JP4888906B2 - Joint connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a joint connect in which three or more connectors are joined by one joint connector.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the conventional joint connector accommodates two types of first and second sets of joint bus bars 32 and 33 in a case made up of an upper case 30 and a lower case 31. It is known that tabs 32b and 33b or less protrude from 33, and these tabs protrude into connector fitting portions 34, 35 and 36. This is provided with two second connector fitting portions 34 and a third connector fitting portion 35 in which the upper case 30 is on the power output side, and the bottoms of the second and third connector fitting portions 34 and 35 are provided. Terminal holes arranged in two stages in the wall 37 are perforated. Further, a rib 38 is projected at a required position on the insertion side of the joint bus bars 32, 33 of the bottom wall 37, and a first joint bus bar accommodating portion 40 surrounded by the rib 38, the bottom wall 37 and the insulating plate 39. Is provided. Further, the lower case 31 is a first connector fitting portion which is a power input side projecting in a direction opposite to the second connector fitting portion 34 at a position facing the second connector fitting portion 34 of the upper case 30. 36 is provided. The bottom wall 41 of the first connector fitting portion 36 is also provided with terminal holes arranged in two stages in parallel. Furthermore, an insulating plate 39 that divides the inside of the case into the upper case 30 side and the lower case 31 side is accommodated in the case composed of the upper case 30 and the lower case 31. The insulating plate 39 is provided with a rib 43 projecting on the lower case 31 side of the partition plate portion 42 and a second joint bus bar housing portion 44 surrounded by the rib 43, the partition plate portion 42 and the bottom wall 41. Yes. Therefore, the connecting portion 32a of the first joint bus bar 32 is arranged on the upper case 30 side in the case partitioned by the insulating plate 39, while the connecting portion 33a of the second joint bus bar 33 is arranged on the lower case 31 side. . The insulating plate 39 is provided with a through hole through which the tab of the first joint bus bar 32 penetrates to the lower case 31 side and a through hole through which the tab of the second joint bus bar 33 penetrates to the upper case 30 side at a required location. Yes. The first joint bus bar 32 disposed on the upper case 30 side in the case partitioned by the insulating plate 39 includes a connecting portion 32a extending in the vertical direction, and one side from the upper and lower ends of the connecting portion 32a. A base refracting part refracted by 90 degrees and a tab extending in the left-right direction from the tip of the base refracting part are provided. Tabs are provided on the right and left sides of the upper-end base refracting portion, while tabs are provided only on the right side on the lower end side. The tab protruding on the right side protrudes into the second and third connector fitting portions 34 and 35 of the upper case 30, while the tab protruding on the left side protrudes into the first connector fitting portion 36 of the lower case 31. Is done. On the other hand, the second joint bus bar 33 arranged on the lower case 31 side in the case partitioned by the insulating plate 39 has the upper and lower ends of the connecting portion 33a extending in the vertical direction on the other side of the first joint bus bar 32. A base refracting portion is provided by refraction, and a tab extending in the left-right direction is provided from the base refracting portion. As with the first joint bus bar 32, the tabs protruding to the right side from the base refracting part protrude into the second and third connector fitting parts 34, 35 of the upper case 30, while protruding to the left side. Is projected into the first connector fitting portion 36 of the lower case 31 (see Patent Document 1).

In the one described in Patent Document 1 (FIG. 10), a plurality of joint bus bars 32 and 33 of the first set and the second set are arranged in parallel in the case of the joint connector, and the first joint bus bar 32 and the second set are arranged in parallel. The joint bus bar 33 is shifted in the direction orthogonal to the parallel direction, and the tabs of the first set of joint bus bars 32 and the tabs of the second set of joint bus bars 33 are inserted into the upper and lower terminal holes of the connector fitting portions 34 to 36. Since each is made to project, two short-circuit patterns can be formed in one row, and the joint connector can be downsized as compared with one in which one short-circuit pattern is formed in one row. Further, the connecting portions 32a and 33a of the first set of joint bus bars 32 and the second set of joint bus bars 33 are shifted in the tab length direction, and an insulating plate 39 is interposed between the shifted connecting portions. Therefore, it is possible to reliably insulate without providing a large gap between the first set and the second set of joint bus bars 32 and 33, and to reduce the size of the joint connector.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-347036 (page 5-7, FIG. 1)

  In the joint connector described in Patent Document 1, since a plurality of joint bus bars having a complicated structure is used, the number of parts is increased, the efficiency of assembly work is poor, and the weight is also increased. In addition, since an insulating plate is interposed between the joint bus bars, it is necessary to secure an arrangement width for further securing the thickness of the components, and there is a limit to downsizing the joint connector.

  Therefore, the present invention can joint three or more connectors with one joint connector, uses an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) as an internal wiring material, reduces the number of parts, improves the workability of assembly, reduces the size and It is an object to provide a joint connector that is reduced in weight.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides two male housings, one of which is provided with two connector fitting portions and the other of which is provided with at least one connector fitting portion, by a hinge, A plurality of pairs of two slits are formed on the back surface, and at least a single pair of slits is formed on the other side. Conductive portions are formed on the flexible substrate in accordance with the number of slits, and the conductive portions are bent to form a male housing. The female housing having a terminal connected to the conductive portion in the male housing is inserted into the slit of the male housing from the back side, the two male housings are bent at the hinges, and the back surface is faced. This is a hard lead that has two rows of terminals on the female housing, and is provided on both ends of the other flexible board that is folded in half. Strive to conduction in contact with the plate, in which these conductive plate is in contact with the two pair of conductive portions.

  According to the present invention, two male housings, one of which has two connector fitting portions and the other of which has at least one connector fitting portion, are connected by a hinge, and two pairs of slits are formed on the back of one male housing. In addition to forming a plurality of pairs, at least one pair of slits is formed on the other side, conductive portions are formed on the flexible substrate according to the number of slits, and the conductive portions are bent and inserted from the back into the slits of the male housing. Two male housings are bent at the hinge and the back faces are faced, and a female housing having a terminal connected to a conductive portion in the male housing is fitted into a connector fitting portion of the male housing. The terminals of the row are brought into contact with a hard conductive plate provided at both ends of the other flexible substrate that is folded in half to achieve conduction. Since both of these conductive plates are in contact with the two pairs of conductive portions, a plurality of conductive portions are formed on one flexible substrate, the number of parts is reduced, and the flexible substrate is bent, so that assembly work The efficiency is improved. In addition, by using a flexible substrate, it is not necessary to provide a separate insulating plate, so that the size and weight can be reduced.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a branch connection box (joint connector) 1 in which two male housings 2 and 3 corresponding to a conventional upper case are arranged side by side via a hinge portion 4 as viewed from the back side. Slits 5 and 6 are formed on the back surfaces 2A and 3A of the male housings 2 and 3 of the branch connection box 1, respectively. The slit 5 is composed of two pairs of two parallel pairs, that is, slits 5A, 5B, 5C, and 5D, and the slit 6 is also composed of two pairs of two parallel pairs, that is, slits 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D. Consists of. At both inner ends of the two pairs of slits 5A and 5B, 5C and 5D, 6A and 6B, 6C and 6D, there are locking pieces that engage with the locking holes 7A (see FIG. 2) of the flexible substrate 9. A certain lance 7 is provided. Further, a lock fixing portion 8 for fixing a female housing 10 (to be described later) corresponding to a conventional connector after being fitted into connector fitting portions 2B, 2C, 3B, and 3C provided in front of the male housings 2 and 3. Are provided above and below the male housings 2 and 3, respectively.

  FIG. 2 shows a flexible substrate 9 in which four conductive portions 9A to 9H inserted into the slits 5 and 6 formed on the back surfaces 2A and 3A of the male housings 2 and 3 are formed on the upper and lower ends. The substrate 9 functions as an internal wiring material. As this flexible substrate 9, a single-sided FPC (flexible printed circuit board) was used. The FPC is a flexible wiring board having a structure in which a circuit formed by precision etching of a copper foil is sandwiched between polyimide films having excellent insulating properties and heat resistance, and is excellent in high bending performance. The conductive portions 9A to 9H are portions where the copper foil portions are exposed by peeling the coverlay. The coverlay plays the role of a conventional insulating plate. The flexible substrate 9 shown in FIG. 2 is bent at a location indicated by a dotted line in the drawing. First, both sides are folded inward as indicated by the left and right symbols a, and then folded as indicated by the upper and lower symbols b, and then folded so that the conductive portions 9A to 9H protrude, as shown in FIG.

  The respective conductive portions 9A to 9H of the flexible substrate 9 bent as shown in FIG. 3 are inserted into the slits 5A to 5D and 6A to 6D from the back surfaces 2A and 3A, and assembled as shown in FIG. Each of the conductive portions 9A to 9H protrudes into the male housings 2 and 3 and forms a pair of two.

  When the one shown in FIG. 4 is viewed from the back, as shown in FIG. 5, the flexible substrate 9 is in close contact with the backs 2 </ b> A and 3 </ b> A of the male housings 2 and 3, and the conductive portions 9 </ b> A to 9 </ b> H Protruding. The male housing 3 is rotated in the direction C in FIG. 5 at the hinge portion 4 so that the back surfaces 2A and 3A face each other. The state is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows the female housing 10, and two female housings 10 are fitted into the male housings 2 and 3 respectively. The female housing 10 is formed with a lock portion 11 that is fixed to the lock fixing portion 8 of the male housings 2 and 3, and a pair of parallel slits 12 (12 </ b> A and 12 </ b> B) are formed on the back surface 10 </ b> A. Are inserted in two rows with a minimum insulation width. A conductive plate 15 at both ends of a flexible substrate 14 as shown in FIG. 8 is inserted into the slit 12, and the conductive plate 15 is brought into contact with two rows of terminals 13 for electrical connection. That is, the conductive hard conductive plate 15 provided at both ends of the flexible substrate 14 is inserted into the recess 13 </ b> A formed at the base end of the terminal 13. The conductive plate 15 is inserted between two pairs of the conductive portions 9A to 9H in the male housings 2 and 3 so as to be conductive. FIG. 9 shows a state in which a total of four female housings 10 are fitted into the male housings 2 and 3 from the back surface 10A side, and a plurality of connectors are jointed.

  In the above-described embodiment, two pairs of slits 5 and 6 are formed in the two male housings 2 and 3, respectively, but at least one of them is a male housing, for example, the male housing 3 is formed with only the slits 6A and 6B. The slits 6C and 6D may not be formed. In this case, three female housings 10 are used, and the connection is the same as that shown in FIG. In addition, after the two male housings 2 and 3 are folded back to back, a ring member 20 for fixing them is provided on the back surface 3 </ b> A of the male housing 3.

The perspective view of a male housing. The perspective view of a flexible substrate. The perspective view of the state which bent the flexible substrate. The perspective view of the state which attached the flexible substrate of FIG. 3 to the male housing. The perspective view seen from the back side of the same state as FIG. The perspective view of the state which folded up the male housing in the hinge part. The perspective view of a female housing. The perspective view of the terminal and flexible substrate which are attached to a female housing. The perspective view of the state which fitted the female housing in the male housing. Sectional drawing which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Branch connection box 2, 3 Male housing 2A, 3A Back surface 2B, 2C, 3B, 3C Connector fitting part 4 Hinge part 5, 6 Slit 9 Flexible board 9A-9H Conductive part 10 Female housing 12 Slit 13 Terminal 14 Flexible board 15 Conductive plate

Claims (1)

Two male housings, one having two connector fitting parts and the other having at least one connector fitting part, are connected by a hinge, and a plurality of pairs of two pairs of slits are formed on the back of one male housing. And at least one pair of slits is formed on the other side,
Depending on the number of these slits, a conductive part is formed on the flexible substrate,
Bend these conductive parts and insert them into the slits of the male housing from the back, and bend the two male housings at the hinge to face the back,
A female housing having a terminal that is electrically connected to the conductive portion in the male housing is fitted into the connector fitting portion of the male housing,
The two rows of terminals of the female housing are brought into contact with the hard conductive plates provided at both ends of the other flexible substrate, and the conductive plates are brought into contact with the pair of conductive portions. A joint connector characterized by that.