Connector

Abstract

There is provided a connector including: a housing having a fitting portion to be fitted into a mating connector; a cover assembled to an opening opposite to the fitting portion; an annular sealing member for sealing a gap between the inner peripheral sealing surface of the opening and the outer peripheral sealing surface of the cover; and a plurality of reinforcing ribs provided at predetermined intervals along an inner circumferential surface of the housing and extending in an assembly direction of the cover. When the cap is assembled to the opening, an end portion of the opening in an extending direction of the reinforcing rib on an opening end side of the opening faces the seal, thereby preventing the seal from falling off from the inner peripheral side sealing surface and the outer peripheral side sealing surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a connector. Background Art

[0002] In the related art, for example, as disclosed in JP2014-086150A, JP2015-082466A, and JP2022-002194A, a connector mounted to a housing of a device includes a housing made of synthetic resin and formed into a substantially L-shape. The housing includes a fitting portion that accommodates a terminal connected to an end of an electric wire and is fitted to a connector (matching connector) on the device side, and a wire introduction portion that introduces the electric wire connected to the terminal from a direction intersecting with the fitting direction of the fitting portion. The housing has an operation hole (opening) on ​​the side opposite to the fitting portion, and a cover is installed on the operation hole.

[0003] A seal ring (annular seal member) that comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface (inner peripheral side sealing surface) of the working hole to seal the interior of the housing is assembled to the outer peripheral side sealing surface of the cover.

[0004] The cover is attached to the working hole so as not to allow water or the like to enter the housing from the working hole. That is, the seal ring seals a gap between an inner peripheral side sealing surface of the working hole and an outer peripheral side sealing surface of the cover.

[0005] When the inner peripheral sealing surface of the working hole of the housing creeps outward due to the reaction force of the seal under high temperature environment, the sealing pressure may be reduced. Therefore, in the related art, a plurality of anti-deformation ribs are provided in the housing to prevent deformation of the housing.

[0006] When internal pressure is applied to the inside of the housing under high temperature environment, the seal may fall off from the inner peripheral side sealing surface of the working hole and the outer peripheral side sealing surface of the cover. In the related art, a through hole is formed in the cover, and a locking protrusion having a head diameter larger than the through hole diameter is provided on the seal to prevent the seal from falling off the cover.

[0007] However, in order to prevent the seal from falling off, providing the through hole of the cover and the locking protrusion of the seal leads to an increase in the size of the connector, and it is desired to reduce the size of the connector. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present disclosure provides a compact connector capable of preventing a housing from being deformed and preventing a seal from falling off.

[0009] According to an illustrative aspect of the present disclosure, a connector includes: a housing having a fitting portion configured to fit into a mating connector; a cover assembled to an opening opposite to the fitting portion; an annular seal configured to seal a gap between an inner peripheral side sealing surface of the opening and an outer peripheral side sealing surface of the cover; and a plurality of reinforcing ribs arranged at predetermined intervals along an inner peripheral surface of the housing and extending along an assembly direction of the cover, the inner peripheral surface of the housing being located behind the inner peripheral side sealing surface of the opening. When the cover is assembled to the opening, an end portion of the reinforcing rib on the opening end side in the extension direction faces the seal, thereby preventing the seal from falling off the inner peripheral side sealing surface and the outer peripheral side sealing surface.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a compact connector capable of preventing deformation of a housing and preventing a seal from falling off.

[0011] The present disclosure has been briefly described above. The details of the present disclosure can be further clarified by reading the modes for implementing the present disclosure (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0013] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of the connector in FIG.

[0014] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A rear view of the housing shown in ;

[0015] Figure 4 is along Figure 3 A cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

[0016] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 An enlarged perspective view of the seal shown in ;

[0017] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 2 A perspective view of the assembly process of the connector shown in ;

[0018] Figure 7 is a diagram showing a state before the cover according to the present embodiment is assembled to the housing. Figure 3 A cross-sectional view taken along the line corresponding to line IV-IV;

[0019] Figure 8 It is shown Figure 7 A cross-sectional view of a state in which the cover shown in FIG. 1 is assembled to the housing; and

[0020] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 An enlarged cross-sectional view of the main components. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Hereinafter, examples according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] <Example>

[0023] Figure 1 and Figure 2 1 is a perspective view and an exploded perspective view of the connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] In this specification, the front-to-back direction, the up-down direction, and the left-to-right direction of the connector 1 follow Figure 1 and Figure 2 In other words, the front-to-back direction is the direction along the connector mating direction of the connector 1, with the side to which the mating connector (not shown) is mated being the front of the housing 10. The up-down direction is the extending direction of the shielded wire 44 orthogonal to the connector mating direction of the connector 1, and the lead-out direction of the shielded wire 44 is the downward direction. In addition, the left-right direction is the length direction of the rectangular opening in the bottomed cylindrical mating portion 11 orthogonal to the connector mating direction.

[0025] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment includes a housing 10, two terminal wires 40, a cover 30, a seal 50, and a shield shell 60. The connector 1 is, for example, a shielded connector used in a power circuit such as an inverter or a motor of a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. The connector 1 is fitted and electrically connected to a mating connector provided in a housing such as an inverter or a motor.

[0026] like Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the housing 10 is a housing formed in a substantially L-shape, and includes a fitting portion 11 that accommodates a tab terminal (terminal) 41 of a terminal-equipped electric wire 40 and is fitted to a device-side connector (mating connector), and a fitting direction X (see FIG. 1 ) from the terminal of the shielded electric wire 44 connected to the tab terminal 41 to the fitting portion 11. Figure 1 ) The wire introduction portion 12 is introduced in the direction intersecting with the wire.

[0027] The fitting portion 11 is formed into a bottomed cylindrical shape with a rectangular opening and protrudes forward along the fitting direction X of the housing 10 with the mating connector. A pair of terminal through holes 14 (see FIG. 1 ) are formed at the bottom of the fitting portion 11. Figure 3 ).

[0028] The seal 24 and the front holder 22 are assembled to the outer periphery of the fitting portion 11 , and the inner housing 20 including the terminal accommodating chamber 21 is assembled to the inner periphery of the fitting portion 11 .

[0029] Each of the wire lead-in portions 12 extends in a downward direction intersecting with the mating direction X of the housing 10 with the mating connector. A wire through hole (not shown) through which the shielded wire 44 is inserted is formed in the wire lead-in portion 12 .

[0030] The rear portion of the housing 10 opposite to the fitting portion 11 is a receiving portion 13 formed in a concave shape and leading to an opening 16. The cover 30 is assembled to the opening 16 of the rear portion of the housing 10 opposite to the fitting portion 11. The housing 10 and the cover 30 are formed of a synthetic resin having an electrical insulating property. When the cover 30 is assembled to the housing 10, the opening 16, which is a mounting operation hole for the terminal-equipped electric wire 40, is covered by the cover 30.

[0031] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a plurality of ribs 17 are provided along the outer peripheral surface 10a of the housing 10 corresponding to the outside of the opening 16. Each rib 17 is a protrusion having a rectangular cross section extending along the assembling direction of the upper shield shell 61 described later. In addition, a plurality of locking claws 15 protrude from the outer peripheral surface 10a of the housing 10.

[0032] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 19 are provided at the inner corners of the accommodating portion 13 to prevent deformation of the accommodating portion 13. The reinforcing ribs 19 are provided at predetermined intervals along the inner peripheral surface 10b of the housing 10 located at the rear side of the inner peripheral side sealing surface 16a of the opening 16, and are provided along the assembly direction ( Figure 4 The vertical direction (in the vertical direction) of the image is extended.

[0033] That is, each reinforcing rib 19 extends from the bottom surface 10c of the housing 10 along the inner peripheral surface 10b toward the opening end of the opening 16, and the end of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extending direction is located on the inner peripheral side sealing surface 16a. The end of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extending direction has a contact surface 19a parallel to the width direction end surface 51c of the sealing body 51 when the cover 30 is assembled to the opening 16.

[0034] like Figure 2 and Figure 6 As shown, the cover 30 is formed in a substantially rectangular plate shape, and is assembled to the opening 16 of the housing 10 from the rear side via an annular seal 50 .

[0035] The cover 30 includes an outer peripheral side sealing surface 31 having an outer peripheral shape corresponding to the opening 16 of the housing 10 and fitted with the sealing member 50, and a flange portion 32 protruding toward the outer diameter direction from the rear end in the assembly direction of the outer peripheral side sealing surface 31. The flange portion 32 restricts the rearward movement of the sealing member 50 fitted to the outer peripheral side sealing surface 31.

[0036] like Figure 5As shown, the seal 50 includes an annular seal main body 51 formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and a plurality of T-shaped locking pieces 53 protruding from the rear end side of the mating direction of the seal main body 51 toward the center. Each T-shaped locking piece 53 is formed in a T shape with its distal end extending in the left-right direction.

[0037] The outer lip 51a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the sealing body 51 so as to be in close contact with the inner peripheral sealing surface 16a of the opening 16. The inner lip 51b is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the sealing body 51 so as to be in close contact with the outer peripheral sealing surface 31 of the cover 30. In addition, the width direction end surface 51c of the sealing body 51 can be opposite to the contact surface 19a formed at the end of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extending direction.

[0038] The seal 50 is mounted to the outer peripheral sealing surface 31 of the cover 30 and waterproofs the gap between the opening 16 of the housing 10 and the cover 30. In the seal 50, the T-shaped locking piece 53 is locked to the locking portion recess 33 formed on the outer peripheral edge of the cover 30, thereby preventing the seal 50 from accidentally falling off forward.

[0039] Therefore, the opening 16 of the accommodating portion 13 of the housing 10 is sealed in a watertight manner by the cover 30. A plurality of locking pieces 35 having locking holes are formed at the periphery of the cover 30. By assembling the cover 30 to the housing 10, the locking claws 15 formed in the housing 10 enter the locking holes of the locking pieces 35. The locking pieces 35 are locked by the locking claws 15, and the cover 30 is maintained in an assembled state relative to the housing 10.

[0040] like Figure 2 As shown, each terminal-equipped electric wire 40 includes a shielded electric wire 44, a tab terminal (terminal) 41 connected to the conductor terminal of the shielded electric wire 44, a shielded terminal 43 connected to the braid of the insulated electric wire 44, and rubber plugs 45 and 46 for sealing the gap between the electric wire introduction portion 12 of the housing 10 and the shielded electric wire 44.

[0041] The shielded electric wire (electric wire) 44 is configured as a coaxial cable including a core wire disposed from the center thereof, an inner coating covering the core wire, a conductive braid covering the inner coating, and an outer sheath covering the braid.

[0042] The tab terminal 41 is formed of a conductive metal material such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy, etc. The tab terminal 41 is crimped to a core wire exposed at a terminal of the shielded electric wire 44 , and is electrically connected to the shielded electric wire 44 .

[0043] The tab terminals 41 are inserted into and electrically connected to electrical connection portions of mating terminals (not shown) provided in a mating connector.

[0044] In the terminal-equipped electric wire 40 assembled to the housing 10, the shielded electric wire 44 is inserted into the electric wire through hole 18 of the electric wire introduction portion 12, and the tab terminal 41 is inserted into the terminal through hole 14 of the fitting portion 11 and accommodated in the terminal accommodation chamber 21 of the inner housing 20. Thus, the tab terminal 41 of the terminal-equipped electric wire 40 is fixed to the fitting portion 11 of the housing 10.

[0045] Rubber plugs 45 and 46 are mounted to the shielded electric wire 44 of the terminal electric wire 40. The rubber plug 45 seals the gap between the shield terminal 43 connected to the braid of the shielded electric wire 44 and the electric wire introduction portion 12. The rubber plug 46 seals the gap between the shielded electric wire 44 and the shield terminal 43. The rubber plugs 45 and 46 seal the gap between the shielded electric wire 44 and the electric wire introduction portion 12.

[0046] like Figure 2 As shown, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment includes a shield shell 60 including an upper shield shell 61 assembled from the rear side of the housing 10 and a lower shield shell 62 assembled from the lower side. Both the upper shield shell 61 and the lower shield shell 62 are made of conductive metal material.

[0047] The upper shield shell 61 is formed into a box shape having a substantially rectangular flat bottom plate portion 63 and a peripheral wall 65 standing on the periphery of the bottom plate portion 63. The bottom plate portion 63 covers the rear surface of the housing 10, and the peripheral wall 65 covers the upper surface and left and right side surfaces (side surfaces) of the housing 10. The upper shield shell 61 is provided with a through hole 69 and a fixing piece 67 formed with a hole portion.

[0048] The lower shield shell (shield shell) 62 covers a portion of the front surface of the housing 10 except for the fitting portion 11. The lower shield shell 62 is provided with a screw hole (not shown) and a fixing piece 64 formed with a hole portion.

[0049] Next, a case where the connector 1 according to the present embodiment is assembled will be described.

[0050] First, if Figure 6 As shown, after the shielded electric wire 44 of the terminal electric wire 40 passes through the electric wire introduction portion 12 of the housing 10 and the terminal lug 41 is led out toward the accommodation portion 13 , the terminal lug 41 is inserted into the terminal through hole 14 of the housing 10 .

[0051] like Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , the cover 30 is brought close to the accommodation portion 13 of the housing 10 to cover the opening 16 from the rear side, and the locking claw 15 of the housing 10 is locked to the locking piece 35 of the cover 30 .

[0052] Therefore, if Figure 8 and Fig. 9As shown, in the seal 50 installed in such a manner that the inner lip 51b is in close contact with the outer peripheral sealing surface 31 of the cover 30, the outer lip 51a is in close contact with the inner peripheral sealing surface 16a of the opening 16. Therefore, the seal 50 installed in the housing 10 can waterproofly seal the gap between the opening 16 of the housing 10 and the cover 30.

[0053] Next, the shield shell 60 is mounted to the housing 10 .

[0054] First, the upper shield shell 61 of the shield shell 60 is installed from the rear side to cover the housing 10 to which the cover 30 is assembled.

[0055] At this time, the inner surface of the peripheral wall 65 of the housing 10 is inserted and guided by the plurality of ribs 17 protruding from the outer peripheral surface 10 a of the housing 10 while contacting the ribs 17 in a sliding manner.

[0056] Next, the lower shield shell 62 of the shield shell 60 is mounted from the lower side so as to cover the wire introduction portion 12 of the housing 10 .

[0057] The upper shield shell 61 and the lower shield shell 62 are mounted to the housing 10, and the through hole 69 of the upper shield shell 61 and the threaded hole of the lower shield shell 62 are communicated with each other. Thereafter, the upper shield shell 61 and the lower shield shell 62 are fixed to the housing 10 by inserting a mounting screw (not shown) into the through hole 69 and threading the mounting bolt into the threaded hole.

[0058] The upper shield shell 61 and the lower shield shell 62 are electrically connected to each other by mounting screws. In addition, one end of the braid of the shield electric wire 44 is electrically connected to the shield shell 60 through the shield terminal 43 of the terminal electric wire 40 .

[0059] In the connector 1 having the above structure, the fitting portion 11 is fitted to a mating connector provided in a housing such as an inverter or a motor. Therefore, the tab terminal 41 in the fitting portion 11 is inserted into and electrically connected to the electrical connection portion of the mating terminal. When the connector 1 is fitted to the mating connector, the seal 24 is in close contact with the housing of the mating connector. Therefore, the fitting portion between the connector 1 and the mating connector is sealed.

[0060] When the connector 1 is fitted to the mating connector, bolts (not shown) inserted into the hole portions of the fixing piece 67 of the upper shield shell 61 and the hole portions of the fixing piece 64 of the lower shield shell 62 are screwed into threaded holes (not shown) formed in the housing. Thus, the connector 1 is pushed toward the mating connector by the tightening force of the bolts. Therefore, the connector 1 can be easily fitted to the mating connector.

[0061] Furthermore, since the fixing pieces 67 of the upper shield shell 61 and the fixing pieces 64 of the lower shield shell 62 are fastened by bolts, the shield shell 60 is electrically connected to the housing. Therefore, the connector 1 is covered by the shield shell 60 fixed to the housing, and a good electromagnetic shielding effect is obtained.

[0062] When the connector 1 is installed on a vehicle, in a high temperature environment, the inner peripheral sealing surface 16a of the opening 16 of the housing 10 creeps outward under the reaction force of the seal 50. Figure 8 and 9 As shown, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 19 are provided at the inner corners of the accommodation portion 13 and can prevent the opening 16 from being deformed in the extending direction.

[0063] When internal pressure is applied to the interior of the housing 10 in a high temperature environment, the seal 50 falls off from the inner peripheral side sealing surface 16a of the opening 16 and the outer peripheral side sealing surface 31 of the cover 30. Figure 8 and 9 As shown, since the end portion of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extending direction opposite to the seal 50 contacts the seal 50 moving in the falling-off direction to restrict the movement, the reinforcing rib 19 can prevent the seal 50 from falling off.

[0064] In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, creep deformation of the inner peripheral side sealing surface 16a of the opening 16 toward the outside can be prevented only by the reinforcement rib 19 provided in the housing 10, and the seal 50 can be prevented from falling off. Therefore, in order to prevent the seal from falling off, it is not necessary to provide a through hole of the cover and a locking protrusion of the seal as in the related art, and the size of the connector 1 can be suppressed and reduced in size.

[0065] Therefore, in the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the sealing pressure of the seal member 50 from being lowered, and to ensure good waterproof sealing.

[0066] Therefore, according to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a compact connector 1 capable of preventing the housing 10 from being deformed and preventing the seal 50 from falling off.

[0067] In the connector 1 according to the present embodiment, as Figure 5 As shown, the seal 50 includes an annular seal body 51, an outer lip 51a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the seal body 51, and an inner lip 51b provided on the inner peripheral surface of the seal body 51. Fig. 9 As shown, the end portion of the reinforcement rib 19 in the extending direction has a contact surface 19 a parallel to the width direction end surface 51 c of the seal body portion 51 .

[0068] When the end of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extension direction contacts the seal 50 moving in the falling direction to restrict the movement, the contact surface 19a parallel to the width direction end surface 51c of the sealing body 51 starts to contact. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the end of the reinforcing rib 19 in the extension direction from locally deforming or damaging the seal 50 in contact therewith.

[0069] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and may be appropriately modified, improved, etc. In addition, the materials, shapes, sizes, numbers, arrangement positions, etc. of the components in the above-described embodiments are arbitrarily selected and are not limited as long as the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0070] For example, in the above embodiment, the connector 1 according to the present embodiment is described by taking a shielded connector as an example, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto and can be applied to various connectors in which a gap between an opening of a housing and a cover needs to be sealed with a seal.

[0071] Here, features of embodiments of the connector according to the present disclosure described above are briefly summarized and listed in the following first and second aspects.

[0072] According to a first aspect, a connector (1) comprises: a housing (10) having a mating portion (11) configured to be embedded in a mating connector; a cover (30) assembled to an opening (16) opposite to the mating portion (11); an annular seal (50) configured to seal a gap between an inner peripheral side sealing surface (16a) of the opening (16) and an outer peripheral side sealing surface (31) of the cover (30); and a plurality of reinforcing ribs (19) arranged at predetermined intervals along an inner peripheral surface (10b) of the housing (10) and extending along an assembly direction of the cover (30), the inner peripheral surface (10b) of the housing (10) being located on the rear side of the inner peripheral side sealing surface (16a) of the opening (16). When the cover (30) is assembled to the opening (16), the end portion of the reinforcing rib (19) on the opening end side of the opening (16) in the extension direction is opposite to the seal (50), thereby preventing the seal (50) from falling off from the inner peripheral side sealing surface (16a) and the outer peripheral side sealing surface (31).

[0073] According to the connector (1) having the configuration of the first aspect described above, only by the reinforcement rib (19) provided in the housing (10), the inner peripheral side sealing surface (16a) of the opening (16) can be prevented from creeping outward and the seal (50) can be prevented from falling off. Therefore, in order to prevent the seal from falling off, it is not necessary to provide a through hole of the cover and a locking protrusion of the seal as in the related art, and the size of the connector (1) can be suppressed and reduced.

[0074] According to a second aspect, in the connector (1) according to the first aspect, the seal (50) includes an annular seal body (51), an outer lip (51a) provided on the outer peripheral surface of the seal body (51), and an inner lip (51b) provided on the inner peripheral surface of the seal body (51). The end of the reinforcing rib (19) in the extension direction has a contact surface (19a), and the contact surface is parallel to the width direction end surface (51c) of the seal body (51).

[0075] According to the connector (1) having the configuration of the second aspect, when the end portion of the reinforcing rib (19) in the extension direction contacts the seal (50) moving in the falling-off direction to restrict the movement, the contact surface (19a) parallel to the width direction end surface (51c) of the seal main body (51) starts to contact. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the end portion of the reinforcing rib (19) in the extension direction from locally deforming or damaging the seal (50) in contact therewith.

Claims

1. A connector, comprising: a housing having a fitting portion configured to be inserted into a mating connector; a cover assembled to the opening opposite to the engaging portion; an annular seal configured to seal a gap between an inner peripheral sealing surface of the opening and an outer peripheral sealing surface of the cover; as well as A plurality of reinforcing ribs are arranged at predetermined intervals along the inner circumferential surface of the housing and extend along the assembly direction of the cover, the inner circumferential surface of the housing being located behind the inner circumferential side sealing surface of the opening, wherein When the cover is assembled to the opening, the end portion of the reinforcing rib on the opening end side in the extending direction faces the seal, thereby preventing the seal from falling off the inner peripheral side sealing surface and the outer peripheral side sealing surface.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein: The seal comprises an annular seal main body, an outer lip provided on an outer peripheral surface of the seal main body, and an inner lip provided on an inner peripheral surface of the seal main body, and The end portion of the reinforcement rib in the extending direction has a contact surface, and the contact surface is parallel to an end surface in the width direction of the sealing body portion.

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