JP3687462B2 - Waterproof structure for panel mount connectors - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a panel-mounted connector.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, the connection structure of the wire harness between the body of the automobile and the door is arranged with a standby connector in the panel on the body side, and a connector provided at the end of the electric wire led out from the door side is provided for this standby connector. It is designed to be fitted. The standby connector on the body side is fitted into a mounting opening opened in the panel, and the mounting portion of this connector is in close contact with the rim of the mounting opening and is immersed in the panel through the mounting opening. A seal ring is installed to prevent this. In addition, a grommet for waterproofing is attached to the connector on the door side arranged outside the panel, and this grommet comes into close contact with the mating part with the standby connector so that waterproofing between the connectors is achieved. ing. In addition, what was described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 11-111385 is known as an example of such a thing.
[0003]
By the way, there is a need for a space for disposing a standby connector in the panel of the body. However, depending on the vehicle model, a structure in which such a disposition space cannot be secured sufficiently in the panel of the part where the door is attached in the body. There are things. In that case, it is only necessary to newly design the connector in accordance with the arrangement space. However, the cost is naturally increased, and this is desirable if the existing one can be used.
Therefore, if the installation space for the existing standby connector can be secured in the door-side panel, the standby connector is installed in the door panel, while the connector is provided at the end of the electric wire led out from the body side. It is conceivable to fit the standby connector from outside the panel.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the existing standby connector is arranged in the door side panel, the following problems occur.
When this stand-by connector is used on the body side, if the panel mounting port is waterproofed with a seal ring, there is no risk of water entering the panel. Is not held.
[0005]
However, the door-side panel is formed with, for example, a sliding groove for a window plate, and an opening to the outside is formed in addition to the mounting opening. There is a risk of flooding. For this reason, when the existing standby connector is arranged in the door panel, its waterproofness becomes unstable. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the waterproofness of a connector housing to be mounted in a panel.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a male connector housing disposed inside a door panel in an automobile in a state of penetrating an attachment port provided in the panel. A cylindrical hood portion attached to the panel is provided, and a female connector housing disposed outside the panel can be fitted into the hood portion, and the male connector housing includes The male grommet that covers the entire outer periphery of the portion of the connector housing facing the inside of the panel and is integrally provided with a mounting port seal portion that can be in close contact with the rim of the mounting port is mounted, The female connector housing is mounted on the housing body, a female grommet that covers the housing body from the back side, and an outer side of the female grommet. A grommet cover made of fat, and the female grommet can be waterproofed between the two connector housings by closely contacting the inner surface of the hood portion when both the connector housings are fitted. The grommet cover is provided with a receiving portion disposed so as to be in contact with the panel when the two connector housings are fitted and to face the mounting port seal portion with the panel interposed therebetween. It has the characteristics in the configuration.
[0007]
The invention of claim 2 is the one described in claim 1, wherein the opposing surface of the male connector housing and said male grommet is provided on each of the fittable flanges and mating grooves from one another It has the characteristics in the place.
[0008]
[Action and effect of the invention]
<Invention of Claim 1>
Although the inside of the door panel is kept watertight by the waterproofing of the mounting port by the mounting port seal portion, the panel may also be submerged from other places. Even in such a case, the male connector housing arranged inside the panel is covered with the male grommet so that the outer periphery of the portion facing the inside of the panel is entirely covered.
In addition, since both the male connector housing itself and the panel mounting opening can be waterproofed by one male grommet, the structure becomes simple.
[0009]
<Invention of Claim 2 >
When the male grommet is attached to the male connector housing, the flange and the fitting groove are fitted, and the male grommet is held in the attached state with respect to the male connector housing. Since it is not necessary to attach a special member to the connector in order to hold the male side grommet, the structure of the connector is simplified.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the connector shown in this embodiment is provided with a female connector housing 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as a female housing 10) disposed outside a door panel P in an automobile, and a panel P inside. A male connector housing 30 (hereinafter simply referred to as a male housing 30) waiting for the mating female housing 10, and the housings 10 and 30 can be fitted to each other with the panel P interposed therebetween. . The female housing 10 is provided at the end of the body-side wire harness, and the male housing 30 is provided at the end of the door-side wire harness. In the following, the fitting surface side of both housings 10 and 30 is the front.
[0011]
First, the female housing 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the female housing 10 is mounted so as to cover the housing main body 11 made of resin and the housing main body 11 from the back side and completely cover the outer periphery excluding the fitting surface. A rubber female grommet 13, a resin grommet cover 16 mounted on the outer side of the female grommet 13, and a lever that is mounted on the outer surface of the grommet cover 16 and performs the fitting operation of both housings 10 and 30. 20. In the housing body 11, a plurality of cavities 12 are provided that can accommodate female terminal fittings connected to electric wires led out from a body-side panel P (not shown).
[0012]
In the female grommet 13, a substantially cylindrical electric wire lead-out portion 14 through which an electric wire drawn out from the housing main body 11 passes is provided so as to protrude downward in the figure from the rear end surface of the box portion surrounding the housing main body 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the front end portion of the female grommet 13 is disposed so as to surround the outer periphery of the housing main body 11 on the fitting surface side, and a plurality of annular flanges 15 are provided on the front edge. ing. The flange 15 is formed so as to protrude slightly forward from the fitting surface of the housing main body 11, and as shown in FIG. The two housings 10 and 30 can be waterproofed in close contact with each other.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the grommet cover 16 is attached to the housing main body 11 with the female side grommet 13 interposed therebetween. In the lower part of the rear end face of the grommet cover 16, an opening 17 for opening the wire lead-out portion 14 of the female side grommet 13 downward is provided. In the grommet cover 16, a pair of receiving portions 18 are provided at the upper and lower ends in the drawing. As shown in FIG. 5, these receiving portions 18 can be brought into contact with the edge of the mounting port H on the outer surface side of the panel P when both the housings 10 and 30 are fitted. In the male housing 30 inside P, the male grommet 50 is arranged at a position corresponding to the attachment port seal portion 55. A pair of shaft protrusions 19 that pivotally support the lever 20 so as to be pivotable are provided so as to protrude substantially at the center in the height direction of the grommet cover 16.
[0014]
The lever 20 is formed in a gate shape as a whole, and a pair of leg portions 21 are connected by a connecting portion 22. These leg portions 21 are provided with cam grooves 23 into which the follower pins 36 provided on the male housing 30 side can enter, and the entrance 24 of the cam groove 23 is the front in the state before the lever 20 is rotated. It comes to face. Then, by rotating the lever 20 from the state in which the follower pin 36 is inserted into the entrance 24 of the cam groove 23, the follower pin 36 is moved along the cam groove 23 and the housings 10 and 30 are fitted. The operation is going on. In addition, the leg portion 21 is provided with a shaft hole 25 that is fitted into the shaft protrusion 19 of the grommet cover 16.
[0015]
Next, the male housing 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the male housing 30 is attached in a state of penetrating through an attachment opening H provided to be opened in the panel P. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the male housing 30 includes a terminal housing portion including a cavity 33 capable of housing a plurality of male terminal fittings (not shown) provided at the terminal of the door-side wire harness. 31 and a hood portion 32 which is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape on the front side of the terminal accommodating portion 31 and into which the female housing 10 can be fitted. A retainer mounting hole 34 is provided on the side surface of the terminal accommodating portion 31 so as to cross the cavities 33 and open them to the outside. A retainer 35 that engages with a male terminal fitting inserted into each cavity 33 and prevents them from being detached can be attached to the retainer mounting hole 34.
[0016]
The hood portion 32 is formed to be slightly larger than the outer shape of the terminal accommodating portion 31, and is provided so as to protrude outward from the front end of the terminal accommodating portion 31. A pair of follower pins 36 that are fitted into the cam groove 23 of the lever 20 of the female housing 10 that is fitted into the hood portion 32 protrude from the inner side surface of the hood portion 32, and these follower pins 36 face each other. It is arranged at the position to do. A locking projection 37 is provided at the center of the front end of the hood portion 32 on the upper side in the figure so as to protrude upward from the outer surface of the hood portion 32. A mounting groove 38 into which the locking spring 39 can be press-fitted is provided on the inner surface of the hood portion 32 on the lower side in the figure. As shown in FIG. 3, the front end of the locking spring 39 is aligned with the front end of the hood portion 32, is folded downward to form a mountain shape, and can be elastically deformed. When the male housing 30 is attached to the panel P, the peak portions of the locking protrusions 37 and the locking springs 39 are arranged on the outside of the panel P and are locked to the outer surface of the panel P. Yes. As a result, the male housing 30 is held against the panel P.
[0017]
The male housing 30 is arranged inside the panel P as described above, and a male male grommet 50 is attached to the outer periphery thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the male grommet 50 is formed in a substantially box shape that opens forward, and includes a main body 51 that is attached in close contact with the outer surface of the male housing 30 and the outer surface of the retainer 35. Yes. As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 51 has a thick stepped portion between a portion covering the front hood portion 32 and a portion covering the second half terminal accommodating portion 31 in the male housing 30. . On the lower side of the rear end portion of the main body 51, there is provided a cylindrical wire lead-out portion 52 that guides the wire drawn rearward from the cavity 33 of the male housing 30 in a state bent downward by approximately 90 degrees. It has been.
[0018]
The male grommet 50 covers the outer surface and the rear end surface of the male housing 30 on the rear side of the male housing 30 with respect to a position slightly spaced from the front end. That is, the retainer mounting hole 34 and the cavity 33 which are openings in the male housing 30 are surrounded by the male side grommet 50, so that the male housing 30 is maintained in a watertight state.
[0019]
On the outer peripheral surface of the male housing 30, a first flange 40 and a second flange 41 are respectively provided at positions separated in the front-rear direction. Among these, the 1st flange 40 is provided in the position which left | separated the predetermined dimension back from the latching protrusion 37 in the food | hood part 32. As shown in FIG. The second flange 41 is provided at a position immediately before the retainer mounting hole 34 in the terminal accommodating portion 31. On the other hand, a first fitting groove 53 and a second fitting groove 54 that can be fitted to the first flange 40 and the second flange 41 are provided on the inner surface of the male grommet 50. Among these, the first fitting groove 53 is provided so as to bulge the main body 51 outward along the shape of the first flange 40. The second fitting groove 54 is provided on the inner surface of the thick portion in the main body 51. A holding structure for the male housing 30 of the male grommet 50 is formed by the flanges 40 and 41 and the fitting grooves 53 and 54. Further, the second flange 41 is formed smaller in thickness and height than the first flange 40.
[0020]
At the front end of the main body 51 of the male grommet 50, a hook-shaped attachment port seal portion 55 is provided. The attachment port seal portion 55 is disposed so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the hood portion 32 at a position immediately before the first flange 40 of the male housing 30. In the state where the male housing 30 is attached to the panel P, the attachment port seal portion 55 is in a state where the panel P is sandwiched between the attachment projection 37 and the attachment port H of the panel P. It is in close contact with the edge, thereby preventing water from entering the panel P through the attachment port H. At this time, the pressure applied from the panel P to the attachment port seal portion 55 is received by the first flange 40.
[0021]
The present embodiment has the above-described structure, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. As shown in FIG. 3, the female housing 10 is fitted from the outside of the panel P to the male housing 30 attached to the inside of the panel P. At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the female housing 10 is lightly fitted into the hood portion 32 of the male housing 30 so that the follower pin 36 enters the entrance 24 of the cam groove 23.
[0022]
The follower pin 36 is moved along the cam groove 23 as the lever 20 of the female housing 10 is turned from this state in the direction of the arrow in FIG. With the movement of the follower pin 36, the female housing 10 is displaced to the back of the hood portion 32, and the fitting operation of both the housings 10 and 30 proceeds. And if the lever 20 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 5, both the housings 10 and 30 will be in a regular fitting state.
[0023]
Along with this fitting operation, the receiving portion 18 of the female housing 10 is placed in contact with the outer surface of the panel P and presses the panel P from the outside. At this time, the attachment port seal portion 55 of the male grommet 50 is sandwiched between the first flange 40 of the male housing 30 and the receiving portion 18 of the panel P and the female housing 10, so that the attachment port H of the panel P is obtained. Since it is in close contact with the mouth edge of the water, it is prevented that the water enters the panel P through the attachment port H. Further, since the flange portion 15 of the female housing 10 is in close contact with the inner surface of the hood portion 32 of the male housing 30, the fitting portions of both the housings 10 and 30 are waterproofed.
[0024]
By the way, although the panel P of this door is temporarily kept in a watertight state by the waterproofing of the mounting opening H as described above, water may enter from a portion other than the mounting opening H. For example, a gap may be formed in the panel P along with the door window mounting structure, and water may be immersed from the outside through the gap.
[0025]
However, since the outer periphery of the male housing 30 is covered with the male grommet 50 in a watertight manner, the waterproofness of the male housing 30 itself is sufficiently secured even when there is water from a portion other than the attachment port H. can do. Specifically, in the male housing 30, a cavity 33 that accommodates a male terminal fitting provided at the end of the electric wire and a male terminal fitting accommodated in the cavity 33 can be engaged and held in a retaining state. Since the retainer mounting hole 34 for mounting the retainer 35 is covered with the male grommet 50, it is possible to prevent the water from entering the male housing 30 from the cavity 33 and the retainer mounting hole 34. In addition, the male housing 30 is used with a male grommet 50 attached to what is conventionally disposed in the body-side panel P, and there is no need to change the structure of the conventional male housing 30. Therefore, it can respond at low cost.
[0026]
Moreover, the male grommet 50 is integrally provided with a mounting port seal portion 55 that is in close contact with the edge of the mounting port H of the panel P and waterproofs the mounting port H. Since both the male housing 30 itself and the mounting opening H of the panel P can be waterproofed, the structure becomes simple.
[0027]
Furthermore, the holding structure of the male grommet 50 with respect to the male housing 30 is configured by the fitting of the first flange 40 and the second flange 41 with the first fitting groove 53 and the second fitting groove 54. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special holding member for holding the male side grommet 50, and the structure of the connector can be simplified.
[0028]
<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings, it can be implemented with various modifications within a scope not departing from the Abstract.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where both housings are detached. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state where both housings are detached. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which both housings are being fitted together. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which both housings are properly fitted.
10: Female housing (the other connector housing)
30 ... Male housing (one connector housing)
32 ... Hood 40 ... First flange 41 ... Second flange 50 ... Male grommet (grommet)
53 ... 1st fitting groove 54 ... 2nd fitting groove 55 ... Mounting port seal part (mounting port sealing means)
H ... Mounting port P ... Panel

Claims (2)

A male connector housing disposed inside a door panel in an automobile is provided with a cylindrical hood portion that is attached to the panel in a state of penetrating through an attachment port provided in the panel. Is capable of fitting a female connector housing arranged on the outside of the panel,
The male connector housing includes a mounting port seal portion that covers the entire outer periphery of the portion of the connector housing that faces the inside of the panel and is integrally provided with a mounting port seal portion that can be in close contact with the rim of the mounting port. Grommet is attached ,
The female connector housing includes a housing body, a female grommet that covers the housing body from the back side, and a resin grommet cover that is attached to the outside of the female grommet,
When the female grommet is fitted to both connector housings, it is possible to achieve waterproofing between the two connector housings by closely contacting the inner surface of the hood portion.
The grommet cover is provided with a receiving portion that is in contact with the panel when the two connector housings are fitted to each other and that faces the mounting port seal portion across the panel. A waterproof structure for a panel mounting type connector. Wherein the facing surfaces of the male connector housing and said male grommet of claim 1, wherein the panel-mounted connector, wherein a fittable flanges and mating grooves from one another are provided, each Waterproof structure.

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