JPH10312849A - Waterproof connector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a waterproof structure of a connector excellent in handleability that can reliably obtain a waterproof state only when required without requiring special preparation or operation for waterproofing. SOLUTION: A waterproof film wall 53 made of resin is provided integrally with the housing 52 at an outer end portion of a housing 52 having terminals 6a therein.
The waterproof membrane wall 53 is configured to be pierced by the partner terminal 5a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector structure used for wiring connection of a floor heating heater panel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a floor heating heater panel, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-69518,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a configuration in which male and female connectors connected to heaters are provided on the sides of a panel body containing heaters, and heaters of adjacent heater panels are sequentially connected with connectors.

[0003]

In the above configuration,
Since the mating connector is not connected to the connector provided on the outer side in the last row of the heater panel connected adjacently, the terminals provided on this connector remain exposed to the outside, and moisture spilled on the floor is drained to the connector. It may be sprinkled and adhere to the terminal.

In order to prevent such a case, it is conceivable to attach a waterproof cap or the like to the connector. However, it is troublesome to prepare and attach the waterproof cap, and there is a possibility that the user may forget to attach the waterproof cap. .

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and it is possible to reliably obtain a waterproof state only when necessary, without requiring special preparation or operation for waterproofing. An object of the present invention is to provide a waterproof structure of a connector that is excellent in handleability.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following arrangement.

[0007] The waterproof connector according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises:
A waterproof wall made of resin is provided at an outer end of the housing in which the terminal is provided, and the waterproof wall is pierced by the mating terminal at the time of insertion connection with the mating connector.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the connector structure according to the first aspect, wherein:
The waterproof membrane wall is formed integrally with the housing.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2
The invention according to the invention is characterized in that the invention is applied to one of a pair of male and female connectors provided on both sides of a heater panel for floor heating.

[0010]

According to the structure of the first aspect, when the connector is connected to the mating connector, the waterproof film wall is pierced by the mating terminal with the connection of the connector, and the internal terminal and the mating terminal are electrically connected. When the connector is not connected to the mating connector, the outer end of the connector is kept closed by the waterproof wall, and the internal terminal is waterproofly isolated from the outside.

In this case, as means for providing a waterproof wall at the outer end of the housing, means for integrally forming the waterproof wall at the same time as molding of the housing of the connector, and means for forming an opening at the end of the housing. Means of providing a resin sheet or the like at the end of the terminal connection hole by heat welding, ultrasonic welding, adhesion using an adhesive, or the like can be considered.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of heater panels are sequentially connected at the side thereof to form a desired floor heating area, the connectors connected to each other have the waterproof membrane wall as described above. Is pierced to connect the internal terminal and the mating terminal, and the mating connector is not connected to the connector provided on the outer side of the panel in the last row of the heater panel group. By setting so as to be attached, the waterproof state is maintained without any special operation.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which a waterproof connector according to the present invention is used for wiring connection of a heater panel for floor heating will be described below as an example.

FIG. 1 shows a floor surface on which a large number of floor panels are fitted and laid, and heater panels 1A and 1B with oblique lines and a normal floor panel 1C are used.

The basic configuration of the heater panels 1A and 1B is the same, and the detailed configuration of only the heater panel 1A will be described below. In the following description,
The long side direction of the panel is called the longitudinal direction, and the short side direction is called the width direction.

FIG. 3 shows a disassembled state of the heater panel 1A viewed from the back side. This heater panel 1A
Is a panel body 2 made of a plywood material and its back surface (lower surface)
Sheet-like PTC heater 3 and the PT
A back plate 4 made of a plywood material covering the back surface of the C heater 3 is provided. Male and female connectors 5 and 6 wired and connected to the PTC heater 3 are provided on both long side portions of the panel main body 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a PTC heater 3 is provided on substantially the entire back surface of the panel body 2.
Is formed by gang saw processing or the like, and a deep wiring storage recess 8 is formed at one longitudinal end thereof, and furthermore, the heater storage recess 7 is formed in the width direction of the heater storage recess 7. Electrode storage grooves 9 and 10 are formed near each end in parallel with each other, and a wiring storage groove 1 is provided at an intermediate portion between the electrode storage grooves 9 and 10.
1 is formed, and a recess 12 for storing a ground wire is formed at an end of the recess 7 for storing a heater. Also,
On both long sides of the back surface of the panel body 2, connector housing recesses 13, 14 connected to the heater housing recess 7 are formed, and the connector housing recesses 13, 14 and the wire housing recess 8 are formed. Three for each wiring storage groove 15,
16 are formed.

The PTC heater 3 is formed by covering a heating layer having a pair of linear electrodes 21 and 22 along both long sides with insulating resin sheets from the front and back. As shown, each electrode 21 and 22 is connected to one connector 5.
And a pair of power cords 23 and 2 for connecting
4 respectively. An earth wire 26 connected to the PTC heater 3 is connected to an intermediate portion of an earth cord 25 provided in parallel with the power cords 23 and 24.

Then, as shown in FIG.
On the surface of the TC heater 3, a heat diffusion sheet 27 made of a metal material such as aluminum having high thermal conductivity is laminated, and the PTC heater 3 is heated so that the heat diffusion sheet 27 is located on the surface side of the panel body 2. It is fitted into the storage recess 7 and stored. At this time, a pair of raised ridges corresponding to the thickness of both electrodes 21 and 22 and a ground wire 26 protrude from the front side of the PTC heater 3, and the raised ridges of the electrodes 21 and 22 are recessed for heater storage. 7. Electrode storage grooves 9 and 10
And the ground wire 26 is stored in the recess 12 for storing the ground wire.

A connection cord 28 for connecting the one electrode 21 and the power supply cord 23 is provided substantially at the center of the heat generating surface of the PTC heater 3, and the connection cord 28 is connected to the wiring storage groove 11 of the heater storage recess 7. It is designed to be stored in. In the middle of the connection cord 28, three thermal fuses 29 that sense and disconnect the temperature higher than the set temperature are interposed in series.

One connector 5 is fitted and mounted in a fixed position in a long-side connector housing recess 13 formed with a male ridge, and the other connector 6 is mounted with a female ridge. Long-side connector housing recess 14 formed with
It is mounted so that it can leave. As shown in FIG. 9, when the two connectors 5 and 6 are inserted and connected, an engagement claw 32 provided on the connector 6 is engaged with an engagement protrusion 31 provided on an outer surface of the connector 5, and the engagement claw 32 is provided. The connection state of the two connectors 5 and 6 is firmly maintained unless the operation is released.

In order to prevent the liquid spilled on the floor from entering the wiring connection site, the following waterproof means is employed. That is, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG.
The male terminal 5a is provided, and a seal ring 33 to which the distal end of the inserted connector 6 is pressed is mounted. Then, the seal ring 33 is
The guide projections 35 erected between the male terminals 5a at the bottom of the 0 prevent deformation inside the loop, so that the connector 6 always comes into contact with the entire periphery of the distal end of the connector 6. Further, waterproof plugs 34 are press-fitted into the cord lead-out portions of the connectors 5 and 6 for each cord.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the connector 6 has a terminal housing space 5 in which three female terminals 6a are provided.
A waterproof membrane wall 53 is formed integrally with the housing 52 at the outer end of the resin housing 52 so that 1 is a sealed space. The waterproof membrane wall 53 has such a strength that when the connector 6 is inserted into the mating connector 5, it can be broken through by the mating terminal 5 a.

The connector accommodating recess 14 is wider than the female connector 6 and is formed deeper inward and backward. The cord has a length enough to allow the female connector 6 to be pulled out from the panel body 2 outward. The connector housing 13 is bent and housed inside the connector housing recess 13.

Further, in order to compensate for the decrease in strength of the large recessed wiring recess 8 and the connector recess 14,
Reinforcing iron plates 37 and 38 are adhesively fixed to these bottom surfaces. Also, three cords 2 connecting both connectors 5 and 6
3, 24, 25 are reinforcing iron plates 37 via double-sided tape.
It is stuck on the top, and the storage posture is stably maintained.

The back cover 4 is dropped and mounted on a step 39 formed on the periphery of the heater accommodating recess 7 and is fixed by nailing, so that the back surface of the heater panel 1A is formed flush.

Since the heater panel 1B is different from the heater panel 1A only in the connector mounting position, a detailed description of the structure is omitted.

Heater panel 1 configured as described above
A and 1B are arranged in a plurality of rows, the connectors 5 and 6 are sequentially connected between panels adjacent in the width direction, and as shown in the wiring diagram of FIG. Is connected to a relay 42 controlled by the controller 41 to form a heating area having a desired area. A temperature sensor 43 inserted and mounted on the frontmost heater panel 1A located on the power supply side is connected to the controller 41. Based on information from the temperature sensor 43, the relay 42 is turned on / off to generate a heater heat. Energization control is performed to maintain the surface at the set temperature. In addition, the safety against unexpected accidents is ensured by the thermal fuse 29 provided in each PTC heater 3.

At the time of construction, since the connector 6 can be moved back and forth with respect to the heater panels 1A and 1B, after the connector 6 is fitted to the connector 5 in a state where the connector 6 is pulled out, the opposing long sides are connected to each other. (Joint).

A connector 44 for wiring is connected to the connector 5 of the heater panel 1A in the front row, and the wiring led out from the connector 44 is guided under the floor through the base plate and is connected to the relay 42. Connected to. In the floor panel 1C connected to the frontmost heater panel 1A, a recess 45 for accommodating the protruding connector 5 and the connector 44 is cut out and formed.

Since the mating connector is not connected to the connector 6 of the last heater panel 1B, the waterproof membrane wall 53 provided at the outer end of the housing is not broken.
The internal terminal 6a is maintained in a completely prevented state.

The waterproof membrane wall 53 does not necessarily have to be formed integrally with the housing 52. For example, the waterproof membrane wall 53 is formed separately from the housing 52, and is thermally welded or ultrasonically welded to the outer end of the housing. The terminal accommodating space 51 can be configured as a sealed space that is waterproofed by being fixed or bonded and fixed using an adhesive.

[0033]

As is clear from the above description, the following effects can be expected according to the present invention.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the connector is already waterproofed without the mating connector being connected.
This eliminates the hassle of preparing and installing the waterproof cap, and furthermore, there is no possibility of forgetting to attach the waterproof cap, and the handleability is excellent.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a step of providing a waterproof membrane wall is not required, manufacture is facilitated, and there is no possibility of poor welding or adhesion, and high waterproof performance is obtained. can do.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the features of the present invention can be exhibited particularly effectively and used conveniently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of a floor surface of a room with floor heating.

FIG. 2 is a schematic wiring diagram

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the heater panel viewed from the back side.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a panel main body.

FIG. 5 is a plan view seen from the back surface of the panel body.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view from the back of the assembled heater panel.

7A is a sectional view taken along line aa in FIG. 6; FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along line bb in FIG. 6;

8 (d) is a sectional view taken along line dd in FIG. 6. (e) is a longitudinal sectional view of a panel joint.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the separated state (a) and the connected state (b) of the male and female connectors.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view of the inner part of the insertion hole.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5a Terminal of mating connector 6a Terminal 52 Housing 53 Waterproof membrane wall

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims: 1. An outer end of a housing in which a terminal is mounted,
A waterproof connector, comprising: a resin-made waterproof film wall, wherein the waterproof film wall is pierced by a mating terminal when the plug is connected to a mating connector. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof membrane wall is formed integrally with a housing. 3. The waterproof connector according to claim 1, wherein the waterproof connector is applied to one of a pair of male and female connectors provided on both sides of a heater panel for floor heating. Waterproof connector.