WO1998049755A1

WO1998049755A1 - Connector protective cover

Info

Publication number: WO1998049755A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/008049
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hiroshi Taguchi; Lester Toy; Koichi Iino
Original assignee: The Whitaker Corporation
Priority date: 1997-04-25
Filing date: 1998-04-22
Publication date: 1998-11-05
Also published as: JPH10302884A; AU7145198A

Abstract

The present invention provides a connector protective cover (1) that includes a pair of cover members (10, 12) that are connected to each other by means of a hinge (14) so as to be opened and closed. A connector-receiving compartment (24) which is delineated by partition walls (16, 18, 20, 22) and is located in the center of one cover member (10). A sealing material-receiving compartment (44) is located between the partition walls (16, 18, 20, 22) and outer walls (36, 38, 40, 42) of the cover member (10). Accordingly, even if sealing material installed in the sealing material-receiving compartment (44) is a gelatinous sealing agent, there is almost no adhesion of the sealing material to connectors (7, 9) accommodated inside the connector-receiving compartment (24), so that the connectors can easily be removed from the cover (1) for purposes of maintenance or repair.

Description

CONNECTOR PROTECTIVE COVER

The present invention relates to a connector protective cover, and more particularly relates to a connector protective cover which protects a pair of mutually-engaged electrical connectors from water, moisture and foreign matter.

Connectors that connect electrical wires to each other have conventionally been protected by means of protective covers in order to maintain the electrical connection and insure protection from the outside. The protective cover 100 shown in Figure 7 is an example of such a protective cover as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 6-9064.

Protective cover 100 comprises an upper member 110 and lower member 112 thatare formed as two separate members along the direction of insertion of electrical wires 102,104,106 and that are connected to each other by means of a hinge 108. A gelatinous insulating and sealing material 116 is packed into an electrical wire-connecting section or compartment 114 that is located inside the case members 110,112 when the case members are joined together to form the protective cover. Sealing agent reservoir compartments 118,120 allow the inflow of the sealing material 116 that overflows from the electrical wire- connecting section 114 and are adjacent to compartment 114.

The electrical wire connector 122 shown in Figure 7 is a crimping connector that permanently electrically connects the electrical wires 102,104,106. From the standpoint of achieving a "permanent connection", the protective cover 100 shown in Figure 7 adequately fulfills its function. However, in cases where disconnection of the electrical wires 102,104,106 is possible during replacement of the electrical wire connector 122 with a pair of connectors in order to enable maintenance or repair to be undertaken of external circuits connected to the electrical wires 102,104,106, the following problem arises: specifically, since the pair of connectors are surrounded and covered by a gelatinous sealing agent, the agent adheres to the surface of the connectors and must be removed when the connectors are disconnected, so that the working conditions are undesirable.

Accordingly, a feature of the present invention is to provide a protective cover or housing that improves the working conditions when the pair of connectors are disconnected.

A connector protective cover according to the present invention includes a pair of cover members that are connected to each other by means of a hinge, a pair of electrical connectors mated w th each other are accommodated m a connector-receiving compartment m at least one of the cover members, the connector-receiving compartment is delineated by two pairs of opposite partition walls, a sealing material-receiving compartment is located between the two pairs of opposite partition walls and an outer wall of the cover member m which the connectors are accommodated, and a sealing material is disposed m the sealing material-receiving compartment. The sealing material is a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer.

One of the two pairs of opposite partition walls is higher than the other pair of partition walls thereby acting as a guide to guide the mated connectors into the connector-receiving compartment.

The internal dimension between the partition walls of one of the two pairs of opposite partition walls is substantially equal to the mated length of the pair of connectors that are mated with each other. A connector protective cover comprises a lower cover member and an upper cover member, a hinge connecting the cover members together so as to be moved from an open position to a closed position, a connector-receiving compartment m one of the cover members for receiving a mated pair of electrical connectors and sealing material disposed m the one of the cover members to seal the mated connectors and electrical wires extending therefrom when the cover members are m the closed position, wherein the connector-receiving compartment is delineated by two pairs of opposing partition walls and a sealing material- receiving compartment is located between the two pairs of opposing partition walls and outer walls of the one of the cover members in which the sealing material is disposed. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a connector protective cover of the present invention in an open state.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing connectors which are the type of connectors to be accommodated inside the connector protective cover shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the connector protective cover shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view looking from the bottom of Figure 3 of the connector protective cover shown in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a view looking from the right of Figure 3 of the connector protective cover shown in Figure 1. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector protective cover of Figure 1 in a closed state.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of a conventional connector protective cover.

Figures 1-5 show a connector protective cover 1, which protects a pair of electrical connectors 7,9 (Figure 2) from water droplets, moisture and foreign matter. Cover 1 includes a lower cover member 10 and an upper cover member 12 made of an insulating material. Cover members 10,12 can be opened and closed while remaining joined together by means of an integral hinge 14. A connector-receiving compartment 24, delineated by two pairs of opposite partition walls 16,18 and 20,22, is located in the center of the lower cover member 10. Similarly, a connector-receiving compartment 34 is delineated by two pairs of opposite partition walls 26,28 and 30,32 and is also located in the center of the upper cover member 12 in the same manner as in the lower cover member 10. In lower cover member 10, one pair of opposite partition walls 16,18 extends along the direction of length of the connector cover 1 and are higher than the other pair of partition walls 20,22. As a result, when the pair of mated connectors 7,9 are inserted into the connector-receiving compartment 24 of the lower cover member, the partition walls 16,18 guide the connectors thereinto. Furthermore, the internal dimension L between the partition walls 20,22 is set so that this dimension is substantially equal to the length of the pair of connectors 7,9 when engaged, i.e., the engaged length. As a result, in cases where the connectors 7,9 are not correctly engaged, the connectors cannot be inserted into the connector-receiving compartment 24, and the pair of cover members 10,12 cannot be closed. Accordingly, incomplete engagement of the pair of connectors 7,9 can be detected, and complete engagement can be insured.

A continuous sealing material-receiving compartment 44 indicated by shading in Figure 3 is located along the two pairs of partition walls 16,18 and 20,22 and the outer walls 36,38 and 40,42. Protruding members 46,48 are integrally formed on the outside surfaces of the opposite outer walls 40,42; sealing material reservoir compartments 50,52 accommodate the overflow from the sealing material- receiving compartment 44 and are respectively located inside the protruding members 46,48. Semi-circular cut- outs 20a, 22a, 40a, 42a, 46a, 48a, which correspond to the electrical wires of the connectors 7,9, are respectively located in the pair of opposite partition walls 20,22, the outer walls 40,42, and the protruding members 46,48.

Outer walls 54,56,58,60, protruding members 62,64, and semi-circular cut-outs 30a, 32a, 58a, 60a, 62a, 64a are also located in the upper cover member 12 in the same manner as in the lower cover member 10. Furthermore, upper cover member 12 includes partition walls 66,68,70,72 that connect the partition walls 30,32 and the outer walls 58,60, and the space delineated by these walls form sealing material-receiving compartments 74,76. The reason for this is that sealability is especially required in these areas, since these are areas through which the electrical wires 3,5 of connectors 7,9 extend. U-shaped members 78 and claws 80 latch with each other and are respectively located on outer wall 36 of the lower cover member 10 and outer wall 54 of the upper cover member 12.

It is desirable that the sealing material disposed inside the sealing material-receiving compartments 44,74,76 of the lower cover member 10 and upper cover member 12 be a gelatinous insulating sealing material such as a thermoplastic elastomer. More concretely, it is desirable that this sealing agent be a gel of a thermoplastic elastomer which is an SBS (styrene- butadiene-styrene) copolymer. An appropriate degree of fluidity is obtained by using such a specified material; accordingly, the conformity to irregular shapes is good, and the sealing performance is high. Furthermore, such a material also offers the advantages of low cost, easy dispensability and lack of any need for curing time. Accordingly, the interiors of the compartments 44,74,76 can be filled with the sealing material by means of a universally-known dispenser; furthermore, the interiors of the circular holes formed by combining the semi-circular cut-outs 20a, 30a, 22a, 32a, 40a, 58a, 42a, 60a can also be filled with the sealing material. Thus, such filling can be accomplished using an automatic device, and there is no drop in the sealing performance even if the diameters of the electrical wires 3,5 that pass through the circular holes are smaller than the diameters of the circular holes. Moreover, even in cases where the number of electrical wires 3,5 is reduced so that there are circular holes through which no electrical wires 3,5 are passed, the sealing characteristics can be maintained so that there is no need for other members such as blind plugs.

In Figure 2, the connectors accommodated inside the connector protective cover 1 comprise a conventional plug connector 7 and conventional receptacle connector 9 that are matable with each other. Furthermore, since the connectors 7,9 shown in Figure 2 have a different number of terminals (i.e., a different number of electrical wires) from the connector protective cover 1, these connectors 7,9 cannot be accommodated in the connector protective cover 1. The connectors accommodated in such a four-terminal connector protective cover 1 are connectors with four or fewer terminals. Plug connector 7 includes a plug housing 70 made of an insulating plastic, female electrical contacts (not shown) made of a copper alloy and accommodated and secured in housing 70, electrical wires 3 terminated to the contacts, and a double-lock member 72 that double locks the contacts in housing 70. Furthermore, receptacle connector 9 similarly comprises a receptacle housing 90 made of an insulating plastic, male electrical contacts (not shown) made of a copper alloy and accommodated and secured in housing 90, electrical wires 5 terminated to the contacts, and a double-lock member 92 that double locks the contacts in housing 90. Latch members 74,94 latch with each other when the connectors 7,9 are engaged and are respectively formed on the upper surfaces of the plug housing 70 and receptacle housing 90.

Next, the procedure used to form the connector protective structure using the connector protective cover 1 will be described. First, lower cover member 10 and upper cover member 12 are connected by means of the hinge 14 and are formed by injection molding. Next, the interiors of the sealing material-receiving compartment 44 of the lower cover member 10 and the sealing material- receiving compartments 74,76 of the upper cover member 12, are filled with a gelatinous sealing material by means of a dispenser. Next, as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 3, mated connectors 7,9 are positioned inside the connector-receiving compartment 24 of the lower cover member 10, and the electrical wires 3,5 extending from the connectors 7,9 are positioned within the cut-outs 20a, 40a, 46a, 22a, 42a, 48a. Finally, the upper cover member 12 is joined to the lower cover member 10 so that the connector protective cover 1 is closed, and sealing of the connectors 7,9 is completed by causing claws 80 to engage with the U-shaped members 78. Thus, as was described above, a sealing structure is provided that protects the connectors 7,9 from water droplets, moisture and foreign matter, by means of the gelatinous sealing material filling the sealing material-receiving compartments 44,74,76 in the areas through which the electrical wires 3,5 extend, and by means of the gelatinous sealing material 82 and the overlapping of the outer walls 36,38 and 54,56 of the upper and lower cover members 10,12 in the direction of width of the connector protective cover 1 in Figure 6, i.e., in the left-right direction in Figure 6.

In cases where the connectors 7,9 are to be disconnected for the purpose of maintenance or repair of the connectors 7,9 or external circuits (not shown) connected to the wires 3,5, the engagement of claws 80 and U-shaped members 78 is released and the connector protective cover 1 is opened; then, for example, the pair of connectors 7,9 can be separated after lifting the wires 3,5 so that the connectors 7,9 are removed from the cover 1. In this case, since there is almost no sealing material adhering to the connector housings 70,90, the removal of the connectors 7,9 from the connector protective housing is easy; thus work to be performed on the connectors 7,9 is facilitated.

A connector protective cover of the present invention has been described above. However, various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the sealing material is a gelatinous sealing material; however, it would also be possible to use a sealing material made of a thermoplastic rubber such as a silicone rubber. Furthermore, a hinge connecting the upper and lower cover members was formed on an outer wall extending in the direction of extension of the electrical wires; however, it would also be possible to form hinges on one of the outer walls in which semicircular cut-outs that accommodate the electrical wires are formed. In such a case, it is desirable to form hinges at both ends of the cut-outs with respect to the direction of width.

An advantage of the present invention is that the sealing material has hardly any adherence with the connectors accommodated inside the connector-receiving o compartment, so that removal of the connectors from the sealing material-receiving compartment is easy, and there is no need for any operation to remove the sealing material from the connectors . Accordingly, the following advantages are obtained from the sealing material wherein the sealing material has an appropriate degree of fluidity, so that good sealing characteristics can be maintained even in cases where the diameters of the electrical wires extending from the connectors are small or in cases where electrical wires are absent; furthermore, the sealing material is inexpensive, and automatic filling by means of a dispenser is possible.

In the connector protective cover of the present invention, one of the two pairs of opposite partition walls are higher than the other pair of partition walls. Accordingly, when a pair of connectors mated with each other are inserted into the connector-receiving compartment, insertion of the mated connectors is thus guided by the higher partition walls.

In the connector protective cover of the present invention, the internal dimension between the partition walls of one of the two pairs of opposite partition walls is substantially equal to the engagement length of the pair of connectors that are mated with each other. Accordingly, the pair of connectors cannot be inserted into the connector-receiving compartment unless the connectors are completely mated, and incomplete mating of the pair of connectors can be detected for assuring complete mating.

Claims

CIAIMS

1. A connector protective cover comprising a lower cover member (10) and an upper cover member (12) , a hinge (14) connecting the cover members together so as to be moved from an open position to a closed position, a connector-receiving compartment (24) in one of the cover members (10,12) for receiving a mated pair of electrical connectors (7,9), and sealing material (82) disposed in the one of the cover members (10,12) to seal the mated connectors (7,9) and electrical wires (3,5) extending therefrom when the cover members are in the closed position, characterized in that the connector-receiving compartment (24) is delineated by two pairs of opposing partition walls (16, 18,20,22), and a sealing material-receiving compartment is located between the two pairs of opposing partition walls (16,18,20,22) and outer walls (36,38,40,42) of the one of the cover members (10,12) in which the sealing material (82) is disposed. 2. A connector protective cover as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the pairs of opposing partition walls (16,18) is higher than the other of the pairs of opposing partition walls (20,22).

3. A connector protective cover as claimed in either of claims 1 or 2, wherein another connector- receiving compartment (34) in the other of the cover members (12) is delineated by two pairs of opposing partition walls (26,28,30,32). . A connector protective cover as claimed in claim 3, wherein semi-circular cut-outs (20a, 22a, 40a, 42a) are located in the pair of opposing partition walls (20,22) and the outer walls (40,42) in which electrical wires (3,5) of the mated electrical connectors (7,9) are disposed. 5. A connector protective cover as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the internal dimension between the pair of partition walls (20,22) is such that the mated pair of electrical connectors (7,9), when correctly mated, can be received in the connector- receiving compartment (24) .

6. A connector protective cover as claimed in claim 5, wherein protruding members (46,48) extend outwardly from the opposing outer walls (40,42) and form sealing material reservoir compartments (50,52), and semicircular cut-outs (46a, 48a) are located in said protruding members in which the electrical wires (3,5) are disposed.

7. A connector protective cover as claimed in claim 6, wherein semi-circular cut-outs (30a, 32a, 58a, 60a) are located in the pair of opposing partition walls (30,32) and opposing outer walls (74,76) of the other of the cover members (12) .

8. A connector protective cover as claimed in claim 7, wherein other protruding members (62,64) extend outwardly from the opposing outer walls (74,76), and semicircular cut-outs (62a, 64a) are located in said other protruding members .

9. A connector protective cover as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, wherein said sealing material (82) is a gelatinous thermoplastic elastomer.

10. A connector protective cover as claimed in any of claims 1 to 9, wherein latch member (78,80) are located on said cover members (10,12) to latch said cover members in said closed position.