JP5290441B2 - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waterproof connector capable of preventing damage of a seal member and obtaining good sealability. <P>SOLUTION: A waterproof connector 1 comprises terminal fittings 2, 2 fixed to tips of electric wires 100, 100, a housing 3 for housing the terminal fittings 2, 2 inside, and a waterproof plug 4 for a connector sealing the housing 3. The waterproof plug 4 for the connector includes an elastically deformable seal member 4A having at least two elements 40A, 41A pressure-fitted and housed in the housing 3, and nipping and holding the electric wires 100, 100 in close contact with its outer periphery; and a hinge 4B coupling at least two elements 40A, 41A so that the seal member 4A can be developed and folded, and forming insertion holes 6, 6 for inserting the terminal fittings 2, 2 and inserting the electric wires 100, 100 between at least two elements 40A, 41A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waterproof connector, and more particularly to a waterproof connector provided with a waterproof plug for a connector that seals a housing that houses a terminal fitting.

  As a conventional waterproof connector, a terminal fitting fixed to the tip of an electric wire, a housing that accommodates the terminal fitting, a sealing member as a waterproof plug for sealing (liquid sealing) the housing, and the sealing member There is a thing provided with the holder which positions an inside of a housing and holds an electric wire (patent documents 1).

  The terminal fitting has a protrusion (stabilizer) for preventing reverse insertion and is locked in the housing.

  The housing has a locking portion for locking the terminal fitting, and a guide for guiding the stabilizer. The housing opens to the wire insertion side and the external terminal connection side, and a part of the wire, the seal member and the holder are put inside together with the terminal fitting. It is configured to accommodate.

  The seal member has an insertion hole into which the terminal fitting and the electric wire can be press-fitted, and is accommodated in a state of being pressed into the housing, and is entirely formed of a soft elastic material such as rubber.

  The holder has an insertion hole through which the electric wire is inserted, and is mounted in the housing. The seal member is pressed from the wire insertion side to the external terminal connection side to be positioned at a predetermined position when the holder is inserted into the housing.

  With the above configuration, the waterproof connector is assembled by inserting the sealing member into the housing from the opening on the electric wire insertion side and placing it at a predetermined position, and then placing the holder on the electric wire insertion side of the sealing member, and then the holder Insert the terminal fitting into the insertion hole of the seal member and the insertion hole of the seal member to insert the electric wire, engage the terminal fitting with the engaging portion in the housing, and then move the holder from the electric wire insertion side to the external terminal connection side. This is done by pressing the sealing member in the thickness direction.

  In this case, when the seal member receives a pressing force from the holder, the seal member compresses in the thickness direction and expands in a direction in pressure contact with the inner surface of the housing to seal the opening of the housing (opening on the electric wire insertion side). .

JP 2005-129460 A

  However, according to the conventional waterproof connector, when the electric wire is inserted into the insertion hole of the seal member, the stabilizer of the terminal fitting may be caught on the inner peripheral portion of the insertion hole of the seal member, damaging the seal member, and the sealing performance may be deteriorated. There is.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a waterproof connector that can prevent damage to a sealing member and thereby obtain a good sealing property.

[1] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there are provided a terminal fitting fixed to a tip portion of an electric wire, a housing for accommodating the terminal fitting therein, and a waterproof plug for connector for sealing the housing. The connector waterproof plug is press-fitted and accommodated in the housing, and has an elastically deformable seal member having at least two elements that sandwich and hold the electric wire and are in close contact with an outer peripheral surface thereof; and the seal member And a hinge that connects the at least two elements so as to be unfoldable and foldable, and that inserts the terminal fitting and inserts the electric wire therethrough to form a through hole between the at least two elements. Provide a connector.
[2] In the waterproof connector according to [1], each of the at least two elements includes a first seal surface that conforms to an inner surface of the housing, a second seal surface that conforms to an outer peripheral surface of the electric wire, A third seal surface connected to the second seal surface, and of the at least two elements, the third seal surface of one of the elements is provided with a recess, and the other element is fitted into the recess. It is characterized in that a convex portion is provided.

  According to the present invention, damage to the seal member can be prevented, and good sealing performance can be obtained.

The exploded perspective view shown in order to demonstrate the whole waterproof connector concerning an embodiment of the invention. The longitudinal cross-sectional view shown in order to demonstrate the whole waterproof connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a perspective view shown in order to demonstrate the attachment state of the electric wire with respect to the waterproof plug of the waterproof connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows the waterproof stopper of the waterproof connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate the assembly method of the waterproof connector which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

[Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the entire waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the entirety of the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views shown for explaining the state of attachment of the electric wire to the waterproof plug of the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows the deployed state of the waterproof plug, and FIG. 3B shows the folded state of the waterproof plug. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are perspective views showing a waterproof plug of the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows the deployed state of the waterproof plug, and FIG. 4B shows the folded state of the waterproof plug.

[Overall structure of waterproof connector]
1 and 2, a waterproof connector denoted by reference numeral 1 includes terminal fittings 2 and 2 that are caulked and fixed to the tip ends of the electric wires 100 and 100, a housing 3 that accommodates these terminal fittings 2 and 2, and The waterproof plug 4 that seals (liquid seals) the housing 3 and a holder 5 that holds the wires 100 and 100 by positioning the waterproof plug 4 in the housing 3 are mainly configured.

(Terminal bracket 2, 2 configuration)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal fittings 2 and 2 have protrusions (stabilizers) 2 </ b> A and 2 </ b> A for preventing reverse insertion, and are locked in the housing 3. The whole is formed of a conductive member such as metal.

(Configuration of housing 3)
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 3 opens to the wire insertion side and the external terminal connection side and accommodates part of the wires 100 and 100, the waterproof plug 4 and the holder 5 together with the terminal fittings 2 and 2. It has a space 3A and is entirely formed of an insulating member such as an epoxy resin. Locking portions 3B and 3B for locking the terminal fittings 2 and 2 and guides 3C and 3C for guiding the stabilizers 2A and 2A are arranged in the housing space 3A of the housing 3.

(Structure of waterproof plug 4)
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B and FIGS. 4A and 4B, the waterproof plug 4 includes a seal member 4A and hinges 4B, 4B,... (Three in this embodiment). The housing 3 is housed on the wire insertion side of the housing space 3A.

  The seal member 4 </ b> A has a pair of elements 40 </ b> A and 41 </ b> A that sandwich and hold the electric wires 100 and 100 and is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface thereof, and is accommodated in the housing 3 in a press-contact state. As a material of the seal member 4A (elements 40A and 41A), for example, a soft elastic material made of plastic rubber such as silicone rubber or acrylic rubber is used.

  The elements 40A and 41A are respectively provided on the first seal surfaces 400A and 410A adapted to the inner surface of the housing 3, the second seal surfaces 401A and 411A adapted to the outer peripheral surfaces of the electric wires 100 and 100, and the second seal surfaces 401A and 411A, respectively. It has the 3rd sealing surfaces 402A and 412A which connect, and the whole is formed of the curved body. Two second seal surfaces 401A and two second seal surfaces 411A are arranged on each of the elements 40A and 41A, and three third seal surfaces 402A and three third seal surfaces 412A are arranged on each of the elements 40A and 41A. .

  The element 40A is provided with convex portions 40a, 40a,... (Three in the present embodiment) that are located in the vicinity of the hinges 4B, 4B,... And project to the third seal surfaces 402A, 402A,. It has been. The element 41A is provided with concave portions 41a, 41a, 41a,... That fit into the convex portions 40a, 40a,. When the convex portions 40a, 40a,... Are fitted to the concave portions 41a, 41a,..., One element 40A is locked to the other element 41A.

  The first seal surfaces 400A and 410A are two substantially flat surfaces that are in pressure contact with the inner surface of the housing 3 in the accommodated state of the seal member 4A with respect to the housing 3, and a smooth curved surface that is interposed between the two substantially flat surfaces. Is formed. A plurality of protrusions 400a, 400a,..., 410a, 410a,... Are arranged integrally on the curved surfaces of the first seal surfaces 400A, 410A. Accordingly, the protrusions 400a, 400a,..., 410a, 410a,... Are in pressure contact with the inner surface of the housing 3 in the accommodated state of the seal member 4A with respect to the housing 3, so Sealing between the curved surfaces is effectively performed.

  The second seal surfaces 401A and 411A (both two) are formed by inner peripheral surfaces having substantially the same curvature as that of the outer peripheral surfaces of the electric wires 100 and 100. And in the accommodation state of the sealing member 4A with respect to the housing 3, each is comprised so that it may press-contact with each other via the electric wires 100 and 100. FIG.

  The third seal surfaces 402A and 412A (both three) are formed as substantially flat surfaces that face each other. And in the accommodation state of 4 A of sealing members with respect to the housing 3, each is comprised so that it may press-contact with each other.

  The hinges 4B, 4B,... Are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the width direction of the elements 40A, 41A, and are integrally provided at the wire insertion side ends of the elements 40A, 41A, and are formed by a flexible belt-like member as a whole. Has been. Then, the elements 40A and 41A are connected so that the seal member 4A can be unfolded as shown in FIGS. 3A and 4A and can be folded as shown in FIGS. 3B and 4B. It is configured as follows. Further, the hinges 4B, 4B,... Are configured to form insertion holes 6 and 6 between the elements 40A and 41A through which the terminal fittings 2 and 2 are inserted and the electric wires 100 and 100 are inserted. That is, the insertion holes 6 and 6 are arranged between two hinges 4B and 4B adjacent to each other among the hinges 4B, 4B,.

  The thickness of the hinges 4B, 4B,... Is set to be smaller than the thickness of the elements 40A, 41A. .. Between the hinges 4B and 4B adjacent to each other and the dimension between the elements 40A and 41A (hinge length) when the seal member 4A is deployed. The dimension is set such that the electric wires 100 and 100 can be inserted by inserting the terminal fittings 2 and 2 into the insertion holes 6 and 6, respectively, without damaging the member 4A and the hinges 4B, 4B,.

(Configuration of holder 5)
The holder 5 has insertion holes 5 </ b> A and 5 </ b> A through which the electric wire 100 is inserted, and is inserted into the housing 3 and attached. Then, the waterproof plug 4 in which the electric wires 100 and 100 are clamped and held in advance by the elements 40A and 41A when the holder 5 is inserted into the housing 3 and the terminal fittings 2 and 2 that are also fixed in advance to the tips of the electric wires 100 and 100 are provided. The housing 3 is configured to be pressed from the wire insertion side to the external terminal connection side and positioned at a predetermined position. The holder 5 is provided with a recess (not shown) for receiving the hinges 4B, 4B,.

[Assembly method of waterproof connector]
A waterproof connector assembling method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart shown for explaining a method of assembling the waterproof connector according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the method for assembling the waterproof connector shown in the present embodiment, the steps of “assembly of electric wire”, “positioning of waterproof plug”, and “assembly of terminal fitting” are sequentially performed. In addition, the terminal metal fittings 2 and 2 shall be crimped and fixed to the front-end | tip part of the electric wires 100 and 100, respectively.

"Assembly of electric wire"
First, the terminal fittings 2 and 2 are inserted into the insertion holes 5A and 5A of the holder 5, respectively, and the electric wires are inserted.

  Next, in a state where the sealing member 4A of the waterproof plug 4 is deployed in advance, the terminal fittings 2 and 2 are inserted into the insertion holes 6 and 6 between the elements 40A and 41A, respectively, and the electric wires 100 and 100 are inserted. , 100 are fitted and placed on the second seal surfaces 411A, 411A of the element 41A.

  Thereafter, the hinges 4B, 4B,... Are bent to fold the seal member 4A, and the electric wires 100, 100 are fitted to the second seal surfaces 400A, 400A of the element 40A, respectively, and the convex portions 40a, 40a,. Are fitted into the recesses 41a and 41a of the element 41A, respectively, and the element 40A is locked to the element 41A.

  In this case, when the element 40A is locked to the element 41A, the electric wires 100 and 100 are clamped and held by the elements 40A and 41A. For this reason, the second seal surfaces 411A and 411A of the element 41A and the second seal surfaces 401A and 401A of the element 40A are pressed against each other via the electric wires 100 and 100, so the second seal surfaces 401A and 401A and the second seal surfaces 411A and 411A are in close contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the electric wires 100 and 100, respectively. Further, the third seal surfaces 412A and 412A of the element 41A and the second seal surfaces 402A and 402A of the element 40A are in close contact with each other. Thereby, the electric wires 100 and 100 are assembled | attached (attached) with respect to 4 A of sealing members (waterproof stopper 4) (step S1 of FIG. 5).

"Positioning of waterproof plug"
The terminal fittings 2 and 2 are inserted into the housing 3 from the electric wire insertion side to the external terminal connection side, and the waterproof plug 4 in which the electric wires 100 and 100 are assembled is inserted into the seal member 4A in step S1 of FIG. It arrange | positions at the electric wire insertion side of the housing 3 (accommodating space 3A). In this case, when the waterproof plug 4 is arranged on the electric wire insertion side of the housing 3, the waterproof plug 4 is positioned in a surface direction perpendicular to the press-fitting direction (step S2 in FIG. 5).

“Assembling terminal fittings”
By inserting the holder 5 into the housing 3 and pressing the waterproof plug 4 from the electric wire insertion side toward the external terminal connection side, the holder 5 is moved together with the terminal fittings 2 and 2 and arranged at a predetermined position. In this case, the movement of the waterproof plug 4 is such that the first seal surface 400A (projections 400a, 400a,...) Of the element 40A and the first seal surface 410 (410a, 410a,. It is performed while maintaining the state. The terminal fittings 2 and 2 are moved by the guides 3C and 3C guiding the stabilizers 2A and 2A. When the waterproof plug 4 is disposed at a predetermined position, the terminal fittings 2 and 2 are assembled into the housing 3 by the locking by the locking portions 3B and 3B (step S3 in FIG. 5).

[Effect of the embodiment]
According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) When the waterproof connector 1 is assembled, the seal member 4A can be prevented from being damaged, and a good sealing property can be obtained.

(2) Since the elements 40A, 41A are connected by the hinges 4B, 4B,..., The waterproof plug 4 can be formed by a single piece as in the conventional case.

  As mentioned above, although the waterproof connector of this invention was demonstrated based on said embodiment, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, It implements in a various aspect in the range which does not deviate from the summary. For example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) In the present embodiment, hinges 4B, 4B,... Arranged in parallel in the element width direction are provided between the elements 40A, 41A, and two adjacent hinges 4B, 4B among the hinges 4B, 4B,. Although the case where the insertion holes 6 and 6 are provided has been described, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a single hinge may be provided between a pair of elements, and an insertion hole through which an electric wire is inserted may be provided.

(2) In the present embodiment, the second seal surface 401A of the element 40A and the second seal surface 411A of the element 41A are formed by an inner peripheral surface having substantially the same curvature as that of the outer peripheral surface of the electric wires 100 and 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening shape by the second seal surfaces of both elements may be, for example, a rectangular shape having an opening area smaller than the cross-sectional area of the electric wire.

(3) In the present embodiment, the case where the hinges 4B, 4B,... Are arranged at the wire insertion side end portions of the elements 40A, 41A has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the external terminal connection side You may arrange | position a hinge in an edge part (edge part on the opposite side to an electric wire insertion side edge part).

(4) In the present embodiment, the case where a pair of electric wires 100, 100 are arranged in parallel in the element width direction between the elements 40A, 41A has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more wires are provided. Of course, it is also possible to arrange the electric wires.

(5) In the present embodiment, the case where the elements 40A and 41A are two steps (one pair) in the element thickness direction in the folded state of the waterproof plug 4 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It may be an element having more than one stage. In this case, two adjacent elements among the plurality of elements are connected by a hinge so that the seal member can be folded in a zigzag shape.

(6) In the present embodiment, the case where the third seal surfaces 402A and 412A are each formed by a plane having the convex portion 41a and the concave portion 41a has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wavy shape You may form each 3rd seal surface with an uneven surface. In this case, in addition to forming each third seal surface with a wavy uneven surface, the outer peripheral surface of the covering portion of the electric wire may be formed with a wavy uneven surface.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Waterproof connector 2 ... Terminal metal fittings, 2A ... Protrusion (stabilizer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Housing, 3A ... Accommodating space, 3B ... Locking part, 3C ... Guide 4 ... Waterproof plug, 4A ... Seal member, 4B ... Hinge, 40A, 41A ... Element, 400A, 410A ... First seal surface, 401A, 411A ... 2nd sealing surface, 402A, 412A ... 3rd sealing surface, 40a ... Convex part, 41a ... Concave part, 400a, 410a ... Projection 5 ... Holder, 5A ... Insertion hole 6 ... Insertion hole 100 ... Electric wire

Claims (2)

A terminal fitting fixed to the tip of the wire;
A housing for accommodating the terminal fitting therein;
A waterproof plug for a connector for sealing the housing;
The waterproof plug for the connector is
An elastically deformable seal member that is press-fitted into the housing and has at least two elements that are clamped and held in close contact with the outer peripheral surface thereof;
A hinge that connects the at least two elements so that the seal member can be unfolded and folded, and has a hinge formed between the at least two elements for inserting the terminal fitting and inserting the electric wire therethrough. And waterproof connector. Each of the at least two elements includes a first seal surface that conforms to the inner surface of the housing, a second seal surface that conforms to the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire, and a third seal surface that is connected to the second seal surface. Have
The third seal surface of one of the at least two elements is provided with a concave portion, and the other element is provided with a convex portion that fits into the concave portion. The waterproof connector according to 1.

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