Waterproof Connector Guiding Surface for Seal Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing waterproof connectors fail to ensure reliable waterproofness due to the lack of adequate guidance for terminal insertion, which can damage the rubber seal, especially when the terminal's tab is eccentric, leading to compromised sealing and waterproof performance.
Innovation Solution
A waterproof connector design featuring a guiding surface inclined over the entire length of the through hole in the rear holder, ensuring the terminal fitting is smoothly guided into the seal hole, preventing damage to the seal and enhancing waterproof reliability, with the rear holder's axial center disposed obliquely to simplify manufacturing and structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a taper is provided on only one circumferential part of the rear entrance of the guiding tube, then the structure is simple, but the terminal fitting may not be guided reliably and may damage the seal
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding function is segmented into two distinct components: the taper on the rear entrance of the guiding tube handles initial insertion and alignment, while the guiding surface on the through hole handles the insertion journey and final positioning. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in a specific guiding task, improving overall reliability without significantly increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The taper provides preliminary guiding action at the rear entrance to align the terminal fitting before it enters the guiding tube. This preliminary alignment ensures that the terminal fitting is properly positioned before the main guiding surface takes over, preventing damage to the seal while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the guiding surface extends over the entire length of the through hole, then the guiding accuracy is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding surface is provided with specific local qualities: it extends over the entire length of the through hole to ensure continuous guidance, and it is inclined toward the center of the seal hole to provide self-centering action. These localized quality enhancements improve guiding accuracy while maintaining reasonable manufacturing complexity through straightforward machining approaches.
3Ease of manufacture
If the rear holder is disposed obliquely with the axial center intersecting the front-rear direction, then the guiding surface can be simplified, but the rear holder structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The rear holder is designed with asymmetric positioning where its axial center is disposed obliquely, intersecting the front-rear direction of the connector housing. This asymmetric arrangement allows the guiding surface to be inclined toward the center of the seal hole in a straightforward manner, simplifying the guiding surface fabrication while the modular rear holder structure absorbs the added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Seals 40 are disposed in a rear part of a connector housing 10, and rearward detachment of the seals 40 is restricted by rear holders 50. A terminal fitting 80 is inserted into a cavity 15 of the connector housing 10 from a through hole 57 of the rear holder 50 via a seal hole 41 of the seal member 40. The through hole 57 of the rear holder 50 is provided with a guiding surface 59 inclined toward a center of the seal hole 41 with respect to a front-rear direction toward front in a range extending substantially over the entire length of the through hole 57 in the front-rear direction with the rear holder 50 disposed on the connector housing 10.