This application is based on Japanese Patent Application (No. 2017-103959) filed on May 25, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by way of reference.
The present invention relates to a connector which is provided with a waterproofing member.
There is known a connector which includes a housing provided with a terminal accommodating chamber which stores a terminal connected to an end of an electric wire, a waterproofing member which is provided on a rear side of the housing to seal a gap between the electric wire and the housing, and a waterproofing member cover which is used to assemble the waterproofing member and the housing (for example, see JP-A-7-282892, JP-A-2008-84671, JP-A-2012-243739, JP-A-2014-2978, JP-A-2014-220058, and JP-A-2016-225045).
It is one advantageous aspect of the present invention to provide a connector which is able to make the insertion operation of a terminal smooth and secure.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provide a connector including:
a terminal connected to an end of an electric wire;
a housing including a terminal accommodating chamber to which the terminal is inserted in a predetermined posture from a rear side; and
a waterproofing member which including an insertion hole through which the terminal passes, and mounted on a rear side of the housing to seal a gap between the housing and the electric wire extending from the terminal passed through the insertion hole, wherein
the waterproofing member includes
a guide portion provided at least on a rear side in a terminal insertion direction in the insertion hole, and having a tapered shape so as to guide the terminal to the insertion hole, and
a posture correcting portion provided in the guide portion, and configured to correct a posture of the terminal about an axis of the insertion hole to the predetermined posture by abutting on the terminal to be inserted to the insertion hole.
The terminal may include an electrical connection portion having a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view and configured to be electrically connected to a mating terminal, and the posture correcting portion may include a convex portion which protrudes in correspondence with a position along a side in the cross-sectional shape of the electrical connection portion.
The connector may further include a waterproofing member cover including a through hole through which the terminal passes, and holding the waterproofing member in the housing, and the guide portion may be configured to guide the terminal passed through the through hole to the insertion hole of the waterproofing member in a state where inclining of the electrical connection portion about the axis of the insertion hole is suppressed to be less than 45° with respect to the predetermined posture.
As illustrated in
By the way, when the female terminal 106 is inserted to the insertion hole 102 of the mat seal 101 in process of storing the female terminal 106 in the terminal accommodating chamber 105, there is a concern that the female terminal 106 is rotated about an axis and the posture is collapsed. Then, as illustrated in
The invention has been made in view of the problem, and an object thereof is to provide a connector which is able to make the insertion operation of a terminal smooth and secure.
Hereinafter, embodiments of a connector according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
The connector 1 is a waterproofing connector which seals a gap between an electric wire 81 and the housing 10 by the mat seal 20 which is mounted in the rear portion of the housing 10. The connector 1 rotates the lever 50 which is rotatably mounted in the housing 10 to pull the housing of a mating connector to the housing 10. Therefore, the mating connector is joined to the connector 1 with a low insertion force. In this way, the connector 1 is a waterproofing connector, and serves as an LIF connector which joins the mating connector by an operation of the lever 50 with a low insertion force.
As illustrated in
The terminal accommodating chamber 15 is formed in a rectangular shape in front view. The female terminal 80 having an electrical connection portion 82 which is formed in a rectangular cylinder shape and in a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view and electrically connected to a mating terminal is inserted and stored in the terminal accommodating chamber 15 in a predetermined posture.
The outer housing 12 is a portion to be locked to the outer periphery of a locking cylindrical wall of the housing of the mating connector (not illustrated). The inner housing 11 is a portion to be locked to the inner periphery of the locking cylindrical wall of the housing of the mating connector. The rear end of the outer housing 12 is bound to the rear end of the inner housing 11 and the front end of the cylindrical wall 14. The cylindrical wall 14 is formed with a storage space 13 to store the mat seal 20 and the mat seal cover 30.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The mat seal 20 includes a posture correcting portion 27 on the rear side of the terminal insertion direction A in the insertion hole 25, that is, in the guide portion 25a on the insertion side of the female terminal 80. The posture correcting portion 27 includes a plurality (four in this example) of convex portions 28 which protrude from the surface of the guide portion 25a. These convex portions 28 are formed in pairs at positions facing each other with the insertion hole 25 interposed therebetween, and protrude in correspondence with positions along a side in the cross-sectional shape of the electrical connection portion 82. The convex portion 28 has a vertex portion 28a of which the center portion protrudes at a maximum in a width direction on the insertion hole 25 side, and smoothly inclined to the lower side from the vertex portion 28a to the periphery. With this configuration, a concave portion 28b is formed between the adjacent convex portions 28 in the posture correcting portion 27. These concave portions 28b are formed at positions corresponding to the corners of the terminal accommodating chamber 15 which is formed in a rectangular shape of the housing 10.
As illustrated in
A locking portion 38 is formed in the periphery of the mat seal cover 30. The locking portion 38 is locked to a locking hole 18 (see
As illustrated in
The electrical connection portion 82 is formed in a rectangular cylinder shape which is a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view. The electrical connection portion 82 includes a bottom plate 89, side plates 84 which are erected from the both side portions of the bottom plate 89, and a top plate 85 which is provided to extend from the upper edge of one side plate 84 to the upper edge of the other side plate 84. In the top plate 85, an elastic contact piece 86 is formed. The elastic contact piece 86 is folded back inside on the front end side in the top plate 85 to extend toward the rear end side. The intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece 86 is bent to be projected toward the top plate 85 side. A slight gap is formed between the bottom plate 89 and the elastic contact piece 86. A male terminal (mating terminal) of the mating connector (not illustrated) is inserted between the bottom plate 89 and the elastic contact piece 86 in the electrical connection portion 82, and thus the female terminal 80 and the mating terminal are electrically connected to each other. The electrical connection portion 82 includes a positioning projection 82a in one side portion which protrudes to the outside. The positioning projection 82a is guided to the positioning concave portion 32a which is formed in the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30. With this configuration, the female terminal 80 is inserted to the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30 in a state of being positioned in a predetermined posture, and sent to the mat seal 20 and the housing 10.
The electric wire connecting portion 83 of the female terminal 80 includes a conductor crimping portion 87 and a sheath crimping portion 88 sequentially from the electrical connection portion 82 side. The conductor crimping portion 87 includes a pair of conductor caulking pieces 87a. The sheath crimping portion 88 includes a pair of sheath caulking pieces 88a. In the conductor crimping portion 87, a conductor 81a exposed at the end portion of the electric wire 81 is pressed by caulking the conductor caulking piece 87a. Therefore, the female terminal 80 is electrically connected to the conductor 81a of the electric wire 81. In the sheath crimping portion 88, the end portion of the sheath of the electric wire 81 is compressed and fixed by caulking the sheath caulking piece 88a.
As illustrated in
Next, the description will be given about a case where the female terminal 80 is assembled to the housing 10.
The position of the positioning projection 82a formed in the electrical connection portion 82 of the female terminal 80 is arranged to be matched up with the positioning concave portion 32a of the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30, and the female 80 is inserted into the through hole 32 from the rear side of the mat seal cover 30. With this configuration, the female terminal 80 is inserted through the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30 in a predetermined posture.
Further, the electrical connection portion 82 of the female terminal 80 is inserted to the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20 by inserting the female terminal 80.
At this time, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
When the female terminal 80 passes through the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20, the inner peripheral lip 26 of the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20 evenly and tightly adheres to the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire 81 to seal the electric wire 81 and the housing 10.
Hitherto, as described above, according to the connector 1 of the embodiment, when the female terminal 80 is inserted to the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20, the posture of the female terminal 80 about the axis is corrected to a predetermined posture by the posture correcting portion 27.
Specifically, when the female terminal 80 of which the electrical connection portion 82 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view is inserted to the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20, each side at the front end of the electrical connection portion 82 is along the convex portion 28 of the posture correcting portion 27, and each corner 82b at the front end of the electrical connection portion 82 is guided between the adjacent convex portions 28. Therefore, the posture of the female terminal 80 about the axis is corrected to the predetermined posture to be smoothly inserted to the insertion hole 25.
With this configuration, the front end of the female terminal 80 sent to the terminal accommodating chamber 15 of the housing 10 through the insertion hole 25 of the mat seal 20 does not come into conflict with the edge of the terminal accommodating chamber 15. Therefore, an insertion operation of the female terminal 80 to the terminal accommodating chamber 15 of the housing 10 can be smoothly and securely performed.
Even when the female terminal 80 passes through the insertion hole 25, the outer peripheral surface of the electrical connection portion 82 is held by the respective convex portions 28 of the posture correcting portion 27. Therefore, the female terminal 80 can be sent to the terminal accommodating chamber 15 of the housing 10 while keeping the posture stable.
By the way, if the female terminal 80 of which the electrical connection portion 82 is formed in a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view is inclined by equal to or more than 45° about the axis, the posture of the female terminal 80 is too collapsed and thus the posture correcting portion 27 of the mat seal 20 may hardly correct the posture of the female terminal 80 to the predetermined posture. In other words, if the inclining of the electrical connection portion 82 having a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view is equal to or more than 45° about the axis, the corner 82b of the electrical connection portion 82 is guided to the adjacent concave portion 28b different from the corresponding concave portion 28b, and thus the inclining of the female terminal 80 about the axis becomes 90°.
However, in the embodiment, the inclining of the electrical connection portion 82 passed through the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30 is suppressed to be less than 45° about the axis with respect to a predetermined posture. Therefore, the posture of the female terminal 80 is securely corrected to a predetermined posture by the posture correcting portion 27 of the mat seal 20, so that the female terminal can be sent to the terminal accommodating chamber 15 of the housing 10.
Further, the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications and improvements can be appropriately made. Besides, materials, shapes, dimensions, numbers, and layout places of the respective components in the above embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as the invention can be achieved.
For example, in the above embodiment, the posture correcting portion 27 having the plurality of convex portions 28 is provided in the guide portion 25a. However, like a mat seal 20A illustrated in
In the above embodiment, the posture correcting portion 27 is provided in the guide portion 25a on the insertion side of the female terminal 80 in the insertion hole 25. However, the posture correcting portion may be provided on both sides of the guide portions 25a and 25b of the insertion hole 25. In this case, the posture of the female terminal 80 can be corrected when the female terminal 80 is inserted to the insertion hole 25. Further, even when the female terminal 80 is pulled out of the insertion hole 25, the posture of the female terminal 80 can be corrected, and it is possible to suppress the interference between the female terminal 80 and the edge of the through hole 32 of the mat seal cover 30.
Herein, the features of the embodiments of the connector according to the invention will be simply summarized in the following [1] to [3].
[1] A connector (1), including:
a terminal (the female terminal 80) connected to an end of an electric wire (81);
a housing (10) including a terminal accommodating chamber (15) to which the terminal (the female terminal 80) is inserted in a predetermined posture from a rear side; and
a waterproofing member (the mat seal 20) including an insertion hole (25) through which the terminal (the female terminal 80) passes, and mounted on a rear side of the housing (10) to seal a gap between the housing (10) and the electric wire (81) extending from the terminal (the female terminal 80) passed through the insertion hole (25), wherein
the waterproofing member (the mat seal 20) includes
a guide portion (25a) provided at least on a rear side in a terminal insertion direction (A) in the insertion hole (25), and having a tapered shape so as to guide the terminal (the female terminal 80) to the insertion hole (25), and
a posture correcting portion (27) provided in the guide portion (25a), and configured to correct a posture of the terminal (the female terminal 80) about an axis of the insertion hole (25) to the predetermined posture by abutting on the terminal (the female terminal 80) to be inserted to the insertion hole (25).
[2] The connector (1) according to [1], wherein
the terminal (the female terminal 80) includes an electrical connection portion (82) having a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view and configured to be electrically connected to a mating terminal, and
the posture correcting portion (27) includes a convex portion (28) which protrudes in correspondence with a position along a side in the cross-sectional shape of the electrical connection portion (82).
[3] The connector (1) according to [2], further including:
a waterproofing member cover (the mat seal cover 30) including a through hole (32) through which the terminal (the female terminal 80) passes, and holding the waterproofing member (the mat seal 20) in the housing (10),
wherein the guide portion (25a) is configured to guide the terminal (the female terminal 80) passed through the through hole (32) to the insertion hole (25) of the waterproofing member (the mat seal 20) in a state where inclining of the electrical connection portion (82) about the axis of the insertion hole (25) is suppressed to be less than 45° with respect to the predetermined posture.
According to the connector, the posture of the terminal about the axis is corrected by the posture correcting portion to the predetermined posture when the terminal is inserted to the insertion hole of the waterproofing member. With this configuration, the front end of the terminal which passes through the insertion hole of the waterproofing member and sent to the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing does not come into conflict with the edge of the terminal accommodating chamber. Therefore, the insertion operation of the terminal to the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing can be performed smoothly and securely.
According to the connector, when the terminal of which the electrical connection portion is formed in a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view is inserted to the insertion hole of the waterproofing member, each side at the front end of the electrical connection portion is along the convex portions of the posture correcting portion, and each corner at the front end of the electrical connection portion is guided between the adjacent convex portions. With this configuration, the posture of the terminal about the axis is corrected to the predetermined posture and inserted to the insertion hole. Even when the terminal passes through the insertion hole, each outer peripheral surface of the electrical connection portion is held by each convex portion of the posture correcting portion. Therefore, the terminal can be sent to the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing while keeping the posture stable.
According to the connector of, if the inclining of the terminal of which the electrical connection portion is formed in a rectangular shape in cross-sectional view is equal to or more than 45° about the axis, the posture of the terminal is too collapsed and thus the posture correcting portion of the waterproofing member hardly correct the posture of the terminal to the predetermined posture. However, in the terminal passed through the through hole of the waterproofing member cover, the inclining of the electrical connection portion about the axis is suppressed to be less than 45° with respect to the predetermined posture, and thus the posture correcting portion of the waterproofing member can securely correct the posture of the terminal to the predetermined posture, and the terminal can be sent to the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing.
According to the invention, it is possible to provide a connector which is able to make an insertion operation of a terminal smooth and secure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2017-103959 | May 2017 | JP | national |