JP2000150087A - Splice absorbing connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To comply flexibly with changing number of electric wires and/or a change in the connection pattern, embody in a small construction, and enhance the producing efficiency of the whole wire harness. SOLUTION: A splice absorbing connector is equipped with terminals 10 connected with electric wires 31a and 32a branched from two or more sub- harness and provided continuously with elastic contacting parts 13 on board-form contacting parts 12 and a connector housing 20 comprising two or more sub- housings 20A and 20B having terminal accommodation chambers 21 and capable of being laminated and provided in these chambers 21 with openings 21a and 21b mating with the board-form contactiong part 12 and elastic contacting part 13. The terminals 10 are accommodated in the chambers 21 in the sub- housings 20A and 20B, which are laminated, and the terminals 10 accommodated in the chambers 21 are connected with each other.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a splice-absorbing connector for eliminating a splice between electric wires branched from a sub-harness, and more particularly to flexibly cope with a change in the number of electric wires and a connection pattern. The present invention relates to a splice-absorbing connector capable of reducing the size and improving the production efficiency of the entire wire harness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wire harness routed in a vehicle is:
It consists of a set of many sub-harnesses, and the wires branched from these sub-harnesses are connected to each other to form one wire harness as a whole. Conventionally, a joint absorption connector or a splice absorption connector has been used to eliminate a joint (splice) between electric wires branched from the sub-harness.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view showing a conventional joint absorbing connector. First, a conventional joint absorbing connector will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a joint absorption connector, which is a connector housing 110 made of synthetic resin.
And a bus bar 120 inserted therein. In the connector housing 110, a plurality of connector fitting portions 111 are integrally formed.
A tab terminal 121 standing upright from the bus bar 120 protrudes from the inside of the bus bar 120.

[0005] Mating connectors (male connectors) are respectively attached to electric wires branched from two or more sub-harnesses (not shown). These mating connectors are fitted to the respective connector fitting portions 111 of the joint absorbing connector 100. Thereby, the electric wires branched from the sub-harness are connected to each other, and a wire harness is formed.

Next, a conventional splice absorbing connector will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6A and 6B show a conventional splice-absorbing connector. FIG. 6A is a transverse sectional view, and FIG. 6B is a longitudinal sectional view of only a connector housing. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection state of a sub-harness by the splice absorption connector.

In FIGS. 6A and 6B, a connector housing 210 of a splice absorption connector 200 has
Terminal accommodating chamber 21 partitioned by a plurality of holding grooves 212
1 is formed. On the other hand, two or more sub-harnesses 31,
Terminals 220 are crimped to the electric wires 31a and 32a branched from the terminals 32 (see FIG. 7), respectively.
20 has an elastic contact portion 221.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 6A, after completing the sub-harnesses 31, 32, the electric wires 31a, 32a
When the terminals 220 are fitted into the holding grooves 212 of the connector housing 210, the adjacent terminals 220 elastically contact each other in the terminal accommodating chamber 211 of the connector housing 210, whereby the electric wires 31a, 32a
Are connected to each other to form a wire harness.

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional joint absorbing connector 100, the configuration of the connector housing 110 and the bus bar 120 depends on various conditions such as the number of wires branched from the sub-harness and the connection pattern. Therefore, when various conditions on the sub-harness side are changed, the connector housing 11 having a configuration corresponding to this is changed.
0 and the bus bar 120 had to be newly designed and rebuilt. That is, the conventional joint absorbing connector 100 has a problem in that it cannot flexibly cope with a change in various conditions on the sub-harness side.

Also, a joint absorbing connector 100,
To require a mating connector to be fitted to this,
There is also a problem that the joint absorption connector 100 becomes larger with an increase in circuit complexity in the vehicle.

The above-described conventional splice absorbing connector 2
00, after completing the sub-harnesses 31 and 32, the electric wires 31 branched from these sub-harnesses 31 and 32
a, 32a are connected to the connector housing 21.
0 must be fitted into each holding groove 212 one by one, and this operation has a problem that the production efficiency of the wire harness is reduced.

Further, since the terminals 220 are connected in one direction, either horizontally or vertically, the number of circuits in the vehicle is increased.
There is also a problem that the splice absorption connector 200 becomes large in one direction in the horizontal or vertical direction with the increase in complexity.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and can flexibly cope with a change in the number of electric wires and a connection pattern. It is an object of the present invention to provide a splice absorbing connector capable of improving the production efficiency of a splice.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, a splice absorbing connector according to claim 1 is connected to electric wires branched from two or more sub-harnesses, respectively, and has elasticity on a substrate-like contact portion. A terminal coupled with a contact portion;
A connector housing having two or more sub-housings that can be stacked, and a terminal housing of each sub-housing, and a connector housing provided with an opening corresponding to the substrate-like contact portion and the elastic contact portion, respectively. The terminal is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber, and the respective sub-housings are laminated, whereby the terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers of the upper and lower sub-housings are connected to each other.

According to such a configuration, by increasing or decreasing the number of sub-housings constituting the connector housing, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the number of wires branched from the sub-harness and a change in connection pattern.

Further, the splice absorbing connector is constituted by a single connector housing composed of two or more sub-housings, and the sub-housing can be extended in two directions, that is, in a vertical or horizontal direction. Even when the size of the splice absorption connector increases or becomes complicated, the size of the entire splice absorption connector can be reduced.

Further, the work of fitting the terminals into the sub-housings is completed for each sub-harness, and after completion of each sub-harness, the electric wires branched from the respective sub-harnesses are connected to each other simply by laminating the respective sub-housings. And the production efficiency of the entire wire harness can be improved.

Preferably, as in the splice absorbing connector according to the second aspect, the terminals housed in adjacent terminal housing chambers of the sub-housing are connected to each other by a chain band connected to these terminals. And

According to this structure, the terminals housed in the terminal housing chambers adjacent to each other in the sub-housing can be connected to each other by a simple structure. Directional splices can be absorbed.

Preferably, as in the splice-absorbing connector according to claim 3, the chain band is a carrier formed in a process of pressing the terminal, and the carrier is left to be adjacent to the sub-housing. The terminals housed in matching terminal housings are connected to each other.

According to such a configuration, whether the carrier formed in the process of pressing the terminal is cut or not is determined by
Connection and insulation between terminals housed in adjacent terminal housings of the sub-housing can be easily selected.

Preferably, a lid is attached to each of the uppermost and lowermost sub-housings constituting the connector housing, and the opening of the sub-housing is closed. Configuration.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the resilient contact portion of the terminal from being exposed from the opening of the uppermost sub-housing, and to connect the substrate-like contact portion of the terminal from the opening of the lowermost sub-housing. Exposure can be prevented.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the splice absorbing connector of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a splice absorption connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the splice absorbing connector is assembled. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing terminals constituting the splice absorption connector. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection state of the sub-harness by the splice absorption connector.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the splice absorbing connector 1 of the present embodiment comprises a plurality of terminals 10 connected to electric wires 31a, 32a branched from two or more sub-harnesses 31, 32, and The connector housing 20 houses the terminal 10.

The terminal 10 shown in FIG. 1 is obtained by cutting and raising a metal plate by pressing.
It has a pressure contact portion 11 for press-connecting a, a flat substrate-like contact portion 12, and an elastic contact portion 13 coupled to the substrate-like contact portion 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector housing 20 includes two stackable sub-housings 20.
A, 20B, an upper lid (lid) 20C mounted on the upper sub-housing 20A, and a lower lid (lid) 20D mounted below the lower sub-housing 20B.
It consists of

The sub-housings 20A and 20B have the same configuration, and have a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers 21 for accommodating the terminals 10. The terminal accommodating chamber 21 is provided with a lower opening (opening) 21a and an upper opening (opening) 21b corresponding to the substrate-like contact portion 12 and the elastic contact portion 13 of the terminal 10, respectively.

The terminal 10 of the electric wire 31a branched from the sub-harness 31 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 21 of the sub-housing 20A.
1 accommodates the terminal 10 of the electric wire 32a branched from the sub-harness 32.

When the terminal 10 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 21, the substrate-like contact portion 12 is exposed from the lower opening 21a and the elastic contact portion 13 projects from the upper opening 21b, as shown in FIG. .

As shown in FIG. 1, a locking claw 22 and a locking frame 23 are integrally formed on both sides of the sub-housings 20A and 20B, respectively. Sub housing 2
When 0A and 20B are stacked, the upper sub-housing 20
A engaging frame 23 engages with engaging claw 22 of lower sub-housing 20B, and these sub-housings 20A, 2A
OB are integrated.

At this time, the lower opening 21a of the sub-housing 20A and the upper opening 21b of the sub-housing 20B communicate with each other, so that the lower opening 21a of the sub-housing 20A contacts the substrate-like contact portion 12 of the terminal 10 accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 21 of the sub-housing 20A. The elastic contact portion 13 of the terminal 10 housed in the terminal housing chamber 21 of the sub-housing 20B comes into contact. Thereby, the electric wires 31a and 32a of the sub-harnesses 31 and 32 shown in FIG. 4 are connected to each other (vertical splice is absorbed).

Here, the same sub-housing 20A or 2
When the terminals 10 housed in the terminal housings 21 adjacent to each other are connected to each other (in a case where a splice in the horizontal direction is absorbed), as shown in FIG. 3, the terminals 10 are formed in a process of pressing. The carrier (chain band) 14 is left and bent, and the terminals 10 are connected to each other.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper cover 20C is provided with a locking frame 23 which engages with the locking claw 22 of the sub-housing 20A.
And is mounted on the sub-housing 20A to close the upper opening 21b of the terminal accommodating chamber 21. This can prevent the elastic contact portion 13 of the terminal 10 from being exposed from the upper opening 21b of the sub housing 20A.

On the other hand, the lower cover 20D is
It has a locking claw 22 that engages with a locking frame 23 of OB, is mounted under the sub-housing 20B, and closes the lower opening 21a of the terminal accommodating chamber 21. Thereby, the sub housing 2
0B from the lower opening 21a to the substrate-like contact portion 12 of the terminal 10.
Can be prevented from being exposed.

According to the splice absorption connector 1 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the connector housing 2
By increasing or decreasing the number of the sub-housings 20A, 20B constituting 0, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the number of electric wires 31a, 32a branched from the sub-harnesses 31, 32 and a change in connection pattern.

Further, the splice absorbing connector 1 is constituted by a single connector housing 20 comprising two or more sub-housings 20A, 20B, and the sub-housings 20A, 20B are expanded in two directions, vertical or horizontal. Therefore, even if the circuit in the vehicle is increased and complicated, the overall size of the splice absorption connector 1 can be reduced.

Further, the terminal 10 is connected to the sub-housing 20.
The work of fitting into the sub-harnesses 31 and 32 is completed for each of the sub-harnesses 31 and 32. After the sub-harnesses 31 and 32 are completed, the sub-harnesses 31 and 32 are branched simply by stacking the sub-housings 20A and 20B. Electric wires 31a, 32
a can be connected to each other, and the production efficiency of the entire wire harness can be improved.

In addition, the terminals 10 housed in the adjacent terminal housing chambers 21 of the same sub-housing 20A or 20B are connected to each other using the carrier 14 formed in the process of pressing the terminals 10 as they are. Depending on whether the carrier 14 is cut off,
Connection and insulation between these terminals 10 can be easily selected.

The splice absorbing connector of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the number of stages of the sub-housings 20A and 20B configuring the connector housing 20 is not limited to two as in the above-described embodiment, but can be increased to three or more according to the configuration of the sub-harness.

In the above embodiment, the existing carrier 14 is used to connect the terminals 10 housed in the adjacent terminal housing chambers 21 of the same sub-housing 20A or 20B. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a dedicated chain band is provided only for connection between these terminals 10.

[0042]

As described above, according to the splice-absorbing connector of the present invention, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the number of electric wires and the connection pattern, to achieve a reduction in size, and to realize a wire harness. Overall production efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a splice absorption connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the splice absorbing connector is assembled.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing terminals constituting the splice absorption connector.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection state of a sub-harness by the splice absorption connector.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional perspective view showing a conventional joint absorbing connector.

6A and 6B show a conventional splice-absorbing connector, wherein FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 6B is a vertical cross-sectional view of only the connector housing.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a connection state of a sub-harness by the conventional splice absorption connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Splice absorption connector 10 Terminal 11 Pressure contact part 12 Substrate-like contact part 13 Elastic contact part 14 Carrier (chain band) 20 Connector housing 20A, 20B Sub-housing 20C Upper lid (lid) 20D Lower lid (lid) 21 Terminal accommodation Room 21a Lower opening (opening) 21b Upper opening (opening) 22 Locking claw 23 Locking frame

Claims (4)

[Claims] A terminal connected to an electric wire branched from two or more sub-harnesses and having an elastic contact portion coupled on a substrate-like contact portion, and two or more sub-housings that can be stacked, A connector housing provided with an opening corresponding to the substrate-like contact portion and the elastic contact portion in a terminal housing chamber of the sub-housing, wherein the terminal is housed in the terminal housing chamber of each sub-housing; A splice absorption connector characterized in that the terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers of the upper and lower sub-housings are connected to each other by laminating. 2. The splice absorbing connector according to claim 1, wherein the terminals housed in adjacent terminal housing chambers of the sub-housing are connected to each other by a chain band connected to the terminals. 3. The chain band is a carrier formed in the process of pressing the terminals, and the terminals are accommodated in adjacent terminal accommodating chambers of the sub-housing by leaving the carrier. 3. The splice absorption connector according to claim 2, wherein the splice absorption connector is connected. 4. The splice absorption connector according to claim 1, wherein lids are respectively attached to uppermost and lowermost sub-housings constituting the connector housing, and the openings of the sub-housings are closed.