AU2011201455B2

AU2011201455B2 - Electric Wire Connector

Info

Publication number: AU2011201455B2
Application number: AU2011201455A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Younghwan Lee
Original assignee: Krs Group LLC
Current assignee: Krs Group LLC
Priority date: 2011-03-08
Filing date: 2011-03-31
Publication date: 2015-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2031-03-31
Also published as: KR101099002B1; AU2011201455A1

Abstract

A connector for an electric wire joint is provided. The connector for an electric wire joint includes an insulating lower connector configured by a bottom plate and both 5 side walls and having a shaft projection formed at the center of an outer surface of the both side walls and coupling projections formed at both end portions of the outer surface; an upper connector configured by an upper plate and both side walls such that the both side walls cover outer surfaces of the both side walls of the lower connector, and having a shaft hole and coupling holes formed to allow the shaft projection and the coupling 10 projections to be caught therein so as to be coupled; and a conductive member assembled on an inner bottom surface of the lower connector and having a plurality of cutting blades for cutting the sheath of an electric wire so as to be electrically connected to a core wire within the electric wir FigjI tto 'At 30 o 14 Cl 31 Fig. 2

Description

P/00/0 11 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT ORIGINAL TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: Jowoo-Tech Co., Ltd Address for Service: A.P.T. Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys PO Box 222, Mitcham, SA 5062 Invention Title: Electric Wire Connector The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC WIRE JOINT Field of the Invention 5 The present invention relates to a connector for an electric wire joint, and more particularly, to a connector for an electric wire joint which allows electric wires to be electrically connected without having to peel off the sheath of the electric wires and is configured such that both side walls of an upper connector completely cover both side walls of a lower connector to obtain excellent water proofness. 10 Background of the Invention In general, in order to connect two or more separate electric wires, there is a method in which the sheath of the electric wires may be peeled off, exposed 15 core wires may be connected, and the connection portion may be then covered by an insulating tape. However, such a method of using an insulating tape requires a tool for twisting the core wires, performs an inconvenient connection operation, and has the possibility of the occurrence of a security accident such as an electric shock. 20 Summary of the Invention It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a connector for an electric wire joint which allows a plurality of electric wires to be quickly and simply 25 connected without having to peel off the sheath of the electric wires and without a tool and is configured such that both side walls of an upper connector completely cover both side walls of a lower connector to thus obtain excellent water proofness. According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a connector for an electric wire joint including: an insulating lower connector configured 30 by a bottom plate and both side walls and having a shaft projection formed at the center of an outer surface of the both side walls and coupling projections formed at both end portions of the outer surface; an upper connector configured by an upper plate and both side walls such that the both side walls cover outer surfaces of the both side walls of the 2 lower connector, and having a shaft hole and coupling holes formed to allow the shaft projection and the coupling projections to be caught therein so as to be coupled; and a conductive member assembled on an inner bottom surface of the lower connector and having a plurality of cutting blades for cutting the sheath of an electric wire so as to be 5 electrically connected to a core wire within the electric wire. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the upper connector, the conductive member, and the lower connector are formed such that one side thereof has a shape of a straight line based on the central shaft projection and the other side thereof extends in a direction perpendicular to the straight line, making the overall shape 10 T-like shape. Brief Description of the Drawings The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become 15 apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a lower connector of a connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper connector of the connector for an 20 electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which an electric wire is entered in the connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4A is a view showing a state in which an electric wire is entered in the 25 lower connector of the connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4B is a view showing a state before the upper and lower connectors are shut off with an electric wire entered in the connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; 30 FIG. 5 is a view showing the sequence of coupling an electric wire to the connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lower connector of a connector for an electric wire joint according to another embodiment of the present invention; 3 FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a upper connector of the connector for an electric wire joint according to another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 8 is a view showing the sequence of coupling an electric wire to the connector for an electric wire joint according to another embodiment of the present 5 invention; and FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of a conductive member. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments 10 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains can readily practice the invention. In the drawing, explanations for the parts that are not directly related to the invention are omitted to clearly describe the invention, and similar reference numerals 15 are used for like or similar parts throughout the specification. A connector for an electric wire joint according to the present invention is configured by assembling upper and lower connectors and an internal conductive member and has a structure in which separate covered electric wires are electrically connected without peeling off the sheath of the electric wires. 20 Now, the connector for an electric wire joint according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, a connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an insulating lower connector 10 configured by a bottom plate 11 and both side walls 12 and having a shaft projection 13 25 formed at the center of an outer surface of both side walls 12 and coupling projections 14 formed at both end portions of the outer surface, an upper connector 20 configured by an upper plate 21 and both side walls 22 such that the both side walls 22 cover outer surfaces of the both side walls 12 of the lower connector 10, and having a shaft hole 23 and coupling holes 24 formed to allow the shaft projection 13 and the coupling 30 projections 14 to be caught therein so as to be coupled, and a conductive member 30 assembled on an inner bottom surface of the lower connector 10 and having a plurality of cutting blades 31 for cutting the sheath 41 of an electric wire 40 so as to be electrically connected to a core wire 42 within the electric wire 40. 4 In this structure, the lower and upper connectors 10 and 20 have a 'r1 '-shaped receptacle structure with an empty interior, respectively, and the upper connector 20, the conductive member 30, and the lower connector 10 have a straight line symmetrical based on the central shaft projection 13. 5 Further, the both side walls 22 of the upper connector 20 have a structure downwardly elongated to cover lower end portions of the both side walls 12 of the lower connector 10. Also, sloped faces 13a and 14a are formed on an outer upper end portion of the shaft projection 13 and the coupling projection 14 of the lower connector 10 to allow 10 lower end portions of the both side walls 22 of the upper connector 20 to slide down, and sloped faces 23a and 24a are correspondingly formed on lower end portions of the both side walls 22 of the upper connector 20 such that they are in contact with the sloped faces 13a and 14a to allow for a sliding operation. And, tightly attaching support parts 15 and 25 having a shape of a semi-circular 15 band are provided to tightly cover and support an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire 40 entered to both end portions of the lower and upper connectors 10 and 20 in a lengthwise direction. A press fixing part 26 having a shape of a semi-circular face is provided to fixedly press an upper outer circumferential surface of the electric wire 40 entered to the 20 lower surface of an upper plate 21 of the upper connector 20. A cut-away portion 27 is provided in the both side walls 22 adjacent to a shaft hole 23 of the upper connector 20 to allow both end portions of the upper connector 20 to be hinge-rotated. A folding recess portion 28 is formed on the lower surface of the upper plate 21 of the upper connector 20, which is on the same line of the cut-away 25 portion 27, to allow the both end portions of the upper connector 20 to be hinge-rotated so as to be folded based on a central portion of the upper connector 20. A hermetically closing protrusion 16 is provided to be tightly attached into cut away portions 27 on the outer surfaces of the both side walls 12 of the lower connector 10 corresponding to the cut-away portions 27 of the upper connector 20 in order to 30 hermetically close a gap of the cut-away portions 27. A press fixing piece 29 having a shape of a quadrangular projection piece is formed on the lower surface of the central portion of the upper plate 21 of the upper connector 20 in order to fixedly press the conductive member 30. 5 The conductive member 30, having a shape of a thin, long band disposed on the bottom surface of the lower connector 10, includes cutting blades 31 separated at a certain interval and facing each other. The cutting blades 31 each has such a Y-shape that its width becomes narrow 5 toward a lower side thereof from an upper end portion thereof and then extends on parallel downward at a certain height. The conductive member 30 is made of metal, which is a conductive material, for an electrical connection. For example, the conductive member 30 may be made of a copper alloy such as phosphor bronze which has a high strength and is hardly 10 degenerated. The conductive member is not limited to a particular form, and for example, it may have such a form as illustrated in FIG. 9. As shown, the cutting blades 31 have a saw-toothed surface so as to easily dig into the sheath of the electric wire 1. FIGS. 6 to 8 show another embodiment of the present invention. Lower and upper connectors 50 and 60 and a conductive member 70 are formed such that one side 15 thereof has a shape of a straight line based on a central shaft projection 51 and the other side thereof extends in a direction perpendicular to the straight line, making the overall shape T-like shape. In the above description, the connector for an electric wire joint of the present invention connects two electric wires, but the present invention is not limited thereto. 20 Namely, the connector for an electric wire joint can connect electric wires having the number of 1:N or N:M and its structure can be variably modified. As for the connector for an electric wire joint according to an embodiment of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the conductive member 30 is disposed on the bottom surface of the lower connector 10, the shaft hole 23 of the 25 upper connector 20 is caught to the shat projection 13 of the lower connector 10 for their coupling, and both end portions of the upper connector 20 are lifted, thus completing the preparation of the connection of the electric wires. Then, the conductive member 30 is firmly fixed by the press fixing piece 29 of the upper connector 20, and the shaft projection 13 and the shaft hole 23 are smoothly 30 coupled by virtue of their sloped faces 13a and 23a. In this state, when the electric wire 40 is pressed to the cutting blades 31 of the both ends of the conductive member 30, the sheath 41 is cut to allow the core wire 42 within the electric wire 40 and the cutting blades 31 to be brought into contact to be 6 electrically connected, thus making the electric wires 40 at both sides electrically connected. Thereafter, the both end portions of the upper connector 20 are pressed down to allow the coupling hole 24 of the upper connector to be coupled with the coupling 5 projection 14 of the lower connector 10, thus completing the electric wire connection operation. At this point, since the electric wires 40 are firmly fixed by the press fixing part 26 of the upper connector 20, and their coupled state is firmly maintained by the tightly attaching support parts 15 and 25 of the both end portions. 10 According to the present invention, the electric wires can be connected without using a separate tool, and since the plurality of electric wires are simultaneously connected, the economic efficiency can be improved. Also, since the internal conductive member and the external conductive member are provided without a separate insulating sheath, the assembling is simplified 15 In addition, since the both side walls of the lower connector are completely covered by the both side walls of the upper connector, excellent water proofness can be provided. While the invention has been shown and described with respect to the particular embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and 20 modification may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. 7

Claims

1. A connector for a first and second electric wires joint comprising: an insulating lower connector configured by a bottom plate and both side walls and having a shaft projection formed at the center of an outer surface of the both side walls and coupling projections formed at both end portions of the outer surface; an upper connector configured by an upper plate and both side walls such that the both side walls cover outer surfaces of the both side walls of the lower connector, and having a shaft hole and coupling holes formed to allow the shaft projection and the coupling projections to be caught therein so as to be coupled; and a conductive member assembled on an inner bottom surface of the lower connector and having a plurality of cutting blades for cutting the sheath of the first and second electric wires so as to be electrically connected to core wires within the first and second electric wires, wherein the cutting blades have a saw-toothed surface so as to easily engage and dig into the sheath of the first and second electric wires.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the upper connector, the conductive member, and the lower connector have a shape of a straight line symmetrical based on the central shaft projection.

3. The connector of claim 1, wherein the upper connector, the conductive member, and the lower connector are formed such that one side thereof has a shape of a straight line based on the central shaft projection and the other side thereof extends in a direction perpendicular to the straight line, making the overall shape T-like shape.

4. The connector of claim 1, wherein the both side walls of the upper connector extend long downward to cover the both end portions of the both side walls of the lower connector.

5. The connector of claim 1, wherein sloped faces are formed on an outer upper end 8 portion of the shaft projection and the coupling projection of the lower connector to allow lower end portions of the both side walls of the upper connector to slide down, and other sloped faces are correspondingly formed on lower end portions of the both side walls of the upper connector such that they are in contact with the sloped faces to allow for a sliding operation.

6. The connector of claim 1, wherein tightly attaching support parts are further provided to tightly cover and support an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire entered to both end portions of the lower and upper connectors in a lengthwise direction.

7. The connector of claim 1, wherein a press fixing part is provided to fixedly press an upper outer circumferential surface of the electric wire entered to the lower surface of an upper plate of the upper connector.

8. The connector of claim 1, wherein a cut-away portion is provided in the both side walls adjacent to a shaft hole of the upper connector to allow both end portions of the upper connector to be hinge-rotated, and a folding recess portion is formed on the lower surface of the upper plate of the upper connector, which is on the same line of the cut away portion, to allow the both end portions of the upper connector to be hinge-rotated so as to be folded based on a central portion of the upper connector.

9. The connector of claim 8, wherein a hermetically closing protrusion is further provided to be tightly attached into cut-away portions on the outer surfaces of the both side walls of the lower connector corresponding to the cut-away portions of the upper connector in order to hermetically close a gap of the cut-away portions.

10. The connector of claim 1, wherein a press fixing piece is formed on the lower surface of the central portion of the upper plate of the upper connector in order to fixedly press the conductive member. 9