JP2001185250A - Chain connecting terminal, joint connector using connecting terminal and wire harness equipped with the joint coneector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a wire to be automatically connected to a terminal and to facilitate coping with circuit changes without after-insertion of terminal of a subharness. SOLUTION: This device possesses a male terminal part and a female terminal part on both end of the top and the bottom, enables them to be coupled by fitting in the laminated state of the top and the bottom, and in addition, a terminal 20 installed with a wire pressure contact part is chained to the right and left direction via a coupling plate part 30, and while it is made to be connected by folding fabrication of coupling plate part, it is used the terminal 20 as the non-connection by cutting off the coupling plate parts according to the circuit configuration. The terminal 20 is housed inside a case 12, and electrical wires are wired in the cases and pressure contacted to connection terminals, and these cases with the lamination of the top and the bottom are arranged and the opening is installed on the top and bottom face of the cases, the male terminal part with the female terminal part of the upper and lower connection terminals are fitted and connected, thus each electrical wire which was wired respectively according to each case is connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a chain connection terminal,
The present invention relates to a joint connector using the chain-like connection terminals and a wire harness including the joint connector, and is particularly preferably used for a wire harness for an automobile that needs to form various branch connection circuits.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Assembling a wire harness for an automobile involves the following steps.
As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of sub-harnesses (temporary binding harnesses) 1, 2, 3,... Are manufactured separately, and these temporarily bound sub-harnesses 1, 2, 3,. After being held and wired by a wiring jig on a plate, the wire is tied by tape winding or the like, and the wire harness is assembled.

[0003]

In the temporary binding step of forming the above-mentioned sub-harness, the terminal of the electric wire w is inserted into the connector 4, but the electric wire connected to the connector of another sub-harness, the joint connector In the state of the sub-harnesses 1, 2, and 3, the terminals 5 connected to the terminals are exposed without being inserted into the connector, so-called brass wires. Terminal. Therefore, there is a problem in that the terminals are likely to be deformed or damaged, and it is necessary to insert the sub-harness into the connector or the joint connector of the other sub-harness at the time of the final binding, which requires a lot of labor. Further, when connecting the electric wires of the sub-harness, it is necessary to perform splicing and then connect the electric wires, and in this case, there is a problem that the number of work is increased.

As shown in FIG. 7, a commonly used joint connector 6 accommodates a joint bus bar 8 in a case 7 and, in a state where the sub-harnesses are bundled together, an electric wire w which needs to be jointed. Is accommodated in the mating connector 9, the connector 9 is fitted to the joint connector 6, and the circuit is connected through the joint bus bar 8.

In the joint connector having the above structure, it is necessary to insert the bra terminal of the sub-harness into the connector 9 and to fit the connector 9 to the joint connector 8, so that the number of parts increases and automation cannot be performed, thus requiring much labor. ,
Further, as described above, there is a problem in that the bra terminal is likely to be deformed or the like until the final binding, and it is not easy to cope with a circuit change due to a difference in a vehicle type, a grade or the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and eliminates post-insertion terminals, eliminates splice connection between electric wires, reduces the number of connectors, and reduces parts and assembly work. It is an object of the present invention to be able to easily cope with a circuit change by grade.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention first provides a chain-like connection terminal suitably used in a joint connector. The chain-like connection terminal is formed by bending a conductive metal material, and has two vertical plates that are bent at a right angle. A tab-shaped male terminal which is a female terminal part by cutting out a tab fitting groove from the upper end of the other vertical plate part and bending downward from the lower end of the wire pressure-welding part and projecting downward. A terminal having a portion is provided, and the terminals are chained in a parallel state via a connecting plate portion, and when connecting the terminals, the connecting plate portion is turned back to make a small pitch between the terminals, while the terminals are not connected. In such a case, the connection plate portion is cut off.

The connecting plate is preferably formed between the side surfaces of the tabs of the adjacent terminals, but the mounting position of the connecting plate is not limited, as long as the adjacent terminals can be continued in a parallel state.

The male terminal portion is positioned on the same line as the female terminal portion in the vertical direction, and the male terminal portion can be connected to the female terminal by fitting the male terminal portion to the female terminal between the vertically arranged terminals in a direction perpendicular to each other. . It is needless to say that the female terminal portion and the male terminal portion may be turned upside down, the male terminal portion may be provided to be bent at a right angle to the wire pressure contact portion, and the female terminal portion may be formed to protrude downward.

[0010] The chain-like connection terminal is characterized in that terminals accommodated in a terminal accommodating chamber arranged in parallel with the case of one joint connector are formed in a chain. For example, when connecting all the terminals accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers provided in parallel to the case, the terminals may be inserted in a chained state. When the terminals in the adjacent terminal receiving chambers are not connected, the connecting plate portion is cut off to break the chain. In this manner, two or more terminals to be accommodated in the connector, leaving the connecting plate portion as necessary,
If an arbitrary number of terminals are chained and connected, the wires to be press-connected to the wire press-contact portions of these terminals can be easily connected.

[0011] The chain-like connection terminals in which the above-described terminals are chained by a connection plate portion are formed by punching a flat conductive metal plate and bending a metal plate punched in a developed shape. . Therefore, in the unfolded shape, the vertical plate portions bent at right angles are punched in parallel to the left and right, so that the length of the connection plate portion connecting adjacent terminals becomes large, and the pitch between the terminals becomes large. The connector also becomes larger. Therefore, when connecting the terminals by using the connecting members in a chained state without cutting the connecting members, the connecting plate portion is folded back to reduce the pitch between the terminals. Can be achieved.

As described above, each terminal of the chain-like connection terminal is
If the shape is provided with a female terminal part and a male terminal part above and below the wire pressure welding part, first, using an automatic pressure welding device, multiple wires can be automatically pressed and connected to the wire pressure welding parts of multiple terminals at the same time. I can plan. In addition, since the female terminal portion and the male terminal portion are provided in the up-down direction, by laminating the terminals, it is possible to easily connect the electric wires which are press-connected to these terminals.

Further, the present invention uses the above-mentioned chain-like connecting terminals, and the connecting plate portion is bent at a required portion to connect the terminal, and is cut off and disconnected at a required portion to be provided in parallel in a case. Accommodated in the terminal receiving chamber, wired the wires to the case, press-connected to the wire press-contact portions of the respective terminals, and arranged the cases vertically stacked and provided holes in the upper and lower surfaces of the case. A joint connector is provided in which a male terminal portion and a female terminal portion of upper and lower terminals are fitted and connected through upper and lower holes to connect electric wires wired for each case.

That is, by connecting the wires connected to each other to the parallel terminals in one case by press-connecting to the chain-like terminals connected by the connecting plate portion, first, the terminals are connected via the terminals in one case. To connect two or more wires. Furthermore, by stacking these cases up and down and fittingly connecting the male terminal portion and the female terminal portion of the terminal housed in the upper and lower cases, the wires connected to the terminals of the other case can be connected to each other. .

As described above, when the terminals are arranged in each case, and these cases are vertically stacked, and the upper and lower terminals are connected by fitting the male terminal portion and the female terminal portion. By selecting these terminals and press-connecting the electric wires, it is possible to easily cope with the circuit change in the case where the circuit is different due to the type of vehicle or the grade.

The chain-like connection terminals can be suitably used not only in the case of a joint connector but also in a case where a circuit connection is required in a fuse box or a junction box. Also in this case, a required number of terminals, such as two stations, three stations, etc., are used in succession according to the circuit configuration.

Further, according to the present invention, one case of the above-mentioned joint connector is connected to each sub-harness, and a group of wires press-contacted to terminals in the case is a group of wires of one sub-harness. The wires are connected by chaining the terminals, and when the sub-harness is fully bound, the cases are stacked up and down so that wires of different sub-harnesses are fitted to the male terminal portion and the female terminal portion of the terminal. We provide wire harnesses that are sometimes connected.

As described above, if the electric wires connected to the different sub-harnesses are connected to the terminals in the case, the cases are vertically stacked and integrated to form a male terminal portion and a female terminal of the terminal. By fitting up and down with the parts, the electric wires of the sub-harness can be connected to each other, and the need for a post-insertion terminal and a splice process can be eliminated. Therefore, the sub-harness can be completed without the bra terminal, and the number of operations in the main binding step can be reduced.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1A and 1B show a joint connector 10 according to the present invention, in which a case 12 accommodating a chain-like connection terminal 11 is laminated in two upper and lower stages, and each case 12 (12A, 12B) is shown in FIG. As schematically shown in (B), the sub-harnesses A and B which are temporarily bound are respectively connected, and the case 12 is vertically stacked and integrated during the final binding step. For the sake of simplicity, the two cases 12 connected to the two sub-harnesses A and B are configured to be stacked in two upper and lower stages. However, the number of cases may be increased by increasing the number of sub-harnesses as necessary. It goes without saying that three or more layers may be stacked.

Of the electric wires of the sub-harnesses A and B, electric wires that need to be connected to each other are connected to the joint connector 10.
Is wired to one case 12 constituting the
Each terminal 20 of the chain-like connection terminals 11 housed therein is press-contacted in advance.

The chain-like connection terminal 11 is formed by punching a conductive metal material into a shape shown in FIG. 2, and bending the conductive metal material into a shape shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. That is, the chain-like connection terminal 11 connects the terminals 20 by the connection plate portion 30 to chain the plurality of terminals 20 together.

Each terminal 20 has two vertical plate portions 21 and 22 which are bent at right angles. One of the vertical plate portions 21 is formed by cutting out a pressure welding slot 23 from the upper end to form an electric wire pressure contact terminal portion 24, and the other one. The vertical plate portion 22 is formed with the tab fitting groove 2 from the upper end.
5 is cut out to form a female terminal portion 26. Further, a tab-shaped male terminal portion 28 is provided by bending the lower end of the vertical plate portion 21 of the wire pressing portion 24 in the horizontal direction and projecting the tip of the bent portion 27 downward. The male terminal portion 28 is positioned on the same vertical line as the female terminal portion 26, and the male terminal portion 28 is fitted to the female terminal 26 between the vertically arranged terminals 20, 20 in a direction orthogonal to each other. It can be connected.

Each of the terminals 20 is connected in a side-by-side manner via a connecting plate 30, and the connecting plate 30 is connected to an adjacent terminal 20.
Are formed between the side surfaces of the male terminal portion 28. When connecting the adjacent terminals 20, the connecting plate portion 30 is turned back to make the pitch P <b> 1 between the terminals 20 a small pitch,
When the adjacent terminals 20 are not connected, the connecting plate 30
Has been resected.

As shown in FIG. 2, the chain-like connection terminals 11 are formed in the unfolded shape so that the vertical plate portions 21 and 22 are punched in parallel to the left and right, so that the connection plate portions 30 connecting the adjacent terminals 20 are formed. The length becomes large, and in this state, the pitch P2 between the terminals becomes large. Therefore, the connecting plate 30 is folded as described above to reduce the pitch P1 between the terminals.

The chain-like connection terminals 11 have the terminals 20 inserted and locked in advance in terminal receiving chambers 32 provided in parallel with the cases 12 attached to the one sub-harnesses A and B, respectively.
At this time, as described above, when it is necessary to connect the electric wires to be pressed and connected to the terminals 20, the connecting plate portion 30 is folded back to be in the connected state, and the connecting plate portion 30 is left in a connected state. In the terminal accommodating chamber 32, and the terminal accommodating chamber 3
A groove for fitting the connecting plate portion 30 is provided in the second partition wall as described later. By connecting the terminals 20 by the connecting plate portion 30 in a chain shape in this manner, an arbitrary number of electric wires in one sub-harness can be connected. Further, among the electric wires in the sub-harness, the terminals 20 that are press-connected to the electric wires that are connected only to the electric wires of the other sub-harnesses are disconnected by cutting off the connecting plate portion 30 between the adjacent terminals.

As described above, the plurality of terminals 20 connected to the terminal accommodating chamber 32 arranged in the case 12 by the connecting plate 30 are provided.
The single terminal 20 separated by the connecting plate portion 30 is accommodated.

The case 12 (12A, 12B) is shown in FIG.
As schematically shown in FIG. 2, terminal housing chambers 32 each having a long and narrow box shape and arranged in the left-right direction for housing the chain-like connection terminals 11 are provided in two front and rear stages. The upper surface of the case 12 is an opening, and the bottom surface is provided with a terminal hole 35 for projecting a tab at a position corresponding to the bottom surface of each terminal accommodating chamber 32. Further, a groove 36a for fitting the connecting plate portion 30 is provided in a partition wall 36 that partitions the terminal accommodating chamber 32. Further, electric wire insertion grooves 37a, 38a are provided in a front wall 37 of the case 12 and a partition wall 38 for partitioning the front and rear terminal accommodating chambers. Furthermore, the case 12 has a shape in which the peripheral walls can be fitted together so that the cases 12A and 12B connected to the respective sub-harnesses A and B are vertically stacked and integrated at the time of the final binding. A lock portion (not shown) for fixing is provided.

Next, the assembling method will be described. As schematically shown in FIG. 5, the electric wires w of the sub-harnesses A and B are wired in the X direction with respect to the cases 12A and 12B, and the terminal housing of each row is accommodated. After passing the electric wire w through the chamber 32, the electric wire w is connected to the terminal 20.
By pressing the wire w into the terminal 20, the electric wire w is press-connected to the terminal 20.

At that time, all the terminals 20 are accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber 32.
And the wire w can be press-connected to all the contact terminals 20, and the wire w may be press-connected only to the necessary terminals 20. Further, only the terminal 20 to be press-connected to the wire w May be accommodated in the terminal accommodation chamber 32. If the terminals 20 are accommodated in all the terminal accommodating chambers 32 of the case 12, it is only necessary to change the terminals 20 that are in pressure contact with the electric wire w in accordance with a change in the circuit.

The wires of the sub-harness A are connected to the case 12A, while the wires of the sub-harness B are connected to the case 12B. These sub-harnesses A and B are manufactured separately. In this binding step, the cases 12A and 12B are vertically stacked and integrated. That is, the upper case 12
A is stacked and fitted on the upper part of the lower case 12B.

When the upper and lower cases 12A and 12B are connected as described above, the male terminal portions 28 of the terminals 20 in the upper case 12A are overlapped downward through the terminal holes.
B into the female terminal 26 of the terminal 20, and
The terminals 20 housed on the same straight line of 2A and 12B are connected.

As a result, the electric wires to be connected between the sub-harnesses A and B can be electrically connected to the terminals 20 of the upper and lower cases. As described above, the electric wires of the sub-harnesses A and B that are to be connected to each other can be connected to the terminals 20 in the cases 12A and 12B forming the joint connector 10 in the sub-harness temporary binding step. It is possible to eliminate the bra terminal that is exposed to the outside, so that the sub-harness can be completed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and in the present binding step, when no connection is required between the vertically stacked cases, the male terminal portion and / or the female terminal portion are cut off and used. When three or more cases are stacked and the connection is made by jumping over the middle case, the wire pressure contact portion is cut off or the wire is not pressed.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, as a terminal to be inserted into the case of the joint connector, a terminal having a wire press-contact portion, a male terminal portion and a female terminal portion above and below is provided. Are used in a continuous chain at the connecting plate portion, so that a required number of electric wires can be connected by the chain terminals. In addition, since the connecting plate portion that is continuous between the terminals is used in a folded state so as to form a chain, the pitch between the terminals can be reduced, and accordingly the connector can be prevented from being enlarged.

The terminals are accommodated in the terminal accommodating chamber of the case, and the wires are pressed against the terminals, and the cases are stacked up and down. The electric wires connected to the case can be connected.

Therefore, among the electric wires of the sub-harness, if at least the electric wire conventionally connected by the last insertion terminal and the electric wire which has been spliced to each other are connected to the terminal in the case in advance, the final binding is achieved. At times, the cases can be stacked and integrated to be connected to wires of another sub-harness. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the post-insertion terminal of the sub-harness, to eliminate the splice connection between the electric wires, and to improve the workability of assembling the wire harness.

Further, if a case accommodating terminals is provided in the case, the circuit can be easily changed only by changing the pressure contact position with the electric wire. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with a case where the vehicle type is different in grade and a circuit configuration is changed, and a case accommodating the connection terminal can be shared.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is an exploded perspective view and (B) is a schematic view of a joint connector formed by stacking cases.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a developed shape of a chain-like connection terminal housed in the joint connector.

3A is a perspective view showing a chain-like connection terminal that is bent, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a relationship between terminals arranged vertically.

4A is a schematic plan view of the case, and FIG. 4B is a schematic bottom view.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams showing a connection form between a terminal and an electric wire.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a conventional method of forming a wire harness.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a conventional joint connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B Sub-harness w Electric wire 10 Joint connector 11 Chain connection terminal 12 Case 20 Terminal 24 Wire press-contact part 26 Female terminal part 27 Male terminal part 30 Connecting plate part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electric wire pressing terminal formed by bending a conductive metal material and having two vertical plates bent at right angles, wherein one of the vertical plates has a press-connecting slot cut out from an upper end. And the other vertical plate portion is a female terminal portion by cutting out a tab fitting groove from the upper end, and a tab-shaped male terminal portion bent downward from the lower end of the wire pressure contact portion and projected downward. When connecting the terminals in a parallel state via a connecting plate portion and connecting the terminals, the connecting plate portion is turned back to make a small pitch between the terminals, while the terminals are not connected. A chain-shaped connection terminal configured to cut off the connection plate. 2. The chain-like connection terminal according to claim 1, wherein said connection plate portion is formed between side surfaces of tabs of adjacent terminals. 3. A configuration in which the male terminal portion is positioned on the same vertical line as the female terminal portion, and the male terminal portion can be fitted to the female terminal and connected between the vertically arranged terminals in a direction orthogonal to each other. The chain-like connection terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The connecting terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting plate is bent at a required position to connect the terminal, and cut off at a required position. Connected, accommodated in a terminal accommodating chamber provided in parallel in a case, wired an electric wire to the case, press-connected to an electric wire press-contact portion of each terminal, and arranged the cases vertically stacked, A joint connector in which holes are formed in the upper and lower surfaces of the case, the male and female terminal portions of the upper and lower terminals are fitted and connected through the upper and lower holes, and the wires arranged for each case are connected to each other. 5. An electric wire group press-contacted to a connection terminal in one case of the joint connector according to claim 4, wherein the electric wire group of one sub-harness is connected to one case for each sub-harness. The required electric wires in the above are connected by chaining the above-mentioned terminals, and when the sub-harness is fully bound, the above-mentioned cases are vertically stacked, and electric wires of different sub-harnesses are connected to the male terminal portion and the female terminal of the above-mentioned terminal. Wire harness connected by fitting with the part.