JP2001229989A - Joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a joint connector, which is able to flexibly cope with changes in a joint pattern. SOLUTION: The joint connector is comprised of multiple housings 10, which are assembled in a stacked condition, multiple pressure welded terminal fittings 15, which are attached in parallel to the direction that intersects at the right angles with respect to the direction of the stacking of each housing 10, and having a pressure welding blade 16, and a cable-holding member 20, which is attachable to the stacked multiple housings 10 and which can retain the cables 18a to 18f in the route that passes the pressure-welding blade 16. By attaching the housing 10 and the cable-holding member 20, proper pressure welded terminal fittings 15 are joined to each other via cables 18. In the cable- holding member 20, the number, the length, and the paths of the cables 18 can be set arbitrarily, so that the degree of freedom for setting the joint pattern is high.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, joint connectors have been used to connect respective electric wires used in a common circuit system such as an earth line. An example is disclosed in
No. 306451 (see FIGS. 16 and 17). The joint connector disclosed herein accommodates a terminal 102 in a terminal accommodation chamber 101 of a connector housing 100.

[0003] The connector housing 100 is provided with four stages of terminal accommodating chambers 101 therein, and is opened vertically so that the terminal accommodating chambers 101 communicate with each other. Each terminal accommodation room 10
1 has an opening as an insertion opening 101A. on the other hand,
The connection terminal 102 has a configuration in which a first elastic contact piece 103 protrudes at the upper part, a second elastic contact piece 104 inside, and a connection part 105 at the lower part. In a state where the connection terminal 102 is housed in the connector housing 100, as shown in FIG. 17, the first elastic contact piece 103 of the lower terminal 102B is connected to the connection portion 1 of the upper terminal 102A.
05, the upper and lower terminals 102A, 102B
To connect. Further, when the mating male terminal 106 is inserted through the insertion opening 101A, the male terminal 106 also comes into contact with the second elastic contact piece 104 of the terminal 102, so that the request for increasing the number of joints can be satisfied.

[0004]

However, even with the above, the upper and lower terminals 1 can be jointed.
02, and only between the terminal 102 in the terminal accommodating chamber 101 and the male terminal 106 inserted from the outside. Therefore, the above-described joint connector may not be able to cope with some joint patterns. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a joint connector which can flexibly cope with a change in a joint pattern.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there are provided a plurality of housings which are assembled in a stacked state and a plurality of pressure contact blades which are attached to the respective housings in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the stacking direction. And a wire holding member that can be assembled with the plurality of stacked housings and that can route and hold an electric wire along a path that passes through the pressure welding blade. The housing and the wire holding member By assembling, the predetermined press-connecting terminal fittings are joined by the electric wire.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the press-connecting terminal fitting includes a lamination-direction press-contact blade for press-contacting the electric wire whose axis is oriented in the stacking direction of the housing, and A parallel-direction press-contact blade for pressing the electric wires in the parallel direction of the terminal fittings is formed, and the wire holding member includes a stacking-direction wire holding groove for holding the wires in the stacking direction of the housing. And a parallel direction wire holding groove for holding the wire in a direction parallel to the press contact metal fittings.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the number of wires, the length, and the route of the wires can be arbitrarily set in the wire holding member, so that the degree of freedom in setting the joint pattern is high. [Invention of claim 2] Since the electric wires can be routed vertically and horizontally in both the lamination direction of the housing and the parallel direction of the press-connecting terminal fittings, the degree of freedom in setting the joint pattern is high.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

The joint connector according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of housings 10, a plurality of press-connecting terminal fittings 15, an electric wire holding member 20, and a plurality of electric wires 18a to 18f (in the following description, the electric wires are collectively referred to as The code when no specific electric wire is indicated is simply referred to as “18”). In the following description, the front side is the left side in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the front-rear direction, and FIG. 2 is the reference in the vertical direction. The housing 10 is made of a synthetic resin and has a thick plate shape as a whole. In the housing 10,
A plurality of cavities 11 are formed at a constant pitch in the left-right direction. Each cavity 11 is opened at both front and rear end surfaces of the housing 10, and a press-contact terminal fitting 15 is inserted into each cavity 11 from behind. In addition, a pair of protection plates 12 protruding forward are formed on both left and right ends of the front end surface of the housing 10. The protection plate 12 protects a protruding portion of the press-contact terminal fitting 15 described later from the housing 10 and prevents foreign matter from interfering with the press-contact terminal fitting 15 from the front side and the upper and lower sides.

A pair of left and right connecting ribs 13 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the upper surface of the housing 10, and a pair of left and right connecting grooves (not shown) also extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the lower surface. . By fitting the connection rib 13 and the connection groove, the housing 10 is connected in a state of being vertically stacked with its upper surface and lower surface brought into close contact. The press-connecting terminal fitting 15 has a plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, and is inserted into the cavity 11 with its plate surface facing up and down, and a lance (not shown) is locked in the locking hole 17. The cavity 11
There is a restriction on rearward escape. Crimp terminal fitting 1
A terminal portion of a harness electric wire W is connected to the rear end of the housing 5 by crimping, and the harness electric wire W extends to the rear of the housing 10.

A front end portion of the press contact metal fitting 15 is a press contact blade 16. The press-contact blade 16 has a slit 16A in the front-rear direction that opens at the front end edge. In this slit 16A,
The electric wire 18 for the joint keeps its axis horizontal (horizontal direction)
In the process, the resin coating of the electric wire 18 is cut by both the upper and lower edges of the slit 16A, and the core wire contacts the upper and lower edges of the slit 16A, and thus the electric wire 18 is in contact with the electric wire 18. Conduction with the press contact metal fitting 15 is enabled. The press-contact blade 16 protrudes forward from the front end surface of the housing 10.

The electric wire holding member 20 has a rectangular box shape with an open rear surface (the right surface in FIG. 3), and a plurality of stacked housings 10 are fitted therein. I have. A fitting groove 21 for fitting the connection rib 13 of the housing 10 is formed on the upper surface of the wire holding member 20, and a fitting rib 22 for fitting with the connection groove of the housing 10 is formed on the lower surface. Have been. A plurality of vertically long relief grooves 24 corresponding to each row of the vertical press-contact blades 16 in the stacked housing 10 are formed in the back end surface 23 (front end inner surface) of the electric wire holding member 20 in a line in the left-right direction. . In addition, concave portions 25 for avoiding interference with the protective plate 12 of the housing 10 are formed at both left and right ends of the rear end surface 23. Further, a plurality of wire holding grooves 26 extending in the left-right direction so as to cross the escape groove 24 at the same height as the slit 16 </ b> A of each press-contact blade 16 are formed on the rear end face 23. The electric wire 18 is fitted into the electric wire holding groove 26 so as not to be easily detached. The electric wire holding groove 26 is communicated at both left and right ends thereof with a vertical communication groove 27, and the electric wire 18 is fitted into the communication groove 27 so as not to be easily detached.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, the press contact blade 1 of the press contact terminal fitting 15 to be jointed
An electric wire routing route passing between 6 is set, and a plurality of (six in this embodiment) electric wires 18a to 18f cut to the same length as the length of the routing route are prepared. Then, the wires 18 are routed while being fitted and held in the wire holding groove 26 and the communication groove 27 along a predetermined route. FIG. 5 shows an example of the routing route. The first electric wire 18a is routed in a straight line between the rightmost press contact blade 16 and the third press contact blade 16 from the left in the uppermost wire holding groove 26. The second electric wire 18b passes through the communication groove 27 on the left side from the second press-contact blade 16 from the uppermost stage to the left, and the second electric wire 18b extends from the lowermost stage from the left.
It is routed along a U-turn path extending between the second press contact blade 16. The third electric wire 18c is routed linearly between the leftmost press contact blade 16 at the second stage from the top and the fifth press contact blade 16 from the left. The fourth electric wire 18d is routed linearly between the leftmost press contact blade 16 at the third stage from the top and the fourth press contact blade 16 from the left. The fifth electric wire 18e is routed linearly between the rightmost press contact blade 16 at the lowermost stage and the third press contact blade 16 from the left. Sixth electric wire 18
f is a U-turn formed by disengaging the right communication groove 27 between the third press contact blade 16 from the right in the second stage from the top and the fourth press contact blade 16 from the right in the third stage from the top. Have been routed.

When the housing 10 is fitted into the electric wire holding member 20, each press contact blade 16 is pressed against the corresponding electric wire 18 while entering the escape groove 24, and is pressed against the common electric wire 18. The terminal fittings 15 are joined to each other. As described above, according to the present embodiment, by forming the wire holding groove 26 and the communication groove 27 in the wire holding member 20, the number, length, and routing path of the wires 18 can be arbitrarily set. Because
High degree of freedom in setting joint patterns.

The joint pattern shown in FIG.
Not only the wires are routed linearly only in the horizontal wire holding grooves 26, but also the wires 18 are routed in a U-turn shape through the vertical communication grooves 27. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to adopt a joint pattern in which the electric wires 18 are routed only in the electric wire holding grooves 26. Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The joint connector according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of housings 30, a plurality of press-contact terminal fittings 35, a wire holding member 40, and a plurality of wires 55.
It is composed of In the following description, the left and right sides of FIGS.
The vertical direction is based on FIGS. 7, 10, 11, 12, and 14.

The housing 30 is made of a synthetic resin and has a thick plate shape as a whole. A plurality of cavities 31 are formed in the housing 30 at a constant pitch in the left-right direction. Each cavity 31 is opened at both front and rear end surfaces of the housing 30, and a press-contact terminal fitting 35 is inserted into each cavity 31 from behind. A pair of protection plates 32 projecting forward are provided on both left and right ends of the front end surface of the housing 30.
A is formed. The protective plate 32A protects a protruding portion of a press-contact terminal fitting 35 described later from the housing 30, and includes a press-contact terminal fitting 3 from the front and upper and lower sides.
5 is prevented from interfering with foreign matter. Further, a plurality of pairs of partition walls 32 </ b> B are formed on the front end face of the housing 30 so as to sandwich the opening of each cavity 31. The partition wall 32B prevents short-circuiting of the protruding portions of the pressure contact terminal fittings 35 adjacent to the left and right from the housing 30.

A pair of left and right connecting ribs 33 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the upper surface of the housing 30, and a pair of left and right connecting grooves (not shown) also extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the lower surface. . By fitting the connecting rib 33 and the connecting groove, the housing 30 is connected in a state of being vertically stacked with its upper surface and lower surface in close contact. The press-contact terminal fitting 35 is made of a metal plate and has a generally elongated shape in the front-rear direction. When inserted into the cavity 31, the lance 34 of the cavity 31 is engaged with the engagement hole 37 of the bottom plate 36. Thus, the cavity 31 is restricted from falling backward. A terminal portion of the harness electric wire W is connected to the rear end of the press-contact terminal fitting 35 by crimping.
Extends to the rear of the housing 30.

At the front end of the press contact terminal fitting 35, three press contact blades 38a and 38b are formed so as to protrude forward from the front end face of the housing 30 and form a substantially U-shape when viewed from the front. The press-contact blade 38a for the stacking direction is
And are formed continuously in a plane. The stacking direction pressure contact blade 38a has a front-rear slit 39a which is open at the front end edge. The electric wire 55 for the joint is pushed into the slit 39a with its axis oriented in the laminating direction (vertical direction) of the housing 30. In the pushing process, the resin coating of the electric wire 55 is applied to the slit 39a. And the core wire contacts both the left and right edges of the slit 39a.
5 and the press contact terminal fitting 35 can be conducted.

The parallel-direction press-contact blades 38b are formed in a pair in the form of standing upright at right angles from the left and right side edges of the stack-direction press-contact blade 38a. The side-to-side press-contact blade 38b has a front-rear slit 39b opening at the front end thereof. The electric wire 55 for the joint is pushed into the slit 39b with the axis thereof oriented in the parallel direction (left-right direction) of the press-connecting terminal fittings 35 in each housing 30. In the pushing process, the electric wire 55 Is cut by the upper and lower edges of the slit, and the core wire contacts the upper and lower edges of the slit 39b, so that the electric wire 55 and the press-connecting terminal fitting 35 can be conducted.

Between the press-contact blades 38a for the stacking direction and the press-contact blades 38b for the parallel direction, the press-contact positions of the electric wires 55 are different from each other in the mounting direction (front-back direction) of the housing 30 and the electric wire holding member 40. Become. This position is determined by the holding position of the electric wire 55 on the electric wire holding member 40. The press-contact position of the electric wire 55 on the lamination direction press-contact blade 38a is determined by the parallel direction press-contact blade 38b.
At the front of the press-contact position of the electric wire 55 in the above.

The wire holding member 40 is provided on the rear surface (FIGS. 12 and 13).
Is formed in a rectangular box shape having an open side, and a plurality of stacked housings 30 are fitted therein. Back end surface 41 of electric wire holding member 40
The fitting recesses 42 for fitting the three press-contact blades 38a and 38b are formed so as to be aligned vertically and horizontally corresponding to each press-contact terminal fitting 35. In addition, concave portions 43A for avoiding interference with the protective plate 32A of the housing 30 and the electric wire 55 are formed at both left and right ends of the rear end surface 41. A slit-shaped concave portion 43B for avoiding interference with the partition wall 32B of 30 is formed. Further, concave portions 44 are formed at both upper and lower end portions of the rear end surface 41 for avoiding impression with the electric wire 55.

On the rear end face 41, a lamination direction wire holding groove 46 extending linearly in the vertical direction so as to vertically pass through a position corresponding to the slit 39a of the lamination direction press contact blade 38a in each fitting recess 42. A plurality of parallel-direction electric wire holding grooves 47 extending linearly in the left-right direction so as to pass laterally through a position corresponding to the slit 39b of the parallel-direction press contact blade 38b in each fitting recess 42 are formed. ing. The joint-use electric wires 55 are fitted into the lamination-direction electric-wire holding grooves 46 and the parallel-direction electric-wire holding grooves 47 so that the electric wires 55 for joints do not easily come off. In addition, the holding position of the electric wire 55 in the stacking direction electric wire holding groove 46 is located forward (to the back of the electric wire holding member 40) of the holding position of the electric wire 55 in the parallel direction electric wire holding groove 47.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, the press contact blade 3 of the press contact terminal fitting 35 to be joined.
A wire routing route passing between 8a and 38b is set, and a routing pattern according to the routing route is set in the wire holding member 40. Then, a plurality of electric wires 55 having a predetermined length corresponding to the wiring pattern are prepared, and the electric wires 55 are arranged and fitted in the electric wire holding grooves 46 and 47 along the predetermined wiring pattern. In this case, the electric wires 55 are routed first in the lamination direction electric wire holding grooves 46 and then in the parallel direction electric wire holding grooves 47. FIG. 11 shows an example of the routing route (routing pattern).

When the laminated housing 30 is fitted into the electric wire holding member 40, each of the press contact blades 38a, 38
8b are pressed into the corresponding electric wires 55 while being fitted into the fitting concave portions 42, respectively. Thereby, the common electric wire 5
The press-connecting terminal fittings 35 pressed against each other are jointed with each other. Further, when a plurality of electric wires 55 are pressed against one press-contact terminal fitting 35, the plurality of electric wires 55
The other press-contact terminal fittings 35 pressed against each other are also joined together.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the lamination direction wire holding groove 46 and the parallel direction wire holding groove 47 for routing and holding the wire 55 on the wire holding member 40 are formed.
Since the number, length, and routing route of the electric wires 55 can be arbitrarily set, the degree of freedom in setting the joint pattern is high. Also, since the wires 55 can be routed and held in both the stacking direction of the housing 30 and the parallel direction of the press-connecting terminal fittings 35, the degree of freedom in setting the joint pattern is also high in this regard.

When the electric wires in the vertical and horizontal directions intersect on the same plane, one of the electric wires must be bent at the intersection so as to get over the other electric wire.
As a result, there is a concern that poor pressure contact may occur near the bent portion. However, according to the second embodiment, the electric wires 55 in the stacking direction and the electric wires 55 in the parallel direction are routed at different positions in the front-back direction.
5 at the intersection with the electric wire 55 in the parallel direction.
Without bending. Therefore, even in the vicinity of the intersecting portion, good pressure contact is performed.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above with reference to the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the first embodiment, a partition may be formed in the housing so as to partition between adjacent press contact metal fittings, and a recess may be formed in the electric wire holding member to avoid interference with the partition.

(2) In the second embodiment, the press-contact terminal fitting is U-shaped when viewed from the front, but according to the present invention, it may be L-shaped. (3) In the second embodiment, the electric wire holding member is formed so that both the electric wire holding grooves for the stacking direction and the electric wire holding groove for the parallel direction intersect each other. A wire holding plate is provided, and a wire holding groove for the stacking direction is formed on one of the wire holding member and the wire holding plate,
On the other hand, an electric wire holding groove for the parallel direction may be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of a housing according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a housing.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the wires are routed and held on a wire holding member.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state where the housing and the wire holding member are assembled.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the electric wire holding member.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a modification of the joint pattern in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a housing according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the housing.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an electric wire holding member.

FIG. 10 is a rear view of the electric wire holding member.

FIG. 11 is a rear view of the state where the electric wires are routed to the electric wire holding member.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of an electric wire holding member.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the electric wire holding member.

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the housing and the wire holding member are assembled.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the housing and the wire holding member are assembled.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a conventional example.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 15 ... Pressure contact terminal fitting 16 ... Pressure contact blade 18a-18f ... Electric wire 20 ... Wire holding member 30 ... Housing 35 ... Pressure contact terminal fitting 38a ... Lamination direction pressure contact blade 38b ... Parallel direction pressure contact blade 40 ... Wire holding member 46 ... Wire holding groove for stacking direction 47 ... Wire holding groove for parallel direction 55 ... Wire

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of housings assembled in a stacked state, a plurality of press-connecting terminal fittings having a press-contact blade, and mounted in parallel to each of the housings in a direction orthogonal to a stacking direction; Can be assembled with the housing of
A wire holding member capable of routing and holding an electric wire in a path passing through the pressure welding blade, wherein a predetermined pressure welding terminal fitting is joined by the electric wire by assembling the housing and the wire holding member. Joint connector characterized by doing. 2. The press-connecting terminal fitting includes a press-contact blade for a stacking direction that presses the electric wire whose axis is oriented in the stacking direction of the housing, and a wire that presses the electric wire whose axis is parallel to the press-connecting terminal fitting. A parallel direction press contact blade to be formed is formed, and the wire holding member has a stacking direction wire holding groove for holding the wire in the stacking direction of the housing, and the wire in a direction parallel to the press contact terminal fitting. The joint connector according to claim 1, further comprising a parallel-direction electric wire holding groove to be held toward the joint connector.