JP2007059153A - Connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow reduction in the number of components, even when a connector with high vibration resistance is substituted. <P>SOLUTION: This connector 10 is provided with both male and female connectors M and F that are mutually fittable. The one-side connector M out of them is used as a male connector M provided, on the circumferential surface, with thickened parts 15 projecting in a direction of crossing the fitting direction of both the connectors M and F. For the other-side connector F, a female connector H with high vibration-resistance having abutting parts 44 that interfere with the thickened parts 15 in fitting both the connectors M and F to each other and a standard female connector S having an escape part 60 passing the thickened part 15 without interference in fitting both the connectors M and F to each other are prepared. Since the female connector H, with high vibration resistance and the standard female connector S, can be used arbitrarily and separately as a fitting counterpart of the male connector M, the number of components can be reduced. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector.

Conventionally, a highly vibration-resistant connector has been used in a place that is strongly affected by vibration, for example, in an engine room of an automobile (for example, see Patent Document 1). This type is equipped with a built-up part on one of the two connectors, and when the two connectors are fitted, the built-up part is crushed by the other connector to prevent rattling between the two connectors. Like to do.
JP-A-9-102357

  By the way, if you try to divert one connector to a place where there is little influence of vibration (a place where high vibration resistance is not required), a large mating resistance caused by crushing of the built-up part between the other connector There is a problem that workability is poor.

  Therefore, in order to improve workability for a connector used in a place where high vibration resistance is not required, it is necessary to prepare a connector having a relatively low fitting resistance, that is, not having a built-up portion. As a result, it is necessary to prepare a connector having a built-up portion and a connector not having a build-up portion, and there is a tendency that the cost increases due to an increase in the number of parts.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the number of parts even when diverting a high vibration resistance connector to a place where high vibration resistance is not required. And

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes both male and female connectors that can be fitted to each other, and one of the connectors intersects the fitting direction of the two connectors on the wall surface. The first connector is provided with a built-up portion protruding in the direction, and the other connector is provided with an abutting portion that interferes with the built-up portion when fitting with the first connector and generates a fitting resistance. The second connector and the third connector provided with a relief portion that allows the build-up portion to pass through non-interference when fitted to the first connector are characterized in that they are configured to be selectively used. .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the second connector and the third connector include a housing main body that accommodates a terminal fitting, and an outer peripheral surface of the housing main body extends along a circumferential direction. The seal ring is attached to the housing body of the third connector, and the seal ring has only a portion compressed in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the two connectors, and the housing of the second connector The seal ring attached to the main body is configured to include a portion compressed in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the two connectors and a portion compressed in the fitting direction of the two connectors. Has characteristics.

<Invention of Claim 1>
According to the first aspect of the present invention, as the other connector that can be fitted to the first connector, the second connector having an abutting portion that interferes with the build-up portion of the first connector, and the thickness of the first connector. A third connector having an escape portion that allows the raised portion to pass non-interferingly is prepared. Therefore, when high vibration resistance is required, the second connector having a rattling function due to interference between the built-up part and the abutting part is selected, and when high vibration resistance is not required, the built-in part is not used. A third connector having a low fitting resistance is selected by passing the interference. Thereby, since a 1st connector can be shared, the number of parts can be reduced.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the seal ring is mounted along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the housing body, and in the third connector, the seal ring is compressed only in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the two connectors from rattling in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. Further, the second connector includes a portion where the seal ring is compressed in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction and a portion compressed in the fitting direction. It is possible to suppress the rattling in the fitting direction as well as in the direction to do. As a result, rattling can be reliably suppressed in the second connector.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This embodiment exemplifies the waterproof connector 10 and includes a male connector M and a female connector F that can be fitted to each other. The male connector M is shared by the two types of female connectors F, and is selectively used depending on whether or not high vibration resistance is required. In the following description, the fitting surface side of both connectors M and F is the front, and the vertical direction is based on each figure except for FIGS. 1 and 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the male connector M includes a male housing 11 made of synthetic resin and a male terminal fitting 25 inserted into the male housing 11. On the front side of the male housing 11, a hood portion 12 having a substantially rectangular tube shape opening forward is formed, and a terminal accommodating portion 19 for accommodating the male terminal fitting 25 is coupled to the hood portion 12. Has been. The rear half of the terminal accommodating portion 19 is arranged to project rearward from the back wall of the hood portion 12, and the front half of the terminal accommodating portion 19 is arranged to project into the hood portion 12. A male terminal fitting 25 is provided in the hood portion 12 so as to protrude in parallel with the width direction.

  A projecting portion 17 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the male housing 11 so as to protrude outward so as to surround the hood portion 12. The projecting portion 17 has a front edge set substantially at the center in the front-rear direction of the male housing 11 and is disposed with a gap at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction. An attachment portion 18 that is directly attached to an auxiliary machine (not shown) is provided below the protruding portion 17.

  A lock portion 13 that protrudes to a lock arm 34 (described later) of the female connector F is provided at a substantially central position in the width direction on the upper surface of the hood portion 12. The front surface of the lock portion 13 is formed so as to be inclined upward so as to guide the lock arm 34 to ride up. On the other hand, the rear surface of the lock portion 13 serving as a locking surface with the lock arm 34 is formed so as to stand substantially straight along the vertical direction.

  In addition, a total of four rib-shaped guide portions 14A and 14B extending from the front end to the rear end of the hood portion 12 are formed on the upper surface of the hood portion 12 symmetrically at both the left and right positions with the lock portion 13 interposed therebetween. Has been. Specifically, the guide portions 14A and 14B include a pair of first guide portions 14A located on the outer side in the width direction and a pair of second guide portions 14B located on the inner side in the width direction. The rear ends of these guide portions 14 </ b> A and 14 </ b> B are connected to the front end of the projecting portion 17.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 12, a plurality (six in this embodiment) of built-up portions 15 project from the outer peripheral surface at intervals in the circumferential direction. These built-up portions 15 are connected at the rear ends thereof to the front ends 17 </ b> A of the projecting portions 17.

  The built-up portion 15 is provided on the lower surface of the hood portion 12 on each of the left and right sides, one on each side wall of the hood portion 12 in the vertical center, and on the upper surface of the first guide portion 14A. One by one is formed along the length direction of the first guide portion 14A. The projecting dimensions of these built-up parts 15 are slightly larger than the clearance secured in consideration of dimensional tolerances and assembly tolerances between the hood part 12 and the outer cylinder part 33 (described later) of the female housing 31. It has become. Further, the protruding end surfaces of the respective built-up portions 15 are flat surfaces, and the front surfaces of the built-up portions 15 are guide surfaces 16 that are inclined with respect to the fitting direction of the housings 11 and 31, respectively. Yes.

  The terminal accommodating part 19 is formed in a substantially block shape, and has a cavity 20 into which the male terminal fitting 25 can be inserted from behind. A lance 21 that can be elastically locked to the male terminal fitting 25 is provided on the upper surface of the inner wall of the cavity 20. The lance 21 has a cantilever shape protruding forward, and can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction.

  A front retainer 22 can be attached to the terminal accommodating portion 19 from the front. The front retainer 22 includes a bending restricting portion 23 that can restrict the bending deformation of each lance 21, and a temporary locking position (not shown) in which the bending restricting portion 23 retreats in front of the bending space 24 of the lance 21. The bending restricting portion 23 enters the bending space 24 and can move back and forth between two positions with the main locking position where the lance 21 is bent and restricted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the male terminal fitting 25 includes a tab portion 26 that can be electrically connected to the mating female terminal fitting 46 in order from the front side, a main body portion 27 that is connected to the rear side of the tab portion 26, and a rear side thereof. It consists of a barrel portion 28 that is connected to the end of the electric wire W by crimping. The barrel portion 28 is provided with a pair of front and rear caulking pieces 28A facing each other, of which the two front caulking pieces 28A are fitted to the core wire of the electric wire W and the two rear caulking pieces 28A are fitted to the covering of the electric wire W. Each of the attached sealing plugs 29 is caulked.

  Next, the female connector F will be described. In the present embodiment, a female connector H with high vibration resistance (hereinafter referred to as a female connector H) is used in a place where high vibration resistance is required, and a standard female connector S (where female vibration resistance is not required). Hereinafter, female connector S) is used. Corresponding first seal rings 50H and second seal rings 50S are attached to the female connectors H and S, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the female connector H includes a female housing 31 made of synthetic resin, and a female terminal fitting 46 connected to the end of the electric wire W.

  The female terminal fitting 46 is configured such that a substantially box-shaped main body portion 47 and a barrel portion 28 that is crimped and connected to the end portion of the electric wire W are connected to each other in the front-rear direction. 37 can be locked. In the main body 47, the mating male terminal fitting 25 can be inserted from the front, and an elastic contact piece (not shown) capable of elastic contact with the male terminal fitting 25 is provided.

  The female housing 31 has a block shape as a whole and includes a housing main body 32 that can accommodate the female terminal fitting 46 and a hood-like outer cylinder portion 33 that surrounds the periphery of the housing main body 32.

  The female housing 31 is formed with a lock arm 34 extending in the front-rear direction along the outer peripheral upper surface. The lock arm 34 is supported on the upper surface of the housing main body 32 via a support portion 35 at the center in the length direction, and can be elastically deformed into a forward tilt posture and a rearward tilt posture with the support portion 35 as a fulcrum. Yes. In addition, a lock hole 34 </ b> A that is engaged with the lock portion 13 of the hood portion 12 is formed at the front end portion of the lock arm 34 when both the housings 11 and 31 are properly fitted.

  A front retainer 45 is attached to the housing body 32 from the front in the same manner as the terminal accommodating portion 19 of the male housing 11. The front retainer 45 has substantially the same configuration as the front retainer 22 attached to the male housing 11, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The housing body 32 is formed with a cavity 36 in parallel for inserting the female terminal fitting 46 from behind. On the upper wall of each cavity 36, an elastically deflectable lance 37 extending in a cantilevered manner is formed. The lance 37 has a cantilever shape protruding forward, and can be bent and deformed in the vertical direction.
The outer cylindrical portion 33 is connected at its rear end portion to the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 32 via the connecting portion 32A. When both the housings 11 and 31 are properly fitted, the inner peripheral portion of the outer cylindrical portion 33 is The hood portion 12 is inserted into a gap between the surface and the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 32.

  An accommodating space 38 for the lock arm 34 is formed at a substantially central portion of the upper surface wall of the outer cylindrical portion 33. The accommodation space 38 is formed by cutting out the upper surface wall of the outer cylindrical portion 33, and includes a pair of protective walls 39 rising upward from the left and right side edges of the cutout portion, and a front end portion at the rising edge of the protective wall 39. It is surrounded by the connecting wall 40 to be connected, and is configured to communicate with the entrance space of the hood portion 12 formed by the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 32 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylindrical portion 33.

  The lock arm 34 is located between the left and right protective walls 39. In addition, the second guide portion 14 </ b> B of the male housing 11 enters the space between the inner side surface of the protective wall 39 and the outer side surface of the lock arm 34 in the accommodation space 38 along the inner side surface of the protective wall 39. It is like that.

  A plurality of (six in this embodiment) auxiliary build-up portions 41 project from the inner surface of the outer cylinder portion 33, and the rear end of the auxiliary build-up portion 41 is connected to the connecting portion 32A. The auxiliary build-up portion 41 interferes with the front end portion of the hood portion 12 of the male housing 11 as a counterpart just before reaching the normal fitting in the fitting process of both the housings 11 and 31, and until just before reaching the normal fitting. Large fitting resistance is not generated.

  The auxiliary build-up portion 41 has one left and one right on the lower wall of the outer cylinder portion 33, one on the left and right sides of the upper wall of the outer cylinder portion 33 on the outer side in the width direction than the accommodation space 38. One wall is provided at approximately the center in the height direction.

  Further, a rib-shaped guide receiving portion 42 extending forward and backward is formed so as to protrude from the front end of the inner surface of the outer cylindrical portion 33 to the connecting portion 32A. The guide receiving portion 42 plays a role of guiding the male housing 11 during the fitting.

  The guide receiving part 42 corresponds to the build-up part 15 provided on the lower surface of the hood part 12, one on each side of the lower wall of the outer cylinder part 33, and the build-up part 15 provided on both side walls of the hood part 12. One on each side wall of the outer cylinder part 33 and one on each side edge of the upper wall of the outer cylinder part 33 corresponding to the built-up part 15 provided on the upper surface of the first guide part 14A. ing. The front end portions of these guide receiving portions 42 are guide surfaces 43 that are inclined with respect to the fitting direction of the housings 11 and 31.

  A portion of the guide receiving portion 42 (hereinafter referred to as the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A) provided on both side ends of the upper wall of the outer cylindrical portion 33 that is crushed by the build-up portion 15 is as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the abutting portion 44 in the present invention is configured. When the male housing 11 and the female housing 31 reach the end position of the fitting, the guide surface 43 of the abutting portion 44 is guided by the guide surface 16 of the built-up portion 15 and immediately before the abutting portion 44 is reached. Is mounted on the built-up portion 15 and when the normal fitting is reached, the abutting portion 44 is crushed by the built-up portion 15 to restrict the rattling between the housings 11 and 31.

  A first rubber seal ring 50 </ b> H is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 32 along the circumferential direction. The first seal ring 50H is positioned between the front retainer 45 and the connecting portion 32A. Lips 52 are formed on both the inner and outer peripheral surfaces of the first seal ring 50H so that the inner peripheral surface side lip 52 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the housing body 32 and the outer peripheral surface side lip 52 is formed on the male housing 11. Each of the housings 11 and 31 is sealed by being compressed on the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 12.

  A protruding portion 53 is integrally formed at the rear end portion of the first seal ring 50H so as to project radially outward from the outer peripheral surface thereof. Four overhang portions 53 are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the first seal ring 50H at intervals in the circumferential direction, and can be fitted to the accommodating portion 49 provided in the housing body 32 in a positioned state. The overhang portion 53 is elastically compressed by the front end surface of the hood portion 12 of the male housing 11 when the housings 11 and 31 are fitted together.

  Next, the other female connector S will be described. The female connector S is different in the form of the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A, and includes a second seal ring 50S instead of the first seal ring 50H. Others are common to the female connector H, and description of the common part is omitted.

An escape portion 60 for avoiding interference with the corresponding built-up portion 15 of the male housing 11 is provided in place of the abutting portion 44 of the female connector H at the inner surface front end portion of the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A. .
The relief portion 60 is formed by cutting out the front end portion of the inner surface of the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A over the entire width, and corresponds to the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A when the housings 11 and 31 are fitted and finished. The built-up portion 15 and the inner surface of the outer cylinder portion 33 are prevented from interfering with each other.

  Unlike the first seal ring 50H described above, the second seal ring 50S attached to the female connector S does not include the overhanging portion 53, and is orthogonal to the fitting direction when the two housings 11 and 31 are fitted. It is only shrunk in the direction to do.

  This embodiment has the structure as described above, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. First, when the connector 10 is used in a place where high vibration resistance is required, the female connector H having high vibration resistance is selected as the female connector F. The hood portion 12 of the male housing 11 is fitted into the gap between the housing main body 32 and the outer cylinder portion 33 of the female housing 31. Then, each guide receiving portion 42 of the female housing 31 slides on the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 12, and the second guide portion 14 </ b> B enters the gap between the protective wall 39 and the lock arm 34. A portion other than the sliding region between the guide receiving portion 42 and the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 12 has a clearance between the hood portion 12 and the outer cylinder portion 33, and insertion resistance is reduced. At the time when the hood portion 12 starts to enter the gap between the housing main body 32 and the outer cylinder portion 33, the auxiliary build-up portion 41 and the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 12 do not contact each other.

When the fitting of both the housings 11 and 31 proceeds, the front end portion of the lock arm 34 rides on the lock portion 13 and is elastically deformed.
Thereafter, when the fitting of both the housings 11 and 31 further proceeds to just before the normal fitting, the outer peripheral surface of the front end of the hood portion 12 and the auxiliary buildup portion 41 come into contact with each other, and the guide surface 16 of the buildup portion 15 The front end of the guide receiving part 42 corresponding to it abuts.

  When the two housings 11 and 31 are advanced to the normal fitting position, the lock arm 34 is elastically restored and the lock hole 34A is locked to the lock portion 13, and the two housings 11 and 31 are brought into the normal fitting state by this locking. Locked. Further, the tab portion 26 of the male terminal fitting 25 enters the corresponding female terminal fitting 46 and comes into contact with an elastic contact portion (not shown), thereby connecting both terminals. Further, the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the female housing 31 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner by the first seal ring 50H.

  When the housings 11 and 31 are properly fitted, each guide receiving portion 42 is crushed by the corresponding built-up portion 15, and each auxiliary built-up portion 41 is supported by the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding hood portion 12. It will be crushed. By these crushing, rattling between the housings 11 and 31 is prevented.

  Further, in the first seal ring 50H, the lip 52 on the inner peripheral surface side is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the housing main body 32, and the lip 52 on the outer peripheral surface side is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 12, thereby , 31 is mainly prevented from rattling in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. And the overhang | projection part 53 is mainly compressed by the front-end surface of the food | hood part 12, and the shakiness of a fitting direction is mainly prevented.

  When the connector 10 is used in a place where high vibration resistance is not required, the female connector S is selected as the female connector F. Even when the female connector S and the male connector M are fitted, the guide receiving portions 42 except for the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A are crushed by the corresponding built-up portions 15, and the auxiliary built-up portions 41 are It is crushed by the outer peripheral surface of the corresponding hood part 12.

  On the other hand, the built-up portion 15 provided on the upper surface of the first guide portion 14A is opposed to the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A in a non-interfering state immediately before the housings 11 and 31 are properly fitted (see FIG. 12). ), And enters the escape portion 60 provided in the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A. And even if it reaches regular fitting, this build-up part 15 maintains the state which is not contact | abutting with the both ends of the upper wall of the outer cylinder part 33. FIG. Therefore, the fitting resistance can be kept lower than that in the case of the female connector H by the amount of the relief portion 60 that allows the built-up portion 15 to pass through the upper wall guide receiving portion 42A in a non-interfering manner.

  On the other hand, when the normal fitting is achieved, the second seal ring 50S is elastically compressed by the inner peripheral surface of the hood portion 12, and is prevented from rattling in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the connector 10 is used in a place where high vibration resistance is required, the abutting portion having a rattling function by interfering with the built-up portion 15 of the male connector M. A highly vibration-resistant female connector H having 44 is selected. On the other hand, when used in a place where high vibration resistance is not required, a standard part that can keep fitting resistance low by providing a relief portion 60 that allows the built-up portion 15 of the male connector M to pass through non-interferingly. A female connector S is selected. Therefore, the male connector M provided with the built-up portion 15 is shared by the high vibration-resistant female connector H and the standard female connector S, and the number of parts can be reduced.

  Moreover, since the standard female connector S is equipped with the second seal ring 50S having only a portion that is compressed in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction, it prevents rattling in the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction. Can do. Further, the high vibration resistance female connector H is fitted with the first seal ring 50H having a portion compressed in both the direction orthogonal to the fitting direction and the fitting direction. It is possible to reliably prevent rattling in both directions perpendicular to the combined direction.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.

(1) According to the present invention, the abutting portion and the relief portion only have to be provided at positions corresponding to the build-up portions, respectively, and the number and setting positions thereof are not limited to the above embodiment. Further, the number of overlaid portions and the set position are not limited to the above embodiment.
(2) In this embodiment, although it was set as the structure which has a build-up part in a male connector, according to this invention, it is good also as a structure which has a build-up part in a female connector.
(3) The present invention is also applicable to a non-waterproof type connector having no seal ring.
(4) According to the present invention, the abutting part may be continuous with the periphery without being projected on the inner surface of the outer cylinder part. In short, the abutting portion may be in a form that abuts against the build-up portion and crushes.

Plan view of male connector of embodiment 1 Front view AA sectional view of FIG. Top view of female connector Front view of female connector with high vibration resistance BB sectional view of FIG. Cross section of female connector and male connector with high vibration resistance in mating condition Enlarged cross-sectional view of the abutment part of the female connector with high vibration resistance and the built-up part of the male connector before and after mating Front view of standard female connector CC sectional view of FIG. Sectional view of standard female connector and male connector in mated condition Enlarged cross-sectional view of the standard female connector relief and male connector overlay before and after mating

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Male housing 12 ... Hood part 14A ... 1st guide part 15 ... Overlay part 31 ... Female housing 32 ... Housing main body 33 ... Outer cylinder part 41 ... Auxiliary build-up part 42 ... Guide receiving part 44 ... Butting Part 50H ... First seal ring 53 ... Overhang part 60 ... Relief part F ... Female connector H ... Female connector with high vibration resistance M ... Male connector S ... Standard female connector

Claims (2)

It is provided with both male and female connectors that can be fitted to each other, and one of these connectors is a first connector provided with a built-up portion projecting in a direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the both connectors on the wall surface,
The other connector includes a second connector having a butting portion that interferes with the build-up portion when fitting with the first connector and generates fitting resistance, and the meat when the first connector is fitted. A connector characterized in that it can be selectively used with a third connector having an escape portion that allows the raised portion to pass non-interferingly. The second connector and the third connector include a housing body that accommodates a terminal fitting, and a seal ring is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the housing body along a circumferential direction.
The seal ring mounted on the housing body of the third connector has only a portion that is compressed in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the two connectors,
The seal ring attached to the housing body of the second connector includes a portion that is compressed in a direction orthogonal to the fitting direction of the two connectors, and a portion that is compressed in the fitting direction of the two connectors. The connector according to claim 1.

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