JPH07105248B2 - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to electrical connectors for electrical cables which are sealed at the cable end with a compliant sealing material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector of this kind is disclosed in US Pat.
55,171, 3,775,615, 3,
897,129, 4,634,207, 4,662,692 and 4,875,870 are known.

[0003]

While these connectors are useful in certain environments, they all suffer from one or more drawbacks and are not entirely satisfactory, especially for cables of multiple electrical connectors. Sealing the edges was not satisfactory.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical connector for electrical cables.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, the electrical connector of the present invention is characterized in that an end for a cable and an opening for a common cavity at the end for the cable are provided. A connector body having a plurality of terminal cavities; a plurality of electric terminals attached to an electric cable having a rear end portion located in a common cavity and located in each terminal cavity; and a cable of the connector body Is fixed to the connector body to seal the end portion, and includes an end wall, a first side wall, and a lip portion,
An end cap that forms a seal chamber with the end wall, the first side wall, and the lip; the seal chamber communicates with a common cavity of the connector body, and the end cap is fixed to the connector body. Contains a flexible sealing material to seal the cable end, and the lip of the end cap extends beyond the connector at the cable end of the connector body with the rear end of the electrical cable. It is separated from the connector body so that it can be taken out.

The present invention can provide improved means for sealing the cable end of an electrical connector when handling multiple electrical terminals and cables, for example. The present invention can also provide a means for sealing the cable end of an electrical connector with multiple terminals that is durable and easy to install.

The present invention provides an improved seal for sealing the cable end of an electrical connector which reduces the pulling force on the connection of the electrical terminal and allows the electrical terminal to be properly seated within the electrical connector. An improved electrical connector having means can be provided.

An end cap is provided that seals the cable end of the electrical connector and properly seats the electrical terminal within the electrical connector. The end caps can also reduce the pulling force on the connection of the electrical terminals.

The end caps are preferably simple snap-fit end caps.

The end cap has a chamber containing a flexible sealing material for sealing the cable end of the electrical connector. In one embodiment, the end cap does not have to be perforated or cut into the wall of the chamber containing the flexible sealing material to seal the cable end of the electrical connector. It has means that can be fixed to the electrical connector.

The end cap cooperates with the connector body of the electric connector to bend the electric cable in order to reduce the pulling force applied to the connecting portion of the electric terminal.

The end cap does not have any holes, cutouts, slits or the like to extend the electrical cable from the chamber containing the flexible sealing material for sealing the cable end of the electrical connector. Is composed of. Therefore, when connecting the end portion of the electric cable to the electric connector, it is not necessary to pass the cable through the hole or the like. In addition, the step of forming a hole or the like at the time of manufacturing the member can be omitted.

[0013]

1 is a perspective view of a socket 16 and a blade or pin terminal 18 projecting into the socket 16 of the present invention.
1 shows an electrical connector 10 connected to an electrical device 12, such as a temperature sensor, with an electrical connector 14 having

The electrical connector 10 includes a connector body 20, which includes a contact end 22, a cable end 24, and a plurality of connectors extending through the connector body from the contact end 22 to the cable end 24. And a terminal cavity 26. The plurality of electric terminals 28 attached to the electric cable 30 are located in the corresponding terminal cavities 26, and the rear end of the electric cable 30 extends from the terminal cavity 26 at the cable end 24 of the connector body 20. There is. The electrical terminals 28 are the front walls at the contact ends 22 of the connector body 20 and the terminals 28 as clearly shown in FIG.
With the latch shoulder portion in the terminal cavity that engages with the latch piece, the terminal cavity 26 is properly positioned and held.

The connector body 20 further includes the connector body 2
It has a cover 32 that fits over the connector 14 when the 0 is fitted into the socket 16. The shroud 32 comprises an inner conical portion 34 having a circular cross section and an outer oval portion 36. The inner conical portion 34 carries an elastomeric O-ring 38 which, when installed, exhibits a circular cross section.
The top of the connector 14 has an outer conical surface 40 that is inclined at substantially the same angle as the inner surface of the inner conical portion 34.
The elastomeric O-ring 38 is elastically deformed by the inner conical portion when the connector body 20 is fitted into the socket 16 as best shown in FIG. 1 to the outer conical surface 40 at the top of the connector 14. Seal it against.

The angle of inclination of the conical portion 34 and the conical surface 40 is preferably less than 45 ° so that the amount of compression of the elastomeric O-ring 38 is less than the longitudinal momentum of the mating connectors 10,14. . This ensures overlocking movement of the connector and rigidity of the O-ring material while allowing molding of the sealing surface of the connector in the usual way.

The outer oval portion 36 has inwardly directed latches 42 at its smallest diameter portion which engage locking nibs 44 of the electrical connector 14 to secure the electrical connector 10 to the electrical device 12. Lock.

The electrical connector 10 has an oval portion 3 of the cover 32.
By compressing 6 at its maximum diameter, it can be released and removed from socket 16 in the usual manner.

The electrical connector 10 also includes an end cap 46 that seals the cable end 24 of the connector body and properly positions and holds the electrical terminal 28 within the terminal cavity 26 for electrical connection. It is fixed to the connector body 20 in order to reduce the pulling force applied to the connecting portion of the terminal. For this, see Figures 1, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8 will be described in detail.

The connector body 20 includes a longitudinal hood 48 at the cable end 24 which defines a common cavity 50. The common cavity 50 communicates with the terminal cavity 26 and receives the protruding portion of the electric terminal 28 and the rear end of the electric cable 30 extending from the terminal cavity 26. The longitudinal hood 48 is U-shaped so that the bottom of the common cavity 50 opens as shown in FIG.
It has a letter-shaped cross section.

The connector body 20 has a partition wall 52 located between each set of adjacent terminal cavities 26, the partition wall extending partially into the common wall 50 to accommodate the protruding portion of the electrical terminal 28. Isolate from each other. Connector body 20
Also provided below the terminal cavity 26 is an anvil 54 that extends partially transverse to the terminal cavity 26 into the common cavity 50. The anvil 54 includes an end cap 46, as best seen in FIG.
When is fixed to the connector body 20, the rear end of the electric cable 30 is bent substantially perpendicular to the terminal cavity 26. The connector body 20 further includes a separator 56 located below the anvil 54 to separate the right angled rear ends of the electrical cables 30 from each other. The separator 56 projects rearward and downward from the cable end 24 of the connector body 20 and extends into the open space at the bottom of the U-shaped hood 48.

The anvil 54 and the separator 56 form a channel 57 below the anvil 54 that completely surrounds each rear end of the electrical cable 30, as described below.

The end cap 46 includes an end wall 58 and an end wall 58.
Has an outer side wall 60 integrally attached to the outer edge of the outer side wall and an inner side wall 62 that is a first side wall integrally attached to the end wall 58 inside the outer side wall 60. The inner side wall 62 is the outer side wall 6
Apart from 0, the longitudinal hood 48 of the connector body 20 is adapted to fit between the inner side wall 62 and the outer side wall 60, as best seen in FIGS. Thus, when installed, the outer sidewall 60 on the end cap 46 allows the longitudinal hood 48 of the connector body 20 to
Of the inner side wall 62 is located on the outside of the longitudinal hood 48.

The end cap 46 further includes a lip 64 integrally attached to the lower edge of the end wall 58 and the lower ends of the inner and outer side walls 62, 60. The lip 64, the inner sidewall 62 and the outer sidewall 60 cooperate to seal the cable end of the electrical connector 10 when the end cap 46 is secured to the connector body 20 as best shown in FIGS. A seal chamber 66 is defined that contains a compliant seal material 68.

The compliant seal material 68 is manufactured by Dow Corning Corporation of the United States.
on) “Sylgard 527” (Sylgard 5
It is preferably a silicon dielectric gel such as 27). This material is especially a two-component transparent silicone encapsulant (encapsu) that retains, seals and protects electrical properties.
lant). Depending on the desired hardness and cure speed,
The two components of the silicon dielectric gel may be mixed in various proportions.

An end cap 46 containing the compliant sealing material is secured to the hood 48 of the connector body 20 by snap-type retaining means which retains the end cap 4.
6 locking shoulder 70 and longitudinal hood 4 cooperating therewith
8 protruding nibs 72. End cap 4
6 pushes the end cap 46 onto the end of the hood 48 with thumb pressure and snap-fits the locking nib 72 to engage it beyond the locking shoulder 70, It is fixed to the longitudinal hood 48. Locking shoulder 7
The 0 is formed as part of the outer sidewall 60 by molding a slot in the outer sidewall 60 that extends from the end wall 58 to the enlarged rim 74 of the outer sidewall 60. This shape is easy to mold, but more importantly,
The position of the locking shoulder 70 on the outer sidewall 60 is to maintain the integrity of the seal chamber. In other words, the end cap 4
6 is secured to the electrical connector 10 by a locking shoulder without any holes or cutouts in the wall of the sealing chamber, thus preventing unnecessary loss of sealing material or sticky end caps due to tampering In particular, the flow of flexible seal material 68 for sealing the cable end of electrical connector 10 is controlled and constrained when the end cap is installed. Further, the longitudinal hood 48 of the connector body 20 and the end cap 4
Due to the close proximity to the inner side wall 62 of 6, the flexible sealing material 68 is arranged to completely fill the end of the terminal cavity 26 and especially around the rear end of the cable 30 in the region of the channel 57. Push in.

When the end cap 46 is fixed to the connector body 20, the lip portion 64 is separated from the connector body 20 and is positioned below the separator 56, and the electric cable 30
The right-angled rear end of the connector can extend from the common cavity 50 at the cable end of the connector body 20 and the seal chamber 66. Further, the separator 56 and the lip portion 64
The shape is selected such that they cooperate with each other to bend the rear end bent at a right angle to the contact end 22 of the connector body 20 in the reverse direction as clearly shown in FIG. The reversely bent shape of the rear end portion of the electric cable 30 provides an excellent effect of reducing the tensile force applied to the connecting portion of the electric terminal.

Referring to FIG. 7, the end cap 46 is
EI DuPont De Nemours & Company (EI DuPont Nenmours a
It is preferably made of a rigid plastic material such as "Hytrel", a block copolymer of glycol (soft segment) and polyester PTB from ndCompany. The end caps 46 are molded into the shape of a strip in which a series of end caps 46 are integrally attached to a carrier strip 76 for ease of handling during manufacturing. The strip is then delivered to the fill position where it is placed in the sealing chamber 66 and the flexible sealing material 6
Fill 8. If a sealing material such as Silicon Dielectric Gel Silguard 527 is used, the two components are mixed and poured into the sealing chamber 66 in the liquid state and the end cap 46
Allow to cure in. The end cap 46 is then separated from the carrier strip 76 and attached to the connector body 20.

An end cap 46 having a seal chamber 66 filled with a cured seal material 68 is shown in FIG. This end cap 46 is then pushed over the end of the longitudinal hood 48 at the cable end of the connector body 20. When the end cap 46 is fixed in place,
5, the sealing material 68 closes the open end of the terminal cavity 26 and encloses the end portion of the electrical terminal 28 and the rear end of the electrical cable 30. The channels 57 located between the anvil 54 and the separator 56 ensure that each rear end of the electrical cable 30 is completely surrounded and surrounded by the sealing material.

The amount of sealing material 68 that is initially injected into the end cap 46 and hardens completely seals the end of the terminal cavity 26 and terminates the end of the electrical cable 30 within the end cap 46 and the rear. Sufficient to surround the edges. The amount of sealant is preferably such that the sealing material escapes between the lip 64 and the connector body 20 with little or no escape from the end cap 46.

The end cap 46 for sealing the cable end of the electrical connector 10 cannot be secured to the electrical connector unless the electrical terminal 28 is properly seated within the terminal cavity 26. The reason is that the end wall 58 cooperating with the anvil 54 is so close as to bend the rear end of the cable 30 at a right angle.

Accordingly, the snap-on end cap 46 not only seals the cable end of the electrical connector 10 but also ensures that the electrical terminal 28 seats properly within the electrical connector.

Conventionally, in this type of electric connector, when connecting a plurality of electric wires, the electric wires were held by connecting the electric wires through holes formed in the constituent members of the connector. In the invention, as described above, the lip portion 64 of the end cap is separated from the connector main body so that the rear end of the electric cable 30 can extend out of the connector at the cable end of the connector main body. When connecting the end of the electric wire to the electric connector, it is not necessary to pass the electric wire 32 through the hole or the like. Also, the step of forming a hole or the like can be omitted when manufacturing the member of the present invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an embodiment of an electric connector.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an end view of the electrical connector taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 1 (with the end cap removed).

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a manufacturing process of an end cap for the electric connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 6;

8 is a cross-sectional view of the end cap taken along line 8-8 of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Electrical Connector 20 Connector Body 24 Cable End 26 Terminal Cavity 28 Electric Terminal 30 Electric Cable 46 End Cap 50 Common Cavity 52 Partition Wall 54 Anvil 56 Separator 58 End Wall 60 Outer Side Wall 62 Inner Side Wall (First Side Wall) ) 64 lip portion 66 sealing chamber 68 compliant sealing material 70 locking shoulder

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-64-63282 (JP, A)

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An electrical connector having a connector body (20) having a cable end (24) and a plurality of terminal cavities (26) opening into a common cavity (50) at the cable end. A plurality of electric terminals (28) attached to an electric cable (30) having a rear end located in the common cavity and located in each of the terminal cavities (26); It is fixed to the connector body to seal the cable end, and the end wall (58) and the
1 side wall (62) and lip (64)
On the wall (58), the first side wall (62) and the lip (64)
The end cap (4 forming more seal chamber (66)
6); and the sealing chamber (66) communicates with the common cavity (50) of the connector body, and the cable end portion is secured when the end cap is fixed to the connector body. A flexible sealing material (68) for sealing the electric cap, the lip portion (64) of the end cap being
The rear end of the cable (30) is a cable of the connector body.
The front end of the connector so that it can be extended out of the connector.
An electrical connector characterized by being separated from the connector body . 2. The connector body includes a separator (56) extending into the common cavity for separating the rear ends of the electric cables from each other, the separator (56) including the first side wall (62). ) And the lip portion (6
The electrical connector according to claim 1 , wherein the electrical connector is located between the electrical connector and the electrical connector. 3. The lip portion (64) is for connecting an electrical terminal.
An electrical connector according to claim 2 , characterized in that it cooperates with the separator (56) so as to bend the rear end of the electric cable in order to reduce the tension exerted on the connecting part . 4. The connector body has an anvil extending transversely of the terminal cavity (26) within the common cavity (50), the terminal when the end cap is secured to the connector body. electrical connector according to any one of claims 1, characterized in that so as to bend the rear portion of substantially right angle with said electrical cable to use the cavity 3. Wherein said end cap (46) is, according to one of the four claims 1, characterized in that it has a fixing means for fixing the end cap to the connector body (70) Electrical connector. Wherein said end cap has an outer sidewall (60), said first side wall (62) is positioned between said and said outer side wall common cavity (50), the said outer sidewall The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , further comprising fixing means (70) for fixing the end cap to the connector body. 7. The electrical connector of claim 6 wherein said securing means (70) of said outer sidewall (60) provides a snap connection on said connector body. 8. The end wall (58) of the end cap (46) is proximate to the cable end of the connector body (20) to ensure accurate positioning of the electrical terminals (28). The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the electrical connector is located at a position. 9. The partition body (52) positioned between each pair of adjacent terminal cavities extending into the common cavity for separating the protruding portions of the adjacent electric terminals from each other by the connector body. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , further comprising: 10. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the malleable seal materials was gel sealant. The method according to claim 11, wherein said malleable seal materials, claims 1, characterized in that said end cap has a silicon dielectric gel that cures by a seal chamber of the end cap before fixing to the connector body 10 The electrical connector according to any one of 1.