Patent Publication Number: US-11043772-B2

Title: Connector with cable cover

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is based on, and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-052469, filed on Mar. 20, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The disclosure relates to a connector with cable cover. 
     RELATED ART 
     As this type of a connector with cable cover, the connector with cable cover disclosed in JP 2002-25684 A includes a housing having a terminal accommodation chamber in which a terminal connected to a cable is accommodated and a cable is drawn out from a rear surface, and a tubular cable cover attached to the side of the rear surface of the housing. The cable cover has a tubular cover body and a pair of opening and closing members provided on the cover body via a hinge. The rear side of the inner surface of the pair of opening and closing members is provided with a locking section for locking a bellows-like corrugated tube. 
     SUMMARY 
     However, in the conventional connector with cable cover, water coming down from the cable or the corrugated tube collects in a hollow groove of the housing, and the water cannot be removed. 
     An object of the disclosure is to provide a connector with cable cover capable of draining water to the outside even if the water coming down from a cable or the like is going to enter the housing. 
     The connector with cable cover according to the present embodiment includes a housing including a terminal accommodation chamber configured to accommodate a terminal connected to a cable and a rear surface having an opening of the terminal accommodation chamber configured to draw out the cable from the housing; and a cable cover formed in a tubular shape and attached to a side of the rear surface. The housing is provided with a water drain passage communicating from a part of the rear surface positioned below the opening on the rear surface to a rear side of a lower surface of the housing. 
     According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide the connector with cable cover capable of draining water to the outside through the water drain passage even if the water coming down from the cable or the like is going to enter the housing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a connector with cable cover according to a present embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a state before the cable cover of the connector with cable cover is attached; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a housing of the connector with cable cover; 
         FIG. 4  is a back view of the housing; 
         FIG. 5  is a bottom view of the housing; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the housing; and 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the connector with cable cover. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various embodiments will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     A description will hereinafter be given of an embodiment with consultation of drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the connector with cable cover according to the present embodiment;  FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a state before the cable cover of the connector with cable cover is attached;  FIG. 3  is a side view of the housing of the connector with cable cover;  FIG. 4  is a back view of the housing;  FIG. 5  is a bottom view illustrating the lower surface of the housing;  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of the housing; and  FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of the connector with cable cover. 
     For convenience of description, a predetermined direction in a connector  10  with cable cover is defined as the longitudinal direction, a predetermined direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is defined as the vertical direction, and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction is defined as the width direction. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 7 , the connector  10  with cable cover includes a synthetic resin female housing (housing)  20  from which a cable  40  is drawn out from a rear surface (back surface)  21   b , and a synthetic resin tubular cable cover  30  attached to the rear surface  21   b  of the female housing  20 . In the present embodiment, the longitudinal direction is a long side of the female housing  20 , which is a direction in which the cable  40  to which a female terminal (terminal) is connected is inserted into the female housing  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 7 , the female housing  20  includes a housing body  21 , a hood section  23 , and a tubular front holder  24 . The housing body  21  has two terminal accommodation chambers  22  in which the female terminal  41  connected to the cable  40  is accommodated. The hood section  23  is formed integrally with the center of the housing body  21  so as to protrude therefrom, and the front surface side and the upper surface side thereof into which a male housing of a male connector of an unillustrated mate is fitted are opened. The tubular front holder  24  is fitted into the front side of the housing body  21 , and has a terminal insertion hole  24   a  into which a male terminal of the unillustrated mate is inserted, and a lance  24   b  for locking the female terminal  41 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 , the terminal accommodation chamber  22  of the housing body  21  accommodates the female terminal  41  connected to the terminal of the cable  40  from a circular opening  22   b  of the terminal accommodation chamber  22  provided on the rear surface  21   b . The space between each terminal accommodation chamber  22  and the cable  40  is sealed with a rubber plug  42  mounted to the cable  40 . A front surface  21   a  of the housing body  21  is formed with a terminal insertion hole  22   a  into which the male terminal of the unillustrated mate is inserted so as to communicate with the terminal accommodation chamber  22 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the side of the rear end of both side surfaces  21   c  of the housing body  21  provided in the width direction of the housing  20  is formed with a recessed cover locking groove  25  as a cover locking section. A ceiling surface  21   d  of the housing body  21  is provided with a lock arm  26  for locking with the male housing of the mate into a fitted state. An operation end  26   a  of the lock arm  26  is provided on the rear side of the upper opening of the hood section  23 . 
     Furthermore, the rear end of a lower surface  21   e  of the housing  20  is provided with a cover attachment projection  27  as a cover attachment section. As illustrated in  FIGS. 4, 6, and 7 , the cover attachment projection  27  is provided with a pair of water drain holes  28  below the respective openings  22   b  of the two terminal accommodation chambers  22  so as to penetrate through the cover attachment projection  27 . A reinforcement rib  27   a  is formed between the pair of water drain holes  28 . That is, the water drain holes  28  are formed in a divided manner with the reinforcement rib  27   a  as a boundary. The rear side of the lower surface  21   e  of the housing  20  is formed with a pair of rectangular, recessed water drain recesses  29  communicating with the pair of water drain holes  28 . That is, the water drain recesses  29  on the lower surface  21   e  of the housing body  21  are also formed in a divided manner with a partition wall  29   a , corresponding to the reinforcement rib  27   a , as a boundary. The water drain hole  28  of the cover attachment projection  27  and the water drain recess  29  of the lower surface  21   e  of the housing body constitute a water drain passage A. The water drain passage A is formed so as to communicate from below each opening  22   b  of the two terminal accommodation chambers  22  on the rear surface  21   b  of the housing body  21  to the rear side of the lower surface  21   e.    
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 7 , the cable cover  30  has a substantially semicylindrical body cover  31 , a substantially semicylindrical lid cover  35 , and a hinge  39 . The substantially semicylindrical body cover  31  is attached to the recessed cover locking groove  25  on the both side surfaces  21   c  of the housing body  21 . The substantially semicylindrical lid cover  35  is attached to the cover attachment projection  27  on the lower surface  21   e  of the housing  20  in a tubular state where the substantially semicylindrical lid cover  35  is integrated with the body cover  31 , and the substantially semicylindrical lid cover  35  covers the front end side of a corrugated tube  45  through which the cable  40  penetrates. The hinge  39  is provided between the body cover  31  and the lid cover  35 . 
     The front side of the body cover  31  is formed integrally with a pair of attachment sections  32  so as to vertically extend in parallel. The inside of each attachment section  32  is provided with a protruding housing locking projections  32   a  as a housing locking section fitted into the recessed cover locking groove  25  of the housing body  21 . An inner surface of the body cover  31  is provided with a protruding part  33  locked to a bellows-like recessed part  45   a  of the corrugated tube  45 . Furthermore, the end part of the body cover  31  opposite to the hinge  39  is formed with a lock hole  34 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the front side of the inner surface of the lid cover  35  is formed with a recessed housing attachment groove  36  as a housing attachment section fitted into the cover attachment projection  27  of the housing body  21 . An inner surface of the lid cover  35  is provided with a protruding part  37  locked to the bellows-like recessed part  45   a  of the corrugated tube  45 . Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the end part of the lid cover  35  opposite to the hinge  39  is provided with a lock projection  38  locked to the lock hole  34 . When the body cover  31  and the lid cover  35  are integrated into a tubular shape, a stepped part  36   a  formed in the front part of the outside of the lid cover  35  is fitted into a notch part  32   b  formed on the side of the lower end of the attachment section  32  on the outside of the body cover  31 . 
     According to the connector  10  with cable cover of the embodiment described above, even if water coming down from the corrugated tube  45  or the cable  40  is going to enter the rear surface  21   b  side of the housing body  21  of the female housing  20 , the water is discharged to the outside through the water drain passage A communicating from below the opening  22   b  of the terminal accommodation chamber  22  on the rear surface  21   b  of the housing body  21  to the rear side of the lower surface  21   e . Thereby, the entry of water from the corrugated tube  45  or the cable  40  can be prevented on the rear surface  21   b  side of the housing body  21 . 
     Furthermore, while the pair of water drain holes  28  are formed in the cover attachment projection  27  of the housing body  21 , the pair of water drain holes  28  are formed in a divided manner with the reinforcement rib  27   a  as a boundary and are reinforced by the reinforcement rib  27   a , and thus, even if the cable cover  30  is pulled in a removal direction, the cover attachment projection  27  is not damaged and the strength of the cover attachment projection  27  is enhanced. 
     According to the embodiment described above, the two water drain holes of the cover attachment projection and the two recessed water drain recesses on the lower surface of the housing body are formed, but one water drain hole and one water drain recess may be formed. 
     According to the embodiment described above, the recessed water drain recess on the lower surface of the housing body is formed, but a water drain hole communicating from the lower surface side of the housing body to the water drain hole of the cover attachment projection may be formed. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.