U.S. patent application number 09/811570 was filed with the patent office on 2001-11-08 for structure for assembling a housing and a connector.
Invention is credited to Murakami, Takao, Nakamura, Mitsuharu.
Application Number | 20010039130 09/811570 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18595478 |
Filed Date | 2001-11-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010039130 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nakamura, Mitsuharu ; et
al. |
November 8, 2001 |
Structure for assembling a housing and a connector
Abstract
In a structure for assembling a housing and a connector in which
a connector is inserted into a housing, and a fitting surface of
the connector adapted to be connected to a mating connector and
oriented in a direction perpendicular to an inserting direction
projects outside the housing through an opening formed in the
housing, an inclined wall which is inclined with respect to the
inserting direction of the connector is provided on an inner
surface of the housing, an annular inclined flange which opposes to
the inclined wall is provided on an outer peripheral side of the
fitting surface of the connector, a seal member is interposed
between the inclined wall and the inclined flange, the seal member
is pressed between the inclined wall and the inclined flange by
fixing a substrate provided with the connector to the housing.
Inventors: |
Nakamura, Mitsuharu;
(Shizuoka, JP) ; Murakami, Takao; (Shizuoka,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE, MION, ZINN, MACPEAK & SEAS, PLLC
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington
DC
20037
US
|
Family ID: |
18595478 |
Appl. No.: |
09/811570 |
Filed: |
March 20, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/76.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R 13/506 20130101;
H01R 13/5202 20130101; H01R 13/512 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
439/76.1 |
International
Class: |
H05K 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 21, 2000 |
JP |
P. 2000-78010 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A structure for assembling a housing and a connector comprising:
a housing provided with an opening and an inclined wall formed on
an inner surface of said housing with an inclination to an
inserting direction of a connector; said connector having a fitting
surface to a mate connector, oriented in a direction perpendicular
to said inserting direction, projecting outside said housing
through said opening of said housing, and an annular inclined
flange provided on an outer peripheral side of said fitting surface
of said connector and opposing to said inclined wall; and a seal
member provided along a periphery of said opening of said housing
and interposed between said inclined wall and said inclined flange;
wherein said seal member is pressed between said inclined wall and
said inclined flange by pressing said connector in the inserting
direction and fixing said connector to said housing.
2. A structure for assembling a housing and a connector according
to claim 1 further comprising, a substrate supporting said
connector and extending in a direction of a plane perpendicular to
the connector inserting direction, wherein said seal member is
pressed between said inclined wall and said inclined flange through
a fastening operation between said substrate and said housing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an assembling structure
which ensures the waterproofness of a housing and a connector in
such as an electronic control unit (ECU) for automobile use, for
example.
[0003] The present application is based on Japanese Patent
Application No. 2000-78010, which is incorporated herein by
reference.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional
structure for assembling a housing and a connector disclosed in
unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-10-172643.
[0006] In this assembling structure, when a connector 2 is
assembled to a housing 1, a projection 3 of the connector 2 is
inserted in an opening 5 of the housing 1 in a state in which an
annular seal member 4 is fitted around an outer periphery of the
projection 3 on the connector 2 side. In this state, as the
connector 2 is screwed to the housing 1, the gap between the
housing 1 and the connector 2 is sealed by the seal member 4.
[0007] However, with the above-described conventional assembling
structure, when the projection 3 of the connector 2 is inserted
into the housing 1, there is a possibility that an end of the
opening of the housing 1 can rub against the seal member 4 or is
caught by the same. Accordingly, there has been the risk that the
seal member 4 becomes damaged or dislocated, and the reliability of
the seal declines. Further, since the pressing force of the seal
member 4 with respect to the housing 1 and the connector 2 is
mainly dependent upon the dimensions of the outer periphery of the
projection 3 of the connector 2, the variation of the sealing
performance has been large.
[0008] In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of
the invention is to provide a structure for assembling a housing
and a connector which has small variations and is capable of
maintaining high sealing performance without causing damage to the
seal member and without the occurrence of dislocation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In the present invention, there is provided a structure for
assembling a housing and a connector in which a connector is
inserted into an interior of a housing, and a fitting surface of
the connector adapted to be connected to a mating connector and
oriented in a direction perpendicular to an inserting direction
projects outside the housing through an opening formed in the
housing, characterized in that an inclined wall which is inclined
with respect to the inserting direction of the connector is
provided on an inner surface of the housing, that an annular
inclined flange which opposes the inclined wall when the connector
is assembled to the housing is provided on an outer peripheral side
of the fitting surface of the connector, that a seal member
continuing along a periphery of the opening is interposed between
the inclined wall and the inclined flange, and that the seal member
can be freely pressed between the inclined wall and the inclined
flange by pressing the connector in the inserting direction and
fixing the connector to the housing.
[0010] In this assembling structure, when the connector is inserted
into the interior of the housing along a fixed inserting direction,
the inclined flange of the connector approaches the inclined wall
on the inner surface of the housing, and the seal member is clamped
between the inclined wall and the inclined flange. Then, as the
connector is fixed to the housing while being pressed in the
inserting direction, the inclined wall and the inclined flange are
opposed to each other with a fixed interval therebetween, with the
result that the seal member is clamped between the inclined wall
and the inclined flange with a fixed force.
[0011] In this state, the fitting surface of the connector which is
oriented in the direction perpendicular to the inserting direction
projects outside the housing through the opening provided in the
inclined wall of the housing, so that the mating connector can be
fitted to the fitting surface. Moreover, since the seal member
which continues along the periphery of the opening is present
around the opening in the state of being clamped between the
inclined wall and inclined flange, the gap between the connector
and the housing is sealed by this seal member, so that the interior
of the housing is maintained as a waterproof space.
[0012] In this case, since the inclined wall and the inclined
flange approach each other and clamp the seal member by their
opposing surfaces by moving the connector in the inserting
direction, it is possible to prevent the seal member from being
rubbed or caught by the end of the opening of the housing as
experienced with the conventional assembling structure, so that it
is possible to prevent the seal member from becoming damaged or
dislocated. In addition, since pressure contact force is applied to
the seal member by the face-to-face approach, the seal surface can
be stably held by the fastening force of the screws at the time of
fixing the connector to the housing. Accordingly, it is possible to
demonstrate highly reliably sealing performance which is free of
variations.
[0013] Additionally in the present invention, the above structure
for assembling a housing and a connector is further characterized
in that the connector is fixed to a substrate extending in a
direction of a plane perpendicular to the connector inserting
direction, and the seal member can be freely pressed between the
inclined wall and the inclined flange through a fastening operation
at a time when the substrate is fastened to the housing by
screws.
[0014] With this assembling structure, by merely effecting the
usual operation of fixing the substrate with the connector mounted
thereon to the housing, the connector can be assembled to the
housing while maintaining predetermined sealing performance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0015] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the
invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connector in accordance
with the embodiment of the invention; and
[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of
a conventional structure for assembling a housing and a
connector.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Hereafter, a description will be given of an embodiment of
the invention with reference to the drawings.
[0019] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure
for assembling a housing and a connector in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view
illustrating only the external appearance of the connector.
[0020] In the drawings, reference numeral 11 denotes a housing made
of a synthetic resin, 12 denotes a connector made of a synthetic
resin, and 21 denotes a substrate. The connector 12 is fixed to an
upper surface of an end portion of the substrate 21 by screws 22.
The housing 11 is a box-shaped housing whose lower surface is open
and the other surfaces are covered with walls, and the substrate 21
with the connector 12 fixed thereto is inserted along an inserting
direction A directed from the lower side toward the upper side, so
as to be assembled.
[0021] The connector 12 is mounted on the substrate 21 in a state
in which its fitting surface 12A for fitting to a mating connector
is oriented in a direction perpendicular to the inserting direction
A. As the substrate 21 is moved into the housing 11 along the
inserting direction A while maintaining its attitude parallel to a
plane perpendicular to the inserting direction A, the substrate 21
can be fixed to lower faces of boss portions 15 provided in such a
manner as to project downward from a ceiling surface of the housing
11 by using screws 23.
[0022] An inclined wall 13 which is inclined with respect to the
inserting direction A of the connector 12 is provided on an inner
surface of the housing 11, and an opening 14 for causing the
fitting surface 12A of the connector 12 to project outside the
housing 11 is formed in the inclined wall 13. In addition, as shown
in FIG. 2, an annular inclined flange 18 which opposes the
aforementioned inclined wall 13 when the connector 12 is assembled
to the housing 11 is provided in the connector 12 by being
positioned on the outer peripheral side of the fitting surface 12A
with respect to the mating connector.
[0023] A seal member 20 which continues along the periphery of the
opening 14 is interposed between the inclined wall 13 and the
inclined flange 18. As the substrate 21 with the connector 12 fixed
thereto is pressed in the inserting direction A and is fixed to the
lower faces of the boss portions 15 of the housing 11 by means of
the screws 23, the seal member 20 is clamped in a state of being
pressed between the inclined wall 13 and the inclined flange 18. In
this case, through the fastening operation at the time when the
substrate 21 is fastened to the housing 11 by the screws 23, the
seal member 20 is clamped between the inclined wall 13 and the
inclined flange 18 in a state of being compressed by a certain
degree.
[0024] To construct this assembled structure, the substrate 21 with
the connector 12 mounted thereon is inserted into the interior of
the housing 11 along the fixed inserting direction A. Then, the
inclined flange 18 of the connector 12 approaches the inclined wall
13 on the inner surface of the housing 11, and the seal member 20
which has been set in advance between the inclined wall 13 and the
inclined flange 18 is clamped between the inclined wall 13 and the
inclined flange 18. Then, as the substrate 21 is fixed to the lower
faces of the boss portions 15 of the housing 11 by the screws 23,
the inclined wall 13 and the inclined flange 18 are opposed to each
other with a fixed interval therebetween, with the result that the
seal member 20 is clamped between the inclined wall 13 and the
inclined flange 18 in a state of being pressed by a certain
degree.
[0025] In this state, the fitting surface 12A of the connector
which is oriented in the direction perpendicular to the inserting
direction A projects outside the housing 11 through the opening 14
provided in the inclined wall 13 of the housing 11, so that the
mating connector can be fitted to the fitting surface 12A.
[0026] Moreover, since the seal member 20 is present around the
opening 14 in the state of being clamped between the inclined wall
13 and inclined flange 18, the gap between the connector 12 and the
housing 11 is sealed by this seal member 20, so that the interior
of the housing 11 is maintained as a waterproof space.
[0027] In this case, since the inclined wall 13 and the inclined
flange 18 approach each other and clamp the seal member 20 by their
opposing surfaces by merely effecting the usual operation of fixing
the substrate 21 with the connector 12 mounted thereon to the
housing 11 from a fixed direction, it is possible to prevent the
seal member 20 from being rubbed or caught, so that it is possible
to prevent the seal member 20 from becoming damaged or dislocated.
In addition, since pressure contact force is applied to the seal
member 20 by the face-to-face approach of the inclined wall 13 and
the inclined flange 18, the seal surface can be stably held by the
fastening force of the screws 23 at the time of fixing the
connector 12 to the housing 11. Accordingly, it is possible to
demonstrate highly reliably sealing performance which is free of
variations.
[0028] As described above, in accordance with the invention
according to claim 1, since the inclined wall of the housing and
the inclined flange of the connector clamp the seal member by their
opposing surfaces, it is possible to prevent the seal member from
being rubbed or caught as experienced with the conventional
assembling structure, so that it is possible to prevent the seal
member from becoming damaged or dislocated. In addition, since
pressure contact force is applied to the seal member by the
face-to-face approach, the seal surface can be stably held, and it
is possible to demonstrate highly reliably sealing performance
which is free of variations.
[0029] In accordance with the second invention, by merely effecting
the usual operation of fixing the substrate with the connector
mounted thereon to the housing, the connector can be assembled to
the housing simply while maintaining high sealing performance.
* * * * *