Water-proof electrical connector

Claim 1

A waterproof type of electric connector comprising a male half (2) and a female half (1), said male half (2) including a plug housing (9) having a plurality of contact pieces (10a, 10b) detachably fitted therein, said female half (1) including a socket housing (5) having a cavity (7) to detachably accept said plug housing (9), a plurality of pin terminals (6a, 6b) fixed to the bottom of said cavity in such an arrangement that the pin terminals (6a, 6b) mate with corresponding contact pieces (10a, 10b) when said male half (2) is inserted in said cavity (7) of said female half (1), and a seal member placed in the space which is to be formed between the outer surface of said plug housing (9) and the inside surface of said socket housing (5) when said male and female halves (2) and (1) are coupled, thereby preventing water from invading the inside of the electric connector, characterized in that said plug housing (9) has a plurality of hollow protrusions each having a cylindrical cell (13a, 13b) to permit each of said contact pieces (10a, 10b) to fit in, said seal member (14) encircling each of said protrusions, thereby sealing each pin-and-contact piece connection independently from adjacent pin-and-contact piece connection said seal member (14) being made of a unitary structure, which has a front surface (17), a rear surface (31), a circumferential side (15) connecting the front and rear surfaces, and a plurality of through holes each permitting a corresponding protrusion to enter therein, said seal member being placed with its front surface (17) on the bottom (18) of said cavity (7) and with its circumferential side (15) on the inside circumference (16) of said cavity (7), each of said through holes having hills (24) and valleys (23) alternately formed on its inside surface (22), the hills (24) of each through hole being pressed against the outer surface of a corresponding protrusion.