JP-7856018-B2 - connector

JP7856018B2JP 7856018 B2JP7856018 B2JP 7856018B2JP-7856018-B2

Inventors

内田将司

Assignees

住友電装株式会社

Dates

Publication Date: 20260511
Application Date: 20230202

Claims (6)

Housing and It includes a terminal assembly, The housing comprises a housing body having a through hole that penetrates in a first direction, The terminal assembly comprises a terminal, a retaining component inserted into the through hole together with the terminal, a sealing member directly attached to the terminal to seal the space between the inner wall of the through hole and the terminal, and a nut attached to the retaining component for temporary holding. The retaining component has a terminal insertion hole through which the terminal is inserted, a terminal positioning section for positioning the terminal inserted into the terminal insertion hole, and a nut positioning section connected to the terminal positioning section for positioning the nut. The housing is a connector having a nut-holding wall that holds the nut in a position positioned by the nut-positioning portion.
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the nut retaining wall has a substrate portion that holds the nut between itself and the terminal to prevent the nut from coming off.
The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the nut retaining wall has a side plate portion that engages with the outer circumferential surface of the nut to prevent the nut from rotating.
The side plate portion has a locking portion, The connector according to claim 3, wherein the retaining part has a locking portion that locks into the locking portion to hold the terminal assembly in a state attached to the housing body.
The connector according to claim 4, wherein the retaining component has a flexible piece, and the locking portion is provided on the flexible piece.
The connector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the nut positioning portion has a temporary holding rib that temporarily holds the nut by clamping it from the first direction.

Description

This disclosure relates to connectors. Conventionally, a connector known for preventing the ingress of liquids such as water and oil into the housing is, for example, the connector described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-243636 (see Patent Document 1 below). This connector comprises a housing, terminals, an O-ring, a fastener, and an O-ring holder, with the O-ring directly attached to the terminal. A terminal insertion hole is formed in the housing, into which the terminal is inserted. The housing also has an O-ring mounting recess that communicates with the terminal insertion hole. The O-ring is attached to the terminal so as to surround its entire circumference, and when the terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion hole, the O-ring is fitted into the O-ring mounting recess, sealing the inside of the terminal insertion hole. The terminal has fastening holes at its ends. When the terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion hole, the fastening holes are positioned in the fastening section of the housing. A fastening nut is press-fitted into the fastening section of the housing. On the other hand, the mating terminal, to which the terminal connects, has an insertion hole. To connect the mating terminal to the terminal, the mating terminal is placed on top of the terminal so that its insertion hole and fastening hole are in communication. Then, a fastening screw is inserted into both the insertion hole and the fastening hole, and screwed into the fastening nut to secure the connection between the terminal and the mating terminal. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-243636 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the connector from diagonally above and in front.Figure 2 is a front view of the connector.Figure 3 is a side view of the connector.Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 2.Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 2.Figure 6 is a perspective view taken from diagonally above and in front of the housing, showing the first terminal assembly before it is attached.Figure 7 is a perspective view taken from diagonally above and in front of the terminal, showing the terminal before the insulating member and the third sealing member are attached.Figure 8 is a perspective view taken from diagonally above and in front of the retaining component, before the terminals are attached.Figure 9 is a bottom view of the retaining part, seen from below, before the nut is attached.Figure 10 is a bottom view, seen from below, of the retaining part shown in Figure 9 after the nut has been attached.Figure 11 is a perspective view of the first terminal assembly, seen from diagonally downwards and in front.Figure 12 is a perspective view of the first terminal assembly, seen from diagonally above and in front. [Description of Embodiments in this Disclosure] First, the embodiments of this disclosure will be listed and described. [1] The connector of the present disclosure comprises a housing and a terminal assembly, wherein the housing comprises a housing body having a through hole penetrating in a first direction, the terminal assembly comprises a terminal, a retaining component inserted into the through hole together with the terminal, a sealing member directly attached to the terminal to seal the space between the inner wall of the through hole and the terminal, and a nut attached to the retaining component for temporary retention, the retaining component having a terminal insertion hole through which the terminal is inserted, a terminal positioning portion for positioning the terminal inserted into the terminal insertion hole, and a nut positioning portion provided in connection with the terminal positioning portion for positioning the nut, and the housing comprises a nut retaining wall for holding the nut in a positioned state by the nut positioning portion. Since the nut is temporarily held in place by being attached to the retaining part, press-fitting the nut becomes unnecessary, preventing problems such as forgetting to press-fit the nut or misalignment of the nut during press-fitting. Furthermore, because the sealing member is directly attached to the terminal, attaching the terminal and nut to the retaining part allows the terminal and sealing member to be positioned by the terminal positioning part, and the nut to be positioned by the nut positioning part. As a result, a terminal assembly can be constructed in which the terminal, nut, and sealing member are relatively positioned by a single retaining part, and since a separate part for positioning the sealing member is not required, component costs can be reduced. The nut retaining wall holds the nut in a positioned position, thus improving the positioning accuracy of the nut. When fastening the mating terminals together with a bolt and nut, the position of the nut, held in its positioned position, is used as a reference point for fastening. In other words, there is no risk of the terminals shifting d