WO2008096277A2

WO2008096277A2 - Sealable electrical connector

Info

Publication number: WO2008096277A2
Application number: PCT/IB2008/001332
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takehiko Osuga
Original assignee: Fci; Fci Connectors Singapore Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2007-02-05
Filing date: 2008-02-05
Publication date: 2008-08-14
Also published as: KR101444973B1; KR20090116771A; WO2008096277A3; JP2008192459A; JP2010519678A; JP2013038080A; JP5112451B2

Abstract

A sealable electrical connector has a housing which includes an end surface and a surrounding side wall. A seal member is attached to the end surface and disposed within a periphery border defined by the side wall. When the connector is mated with a counterpart connector, the end surface and part of the side wall are received in a recess of the counterpart connector. Before reaching the final mated position, the seal member is not in contact with recess, hence mating is made easy and wearing / drop-off of the seal member is prevented. When at the final mated position, a bottom surface of the recess and the end surface compress the seal member to cause the seal member expanding beyond the periphery border and in close contact with the inner side wall of the recess to form a waterproof seal.

Description

SEALABLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an electrical connector having a liquid sealing function, and in particular to an electrical connector which can be electrically connected to a squib used in an automobile airbag system or the like.

BACKGROUND

In many industrial applications, it is necessary to provide electrical connectors with moisture and/or dust protection functions, in particular for electrical connections having high level of safety requirements, for instance in an automobile airbag system.

Conventional airbag connectors has sealing elements provided on the side wall of the plug connector housing. When mating with a counterpart receptacle connector, the plug connector slides into the receptacle connector housing. The seal member is compressed laterally and fills the gap between the plug and receptacle housings, hence to provide sealing function.

Such type of connectors has several drawbacks. As the sealing element is disposed surrounding the side wall of the plug connector, during the mating process, the sealing element is in contact with, and moves relative to, the inner wall of the receptacle housing. Therefore there exists a frictional force between the sealing element and the receptacle housing during the mating process. This frictional force not only increases the force required to mate the two counterpart connectors, but may also wear off the sealing element. When any wear-off on the sealing element takes place, the sealing effect will be adversely affected. Further, the sealing element may be shifted or even separated from the plug connector, which may result in the failure of the mating process or unsatisfactory liquid sealing function. Accordingly, there is a need to provide an electrical connector for airbag system with effective and reliable sealing functions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide an electrical connector with sealing functions. During the mating process, the sealing element is not in touch with the counterpart connector housing but only when at the final mated position, the sealing element becomes activated and seals the gap between the counterpart connectors.

In one embodiment, an electrical connector includes a housing which has an end surface and a side wall surrounding the end surface. A sealing ring is attached to the end surface, and disposed within a periphery border defined by the side wall. In a mating process, the end surface and part of the side wall are inserted into a recess of a counterpart connector housing. As the sealing ring is within the side wall periphery border, the sealing ring is not in touch with the inner wall of the recess during the mating process. Mating is therefore made easy. In addition, any wear-off or scratch to the sealing ring is avoided.

When the two counterpart connectors reach a final mating position, the sealing ring is brought in contact with the bottom surface of the recess. Pressed by the bottom surface of the recess and the end surface of the connector housing along the mating direction, the sealing ring is compressed along the mating direction, and expand along a lateral direction. This lateral expansion causes the sealing ring to increase the size beyond the periphery border, and in close contact with the inner wall of the recess. When the two counterpart connectors are locked at the mated position, the sealing ring is maintained at the lateral expansion status, contacting adjacent surfaces of the two connectors, hence to provide a liquid sealing / water proofing function. Preferably, a stopper is provided at the end surface inside the sealing ring. When the sealing ring is pressed, the stopper prevents the sealing ring from expanding along inward lateral direction. Expansion of the sealing ring will rake place mainly towards the recess, hence to further increase the sealing effect.

In one embodiment, the stopper may be an annular projection formed integral at the end surface around which the searing ring is attached. In another embodiment, the stopper is a separate piece detachably mounted to the housing, with part of the sealing ring sandwiched therebetween.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an electrical connector according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2A is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 1 when the sealing ring is attached to the housing;

Fig. 2B is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 2B when the seal stopper is mounted to the housing;

Fig. 2C is a partial cross sectional view of Fig. 2B;

Fig. 3A is a cross sectional view of Fig. 2A;

Fig. 3B is a cross sectional view of Fig. 2B;

Fig. 3C is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 2C; Fig. 4A is a cross sectional view of Fig. 2B to be mated with a counterpart connector;

Fig. 4B is a cross sectional view of Fig. 2B when mated with a counterpart connector;

Fig. 4C is a partial enlarged view of Fig.4B;

Fig. 5A and 5B are various perspective views of Fig. 2B;

Fig. 6A is a partial cross sectional view of a connector according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6B is a partial cross sectional of a connector of Fig. 6A when mated to a counterpart connector;

Fig. 6C is a partial enlarged view of Fig. 6B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS.

As shown in Fig. 1 , an electrical connector 1 includes a connector housing

2, a seal member 3 and a seal stopper 4. Housing 2 is formed integrally, including a cable receiving portion 6 enclosing two cables 7, and a cylindrical base 5 extending generally perpendicular from cable receiving portion 6, and having an electrical contact connected to the cables 7 inside.

Cylindrical base 5 has detaining projections 9 capable of catching a counterpart connector, such as a squib. Additionally, cylindrical base 5 has two first holes 8 extending from end surface 10 of the inside of cylindrical base 5 and communicating with the electrical contacts. Two second holes 1 1 extend toward the inside of cylindrical base 5. Housing 2 has a side wall 21 extending perpendicularly from bottom surface 10. Side wall 21 define a periphery border 23. Four projections 12 extending generally perpendicularly from bottom surface 10 are formed for positioning seal member 3. First holes 8, second holes 11 and projections 12 are positioned symmetrically with respect to the center of the bottom surface 10.

Seal member 3 is an annular elastic component of rubber or the like, having a through hole 14 opening to the top and bottom surfaces. Seal member 3 has a first step portion 16 along the inner circumference, and four positioning holes 13 formed on first step portion 16, for receiving projections 12. Seal member

3 further includes a second step portion 17 along the outer circumference thereof.

Seal stopper 4 is a thin lid component that is mounted to bottom surface 10 of housing 2 for fixing seal member 3 to cylindrical base 5. On seal stopper 4 there are formed detaining pieces 18 for inserting into second holes 11 of cylindrical base 5 and detained in second holes 11. Two through holes 19 are provided on seal stopper 4 to allow passage of electrical contact pins of a counterpart connector. Detaining pieces 18 are positioned to correspond to second holes 11 of cylindrical base 5 during assembly of the electrical connector

1. Through holes 19 are positioned to correspond to first holes 8 of cylindrical base 5. Additionally, a shoulder portion 20 extending outward in a radial direction is formed on the outer circumferential edge of seal stopper 4.

To assemble seal member 3 and seal stopper 4 onto housing 2, firstly, seal member 3 is attached to end surface 10, with first and second holes 8 and 11 positioned inside opening 14. With reference to Fig. 2A, projections 12 are inserted into holes 13 of seal member 3, thus seal member 3 is positioned at a predetermined position.

After seal member 3 is attached to end surface 10, seal stopper 4 is mounted to housing 2, as shown in Figs. 2B, 2C, 5A and 5B. Through holes 19 of seal stopper 4 are in alignment with first hole portions 8, to allow electrical contacts 25 of connector 1 to pass through.

Detaining pieces 18 (only one is shown) of seal stopper 4 is inserted into second hole 11. In the meantime, shoulder portion 20 is detained in sealing contact with step portion 16 of seal member 3. Here, each detaining piece 18 is received inside a corresponding second hole 11 and is detained by a projection portion 22. The detainment is achieved during the process of mounting seal stopper 4, with detaining piece 18 sliding along an inclined surface 27 formed on projection portion 22. Detailing pieces 18 are elastically deformed, then elastically returning at its original position and engage with projection 22 to secure seal stopper to housing 2.

As shown in Figs. 3A, 3B and 3C, when attached to end surface 10 and locked by seal stopper 4, seal member 3 is disposed within periphery border 23.

When connector 1 mates with a counterpart receptacle connector 30, as shown in Figs. 4A, 4B and 4C, end surface 10 and part of side wall 21 are received by recess 32 of receptacle connector 30. Before connectors 1 and 30 reach the final mated position, seal member 3 is disposed within periphery border

23. Since the bore dimension 32a of recess 32 is greater than the external dimension 21a of side wall 21 (periphery 23), seal member 3 is not in touch with inner side wall 36 of receptacle connector 30 before the completion of the mating process. Mating process is therefore made easy. In addition, seal member 3 is protected against wearing / scratching / drop-off during the mating process.

At the end of mating process, seal member 3 is brought into contact with bottom surface 34 of counterpart connector 30. Pressed by end surface 10 and bottom surface 34, seal member 3 is compressed along the mating direction 40 (the direction of insertion of the connector 1 into recess 32). Seal member 3 is deformed elastically, resulting in an expansion of size along lateral direction 42 which is generally perpendicular to mating direction 40. While seal member 4 has a tendency to expand along lateral direction 42 outward and inward, the inward-expansion is blocked by shoulder portion 20 of seal stopper 4. As such, lateral expansion of seal member 3 mainly takes place along outward direction, resulting the seal member expanding beyond periphery border 23. The laterally-expanded seal member 3 is now in contact with inner side wall 36 of recess 32. When connectors 1 and 30 are locked at the final mated direction, as shown in Fig. 4B and 4C, seal member 3 is maintained at the laterally-expanded state, being in close contact with bottom surface 34 and inner side wall 36 of recess 32 as well as end surface 10 of housing 2. Liquid-sealing / water proofing is therefore achieved for the mating of connectors 1 and 30.

According to another embodiment, as shown in Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C, a connector 50 has a shoulder or annular projection 54 formed integrally at end surface 52 of connector housing 51. Annular projection 54 and end surface 52 form an annular groove 59 opening to both lateral outward direction and axial downward direction. Seal member 60 is attached to end surface 52 within annular groove 59, and disposed within periphery border 58 of side wall 56.

When connector 50 is mated with a counterpart receptacle connector 70, seal member 60 is pressed therebetween. With the blocking effect of annular projection 54, seal member 3 is expanded laterally outwardly in the similar manner as that illustrated in the previous embodiment, and forms a liquid-seal between the two connectors 50 and 70.

While an embodiment of the present invention has been explained above by way of example, the present invention is not to be construed as being limited by the above embodiments, and various alternatives or modifications and substitutions are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and recited by the following claims.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising: a housing having an end surface and a surrounding side wall; a seal member attached to the end surface and disposed within a periphery border defined by the side wall; wherein when the electrical connector is mated with a counterpart connector, the end surface and a portion of the side wall are positioned inside a recess of the counterpart connector, a bottom surface of the recess and the end surface compress the seal member to cause the seal member expanding beyond the periphery border to form a seal between the connector and the electrical counterpart connector.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the end surface further comprising an annular projection inside the seal member to prevent the seal member from expanding inwardly.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the annular projection is detachably coupled to the housing.

4. The electrical connector of claim 3, wherein the seal member has a stepped portion fixed between the end surface and the annular projection.

5. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the annular projection is formed integral to the housing.

6. The electrical connector of claim 5, wherein annular projection and the end surface form an annular groove opening to lateral outward direction and downward direction, wherein the seal member is disposed in the annular groove.

7. An electrical connector comprising: a column-shaped base having one or a plurality of first hole portions extending inward from a bottom surface, each of said first hole portions containing an electrical contact; a seal member having a through hole opening onto one surface and also opening onto another surface, such that when attached to a predetermined position on the bottom surface of said base, said one or a plurality of hole portions are positioned inside the opening on said one surface; and a seal stopper provided on said base so as to seal the opening on said other surface of said seal member.

8. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein a plurality of projections for positioning said seal member extend roughly vertically from the bottom surface of said base, in the peripheral portions of said bottom surface; and said seal member has hole portions for receiving the positioning projections when mounted at a predetermined position on the bottom surface of said base.

9. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein one or a plurality of second hole portions extending from the bottom surface of said base into said base are positioned on one surface of said seal member when said seal member is mounted at a predetermined position on the bottom surface of said base, and a protrusion extending roughly parallel to the bottom surface of said base is defined inside the second hole portion; and a detaining piece is formed on said seal stopper to detain said protrusion in the vicinity of a tip portion when inserted into said second hole portion.

10. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein said seal member has a step portion formed over the entire circumference of the inner circumferential surface, and an edge portion engaging with the step portion on the inner circumference of said seal member when the detaining piece of said seal stopper is inserted into the second hole portion on the bottom surface of said base is formed on said seal stopper.

11. The electrical connector of claim 10, wherein the engagement between said seal stopper and seal member is achieved by projections and recesses with respect to the surface of said step portion roughly parallel to the bottom surface of said base.

12. The electrical connector of claim 7, wherein a wall portion extending roughly vertically from the bottom surface is formed on the peripheral portions of the bottom surface of said base, and said seal member has a step portion over the entire circumference of the outer circumferential surface, and the wall portion of the bottom surface of said base and the step portion of the outer circumference of said seal member engage when said seal member is mounted at a predetermined position on the bottom surface of said base.

13. An electrical connector characterized in that when the electrical connector according to claim 12 is fitted with a receiving portion of a counterpart connector, said seal member is compressed by the inner surface of the receiving portion of the counterpart so as to achieve tight contact with the surface of the wall portion and bottom surface of said base.