FR2687855A1 - RECEPTACLE FOR BEAM OF ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS CONNECTED TO CONNECTING TERMINALS. - Google Patents

Abstract

It is characterized in that it comprises at least one layer of conductors whose end parts of the conductors to be connected are arranged, on the one hand, substantially in the same horizontal plane and, on the other hand, in a receptacle ( 11) which is mounted on one side of an electrical circuit (27), on the side of the output terminals (8) and in that the ends (2a to 7a) of the conductors (2 to 7) to be connected open out onto at least one of the side faces of said receptacle, so that each end is close to the output terminal to which it is to be connected. Applications in particular to window regulator switches.

Description

RECEPTACLE FOR BEAM OF ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS

  CONNECTABLE TO CONNECTION TERMINALS

  The present invention relates to a receptacle for an electrical conductor bundle connectable to connection terminals and capable of being used, for example to connect a car window switch, to one or more modes of operation.

manual and / or automatic.

  More and more electrical equipment and accessories are mounted in automobiles The operation of some of them is now managed by electronic control management circuits. For example, it is possible to provide, for example, an electronic delay, a push-button control on a switch key, a

  selection of several functions, a progressive control

  pulses, the detection and the taking into account of various parameters, etc.

  The control systems of such devices

  take in particular a primary electrical circuit

  killing part of a function management electronics

  manual switchgear and switchgear with high currents or power

(relay) to control the load.

  The control assemblies are generally provided with output connection terminals to be connected to connector housings which are themselves connected to a wiring harness of the vehicle Very often, the connector housings occupy a volume which can sometimes be as important and even exceed the volume of the control units It was therefore essential, for reasons of space, to reduce these volumes and it was naturally necessary to replace the housings

  connectors by bundles of conductors.

  This has had the effect of introducing a large link wiring between the elements constituting a control chain linked to a switching assembly, particularly when it comes to unitary commands and

simple functions.

  One of the difficulties encountered during connection wiring comes, among others, from the bundle or bundles of electrical conductors intended to be connected directly to the elements of the cable chain.

command.

  Indeed, each output terminal of the circuit, which

  can be in the form of a tab of

  nexion, must be connected to one of the said drivers

  in order to prevent drivers from falling into

  place in relation to each other, or disturb, by contact, the other organs of the chain of command which

  are neighbors, the drivers are gathered in bundles.

  The beam can be obtained by twisting the conductors

  between them so that the free ends

  With or without an insulating sheath can be welded to the corresponding connection tabs, each free conductor end being manually welded or crimped to the connection tab. As the conductors are of unequal length due to the positions occupied by the connection tabs, it is necessary to draw one of the conductors of the beam, starting with one of the sides of the circuit This implies to separate the other conductors of the beam to allow the operation of welding or crimping It is easily understood that not only the welding operations are difficult but that they require a relatively long immobilization of the welder and therefore significantly increase the cost of manufacturing the completed circuits with their bundles of conductors Moreover, a torsade of conductors necessarily occupies a certain volume while the current trend is to realize

  compact sets and low volume.

  Finally, to prevent the drivers from detaching the beams, which could cause the rupture of a weld, it is, more and more, done

  additional means of liaison which

  hold the beams in a given state.

  The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to propose a receptacle for a bundle of electrical conductors, each of which is associated with an output terminal of an equipment such as an electrical switch, and it is characterized in that the bundle comprises at least one layer of conductors, at least the end portions of which are arranged on the one hand substantially in the same horizontal plane and, on the other hand, in a receptacle which is mounted on one side of an electrical circuit , on the output terminal side, and in that the ends of the conductors to be connected open on at least one of the lateral faces of said receptacle, so that each end is close to the connection terminal to which it must

to be connected.

  An advantage of such a characteristic lies in the fact that one is in the presence, at the level of the circuit,

  a layer of conductors whose width is sensi-

  the thickness of the circuit and whose thickness is at most equal to the thickness of the diameter of the insulating sheath and

protector of the thread.

  Another feature of this invention is

  That is, when the receptacle is attached to the circuit, any movement of the conductors is prevented while allowing a prepositioning according to the position of the output terminals, so as to automatically bring the folded ends of the conductors opposite or above the terminals. output, which

greatly facilitates the connection.

  According to another important characteristic of the present invention, the circuit associated with the receptacle is pre-cut and comprises support members for mechanisms such as rockers mounted in certain switches. This allows the mechanism support (s) such as those for rockers, are precut together with the tracks of the circuit and they are folded in the appropriate position for the reception of said mechanisms In addition, the invention also allows to provide specific tracks for the reception of certain electrical contacts, which allows, by appropriate folding, to properly position said electrical contacts in the switch.

  Other advantages and features appear

  on reading an embodiment of the present invention, and the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a receptacle;

  associated with a circuit of a switch.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the receptacle

  according to one embodiment of the invention.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of an example of a pre-cut primary circuit used with the receptacle

according to the present invention.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the overmoulded circuit of FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a view from above of a

  controller, the control key removed.

  Figure 6 is a view along VI-VI of the figure but with the control key. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the conductor bundle 1 comprises at least one layer of conductors. In the layer, the conductors are substantially adjacent to one another and are located substantially in the same horizontal plane. the beam 1 comprises six conductors 2 to 7, of unequal length, the conductor 2 being smaller and associated with an output tab 8a of a circuit of the type shown in FIG. 3, the conductor 4 being the longest and associated with the output tab 8b The free ends 2a to 7a of conductors 2 to 7 are folded at right angles so as to come opposite or above the corresponding output tabs, according to the connection mode chosen for connect said leads to said output tabs. The end portions 2a to 7a can be stripped prior to their connection to the output tabs 8. The connection can also be made by moving insulation when the edges 9 of the forks 10 of the output tongues are sharp. According to the invention, the portions of one end of the conductors are overmolded in a receptacle 11 which is shaped such that it can be inserted between the rows of outlet tongues 8, with the folded ends 2a to 7a of the conductors 2 to 7 released, not over-molded and opening laterally so as to be able to connect them with the corresponding output tabs The connection of the receptacle on the face of the circuit, preferably overmolded, can be achieved by means of connecting studs 12 engaging in

  orifices 13 provided for this purpose in the receptacle 11.

  According to another embodiment of the receptacle 11, it is made in two parts 14 and 15 which may be integral or not between them, the separation being shown in Figure 1 by a dotted line 16 In this case, the part 15 is provided with grooves 17 in each of which a conductor is accommodated, the upper part 14 thus constituting a kind of cover which can be connected, for example by a flexible hinge to the lower part 15 of

  in order to constitute an openable box.

  The receptacle may also consist solely of the upper part 14 forming a cover on the inside of which grooves are provided.

  for housing conductors 2 to 7.

  The receptacle according to the present invention has a small volume and can be inserted between the rows of the output tongues of the circuit. Furthermore, the receptacle comprises zones cut at once to lighten it and possibly to form a gripping zone. In the embodiment shown, the grooves 17 are arranged in such a way that the conductors open on the lateral faces and not

  on the upper and / or lower face of said receptacle.

  But, if it were necessary, there could be outlet orifices on the lower and upper parts 14 and 15 for the conductors 2 to 7 and this, depending on the positioning of the output tabs 8 of the circuit. When the connection of the conductors 2 to 7 with the output tongues 8 is carried out by displacement of insulation, provision is made for each conductor at least one opening formed in the upper portions 14 and lower 15, of which only one 7b corresponding to the

  conductor 7 is shown in FIG.

  According to another characteristic of the present invention, the circuit 23 which is associated with the receptacle 11 with its conductor beam 1 is pre-cut and comprises (FIG. 3) tracks 18 which are connected to each other in the usual way. Two foldable end lateral tracks. 19 and 20 are also precut and are intended to receive electrical contacts 21, other electrical contacts 22, being provided on some of the tracks 18 The realization of the electrical contacts 21 and 22 is performed on a strip comprising a number of circuits 23, similar to that shown in Figure 3, and attached to each other In this way, the positioning and the realization of the electrical contacts can be done relatively quickly, with a good accuracy and automatically, with appropriate means that do not are not described because they are not concerned with the

present invention.

  The circuit 23 also comprises connecting tongues 8 which are provided at appropriate places, such that after folding, the circuit 23 takes the configuration shown in FIG. 3 on which the output tongues 8 are substantially orthogonal to the horizontal plane. Of course, depending on the configuration of the circuit and its use, the output tongues 8 can be folded upwards 1 instead of being folded down, some of them Preferably, the free ends of the exit tongues 8 are fork-shaped 10 which appears to be the proper shape for receiving conductors and even partially stripping the conductors, as is known as insulation displacement. By the specialists in the field To have a displacement of insulation, it is necessary to have at least one of the edges 9 which is sharp of in order to carry out a partial removal of the insulating sheath surrounding the conductive wire when the complete conductor (wire and sheath) is forced into a fork 10 Preferably, the two edges 9 of the

fork are sharp.

  The lateral tracks 19 and 20 each comprise preformed notches 24 and 25 to facilitate folding. The lateral tracks 19 and 20 may, independently of one another or both, be folded so as to occupy various positions represented. in solid lines and in dashed lines in FIG. 4 They can be held perpendicular to the upper face 26 of the circuit, or folded so that they are parallel to said upper face of the circuit, the contacts 21 being, in this case, view of the contacts 22, or occupy an intermediate position, that is to say, inclined on said upper face of the circuit In fact, the position of the tracks 19 and 20 will depend essentially on the positioning of the rocker or other mechanism associated with said electrical contacts. Referring again to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the circuit 23 comprises support means 27 for a mechanism such as a rocker and support means 28 for a component such as a diode

electroluminescent for example.

  The rocker support 27 is constituted by two

  circuit portions 29 which are folded along

  30 so as to be parallel to each other and

  siply perpendicular to the upper face 26 of the circuit 1 (Figures 3 and 4) When the rocker is of the type comprising a frame "1 and a spring 32, as is shown in Figures 5 and 6, then the

  circuit portions 29 are provided with notches for

  chage 33 and larger positioning notches 34

of the rocker (Figure 4).

  In the figures, the circuit 23 comprises two members or support means 27 because it is intended to be arranged in a switch with two rockers, like this

  will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6.

  The support member 28 is also folded to

  occupy the position shown in Figure 4, that is,

  say perpendicular to the upper face 26 of the circuit.

  In this figure, the tracks 19 and 20 occupy vertical positions which are not the positions

final.

  When the circuit 23 is in the position represented

  4, the lower face 35 is surmounted by

  Ie that is to say covered with a layer of insulation 36, which is provided with fixing lugs 37 for the switch, come with said insulation layer during overmoulding, so as to obtain an overmoulded circuit such as represented in FIG. 4, passages for crossing the outlet tabs 8 having been arranged

during overmolding.

  A simple way to perform overmolding is to deposit the circuit in a mold, the folding parts being arranged vertically; the overmolding of the underside of the circuit is performed such

  so that the upper face of said circuit is sensitive-

  level with the upper surface 38 of the overmolding

  ge, as can be seen in Figure 4.

  Once the individual overmoulding or in

  series, when there are several primary circuits

  between them, is over, then we proceed to the separation

  of the tracks of each primary circuit, the

  these 39 of Figure 4 embodying said separation.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outlet tabs 8 are in a certain position determined by their cutting on the circuit 23 A

  each output tab must correspond to a

  Conductor bundle 1 Conductor means the assembly consisting of an insulating sheath in which

  which is disposed a conductive wire.

  When the receptacle 11 is fixed on the circuit, it is in the presence of a compact, low volume and whose conductors can neither move nor interfere with each other In addition, the connection of the conductors with the tabs of output is performed very easily and without risk of error because each driver is automatically associated with the

corresponding output tab.

  The circuits 23 with the beams 1 can be used in many equipment, such as for example a switch for automobile window lifts as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. In this example of a switch, the mechanisms supported by the circuit are

constituted by two rockers.

  Each rocker 43 is constituted by a frame 31 which is supported by the support members 27, the frame 31 being disposed, by one of its sides, in the notches 33 of the vertical walls 29 of the support. Usually, the rocker comprises a spring with a blade 32 whose one end rests on the bottom of notches 33 formed in vertical walls of the support 27, and a

  contact 44 carried by a central blade 45 of the rocker.

  In this embodiment, the lateral tracks 19 and the circuit 23 are parallel to the upper face 26 of said circuit, so that the contact opposite to the contact 44 of the rocker cooperates with the upper contact 21 of the circuit. The switch comprises, in the usual way. , a control key 46, a housing 47, a piston 48 with its support 49 acting on the central blade 45 of the rocker, a partition wall 50 and a light-emitting diode 51 mounted on the support column 28 which is an integral part of the circuit. a

  more detailed description of switch and sound

  operation, reference will be made to the demand

No 91 06 147.

  Of course, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but on the contrary covers all variants that are

accessible to those skilled in the art.

Claims (18)

  Receptacle (11) for electrical conductors of a bundle (1) each of which is associated with an output terminal (8) of equipment such as an electrical switch, characterized in that it comprises at least one layer of conductors whose end portions of the conductors to be connected are arranged, on the one hand, substantially in the same horizontal plane and, on the other hand, in a receptacle (11) which is mounted on one face of an electrical circuit ( 27), on the output terminal (8) side and in that the ends (2a to 7a) of the conductors (2 to 7) to be connected open on at least one of the side faces of said receptacle, so that each end either near the exit terminal at   which it must be connected.   Receptacle according to Claim 1, characterized in that the ends (2 to 7 a) of the conductors (2 to   7) to connect are bent at right angles.   Receptacle according to one of claims 1 or   2, characterized in that the receptacle (11) is constituted by an overmolding in which are housed at least a portion of said conductors (2 to 7), with the exception of the folded end portions (2 a to 7 a) which are free to be connected to the connection tabs (8).   Receptacle according to one of claims 1 or 2,   characterized in that the receptacle (11) is constituted by a base (15) provided with grooves (17) for the driver housing (2-7).   Receptacle according to one of claims 1 or   2, characterized in that the receptacle (11) is constituted by two distinct parts (14, 15) and of which at least one   is provided with grooves (17) for accommodating the con- transducers.   Receptacle according to one of claims 1 to 5   characterized in that it further comprises openings (7b) for insulation displacement connection between the conductors (2-7) and the tabs output (8).   Receptacle according to Claim 1, characterized in that the circuit is a pre-cut primary circuit (23) constituting a mechanism support, said circuit comprising at least two folded parts (19, 20, 27), a first part (19, 20). having at least one zone   contact point (21) and a second part (27) forming   port of a movable contact piece (43).   8 receptacle according to claim 7, characterized in that the first portion (19,29) is folded so that a portion is substantially parallel to said circuit (23).   9 receptacle according to claim 8, characterized in that said portion (19,20) is folded along of indentations (24).   Receptacle according to Claim 7, characterized in that the second folded part (27) consists of two parallel support elements (29) and provided with   mounting means (33,33 a) of the mechanism (43).   11 receptacle according to claim 7, characterized in that the circuit 23 comprises output terminals constituted by output tabs (8) arranged   in the same horizontal plane of the circuit (23).   Receptacle according to claim 11, characterized in that the outlet tongues (8) are arranged in planes perpendicular to the plane containing the circuit (23).   Receptacle according to one of claims 7, 10   or 12, characterized in that some of the output tongues (8) are arranged in the extension of the second folded portion (27) and, preferably, between the   parallel support elements (29).   Receptacle according to one of the claims   13, characterized in that the free ends of the exit tongues (8) are fork-shaped (10).   Receptacle according to claim 7, characterized in that the primary circuit further comprises a third folded portion (28) forming a support for a   component such as a light emitting diode (51).   Receptacle according to claim 15, characterized in that the third portion (28) is perpendicular to the circuit map.   Receptacle according to one of the preceding claims   dentes, characterized in that the circuit is overmolded on the face receiving the receptacle.   Receptacle according to one of Claims 7 to 17,   characterized in that the fork-shaped ends of the exit tongues (18) are each provided with less a sharp edge (19).   Receptacle according to one of the preceding claims   dentes, characterized in that the circuit is an element of a continuous band comprising several circuits (23) connected by piecaches   Receptacle according to one of the preceding claims   dentes, characterized in that it constitutes at least one element of a switch.   Circuit according to Claim 20, characterized in   what the switch is used as lift control car windows.