectly hindering oil flow along a terminal by integrally arranging a silicone rubber seal material passing through a terminal in a partitioning wall, for partitioning both openings provided in an inside and an outside surfaces of a cylindrical housing in a sealed condition. SOLUTION: A terminal 7 is in a state having passed through a press-in hole of a silicone rubber sealing material 19, and this sealing material 19 is arranged at a part of a partitioning wall 5 of a cylindrical housing 3 having insertion ports 31, 33 for insertion of male connector in both ends thereof for insert-forming, and an O-ring 11 is installed in a through-hole 3c so as to assemble a liquid-tight connector 51. This liquid-tight connector 51 is fixed by inserting the housing 3 into the through-hole 17 drilled in a transmission case 15, and making the O-ring 11 installed in the periphery tightly contacting the inner periphery of the through-hole 17, and inserting a screw into an engagement hole 3b for fastening in the condition such that a fixed plate 3a is brought into contact with an outer surface of the transmission case 15. With this structure, assembling work can be performed easily with fewer man-hours.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid-tight connector for relaying, in which a housing is mounted in a through hole for mounting a connector of a case in which a liquid is sealed, and connectors connected to wire terminals inside and outside the case are connected together. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an automatic transmission for an automobile, electric wires, such as solenoid valves and various sensors, provided inside a transmission case are connected via a liquid-tight connector attached to a connector mounting through hole formed in the transmission case. To the control unit outside the transmission case. Since the oil that lubricates the transmission is sealed inside the transmission case, the liquid-tight connector prevents the oil inside the transmission case from leaking to the outside and the inside and outside of the transmission case. And the wires must be connected.

[0003] One of the liquid-tight connectors of this type is connected to a connector connected to an electric wire terminal of an external device such as a control unit and a connector connected to an electric wire terminal such as a solenoid valve in a case, so as to be electrically connected. There is a relay connector for which the terminals are insert-molded in a housing to prevent oil leakage in the transmission case. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional relay connector having such a configuration. In the figure, one end of a liquid-tight connector 1 for relay is connected to a transmission case 15 at one end.
, A cylindrical housing 3 having the other end opened to the outside of the transmission case 15, and a separation wall 5 that divides the inside of the housing 3.
The terminal 7 having the exposed portion 7b, a sealing member 9 disposed at an opening outside the transmission case of the housing 3 for closing a space between the base of the male tab 7b and the separation wall 5, and an outer peripheral groove of the housing 3 are mounted. An O-ring 11 and a general configuration.

In order to assemble the liquid-tight connector 1, the terminals 7 are arranged so as to penetrate the separation wall 5, insert-molded on the separation wall 5, and then a liquid resin (for example,
An epoxy resin is injected from the opening of the housing 3 outside the transmission case 15, and then the resin is heated and cured to form the seal member 9. Note that the sealing member 9 may be formed by inserting a solidified epoxy resin material into the male tab 7b and then heating and curing the same.

[0005] The liquid-tight connector 1 for relay assembled in this manner is composed of an O-ring 1 mounted in an outer circumferential groove of a housing 3.
1 is closely attached to a connector mounting through hole 17 formed in the transmission case 15 and is fixed to the outside of the transmission case 15 by screws via a fixing plate 3a protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the housing. A male connector connected to a wire terminal of an external device (not shown) is opened through an opening outside the transmission case 15, and a male connector connected to a wire terminal inside the case (not shown) is opened through an opening inside the transmission case 15. By inserting and connecting the terminals 7 together, conductive connection between the two connectors is achieved via the liquid-tight connector for relay.

According to this liquid-tight connector, since the terminal 7 is integrated with the housing by insert molding, it flows along the male tab 7a in the transmission case 15 and flows out to the male tab 7b outside the transmission case. It was possible to prevent the oil from leaking. However, transmission case 1
When the temperature inside the housing 5 becomes high, the adhesion between the two members is reduced due to the difference in the linear expansion coefficient between the housing 3 and the terminal 7, which may cause oil to flow out. Even in this case, the seal member 9 prevented the flow of the oil, and was able to reliably prevent the oil from leaking out of the transmission case.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional liquid-tight connector for relay, no matter what kind of structure the sealing member has, post-treatment for heating and curing the resin material is required. There was a problem that the man-hour increased. In particular, in the case of injecting the liquid resin, there is a risk of oil leakage due to imperfect sealing structure due to an insufficient amount of injection, or a possibility that the injected resin adheres to the electrical contact portion of the terminal to cause a contact failure. . Also, when the oil flows out to the seal member, the seal member absorbs the oil and swells,
As a result, there is a possibility that the insertion amount of the connector on the external device side may be made incomplete and a fitting failure may be caused. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a liquid-tight connector for relay and a method for assembling the same that can be easily assembled with a small number of man-hours and that does not have a risk of causing poor electrical contact. It is an object of the present invention to improve workability, reduce manufacturing cost, and improve reliability of a liquid-tight connector.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a relay liquid-tight connector according to the present invention, wherein one end is opened inside the liquid sealing case and the other end is opened outside the liquid sealing case. It is provided with a cylindrical housing having an opening and a separating wall provided therein for partitioning both openings, and terminals penetrating the separating wall and exposing electrical contact portions to the openings at the openings, respectively, and is provided in the liquid sealing case. In a relay liquid-tight connector in which the housing is liquid-tightly sealed and attached to the through-hole, a silicone rubber sealing material into which the terminal is inserted is integrally disposed together with the terminal in the separation wall in a sealed state. It is characterized by the following. Further, in the method for assembling the liquid-tight connector for relay according to the present invention, one end is opened to the inside of the liquid sealing case, and the other end is opened to the outside of the liquid sealing case, and a separating wall is provided to partition both openings inside. A housing having a cylindrical shape, and terminals penetrating the separation wall and exposing electrical contact portions to the openings at both ends, and the housing is liquid-tightly sealed and attached to a through hole formed in the liquid-filled case. A method for assembling a liquid-tight connector for relaying, wherein the terminal is inserted through a sealing member made of silicone rubber, and then the sealing member is disposed together with the terminal in the separating wall. The housing is formed by insert molding.

In the liquid-tight connector for relay configured as described above, the terminal is insert-molded with the sealing material inserted and penetrates the separation wall, so that the terminal is linearly expanded like the conventional liquid-tight connector for relay. Even in the case where the adhesion is reduced due to the difference in the coefficient, the silicone rubber sealing material can reliably prevent the oil from flowing out by absorbing the oil. Further, even if the sealing material swells due to oil absorption and increases in volume, since the sealing material is provided in a sealed state in the separation wall, the terminal surface can be further strongly pressed by this swelling action to improve the adhesion. In addition, since the sealing material is in a sealed state in the separation wall as described above, even if the volume increases due to swelling, the effect on other parts is eliminated. Also,
In the method for assembling a liquid-tight connector for relay according to the present invention,
Since the silicone rubber sealing material is provided in the separation wall by insert molding, no post-treatment of heating and curing is required, so that the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a liquid-tight connector for relay and a method for assembling the same according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a liquid-tight connector for relay according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view for explaining a use state of the liquid-tight connector shown in FIG. The same members and parts as those of the conventional device are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

A transmission case 1 is provided at one end of the housing 3.
5 has an insertion port 31 opened for inserting the male connector 21 connected to the wire terminal, and another end has an insertion port 33 opened for inserting the male connector 23 connected to the wire terminal of an external device (not shown). It is formed. Inside the housing 3, the insertion port 31 and the insertion port 3
A separation wall 5 is formed to partition the partition wall 3 from each other in a non-communication state.

A plurality of (six in this example) busbar-shaped terminals 7 penetrate through the separation wall 5 and penetrate the separation wall 5 while penetrating a sealing material 19 disposed in the separation wall 5 described later. And the male tabs 7a and 7b on both ends are respectively inserted into the insertion holes 31,
33 so as to be exposed.

The sealing member 19 is provided in the form of a rectangular plate made of silicon rubber, and has press-fit holes (numbers are omitted for the sake of simplicity) corresponding to the number of the terminals 7 for inserting the terminals 7. Have. The sealing material 19 is disposed integrally with the terminal 7 in a sealing state in the separation wall 5 in a state where the terminal 7 is inserted through the press-fitting hole. Therefore, the sealing material 19
Is designed to seal liquid-tight between the separation wall 5 and the terminal 7.

On the outer periphery of the housing 3, there is provided a fixing plate 3a protruding like a flange. The fixing plate 3a has an engagement hole 3b for a screw 25 for screwing the housing 3 to the transmission case 15. Is transparent. On the outer peripheral surface of the housing 3, an outer peripheral groove 3c is formed at a position closer to the transmission case 15 than the fixed plate 3a, and an O-ring 11 is fitted into the outer peripheral groove 3c. When the housing 3 is inserted into and attached to the through hole 17 formed in the transmission case 15, the O-ring 11 is in close contact with the inner periphery of the through hole 17, and a liquid is formed between the through hole 17 and the housing 3. Seal tightly.

Next, a method of assembling the liquid-tight connector 51 thus configured will be described. First, the terminal 7 is inserted into the press-fitting hole of the sealing member 19 made of silicon rubber. Next, a seal member 19 with the terminal 7 inserted therein is arranged at the portion of the separation wall 5 of the housing 3 to be resin-molded together with the terminal 7 and insert-molded. Finally, the O-ring 11 is fitted into the through hole 3c to complete the assembly. The liquid-tight connector 51 assembled in this manner inserts the housing 3 into the through hole 17 formed in the transmission case 15,
With the O-ring 11 mounted on the outer periphery closely contacting the inner periphery of the through hole 17 and the fixing plate 3a abutting against the outer surface of the transmission case 15, the screw 25 is inserted into the engagement hole 3b and tightened and fixed. Thus, the attachment to the transmission case 15 is completed.

In the liquid-tight connector 51, the housing 3
O-ring 1 between the transmission case 15 and the through hole 17 of the transmission case 15.
1 and the space between the separation wall 5 of the housing 3 and the terminal 7 is sealed with the sealing material 19, so that all communication paths of oil from the inside to the outside of the transmission case 15 are sealed,
This prevents oil from leaking from inside the transmission case 15.

Therefore, according to the liquid-tight connector 51,
Even if the inside of the transmission case 15 becomes hot and a gap is formed between the terminal 7 and the separation wall 5, even if oil penetrates into the separation wall 5 along the terminal 7, the silicone rubber The sealing material 19 made of a material absorbs the oil and can prevent the oil from flowing out. Furthermore, the sealing material 19, which swells and increases in volume by absorbing the oil, comes into contact with the surface of the terminal 7 in a strongly pressurized state, so that the adhesion is improved and the leakage of the oil can be prevented more reliably.

According to the method of assembling the liquid-tight connector 51, after the terminal 7 is inserted through the seal member 19, the seal member 19 is insert-molded into the housing 3 together with the terminal 7, so that the post-processing step of the seal member is performed. As compared with the conventional liquid-tight connector that required the above, the number of assembling steps can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In the above embodiment, the terminals that are insert-molded in the housing have the electrical contact portions at both ends formed on the male tabs, but may be formed in the female shape.

[0019]

As described above in detail, according to the liquid-tight connector for relaying according to the present invention, the sealing material made of silicon rubber is integrally disposed in the housing in a sealed state, so that the terminal is transmitted. Oil flow can be completely blocked to prevent leakage. As a result, electrical contact failure does not occur, and reliability can be improved. Also, by inserting the sealing material into which the terminal has been inserted into the separation wall of the housing together with the terminal, the assembling operation can be easily performed with a small number of man-hours, the workability of the liquid-tight connector is improved, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a relay liquid-tight connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view illustrating a use state of the liquid-tight connector shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional liquid-tight connector for relay.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Housing 5 Separation wall 7 Terminal 11 O-ring 19 Silicon rubber sealing material 51 Liquid-tight connector for relay

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical housing having one end opened to the inside of the liquid sealing case and the other end opened to the outside of the liquid sealing case, and a separation wall provided therein to partition both openings, and a cylindrical housing penetrating the separation wall. A terminal having exposed electrical contact portions at both openings, and a relay liquid-tight connector for mounting the housing in a liquid-tight manner by sealing the housing in a through hole formed in a liquid-filled case; A liquid-tight connector for relaying, wherein the sealing member made of silicon rubber is integrally disposed together with the terminal in the separation wall in a sealed state. 2. A cylindrical housing having one end opened to the inside of the liquid sealing case and the other end opened to the outside of the liquid sealing case, and a separation wall provided therein to partition both openings, and penetrating the separation wall. A method for assembling a liquid-tight connector for relay, comprising: a terminal having an electric contact portion exposed at each of the two openings; and a liquid-tight sealing and mounting the housing in a through hole formed in a liquid-filled case. After the terminal is inserted through a sealing material made of silicone rubber, the housing is formed by insert molding the separation wall with the sealing material disposed in the separation wall together with the terminal. Assembling method of a liquid-tight connector for relay.