JP2002352926A - Joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve maintenability of a joint connector. SOLUTION: An openable cover 9 is mounted on a connector housing 1. At an inner face of the cover 9, plural pull-out preventing claws 12 capable of mounting a joint terminal 5 in the pull-out preventing state are formed; and as a result of this, the joint terminal 5 can be integrated into the cover 9. Accordingly, if the cover 9 is opened in a maintenance, the joint terminal 5 will automatically be pulled out from the connector housing 1, accompanying the opening action.

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, as a type called a joint connector, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-277180 (see FIG. 7). This device has a housing 34 formed in a box shape, and then a joint terminal 35 is attached from the wall surface side. The joint terminal 35 is housed in a housing 34 in which the female terminal housing 32 is housed.
When 1 is fitted, each female terminal fitting 32 can be short-circuited. A cover 36 is attached to the rear surface of the housing 34 so as to cover an exposed portion of the rear surface of the joint terminal 35.

[0003]

However, in the case of the above structure, if the joint terminal 35 is to be removed during maintenance or the like, first, the cover 36 is removed, and then the joint terminal 35 is pulled backward. There is annoyance that must be done. Further, when the joint terminal 35 is pulled out, the jig tip is hooked on the rear surface of the joint terminal 35 to be pulled out, but the rear surface of the joint terminal 35 is substantially flush with the rear surface of the housing 34. Therefore, the hooking operation is difficult. For this reason, there has been a problem that maintenance work is difficult with the conventional one.

The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joint connector having excellent maintainability.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of terminal fittings housed in a mating connector housing are short-circuited within a connector housing. A joint connector incorporating a joint terminal to be connected, wherein the connector housing is provided with a cover capable of opening and closing an opening for incorporating the joint terminal, and the cover has an attaching portion for attaching the joint terminal. Is provided, and the joint terminal is removable from the inside of the connector housing with the opening operation of the cover.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cover can be opened and closed by a hinge with respect to the connector housing and is integrally connected to the connector housing.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the joint terminal is integrated with the cover by the mounting portion provided on the cover. Therefore, the joint terminal can be automatically extracted from the connector housing in accordance with the opening operation of the cover, so that maintenance is excellent.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the cover is provided integrally with the connector housing, it is possible to obtain the effects of reducing the number of parts and being excellent in handleability.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a connector housing made of synthetic resin, which is formed in a rectangular box shape. Inside the connector housing 1, four cavities 2 shown in the figure are formed in parallel in the horizontal direction, and each of them is formed so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction. An opening on the front end side of each cavity 2 is a terminal insertion opening 3 into which a female terminal fitting (not shown) can be independently inserted, and an opening on the rear end side is a plug-in capable of inserting each tab of the joint terminal 5. Mouth 4

The joint terminal 5 is formed of a conductive metal plate, and is integrally formed with a connecting plate 6 and a total of four tab portions 7 bent at the lower edge of the connecting plate 6 and extended forward. Each tab part 7 can be inserted into the cavity 2 through the corresponding insertion port 4.

A cover 9 is openably and closably attached to an edge of an opening surface of the connector housing 1 on the side of the insertion port 4 via a hinge edge 15 having flexibility. However, the hinge edge 15 is set to a sufficient length to allow opening and closing operations on the connector housing 1 in a state where the joint terminal 5 is mounted on the cover 9. A lock piece 16 having a locking hole 14 is formed on an edge of the cover 9 opposite to the hinge edge 15, and a lock projection 1 formed on a side surface of the connector housing 1 when the cover 9 is closed.
The lock hole 14 can be locked to the cover 7, whereby the cover 9 can be held in a closed state. further,
A mounting portion 10 for mounting the joint terminal 5 is set on the inner surface side of the cover 9.

The mounting portion 10 is formed on the inner surface of the cover 9 and has a mounting recess 11 into which the connecting plate 6 of the joint terminal 5 can be fitted, and the upper and lower opening edges of the mounting recess 11 prevent the joint terminal 5 from coming off. It comprises a plurality of retaining claws 12. Each of the retaining claws 12 is arranged such that the respective distal ends thereof face each other, and both are formed so as to protrude inward from the mounting recess 11 while being separated from the bottom surface of the mounting recess 11. In addition, the outer surface of each retaining claw 12 is formed with a guide surface 12a that is inclined inward, so that the connecting plate 6 can be easily fitted into the mounting concave portion 11. Thereby, each of the stoppers allows the joint terminal 5 to be fitted into the mounting recess 11 of the connecting plate 6, and after the fitting, can be locked with the connecting plate 6 to prevent the joint terminal 5 from coming off.

In the connector housing 1, escape recesses 13 for avoiding interference with the retaining claws 12 respectively correspond to upper and lower end portions of the wall surface separating the cavities 2 on the insertion port 4 side. The recess is formed.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment constructed as described above will be specifically described. The connecting plate 6 of the joint terminal 5 is inserted into the mounting recess 11 while the tip of each retaining claw 12 is sunk. Fit it. As a result, the joint terminal 5 is fitted in the mounting recess 11 so as to be substantially flush with the surroundings, and is mounted in a state where it is prevented from being removed by the retaining claws 12.

Thereafter, the cover 9 is rotated in the closing direction about the hinge edge 15 so that each tab 7 is adapted to the insertion port 4, and in this state, the cover 9 is closed and each tab 7 is inserted into the cavity 2. Push in. Then, if the lock projection 17 is locked in the locking hole 14 of the lock piece 16, the cover 9 is held in the closed state. In this state, when female terminal fittings (not shown) are inserted through the terminal insertion openings 3 of the cavities 2, the female terminal fittings are connected to the tab portions 7, whereby the female terminal fittings are short-circuited by the joint terminals 5. .

When maintenance or the like is required for the connector, the locking hole 14 and the lock projection 1 are required.
When the cover 9 is released by releasing the lock with the joint 7, the joint terminal 5 is simultaneously pulled out from the connector housing 1. Therefore, unlike the related art, it is not necessary to extract the joint terminal 5 after the cover 9 is opened, so that the maintenance operation can be easily performed.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in 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 present embodiment, the case where the joint terminal is attached to the cover side, and then the cover is closed and assembled into the connector housing has been described.
First, install the joint terminal into the connector housing,
It is also possible that the joint terminal is attached to the cover side with the closing operation of the cover.

(2) Although the cover is shown as being integrated with the connector housing by a hinge, it may be separate.

(3) In the connector housing, a single female terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity and connected to the joint terminal. However, the female terminal fitting is accommodated in another connector housing, and the connector housings are fitted together. The female terminal fittings may be short-circuited in some cases.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view showing an exploded state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with a cover closed.

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view showing a state in which a cover is closed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover is opened during maintenance.

FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of the same.

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

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector housing 4 ... Inlet 5 ... Joint terminal 9 ... Cover 10 ... Mounting part 12 ... Retaining claw 15 ... Hinge edge

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5E087 EE14 FF03 GG06 HH01 PP09 QQ06 RR22 5G355 AA03 BA01 BA11 5G361 AC02 AC05 AD01 AE01 5G375 AA02 CA02 CA19 CC07 DA36 DB16 DB26

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A joint connector in which a joint terminal for short-circuiting a plurality of terminal fittings housed in a mating connector housing is incorporated inside a connector housing, wherein the joint terminal is provided in the connector housing. A cover that can open and close an opening for incorporating the same is provided, and the cover is provided with a mounting portion for mounting the joint terminal, and the joint terminal is removed from the inside of the connector housing with the opening operation of the cover. Joint connector characterized in that it is possible. 2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the cover is openably and closably connected to the connector housing by a hinge and is integrally connected to the connector housing.