JP2003068392A - Water-proof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water-proof connector of a low cost in which an electric- wire support cover which supports an electric wire and a housing are not dam aged for perfect water resistance, while the number of mold parts is minimum. SOLUTION: A water-proof connector 1 comprises a housing 10 which, receiving a terminal connected to the end of an electric wire W, is provided with a plurality of terminal housing chambers 11 extending axially, and an electric- wire support cover 20 which, disposed on the electric-wire drawn side of the housing 10, supports the electric wire W. The electric-wire support cover 20 is integrally molded with the housing 10 through a connection part 29 on the electric-wire drawn side. After the terminal is housed in the terminal housing chamber 11, the connection part 29 is broken, and the electric-wire support cover 20 is shifted in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal housing chamber 11 and disposed at a prescribed position on the electric-wire drawn side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof connector used for connecting electric wires to each other in a wire harness for an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, among electric connectors used for connecting electric wires in an automobile wire harness or the like, a waterproof means is provided for a wire connection at a place where raindrops or washing water may splash. The waterproof connector is adopted. As this waterproof connector, for example, the one shown in FIG. 6 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-164101) and FIG. 7 (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-289057) is known.

Among them, the waterproof connector shown in FIG. 6 has an opening 102 for allowing a terminal T to which an electric wire W is connected to enter.
And a housing 101 having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers (not shown), and two waterproof walls 103 and 107 for preventing water from entering through the opening 102. The waterproof walls 103 and 107 are provided with notches 106 and 11 for inserting electric wires.
Shields 104, 108 having 0 to close the opening 102
And a hinge 105 that connects the shields 104 and 108 to the housing 101 so as to open and close the opening 102,
And 109. The waterproof walls 103 and 107 are configured such that the shields 104 and 108 are opened and closed in different directions, and when the opening 102 is closed, they overlap with each other and close the gaps formed by the wire insertion notches 106 and 110. The waterproof walls 103 and 107 have notches 106 and 110 for wire insertion when the opening 102 is closed.
The inner edge of the wire contacts the outer circumference of the electric wire W to support the electric wire W. Further, a locking opening 112 is formed in the side wall 111 of the waterproof wall 107 that overlaps with the outer side, and the locking opening 112 is a locking projection formed on a side portion of the housing 101 when the opening 102 is closed. It is adapted to be locked to 113.

As described above, by connecting the shields 104 and 108 to the housing 101 via the hinges 105 and 109, the waterproof walls 103 and 107 are connected to the housing 1.
01, the number of parts is small, the assembling work is simple, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, the waterproof connector shown in FIG.
A housing 201 having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 202 for receiving the terminals T connected to the ends of the terminals, and each terminal accommodating chamber 20.
2, a waterproof plug 203 made of an elastic material such as rubber having sealing insertion holes 204, and each sealing insertion hole 204.
And a resin waterproof plug holding cover 205 mounted on the housing 201. The waterproof plug 203 and the waterproof plug retainer cover 205 are integrally molded to form a seal portion 208, and an elastic wire holding portion 207 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 206 of the waterproof stopper retainer cover 205. There is. The waterproof plug pressing cover 205 holds the electric wire W by the electric wire holding portion 207, so that when the electric wire W is bent and tension is generated in the electric wire W,
It has a function of reducing tension acting on the sealing portion of the waterproof plug 203. Therefore, after housing the terminal T,
Even if the electric wire W is bent, the waterproofness of the waterproof plug 203 does not deteriorate.

[0005]

However, these conventional waterproof connectors have the following problems. That is, in the case of the waterproof connector shown in FIG. 6, since the shielding portions 104 and 108 supporting the electric wire W are connected to the housing 101 via the hinges 105 and 109 having a relatively thin thickness, the connector is manufactured or used. Inside the hinge 10
There is a risk that the shields 104 and 109 may fall off due to breakage of the shields 5 and 109. Particularly, in the case of the shielding portion 104 that overlaps with the inside and is not locked with respect to the housing 101, the hinge 10
There was a great risk of falling off due to breakage of No. 5. Shield plate 10
When 4 is dropped, not only can water be prevented from entering through the opening 102, but also the wire W cannot be supported.

Further, in the case of the waterproof connector shown in FIG. 7, a waterproof plug holding cover 205 for supporting the waterproof plug 203 and the electric wire W is provided.
Since and are integrally molded, the number of parts is small. However, it is costly to form the waterproof plug 203 that requires injection molding of a different material (elastic material such as rubber) to the waterproof plug pressing cover 205 made of resin, and it is difficult to manufacture the waterproof connector at low cost. Met.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to perform waterproofing completely without fear of damage to an electric wire support cover and a housing for supporting an electric wire, and to form a molded part. An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof connector which can be manufactured at a low cost with the minimum number of points.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a waterproof connector according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a plurality of axially extending terminal accommodating terminals for receiving terminals connected to ends of electric wires. A waterproof connector including a housing having a chamber and an electric wire support cover for supporting the electric wire, the electric wire support cover being disposed on an electric wire lead-out side of the housing, wherein the electric wire support cover has a connecting portion on the electric wire lead-out side. Is integrally molded with the housing, and after the terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, the connecting portion is broken, and the electric wire support cover is moved in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber. It is characterized in that it is arranged at a predetermined position on the wire lead-out side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the waterproof connector according to the first aspect of the invention, the broken connection portion on the housing side engages with the electric wire support cover, thereby supporting the electric wire. The cover is locked at the predetermined position.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B show a state of a waterproof connector according to the present invention before accommodating terminals, FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from the back side, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of an arrow A portion of FIG. Figure 2
Shows a state after the terminals of the waterproof connector according to the present invention are accommodated, (A) is a perspective view seen from the rear side, and (B) is an enlarged view of a portion indicated by an arrow A in (A). FIG. 3 shows a waterproof connector according to the present invention, (A) is a plan view, (B) is a front view,
(C) is a bottom view. FIG. 4 shows a waterproof connector according to the present invention, (A) is a right side view, (B) is a left side view,
(C) is a rear view. However, in FIGS. 1 to 4, the electric wires and the terminals connected to the electric wires are omitted. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the electric wire, the waterproof plug, the terminal accommodating chamber, and the electric wire support cover.

1 to 4, the waterproof connector 1
Includes a housing 10 and an electric wire support cover 20 arranged on the electric wire lead-out side (front side in FIG. 1) which is the rear side of the housing 10. Where the housing 10
2 rows of terminal accommodating chambers 11 for receiving terminals (not shown) crimped to the ends of the electric wires W (see FIG. 5) are formed so as to penetrate in the front-back direction (axial direction). An elastic lance 12 having a cantilever shape is formed in the accommodation chamber 11. A lock member 13 is formed on the upper surface of the housing 10 for mating with a mating connector (not shown), and the lower part of the housing 10 on the wire lead-out side is for locking the mating connector. Gripping part 14 when releasing
Are formed to project. When crimping and connecting the terminal to the end of the electric wire W, at the same time, the waterproof plug 30 made of an elastic material such as rubber shown in FIG. 5 was crimped around the electric wire W to accommodate the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber 11. At times, the waterproof plug 30 enters the gap between the outer peripheral wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 11 and the electric wire W to prevent water from entering from the outside. Waterproof plug 30
Is formed of a tubular body having an electric wire insertion hole 31 therein,
A plurality of protrusions 32 that press the outer peripheral wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 11 at the time of accommodation are formed on the outer periphery.

In addition, before the terminals are accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 11, the electric wire support cover 20 is connected to the terminal accommodating chamber from the housing 10 via the connecting portion 29 on the wire lead-out side of the housing 10, as shown in FIG. It is formed integrally with the housing 10 in a state of protruding rightward (rightward in FIG. 1) orthogonal to the axial direction of 11. The housing 10 and the electric wire support cover 20 are integrally molded by molding an insulating synthetic resin.

After the terminals are accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 11, the wire support cover 20 is broken in the connecting portion 29 as shown in FIG. And is arranged at a predetermined position on the wire lead-out side. When the electric wire support cover 20 is located at the predetermined position, the electric wire support cover 20 enters the gap 15 formed between the terminal housing chamber forming surface 18 on the electric wire lead-out side of the housing 10 and the rear end portion 17 of the housing 10. The rear end portion 17 of the housing 10 has an electric wire support cover 2 described later.
The opening 16 in which the 0 ridge 28 can be placed is formed.

The wire support cover 20 has a rectangular base portion 21 extending in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber 11,
The rectangular base portion 21 has two rows of wire insertion holes 22 formed at the same pitch as the terminal accommodating chamber 11. Each wire insertion hole 22 comes to a position corresponding to the terminal accommodating chamber 11 when the wire support cover 20 is arranged at the predetermined position. Then, two rows of elongated holes 23 are formed from the left end of the rectangular base 21 to the electric wire insertion hole 22 located on the rightmost side. Each long hole 23 passes the electric wire W connected to the terminal when the electric wire support cover 20 is moved to the left direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber 11 after accommodating the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber 11. It has the function of A guide slope 23a that facilitates passage of the electric wire W is formed at the left end on the open side of each elongated hole 23. Around the wire insertion hole 22 and the elongated hole 23, a raised portion 28 protruding rearward from the rectangular base portion 21 is formed.

A grip portion 24 for moving the wire support cover 20 is formed on the right end side of the rectangular base portion 21,
The left end side of the rectangular base portion 21 is a thin-walled portion 25 that is thinner than the rectangular base portion 21. The connecting portion 29 is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the thin portion 25. As best shown in FIG. 1 (B), the connecting portion 29 includes a substantially mountain-shaped first connecting portion 29a protruding from the thin portion 25 side and a substantially mountain-shaped second connecting portion 29b protruding from the housing 10 side. Connected and configured. When the electric wire support cover 20 is moved, when the grip portion 24 is gripped and the cover 20 is pressed in the left direction, the connection point between the first connecting portion 29a and the second connecting portion 29b in the thin portion is broken. Has become. Further, locking projections 27 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces on the right side of the rectangular base portion 21, respectively. Long holes 26 are formed below the upper locking protrusions 27 and above the lower locking protrusions 27, respectively, so that the beam portion between the locking protrusions 27 and the long holes 26 can be easily bent. Has become. When the electric wire support cover 20 is further moved to the left after the connection point between the first connecting portion 29a and the second connecting portion 29b is broken, as shown best in FIG. Broken housing 1
The electric wire support cover 20 is arranged at the predetermined position where the electric wire support cover 20 is located at a position beyond the second connecting portion 29b on the 0 side. The broken second connecting portion 29b on the housing 10 side is located between the locking protrusion 27 of the wire support cover 20 and the step portion 24a formed to the right of the locking protrusion 27. Therefore, even if the wire support cover 20 is moved to the right, the locking protrusion 27 engages with the second connecting portion 29b to prevent the wire from coming off. When the wire support cover 20 is moved leftward, the second connecting portion 29b comes into contact with the stepped portion 24a, and the movement thereof is restricted. The leftward movement restriction of the electric wire support cover 20 is also performed by abutting both ends 24b of the grip portion 24 of the electric wire support cover 20 and the side surface 10a of the housing 10. As described above, since the wire support cover 20 is locked at the predetermined position by using the broken second connecting portion 29b of the housing 10, the wire support cover 20 can be locked at the predetermined position with an inexpensive structure. You can stop.

Next, a method of assembling the waterproof connector 1 will be described. To assemble the waterproof connector 1, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the terminal connected to the end of the electric wire W is housed in the terminal housing chamber 11 of the housing 10 together with the waterproof plug 30. Then, the waterproof plug 30 can enter the gap between the outer peripheral wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 11 and the electric wire W and prevent water from entering from the outside.

Next, the grip portion 24 of the electric wire support cover 20.
When the cover 20 is pressed and the cover 20 is pressed in the left direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber 11, the first connecting portion 29 of the thin portion is pressed.
The connection point between a and the second connecting portion 29b is broken, and the electric wire support cover 20 is further moved to the left. Then, the locking protrusion 27 is located at a position where it has passed over the broken second connecting portion 29b on the housing 10 side, and the second connecting portion 29b is located between the locking protrusion 27 of the wire support cover 20 and the step portion 24a. The electric wire support cover 20 is located at a predetermined position. This completes the assembly of the waterproof connector 1.

When the wire support cover 20 is arranged at a predetermined position, the wire insertion hole 22 of the wire support cover 20 is located at a position corresponding to the terminal accommodating chamber 11, and each wire W is shown in FIG.
It is supported by the wire insertion hole 22 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the electric wire W bends and a tension is generated in the electric wire W, the tension acting on the sealing portion of the waterproof plug 30 can be reduced, and therefore even if the electric wire W bends after the terminals are accommodated. The waterproof plug 30 does not deteriorate the waterproofness.
Further, in the wire support cover 20, the wire insertion hole 22 and the elongated hole 23 are formed with a raised portion 28 projecting rearward from the rectangular base portion 21. Therefore, when the wire W is bent, the bend is formed. The point can be far away from the waterproof plug 30, and the tension acting on the sealing portion of the waterproof plug 30 can be further reduced.

Further, after the electric wire support cover 20 is arranged at a predetermined position, there is no risk of damage to the electric wire support cover 20 and the housing 10. Therefore, waterproofing by the waterproof plug 30 can be performed completely. Further, since the housing 10 and the electric wire support cover 20 are integrally molded via the connecting portion 29, the number of molded parts can be minimized, and further, the housing 10 and the electric wire support cover 2
Since 0 is formed by molding the same synthetic resin, the waterproof connector 1 can be manufactured at low cost.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and changes can be made. For example, the terminal accommodating hole 11 formed in the housing 10 and the electric wire insertion hole 22 formed in the electric wire support cover 20 are not limited to two rows, but may be other than that.

[0021]

As described above, according to the waterproof connector according to the first aspect of the invention, the wire support cover is integrally formed with the housing through the connecting portion on the wire lead-out side, and the terminal is accommodated in the terminal. After accommodating in the chamber, breaking the connection part,
Since the wire support cover is moved in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber and placed at the predetermined position on the wire lead-out side, after the wire support cover is placed in the predetermined position, the wire support cover and the housing are not damaged. There is no fear, and waterproofing with a waterproof plug can be performed completely. Further, since the housing and the electric wire support cover are integrally molded via the connecting portion, the number of molded parts can be minimized, and the waterproof connector can be manufactured at low cost.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the waterproof connector according to the first aspect, wherein the broken connecting portion on the housing side engages with the electric wire support cover. Since the wire support cover is locked at the predetermined position, the wire support cover can be locked at the predetermined position with an inexpensive structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a waterproof connector according to the present invention before accommodating terminals, FIG. 1A is a perspective view seen from the rear side, and FIG. 1B is an enlarged view of an arrow A portion of FIG.

2A and 2B show a state of the waterproof connector according to the present invention after accommodating terminals, FIG. 2A is a perspective view seen from the rear side, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of an arrow A portion of FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a waterproof connector according to the present invention, (A) is a plan view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a bottom view.

FIG. 4 shows a waterproof connector according to the present invention, (A) is a right side view, (B) is a left side view, and (C) is a rear view.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the relationship between an electric wire, a waterproof plug, a terminal accommodating chamber, and an electric wire support cover.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional waterproof connector.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another conventional waterproof connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Waterproof connector 10 housing 11-terminal housing room 20 wire support cover 24a step 27 Locking protrusion 29 Connection 29a First connection part 29b Second connection part W electric wire

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Noboru Yasuda             3-5-8 Kumamoto, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture               Tyco Electronics Amplifier Stock             In the company F-term (reference) 5E021 FA05 FA08 FB09 FB20 FC02                       FC40 GB06                 5E087 EE02 EE14 FF13 JJ05 LL03                       LL13 LL17 MM05 QQ04 RR12                       RR29

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A terminal for receiving a terminal connected to an end of an electric wire,
In a waterproof connector including a housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers extending in the axial direction and an electric wire support cover for supporting the electric wire, the electric wire support cover being disposed on an electric wire lead-out side of the housing, It is formed integrally with the housing on the wire lead-out side via a connecting portion, and after housing the terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber, the connecting portion is broken and the electric wire support cover is arranged in the axial direction of the terminal accommodating chamber. A waterproof connector, wherein the waterproof connector is moved in a direction orthogonal to each other and is arranged at a predetermined position on the wire lead-out side. 2. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the broken connection portion on the housing side engages with the electric wire support cover to lock the electric wire support cover at the predetermined position. .