HOUSING ASSEMBLY FOR WATER SEAL CONNECTOR

Abstract: A housing assembly includes a housing defining a cavity therein for receiving and sealably supporting a rubber bush therein. The rubber bush has a plurality of through holes for inserting contacts respectively therethrough. The housing also has a plurality of holes of the cavity bottom, the housing holes to be in alignment with the bush holes. The cavity bottom includes a plurality of projections adapted to cooperatively engage recesses formed in the surface of the bush adjacent the cavity bottom. This cooperative engagement serves to minimize distortion of the bush holes when the contact end of the wire is inserted through the bush holes into the housing holes.

Description: HOUSING ASSEMBLY FOR WATER SEAL CONNECTOR FIELD OF THE INVENTION; This invention relates to a housing assembly for use in a water seal connector. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: Recently, many electronic devices have been designed with connectors for the purpose of electrically coupling multiple wires of moduled or packaged members. This design was developed for the purpose of convenience in exchanging members needing repair, or for inserting optional members, or in deference to the spatial arrangement of members. This type of design di sadvantageously results in a number of problems in certain operating environments. For example, in the case of usage in environments subject to flooding or high humidity, it is necessary to provide a water seal to function with the said connector. Generally, in connectors with water seals, the working efficiency of electrical connections is less than optimal, presenting problems. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION: This invention is provided to overcome the difficulties mentioned above. In preferred form, the invention is directed to a housing assembly for use in a water seal connector comprising a rubber bush having a plurality of through holes for inserting contacts respectively therethrough, and a housing defining a cavity therein for receiving and sealably supporting the rubber bush therein. The housing has a plurality of holes at the bottom of the cavity arranged to be in alignment with the holes in the rubber bush, the holes being adapted to receive and hold the contacts therein. The cavity bottom and a side surface of the rubber bush adjacent the cavity bottom comprise cooperative means for maintaining the alignment of the holes in the bush and the holes in the cavity bottom when one or more contacts are respectively inserted through the bush holes into the housing holes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: Fig. 1 is an exploded view of a connector showing an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the connection configuration of the connector illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an exploded view showing a cap housing of the connector illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 4A is a partially cutaway view showing a receptacle contact of the connector. Fig. 4B is a view of taken on line A-A of Fig. 4A. Fig. 5A is an exploded view showing another embodiment of the receptacle contact according to the present invention. Fig. 5B is a cross-sectional view showing one configuration of the receptacle contact. Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a rear side of a rubber bush. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: The water sealed connector, as shown in Figure 1, comprises multiple, generally tubular bodied receptacle contacts (10) terminating to a wire (100); multiple plug housings (20) housing the receptacle contacts; a cap housing (30) equipped with multiple pin contacts (200) that electrically connect with the receptacle contacts and receive the multiple plug housings. Furthermore, in the plug housing, housing holes (21) have been drilled to hold the multiple receptacle contacts in place. In addition, in the cap housing, multiple pin contacts have been placed in an arrangement so as to be in alignment with receptacle contacts inside the cavity (31) designed to accept the plug housing. Each receptacle contact is maintained in place in the housing hole (21) after insertion through the through hole (41) of the rubber bush (40) that is fixedly inserted into the plug housing. Pin contacts protrude after insertion through the bottom of each cavity of the cap housing. The protrusions form a terminal and connect to a printed circuit board, for example. Figure 2 is a cross-section of the connected plug housing and cap housing, showing receptacle and pin contact, establishing electrical flow. In the reference to Figure 1, the receptacle contact connects at its tip with the ferrule (sleeve) (14) to form a stepped portion (13). In the housing hole (21) inside the plug housing, as shown in Figure 2, the ferrule engages with a lance-shaped member, a pair of top and bottom spear-shaped projections being disposed in the housing hole. The stepped portion (13) is formed in one of two alternatives. One is to bend back the top area of the contact itself. The other is to enlarge the material of the end tip of the contact. ' The lance has a spear-like shape, with its tip a free end terminal along the part of the side wall of the housing hole towards the shaft direction of said hole. The lance tip engages with the stepped portion of the ferrule and serves to hold the receptacle contact inside the housing hole. In further reference to Figure 1, a rubber bush (40) preferably composed of heat resistant silicone rubber penetrated with oil to reduce insert resistance is provided. The side wall of the rubber bush has a number of integral ridges (42) that function as seal rings to provide seal ing. In this Figure, multiple projections (24) are disposed at the bottom of the cavity (23) of the plug housing which accepts the rubber bush (40). As will be mentioned later, these projections facilitate easy insertion of the contacts into through holes. Furthermore recesses (42) are formed on the rubber bush side, cooperating with and connecting to the projections. Figure 6 represents a rubber bush with recesses for contact with projections, as shown. It is preferable to arrange the projections in a regular pattern around the contact holes. However, in this invention, such pattern is not always necessary. Also, the height of the projections need not be uniform, but may vary. Furthermore, in this invention, the recesses in the rubber bush are not limited in number or in depth. Recesses without corresponding projections can be provided as well. • Now referring to Figure 1, the numeral (25) represents a locking spring built into the top of the plug housing. The locking spring, composed of metal, is designed in the shape of an "s" as shown in Figure 2. One side of the "bent" end (256) is designed to be fitted into the groove (26) built into the top of the housing. The other "bent" end of the locking spring (25a) functions as a handle. When the plug housing is inserted into the cavity of the cap housing, while simultaneously pushing down the "bent" of the locking spring, an opening latch (27) built into the side of the spring, engages the latch projection (32) built into the upper part of the inside wall of the cavity area. Both sides of the locking spring are flanked by guiding walls (28). These are designed to eliminate problems such as wires interfering with the spring when inserting the plug housing into the cap housing. Furthermore, the guiding wal ls function to determine the insert direction of the plug housing, eliminating any mistakes in insertion direction. The height of these guiding walls is higher in the area of the handle. The guiding walls, likewise, efficiently prevent wire tangle even though the distance for the spring snap back is considerable. In Figure 1, the numeral (50) represents a seal ring, preferably composed of heat resistant silicone rubber and coated with oil in the fashion as the rubber bush. Figure 3 presents a detailed view of the cap housing, with multiple pin contacts arranged alternately in a staggered pattern of three rows. As shown in Figure 2, each pin contact protrudes from a through capacitor (33). One side of the pole of the through capacitor is soldered onto the grounding plate (34) that covers the back of the cap housing. This capacitor functions as a filter to prevent external electrical noise. Element (35) functions to align the leads of the pin contacts, as is well known. Figure 4A and Figure 4B show an example of receptacle contact in the usage of this invention. Numeral (10a) shows the generally tubular conductive main body. The main body is tubular to facilitate insertion of the contact with ease. The design also allows for a more dense concentration of contacts within the housing. Numeral (11) is a means to electrically connect the wire to the connector. In this example as shown by the figure, the wire is fixed by pressure, such as crimping. The main body of contact (10a) and the means (11) have a tapered area to facilitate removal of the contact from a housing hole. Numeral (12) is a connecting device for terminals and pins such as on printed circuit board or similar connections. In Figure 1, connecting device (12) comprises at least a pair of leaf springs with free ends defined by a groove along the direction of the main core shaft of the mainbody. The tips of the pair of leafsprings are staggered towards each other as shown in Figure 4A. The pin contacts receptacle contact in two steps, facilitating insertion. Even if the pin is not aligned with the spring, the spring will still receive the pin. Furthermore, it will eliminate permanent distortion of the spring due to over stress of the spring. Numeral (14) represents the ferrule (sleeve) covering the tip of the main body. The corner, namely the tip of the ferrule, is beveled, as shown in Figure 4A, so as to minimize damage to the rubber bush (40) when inserting the contact into the through hole (41). The ferrule has a notch (14a) on its side wall designed to position it to the main body. The ferrule, being of material different from the mainbody material, functions to strengthen the tip of the contact mainbody. In this invention, as previously mentioned, the stepped portion (13) made by the ferrule and the mainbody, serves as a stopping device for the lance set up in the housing hole of the housing. As shown in Figure 5B, when groove (14a) is positioned on the side wall of the mainbody along with the stepped portion, the ferrule will be held in deeper by the lance. This will ensure the connection of the two and strengthen the contact. Having described the preferred embodiments of the invention, its advantages and benefits should now be appreciated. In the housing assembly of this invention, the projections, set at the bottom of the cavity of the housing accepting the rubber bush, function so as to prevent distortion of the holes when the contact end of the wire is inserted through the through hole of rubber bush. Consequently, the contact is easily inserted into the through hole despite the arrangement of the holes or the size of the wire to be connected. As a result, less effort is required. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments are provided in an illustrative rather than in a limiting sense, the true scope of the invention being set forth in the claims appended hereto.

Claims: C LAIMS: 1. A housing assembly for use in a water seal connector, comprising: a rubber bush (40) having a through hole (41) for inserting a contact (10) therethrough, and a housing (20) for defining a cavity (23) therein for receiving and sealably holding said rubber bush; wherein said housing has a hole (21) at the bottom of said cavity, said hole being adapted to receive and hold said contact; said cavity has a plurality of projections (24) on a surface of the bottom thereof; and said rubber bush has a plurality of recesses (42) on a side surface thereof adjacent to the surface of the bottom, said recess operating with said projections. 2. A housing assembly according to Claim 1, wherein said projections are provided in the vicinity of an opening of the housing hole 21. 3. A housing assembly according to Claim 2, wherein said projections are arranged oppositely each other with the opening of said housing hole 21 therebetween. 4. ' A housing assembly according to Claim 1, wherein said projections are uneven in shape. 5. A housing assembly according to Claim 1, wherein some of said recesses are unused ones that are not engaged with said projections. 6. A housing assembly according to Claim 1, wherein said recesses are uneven in shape. 7. A housing assembly for use in a water seal connector, comprisi ng: a rubber bush (40) having a plurality of through holes (41) for inserting conta'cts (10) respectively therethrough, and a housing (20) defining a cavity (23) therein for receiving and sealably supporting said rubber bush therein; wherein said housing has a plurality of holes (21) at the bottom of said cavity arranged to be in alignment with the holes (41) in said bush, said holes (21) being adapted to receive and hold said contacts therein; wherein said cavity bottom and a side surface of said bush adjacent said cavity bottom comprise cooperative means for maintaining the alignment of said holes (41) in said bush and said holes (21) in said cavity bottom when one or more contacts (10) are respectively inserted through said bush holes (41) into said housing holes (21). 8. A housing assembly according to claim 7, wherein said cooperative means comprises a plurality of projections (24) on said cavity bottom and a plurality of recesses (42) extending into said side surface of said bush.

Inventors: SONOBE TOSHIMITSU, YAMAMOTO MASAHIRO, SONOBE, TOSHIMITSU, YAMAMOTO, MASAHIRO
Applicants: THOMAS & BETTS CORP, THOMAS & BETTS CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13