JP7601738B2 - Connector part having attachment structure for separate member - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector part, and more specifically, to a connector part having an attachment structure for a separate member.

JP Patent Publication No. 09-045433 discloses an example of a typical mounting structure for a movable connector that has a mounting structure for a separate member.

This mounting structure is for mounting a movable connector to a panel which is a separate component, and the panel is provided with a mounting hole which is opened larger than the outer dimensions of the movable connector's housing, thereby providing a gap between the housing and the movable connector for movable displacement, while the movable connector is provided with a flexible locking arm which is provided on the outer surface of the movable connector's housing and which locks onto the edge of the mounting hole so as to allow the movable connector to be displaced.
The locking arm protrudes from the rear of the housing in the insertion direction of the housing, and a locking claw is formed on the outer side of the tip of the locking arm. The locking arm is arranged with a gap between it and the outer surface of the housing and is flexible, so that it can be displaced in a plane perpendicular to the connector insertion direction. When the movable connector is inserted into the mounting hole, the tip of the locking arm passes through the mounting hole and the locking claw provided on the outer side of the tip locks with the mounting hole edge on the opposite side to the insertion direction, so that the movable connector is attached to the panel with a movable gap between it and the mounting hole.

However, in the typical connector structure disclosed herein, the movable connector is attached to the panel with a movable gap between it and the mounting hole, so the locking claw can be displaced relatively freely even after the connector is attached to the housing. As a result, when an impact is applied through a collision or the like, the locking claw may be accidentally displaced, easily causing the connector to be removed from the housing.

JP 09-045433

The object of the present invention is to provide a connector part that overcomes the above-mentioned drawbacks, and in particular, to provide a connector part having a first connector member and a second connector member that, once attached to another member, will not be inadvertently detached from the other member.

In order to solve the above problems, a connector part according to one aspect of the present invention is a connector part which is attached to another member and used, and which includes a first connector member and a second connector member, wherein the first connector member has a first housing having a mating recess, and a first terminal supported by the first housing, the second connector member has a second housing having a mating protrusion which is fitted into the mating recess, and a second terminal supported by the second housing, a hollow portion is formed inside the mating recess, into which the mating protrusion is inserted when the mating protrusion is fitted into the mating recess, and The peripheral wall of the first housing is provided with a locking portion which is elastically displaceable toward the inside of the hollow portion in a cross section perpendicular to the fitting direction of the fitting convex portion and the fitting recess, and which engages with a locking portion provided on the separate member when the first housing is attached to the separate member, and when the fitting convex portion is not fitted into the fitting recess, the locking portion is elastically displaceable in the cross section by utilizing the hollow portion, but when the fitting convex portion is fitted into the fitting recess, the elastic displacement toward the inside of the hollow portion is limited by the fitting convex portion located in the hollow portion.
According to the connector part of this aspect, the connector part can be attached to the separate member in two steps, and a connector part is provided which will not be inadvertently detached from the separate member.

The present invention provides a connector part having a first connector member and a second connector member, which, once attached to a separate member, cannot be inadvertently detached from the separate member.

1 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector part utilizing a connector part according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first connector member; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first connector member; 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first housing member. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second housing member. FIG. 8A is a front view of the seal member, and FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 8A. 11 is a perspective view of a sealing member and a second connector member; FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state in which the second connector member is fitted into the sealing member. FIG. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in Figure 10. 11 is a perspective view of the second connector member as viewed from the rear side. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first connector member and the second connector member in a connected state. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E of FIG. 13. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 14. 13 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the second connector member together with a cable attached to the second terminal. FIG. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating a method of attaching the waterproof connector part to the panel housing.

Below, exemplary embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, modes of use, and relative positions of components described in the following embodiments are arbitrary and can be changed according to the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied or various conditions. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments specifically described below.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a waterproof connector part 10 that uses a connector part according to one embodiment of the present invention. The waterproof connector part 10 of the present invention can be used, for example, for CAN communication on a bicycle, and in actual use, the waterproof connector part 10 is attached to a separate member from the waterproof connector part 10, for example, a panel housing of the bicycle (see "8" in Figure 17). The diameter of the waterproof connector part 10 is, for example, about 6 mm.

The waterproof connector part 10 includes a first connector member 20 and a second connector member 60. FIG. 1 shows the state before the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected. Note that FIG. 1 shows the second connector 6 connected to a molded member 69, rather than the second connector member 60 itself. However, the molded member 69 is not the second connector member 60, but an example of a member that can be attached to the second connector member 60 to accommodate a cable (see FIG. 16) or the like, and is not a component of the waterproof connector part 10 of the present invention. Similarly, the packing 3 attached to the first connector member 20 is not a substantial component of the waterproof connector part 10 of the present invention.

To connect the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60, a mating recess 23 is provided on the first housing 22 of the first connector member 20, and a mating protrusion 63 is provided on the second housing 62 of the second connector member 60 correspondingly. When connecting the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60, the mating protrusion 63 is mated with the mating recess 23 along the mating direction "α" from the opening side of the mating recess 23 toward the back side of the mating recess 23. As a result, the first terminal 21 provided on the first connector member 20 and the second terminal 61 provided on the second connector member 60 (see FIG. 10, etc.) come into contact, and the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are electrically connected.

2 shows an exploded perspective view of the first connector member 20, FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the same, FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of line A-A in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of line B-B in FIG. 4. The first connector member 20 includes a first terminal 21, a first housing 22 supporting the first terminal 21, and a seal member 50 provided inside the first housing 22. The first housing 22 further includes a first housing member, for example, a resin main case member 30, and a second housing member, for example, an assembly case member 40, which are assembled together along the fitting direction (α). FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the main case member 30, and FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the assembly case member 40. (a) of FIG. 6 and (a) of FIG. 7 are perspective views of the main case member 30 or the assembly case member 40 as viewed from the front side, and (b) of FIG. 6 and (b) of FIG. 7 are perspective views of the main case member 30 or the assembly case member 40 as viewed from the back side.

The main body case member 30 has a main body 32 that is generally cylindrical and has a bottom. It also has a generally cylindrical protrusion 36 that has a smaller diameter than the main body 32 and extends from the main body 32 on the side opposite to the side where the assembly case member 40 is assembled, and a terminal support portion 37 that extends from the generally cylindrical protrusion 36.

The end of the main body 32 is open on the side where it is to be assembled with the assembly case member 40. When assembling the first connector member 20, the assembly case member 40 is assembled to the main body case member 30 through this opening 38. When the main body case member 30 and the assembly case member 40 are assembled, the seal member 50 is placed inside the main body case member 30 using the main body case member 30 and the assembly case member 40. Then, by attaching the second connector member 60 to the main body case member 30, the seal member 50 is completely housed inside the waterproof connector part 10 with the exterior substantially covered.

The peripheral wall 33 of the main body 32 is provided with a notch 34 cut out from the edge on the side where the assembly case member 40 will be assembled, and a slit 35 cut out from the edge on the side where the assembly case member 40 will be assembled along the fitting direction (α). Furthermore, a locking hole 31 is provided in the middle of the circumferential direction between the notch 34 and the slit 35, penetrating the peripheral wall 33. These are used when assembling the main body case member 30 and the assembly case member 40.

The cylindrical protrusion 36 has two annular grooves. A waterproof packing 3 can be attached to the annular groove 36a. When the first connector member 20 is attached to a separate member (see "8" in FIG. 17), the packing 3 fills the gap between the separate member and the first connector member 20. Meanwhile, the annular groove 36b functions as a locking portion that locks the first connector member 20 to a specified portion of the separate member (see "81" in FIG. 17).

The terminal support portion 37 is used as a portion that supports the first terminal 21 that is installed in the first housing 22, and has grooves that correspond to the shape of the first terminal 21. These grooves are provided in a state that they are continuous with the through holes 32a for installing the first terminals 21.

The mounting case member 40 includes a cylindrical large diameter portion 42 and a small diameter portion 46. The large diameter portion 42 and the small diameter portion 46 communicate along the mating direction (α) and form a hollow portion 43 therein into which the mating protrusion 63 of the second connector member 60 is inserted when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected. The hollow portion 43 cooperates with the seal member 50 to form the mating recess 23 of the first housing 22.

The peripheral wall 46a of the small diameter portion 46 is provided with a protrusion 44 extending from the large diameter portion 42 along the mating direction (α) by utilizing the difference in diameter between the large diameter portion 42 and the small diameter portion 46. In addition, a locking portion 45 is provided at a position facing the protrusion 44 in a cross section (β-γ plane) perpendicular to the mating direction "α" that protrudes outward from the peripheral wall 46a of the small diameter portion 46 in the cross-sectional direction (β-γ direction). The locking portion 45 is provided so as to be elastically displaceable toward the inside of the hollow portion 43 in the cross-sectional direction (β-γ direction), and when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, it is locked to a predetermined portion of a separate member (see "85" in FIG. 17) and functions to fix the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60.

When the main case member 30 and the assembly case member 40 are assembled, the protrusion 44 is guided along the fitting direction (α) through the cutout 34 of the main case member 30. On the other hand, the locking portion 45 is guided along the fitting direction (α) through the slit 35 of the main case member 30. These functions allow the main case member 30 and the assembly case member 40 to be attached in the correct direction. A locking protrusion 41 protruding from the peripheral wall 46a is provided at the intermediate portion in the circumferential direction between the protrusion 44 and the locking portion 45. The locking protrusion 41 is used to fit into the locking hole 31 of the main case member 30 and fix the assembly case member 40 to the main case member 30 when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected. In addition, a locking hole 48 penetrating the peripheral wall 46a is provided at a position of the locking protrusion 41 close to the large diameter portion 42. The locking hole 48 is used to secure the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60.

The first terminals 21 are provided in a plurality, four in total in this embodiment. They all have the same size and shape, and are arranged along the mating direction (α) while being inserted into the through holes 32a provided in the main body case member 30. A locking protrusion 211 is provided in the middle of the first terminal 21 to fix the first terminal 21 to the through hole 32a. The tip side of the first terminal 21, i.e., the contact portion 210 with the second terminal 61, is formed in a rod shape and is provided in an exposed state inside the hollow portion 43 of the assembly case member 40, in other words, the mating recess 23 of the first housing 22. The rear end side 212 of the first terminal 21 is also provided in an exposed state, and is connected to a predetermined portion (not shown) of the separate member when the waterproof connector part 10 is attached to the separate member (see "8" in FIG. 17).

8(a) shows a front view of the seal member 50, (b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 8(a), and FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the seal member 50 and the second connector member 60. In FIG.
Furthermore, Figure 10 shows a side view of the state in which the second connector member 60 is inserted into the sealing member 50, Figure 11 shows a cross-sectional view along line D-D in Figure 10, and Figure 12 shows an oblique view of the second connector member 60 from the rear side.
Fig. 13 is a plan view of the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 in a connected state, Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in Fig. 13, and Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view taken along line F-F in Fig. 14. Figs. 13 to 15 correspond to Figs. 3 to 5 of the first connector member 20, respectively.

The seal member 50 is made of an elastically deformable material such as silicon or rubber, and includes a substantially cylindrical peripheral wall 50a and a substantially circular bottom wall 50b, and has an overall flat, bottomed, substantially cylindrical shape. At one end of the seal member 50, a recessed recess 54 is formed by utilizing the inner surfaces of the peripheral wall 50a and the bottom wall 50b. When the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the mating protrusion 63 of the second connector member 60 is mated with the mating recess 23 of the first connector member 20, and as a result, the substantially cylindrical portion 67, which is a part of the mating protrusion 63, is fitted into the recess 54. The inner surface of the recess 54, in other words, the inner surface of the peripheral wall 50a of the seal member 50, is provided with an annular inward protrusion 59 to fill the gap between the fitted substantially cylindrical portion 67 and the seal member 50.

The bottom surface of the recess 54 faces the end surface 64 of the cylindrical portion 67 on the mating side when the cylindrical portion 67 is fitted into the recess 54, and forms an opposing surface 55 that can abut at least a part of the end surface 64. This opposing surface 55 has a substantially circular shape in a cross section (β-γ plane) perpendicular to the mating direction (α). The opposing surface 55 has the same number of through holes 51 as the first terminals 21, that is, four in total, through which the first terminals 21 pass. These four through holes 51 are arranged point symmetrically with respect to the center 53 of the substantially circular opposing surface 55, and each through hole 51 has a reduced diameter portion 51a near the approximate center in the mating direction (α). The first terminals 21 can be pressed into and held in the through holes 51 by using these reduced diameter portions 51a.

The opposing surface 55 further has four annular protrusions 52 of the same size and shape, point-symmetrical with respect to the center 53 of the circle, corresponding to the through hole 51. These annular protrusions 52 have a tapered shape extending along the fitting direction (α) from the opposing surface 55 side toward the end surface 64 side, and are provided near the exit of the through hole 51 in a state where they tightly surround the periphery of the first terminal 21 that penetrates the through hole 51. In order to arrange more annular protrusions 52 in a limited space, the annular protrusions 52 are arranged inside the circle formed by the opposing surface 55, each inscribed in the circle. The annular protrusions 52 work together with the end surface 64 of the fitting convex portion 63 as described later to enhance the waterproof function. In addition to this, they also have the function of more effectively preventing insulation breakdown. That is, by providing the annular protrusion 52, the first terminals arranged in the through hole 51 have a larger creepage distance along the shape of the seal member 50. More specifically, by utilizing the mountain-shaped annular protrusion 52 having the inclined surface 52a, the first terminals are spaced apart from each other on the surface of the seal member 50 by, for example, the distance from the position "m" to the position "n" in FIG. 8B. Therefore, a larger creepage distance is provided than in the seal member made of a substantially planar soft elastic body as disclosed in Patent Document 1. Therefore, by providing the annular protrusion 52, it is possible to more effectively prevent dielectric breakdown.

The opposing surface 55 further has a dividing protrusion 56 that protrudes from the opposing surface 55 side toward the end surface 64 side along the mating direction (α) between the annular protrusions when the mating protrusion 63 is mated with the mating recess 23, and divides the annular protrusions 52. The dividing protrusion 56 extends radially in a substantially cross shape from the center 53 of the substantially circular opposing surface 55 so as to evenly divide the annular protrusions 52. By providing the dividing protrusion 56, the creeping distance between the first terminals 21 can be further increased. That is, the distance along the shape of the seal member 50 from the position "m" to the position "n" shown in FIG. 8(b) is increased by the amount of the ridge of the dividing protrusion 56. To increase the creepage distance, it is preferable that the dividing protrusion 56 be larger than the annular protrusion 52 and protrude from the opposing surface 55 toward the end surface 64, as shown in the figure.

The seal member 50 is installed on the bottom surface of the fitting recess 23 of the first housing 22, in other words, on the bottom surface 39 of the main body case member 30. In order to fix the seal member 50 to the main body case member 30, an annular outward protrusion 57 is provided on the outer surface of the peripheral wall 50a of the seal member 50. The seal member 50 is installed in the waterproof connector part 10 in a state where it is pressed into the main body case member 30 using this outward protrusion 57. The outer wall of the seal member 50 is further provided with an outward protrusion 58 at a position corresponding to the inward protrusion 59 in the fitting direction (α). When the approximately cylindrical portion 67 is fitted into the recessed portion 54 and the seal member 50 is expanded in diameter at the position where the inward protrusion 59 is provided, the outward protrusion 58 collides with the circumferential inner wall at the open portion 38 of the main body case member 30, and the seal member 50 is pressed more strongly against the main body case member 30, filling the gap between the seal member 50 and the approximately cylindrical portion 67. In this way, the outer protrusion 58 can cooperate with the inner protrusion 59 to enhance the prevention function.

The second connector member 60 includes a second terminal 61 and a resin second housing 62 that supports the second terminal 61. The second housing 62 includes a main body 68, a substantially cylindrical portion 67 including an end face 64 provided on one end side of the main body 68, and a terminal mounting structure (73) provided on the other end side of the main body 68. The second housing 62 substantially forms the mating protrusion 63 in its entirety. However, the mating protrusion may be formed by only a portion of the second housing 62. The main body 68 and the terminal mounting structure (73) are separated by a flange 71. As described with reference to FIG. 1, during actual use, the mounting structure (73) is inserted into the molded member 69 together with a cable, etc.

The main body 68 has an approximately cylindrical shape as a whole. The approximately cylindrical portion 67 is set to a diameter smaller than the main body 68. An outwardly protruding locking protrusion 68a is provided on the side of the main body 68. When the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the locking protrusion 68a fits into the locking hole 48 provided in the assembly case member 40 of the first connector member 20. As a result, the second connector member 60 is fixed to the first connector member 20. In addition, when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the flange 71 is abutted against the semi-annular surface 43a provided inside the hollow portion 43 of the first connector member 20. As a result, the second connector member 60 is positioned at a predetermined position of the first connector member 20 while being sandwiched between the locking protrusion 68a and the flange 71.

The end face 64 of the approximately cylindrical portion 67 is provided with annular recesses 65a that receive at least a part of the annular protrusion 52 of the opposing surface 55 when the sealing member 50 is in contact with the end face 64. The annular recesses 65a are provided at the corresponding positions of the annular protrusions 52 of the opposing surface 55, and the same number as the annular protrusions 52. These annular recesses 65a have a shape recessed from the opposing surface 55 side toward the end face 64 side, and also have a shape tapering in the same direction. The annular recesses 65a communicate with the terminal insertion hole 65 of the second housing 62 in which the second terminal 61 is arranged, and have the function of guiding the insertion of the contact portion 210 of the first terminal 21 provided in the first connector member 20 into the terminal insertion hole 65 when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected. The contact portion 210, guided by the annular recess 65a, comes into contact with the contact portion 610 of the second terminal 61 inside the terminal insertion hole 65 and is electrically connected.

When the mating convex portion 63 is further pressed into the mating concave portion 23, the annular recess 65a, with the first terminal 21 penetrating the terminal insertion hole 65, clamps the received annular protrusion 52 between itself and the bottom surface 39 of the mating concave portion 23, causing at least a portion of the annular protrusion 52 to elastically contract. This further narrows the gap with the first terminal 21 and improves adhesion with the annular protrusion 52. This elastic contraction improves the waterproof function. Furthermore, this configuration can more effectively prevent dielectric breakdown. By providing the annular recess 65a having a shape corresponding to the annular protrusion 52, the gap between the first terminals, i.e., the spatial distance, can be substantially eliminated, and therefore dielectric breakdown caused by the spatial distance can be prevented.

The end face 64 is further provided with a protrusion accommodating portion 66 extending radially in a substantially cross shape adjacent to the annular recess 65a in correspondence with the dividing protrusion 56 of the opposing face 55. The protrusion accommodating portion 66 has a shape recessed from the opposing face 55 side toward the end face 64 side, similar to the annular recess 65a, and can accommodate the dividing protrusion 56 when the end face 64 and the opposing face 55 abut. By providing the protrusion accommodating portion 66 adjacent to the annular recess 65a, the protrusion accommodating portion 66 can accommodate not only the dividing protrusion 56 but also a part of the annular protrusion 52. When the annular protrusion 52 is elastically contracted, a part of the annular protrusion 52 is wrinkled toward the center of the circle of the opposing face 55, but if this wrinkled part has nowhere to go, it may reduce the adhesion between the annular recess 65a and the annular protrusion 52. According to this configuration, this portion is accommodated in the protrusion accommodating portion 66, ensuring close contact. The protrusion accommodating portion 66 is sized to maintain the gap 66a even when the dividing protrusion 56 is accommodated, so that it can also accommodate a portion of the annular protrusion 52. By providing a similar gap 66b for the protrusion 56a provided on the opposite side of the opposing surface 55, it is possible to accommodate other wrinkled portions as well.

The second terminal 61 and the mounting structure of the second terminal 61 in the second housing 62 will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the second connector member 60 together with the cable 9 to be attached to the second terminal 61.

The second terminals 61 are provided in the same number as the first terminals 21, that is, four in total. They are all formed by punching a flat metal plate and have the same shape and size. The second terminals 61 formed as plate-like bodies are inserted into the through holes 65b provided in the second connector member 60 along the mating direction (α). In order to fix the second terminals 61 in the through holes 65b, a locking protrusion 611 is provided in the middle of the second terminals 61. Of these second terminals 61, the second terminal 61A is used as a ground terminal, while the remaining three second terminals 61B are used as signal terminals. The second terminal 61A used as a ground terminal is positioned in the second housing 62 slightly closer to the connection side with the first connector member 20 than the second terminal 61B used as a signal terminal. Positioning them in this way ensures that when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the second terminal 61A, which is a ground terminal, is connected to ground before the second terminal 61B, which is a signal terminal, makes a signal connection, thereby preventing noise.

A contact portion 610 that contacts the first terminal 21 is provided on the mating side of the second terminal 61 with the first connector member 20. The contact portion 610 is arranged inside the terminal insertion hole 65 that communicates with both the annular recess 65a and the through hole 65b provided in the end face 64 of the second housing 62, and is connected to the first terminal 21 inserted into the terminal insertion hole 65 inside the terminal insertion hole 65 through the end face 64. Furthermore, when the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the mating protrusion 63 is fitted into the mating recess 23, and the contact portion 210 of the first terminal 21 is guided to the terminal insertion hole 65 by the annular recess 65a provided in the end face 64 and contacts the second terminal 61 arranged in the through hole 65b. The contact portion 610 of the second terminal 61 has a two-point contact structure, and when the first terminal 21 and the second terminal 61 are in contact with each other, the contact portion 210 of the first terminal 21 is held in a state of being sandwiched between the contact portions 610a of the contact portion 610. A part 612 of the second terminal 61 on the side opposite to the mating side with the first connector member 20 is exposed from the second housing 62 along the mating direction (α) of the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 in a normal state, and more specifically, for example, before the mold member 69 is connected. The exposed portion 612 of the second terminal 61 is a portion that can be used as a connecting portion for attaching a cable, and at least a part of it is circumferentially surrounded by the wall 72 of the second housing 62. In order to facilitate the attachment of the core wire 91 exposed from the coating 92 of the cable 9, it is preferable to provide a through hole 613 in the exposed portion 612, which is a connecting portion. By providing the through hole 613, the core wire 91 can be securely fixed around the through hole 613 with a portion of the solder trapped in the through hole 613.

By providing the wall 72, a space 74 that accommodates at least a part of the exposed portion 612 is formed inside the wall 72. This space 74 may be further divided for each second terminal 61 by a partition plate 73 that protrudes on the side opposite to the mating side with the first connector member 20 and separates the rectangular portions 75 from each other. The partition plates 73 extend radially in four directions from the center 76a of a circle formed by the inner wall 72a of the wall 72 in a cross-sectional direction (β-γ direction) perpendicular to the mating direction (α) so as to evenly separate the second terminals 61 from each other. The second terminals 61 are arranged along the mating direction (α) with their plate surfaces aligned with these partition plates 73. When attaching the core wire 91 of the cable 9 to the exposed portion 612, the tip of the core wire 91 is inserted into the space 74 formed by using the wall 72, etc., so that the core wire 91 can be easily positioned at an appropriate position of the second terminal 61 and soldered.

With reference to Figure 17, a method of attaching the waterproof connector part 10 to a separate member, in this case, the panel housing 8, will be described. Of course, as long as the mechanism described below can be used, it can also be attached to a member other than the panel housing 8. This attachment is performed in two stages. In the first stage, the first connector member 20 is temporarily attached to the panel housing 8. After that, the second connector member 60 is attached to this first connector member 20. The following description will be given with reference to the drawings.

In order to attach the waterproof connector part 10, an insertion hole 83 is provided in the panel housing 8 along the fitting direction (α). First, the first connector member 20 is inserted into this insertion hole 83. The locking portion 45 provided on the assembly case member 40, which is a component of the first connector member 20, protrudes outward in a cross-sectional direction (β-γ direction) perpendicular to the fitting direction (α). However, when the first connector member 20 is inserted into the insertion hole 83, the fitting convex portion 63 is not fitted into the hollow portion 43 of the assembly case member 40 forming the fitting concave portion 23, so that the locking portion 45 can be freely elastically displaced in the cross-sectional direction (β-γ direction) perpendicular to the fitting direction (α) by utilizing the hollow portion 43. Therefore, the first connector member 20 is inserted into the insertion hole 83 without any problems. Then, when the insertion of the first connector member 20 into the insertion hole 83 is completed, as shown in Fig. 17 (b), the elastically displaced state of the locking portion 45 is released, and the locking portion 45 is locked into, for example, a locking hole 85, which is a locked portion provided on the inner wall of the panel housing 8. At the same time, an annular protrusion (another locked portion) 83b protruding inwardly and provided on the inner wall of the tip side of the panel housing 8 fits into an annular groove (another locking portion) 36b provided in the main body case member 30, which is a constituent member of the first connector member 20. The annular groove 36b is positioned further back in the fitting recess 23 than the hollow portion 43 in the fitting direction (α), and similarly, the annular protrusion 83b is positioned further back in the fitting recess 23 than the hollow portion 43 in the fitting direction (α). As a result, when the annular protrusion 83b is fitted into the annular groove 36b, even before the mating protrusion 63 is fitted into the mating recess 23, in other words, after the elastic displacement of the locking portion 45 toward the inside of the hollow portion 43 is restricted by the mating protrusion 63 located in the hollow portion 43, and even before it is restricted, the first connector member 20 is temporarily fixed in a stably state to the panel housing 8 at a front-to-rear position in the mating direction (α).

After the first connector member 20 is provisionally attached to the panel housing 8, the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected as shown in FIG. 17C . In other words, the fitting protrusion 63 is fitted into the fitting recess 23. By fitting the fitting protrusion 63 into the fitting recess 23, the hollow portion 43 of the fitting recess 23 is filled with the fitting protrusion 63. As a result, the elastic displacement of the locking portion 45 toward the inside of the hollow portion 43 is restricted by the fitting protrusion 63 located in the hollow portion 43. In this way, in the state where the first connector member 20 and the second connector member 60 are connected, the locking portion 45 cannot be elastically displaced, and therefore the waterproof connector part 10 is not easily released from the panel housing 8. When the waterproof connector part 10 is to be removed from the panel housing 8, the above steps must be reversed. That is, first, the first connector member 20 is removed from the second connector member 60, and then the first connector member 20 is removed from the panel housing 8. In this manner, by employing the above-described structure, it is possible to effectively prevent the waterproof connector part from being inadvertently removed from the panel housing 8 after it has been attached to a separate member.

Numerous modifications or other embodiments of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, with the aid of the teachings set forth in the above description, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of the present invention can be made without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms have been employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
For example, in the present embodiment, the waterproof connector has been described as an example, but the configuration of the present invention can also be applied to connectors other than waterproof connectors, such as electrical connectors.

9 Cable 91 Core wire 92 Coating 10 Waterproof connector part 20 First connector member 21 First terminal 210 Contact portion 22 First housing 23 Fitting recess 30 Main body case member (first housing member)
31: locking hole 32: body 32a: through hole 33: peripheral wall 36: cylindrical protrusion 36b: annular groove (another locking portion)
38: Storage recess 39: Bottom surface 40: Mounting case member (second housing member)
[0033] 41 Locking projection 45 Locking portion 50 Elastic seal member 51 Through hole 52 Annular projection 52a Inclined surface 54 Recessed portion 55 Opposing surface 56 Disconnecting projection 6 Second connector 60 Second connector member 61 Second terminal 610 Contact portion 612 Rear end side 62 Second housing 63 Fitting projection 64 End surface 65 Terminal insertion hole 65a Annular recess 66 Projection accommodating portion 66a Gap 68 Main body 72a Inner wall 73 Partition plate 74 Space 75 Rectangular portion 76 Circle 83b Annular projection (another locked portion)

Claims (4)

A connector component having a first connector member and a second connector member, the connector member being attached to another member,
The first connector member
a first housing having a mating recess;
a first terminal supported by the first housing;
The second connector member
a second housing having a mating protrusion adapted to be mated with the mating recess;
a second terminal supported by the second housing;
a hollow portion is formed inside the fitting recess, into which the fitting protrusion is inserted when the fitting protrusion is fitted into the fitting recess from an opening side of the fitting recess toward a back side of the fitting recess,
a locking portion is provided on a peripheral wall of the first housing, the locking portion being elastically displaceable toward an inside of the hollow portion in a cross section perpendicular to a fitting direction between the fitting protrusion and the fitting recess, and adapted to be locked to a locked portion provided on the separate member when the first housing is attached to the separate member,
the engaging portion is configured to be elastically displaceable in the cross section by utilizing the hollow portion when the engaging protrusion is not fitted into the engaging recess, but when the engaging protrusion is fitted into the engaging recess, the engaging portion is configured such that elastic displacement toward the inside of the hollow portion is restricted by the engaging protrusion located in the hollow portion ,
the first housing includes a first housing member and a second housing member assembled along the fitting direction,
The locking portion is provided on a peripheral wall of the second housing member so as to protrude outward in the cross section,
The first housing member is provided with a slit through which the engaging portion is guided along the fitting direction . a portion of the first terminal is exposed in a hollow portion of the fitting recess of the first housing along the fitting direction,
2. A connector part as described in claim 1, configured such that when the mating convex portion is mated with the mating concave portion, a portion of the first terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion hole of the second housing, so that the first terminal and the second terminal come into contact with each other. the separate member further includes another locked portion to which the first housing is locked, the another locked portion being positioned on the inner side of the fitting recess relative to the hollow portion in the fitting direction,
The connector part according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the first housing further has another locking portion that is positioned on the inner side of the fitting recess relative to the hollow portion in the fitting direction and that is adapted to lock onto the other locked portion. The connector component according to claim 1 , wherein the first connector member includes a seal member provided inside the first housing.

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