JP4891850B2 - Joint connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is used for electrically short-circuiting a plurality of electric wire side terminals respectively provided at the terminals of each electric wire for the purpose of forming a branch circuit composed of a plurality of electric wires in an automobile wire harness or the like. The present invention relates to a joint connector.

  Conventionally, what is described in patent document 1 is known as such a joint connector. The joint connector includes a joint terminal and a connector housing (connector housing) that holds the joint terminal. The said joint terminal is a joint terminal for short-circuiting the electric wire side terminals each provided in the terminal of the some electric wire.

  The joint terminal integrally includes a plurality of electrical contact portions and a connecting portion. The electrical contact portions are arranged in a specific direction and are interconnected by the connecting portion. The electric wire side terminals can come into contact with each electrical contact portion, and all the electric wire side terminals are short-circuited to each other through the joint terminals by this contact.

The connector housing has a plurality of partition walls and a plurality of lances. Each partition wall is interposed between the electrical contact portions adjacent to each other among the electrical contact portions. Each lance is formed between the partition walls, and functions as a terminal locking piece that locks the electric wire side terminal at a position where the electric wire side terminal comes into contact with the electrical contact portion.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-176832

  In recent years, downsizing of various connectors including the above-described joint connector has been promoted. However, as the miniaturization of such a connector proceeds, it becomes more difficult to ensure a sufficient locking force for the lance (terminal locking portion) of the connector housing to lock the electric wire side terminal.

  In order to keep the locking force high, it is effective to make the width of the lance sufficiently large. However, since each lance is formed between the partition walls, the width of the lance is increased. There are significant limitations. The closer the width of the lance is to the distance between the partition walls sandwiching the lance, the closer both sides of the lance are to the partition wall. Arise. This contact causes a malfunction of the lance. Further, when the connector housing is molded with resin, setting the gap between the side surfaces of the lance and the partition wall to be small makes it difficult to manufacture a mold for the molding.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention is a joint capable of maintaining a high locking force of the electric wire side terminal by the connector housing while reliably avoiding interference between the partition wall of the connector housing and the terminal locking piece. An object is to provide a connector.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has paid attention to the circumstances peculiar to the joint connector, particularly the role of the partition wall formed in the connector housing. In a normal connector, since it is necessary to insulate terminals adjacent to each other, the partition wall formed in the connector housing is required to function as an insulating wall. Therefore, the partition wall must have a shape that completely separates the terminals. Conversely, since the joint connector is intended to short-circuit the terminals, the partition wall of the connector housing is not required to function as an insulating wall, and other purposes (for example, reinforcement or insertion of the connector housing) Any shape that can achieve the guidance of the terminal) is sufficient.

  The present invention is made from such a viewpoint, is a joint connector for electrically short-circuiting a plurality of electric wire side terminals respectively provided on the terminals of a plurality of electric wires, and is made of a conductive material, A joint terminal that short-circuits these electric wire side terminals by being commonly connected to each electric wire side terminal, and a connector housing that is molded from an insulating material and holds the joint terminal in a stored state, The joint terminal has a shape that can contact each of the electric wire side terminals, and a plurality of electrical contact portions arranged in a specific direction, and a short-circuit portion that extends in the arrangement direction of these electrical contact portions and is connected to each electrical contact portion The connector housing includes a terminal holding portion for holding the joint terminal and a joint terminal held by the terminal holding portion. A plurality of partition walls that are interposed between the electrical contact portions adjacent to each other to define a plurality of terminal insertion spaces into which the respective electric wire side terminals can be inserted, respectively, and are provided for each of the terminal insertion spaces. And a plurality of terminal locking pieces for locking the electric wire side terminals that are inserted into the electric contact portion, and each of the terminal locking pieces is engageable with the corresponding electric wire side terminal. The latching portion has a shape that can be flexibly displaced so as to retract from the electric wire side terminal in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction, and each partition wall includes the electric contact portion. When viewed from a direction parallel to the arrangement direction, the terminal locking pieces are prevented from overlapping.

  In this joint connector, a plurality of partition walls respectively interposed between the electrical contact portions of the joint terminals define each terminal insertion space and effectively reinforce the connector housing, while each partition wall is an array of the electrical contact portions. Since it has a shape that avoids overlapping with the terminal locking pieces when viewed from a direction parallel to the direction, the width of the terminal locking pieces of the connector housing is set large regardless of the interval between these partition walls, and its locking force Can be kept high. Moreover, as described above, the joint connector does not require the function of insulating the terminals, so that the partition wall avoids the terminal locking portion as described above, that is, the shape that does not completely separate the electric wire side terminals. But there is no particular problem.

  The connector housing has a body wall that covers a wire-side terminal fitted to each electrical contact portion from a side opposite to the terminal locking piece, and each partition wall extends from the body wall to the inside of the connector housing. Those protruding in the above are preferred.

  In this connector housing, each partition wall protruding from the main body wall effectively increases the rigidity of the main body wall.

  In the connector housing in which each partition wall protrudes from the main body wall, each partition wall is interposed between the terminal locking piece and the main body wall, and is shorter than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece. A portion having a small protruding dimension and a portion having a protruding dimension larger than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece at a position deviated from the terminal locking piece in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electric wire side terminal. Are preferably included. In this connector housing, both the longitudinal dimension of the partition wall (dimension in the direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electric wire side terminal) and the protruding dimension are ensured while avoiding interference between the terminal locking piece and the partition wall. can do.

  Further, when the terminal holding portion holds the short-circuit portion of the joint terminal at a position deviated from each terminal locking piece in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of each electric wire side terminal, each partition wall If it has a part which is interposed between the terminal holding part and each terminal locking piece and is connected to the terminal holding part, the strength of the connector housing is further increased.

  The portion of each partition wall that is interposed between the terminal holding portion and each terminal locking piece and that is integrally connected to the terminal holding portion is shorter than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece. It is more preferable to have a large protruding dimension.

  As described above, according to the joint connector according to the present invention, the partition wall is interposed between the electrical contact portions of the joint terminal, thereby achieving effective reinforcement of the connector housing, guidance of the electric wire side terminal, and the like. On the other hand, since it is possible to increase the width of the terminal locking piece while avoiding interference with the partition wall, there is an effect that the locking force by the terminal locking piece can be kept high.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 7 show a joint connector JC according to this embodiment. This joint connector JC is for short-circuiting the electric wire side terminals 20 provided at the terminals of a plurality of (four in the illustrated example) electric wires 10 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

  Each electric wire 10 includes a conductor 12 and an insulating coating 14 covering the conductor 12, and the terminal of the conductor 12 is exposed by removing the terminal of the insulating coating 14. The wire-side terminal 20 is crimped to the end of the conductor 12.

  The electric wire side terminal 20 according to this embodiment has a female electrical contact portion 22 and an electric wire crimping portion 24 at the front and rear. The electrical contact portion 22 has a hollow rectangular tube-shaped main body and a contact spring piece 26 provided so as to be able to bend in the main body. The wire crimping portion 24 is electrically connected to the conductor 12 by being crimped to the conductor 12 in a posture of embedding the end of the conductor 12.

  The joint connector JC includes a joint terminal 30 shown in FIG. 5 and a connector housing 40 for holding the joint terminal 30. The joint terminal 30 is made of a conductive material, and is short-circuited between the electric wire side terminals 20 by being commonly connected to the electric wire side terminals 20. The connector housing 40 is integrally formed of an insulating material such as synthetic resin and has a shape that can be held in a state where the joint terminal is stored.

  The joint terminal 30 according to this embodiment is formed of a single metal plate. Specifically, a plurality of electrical contact portions 32 and a short-circuit portion 34 are integrally provided. Each electrical contact portion 32 is a male shape (tab) that can be fitted into the female electrical contact portion 22 of each of the electric wire side terminals 20, and these electrical contact portions 32 are arranged in a direction parallel to the width direction thereof. ing. The short-circuit portion 34 extends in the arrangement direction of the electrical contact portions 32, and the short-circuit portions 34 are connected to the base ends of the electrical contact portions 32.

  The connector housing 40 includes a plate-like main body wall 41, left and right side walls 42 rising from both ends in the width direction of the main body wall 41, and rear ends of the main body wall 41 and the side wall 42 (the left end in FIGS. 5 to 7). ), A plurality of partition walls 44 projecting inward from the main body wall 41, an auxiliary wall 45, and a plurality of lances (terminal locking pieces) 46 connected to the auxiliary wall 45. Have one.

  The terminal holding portion 43 is connected to the rear end of the main body wall 41 and has a shape for holding the short-circuit portion 34 of the joint terminal 30. Specifically, it has an outer shape that is slightly larger than the short-circuit portion 34, and the short-circuit portion 34 surrounds a joint terminal insertion port 43a that can be inserted from the rear (left side in FIG. 5). And the said short circuit part 34 is press-fit in the terminal holding | maintenance part 43 with the attitude | position which orient | assigned each said electric contact part 32 to the front from the said insertion port 43a. More specifically, protrusions 34 a as shown in FIG. 5 are formed at both ends in the width direction of the short-circuit part 34, and the protrusions 34 a bite into the inner surface of the terminal holding part 43 so that the joint terminal insertion opening 42 a The short-circuit part 34 is fixed inside.

  The width dimension of the terminal holding part 43 is set to be larger than the width dimension of other parts in order to ensure sufficient strength that the terminal holding part 43 holds the short-circuit part 34. That is, both end portions in the width direction of the terminal holding portion 43 form projecting portions 43 b that project outward from the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls 42.

  Each partition wall 44 is located between the electrical contact portions 32 adjacent to each other among the joint terminals 30 held by the terminal holding portion 43, and is connected to the connector housing 40 from the inner surface of the main body wall 41. Projecting inward (upward in the posture of the joint connector JC shown in FIGS. 1 to 10). These partition walls 44 extend continuously and linearly from the terminal holding portion 43 to the opposite end portion (front end portion of the connector housing 40).

  The partition walls 44 adjacent to each other define an insertion space 47 into which the electric wire side terminal 20 to be connected to the electrical contact portion 32 can be inserted. These insertion spaces 47 are open to the front end side (the side opposite to the terminal holding portion 43) of the connector housing 40, and the electric wire side terminals 20 are inserted through the openings.

  The auxiliary wall 45 is formed in a front portion of the connector housing 40 (a portion opposite to the terminal holding portion 43), and each insertion space 47 is formed on a side opposite to the main body wall 41 (see FIGS. 1 to 10). The joint connector JC is connected to the side walls 42 and the partition walls 44 so as to cover the joint connector JC from the upper side. That is, each insertion space 47 is surrounded from four sides by the main body wall 41, the auxiliary wall 45, and the partition wall 44 or the side wall 42.

  Each lance 46 is provided for each insertion space 47. Specifically, each lance 46 extends rearward from the auxiliary wall 44 (in the direction toward the terminal holding portion 43). The ends of these lances 46 are free ends that can be bent and displaced in a direction away from the main body wall 41 (upward in FIGS. 1 to 10). And the latching | locking part 46a is formed in this free end part.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each locking portion 46 a locks the electric wire side terminal 20 that is inserted into the insertion space 47 and fits into the electrical contact portion 32. Specifically, each locking portion 46a has a claw shape that can come into contact with a step formed on the upper surface of the wire-side terminal 20 from the front side (right side in FIG. 9) of the connector housing 40. The contact prevents the electric wire side terminal 20 from coming off the connector housing 40.

  These locking portions 46a come into contact with the upper surface of the electric wire side terminal 20 when the electric wire side terminal 20 is inserted into the insertion space 47, and are pushed up by the electric wire side terminal 20, that is, outward (see above). It is deflected and displaced (to the side opposite to the main body wall 41). Then, when the electric wire side terminal 20 is completely fitted to the electric contact portion 32, the electric wire side terminal 20 is elastically restored to the original position and engaged with the electric wire side terminal 20. This engagement keeps the current-carrying state between each electric wire side terminal 20 and the corresponding electrical contact portion 32 good, and therefore, the circuit that short-circuits the electric wire side terminals 20 through the joint terminal 30 is good. To maintain.

  As a feature of the joint connector JC, each partition wall 44 overlaps the lance 46 as seen from a direction (side) parallel to the arrangement direction of the electrical contact portions 32 as shown in FIGS. It has a shape to avoid this.

  Specifically, each partition wall 44 includes a central wall portion 44a interposed between the main body wall 41 and the lance 46, and a rear side wall interposed between the rear end of the lance 46 and the terminal holding portion 43. A portion 44b and a front side wall portion 44c connected to the auxiliary wall 45 at a position in front of the central wall portion 44a are integrally provided. The central wall 44a has a protruding dimension smaller than the shortest distance from the main body wall 41 to the lance 46, while the rear side wall 44b and the front side wall 44c both protrude larger than the shortest distance. Have dimensions. In other words, each partition wall 44 has a rectangular notch 44d that allows the partition wall 44 to avoid the presence area of the lance 46 when viewed from a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the electrical contact portions 32. Is formed.

  The partition wall 44 having such a shape reliably avoids contact with the side surface of the lance 46 adjacent to the partition wall 44. This makes it possible to set the width dimension of the lance 46 large regardless of the arrangement interval of the partition walls 44, thereby increasing the locking force of the wire-side terminal 20 by the lance 46. .

  Specifically, in this embodiment, the width dimension of each lance 46 is set to be approximately the same (slightly smaller) as the interval between the partition walls 44. This dimension setting is realized only when each partition wall 44 has a shape that avoids overlapping with the lance 46 when viewed from the side. If the partition wall 44 has a shape including a portion interposed between the lances 46 (a shape overlapping with the lance 46 when viewed from the side), the dimension setting as described above causes the partition wall 44 and the Since the gap with the lance 46 becomes extremely small, a slight twist of the lance 46 causes contact between the lance 46 and the partition wall 44, and this contact may cause malfunction of the lance 46. . In addition, it is difficult to manufacture a mold for molding the connector housing 40 including the lance 46 and the partition wall 44.

  On the other hand, if the partition wall 44 has such a shape as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the width dimension of the lance 46 can be set large regardless of the presence of the partition wall 44. is there. Moreover, unlike the ordinary connector, the joint connector JC shown here is intended to short-circuit between the terminals, and the partition wall 44 is not required to function as an insulating wall that insulates the terminals from each other. Even if a notch 44d as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is formed in the partition wall 44, there is no problem.

  In particular, in the partition wall 44 according to this embodiment, the central wall portion 44a interposed between the main body wall 41 and the lance 46 has a projecting dimension smaller than the shortest distance from the main body wall 41 to the lance 46. On the other hand, since the front side wall part 44b and the rear side wall part 44c have a projecting dimension larger than the shortest distance from the lance 46 forward and backward (that is, in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electric wire side terminal 20), While reliably avoiding the interference between the partition wall 44 and the lance 46, it is possible to earn the projecting dimension of the partition wall 44 as much as possible to maintain the housing reinforcing effect and the terminal guiding effect high. Further, since the rear side wall portion 44c is integrally connected to the terminal holding portion 43, the reinforcing effect is enhanced.

  In the joint connector JC according to this embodiment, in addition to the above-described configuration, a protrusion 48 is formed at the front end of the main body wall 41 (the end opposite to the terminal holding portion 43). The protruding portion 48 protrudes outward from the main body wall 41, that is, in a direction orthogonal to the width direction of the terminal holding portion 43, and is formed over the entire width direction of the main body wall 41. The protruding portion 48 functions as a held portion held by a jig when testing the tensile strength of the electric wire 10 connected to the joint connector JC, and at the same time, the joint connector JC uses a tape to wire harness It is possible to function as a tape restricting portion that stabilizes the position of the tape in cooperation with the projecting portions 43b of the terminal holding portion 43 when wound around.

  An example of a jig for performing the tensile test is shown in FIG. The jig 50 shown in this figure has a container shape that can store the entire joint connector JC, and has a window 52 for leading the electric wire 10 connected to the joint connector JC to the outside of the jig 50. is doing. Further, an abutting wall 54 that can abut against the protruding portion 48 from the outside is formed at the peripheral edge of the window 52.

  The tensile test is performed by applying a tensile load to the electric wire 10 in a state where the joint connector JC is stored in the jig 50. At this time, since the protrusion 48 and the contact wall 54 come into contact with each other, it is prevented from being detached from the joint connector JC from the jig 50, so that an appropriate tension is applied to the electric wire 10 connected to the joint connector JC. A load can be applied.

  FIG. 11 shows a state in which the joint connector JC is wound around a trunk line (may be a branch line) of a wire harness 56 such as an automobile by a tape (for example, an adhesive tape) 58. An electric wire included in the wire harness 56 or an electric wire led from the outside is connected to the joint connector JC as a branch connection target electric wire 10, and the electric wires 10 are mutually connected via the joint terminals 30 of the joint connector JC. Shorted to

  The joint connector JC is fixed on the outer peripheral surface in a posture in which the main body wall 41 and the protruding portion 48 face outward, that is, in a posture in which the lance 46 faces the outer peripheral surface of the main line of the wire harness 56. Here, the distance between the protruding portion 43b of the terminal holding portion 43b and the protruding portion 48 (the interval in the direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electric wire side terminal 20 into the connector housing 40) is substantially equal to the width dimension of the tape 58. If they are set to be equal, the protruding portion 43b and the protruding portion 48 can function as positioning portions of the tape 58.

  The partition wall according to the present invention is not limited to the partition wall that extends over the entire region from the terminal holding portion 43 to the opposite end portion like the illustrated partition wall 44. For example, it may be composed only of the rear side wall portion 44b interposed between the terminal holding portion 43 and the lance 46, or may have only the rear side wall portion 44b and the central wall portion 44a. In addition, the purpose of the partition wall may not be to reinforce the connector housing 40 and guide the electric wire side terminal 20, and may be for only one of them.

  The shape of the partition wall 44 for avoiding the overlap between the partition wall 44 and the lance 46 is not limited to a shape having a rectangular notch 44d as shown in the drawing. For example, the shape in which the protruding amount of the partition wall 44 continuously decreases from the terminal holding portion 43 to the position of the front end of the lance 46 may be employed.

  The width dimension of the lance 46 can also be set freely. If there is no hindrance in molding, the width dimension of the lance 46 may be equal to the interval between the partition walls 44.

1 is a perspective view of a joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the joint connector. It is a side view of the joint connector. It is a front view of the joint connector. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the VI-VI sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a top view which shows the state by which each electric wire was connected to the said joint connector. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in which the said joint connector was stored in the jig | tool for a tension test. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the said joint connector was wound around the trunk line of the wire harness.

Explanation of symbols

JC joint connector 10 electric wire 20 electric wire side terminal 30 joint terminal 32 electrical contact portion 34 short-circuit portion 40 connector housing 41 main body wall 43 terminal holding portion 44 partition wall 44a central wall portion 44b rear side wall portion 44c front side wall portion 44d notch 46 lance (terminal) Locking piece)
46a Locking part 47 Insertion space

Claims (5)

A joint connector for electrically short-circuiting a plurality of electric wire side terminals respectively provided at the terminals of a plurality of electric wires,
A joint terminal made of a conductive material and short-circuited between the electric wire side terminals by being commonly connected to the electric wire side terminals,
A connector housing that is molded of an insulating material and holds the joint terminal in a stored state;
The joint terminal has a shape that can contact each of the electric wire side terminals, a plurality of electrical contact portions arranged in a specific direction, and a short circuit extending in the arrangement direction of the electrical contact portions and connected to each electrical contact portion. Part with
The connector housing is interposed between a terminal holding part for holding the joint terminal and the electrical contact parts adjacent to each other of the joint terminal held by the terminal holding part, and each of the electric wire side terminals can be inserted. A plurality of partition walls that define a plurality of terminal insertion spaces, and a plurality of terminal locks that are provided for each of the terminal insertion spaces and that are inserted into the terminal insertion spaces and that lock the electric wire side terminals that contact the electrical contact portions One piece and
Each of the terminal locking pieces has a locking portion that can be engaged with the corresponding electric wire side terminal, and is bent and displaced so that the locking portion is retracted from the electric wire side terminal in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction. Has a shape that can
Each said partition wall has a shape which avoids overlapping with the said terminal locking piece seeing from the direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the said electric contact part, The joint connector characterized by the above-mentioned. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein
The connector housing has a main body wall that covers the electric wire side terminal that contacts each of the electrical contact portions from the side opposite to the terminal locking piece,
Each said partition wall protrudes inside the said connector housing from the said main body wall, The joint connector characterized by the above-mentioned. The joint connector according to claim 2,
Each of the partition walls is interposed between the terminal locking piece and the main body wall, and has a projecting dimension smaller than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece, and the terminal locking piece. And a portion having a projecting dimension larger than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece at a position deviating in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the electric wire side terminal. In the joint connector in any one of Claims 1-3,
The terminal holding portion holds the short-circuited portion of the joint terminal at a position deviated from each terminal locking piece in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of each electric wire side terminal,
Each said partition wall has a part which intervenes between the said terminal holding part and each said terminal locking piece, and is connected with the said terminal holding part integrally, The joint connector characterized by the above-mentioned. The joint connector according to claim 4,
The portion of each partition wall that is interposed between the terminal holding portion and each terminal locking piece and is connected to the terminal holding portion is larger than the shortest distance from the main body wall to the terminal locking piece. A joint connector having a protruding dimension.