Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector with an excellent waterproofness with a simple structure.SOLUTION: A connector comprises: a terminal 10 to which one end of an electric wire 50 is connected; a housing 20 that houses the terminal 10 into an inner part, and to which a voltage detection hole 26 capable of inserting a voltage detection lead for detecting a charging state of the terminal 10 is provided to an outer surface; a shield shell 30 that covers the outer surface of the housing 20, and is provided with a penetration hole 31 so as to corresponded to the voltage detection hole 26; and a waterproof unit 40 that includes a seal member 42 to which the one end is inserted so as to block the voltage detection hole 26, and a plate-like member 41 that is fixed to the outer surface of the shield shell 30, and blocks the penetration hole 31. On the outer surface of the shield shell 30, a flame-like wall part 32 surrounding an outer periphery of the plate-like member 41 is built. In one part of the wall part 32, a slit 33 making an inside and an outside of the wall part 32 to communicate with each other is formed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a connector. [Background technology]

[0002] In a connector connected to a mating member such as an in-vehicle device, the connector may be removed from the mating member for maintenance or the like. In this case, the connector is generally disconnected from the mating member by using a service plug or the like, but the connector may still have a terminal that is still charged. For this reason, in Patent Document 1, a voltage detection hole into which a voltage detection lead can be inserted is provided in the housing, and the connector is configured to be able to detect the charged state of the terminal by inserting the voltage detection lead from the voltage detection hole after disconnecting the electrical connection between the connector and the mating member by using a service plug or the like. This voltage detection hole is closed by a waterproof unit consisting of a rubber plug and a plate member from the viewpoint of waterproofness when not being used for voltage detection. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-82465 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the above-mentioned connector is mounted on, for example, a vehicle, and when the vehicle is high-pressure washed, the rubber plug that blocks the voltage detection hole of the housing may be directly exposed to high-pressure washing water. In this case, the rubber plug may be sheared or damaged by the water pressure of the sprayed water. In addition, in the above-mentioned conventional connector, water may enter the housing through a gap between the outer surface of the housing and the plate member, and there is room for improvement in terms of waterproofing. On the other hand, from various viewpoints such as manufacturing cost and miniaturization, it is required to achieve waterproofing with a simple structure.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a connector that has a simple structure and excellent waterproof properties. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the connector according to the present invention has the following features. A terminal to which one end of the electric wire is connected; a housing that accommodates the terminals therein and has an outer surface provided with a voltage detection hole into which a voltage detection lead can be inserted to come into contact with the terminals and detect the charged state of the terminals; a shield shell covering an outer surface of the housing and having a through hole corresponding to the voltage detection hole; a waterproof unit having a sealing member, one end of which is inserted into the voltage detection hole to close the voltage detection hole, and a flat plate member, which is fixed to an outer surface of the shield shell to close the through hole; A connector comprising: a frame-shaped wall portion surrounding an outer periphery of the plate member is provided on an outer surface of the shield shell, A slit is formed in a part of the wall portion to communicate the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion. It is a connector. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a wall portion that surrounds the outer periphery of the plate member is provided on the outer surface of the shield shell, thereby making it possible to prevent liquids such as water from entering the inside of the housing through a gap between the shield shell and the plate member. Also, a slit that connects the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion is formed in a part of the wall portion, making it possible to prevent liquids such as water from accumulating inside the wall portion. Thus, according to the present invention, a simple structure and excellent waterproofing are achieved compared to the conventional art.

[0008] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing an example of a manner in which the connector is attached to a mating member. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the connector shown in FIG. 1, and is an enlarged view of a main portion. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the main part of FIG. [Diagram 5] 5 is a cross-sectional view of the connector shown in FIG. 1 taken along line BB. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, a connector 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] For the sake of convenience, the following definitions are used for the terms "front", "rear", "left", "right", "upper" and "lower" as shown in Fig. 1 etc. The "front-rear direction", "left-right direction" and "upper-lower direction" are mutually orthogonal. The upper-lower direction corresponds to the "standing direction" and "extending direction" of the present invention.

[0012] The connector 1 is used by being attached to a device (mating member M) such as an inverter mounted on an electric vehicle, etc. Specifically, a hood portion 22 of a housing 20 described later is inserted into a through hole (reference numeral omitted) of the mating member M, the terminal 10 is electrically connected to a mating terminal (not shown), and the connector 1 is attached to the outer surface (top surface in this example) of the mating member M (see FIG. 1).

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the connector 1 is configured to include a terminal 10 to which one end of an electric wire 50 connected to, for example, a power source is connected, a housing 20 that accommodates the terminal 10 and has a voltage detection hole 26 on its outer surface into which a voltage detection lead (not shown) can be inserted to come into contact with the terminal 10 and detect the charged state of the terminal 10, a shield shell 30 that covers the outer surface of the housing 20 and has a through hole 31 corresponding to the voltage detection hole 26, a sealing member 42 whose lower end is inserted to close the voltage detection hole 26, and a waterproof unit 40 having a flat plate member 41 fixed to the outer surface (in this example, the upper surface) of the shield shell 30 and closing the through hole 31.

[0014] 2, the electric wire 50 is a typical electric wire composed of a conductor core wire 51 and an insulating coating 52 covering the outer periphery of the conductor core wire 51, and one end portion of the electric wire 50 is bent and accommodated in a housing body 21 of a housing 20 described below. The terminals 10, the housing 20, the shield shell 30, and the waterproof unit 40 that constitute the connector 1 will be described below in order.

[0015] First, the terminal 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal 10 includes a first terminal 11 extending in the front-rear direction and a second terminal 12 extending in the up-down direction. The terminal 10 is configured to have a substantially L-shape when viewed in the left-right direction, with one end of the electric wire 50 connected to the rear end of the first terminal 11 and an upper end of the second terminal 12 connected to the front end of the first terminal 11. In this example, the first terminal 11 is a flat terminal, and the second terminal 12 is a substantially cylindrical female terminal into which a mating terminal can be inserted from below. The first terminal 11 is accommodated in a housing main body 21 (specifically, a second portion) of the housing 20 described later, and the second terminal 12 is accommodated in a hood portion 22 of the housing 20 described later. In this example, the terminal 10 is configured from two members, the first terminal 11 and the second terminal 12, but may be configured from a single member.

[0016] Next, the housing 20 will be described. As shown in Fig. 2, the housing 20 is configured to have a housing main body 21, a hood portion 22, and a housing cover 23. The housing main body 21 is configured to have a substantially L-shape when viewed in the left-right direction, and is composed of a first portion (reference numeral omitted) extending in the up-down direction and a second portion (reference numeral omitted) extending forward from an upper end of the first portion. A hood portion 22 extending in the up-down direction is integrally provided on the lower end surface of the front end of the housing main body 21, and thus the housing 20 is configured to have a substantially rectangular U-shape when viewed in the left-right direction.

[0017] An opening is formed on the upper surface of the second portion of the housing body 21, and the housing cover 23 is attached to the housing body 21 so as to close this opening. In the connector 1, before the housing cover 23 is attached to the housing body 21, the terminal 10 connected to the electric wire 50 is received through the opening, and then the housing cover 23 is attached to the housing body 21. The housing cover 23 is provided with a voltage detection hole 26 that penetrates in the vertical direction, and the voltage detection hole 26 is located on an extension line of the second terminal 12 in the vertical direction. The voltage detection hole 26 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 5, and its upper end is disposed within the through hole 31.

[0018] Next, the shield shell 30 will be described. As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the shield shell 30 is assembled to the housing 20 so as to cover the outer surface of the housing 20. More specifically, the shield shell 30 is assembled to the housing 20 so as to cover the top and side surfaces of a portion of the housing 20 (including the housing cover 23) that corresponds to the second portion of the housing main body 21.

[0019] As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the upper surface of the shield shell 30 is provided with a through hole 31 that penetrates in the vertical direction corresponding to the voltage detection hole 26 of the housing 20. The through hole 31 is formed with a larger diameter than the voltage detection hole 26, and is closed by a plate member 41 of the waterproof unit 40 as described later. A frame-shaped wall portion 32 is erected on the upper surface of the shield shell 30 so as to surround the outer periphery of the plate member 41. The wall portion 32 is slightly spaced from the outer periphery of the plate member 41 (see Fig. 3). The wall portion 32 is formed with a slit 33 that communicates the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion 32, for example, corresponding to a cut-and-raised portion 43 of the plate member 41 described later. The shield shell 30 is also provided with a bolt insertion hole 34 through which a bolt B is inserted to fasten the waterproof unit 40 to the shield shell 30 (see Fig. 4).

[0020] Next, the waterproof unit 40 will be described. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the waterproof unit 40 is configured to have a plate member 41 and a seal member 42. Approximately in the center of the rear end of the plate member 41, a cut-and-raised portion 43 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the plate member 41 upward. The cut-and-raised portion 43 serves as a handle for the waterproof unit 40, for example, when attaching or detaching the waterproof unit 40 to or from the shield shell 30.

[0021] The plate member 41 is provided with locking holes 44 that penetrate in the vertical direction and correspond to the voltage detection holes 26 (through holes 31) (see Figs. 4 and 5). Locking portions 47 of the seal member 42 are locked in the locking holes 44, as described below. The plate member 41 is also provided with bolt insertion holes 45 that correspond to the bolt insertion holes 34 of the shield shell 30 (see Fig. 4).

[0022] As shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, the seal member 42 is integrally formed with a rubber stopper portion 46, a locking portion 47, and a small diameter portion 48. The rubber stopper portion 46 is an elastic member and is formed with a diameter larger than the diameter of the voltage detection hole 26. When inserted into the voltage detection hole 26, the rubber stopper portion 46 is in elastic contact with the inner peripheral surface of the voltage detection hole 26. The locking portion 47 has a larger diameter portion than the locking hole 44 of the plate member 41, and has a function of fixing the seal member 42 to the plate member 41 by being inserted into the locking hole 44 and being locked with the locking hole 44 at the large diameter portion. The small diameter portion 48 is located between the rubber stopper portion 46 and the locking portion 47 in the up-down direction, and is formed with a diameter smaller than the rubber stopper portion 46 and the locking portion 47.

[0023] The above has described the terminals 10, the housing 20, the shield shell 30, and the waterproof unit 40 that constitute the connector 1. An example of a method for manufacturing the connector 1 will now be described.

[0024] First, the terminal 10 to which the electric wire 50 is connected is accommodated through the opening of the housing body 21. Specifically, the first terminal 11 is accommodated in the second portion of the housing body 21, and the second terminal 12 is accommodated in the hood portion 22. The electric wire 50 is bent from the second portion to the first portion of the housing body 21, and is led out from the lower end opening of the first portion.

[0025] Next, the housing cover 23 is attached to the housing body 21 so as to close the opening of the housing body 21. After that, the shield shell 30 is attached to the housing 20. Specifically, the shield shell 30 is attached so as to cover a portion of the housing 20 corresponding to the second portion of the housing body 21 from above.

[0026] Next, the waterproof unit 40 is attached to the shield shell 30, but before that, the waterproof unit 40 needs to be assembled. The waterproof unit 40 is assembled by inserting the locking portion 47 of the seal member 42 from below into the locking hole 44 of the plate member 41 and locking the locking portion 47 into the locking hole 44, thereby fixing the seal member 42 to the plate member 41 and completing the waterproof unit 40. In this state, the locking portion 47 protrudes so as to be exposed from the outer surface of the plate member 41 (the upper surface in this example) as shown in FIG. 5.

[0027] To assemble the waterproof unit 40 to the shield shell 30, the rubber plug portion 46 is inserted from above the through hole 31 so that the rubber plug portion 46 is inserted into the voltage detection hole 26 to close the voltage detection hole 26. Then, the bolt B is inserted from above into the bolt insertion holes 45, 34 and screwed into these bolt insertion holes 45, 34, thereby fixing the waterproof unit 40 to the shield shell 30. In this way, the connector 1 is completed.

[0028] In this state, the outer periphery of the plate member 41 is surrounded by the wall portion 32 of the shield shell 30 (see Figure 3), and the wall portion 32 is formed so that its erect height (similarly, its vertical height) is greater than the protruding height (i.e., the vertical height) of the engagement portion 47 that protrudes and is exposed from the outer surface of the plate member 41.

[0029] The connector 1 thus completed is attached to the outer surface of the mating member M with the hood portion 22 inserted into the through hole of the mating member M so that the second terminal 12 is connected to the mating terminal.

[0030] The method of removing the connector 1 from the mating member M is to cut off the electrical connection between the connector 1 and the mating member M using, for example, a service plug or the like, and then remove the connector 1 from the mating member M. However, there may be cases where the terminals 10 remain in a charged state even after the electrical connection between the connector 1 and the mating member M is cut off. For this reason, from a safety standpoint, it is preferable to check the charged state of the terminals 10 (i.e., perform a voltage test) before removing the connector 1 from the mating member M.

[0031] In order to perform voltage detection in the connector 1, it is necessary to remove the waterproof unit 40 from the shield shell 30. First, the bolt insertion holes 34, 45 and the bolt B are released from their screwed state, and then the waterproof unit 40 is lifted upward so as to be pulled away from the shield shell 30. Then, the rubber stopper portion 46 comes out of the voltage detection hole 26, and the waterproof unit 40 is removed from the shield shell 30. In this state, voltage detection can be performed by inserting a voltage detection lead into the voltage detection hole 26 (through hole 31) and bringing the voltage detection lead into contact with the terminal 10 (at least one of the first terminal 11 and the second terminal 12).

[0032] As described above, according to this embodiment, the wall portion 32 is provided on the outer surface of the shield shell 30, thereby making it possible to prevent liquids such as water from entering the inside of the housing 20 through the gap between the shield shell 30 and the plate member 41. Furthermore, the slit 33 that connects the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion 32 is formed in a part of the wall portion 32, making it possible to prevent liquids such as water from accumulating inside the wall portion 32. Thus, according to this embodiment, the structure is simpler and the waterproofing is superior compared to the conventional art.

[0033] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the vertical height of the locking portion 47 of the seal member 42 exposed from the outer surface of the plate member 41 is lower than the vertical height of the wall portion 32, so that, for example, during high-pressure washing, direct exposure of the wash water to the locking portion 47 can be minimized. Even when the wash water directly hits the locking portion 47, only the water jetted approximately along the vertical direction (for example, along a cross direction that forms an acute angle with the vertical direction) hits the locking portion 47, so that the wall portion 32 prevents the water jetted from a direction that shears the seal member 42 (particularly, a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction). Thus, according to this embodiment, damage to the seal member 42 can be prevented, and the structure is simpler and more waterproof than the conventional structure.

[0034] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the voltage detection hole 26 is located on an extension line of the second terminal 12 in the vertical direction, which makes it easier to bring the voltage detection lead into contact with the terminal 10 (second terminal 12), facilitating voltage detection.

[0035] <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.

[0036] Here, the features of the above-described embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed in the following [1] to [3].

[0037] [1] A terminal (10) to which one end of an electric wire (50) is connected; a housing (20) that accommodates the terminals (10) therein and has a voltage detection hole (26) on its outer surface into which a voltage detection lead can be inserted to come into contact with the terminals (10) and detect the charged state of the terminals (10); a shield shell (30) covering an outer surface of the housing (20) and having a through hole (31) corresponding to the voltage detection hole (26); a waterproof unit (40) including a seal member (42) whose one end (a rubber plug portion 46) is inserted so as to close the voltage detection hole (26), and a flat plate member (41) fixed to an outer surface of the shield shell (30) to close the through hole (31); A connector (1) comprising: A frame-shaped wall portion (32) surrounding the outer periphery of the plate member (41) is provided on an outer surface of the shield shell (30), A slit (33) is formed in a part of the wall portion (32) to connect the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion (32). Connector(1).

[0038] According to the configuration of [1] above, a wall portion surrounding the outer periphery of the plate member is provided on the outer surface of the shield shell, so that it is possible to prevent liquids such as water from entering the inside of the housing through a gap between the shield shell and the plate member. In addition, a slit is formed in a part of the wall portion to communicate the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion, so that it is possible to prevent liquids such as water from accumulating inside the wall portion. Thus, according to this configuration, compared to the conventional configuration, it has a simple structure and excellent waterproofing.

[0039] [2] The connector (1) according to the above [1], The other end (locking portion 47) of the seal member (42) is provided with a locking portion (47) for locking the seal member (42) to the plate member (41), The locking portion (47) is The wall portion (32) protrudes from the outer surface of the plate member (41) in the erect direction of the wall portion (32), and the protruding height is lower than the erect height of the wall portion (32). Connector(1).

[0040] According to the configuration [2] above, the protruding height of the engaging portion of the sealing member exposed from the outer surface of the plate member is lower than the erected height of the wall portion, so that, for example, during high-pressure washing, direct exposure of the washing water to the engaging portion of the sealing member can be minimized. Even if the engaging portion is directly exposed to washing water, only the water jet roughly along the erected direction is applied to the engaging portion, so that the wall portion prevents the water jet from coming from a direction that would shear the sealing member (particularly, a direction perpendicular to the erected direction). Thus, according to this configuration, damage to the sealing member can be prevented, and compared to conventional configurations, the structure is simple and has excellent waterproofing properties.

[0041] [3] The connector (1) according to the above [1] or [2], The housing (20) is the connector (1) has a hood portion (22) that is inserted into a mating member (M) to which the connector (1) is to be attached and that receives a part of the terminal (10) (the second terminal 12); The voltage detection hole (26) is In the extending direction of the hood portion (22), the opening end side of the hood portion (22) of the housing (20) is opposite to the opening end side of the hood portion (22) and is located on an extension line of the part (second terminal 12) of the terminal (10). Connector(1).

[0042] According to the configuration [3] above, the voltage detection hole is located on the opposite side to the opening end side of the hood portion in the extension direction of the hood portion and on an extension line of a part of the terminal accommodated in the hood portion, making it easy to detect voltage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Connector 10 Terminals 20. Housing 26 Hole for voltage detection 30 Shield Shell 31 Through hole 32 Wall 33 Slit 40 Waterproof unit 41 Plate members 42 Sealing material 43 Cut-and-origin part 44 Locking hole 45 Bolt insertion hole 46 Rubber stopper 47 Locking part 48 Small diameter section 50 Electric wire

Claims

1. A terminal to which one end of the electric wire is connected; a housing that accommodates the terminals therein and has a voltage detection hole on its outer surface into which a voltage detection lead can be inserted to come into contact with the terminals and detect the charged state of the terminals; a shield shell covering an outer surface of the housing and having a through hole corresponding to the voltage detection hole; a waterproof unit having a sealing member, one end of which is inserted into the voltage detection hole to close the voltage detection hole, and a flat plate member, which is fixed to an outer surface of the shield shell to close the through hole; A connector comprising: a frame-shaped wall portion surrounding an outer periphery of the plate member is provided on an outer surface of the shield shell, A slit is formed in a part of the wall portion to communicate the inside and outside of the frame of the wall portion. connector.

2. 2. The connector of claim 1, a locking portion for locking the seal member to the plate member is provided at the other end of the seal member; The locking portion is The wall portion protrudes from the outer surface of the plate member in the erecting direction of the wall portion, and the protruding height is lower than the erecting height of the wall portion. connector.

3. The connector according to claim 1 or 2, The housing includes: a hood portion that is inserted into a mating member to which the connector is to be attached and that receives a part of the terminal; The voltage detection hole is a housing having an opening end, the opening end being located on an extension line of the terminal, the opening end being located on an opposite side to the opening end of the housing. connector.

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