Electrical connectors – Coupling part including flexing insulation – Sealing
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-18
2002-01-29
Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Coupling part including flexing insulation
Sealing
Reexamination Certificate
active
06341984
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector used for the connection of wire harness mounted in a vehicle, and relates to a waterproof plug used for sealing the inside of the connector while being held between the housing of the waterproof connector and an electric wire of the wire harness.
For a related waterproof connector, at the least, the portion whereat male and female terminals engage with each other must be enclosed within in a waterproof space. However, for a waterproof connector having as a function the electrical detection of the engagement of connectors, a terminal that acts in response to the movement of a locking mechanism is provided inside a connector housing, so that the locking mechanism is also enclosed in a waterproof space. For even if a waterproof connector does not have an engagement detector, when it is employed under adverse conditions, mud or dust may become attached to its locking mechanism and prevent the locking mechanism from being easily released. Thus, for such a waterproof connector, the enclosure of the locking mechanism in a waterproof space is also effective.
However, when a locking mechanism is accommodated inside a waterproof space, a problem also arises concerning the time required to unlock it. That is, since release of the locking mechanism must be affected from outside a waterproof seal that defines the waterproof space, some countermeasure is required that will permit the mechanism to be unlocked under these conditions.
Waterproof connectors with engagement detectors for which such countermeasures are provided are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications Nos. 9-106852A and 10-270118A.
FIG. 19
is a cross-sectional view of the waterproof connector disclosed in the former publication. In a rear wall of a female connector housing
1
a
through hole
1
b
is formed through which is passed a lock arm
1
d
in which, at its distal end, an engagement hole
1
c
is formed. To enable the lock arm
1
d
to be flexibly inclined, it also penetrates and is supported by a waterproof seal
2
that is fitted into the through hole
1
b
. Riding on the upper portion of the lock arm
1
d
is an arm responsive terminal
3
that urges the lock arm
1
d
down towards a projection
4
a
, formed inside a male connector housing
3
on whose upper face a protrusion
4
b
and two engagement detection terminals
5
are provided.
When the male connector housing
4
is fitted into the female connector housing
1
, its distal end closely contacts the outer face of a waterproof seal
6
located in a portion into which the lock arm
1
d
is projected, a tightly closed waterproof space S that is defined by the waterproof seal
2
. When the connector housings
1
and
4
are normally engaged, the protrusion
4
b
is fitted into the engagement hole
1
c
in the lock arm
1
d
, while the arm responsive terminal
3
contacts the engagement detection terminals
5
and the engagement state is detected by an external circuit.
To release the lock, the lock arm
1
d
is tilted to the position shown in
FIG. 19
by the exertion of a force outside the waterproof space S, i.e., by pushing an external end
1
e
of the lock arm
1
d
that extends outward from the waterproof seal
2
. Then, the protrusion
4
b
is disengaged from the hole
1
c
of the lock arm
1
d
, and the connector housings
1
and
4
can be separated, releasing the lock. In this unlocking process, the waterproof seal
2
that defines the portion into which the lock arm
1
d
is inserted permits the tilting of the lock arm
1
d.
FIG. 20
is a cross-sectional view of a waterproof connector disclosed in the latter publication. In the waterproof connector, a female connector housing
7
A comprises: a flexible lock arm
7
c
, which engages a male connector housing
7
B when the two connector housings
7
A and
7
B are normally engaged; and a short-circuit terminal
8
A that interacts with the bending of the lock arm
7
c
. The male connector housing
7
B comprises a detection terminal
8
B, which interacts with the recovery of the lock arm
7
c
when the connector housings
7
A and
7
B are normally engaged, and contacts the short-circuit terminal
8
A.
A seal cover
9
, which permits the bending of the lock arm
7
c
and covers its distal end and the short-circuit terminal
8
A, is attached to the connector housing
7
A. The lock arm
7
c
and the terminals BA and BB are accommodated in the waterproof space S that is defined by the seal cover
9
.
The waterproof connectors shown in
FIGS. 19 and 20
have the following problem, though the release of the lock arms
1
d
and
7
c
can be performed from the outside of the waterproof seal
2
and the seal cover
9
.
Since the waterproof connector in
FIG. 19
is to be unlocked by pushing the external end
1
e
of the lock arm
1
d
and by tilting the lock arm
1
d
, the through hole of the waterproof seal
2
must be formed to permit the lock arm
1
d
to be tilted. Therefore, water tends to enter through the penetrating portion. Especially when the penetrating portion is composed of elastic material that will permit tilting, the contact force exerted against the lock arm by the waterproof seal
2
is reduced, and the sealing performance is deteriorated.
For the waterproof connector in
FIG. 20
, the lock arm
7
c
must be operated through the seal cover
9
, so that the operation of the unlocking mechanism is not ideal.
Waterproof connectors are structured to waterproof electric wires connected to the respective terminals inserted by fitting a seal member to each electric wire so as to prevent the entry of water and the like from the outside. Otherwise, a plurality of mat-like seal members are integrally formed with electric wire sealing portions to waterproof the whole electric wire by fitting the mat-like seal members to the rear part of a connector housing. The former seal member is called a separate-type waterproof plug, whereas the latter one is called a mat-type waterproof plug.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-201480U discloses the former separate-type waterproof plug, which will be described with reference to FIG.
21
.
The waterproof plug
61
has an insertion hole
62
for receiving an electric wire W and a cylindrical wall
63
surrounding the insertion hole
62
. More specifically, the central hole is used as the insertion hole
62
, and the peripheral wall is used as the cylindrical wall
63
in order to form an independent tubular body.
The waterproof plug
61
of this kind is normally formed of rubber material such as silicone rubber and NBR, and is formed by rapping molds with the direction of passing the insertion hole
62
therethrough as a rapping direction. Annular convex portions
64
and
65
are also formed on both outer and inner peripheral faces of the cylindrical wall
63
along a peripheral direction crossing the rapping direction.
As shown in
FIG. 22
, these annular convex portions
64
and
65
are used to make the waterproof plug
61
stick fast to the inner peripheral wall of the insertion hole
67
of a connector housing
66
and to the outer periphery of the electric wire W when the waterproof plug
61
is held between the inner peripheral wall of the insertion hole
67
and the outer periphery of the electric wire W.
However, an excessive force tends to become applied to the related waterproof plug
61
at the time of rapping the product because the annular convex portions
64
and
65
are provided on both the inner and outer peripheral faces of the cylindrical wall
63
.
Therefore, though no serious problem arises when rubber material having a high elastic stress marginal value is employed as before, the use of thermoplastic elastomeric resin (e.g., TPEE) having an elastic stress marginal value lower than that of the rubber material may easily make the product undergo plastic deformation at the time of mold opening, thus resulting in poor dimensional stability.
FIG. 23
is a diagram showing a related waterproof connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 343972A, and
FIG
Murakami Takao
Taguchi Naoto
Nguyen Phuong
Paumen Gary
Yazaki -Corporation
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