JP4983759B2 - Joint connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a joint connector. Specifically, various connection circuits can be arbitrarily formed in one joint connector.

  Conventionally, a joint connector 3 as shown in FIG. 6 is known as a joint connector that forms a required connection circuit by conducting a plurality of electric wires of a wire harness. The joint connector 3 includes a first connector 1 into which a female terminal 4 connected to an end of each electric wire w of the wire harness W / H is inserted and locked, and a second connector 2 that fits with the first connector 1. The connector housing 2a of the second connector 2 accommodates a joint bus bar 5 for conducting the female terminals 4 of the plurality of electric wire terminals when fitted to the first connector 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-39239). See the official gazette).

  However, in the joint connector 3 having the above-described configuration, the joint bus bar 5 having a shape corresponding to a required connection circuit needs to be accommodated in the connector housing 2a of the second connector 2 in advance. In such a case, there is a problem that it is difficult to deal with easily.

JP 2001-39239 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to easily form various connection circuits at arbitrary positions with the same joint connector.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a first connector that inserts and locks male terminals respectively connected to terminals of a plurality of electric wires of a wire harness;
A second connector mated with the first connector;
A plurality of joint female terminals each pre-stored in each of the terminal housing chambers arranged in parallel with the connector housing of the second connector;
On the partition walls that divide the terminal housing chambers arranged side by side of the second connector, the terminal connection windows are provided through the respective partition walls,
Each joint female terminal includes U-shaped elastic deformation portions formed by being bent toward each other on both side portions, and electric contact portions bent in opposite directions away from the elastic deformation portions toward the distal end side. The electrical contact portion is accommodated in a position along the terminal connection window portion and not inserted into the terminal connection window portion,
The elastic deformation portion is pressed and deformed by the male terminal inserted into the joint female terminal when the first and second connectors are fitted, and the electrical contact portion is inserted into the terminal connection window portion, There is provided a joint connector characterized in that the electrical contact portions of adjacent female terminals for joints are configured to contact each other inside the terminal connection window portion.

  That is, in the present invention, the elastically deforming portion and the electrical contact portion are provided on both sides of the U shape in all the terminal accommodating chambers of the second connector into which the first connector locked with the male terminal of the electric wire terminal is fitted. One joint female terminal is provided in advance. In addition, when the terminal connection window portion is provided through the partition wall that divides the terminal housing chambers arranged side by side, and the elastic deformation portion of the adjacent female terminal for joint is pressed and deformed by the inserted male terminal, respectively. Only in the inside of the terminal connection window portion, the electrical contact portions of the adjacent joint female terminals are brought into contact with each other.

  Therefore, according to the said structure, the elastic deformation part of the adjacent female terminal for joints is each inserted only in the female terminal for joints in the terminal storage chamber which adjoins the 2nd connector of the male terminal of the electric wire terminal to conduct. It is possible to make electrical connection by bringing the electrical contact portions continuous to the elastic deformation portion into contact with each other inside the window portion for terminal connection. On the other hand, the male terminals of the electric wire terminals that are not desired to be electrically connected to each other can be prevented from being electrically connected only by being prevented from being inserted into the adjacent terminal accommodating chamber of the second connector. As described above, according to the above configuration, various connection circuits can be formed with the same joint connector depending on whether or not the male terminal is inserted into the adjacent female terminal for joint. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a joint bus bar having a specific shape according to the required connection circuit in advance, and it is possible to reduce the cost by using common parts.

  Specifically, a plurality of male terminals adjacent to each other in the terminal housing chambers arranged in parallel in the first connector, and a plurality of the first joint portions that are not adjacent to each other A second joint portion adjacent to and parallel to the male terminal, and the first joint portion and the second joint portion are not in contact with each other when fitted to the second connector.

  According to the said structure, since the several male terminal which comprises a 1st joint part is adjoining and paralleled in the terminal storage chamber of a 1st connector, when fitting with a 2nd connector, it adjoins to the adjacent female terminal for joints. It can be inserted and electrically connected to each other to form a first connection circuit. Similarly, since the plurality of male terminals constituting the second joint portion are also arranged adjacent to each other in the parallel terminal accommodating chambers in the first connector, when the second connector is fitted to the adjacent female terminal for joints. It can be inserted and electrically connected to each other to form a second connection circuit. Since the first joint portion and the second joint portion of the first connector are not adjacent to each other, the first and second connection circuits formed by fitting with the second connector are separate connections that are not electrically connected to each other. It becomes a circuit.

Here, “adjacent” means that the elastically deforming portions of the joint female terminals provided in the terminal accommodating chambers of the second connector are adjacent to each other in the direction of pressure deformation. Therefore, if the deformation direction of the elastic deformation portion is the left-right direction, it is understood that the terminals inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber are not adjacent even if the terminal accommodating chamber is adjacent in the vertical direction. .
Further, depending on the arrangement state of the terminal accommodating chambers of the first and second connectors, if necessary, three or more joint parts similar to the first and second joint parts are formed, and one joint connector is used. Three or more connection circuits can also be formed.

It is preferable that the joint female terminals provided one by one in the terminal housing chamber of the second connector are simultaneously inserted and locked in each terminal housing chamber using an insertion jig.
Moreover, it is preferable that the joint female terminal is first formed as a chain shape in which the tips of both side portions are continuous, and then the continuous portions on both side portions are cut to form one joint female terminal. .
Furthermore, a locking hole is provided in the non-deformable portion of both side portions of the joint female terminal, and a lance projecting from the inner wall of the terminal accommodating chamber of the second connector is locked into the locking hole. It is preferable that the terminal is positioned and held in the terminal accommodating chamber.

As described above, the joint in which the elastically deforming portion and the electrical contact portion are provided on both sides of the U shape in all the terminal receiving chambers of the second connector into which the first connector in which the male terminal of the electric wire terminal is locked is fitted. One female terminal is provided in advance. In addition, only when the elastic deformation portion of the adjacent female joint terminal is pressed and deformed by the inserted male terminal, it is adjacent inside the terminal connection window provided on the partition wall that divides each terminal accommodating chamber. The electrical contact portions of the joint female terminal are configured to contact each other.
Therefore, according to the above configuration, electrical connection is possible only by inserting the male terminal of the electric wire terminal to be conducted into the joint female terminal in the terminal accommodating chamber adjacent to the second connector, while the electric wires that are not desired to be conducted with each other. The male terminal of the terminal can be prevented from conducting simply by not being inserted into the terminal housing chamber adjacent to the second connector, and various connection circuits can be formed by the same joint connector. That is, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to prepare in advance a joint bus bar having a specific shape in accordance with a connection circuit required as in the prior art, and it is possible to reduce costs by using common parts.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the joint connector 10 of this embodiment includes a first connector 11 and a second connector 14.
The connector housing 12 of the first connector 11 has a terminal accommodating chamber 13 for inserting and locking the male terminals 20 connected to the terminals of a plurality of (in this embodiment, ten) electric wires w constituting the wire harness W / H. In the present embodiment, a total of twelve terminal accommodating chambers 13 are juxtaposed in the connector housing 12 of the first connector 11, six in the upper and lower stages.

  The second connector 14 is fitted to the first connector 11, and the connector housing 15 of the second connector 14 is provided with a terminal accommodating chamber 16 that accommodates the joint female terminals 17 one by one. In the present embodiment, like the first connector 11, a total of 12 terminal accommodating chambers 16 are arranged side by side in the upper and lower stages, and the partition wall 18 that partitions the terminal accommodating chambers 16 arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction. Is provided with a terminal connection window portion 19 therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 2, the joint female terminal 17 of the second connector 14 has a U shape, and the left and right side portions thereof are elastically deformed portions 17a that are curved toward each other, and the elastic deformation. An electric contact portion 17b that is curved in the opposite directions away from each other from the portion 17a to the tip side is provided. When the male terminal 20 is not inserted into the joint female terminal 17, the electrical contact portion 17 b is positioned in the terminal connection window portion 19 and is not inserted into the terminal connection window portion 19. .
However, when the male terminal 20 is inserted into the joint female terminal 17 when the first connector 11 and the second connector 14 are fitted, as shown in FIG. The elastic deformation portion 17 a is pressed and deformed, and the electric contact portion 17 b on the distal end side is inserted into the terminal connection window portion 19. That is, when the male terminals 20 are inserted into the adjacent joint female terminals 17, the electrical contact portions 17 b of the adjacent joint female terminals 17 come into contact with each other inside the terminal connection window portion 19 and are electrically connected. It has a structure.

The joint female terminal 17 is formed in a chain shape in which the tips on both sides are continuous, and then the continuous portion is cut to form the joint female terminal 17 one by one.
The joint female terminal 17 formed as described above is inserted and locked simultaneously into each terminal accommodating chamber 16 of the second connector 14 using an insertion jig (not shown). A locking hole 17c is provided in a portion where both side portions of the joint female terminal 17 are not deformed. At the time of insertion locking, the joint female terminal 17 is positioned and held in the terminal receiving chamber 16 by the lance 16a protruding from the inner wall of the terminal receiving chamber 16 being locked in the locking hole 17c (FIG. 4). .

Hereinafter, of the ten electric wires w constituting the wire harness W / H, two electric wires, three electric wires, two electric wires, and three electric wires are jointed, and four types of connection circuits (first and second) are connected. , Third and fourth connection circuits) will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, in the upper stage of the terminal accommodating chamber 13 of the first connector 11, a first joint portion 21 in which two male terminals 20 connected to two electric wire terminals are adjacently arranged in parallel, A second joint portion 22 in which three male terminals 20 connected to three wire terminals are adjacently arranged in parallel is provided, and one terminal accommodating chamber is provided between the first joint portion 21 and the second joint portion 22. The first joint portion 21 and the second joint portion 22 are not adjacent to each other. Similarly to the upper and lower first and second joint portions 21 and 22, third and fourth joint portions 23 and 24 are formed in the lower terminal accommodating chamber 13.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the first connector 11 is fitted to the second connector 14. The two male terminals 20 constituting the first joint portion 21 are inserted into the joint female terminals 17 of the adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 16 by fitting with the second connector 14. That is, the two male terminals 20 constituting the first joint portion 21 are respectively pressed and deformed by the elastic deformation portions 17 a of the two joint female terminals 17 and provided on the partition wall 18 that divides the terminal accommodating chamber 16. Inside the terminal connection window portion 19, the electrical contact portions 17 b of the adjacent joint female terminals 17 are brought into contact with each other. Thereby, the first connection circuit 31 can be formed.

  Similarly, three or two male terminals 20 constituting the second, third, and fourth joint portions 22, 23, and 24 are also inserted into the adjacent joint female terminal 17 by fitting with the second connector 14. Thus, the second, third, and fourth connection circuits 32, 33, and 34 can be formed by electrical connection. As described above, the first, second, third, and fourth joint portions 21, 22, 23, and 24 are not adjacent to the other joint portions, and thus are formed by fitting with the second connector 14. The first, second, third, and fourth connection circuits 31, 32, 33, and 34 are separate connection circuits that are not electrically connected to each other [FIG. 3B].

  On the other hand, when a circuit change occurs and it is necessary to form two types of connection circuits by jointing four wires and six wires among the ten wires w constituting the wire harness W / H, The four male terminals 20 connected to the four electric wire terminals are juxtaposed adjacent to the upper terminal accommodating chamber 13 of the first connector 11 to form the first joint portion 41. In addition, the six male terminals 20 connected to the six electric wire terminals are juxtaposed adjacent to the lower terminal accommodating chamber 13 of the first connector 11, and the second joint portion 42 not adjacent to the first joint portion is provided. Two types of connection circuits (the first connection circuit 51 and the second connection circuit 52) can be easily formed by fitting with the second connector 14 simply by forming them (FIGS. 5A and 5B). ].

  As described above, since various connection circuits can be formed using the same joint connector 10, a specific joint bus bar is prepared in advance according to the type of connection circuit required. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by sharing parts.

The joint connector of this embodiment is shown, (A) is a schematic perspective view of the joint connector seen from the 1st connector side, (B) is a schematic perspective view of the joint connector seen from the 2nd connector side. (A) (B) is a schematic sectional drawing of the joint connector in which the 1st connector and the 2nd connector are non-fitting. The joint connector which fitted the 1st connector to the 2nd connector and formed the connection circuit is shown, (A) is a schematic perspective view, (B) is a schematic sectional drawing. (A) is explanatory drawing of the female terminal for joints positioned and hold | maintained in the terminal storage chamber of a 2nd connector, (B) It is AA sectional drawing of the female terminal for joints positioned and held in the terminal storage chamber. The joint connector which formed the different connection circuit is shown, (A) is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the upper stage of a terminal accommodating chamber, (B) is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the lower stage of a terminal accommodating part. It is a figure which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Joint connector 11 1st connector 12 Connector housing 13 Terminal accommodating chamber 14 Second connector 15 Connector housing 16 Terminal accommodating chamber 16a Lance 17 Female terminal for joint 17a Elastic deformation part 17b Electrical contact part 17c Locking hole 18 Partition wall 19 Terminal connection Window portion 20 Male terminal 21, 41 First joint portion 22, 42 Second joint portion 23 Third joint portion 24 Fourth joint portion 31, 51 First connection circuit 32, 52 Second connection circuit 33 Third connection circuit 34 Fourth connection circuit

Claims (2)

A first connector that inserts and locks male terminals respectively connected to terminals of a plurality of electric wires of the wire harness;
A second connector mated with the first connector;
A plurality of joint female terminals each pre-stored in each of the terminal housing chambers arranged in parallel with the connector housing of the second connector;
On the partition walls that divide the terminal housing chambers arranged side by side of the second connector, the terminal connection windows are provided through the respective partition walls,
Each joint female terminal includes U-shaped elastic deformation portions formed by being bent toward each other on both side portions, and electric contact portions bent in opposite directions away from the elastic deformation portions toward the distal end side. The electrical contact portion is accommodated in a position along the terminal connection window portion and not inserted into the terminal connection window portion,
The elastic deformation portion is pressed and deformed by the male terminal inserted into the joint female terminal when the first and second connectors are fitted, and the electrical contact portion is inserted into the terminal connection window portion, A joint connector characterized in that the electrical contact portions of adjacent female terminals for joints are brought into contact with each other inside the terminal connection window portion.   In the parallel terminal accommodating chambers in the first connector, a plurality of the male terminals are adjacently arranged in parallel, and the first joint part is not adjacent to each other and the plurality of male terminals are 2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein there is a second joint portion adjacent to and parallel to each other, and the first joint portion and the second joint portion are not in contact with each other when fitted to the second connector. .

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