JP2959433B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof connector for waterproofing housings fitted to each other by a rubber ring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a waterproof connector, as shown in FIG. 7, a male housing 52 provided with a male terminal fitting 51 is provided.
There is a female housing 54 provided with a female terminal fitting 53 and a ring-shaped rubber ring 55 mounted on the peripheral surface of the female housing 54. In this waterproof connector, when the two housings 52 and 54 are brought close to each other, the terminal fittings 51 and 53 are fitted to each other, and the hood portion 56 of the male housing 52 comes into close contact with the rubber ring 55 from the outer peripheral side and is elastically compressed. I do. Due to the elastic restoring force of the compressed rubber ring 55, both housings 52, 54
The space between them is waterproof.

[0003]

Generally, in a connector, the housings 52 and 54 and the terminal fittings 51 and 5 are provided within a range of the tolerance in order to absorb a tolerance in molding or assembly.
3 can be relatively displaced in a plane direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. However, the terminal fitting 5
Once the terminals 1 and 53 are fitted with each other, frictional resistance is generated due to the elasticity of the elastic contact portion 57 of the female terminal fitting 53. Thereafter, the housings 52 and 54 are connected by the terminal fittings 51 and 5 respectively.
3 cannot be relatively displaced in the direction along the contact surface.

[0004] Therefore, the terminal fittings 51, 5 are kept with the relative positions of the two housings 52, 54 shifted in the above direction.
If the fitting of the three is performed, the fitting of the housings 52 and 54 proceeds with the position being shifted, and as a result, the amount of compression of the rubber ring 55 on both side surfaces of the housings 52 and 54 is reduced. Different from each other, there is a possibility that the sealing performance is deteriorated in a portion where the compression amount is small, and in the worst case, one side of the rubber ring 55 is not compressed at all as shown in FIG.

After the terminal fittings 51 and 53 are fitted together, the elastic restoring force of the rubber ring 55 causes the two housings 52 and 53 to move.
The force in the direction to correct the positional deviation acts on the terminal 54, but the correction force by the rubber ring 55 is far smaller than the magnitude of the frictional resistance between the terminal fittings 51 and 53. When the metal fittings 51 and 53 are fitted to each other, the housing 5
It is not possible to correct the positional deviation between the 2,54. Such a problem is more remarkable as the number of fittings is larger.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to correct a positional deviation between housings in a direction intersecting with a fitting direction.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, according to the invention of claim 1, the terminal fittings supported by both housings are fitted together with the fitting operation of the pair of housings. A waterproof rubber connector having a ring-shaped rubber ring attached to one of the housings along the circumferential direction to be waterproof by being pressed between the other housing and the rubber ring.
From the tip position in the fitting direction to the other housing.
Project toward the peripheral surface of the other housing, and
Leader fitting set lower than sealing lip
A mating portion is provided, and at the time of the fitting operation of the pair of housings, before the terminal fittings start fitting with each other.
Elastic fit between the other housing and the leading fitting portion
And the leading fitting
When the other housing comes into contact with the joint portion, an elastic force is applied to the pair of housings so as to correct a relative positional relationship in a direction intersecting the fitting direction .
A tapered inclined surface is provided, and the rubber ring
The peripheral surface on the one housing side in
When one housing is not fitted,
The other housing is not in contact with the peripheral surface of the
A seal that is brought into close contact with the one housing when fitted
The feature is that the part is formed .

[0008]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the other housing starts elastically fitting to the rubber ring before the fitting of the terminal fittings starts. At this time, if the relative positions of the two housings in the direction intersecting the fitting direction are shifted, the relative positional relationship between the two housings is corrected by the elasticity of the rubber ring. After that, the fitting of the terminal fittings starts, and the two housings are fitted while maintaining the correct positional relationship.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the other housing is fitted with the rubber ring before the fitting of the terminal fittings is started, the positional displacement between the two housings is corrected. In the mating completed state, the compression amount of the rubber ring becomes uniform, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in sealing performance due to the non-uniform compression amount.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The waterproof connector of this embodiment includes a male housing 10, a female housing 20, and a waterproof rubber ring 30 mounted on the female housing 20.
Consists of The male housing 10 accommodates the male terminal fittings 11 in a plurality of cavities (not shown) provided therein, and has the male terminal fittings 11 in a hood portion 12 protruding forward.
The configuration is such that the tab at the tip of is protruded. This hood part 1
The positional relationship between the distal end of the female terminal 20 and the distal end of the male terminal fitting 11 in the front-rear direction is determined according to the positional relationship between the female terminal fitting 22 of the female housing 20 and the rubber ring 30 in the front-rear direction, as described later. Since the male and female housings 10 and 20 are fitted in the front-rear direction as described later, the front-rear direction will be referred to as a “fitting direction” in the following description.

The female housing 20 has a configuration in which female terminal fittings 22 are accommodated in a plurality of cavities 21 formed therein, and these female terminal fittings 22 are arranged so as to correspond to the male terminal fittings 11. The female terminal fitting 22 has an elastic contact piece 23, and when the male and female terminal fittings 11, 22 are fitted, the elastic contact piece 23 is elastically pressed against the tab of the male terminal fitting 11, With a predetermined contact pressure, both terminal fittings 11 and 22 are brought into an electrically conductive state.

The female housing 20 has a guide tube 24 projecting forward from the rear edge and surrounding the outer periphery of the female housing 20. The space between the inner circumference of the guide tube 24 and the outer circumference of the female housing 20 is a receiving space 25 that is opened forward.
The hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 is fitted into the housing 10 as the housings 10 and 20 are fitted. The guide tube 24 that forms the receiving space 25 guides the hood portion 12 so that the male and female terminal fittings 11 and
2 is designed to be able to be fitted in a regular positional relationship.
2 is set slightly larger than the size of the outer peripheral shape. As a result, the hood portion 12 can slightly move in the receiving space 25 in a direction perpendicular to the fitting direction, so that the displacement of the fitting position due to the dimensional tolerance can be absorbed.

The rubber ring 30 has an inner periphery on the female housing 2.
0 and one end face is in the receiving space 2.
5 is fitted in a state of contact with the receiving surface 26 at the rear end. The cross-sectional shape of the rubber ring 30 is symmetrical in the axial direction, so that the rubber ring 30 can be fitted into the female housing 20 with either end directed first. The axial direction of the rubber ring 30 corresponds to the male and female housings 10, 20.
Therefore, in the following description, the axial direction will also be referred to as the “fitting direction”.

The inner periphery of the rubber ring 30 is in wide contact with the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 to secure frictional resistance and prevent displacement in the fitting direction.
Anti-slip portions 31A, 31B, 31A and female housing 2
The two sealing portions 3 for ensuring high sealing performance by pressing in a line contact manner with a narrow width against the outer peripheral surface of the seal 3
2, 32 are provided alternately in the fitting direction.

On the other hand, on the outer periphery of the rubber ring 30, there are three lip portions 33B, which are elastically deformed so as to be crushed by the inner periphery of the hood portion 12 when the two housings 10, 20 are fitted.
33A, 33A are respectively the slip prevention portions 31B located at the center.
And two seal portions 32, 32. When the lip portions 33A, 33B, 33A are crushed, the anti-slip portion 31B and the seal portions 32, 32 are strongly pressed by the female housing 20.

Similarly, on the outer periphery of the rubber ring 30,
Two leading fitting portions 34, 34 located closer to the ends than the two lips 33A, 33B, 33A are formed.
The leading fitting portion 34 includes lip portions 33A, 33B, 33
Although the height is lower than A, it can be elastically deformed so as to be crushed when the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 is fitted.

The length and arrangement of the rubber ring 30 in the fitting direction are set as follows. That is, when the male and female housings 10 and 20 are fitted together, when the tip of the hood portion 12 starts fitting only into the leading fitting portion 34 on the near side (closer to the hood portion 12), the male terminal The tab of the metal fitting 11 does not reach the state of being pressed by the elastic contact piece 23 of the female terminal fitting 22, and the tab is pressed by the elastic contact piece 23 after the tip of the hood section 12 is fitted with the leading fitting section 34. It is supposed to be.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
When the two housings 10 and 20 are fitted, the first contact between the two housings 10 and 20 is performed by fitting the leading end of the hood portion 12 of the male housing 10 to the leading fitting portion 34 of the rubber ring 30. Will be When the hood portion 12 is fitted to the leading fitting portion 34, the leading fitting portion 34
The hood 12 is pressed outward by the elastic restoring force of the leading fitting portion 34 by being crushed at the inner periphery of the hood 12.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, there is a misalignment between the two housings 10 and 20 in a direction intersecting the fitting direction.
When m and the center Pf of the female terminal fitting 22 are misaligned, the leading fitting portions 34, 34 have different amounts of elastic deflection on both sides in the direction of the misalignment (left-right direction in the figure). As a result, the elastic restoring force proportional to the amount of elastic deformation also differs between the two leading fitting portions 34, 34. Therefore, the leading fitting portion 34 on the side with the larger amount of bending strongly presses the hood portion 12 outward. I do.

In this state, the male and female terminal fittings 11,
22 has not started fitting yet, and as described above, the hood 12 can be moved in the receiving space 25 in a direction intersecting the fitting direction. It is displaced relatively to the female housing 20 in a direction to correct the displacement by the elastic restoring force of the joint portion 34. As a result, the misalignment between the housings 10 and 20 is corrected, and the male and female terminal fittings 11 and 22 are positioned at the centers Pf and Pm.
Are matched. Then, as this misalignment is corrected, the amount of elastic bending of the leading fitting portions 34 on the left and right sides becomes the same as each other (see FIG. 2).

Thereafter, when the fitting of the housings 10 and 20 progresses, the male and female terminal fittings 11 and 22 are fitted while maintaining the centers Pf and Pm coincident as described above, and the male terminal is fitted. The tab of the metal fitting 11 is pressed by the elastic force of the elastic contact piece 23. After the tab is pressed by the elastic contact piece 23,
Because of the frictional resistance between the two, both terminal fittings 11 and 12
There is no possibility that the centers Pf and Pm are displaced between the two.
Accordingly, the fitting proceeds with the two terminal fittings 11 and 22 having the centers Pf and Pm aligned.

In the meantime, in the rubber ring 30, the hood portion 1 whose axis is aligned with the rubber ring 30 by correcting misalignment between the two housings 10 and 20.
2 are sequentially fitted to the lips 33A, 33B, 33A, and are elastically deformed such that the lips 33A, 33B, 33A are crushed. After the tab is clamped by the elastic contact piece 23, there is no possibility that the alignment between the hood portion 12 and the rubber ring 30 may be out of order. The fitting of the hood 12 and the rubber ring 30 proceeds while being maintained.

In the state where the fitting is completed as described above,
Since there is no misalignment between the hood 12 and the rubber ring 30, the leading fitting portion 34 and the lip portions 33A, 33B, 33A of the rubber ring 30 are uniformly bent, and the anti-slip portions 31A, 31B associated therewith. And the manner of pressing the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 by the seal portion 32 becomes uniform. Therefore, the seal between the inner periphery of the rubber ring 30 and the female housing 20 and the seal between the outer periphery of the rubber ring 30 and the hood portion 12 are uniformly performed, and a high waterproof function is exhibited.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the rubber ring 30 is mounted in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 has been described. However, in the present invention, the rubber ring is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder. It can also be applied when mounting.

(2) In the above embodiment, the case where the rubber ring 30 is mounted on the female housing 20 has been described.
The present invention can be applied to a case where a rubber ring is attached to a male housing.

(3) As another embodiment other than the above embodiment, a rubber ring 40 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 can be used. The rubber ring 40 is configured such that when the hood portion 12 is not fitted, the two seal portions 42 on the inner peripheral side leave a slight gap with respect to the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 (see FIG. 5). In the state where the part 12 is fitted, the seal parts 42, 42 are brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 while being elastically deformed (see FIG. 6). With this configuration, when the rubber ring 40 is mounted, the frictional resistance between the rubber ring 40 and the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 is reduced by the sealing portion 42.
Is reduced by the amount of no contact, so that the mounting work becomes easier. Further, in a state where the rubber ring 40 is elastically deformed by fitting with the hood portion 12, the contact area of the seal portion 42 with the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 20 is reduced and the contact pressure is increased as in the previous embodiment. Therefore, the sealing property is ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state before fitting according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which the male housing is fitted to a leading fitting portion of a rubber ring.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the fitting is completed.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a rubber ring.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a rubber ring according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state in which a rubber ring of another embodiment is elastically bent.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Male housing 11 ... Male terminal fitting 20 ... Female housing 22 ... Female terminal fitting 30 ... Rubber ring

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A ring-shaped rubber ring which is fitted to one of the housings along a circumferential direction while the terminal fittings supported by the two housings are fitted together with the fitting operation between the pair of housings. Is waterproofed by being pinched between the other housing and the rubber ring.
From the front end to the peripheral surface of the other housing.
And its height is set lower than the sealing lip.
Leading the fitting portion that is constant is provided during the connecting operation of the pair of housings, the terminal fittings to each other prior to the start of engagement of the other housings
And the other housing comes into contact with the leading fitting portion.
The elasticity that can correct the relative positional relationship of the pair of housings in a direction that intersects the fitting direction with respect to the pair of housings
A tapered inclined surface to be actuated, and the one housing in the rubber ring
The other peripheral housing is not fitted to the peripheral surface on the side
Is not in contact with the peripheral surface of the one housing, and
When the other housing is fitted, the one housing
A waterproof connector characterized in that a sealing portion is formed so as to be in close contact with the ring.