JP5818100B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector.

  Conventionally, the thing of patent document 1 is known as an example of a waterproof connector. This connector includes a male housing and a female housing that can be fitted to each other. The female housing includes a female terminal housing portion in which a female cavity into which a female terminal can be inserted is formed, and an outer cylinder portion surrounding the female terminal housing portion, and the outer peripheral surface of the female terminal housing portion is made of rubber. A seal ring is fitted.

  When the pair of male and female housings are fitted, the hood portion of the male housing enters between the seal ring and the outer cylinder portion of the female housing, and the seal ring is sandwiched between the hood portion and the female terminal accommodating portion. By closely contacting in a state, a pair of male and female housings is sealed.

JP 2001-319725 A

  By the way, since the seal ring is made of rubber, it is easily deformed. For this reason, there exists a possibility that a seal ring may be fitted by the outer peripheral surface of a female terminal accommodating part in the state deform | transformed so that the one end side and other end side of the width direction may shift | deviate back and forth, for example. Further, the seal ring may be pushed by the tip of the hood portion when the male housing and the female housing are fitted, for example, and may be displaced rearward from the normal mounting position. If the seal ring is not held in a regular wearing state (regular shape and regular position), there is a possibility that the waterproofness may be lowered.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to prevent a decrease in waterproofness.

The waterproof connector of the present invention includes a pair of male and female housings that can be fitted to each other, and a tab of a male terminal held by the male housing of the pair of male and female housings projects to the female housing side, A female insertion hole for inserting a tab of the male terminal is provided, and a protruding portion made of a synthetic resin protrudes in a fitting direction at a position surrounding the tab of the male terminal in the male housing. A synthetic resin recess is provided around the female insertion hole in the housing to fit the projection, and a flexible portion is provided on a wall portion of the inner wall that forms the recess far from the female insertion hole. An engaging projection is provided on at least one of the outer surface and the inner surface of the flexible portion, and a pressing portion is provided at a position surrounding the projecting portion of the male housing. When provided on the outer surface of the flexible portion, the flexible projection is elastically bent and deformed in a direction approaching the female insertion hole by the engagement protrusion and the pressing portion being engaged, When the inner surface of the flexible part and the outer surface of the protrusion are in contact with each other over the entire circumference to seal between the pair of male and female housings, and the engagement protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the flexible part The engagement protrusion and the outer surface of the protrusion are engaged to press the flexible portion in a direction away from the female insertion hole, and the outer surface of the flexible portion and the pressing portion are all around. It is characterized in that it is configured to seal between the pair of male and female housings by abutting over each other.

  According to such a configuration, the protrusion is fitted into the recess by fitting the pair of male and female housings, and the pair of male and female housings is sealed by elastically contacting along the inner wall constituting the recess. . Here, since both the projecting portion and the recessed portion are made of synthetic resin, they are less likely to be deformed than in the case of being made of rubber, and displacement in the fitting direction is restricted. Therefore, the protrusion and the recess can be held in a normal fitting state.

When the engaging projections are provided on the outer surface of the flexible portion is engaged with the engaging protrusion and the pressing portion of the flexible portion by fitting the pair of male and female housings, female inserted flexible portion Press in the direction approaching the hole. Then, the inner surface of the flexible portion and the outer surface of the protruding portion are in contact with each other over the entire circumference, thereby sealing the pair of male and female housings.
Further, when the engaging protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the flexible portion, the inner surface of the flexible portion and the outer surface of the protruding portion are engaged by fitting a pair of male and female housings, Press in the direction away from the female insertion hole. Then, the outer surface of the flexible portion and the pressing portion are in contact with each other over the entire circumference, thereby sealing between the pair of male and female housings.
The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.

The distal end of the flexible part is fitted between the protrusion and the pressing part in accordance with the fitting of the pair of male and female housings, and is in contact with the back end part over the entire circumference. Also good.
According to such a configuration, the distal end of the flexible piece abuts over the entire circumference with respect to the back end portion between the protrusion and the pressing portion, thereby sealing between the pair of male and female housings.

The protrusion may be integrated with the male housing, and the recess may be integrated with the female housing.
According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide the protrusion and the recess separately from the pair of male and female housings, which is advantageous in terms of work and cost.

The said press part is good also as a structure which makes | forms the cyclic | annular form and protrudes in the fitting direction.
According to such a configuration, the pair of male and female housings can be sealed by engaging the pressing portion with the engaging protrusion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a decrease in waterproofness.

Sectional drawing which showed the state before fitting a pair of male and female housings Sectional drawing which showed the state after fitting a pair of male and female housings Sectional drawing which expanded and showed the peripheral part of the seal wall in FIG.

<Embodiment>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. The waterproof connector C in the present embodiment includes a male housing 10 and a female housing 30 (a pair of male and female housings) that can be fitted to each other. Hereinafter, in each component member, the fitting surface side in both housings 10 and 30 will be described as the front, the upper side in FIG. 1 will be the upper side, and the lower side in FIG. 1 will be the lower side.

  The male housing 10 includes a male terminal accommodating portion 11 that accommodates the male terminal 20 and a hood portion 12 that can be fitted onto the female housing 30.

  A male cavity 13 into which the male terminal 20 can be inserted from the rear is formed inside the male terminal housing portion 11. The rear portion of the male cavity 13 is sealed by being plugged by a rubber plug 21 attached to the male terminal 20.

  A male lance 14 made of resin that can be elastically deformed in the vertical direction is formed on the upper wall of the male cavity 13. The male lance 14 extends in a cantilevered manner toward the front, and a bending space S is formed on the upper side thereof. The male lance 14 is elastically deformed upward by being pushed by the male terminal 20 in the middle of insertion and retracted into the bending space S, and when the male terminal 20 reaches a normal position, the male lance 14 is elastically restored downward to return to the male terminal 20. To prevent it from coming off.

  Further, a male insertion hole 15 through which the tab 22 of the male terminal 20 can be inserted is formed in the front end portion (front wall of the male cavity 13) of the male terminal accommodating portion 11 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. The tab 22 of the male terminal 20 accommodated in the male cavity 13 projects forward (inside the hood portion 12) through the male insertion hole 15. Further, the inner surface of the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 is a male facing surface 16, and the male insertion hole 15 is open to the male facing surface 16.

  The hood portion 12 has a rectangular tube shape that opens forward, and a portion corresponding to the lock arm 37 provided in the female housing 30 is widened upward, whereby a step is formed on the upper wall of the hood portion 12. Is formed.

  Further, on the inner side surface of the hood portion 12, a lock receiving portion 18 is provided which is engaged with a lock protrusion 38 of a lock arm 37 described later. The housing 10 and 30 are held in a properly fitted state by the locking projection 38 of the lock arm 37 and the lock receiving portion 18 of the hood 12 being locked.

  The male terminal 20 is formed by bending a metal plate punched into a predetermined shape. The tab 22 is elongated in the front-rear direction in order from the front side, and is in conductive contact with the mating female terminal 40, and a substantially box-shaped main body. Part 23 and a barrel part 24 to be crimped to the end of the electric wire W. The male terminal 20 inserted into the male cavity 13 to the proper position is primarily locked and prevented from coming off by the locking projection of the male lance 14 being locked in the locking hole provided in the main body 23. . A retainer 19 attached from the side to the male terminal accommodating portion 11 is secondarily locked to the rear end corner of the main body portion 23 of the male terminal 20 inserted into the male cavity 13 to a proper position. As a result, the male terminal 20 is double-stopped together with the male lance 14.

  The female housing 30 includes a female terminal accommodating portion 31 that can accommodate the female terminal 40 therein and can be fitted into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10.

  A female cavity 32 into which the female terminal 40 can be inserted from the rear is formed inside the female terminal accommodating portion 31. The rear portion of the female cavity 32 is sealed by being closed by a rubber plug 44 attached to the female terminal 40, similarly to the male cavity 13.

  On the upper wall of the female cavity 32, like the male cavity 13, when it is pressed by the female terminal 40 in the middle of insertion, it is elastically deformed upward and retracts into the bending space S, and when the female terminal 40 reaches the normal position. A female lance 33 is provided which elastically returns to the lower side and engages with the female terminal 40 to prevent it from coming off.

  Further, a female insertion hole 34 through which the tab 22 of the male terminal 20 can be inserted is formed in the front end surface of the female terminal accommodating portion 31 (the surface facing the male housing 10 and referred to as the female facing surface 35). It is formed to penetrate through. A guide surface 36 is formed in the front portion of the female insertion hole 34 so that the opening dimension gradually increases toward the front end. When the male housing 10 and the female housing 30 are fitted, the tab of the male terminal 20 is fitted. 22 is brought into contact with the guide surface 36 from the front and guided to the inclination, and is guided into the female insertion hole 34, and is smoothly guided into the female cavity 32 from here and connected to the female terminal 40. .

  A lock arm 37 having a cantilever shape is provided on the upper surface of the female terminal accommodating portion 31 so as to be elastically deformable in the vertical direction. On the upper surface of the lock arm 37, when both the housings 10, 30 are properly fitted, a lock projection 38 is provided so as to be opposed to the lock receiving portion 18 of the male housing 10 in the front-rear direction. .

  The female terminal 40 is formed by bending a metal plate punched into a predetermined shape, and in order from the front side, a main body portion 41 having a substantially box shape into which the tab 22 of the mating male terminal 20 is inserted; And a barrel portion 42 to be crimped to the terminal. An elastic contact piece 43 is provided inside the main body 41 and is folded back from the front edge of the bottom plate. The tab 22 of the male terminal 20 that has entered the inside of the main body 41 is elastically pinched between the elastic contact piece 43 and the ceiling plate of the main body 41 so that the male terminal 20 and the female terminal 40 are electrically connected. Connected.

  Now, around the male insertion hole 15 in the male facing surface 16 of the male housing 10, a synthetic resin seal wall (an example of the “projection” of the present invention) 17 is formed protruding forward. The seal wall 17 is integral with the male housing 10 and has a cylindrical shape. An inclined surface that is closer to the male insertion hole 15 as it goes forward is formed at the tip of the seal wall 17. The seal wall 17 is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the tab 22 of the male terminal 20 accommodated in the male cavity 13.

  A pressing portion 25 is formed in a portion of the inner surface of the hood portion 12 that faces the seal wall 17 in the radial direction. The pressing portion 25 protrudes from the inner end of the hood portion 12 toward the male insertion hole 15 and is formed over the entire circumference of the hood portion 12. An inclined surface 26 is formed at the front end of the pressing portion 25 so as to move away from the male insertion hole 15 toward the front, and the inner surface of the hood portion 12 extends forward from the front edge of the inclined surface 26.

  On the other hand, an annular seal recess 39 is provided in the female facing surface 35 of the female housing 30. The seal recess 39 is disposed around the female insertion hole 34. In addition, a wall portion on the side farther from the female insertion hole 34 among the inner walls constituting the seal recess 39 is constituted by a flexible portion 45. This flexible part 45 has a form protruding forward and can be elastically deformed toward the female insertion hole 34. An engaging protrusion 46 is provided around the front end of the outer surface of the flexible portion 45. The engagement protrusion 46 is formed in a semicircular rib shape protruding in a direction away from the female insertion hole 34, and is formed over the entire circumference of the flexible portion 45.

  When the pair of male and female housings 10 and 30 are fitted, the engaging projection 46 slides on the inclined surface 26 and displaces so as to approach the female insertion hole 34, so that the flexible portion 45 becomes female. It is elastically deformed so as to approach the insertion hole 34. Thereby, the inner surface of the flexible part 45 contacts the outer surface of the seal wall 17 over the entire circumference, and the pair of male and female housings 10 and 30 is sealed. In the state where the pair of male and female housings 10 and 30 are fitted, the front end of the flexible portion 45 abuts over the entire circumference with the back end of the seal recess 39, and the engagement protrusion 46 is brought into contact with the pressing portion 25. Since the contact is made over the entire circumference, the pair of housings 10, 30 is also sealed by these.

  Next, an example of a method for fitting the male housing 10 and the female housing 30 will be described. First, when the female housing 30 is pushed into the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 from the state shown in FIG. 1, both the housings 10, 30 are brought into a normal fitting state as shown in FIG. , 40 is in a normal connection state. In addition, the lock arm 37 that has been bent and deformed so as to get over the lock receiving portion 18 in the middle of the fitting gets over the lock receiving portion 18 and is elastically restored, and both the housings 10 and 30 are locked in the normal fitting state. Further, when the engaging protrusion 46 slides along the inclined surface 26 and rides on the pressing portion 25, the flexible portion 45 is elastically bent and deformed in a direction approaching the female insertion hole 34, and the seal wall 17. Abuts to follow.

  In a properly fitted state of both housings 10, 30, the inner surface of the flexible portion 45 abuts the outer surface of the seal wall 17 over the entire circumference, and the front end of the flexible portion 45 is placed around the inner end of the seal recess 39. The engaging protrusion 46 is in contact with the pressing portion 25 over the entire circumference. In other words, the flexible portion 45 elastically abuts against the inner wall constituting the seal recess 39, and sealing is performed by this elastic force. In this manner, the gap between the male housing 10 and the female housing 30 is sealed in the normal fitting state of both the housings 10 and 30.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the seal wall 17 and the flexible portion 45 made of a synthetic resin harder than rubber are used as the seal member to seal between the housings 10 and 30. Deformation can be eliminated and deterioration of waterproofness can be prevented. Thereby, between both the housings 10 and 30 can be sealed reliably. Further, since the seal wall 17 and the flexible portion 45 can be formed integrally with both the housings 10 and 30, the work of assembling the seal member to both the housings 10 and 30 becomes unnecessary, and the number of parts is reduced. It is also advantageous in terms of cost.

  Further, since the engaging protrusion 46 is engaged with the pressing portion 25 and the flexible portion 45 is elastically deformed, the flexible portion 45 is easily brought into contact with the seal wall 17. Further, since the seal wall 17 and the pressing portion 25 are formed to extend in the front-rear direction, even if the contact position between the inner surface of the flexible portion 45 and the outer surface of the seal wall 17 is shifted in the front-rear direction, the sealing performance. Can be maintained.

  Further, in a state where both housings 10 and 30 are properly fitted, the front end of the flexible portion 45 is in contact with the male facing surface 16, so that it is possible to seal between the housings 10 and 30 even in this contact portion. it can. Furthermore, since the engaging protrusion 46 and the pressing portion 25 are in contact with each other, it is possible to seal between the housings 10 and 30 even at this contact portion.

  Further, since the engagement protrusion 46 is formed in an annular shape and the engagement protrusion 46 is in contact with the pressing portion 25 over the entire circumference, the flexible portion 45 is elastically deformed over the entire circumference to seal the seal. It becomes easy to make it contact | abut with respect to the wall 17 over a perimeter.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) Although the flexible portion 45 is elastically deformed to contact the seal wall 17 in the above embodiment, sealing is performed by externally fitting the flexible portion to the seal wall. Also good.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the seal wall 17 and the flexible portion 45 are formed integrally with both the housings 10 and 30, but according to the present invention, a seal wall and a flexible portion separate from both housings are prepared. The sealing may be performed by sandwiching the sealing wall and the flexible portion between the opposing surfaces of both housings.

  (3) Although the engagement protrusion 46 is provided on the outer surface of the flexible portion 45 in the above embodiment, the engagement protrusion may be provided on the inner surface of the flexible portion according to the present invention. In this case, the engaging projection and the outer surface of the protruding portion engage with each other so that the flexible portion is pressed in a direction away from the female insertion hole (expanded and deformed), and the outer surface of the flexible portion and the pressing portion are all around. A seal is made by abutting over the entire area.

10 ... Male housing 17 ... Seal wall (projection)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Male terminal 22 ... Tab 25 ... Press part 30 ... Female housing 34 ... Female insertion hole 39 ... Seal recessed part (recessed part)
40 ... Female terminal 45 ... Flexible part 46 ... Engagement protrusion C ... Waterproof connector

Claims (4)

A pair of male and female housings that can be fitted together,
The male terminal tab held in the male housing of the pair of male and female housings protrudes to the female housing side, and the female housing is provided with a female insertion hole for inserting the tab of the male terminal.
A protrusion made of synthetic resin is provided to protrude in the fitting direction at a position surrounding the tab of the male terminal in the male housing, and the protrusion is fitted around the female insertion hole in the female housing. A recess made of synthetic resin is provided,
A flexible portion is provided on a wall portion of the inner wall constituting the concave portion far from the female insertion hole, and an engagement protrusion is provided on at least one of an outer surface or an inner surface of the flexible portion, and the male housing A pressing part is provided at a position surrounding the protrusion,
When the engaging protrusion is provided on the outer surface of the flexible part, the flexible part is elastic in a direction approaching the female insertion hole by engaging the engaging protrusion and the pressing part. The inner surface of the flexible part and the outer surface of the protrusion are in contact with each other over the entire circumference to seal between the pair of male and female housings,
When the engaging protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the flexible part, the flexible part is moved away from the female insertion hole by engaging the engaging protrusion and the outer surface of the protruding part. A waterproof connector that seals between the pair of male and female housings by being pressed and the outer surface of the flexible portion and the pressing portion abutting over the entire circumference . The distal end of the flexible part is fitted between the protrusion and the pressing part in accordance with the fitting of the pair of male and female housings, and abuts against the back end part over the entire circumference. The waterproof connector according to 1 . The protrusion is integrated with the said male housing, said recess waterproof connector according to claim 1 or claim 2 is integrated with the said female housing. The pressing portion is an annular waterproof connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3 are circumferentially provided to protrude in the fitting direction.

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