Connector

Abstract

To provide a connector that is excellent in manufacturing workability and seal member retention, and that can achieve both manufacturing workability and seal member retention.SOLUTION: A connector 1 includes a terminal 40, an inner housing 20 that accommodates the terminal 40, an outer housing 10 that accommodates the inner housing 20, and an annular seal member 30 that is attached to the outer housing 10 and disposed between the outer housing and a member to which it is fixed. The seal member 30 is provided with protrusions 32 that protrude in a direction intersecting the circumferential direction at multiple locations in the circumferential direction. The inner housing 20 is provided with a pressing portion 24 that clamps the protrusions 32 together with one end face of the outer housing 10 in an axial direction intersecting the circumferential direction and the intersecting direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, connectors have been proposed that include terminals and a housing that accommodates the terminals, and that are fixed to a target member such as a vehicle panel or in-vehicle equipment (e.g., a terminal block) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). From the viewpoint of waterproofing, this type of connector often includes an annular packing (sealing member) that is disposed between the housing and the target member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-87858 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the connectors described above, the annular packing is often attached to the housing. In this case, if the packing is simply attached to the outer periphery of the housing, there is a risk that the packing may rotate or fall off the housing. On the other hand, some conventional connectors are configured such that, as shown in Fig. 9, a holding protrusion 131 is provided on a packing 130 and the holding protrusion 131 is press-fitted into a press-fit hole 111 formed in the housing 110, thereby holding the packing 130 in the housing 110. However, in such a connector, it is necessary to press-fit the holding protrusion 131 into the press-fit hole 111 using a dedicated jig or the like, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of workability. As described above, in conventional connectors, it has been difficult to achieve both packing retention and workability.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and its purpose is to provide a connector that has excellent manufacturing workability and sealing member retention, and that can achieve both manufacturing workability and sealing member retention. [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 connector comprising terminals, an inner housing that accommodates the terminals, an outer housing that accommodates the inner housing, and an annular seal member that is attached to the outer housing and disposed between the outer housing and a member to which the connector is to be fixed, The sealing member is protrusions are provided at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction, the protrusions protruding in a direction intersecting the circumferential direction; The inner housing is provided with a pressing portion configured to sandwich the protrusion together with one end surface of the outer housing in an axial direction intersecting the circumferential direction and the intersecting direction. It is a connector. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the convex portion of the seal member is sandwiched between one end surface of the outer housing and the pressing portion of the inner housing. That is, the present invention allows the seal member to be held by the inner housing and the outer housing simply by assembling each component without using a jig or the like, which results in superior manufacturing workability and seal member retention compared to conventional connectors. In other words, according to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both high connector manufacturing workability and seal member retention.

[0008] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a connector according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a rear perspective view of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a rear view of the connector shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the connector shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 5] 5 is a rear view of the outer housing shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a rear view of the inner housing shown in FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a rear view of the seal member shown in FIG. [Figure 8] 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of the connector shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an example of an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional connector. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, a connector 1 according to one 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 and elsewhere. The "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," and "upper-lower direction" are perpendicular to one another. The upper-lower direction corresponds to the "cross direction" of the present invention. The front-rear direction corresponds to the "axial direction" of the present invention.

[0012] The connector 1 is mounted on, for example, a vehicle and fixed to a target member such as a vehicle panel or on-board equipment (e.g., a terminal block) by bolting or the like. As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the connector 1 is configured to include a pair of terminals 40, inner housings 20 that respectively accommodate the pair of terminals 40, an outer housing 10 that accommodates the inner housing 20, and an annular seal member 30 that is attached to the outer housing 10 and disposed between the outer housing 10 and the target member.

[0013] The connector 1 further comprises an inner shell 50 made of a conductive metal, a watertight member 60 attached to the inner surface of the outer housing main body 11 of the outer housing 10 described later and sealing off water between the connector 1 and the mating connector when the connector is fully mated with the mating connector, and a rear holder 70 attached to the holder attachment portion 23 of the inner housing 20 described later.

[0014] The following describes the outer housing 10, inner housing 20, and seal member 30 that make up the connector 1. Note that the terminals 40, inner shell 50, waterproofing member 60, and rear holder 70 are not described here because known components can be used.

[0015] First, we will explain the outer housing 10. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the outer housing 10 has an outer housing main body 11 that is a generally rectangular cylinder extending in the front-to-rear direction. The outer housing main body 11 accommodates the inner housing 20 inside (inside a cylindrical hole), and functions as a hood portion when mated with a mating connector.

[0016] A flange portion 12 is provided on the outer peripheral surface at the rear end of the outer housing body 11, protruding radially outward over the entire circumferential area of ​​the outer housing body 11 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). The flange portion 12 functions as a fixing portion when the connector 1 is fixed to a target member.

[0017] The rear end surface of the outer housing main body 11 is provided with a plurality of (four in this example) accommodating grooves 13 recessed forward to correspond to the plurality of (four in this example) protrusions 32 of the seal member 30 (see FIGS. 3 to 5). The protrusions 32 of the seal member 30 are arranged in the accommodating grooves 13. The groove bottom surfaces of the accommodating grooves 13, together with the pressing portion 24 of the inner housing 20, sandwich the protrusions 32 of the seal member 30 in the front-rear direction (see FIGS. 3 and 8). The groove side surfaces (both left and right side surfaces) of the accommodating groove 13 function to restrict circumferential rotation of the seal member 30.

[0018] A ring-shaped mounting groove 14 recessed forward is provided on the rear end surface of the outer housing 10 between the outer housing main body 11 and the flange portion 12 to accommodate the seal member 30 (see FIG. 5). The seal member 30 is fitted into the mounting groove 14.

[0019] Next, a description will be given of the inner housing 20. As shown in Fig. 4, the inner housing 20 has an inner housing main body 21 that is a substantially rectangular cylinder extending in the front-rear direction. The inner housing main body 21 is housed inside the outer housing main body 11 (see Figs. 1 and 2).

[0020] A pair of terminal accommodating portions 22 extending in the front-rear direction are provided inside the inner housing body 21 (inside the cylindrical bore) to correspond to the pair of terminals 40 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). The front ends of the terminal accommodating portions 22 protrude forward beyond the front edge of the inner housing body 21, and when the inner housing body 21 is accommodated in the outer housing body 11, they protrude forward beyond the front edge of the outer housing body 11 (see FIG. 1).

[0021] A substantially rectangular cylindrical holder mounting portion 23 having a larger diameter than the inner housing main body 21 is provided at the rear end of the inner housing main body 21 (see FIGS. 4 and 6). When the inner housing main body 21 is housed in the outer housing main body 11, the holder mounting portion 23 protrudes rearward beyond the outer housing main body 11 (see FIG. 2). A rear holder 70 is mounted to the holder mounting portion 23.

[0022] A plurality of (four in this example) plate-shaped pressing portions 24 that protrude radially outward are provided at the connecting (boundary) portion between the inner housing main body 21 and the holder attachment portion 23, corresponding to the plurality of protrusions 32 of the seal member 30 (see FIGS. 3 to 4 and 6). The pressing portions 24, together with the groove bottom surface of the accommodating groove 13, sandwich the protrusions 32 of the seal member 30 in the front-to-rear direction (see FIGS. 3 and 8).

[0023] Next, the seal member 30 will be described. As shown in Figures 4 and 7, the seal member 30 has a seal body 31 that is a generally rectangular ring-shaped body extending in the front-to-rear direction. The seal body 31 is a so-called rubber packing (also called a "face seal packing"), and is fitted into the mounting groove 14 of the outer housing 10. The seal body 31 has the function of sealing off water between the connector 1 and the target member when the connector 1 is fixed to the target member.

[0024] The inner peripheral surface at the front end of the seal body 31 is provided with a plurality of plate-shaped protrusions 32 that protrude radially inward in the up-down direction (FIGS. 3 to 4 and 7). More specifically, a pair of protrusions 32 spaced apart in the left-right direction is provided on each of the upper and lower inner peripheral surfaces at the front end of the seal body 31, with the protrusion 32 on the upper inner peripheral surface protruding downward and the protrusion 32 on the lower inner peripheral surface protruding upward. The seal member 30 is held in the housing (outer housing 10 and inner housing 20) by the protrusions 32 being clamped between the accommodation groove 13 of the outer housing 10 (specifically, the groove bottom surface) and the pressing portion 24 of the inner housing 20.

[0025] The above has described the outer housing 10, the inner housing 20, and the seal member 30 that constitute the connector 1. An example of a method for manufacturing the connector 1 will now be described.

[0026] First, the waterproof member 60 is inserted into the outer housing main body 11 from the front, and the waterproof member 60 is attached to the outer housing 10.

[0027] Next, the terminals 40 are inserted into the terminal accommodating portions 22 from the rear, and the terminals 40 are accommodated in the terminal accommodating portions 22. Subsequently, the inner shell 50 is attached to the inner housing main body 21 from the front.

[0028] Next, the seal body 31 of the seal member 30 is fitted from the rear into the mounting groove 14 of the outer housing 10 so that the protrusion 32 of the seal member 30 is positioned in the recessed space in the accommodating groove 13 of the outer housing 10, and the seal member 30 is attached to the outer housing 10.

[0029] Next, the inner housing body 21 of the inner housing 20, which houses the terminals 40 and has the inner shell 50 attached, is inserted into the outer housing body 11 from the rear, and the inner housing 20 is housed in the outer housing 10. Then, the rear holder 70 is attached to the holder attachment portion 23 of the inner housing 20. This completes the connector 1 (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

[0030] In this state, the protrusion 32 of the sealing member 30 is clamped in the front-to-rear direction between the accommodating groove 13 (specifically, the bottom surface of the groove) of the outer housing 10 and the pressing portion 24 of the inner housing 20, and the sealing member 30 is held in the housing (outer housing 10 and inner housing 20) (see Figures 3 and 8).

[0031] As described above, according to this embodiment, the protrusion 32 of the seal member 30 is sandwiched between the rear end surface of the outer housing 10 and the pressing portion 24 of the inner housing 20. That is, in this embodiment, the seal member 30 is held by the inner housing 20 and the outer housing 10 by simply assembling the components without using a jig or the like, which results in superior manufacturing workability of the connector 1 and superior retention of the seal member 30 by the housing (outer housing 10 and inner housing 20) compared to conventional connectors. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve both high levels of manufacturing workability of the connector 1 and retention of the seal member 30.

[0032] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the convex portion 32 of the seal member 30 is disposed in the recessed space of the accommodating groove 13 provided in the outer housing 10, and thus the circumferential rotation of the seal member 30 is restricted by the groove side surface of the accommodating groove 13. That is, according to this embodiment, the clamping state (posture, etc.) of the convex portion 32 of the seal member 30 by the groove bottom surface of the outer housing 10 and the pressing portion 24 of the inner housing 20 is properly maintained. Also, according to this embodiment, the convex portion 32 is disposed in the recessed space, and therefore, an increase in the size of the connector 1 in the front-rear direction can be suppressed.

[0033] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the protrusions 32 protrude radially inward of the seal member 30 in the front-rear direction, thereby preventing the connector 1 from becoming large in the radial direction.

[0034] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the outer housing 10 is provided with the mounting groove 14 in which the seal member 30 is mounted, so that the seal member 30 can be mounted properly to the outer housing 10 .

[0035] <Other forms> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. Furthermore, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

[0036] Here, the features of the above-described embodiments of the connector according to the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4].

[0037] [1] A connector (1) comprising: terminals (40); an inner housing (20) that houses the terminals (40); an outer housing (10) that houses the inner housing (20); and an annular seal member (30) that is attached to the outer housing (10) and disposed between the outer housing (10) and a member to which the outer housing (10) is to be fixed (such as a vehicle panel), The sealing member (30) is Convex portions (32) are provided at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction, protruding in a direction intersecting the circumferential direction (vertical direction), The inner housing (20) is provided with a pressing portion (24) that clamps the protrusion (32) together with one end surface of the outer housing (10) in an axial direction (front-rear direction) that intersects the circumferential direction and the intersecting direction. Connector(1).

[0038] According to the configuration [1] above, the convex portion of the seal member is sandwiched between one end surface of the outer housing and the pressing portion of the inner housing. In other words, this configuration allows the seal member to be held by the inner housing and the outer housing simply by assembling each component without using a jig or the like, which makes the manufacturing process and the retention of the seal member superior to conventional methods. In other words, this configuration makes it possible to achieve both ease of manufacturing the connector and the retention of the seal member.

[0039] [2] The connector (1) described in [1] above, The outer housing (10) is provided with a receiving groove (13) that is recessed in the axial direction and in which the protrusion (32) is disposed in the recessed space, The one end surface is a groove bottom surface of the accommodation groove. Connector(1).

[0040] According to the configuration [2] above, the convex portion of the sealing member is disposed in the recessed space of the accommodation groove provided in the outer housing, so that the circumferential rotation of the sealing member is restricted by the groove side surface of the accommodation groove. That is, according to this configuration, the clamping state (posture, etc.) of the convex portion of the sealing member between the groove bottom surface of the outer housing and the pressing portion of the inner housing is maintained appropriately. Furthermore, according to this configuration, by disposing the convex portion in the recessed space, it is possible to prevent the connector from becoming large in the axial direction.

[0041] [3] The connector (1) according to the above [1] or [2], The protrusion (32) protrudes radially inward of the seal member (30) in the intersecting direction. Connector(1).

[0042] According to the configuration [3] above, the convex portion protrudes radially inward of the sealing member in the cross direction, thereby making it possible to prevent the connector from becoming large in size in the radial direction.

[0043] [4] The connector (1) according to any one of [1] to [3] above, The outer housing (10) is provided with a mounting groove (14) into which the seal member (30) is mounted. Connector(1).

[0044] According to the configuration [4] above, the outer housing is provided with a mounting groove in which the seal member is mounted, so that the seal member is properly mounted to the outer housing. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 connector 10 Outer housing 11 Outer housing body 12 Flange 13 Storage groove 14 Mounting groove 20 Inner housing 21 Inner housing body 22 Terminal housing 23 Holder attachment part 24 Presser foot 30 Sealing material 31 Seal body 32 Convex part

Claims

1. A connector comprising terminals, an inner housing that accommodates the terminals, an outer housing that accommodates the inner housing, and an annular seal member that is attached to the outer housing and disposed between the outer housing and a member to which the connector is to be fixed, The sealing member is protrusions are provided at a plurality of locations in the circumferential direction, the protrusions protruding in a direction intersecting the circumferential direction; The inner housing is provided with a pressing portion configured to sandwich the protrusion together with one end surface of the outer housing in an axial direction intersecting the circumferential direction and the intersecting direction. connector.

2. 2. The connector of claim 1, The outer housing is provided with an accommodating groove that is recessed in the axial direction and in which the protrusion is disposed in the recessed space, The one end surface is a groove bottom surface of the accommodation groove. connector.

3. 2. The connector of claim 1, The protrusion protrudes radially inward of the seal member in the intersecting direction. connector.

4. 2. The connector of claim 1, The outer housing is provided with a mounting groove into which the seal member is mounted. connector.

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