Abstract:
A connector of the invention includes a housing including a terminal fitting, which is made by resin molding; and a ring-like seal member made of rubber, which bonded by molding around a circumference of the terminal fitting so that sealing is steadily performed between the terminal fitting and the housing. It is not necessary to adjust an amount of sealing material applied to the terminal fitting in case that the sealing material is applied to the terminal fitting.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a connector that is buried into a housing having a terminal fitting molded of resin. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   There is a connector of this kind in which a housing is molded of resin in such a manner that a terminal fitting is connected to a wire terminal, and a connecting portion between the terminal fitting and the wire is buried therein. This connector is employed in the environments where water-resistance is required. However, the housing simply molded of resin may contain some gaps in a contact portion between the terminal fitting and the housing, or a contact portion between the wire covering and the housing, due to low adhesion of materials, whereby it is apprehended that water or oil may enter the housing through the gap. 
   Thus, conventionally, there was a method in which a sealant is thinly coated on the outer circumferential face of the terminal fitting or the wire covering, and then the housing is molded, thereby securing a waterproofing performance with the sealant. The above constitution in which the terminal fitting molded of resin is waterproofed with the sealant was disclosed in JP-A-60-124374. 
   However, with the above waterproofing method for coating the sealant, it is difficult to manage the amount of coating the sealant, and it is feared that the sealing performance is decreased due to uneven coating. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention has been achieved in the light of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the invention to provide a connector that is buried into a housing having a terminal fitting molded of resin, whereby the sealing performance is stabilized. 
   According to one aspect of the invention, a connector including: a housing including a terminal fitting, which is made by resin molding; and a ring-like seal member made of rubber, which bonded by resin molding around a circumference of the terminal fitting to seal between the terminal fitting and the housing. 
   According to another aspect of the invention, the terminal fitting has a locating portion of locating the seal member by engaging the seal member in the locating portion. 
   According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing a connector, including: preparing a terminal fitting; bonding a ring-like seal member made of rubber around a circumference of the terminal fitting by resin molding; burring the terminal fitting into a housing; and sealing between the terminal fitting and the housing by the seal member. 
   According to yet another aspect of the invention, the method of manufacturing a connector further including: locating the seal member by engaging the seal member in a locating portion formed in the terminal fitting. 
   Since the seal member made of rubber is bonded by baking on the outer circumferential face of the terminal fitting as the seal means, it is possible to securely seal a gap between the terminal fitting and the housing because of a resiliency of the seal member without managing the coating amount of sealant which is required when the sealant is coated. 
   The seal member is securely bonded at a predetermined position because of the locating portion provided in the terminal fitting, and the seal performance with the seal member is securely enhanced. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus side connector according to an embodiment 1; 
       FIG. 2  is a front view of the apparatus side connector; 
       FIG. 3  is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the apparatus side connector; 
       FIG. 4  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus side connector; 
       FIG. 5  is a side view of an apparatus side terminal fitting before bonding a seal member; 
       FIG. 6  is a side view of the apparatus side terminal fitting with the seal member bonded; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged side view, partly cut away, showing a bonding portion between the apparatus side terminal fitting and the seal member; 
       FIG. 8  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the apparatus side connector and the wire side connector that are connected; and 
       FIG. 9  is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the apparatus side connector and the wire side connector that are connected. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Embodiment 1 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 9 , an embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below. 
   An apparatus side connector  20  (a connector constituting the invention) of this embodiment is provided on an apparatus  10  (e.g., an inverter device for electric automobile) and connected to a wire side connector  50  making up a conductive path A having a shielding function. 
   In the apparatus  10 , an apparatus main body (not shown) is contained within a conductive shield case  11 , and the apparatus side connector  20  connected to the apparatus main body is contained within the same shield case  11 . At the upper end part on a side wall of the shield case  11 , three circular mounting holes  12 , left and right, to penetrate longitudinally are formed at a fixed pitch. On an outside face of the shield case  11 , a bulge portion  13  in the form where the open areas of the three mounting holes  12  and their peripheral areas are extended outside is formed. The outer circumference of the bulge portion  13  has a relatively simple shape (e.g. ,oblong, rectangle with rounded angles, trapezoid with rounded angles) by continuing a plane and a curved face smoothly. On a bulged end face of the bulge portion  13  (left end face in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ), three mounting holes  12  are opened, and three internal thread holes (not shown) located obliquely downwards to each mounting hole  12  are bored. 
   The apparatus side connector  20  is buried in the apparatus side housing  21  having three apparatus side terminals  26  molded of resin in the form of penetrating longitudinally. The apparatus side housing  21  comprises a connecting portion  22  of a single component, and having an almost oblong shape slender in the cross direction, and three almost columnar fitting portions  23  disposed side by side extending forwards (to the left in  FIG. 1 ) from the connecting portion  22 . The connecting portion  22  is formed with three barrel portions  24 , left and right, extending backwards from the rear end face and coaxially with the fitting portion  23 , and a pair of plate-like mounting portions  25 , left and right, extending sideways from both left and right end portions. At a front end portion of each fitting portion  23 , a circular fitting concave portion  23 F opening to the front face is formed. Also, a seal ring  30  is fitted around the circumference of a circular portion of each fitting portion  23 . 
   Inside the apparatus side housing  21 , three apparatus side terminals  26  corresponding to the fitting portions  23  and the barrel portions  24  are molded of resin and buried. The apparatus side terminal  26  is composed of a terminal main body  27 , a tab  28 , and an apparatus connecting portion  29 . The apparatus main body  27  is circular in cross section, slender longitudinally, and buried in the fitting portion  23 . The tab  28  projects forwards from the front end of the terminal main body  27  like a plate wider than the terminal main body  27 , facing within the fitting concave portion  23 F. An apparatus connecting portion  29  extends backwards with a larger diameter than the terminal main body  27  and concentrically with the terminal main body  27  from the back end of the terminal main body  27 , and is buried in the barrel portion  24 . A conductive member  33  such as a cable extending from the apparatus main body is screwed into an internal thread hole  29 H of the apparatus connecting portion  29 . 
   A contact portion between the apparatus side terminal  26  and the apparatus side housing  21  is sealed by a cylindrical seal member  31  provided around the circumference of the apparatus side terminal  26 . The seal member  31  is cylindrical as a whole, and closely contacted with the outer circumference of the circular terminal main body  27 . A shallow locating recess  32  (locating portion constituting this invention) continuously provided circumferentially is formed on the circumference of the terminal main body  27 . This locating recess  32  is like a circle having a smaller diameter than the terminal main body  27 , and concentric with the terminal main body  27 . The seal member  31  is fitted on the locating recess  32 . The seal member  31  is positioned longitudinally (axially) in the terminal main body  27  by engaging or contacting both longitudinal ends with both longitudinal step portions of the locating recess  32 . 
   An inner circumferential face of the seal member  31  contact with the outer circumferential face of the locating recess  32  is a circular face with a constant radial size in the longitudinal direction. On the other hand, an outer circumferential face of the seal member  31  is a semicylindrical curved face having the largest diameter centrally in the longitudinal direction and a gradually smaller diameter toward both longitudinal ends. The locating recess  32  is formed at almost same position as the seal ring  30  provided around the fitting portion  23  in the longitudinal direction. 
   Such seal member  31  is bonded with the terminal main body  27  by baking. An injection molding and a press working may be applied to the terminal main body  27 . An injection molding method involves setting an area of the terminal main body  27  where the locating recess  32  is formed in a mold (not shown), injecting a thermally molten rubber within a cavity of the mold, solidifying it to mold the seal member  31 , and at the same time bond it to the terminal main body  27 . A press working method involves pressing a mold (not shown) onto the circumference face of the seal member  31  in a state where the seal member  31  molded cylindrically is fitted around the locating recess  32 , and at the same time heating to bond the seal member  31  to the terminal main body  27 . The seal member may be made of Polyphenylene Sulfide(PPS). 
   The apparatus side terminal  26  having the seal member  31  bonded (integrated) by baking in this manner is set within a mold (not shown), and molten resin is injected into the cavity of the mold. When the injected resin is cured, the apparatus side housing  21  is molded of resin in the form of having the apparatus side terminal  26  buried, so that the apparatus side housing  21  and the apparatus side terminal  26  are integrated. From the above, a manufacturing process for the apparatus side connector  20  is completed. 
   Such apparatus side connector  20  is assembled into the shield case, using a bolt (not shown) penetrating through a bolt hole  25 H of the plate-like mounting portion  25 , in a state where each fitting portion  23  is tightly fit into the mounting hole  12  from the inside of the shield case  11 , and the connecting portion  22  and the plate-like mounting portion  25  are contacted with the inner face of the shield case  11 . In the assembled state, the fitting recess  23 F and its internal tab  28  are on standby to prepare for connection between the wire side connector  50  and a wire side terminal  70  within each mounting hole  12 . 
   A shield wire  40  constituting a conductive path A is constituted by providing a core  42  made of insulating resin material around the circumference of a conductor  41 , and covering a barrel-like shield layer  43  having a metal wire braided like a mesh around the circumference of the core  42 . The shield wire  40  has the shield layer  43  exposed over its entire length. At a terminal part of the shield wire  40 , an end portion of the shield layer  43  is cut short, and an end portion of the core  42  is exposed. Furthermore, a terminal part of the core  42  is removed to expose the end portion of the conductor  41 . The shield wire  40  is provided by bundling three wires together. 
   Most of the shield wire  40  except for the end portion is inserted into a corrugate tube  45 . Moreover, the end portion of the shield wire  40  is surrounded by a rubber boot  46 . The corrugate tube  45  is made of synthetic resin, like cylindrical bellows as a whole, and is deformable flexibly along a wiring path of the shield wire  40  in a state where the shield wire  40  is internally received. The rubber boot  46  has a shape of a barrel as a whole, and of being wider toward the front. A front end portion of the rubber boot  46  is a larger diameter fitting portion  47  that is fitted around the bulge portion  13  of the shield case  11 , and a lip portion  48  extending circumferentially is formed on its inner circumference. On the other hand, a rear end portion of the rubber boot  46  is a circular smaller diameter fitting portion  49  that is fitted around the end portion of the corrugate tube  45 , and an irregular portion matched with a circumferential shape of the corrugate tube  45  is formed on its inner circumference. Such corrugate tube  45  and rubber boot  46  surround three shield wires  40  collectively. 
   The wire side connector  50  comprises a wire side housing  51 , a bracket  60 , and a wire side terminal  70 . The wire side housing  51  is made of synthetic resin, and roughly cylindrical as a whole. Inside the wire side housing  51 , a circular cavity  52  penetrating through both longitudinal end faces. On a lower face at the front end part of the cavity  52 , a lance  53  for preventing slippage of the wire side terminal  70  is formed. A seal member  57  is fitted around the circumference of the wire side housing  51 . At a rear end part of the wire side housing  51 , a bracket  60  made of conductive material such as metal and having the shape of a roughly oval plate as a whole is attached. The bracket  60  is connected to the shield layer  43  of the shield wire  40  to be conductible. 
   The apparatus side terminal  70  is slender as a whole in the longitudinal direction, and formed with an apparatus connecting portion  71  like a roughly angular sleeve connected to the tab  28  of the apparatus side terminal  26  in its roughly former half part. An elastic contact piece  72  is provided inside the apparatus connecting portion  71 , and a lance bore  73  is formed on a lower face of the apparatus connecting portion  71 . On the other hand, a roughly latter half part of the wire side terminal  70  is a wire contricted part  74 . A front end part of the conductor  41  of the shield wire  40  exposed out of the core  42  is connected by contriction to the wire contricted part  74  to be conductible. 
   The wire side housing  51  of the wire side connector  50  is fitted into the mounting hole  12  of the shield case  11 . Inside the mounting hole  12 , the apparatus side housing  21  is on standby. If the wire side housing  51  is fitted sufficiently to the depth that the bracket  60  is contacted with the outside face of the shield case  11 , its front end part is fitted into the fitting recess  23 F of the apparatus side housing  21 , and the tab  28  enters into the apparatus connecting portion  71  of the wire side terminal  70 , to resiliently contact with the elastic contact piece  72 , so that both the terminals  26  and  70  are connected conductibly. 
   In a state where the wire side housing  51  is fitted into the mounting hole  12 , a bolt  69  penetrated through a bolt hole (not shown) of the bracket  60  is screwed into an internal thread bore (not shown) of the shield case  11 , and fastened, so that the apparatus side housing  51  is secured to the shield case  11 . In this state, the bracket  60  is connected conductibly to an outer wall face of the shield case  11 , so that the shield layer  43  of the shield wire  40  is connected conductibly to the shield case  11 . 
   Moreover, the larger diameter fitting portion  47  at the front end of the rubber boot  46  is fitted around the bulge portion  13  of the shield case  11 , and the lip portion  48  is resiliently contacted with its outer circumference. Thereby, a connection portion between the bracket  60  and the shield layer  43  is waterproofed. 
   Within the mounting hole  13 , the seal member  57  provides a seal between the inner circumference of the mounting hole  12  and the outer circumference of the wire side housing  51 . Also, a gap between the inner circumference of the mounting hole  12  and the apparatus side housing  21  is sealed with the seal ring  30  fitted around the fitting portion  23 . Moreover, the seal member  31  fitted around the circumference of the fitting portion  27  provides a seal between the outer circumference of the apparatus side terminal  26  and the inner circumference of the apparatus side housing  21 . With these seals, an oil within the shield case  11  is securely prevented from leaking through the mounting hole  12  out of the shield case  11 . Also, water outside the shield case  11  is securely prevented from entering the shield case  11  through the mounting hole  12 . 
   As described above, in this embodiment, the rubber seal member  31  as means for sealing between the apparatus side housing  21  and the apparatus side terminal  26  is bonded by baking on the outer circumferential face of the apparatus side terminal  26 . Therefore, the seal member  31  can provide a secure seal between the apparatus side terminal  26  and the apparatus side housing  21  without coating the sealant as the seal means by controlling the coating amount. That is, the seal member  31  is bonded by baking for secure seal between the outer circumferential face of the apparatus side terminal  26  and the inner circumferential face of the seal member  31 . The seal member  31  is closely contacted with the inner circumferential face of the cavity side housing  21  due to its resiliency to provide a secure seal between the outer circumferential face of the seal member  31  and the inner circumferential face of the apparatus side housing  21 . 
   Also, since the apparatus side terminal  26  is provided with the locating recess  32 , the seal member  31  is securely bonded at a predetermined position because of this locating recess  32 , whereby the seal performance of the seal member  31  is securely enhanced. 
   This invention is not limited to the above embodiment with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments may also fall within the technical scope of the invention, and various variations may be made thereto without departing the spirit or scope of the invention. 
   (1) Though in the above embodiment, the apparatus connector is involved, the invention is also applicable to connectors (e.g., connecting the wire harnesses) other than the apparatus connector. 
   (2) Though in the above embodiment, the apparatus side connector of the wire side connector and the apparatus side connector is involved, this invention is applicable to the wire side connector. 
   (3) Though in the above embodiment, the housing of the wire side connector and the housing of the apparatus side connector are fitted together, this invention is also applicable to a case where the terminal of the wire side connector is connected to the bare apparatus side terminal without employing the apparatus side housing. 
   (4) Though in the above embodiment, a plurality of apparatus side terminals are held in one apparatus side housing, one apparatus side terminal may be held in one apparatus side housing in this invention. 
   (5) Though in the above embodiment, the terminal fitting (apparatus side terminal) is of male type, this invention is also applicable to the terminal fitting of female type. 
   (6) Though in the above embodiment, the bonding portion of the seal member in the terminal fitting (apparatus side terminal) is circular in cross section, this invention is also applicable to a case where the bonding portion of the seal member in the terminal fitting is non-circular (e.g., oblong, ellipse, square with four corners beveled like arc, polygons other than quadrilateral). 
   The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto, and their equivalents.