JP2024111663A - connector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connector which can prevent damage and so forth of a locked part of a housing when assembling a sealing member to the housing.SOLUTION: A connector 1 comprises: a terminal 30 connected to an end of an electric wire 50; a housing 10 having a terminal housing chamber 14; and a sealing member 20, fitted to the electric wire 50, which is assembled to the housing 10 in a manner of sealing the terminal housing chamber 14. The sealing member 20 has: a seal member 22 inserted into the terminal housing chamber 14; and a holder 21 provided with a locking protrusion 23 which is locked to a locked part 13 of the housing 10. The locked part 13 has a deformation assisting shape in which the locked part 13 becomes easily bent when the locking protrusion 23 climbs over the locked part 13 along an assembling direction to a locking side at the time of assembling the sealing member 20 to the housing 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, connectors have been proposed that include a terminal to be connected to the end of an electric wire, a housing having a terminal receiving chamber, and a sealing member (sealing assembly) that is attached to the electric wire and assembled to the housing to seal the terminal receiving chamber. One conventional connector has a seal member and a holder as the sealing member, and is configured so that when these are inserted into the terminal receiving chamber, the locking portion of the holder locks into the locked portion of the housing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-57603 A

In conventional connectors, in order to seal the terminal accommodating chamber, the locking portion of the holder needs to be locked to the locked portion of the housing while the seal member is housed in the terminal accommodating chamber. As a result, there is an upper limit to the length that can be set for the locked portion of the housing in the direction in which the sealing member is attached to the housing, and the locked portion tends to have rigidity (i.e., is difficult to elastically deform). In other words, when the sealing member is attached to the housing, specifically when the locked portion climbs over the locking portion, there is a risk that the locked portion may be damaged.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a connector that can prevent damage to the locked portion of the housing when assembling the sealing member to the housing.

To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the connector of the present invention has the following features:

A terminal to be connected to an end of the electric wire;
a housing having a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating the terminal;
a sealing member attached to the electric wire and assembled to the housing so as to seal the terminal accommodating chamber;
A connector comprising:
The sealing member is
a seal member inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber;
a holder provided with a locking projection that is locked to a locked portion of the housing,
The engaged portion is
a deformation assisting shape that facilitates bending of the locked portion when the locking projection overcomes the locked portion along the assembly direction during assembly of the sealing member to the housing;
It is a connector.

According to the connector of the above configuration, the locked portion of the housing has a deformation assist shape. As a result, unlike conventional connectors that have rigidity (i.e., are difficult to bend), the locked portion of the connector of the above configuration is more likely to bend when the locking protrusion of the holder in the sealing member overcomes the locked portion toward the locking side along the assembly direction when the sealing member is assembled to the housing. As a result, damage to the locked portion of the housing can be prevented when the sealing member is assembled to the housing.

The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following description of the embodiment of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the housing (partially enlarged). FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part B in FIG. FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 of a connector according to another embodiment. FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 of the connector shown in FIG.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

For ease of explanation, the following definitions are used to refer to "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," and "bottom," as shown in FIG. 1, etc. The "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," and "up-down direction" are mutually orthogonal. The front-rear direction corresponds to the "assembly direction" of the present invention, and the up-down direction corresponds to the "crossing direction" of the present invention.

<General configuration of connector 1>
The following is a description of the schematic configuration of the connector 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the connector 1 is composed of a housing 10 having a terminal accommodating chamber 14, a sealing member 20 that is attached to an electric wire 50 and assembled to the housing 10, a terminal 30 that is connected to an end of the electric wire 50 and accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 14, and a spacer 40 that prevents the terminal 30 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 14 from coming loose. The connector 1 is configured to be able to mate with a mating connector (not shown) along the front-rear direction.

<Housing 10>
The housing 10 will be described below. As shown in Figures 3 and 5, the housing 10 integrally comprises a substantially cylindrical housing main body 11 and a substantially rectangular tubular hood portion 12 that covers the front end of the housing main body 11 and extends forward from the housing main body 11. As shown in Figures 4 to 5, walls 11a extending in the left-right direction are provided on both vertical side surfaces in the rear region in the front-rear direction of the housing main body 11. As shown in Figures 4 to 5, latched portions 13 are provided on both vertical side surfaces at the rear end of the housing main body 11, respectively, corresponding to the walls 11a. The latched portions 13 are latched with latching projections 23 of the sealing member 20.

The pair of vertically interlocking portions 13 have the same configuration, except that they are arranged in the opposite directions in the vertical direction. Below, only the upper interlocking portion 13 (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "interlocking portion 13") will be described in detail, and a detailed description of the lower interlocking portion 13 will be omitted.

As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the locked portion 13 is integrally formed with a pair of side walls 13a extending rearward from the upper wall 11a of the housing body 11 and spaced apart in the left-right direction, and a double-supported beam-like locked piece 13b bridging the upper ends of the rear ends of the pair of side walls 13a. In this example, when the sealing member 20 is assembled to the housing 10, the locked piece 13b is formed in an arc shape that curves convexly downward (toward the locking protrusion 23 of the sealing member 20, which will be described later) as a "deformation assist shape" that makes it easier for the locked piece 13b to bend when the locking protrusion 23 of the sealing member 20 passes forward over the locked piece 13b, as will be described later. In other words, the locked portion 13 is formed in a roughly M-shape by the pair of side walls 13a and the locked piece 13b when viewed from the rear.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the housing body 11 is formed with a terminal accommodating chamber 14 into which the terminal 30 is inserted from the rear. As shown in Figure 5, the terminal accommodating chamber 14 is formed to open forward and communicate with the hollow portion 15 of the hood portion 12 in the front-rear direction. When the connector 1 and the mating connector are mated, a mating terminal (not shown) is inserted into the hollow portion 15.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a rotation restriction recess 16 is provided on each of the left and right side surfaces of the rear end of the housing body 11, which is recessed from rear to front. When the sealing member 20 is assembled to the housing 10, a rotation restriction protrusion 24 of the sealing member 20, which will be described later, is inserted into the rotation restriction recess 16 (see Figure 2).

<Sealing member 20>
The sealing member 20 will now be described. As shown in Fig. 3, the sealing member 20 has a substantially cylindrical rear holder 21 and an annular seal member 22 that is attached to the front of the rear holder 21. The rear holder 21 and the seal member 22 (i.e., the sealing member 20) are attached to the electric wire 50 and inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14 of the housing 10, and then assembled to the housing 10 (see Fig. 5).

On both vertical side surfaces of the rear holder 21, there are provided locking projections 23 that protrude radially (vertically) outward from the rear holder 21 in correspondence with the locking pieces 13b of the housing 10. The locking projections 23 are locked to the locking pieces 13b of the housing 10.

On both left and right side surfaces of the rear holder 21, there are provided rotation restriction protrusions 24 that protrude radially (left and right) outward from the rear holder 21 in correspondence with the rotation restriction recesses 16 of the housing 10. When the sealing member 20 is assembled to the housing 10, the rotation restriction protrusions 24 are inserted into the rotation restriction recesses 16, thereby restricting the rotation of the sealing member 20 relative to the housing 10 (see also FIG. 2).

The seal member 22 is a known seal member such as a packing made of elastic synthetic resin. As shown in Figures 3 and 5 to 6, the seal member 22 is assembled to the rear holder 21 and is in adjacent contact with the rear holder 21 in the front-rear direction. The seal member 22 has the function of blocking and sealing the terminal accommodating chamber 14 of the housing 10.

<Terminal 30>
The terminal 30 will be described below. As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal 30 integrally includes a connection portion 31 to be connected to a mating terminal and a crimping portion 32 for crimping the electric wire 50. The crimping portion 32 includes a first crimping piece 33 for crimping the conductor core wire 51 of the electric wire 50 and a second crimping piece 34 for crimping the insulating coating 52 of the electric wire 50 (see Figs. 3 and 5). The terminal 30 is a known terminal made of a conductive metal.

<Spacer 40>
The spacer 40 will now be described. The spacer 40 is a known spacer, and is configured to be displaceable between a temporary locking position and a full locking position with respect to the housing 10. The spacer 40 is configured to allow the terminals 30 to be inserted and removed from the terminal accommodating chambers 14 in the temporary locking position, and to prevent the terminals 30 from being inserted and removed from the terminal accommodating chambers 14 in the full locking position (i.e., to prevent the terminals 30 from coming out).

<Assembly procedure of each component constituting the connector 1>
The following describes the procedure for assembling the components constituting the connector 1. First, the terminal 30 is connected to the front end of the electric wire 50 that has been subjected to terminal processing, and the sealing member 20 is attached to the electric wire 50 (see FIG. 3). The position at which the sealing member 20 is attached to the electric wire 50 is preferably a position where the locking projection 23 corresponds to the locked portion 13 of the housing 10, or a position behind the above-mentioned position.

Next, the terminal 30 connected to the electric wire 50 is inserted from the rear into the terminal receiving chamber 14 of the housing 10. Next, the spacer is assembled from the front of the housing 10 to the temporary locking position, and then the spacer 40 is displaced to the full locking position. This prevents the terminal 30 from coming out of the terminal receiving chamber 14.

Next, the sealing member 20 is assembled from the rear of the housing 10. First, the sealing member 20 is brought close to the housing 10, and the seal member 22 and rear holder 21 (i.e., the sealing member 20) are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14. When the sealing member 20 begins to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14, the rotation restriction protrusion 24 of the rear holder 21 enters (is inserted into) the rotation restriction recess 16 of the housing 10, positioning the sealing member 20 relative to the housing 10 and guiding the assembly of the sealing member 20 to the housing 10. Note that the rotation restriction protrusion 24 is inserted into the rotation restriction recess 16, restricting the rotation of the sealing member 20 relative to the housing 10.

As the sealing member 20 continues to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14, the locking projection 23 of the rear holder 21 abuts against the locked piece 13b of the housing 10. In this state, as the sealing member 20 continues to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 14, the locking projection 23 slips into the radially inner side of the locked piece 13b (the lower side of the upper locking projection 23, and the upper side of the lower locking projection 23). This causes the locked piece 13b to bend and deform radially outward (the upper side of the upper locked piece 13b, and the lower side of the lower locked piece 13b). Specifically, the approximately left-right center of the locked piece 13b (the apex of the arc shape) bends so as to be lifted radially outward.

When the locking projection 23 passes over the locked piece 13b forward, the locked piece 13b recovers from its bending deformation and returns to its initial position, and the locking projection 23 locks onto the front edge of the locked piece 13b (see Figures 5 and 6). This completes the assembly of the sealing member 20 to the housing 10, completing the connector 1 (see also Figures 1 and 2). Note that the order of the steps in the above assembly procedure is not limited to that described above.

When the sealing member 20 is attached to the housing 10, the sealing member 22 and rear holder 21 are disposed in the rear region of the terminal accommodating chamber 14, and the outer peripheral surface of the sealing member 22 is pressed into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 14, preventing the intrusion of liquids and the like from the rear of the terminal accommodating chamber 14. In other words, the terminal accommodating chamber 14 is sealed by the sealing member 20.

In order to seal the terminal accommodating chamber 14, as described above, the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 22 must be pressed into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating chamber 14. In other words, the seal member 22 must be inserted and accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 14, which places an upper limit on the length that can be set in the front-rear direction in the locked portion 13 of the housing 10. As a result, in conventional connectors, the length of the locked portion in the front-rear direction is short, and the locked portion tends to have rigidity (i.e., is difficult to bend). In some conventional connectors, the locked portion is formed in a shape that follows the outer peripheral shape of the housing, making it difficult for the locked portion to bend and deform. In other words, in conventional connectors, there is a risk that the locked portion may be damaged when the sealing member is assembled to the housing, specifically, when the locked portion passes over the locking portion.

In contrast, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the locked portion 13 of the housing 10 has a "deformation assist shape," i.e., the locked piece 13b is formed in an arc shape that curves so as to be convex toward the locking projection 23 in the vertical direction, making the locked portion 13 more flexible and resolving the above problem. In other words, when the sealing member 20 is assembled to the housing 10, damage to the locked portion 13 of the housing 10 can be prevented.

Furthermore, in the connector 1 of this embodiment, the engaging portion 13 is more flexible, and therefore the resistance when the engaging protrusion 23 overcomes the engaging portion 13 is smaller than in conventional connectors, making it easier to assemble the sealing member 20 to the housing 10.

<Other forms>
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the material, shape, size, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be achieved, and are not limited.

In the above embodiment, the locked portion 13 is composed of a pair of side walls 13a and a double-supported beam-shaped locked piece 13b. Alternatively, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the locked portion 13 may be composed of a cantilever-shaped locked arm 17 extending rearward from the wall 11a and a locking hole 18 provided in the locked arm 17. In this case, as a "deformation assist shape", the locked arm 17 is formed into a flat plate shape extending in the front-rear direction. This makes it easier for the locked arm 17 to bend when the locking protrusion 23 of the sealing member 20 passes forward over the rear edge 17a of the locking hole 18 in the locked arm 17 when the sealing member 20 is assembled to the housing 10. Specifically, by forming the locked arm 17 into a flat plate shape, the locked arm 17 is easier to bend than when it is formed into a curved arc shape that is convex radially outward (the opposite side to the locking protrusion 23 in the vertical direction). As a result, damage to the locked portion 13 of the housing 10 can be prevented when the sealing member 20 is attached to the housing 10.

The assembly of the sealing member 20 to the housing 10 is the same as in the above embodiment, so it will be explained briefly. In the middle of the assembly of the sealing member 20 to the housing 10, the locking projection 23 of the rear holder 21 abuts against the rear edge 17a of the locked arm 17 of the housing 10. In this state, if the insertion of the sealing member 20 into the terminal accommodating chamber 14 is continued, the locking projection 23 slips into the radially inner side of the locked arm 17 (the lower side in the case of the upper locking projection 23, and the upper side in the case of the lower locking projection 23). This causes the locked arm 17 to bend and deform radially outward (the upper side in the case of the upper locked arm 17, and the lower side in the case of the lower locked arm 17). Then, when the locking projection 23 passes over the locked arm 17 forward and is positioned inside the locking hole 18, the locked arm 17 recovers from its bending deformation and returns to its initial position, and the locking projection 23 is locked to the front end edge of the rear edge 17a of the locked arm 17 (see FIG. 8). This completes the assembly of the sealing member 20 to the housing 10.

Here, the features of the above-mentioned embodiments of the connector according to the present invention are briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [3].

[1]
A terminal (30) to be connected to an end of the electric wire (50);
a housing (10) having a terminal receiving chamber (14) for receiving the terminal (30);
a sealing member (20) attached to the electric wire (50) and assembled to the housing (10) so as to seal the terminal accommodating chamber (14);
A connector (1) comprising:
The sealing member (20) is
a seal member (22) inserted into the terminal receiving chamber (14);
a holder (rear holder 21) provided with a locking projection (23) that is locked to the locked portion (13) of the housing (10);
The engaged portion (13) is
a deformation assisting shape that facilitates bending of the locked portion (13) when the locking projection (23) passes over the locked portion (13) to the locking side (forward) along the assembly direction (front-rear direction) during assembly of the sealing member (20) to the housing (10);
Connector (1).

According to the connector having the configuration [1] above, the locked portion of the housing has a deformation assist shape. As a result, unlike conventional connectors that have rigidity (i.e., are difficult to bend), the locked portion of the connector having the above configuration is more likely to bend when the locking protrusion of the holder in the sealing member overcomes the locked portion to the locking side along the assembly direction when the sealing member is assembled to the housing. As a result, damage to the locked portion of the housing can be prevented when the sealing member is assembled to the housing.

[2]
In the connector (1) described in the above [1],
The engaged portion (13) is
The locking member has a pair of side walls (13a) and a double-supported beam-shaped locking piece (13b) bridging the pair of side walls (13a), and the locking piece (13b) is formed in an arc shape curved toward the locking projection (23) in a direction (vertical direction) intersecting the assembly direction as the deformation assist shape.
Connector (1).

According to the connector of the configuration [2] above, the locking piece is formed into an arc shape that curves toward the locking protrusion in a direction intersecting the assembly direction as a deformation assist shape. This allows the deformation assist shape to be realized with a simple structure, and prevents damage to the locking part of the housing when the sealing member is assembled to the housing.

[3]
In the connector (1) described in the above [1],
The engaged portion (13) is
The locking projection (23) has a locking hole (18) in which the locking projection (23) is locked, and a cantilever-shaped locked arm (17) in which the locking hole (18) is provided, and the locked arm (17) is formed into a flat plate shape extending in the assembly direction as the deformation assist shape.
Connector (1).

According to the connector of the configuration [3] above, the locking arm is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the assembly direction as a deformation assist shape. This allows the deformation assist shape to be realized with a simple structure, and prevents damage to the locking part of the housing when the sealing member is assembled to the housing.

1 Connector 10 Housing 13 Locked portion 13a Side wall portion 13b Locked piece 14 Terminal accommodation chamber 17 Locked arm 17a Rear edge 18 Locking hole 20 Sealing member 21 Rear holder (holder)
22 Sealing member 23 Locking projection 30 Terminal 40 Spacer 50 Electric wire

Claims (3)

A terminal to be connected to an end of the electric wire;
a housing having a terminal accommodating chamber for accommodating the terminal;
a sealing member attached to the electric wire and assembled to the housing so as to seal the terminal accommodating chamber;
A connector comprising:
The sealing member is
a seal member inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber;
a holder provided with a locking projection that is locked to a locked portion of the housing,
The engaged portion is
a deformation assisting shape that facilitates bending of the locked portion when the locking projection overcomes the locked portion along the assembly direction during assembly of the sealing member to the housing;
connector. 2. The connector according to claim 1,
The engaged portion is
a pair of side walls and a double-supported beam-shaped engaging piece bridging the pair of side walls, the engaging piece being formed as an integral part of the pair of side walls, the engaging piece being formed as an arc-shaped piece curving toward the engaging projection in a direction intersecting the assembly direction as the deformation assist shape;
connector. 2. The connector according to claim 1,
The engaged portion is
a locking hole in which the locking projection is locked, and a cantilever-shaped locked arm in which the locking hole is provided, and the locked arm is formed in a flat plate shape extending in the assembly direction as the deformation assist shape,
connector.

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