JP2006347347A - Multiple communication connection device and equipment module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multiple communication connection device capable of retaining multiple communication control function with high reliability and adding the multiple communication control function to a conventional equipment even if a structure of the equipment itself is not changed. <P>SOLUTION: The multiple communication connection device is constituted such that a harness side connector; an equipment side connector; and a harness side connector part and an equipment side connector part fitted to the harness side connector and the equipment side connector respectively are formed on a housing, and a substrate provided with a multiple communication control circuit and an electronic part for load driving is stored in the housing. The connection device is provided with an adaptor made to such a constitution that the multiple communication control circuit of the substrate is connected to a circuit in the harness side connector and the equipment side connector. The equipment side connector part of the adaptor is previously fitted to the equipment side connector and is integrally assembled to it and the harness side connector is detachably fitted/connected to the harness side connector part of the adaptor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a multiplex communication connection device and a device module, and more particularly, to control electrical equipment mounted on an automobile by multiplex communication.

Conventionally, an electronic control unit ECU 1 for centralized control as shown in FIG. 5 is mounted on an automobile. The ECU 1 includes a power source 2, a communication unit 3, a central control unit 4, an I / O unit 5, and a drive unit 6. The ECU 1, the sensor 7, the switch 8, and the load 9 are connected via a number of wire harnesses. ing.
The ECU 1 for centralized control tends to increase in size, and there is a problem that the weight increases and the installation space increases. In addition, the wire harness is also enlarged, causing an increase in weight and adversely affecting fuel consumption and running performance. Therefore, it is required to reduce and simplify the wire harness.

  Therefore, as a wire harness saving device, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-268630 (Patent Document 1), as shown in FIGS. Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the electrical connector provided in Patent Document 1 is connected to the harness side connectors 11, 16, 18, and 21 connected to the wire terminals of the wire harness 10 for connection to the sensor 15 and the switch 17. Communication circuits 12a and 12b, control circuits 13a and 13b, and I / O circuits 14a and 14b are provided, and the communication circuit 12c, the control circuit 13c, and the load drive circuit 19c are built in for connection to the load 20. is there.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the electrical connectors 18a, 18b, 18c connected to the load 20 are auxiliary machine side connectors 23a, 23b attached to the auxiliary machines 22a, 22b, 22c such as a power window, a door lock, and a door mirror. 23c is fitted and connected.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary module 24 includes a multiplex communication control circuit 25 including a communication circuit 12d, a control circuit 13d, an I / O circuit 14d, and a load driving circuit 19d. Yes. As shown in FIG. 9, the auxiliary side connectors 26a, 26b, 26c attached to the auxiliary units 24a, 24b, 24c incorporating the multiplex communication control circuits 25a, 25b, 25c are connected to the harness side connectors 27a, 27b. , 27c.

JP 2004-268630 A

  In patent document 1, the harness side connector is connected to the electric wire terminal of a wire harness, as shown to the broken-line part of FIG. 7 and FIG. Compared to a general electronic control unit (ECU), the wire harness is not handled with care in the factory, and the packing state during transportation may not be good. Therefore, when the multiplex communication control circuit is built in like the electrical connector disclosed in Patent Document 1, the circuit may be damaged during handling and transportation in the factory. Further, when assembling the electrical connector to the wire terminal of the wire harness, distortion may occur due to twisting, and the circuit may be damaged during the assembly process.

  In addition, when the multiplex communication control circuit as described above is built in the auxiliary machine, it is not compatible with a conventional auxiliary machine that does not have a built-in multiplex communication control circuit, and the structure of the auxiliary machine itself is changed. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate a multiplex communication control circuit.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, without attaching a multiplex communication device on the wire harness side, preventing the occurrence of breakage of the multiplex communication control circuit, without incorporating a multiplex communication control circuit on the device side, It is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration in which a wire harness and a device are connected via a multiplex communication control circuit while making a change in the structure of the device itself unnecessary.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a harness-side connector connected to an electric wire terminal of a wire harness routed in an automobile,
A device-side connector attached to the device side mounted on the automobile;
The harness-side connector portion and the device-side connector portion that are respectively fitted to the harness-side connector and the device-side connector are formed in the housing, and are connected to the multiplex communication circuit and the multiplex communication circuit inside the housing. An adapter configured to accommodate a board provided with a multiplex communication control circuit including a load driving component and connect the circuit of the board to a harness side connector fitted to the connector portion and a circuit in the equipment side connector Prepared,
The device-side connector portion of the adapter is pre-fitted to the device-side connector and assembled integrally, and the harness-side connector is detachably fitted and connected to the harness-side connector portion of the adapter. A multiplex communication connection device is provided.

The multiplex communication control circuit includes a multiplex communication circuit that is connected to a multiplex communication line on the wire harness side and performs multiplex communication with a switch, a sensor, and the like, and the load driving component that controls driving of a load based on a received control signal. A circuit connected to the multiplex communication circuit.
A power supply circuit connected to the power line of the wire harness is also connected to the load drive component, and the power supply circuit is controlled by a multiplex communication circuit and a load drive control component to be connected to a drive power supply line on the device side.
As a circuit on the adapter board, there is also provided an earth circuit that connects the earth wire of the wire harness and the earth wire on the device side and is connected to a load driving component to be mounted.

According to the above configuration, the adapter that accommodates the board including the multiplex communication control circuit is provided separately from the harness-side connector and the device, and the adapter has a device-side connector portion that is fitted and connected to the device-side connector. They are pre-fitted and integrated.
As described above, since the adapter accommodating the multiplex communication control circuit is assembled not on the wire harness but on the device side, the circuit accommodated in the adapter is not damaged and is highly reliable. The structure of the conventional device can be maintained because the multiplex communication control function can be retained and the multiplex communication control function can be added to the device simply by connecting the device side connector portion of the adapter to the connector of the conventional device. There is no need to change.

  Moreover, according to the said structure, since the said adapter is provided with the harness side connector part detachably fitted and connected to the harness side connector, the connector of the wire harness terminal routed to a motor vehicle in an assembly line Can be easily assembled by fitting the connectors to the harness side connector portion of the adapter integrated with the device.

On the board in the adapter, a microcomputer and a switching element are mounted as the load driving component, and are connected to the conductors of the multiplex communication circuit.
A microcomputer is an IC that integrates an MPU for processing and a memory on a single chip. The microcomputer performs control for driving a load based on a control signal received by multiplex communication, and drives the load through a switching element. ing.
With the above configuration, multiplex communication control in the adapter is possible, and loads (lamps, heaters, motors, etc.) in devices can be driven.

  Further, the terminal welded to the conductor is protruded to the device-side connector portion and the harness-side connector portion, and the terminal is fitted and connected to the terminal of the communication circuit of the device-side connector and the harness-side connector. The adapter is directly attached to the device by fitting and connecting the device-side connector portion of the adapter to the device-side connector.

Specifically, a terminal welded to the conductor of the adapter substrate is protruded from the device-side connector portion and the harness-side connector portion to form a male terminal portion at the tip of the terminal.
Since the adapter can be directly attached to the device simply by fitting the device-side connector portion to the female terminal portion of the device-side connector directly attached to the device, the adapter and the device are not connected via a wire harness. In addition, it can be integrated into a compact and easy to handle. Moreover, when connecting with the connector of the wire harness side, it can attach easily only by connecting the harness side connector of an adapter, and the connector of the wire harness side.
Note that the terminal portions of the harness-side connector portion and the device-side connector portion may be a female type with a pressure contact slot cut out, and may be fitted and connected to the male terminals of the wire harness-side and device-side connectors.

Further, the present invention accommodates a board provided with a multiplex communication control circuit in which a multiplex communication circuit and a load driving component connected to the multiplex communication circuit are mounted in a housing, and the circuit of the board is connected to a harness side connector and With an adapter configured to connect to the circuit in the device side connector,
The adapter is fitted and connected to the connector part of the device, and the adapter is directly attached to the device and integrated,
The adapter is configured to be connected to a harness-side connector connected to a wire terminal of a wire harness routed in an automobile.

  As described above, the adapter incorporating the multiplex communication control circuit is separated from the device, and the adapter incorporating the multiplex communication control circuit can be generalized by assembling in advance to the device, and the device itself. There is no change to the configuration.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the adapter that accommodates the board including the multiplex communication control circuit in the housing can be handled as a single unit in a state of being attached in advance to the device side instead of the wire harness. The multiplex communication control circuit can be maintained with high reliability without being damaged, and the multiplex communication control function can be added to the conventional device without changing the structure of the device itself.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show a first embodiment of a multiplex communication connection device used for connecting a lighting device including a lamp and a wire harness.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (A), a harness-side connector portion 31 having a recess into which the harness-side connector 42 is fitted is provided on one side of the housing 33 of the adapter 30, and a device is provided on the other side. The apparatus side connector part 32 in which the recessed part with which the side connector 48 is fitted was formed is provided facing.

As shown in FIG. 2, a multiplex communication circuit A, a power supply circuit B, and a ground circuit C are provided inside the housing 33 with printed conductors formed on a substrate 37. The multiplex communication line Wa and the power supply line Wb on the wire harness side are provided. The harness side connector portion 31 and the harness side connector 42 are fitted to the ground wire Wc so as to be electrically connected.
The multiplex communication circuit A and the power supply circuit B are connected to the microcomputer 35 mounted on the substrate 37 and are connected to the switching element 36 to form a drive power supply circuit D controlled by multiplex communication. The power supply circuit D and the ground circuit C Are electrically connected to the circuit on the device side by fitting the device side connector portion 32 and the device side connector 38 together.
As described above, the substrate 37 includes a multiplex communication control circuit including the multiplex communication circuit A connected to the wire harness side communication line Wa, the microcomputer 35, the switching element 36, and the drive power supply circuit D controlled by multiplex communication. 34 is provided.

  At one end of the substrate 37, three terminal pins 38a, 38b, and 38c are welded in a state of being aligned with conductors that become the multiplex communication circuit A, the power supply circuit B, and the ground circuit C, respectively. . These three terminal pins 38a, 38b, and 38c are formed in an inverted L shape that is bent in the fitting direction with the harness-side connector 42 that is the mating connector, and the tips thereof are tab-shaped male terminal portions 38a-1 to 38a-1. 38c-1. These male terminal portions 38a-1, 38b-1, 38c-1 are fitted and connected to the female terminals 45 of the harness side connector 42 connected to the wire terminals of the wire harness. The female terminal 45 is provided with a press contact slot 45a for press-fitting the tab from the tip.

  Similarly, two terminal pins 40a and 40b are welded and connected to conductors serving as the multiplex communication control circuit D and the ground circuit C. These two terminal pins 40a and 40b are formed in an L shape bent in the fitting direction with the device side connector 48 which is a mating connector, and are provided with male terminal portions 40a-1 and 40b-1 at their tips. The device side connector portion 32 is protruded and is fitted and connected to the female terminal similar to the harness side of the device side connector 48.

  The harness-side connector 42 connected to the wire terminal of the wire harness accommodates the female terminal 45 connected to the terminal of the power line Wb, the communication line Wa, and the ground line Wc in a terminal accommodating chamber 44 provided in the housing 43. Yes.

  The lighting device 46 has a built-in circuit for lighting a lamp 47 as a load. The lighting device 46 is provided with a device-side connector 48, and a female terminal (shown) connected to an internal circuit protrudes from the device-side connector 48, and a male terminal portion that protrudes to the device-side connector portion 32 of the adapter 30. 41a-1 and 41b-1 are fitted and connected. The female terminal has the same shape as the female terminal 45 in the harness-side connector.

Next, the assembly of the adapter 30, the lighting device 46, and the harness side connector 42 will be described.
First, the device side connector 48 of the lighting device 46 is inserted into the recess of the device side connector portion 32 formed in the housing 33 of the adapter 30, and the male terminal portions 41 a-1 and 41 b-1 of the device side connector portion 32 and the device are connected. The female terminal of the side connector 48 is fitted.
In this manner, the adapter 30 is assembled to the lighting device 46, the circuit on the lighting device 46 side and the circuit on the adapter 30 side are connected, and the adapter 30 is integrated with the lighting device 46 as shown in FIG. The device module 100 is assembled as a unit.

In the automobile assembly line, after the wire harness is routed, the harness side connector 42 is connected to the harness side connector portion 31 of the adapter 30 with respect to the adapter 30 of the equipment module 100 in which the equipment 46 and the adapter 30 are integrated. Mating connection.
Thus, in the assembly line, as shown in FIG. 3, the wire harness W / H is connected to the device modules 100A, 100B, and 100C in which the adapters 30A, 30B, and 30C are assembled to the devices 46A, 46B, and 46C, respectively. The attached harness side connectors 42A, 42B, and 42C are fitted and connected.
That is, the harness side connector 42 is inserted into the recess of the harness side connector portion 31 of the adapter 30, and the male terminal portions 39 a-1, 39 b-1, 39 c-1 of the harness side connector portion 31 and the female terminals of the harness side connector 42. The power line Wb, the communication line Wa, and the ground line Wc of the wire harness 44 are connected to the multiplex communication circuit A, the power circuit B, and the ground circuit C on the adapter 30 side by fitting and connecting 45.

In the above-described configuration, the adapter 30 containing the board 37 having the multiplex communication control circuit 34 is provided separately from the harness-side connector 42 and the lighting device 46, while the device 46 and the adapter 30 are integrated by connector coupling, As assembled in advance.
In this way, since the adapter 30 accommodating the multiplex communication control circuit is assembled on the equipment side without being assembled on the wire harness side, the accommodated multiplex communication control circuit is less likely to be damaged, and highly reliable multiplex communication. Control functions can be retained.
In addition, since the connector is fitted and connected to the device, the adapter can be attached without changing the structure on the device side.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the adapter 30 is formed with the harness-side connector portion 31 that is detachably fitted and connected to the harness-side connector 42, so that it is integrated with the lighting device 46 in the automobile assembly line. The adapter 30 can be easily assembled to the harness side connector 42.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the multiplex communication connection apparatus of the present invention attached to a mirror heater whose load is a heater.
In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the device and the harness-side connector are not attached to the front and rear or left and right positions of the adapter, but are pre-assembled with the adapter 50 on the upper surface side of the mirror heater 56 as the device. It is modularized and the harness side connector 55 is attached to the upper surface of the adapter 50. Therefore, the harness side connector portion 51 formed in the adapter 50 is formed on the upper surface side of the housing 52, and the device side connector portion (not shown) is formed on the lower surface side of the housing 52.

The board 53 accommodated in the adapter 50 is provided with a multiplex communication control circuit provided by connecting a microcomputer and a switching element as load driving electronic components to the multiplex communication circuit, on a conductor printed on the upper surface of the board 53. The terminal pins 54a, 54b, and 54c are soldered in an aligned state and protruded to the harness side connector portion 51 having a recess. On the other hand, terminal pins 54d and 54e, which penetrate through the substrate 53 and are solder-connected to the conductor, protrude downward.
The tips of the terminal pins 54a to 54c protruding upward are tab-shaped male terminal portions, while the lower ends of the terminal pins 54d and 54e protruding downward are female terminal portions provided with pressure contact slots.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the harness-side connector 55 accommodates three female terminals connected to the power supply line, the communication line, and the GND line, and terminal pins 54 a, 54 b, 54 c protruding from the harness-side connector portion 51. The tip of this is fitted and connected to the male terminal.

  In addition, a circuit for driving a heater as a load is built in the housing of the mirror heater 56 on the device side, and a device-side connector 57 is provided in a recess 58 formed in the mirror heater 56. The device-side connector 57 is provided with two tab-shaped male terminal pins 59a and 59b for soldering to be connected to the circuit. The tips of the male pins 59a and 59b have a tab shape that fits into a female terminal portion formed in the device-side connector portion of the adapter 50.

Further, device mounting legs 60 project downward from the left and right sides of the housing of the adapter 50, and a lock claw 60a is formed at the tip.
On the other hand, the housing 62 of the mirror heater 56 is provided with a lock groove 61 for engaging the lock claw 60a.

Next, assembly of the adapter 50 having the above structure, the mirror heater 56, and the harness side connector 55 will be described.
First, when the two lock claws 60a of the adapter 50 are inserted and locked into the lock groove 61 on the mirror heater side, the terminal of the device side connector part and the terminal of the device side connector 57 are fitted and connected. As a result, the circuit on the mirror heater 56 side and the circuit on the adapter 50 side are connected to form the module 105 in a state where the adapter 50 is integrally assembled with the mirror heater 56 as shown in FIG.

  Since the harness-side connector portion 51 of the adapter 50 can be detachably fitted and connected to the harness-side connector 55, the male terminals 54a, 54b, 54c of the harness-side connector portion 51 and the harness side are arranged in the automobile assembly line. By fitting and connecting the female terminals of the connector 55, the power line, the communication line, and the ground line of the wire harness can be connected to the circuit on the adapter 50 side.

According to the above-described configuration, the adapter 50 containing the board 53 having the multiplex communication control circuit and the multiplex communication control circuit on which the microcomputer and the switching element as the load driving electronic components are mounted is provided with the device side connector and the connector provided in the device. Combined and combined with equipment to make a module.
Therefore, the circuit accommodated in the adapter 50 is not damaged, a highly reliable multiplex communication control function can be maintained, and the device-side connector portion of the adapter 50 is connected to the connector of the conventional device. As a result, it is possible to add a multiplex communication control function to the device, and there is no need to change the structure of the conventional device.

  Further, according to the above configuration, since the adapter 50 is also formed with the harness-side connector portion 51 that is detachably fitted and connected to the harness-side connector 55, it is integrated with the mirror heater 56 in advance in the automobile assembly line. The made adapter 50 can be easily assembled to the harness side connector 55.

(A) is an exploded perspective view of the multiplex communication connection device of the first embodiment of the present invention, (B) is a schematic perspective view of a substrate accommodated in the adapter, (C) is a terminal in the connector of the adapter and the harness side connector Schematic which shows the connection state with the terminal of this, (D) is a perspective view of the apparatus module which assembled | attached the adapter to the apparatus. It is a figure which shows the board | substrate structure of the board | substrate accommodated in the adapter. It is the schematic which shows the assembly | attachment of the adapter assembled | attached to the apparatus, and a harness side connector. (A) is the schematic of the multiplex communication connection apparatus of 2nd embodiment of this invention, (B) is the schematic when an adapter is assembled | attached to an apparatus. It is drawing which shows a prior art example. It is drawing which shows a prior art example. It is drawing which shows a prior art example. It is drawing which shows a prior art example. It is drawing which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

30, 50 Adapter 31, 51 Harness side connector part 32 Equipment side connector part 33, 52 Housing 34 Multiplexing communication control circuit 35 Microcomputer 36 Switching element 37, 53 Boards 38a, 38b, 38a, 40a, 40b Terminal pins 42, 55 Harness side Connector 43 Housing 46 Lighting device 47 Lamp 48, 57 Device side connector 54a, 54b, 54c, 59a, 59b Terminal pin 56 Mirror heater

Claims (3)

A harness-side connector connected to a wire terminal of a wire harness routed in an automobile;
A device-side connector attached to the device side mounted on the automobile;
The harness-side connector portion and the device-side connector portion that are respectively fitted to the harness-side connector and the device-side connector are formed in the housing, and are connected to the multiplex communication circuit and the multiplex communication circuit inside the housing. An adapter configured to accommodate a board provided with a multiplex communication control circuit including a load driving component and connect the circuit of the board to a harness side connector fitted to the connector portion and a circuit in the equipment side connector Prepared,
The device-side connector portion of the adapter is pre-fitted to the device-side connector and assembled integrally, and the harness-side connector is detachably fitted and connected to the harness-side connector portion of the adapter. A multiplex communication connection device characterized by the above. On the substrate of the adapter, the load driving component consisting of a microcomputer and a switching element is mounted and connected to the conductor of the multiplex communication circuit,
And the terminal welded or soldered to the conductor on the board is projected to the device side connector part and the harness side connector part, the terminal is fitted and connected to the terminal of the communication circuit of the device side connector and the harness side connector,
The multiplex communication connection according to claim 1, wherein the device-side connector is directly attached to the device, and the adapter is directly attached to the device by fitting and connecting the device-side connector portion of the adapter to the device-side connector. apparatus. A board having a multiplex communication control circuit including a multiplex communication circuit and a load driving component connected to the multiplex communication circuit is accommodated in a housing, and the circuit of the board is connected to a circuit in a harness side connector and a device side connector. It is equipped with an adapter configured to be connected,
The adapter is fitted and connected to the connector part of the device, and the adapter is directly attached to the device and integrated,
The said adapter is set as the structure connected with the harness side connector connected to the electric wire terminal of the wire harness routed in a motor vehicle.

Images