JP2009266603A - Grounding joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grounding joint connector to be connected with a wire harness terminal, which has a simplified structure and moreover has a versatility for circuit connection. <P>SOLUTION: The joint connector 10 includes a housing body 12 having a plurality of penetrated cavities 14 through which terminals 51 each connected with terminals of a plurality of cables 50 are inserted, a rear rid 13 fixed on a back face 12b of the housing body 12 opposite to a terminal insertion side of the cavities 14, and a joint bus bar 21 which is fixed on the rear rid 13 and through which a plurality of terminal portions 23 extruded in each of the cavities 14 are extruded out from an inner face of the rear rid 13, and one terminal 42 of a grounding wire 40 of which the other end is connected with a grounding terminal 41 is coupled with a grounding cable connecting terminal portion 24 extruded out from one end of the joint bus car 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an earth joint connector, and more particularly to an earth joint connector connected to a terminal of a wire harness routed in an automobile.

Many earth joint connectors for wire harnesses have been proposed.
For example, the ground joint connector 1 shown in FIG. 10 proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-84565 is formed by male and female mating connection with the counterpart harness connector 7 connected to the terminals of a plurality of ground wires w branched from the harness. The plurality of ground wires w are collectively connected to the ground.

  That is, the connector housing 2 of the earth joint connector 1 is a female connector housing provided with a fitting recess 3 for fitting the counterpart harness connector 7. The joint terminal 4 is accommodated and fixed in the female connector housing 2. A plurality of male tabs 5 protruding from one end side of the joint terminal 4 are projected into the fitting recess 3, and the male tabs 5 are accommodated in the male connector housing 8 of the mating harness connector 7. The female terminal 9 is fitted and connected. The other end of the joint terminal 4 is connected to a ground terminal 6 fixed to a required ground portion such as a vehicle body, and the ground terminal 6 is led out of the female connector housing 2.

  However, in the structure as described above, since two separate parts of the ground joint connector 1 and the harness connector 7 having different housings are required for the collective ground connection of a plurality of ground wires w, the number of parts is large. Therefore, there is a problem in that the cost is high and the weight and installation space are increased.

The ground joint connector 1 has a ground terminal 6 coupled to the joint terminal 4 protruding outside the housing 2 and is therefore a dedicated connector for the ground joint, and is not suitable for use as a circuit connection connector. Lack of sex.
Furthermore, since the ground joint connector 1 cannot separate the joint terminal 4 from the housing 2, even if the circuit configuration is changed, it is not possible to cope with the replacement of the joint terminal 4 alone, and the entire connector 1 must be changed or replaced. From this point, there is a problem that the cost becomes high.

JP-A-6-84565

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts required for joint connection of a plurality of electric wires, to reduce the size and weight, and to improve versatility and adaptability to circuit changes. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an earth joint connector capable of reducing the cost.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a housing body having a plurality of cavities through which terminals connected respectively to a plurality of wire terminals branched from a group of wires constituting a wire harness are inserted;
A back cover attached to the back surface of the housing body opposite to the terminal insertion side of the cavity;
A plurality of terminal portions projecting into the respective cavities are projected from the substrate portion, and insert molding is performed at the time of molding the back cover so that the terminal portions protrude from the back cover inner surface, or provided on the inner surface of the back cover. A joint bus bar having the terminal portion protruding by inserting and locking the substrate portion into the fitting groove;
A ground wire connection terminal portion projects from one end of the substrate portion of the joint bus bar, and a ground wire connection is made between the housing body or the housing body and a back cover at a position facing the ground wire connection terminal portion. Make a mouth,
Provided is an earth joint connector characterized in that a terminal of the other end of an earth wire having an earth terminal connected to one end is inserted into the earth wire connecting port and fitted and connected to the earth wire connecting terminal portion. ing.

  The ground joint connector configured as described above has a function as a conventional harness connector and a plurality of terminal portions projectingly provided in one housing by providing a plurality of cavities for inserting terminals connected to the wire terminals. By providing the joint bus bar, it is possible to provide a function as a conventional joint connector. Therefore, the joint connection is completed in one housing by inserting the terminals connected to the plurality of electric wire terminals into the cavity and fitting and connecting with the terminal portions. Therefore, there is no need for a male connector and a female connector with different housings as in the prior art, and the number of parts can be reduced to reduce costs, and the weight and size can be reduced.

  The ground joint connector of the present invention functions as a ground joint connector when the ground wire terminal inserted from the ground wire connection port is connected to the ground wire connection terminal portion of the joint bus bar. Further, when the ground wire is connected to the other end side of the connected electric wire without connecting the ground wire to the ground wire connecting terminal portion, it can be used as an earth joint connector for earth circuit connection. Therefore, it can be selectively selectively used as an earth joint connector or as a joint connector for earth circuit connection depending on the presence or absence of earth wire connection. Therefore, the versatility of the ground joint connector can be improved, and the cost can be reduced also from this point.

In the housing body, a plurality of the cavities are arranged in parallel in the same row, or a plurality of rows in which the plurality of cavities are arranged in parallel are provided,
The joint bus bar includes one joint bus bar provided with the terminal portions protruding into all the cavities, or a plurality of joint bus bars provided with the terminal portions protruding into a plurality of cavities.
When a plurality of joint bus bars are provided, a plurality of circuits that are electrically independent from each other can be formed in one housing, so that various circuit configurations can be supported.

  Of the plurality of joint bus bars, one joint bus bar is an earth joint bus bar provided with the terminal portion for connecting the ground wire, and the other joint bus bar is a joint bus bar for circuit connection. A joint part may be provided.

Preferably, the back cover is detachably attached to the back surface of the housing body, and the joint bus bar fixed to the back cover can be changed according to the circuit configuration.
As a result, changes in the circuit configuration can be handled by replacing the back cover integrated with the joint bus bar, or by replacing only the joint bus bar, and there is no need to change or replace the entire connector including the housing body. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly cope with the change in the circuit configuration and to suppress the cost associated with the change.

As described above, according to the present invention, the housing main body is attached with the back cover to which the joint bus bar is fixed, and the terminal portions projecting from the joint bus bar are projected into the respective cavities, and provided in the housing main body. A plurality of electric wires can be jointly connected via the joint bus bar by inserting a terminal connected to the electric wire end into the cavity and fitting and connecting with the terminal portion of the joint bus bar.
Therefore, the joint connection is completed in one housing, instead of connecting the joint connector and the harness connector, which are different from each other, in a different housing as in the prior art. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the installation space can be reduced and the weight can be reduced by downsizing.

  The other end side terminal of the ground wire to which the ground terminal is connected is used as an earth joint connector connected to the ground wire only by connecting to the ground wire connecting terminal portion protruding from the joint bus bar. The use as a joint connector for ground circuit connection can be selectively used selectively. Therefore, the range of use of one type of joint connector can be expanded.

  In addition, the back cover with the joint bus bar fixed is detachably attached to the housing body, so there is no need to change or replace the entire connector to change the circuit configuration. Replacement of the back cover integrated with the joint bus bar or joint Since this can be easily handled by replacing only the bus bar, the cost can be reduced from this point.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 4 show a ground joint connector 10 (hereinafter abbreviated as joint connector 10) according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The joint connector 10 is a joint connector for grounding that collectively connects a plurality of harness-side ground wires 50 branched from a group of wires constituting a wire harness of an automobile to the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 11 of the joint connector 10 includes a housing body 12 and a back cover 13 both made of insulating resin.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the housing main body 12 includes six cavities 14 into which the female terminals 51 of the six harness-side ground wires 50 are inserted, and the cavities 14 are provided with the female terminals 51. Are opened on the insertion side surface 12a (upper surface in the illustrated example). The six cavities 14 have three rows arranged in two stages.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface of the cavity 14 is partitioned by a bottom wall 15, and a terminal through hole 16 through which a male terminal portion 23 of a joint bus bar 21 described later passes through the bottom wall 15, one for each cavity 14. Forming. The bottom wall 15 is formed above a rear surface 12b (the lower surface in the illustrated example) opposite to the terminal insertion side surface 12a of the housing main body 12, and when the back cover 13 is attached to the housing main body 12, the bottom cover 15 and the bottom wall 15 are formed. A space 17 can be formed between the wall 15 and the wall 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, a recess 18 for inserting a ground wire is formed on one side surface of the housing main body 12 by notching from the lower end surface.
Further, a locked frame portion 20a that locks a lock claw 20b of the back cover 13 to be described later protrudes from a position below a pair of opposing side surfaces of the housing main body 12 where the ground wire insertion recess 18 is not formed. is doing.

  The back surface 12b of the housing body 12 is closed by a back cover 13 as shown in FIGS. A joint bus bar 21 is fixed to the back cover 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the joint bus bar 21 has three tab-like male terminal portions 23 erected in the same direction on each side edge from opposite side edges of the flat plate-like substrate portion 22. A ground wire connecting terminal portion 24 protrudes from one side edge where the male terminal portion 23 is not erected. The ground wire connecting terminal portion 24 is bent from one side edge of the substrate portion 22 and raised in the same direction as the male terminal portion 23, and then bent outward to extend in parallel with the substrate portion 22. It has a cross-sectionally inverted L shape.

  The joint bus bar 21 is fixed to the back cover 13 by insert molding, and the male terminal portion 23 and the ground wire connecting terminal portion 24 are projected from the inner surface of the back cover 13 as shown in FIG.

On the pair of opposing side surfaces of the back cover 13, a lock claw 20 b that is inserted and locked into the locked frame portion 20 a of the housing body 12 is provided so as to protrude upward.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a clamp portion 25 protrudes downward on the outer surface side (lower surface side) of the back cover 13.

FIG. 4 shows a ground connection procedure using the joint connector 10 having the above-described configuration.
First, a back cover 13 is attached to the back surface 12 b of the housing body 12, and the six male terminal portions 23 projecting from the inner surface of the back cover 13 are inserted into the terminal through holes 16 provided in the bottom wall 15 of the six cavities 14. Insert and project into each cavity 14 one by one. Similarly, the ground wire connection terminal portion 24 projecting from the inner surface of the back cover 13 is positioned in the space 17 between the bottom wall 15 of the housing body 12 and the back cover 13, and its tip 24 a is connected to the ground. It faces the ground wire connection port 19 formed by being surrounded by the wire insertion recess 18 and the back cover 13.
As shown in FIG. 3, the back cover 13 and the housing main body 12 are locked and coupled by inserting and locking the lock claw 20 b of the back cover 13 into the locked frame portion 20 a of the housing main body 12.

  Next, the vehicle body side ground wire 40 is connected to the ground wire connecting terminal portion 24 of the joint bus bar 21. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the vehicle body-side ground wire 40 has a ground terminal 41 connected to one end and a female terminal 42 connected to the other end, and the female terminal 42 is connected to the ground wire. It is inserted into the housing 11 from the connection port 19 and fitted and connected to the ground wire connecting terminal portion 24.

  Next, the female terminal 51 connected to the terminal of each harness side ground wire 50 is inserted into the cavity 14 of the housing body 12, and the female terminal 51 and the male terminal portion 23 in the cavity 14 are fitted as shown in FIG. In combination, the six harness-side ground wires 50 and the joint bus bar 21 are electrically connected.

The joint connector 10 assembled to the wire harness as described above inserts and locks the clamp 25 of the back cover 13 assembled to the housing body 12 into the mounting hole of the vehicle body panel (not shown) when mounted on the automobile. The joint connector 10 is fixed to the vehicle body. The ground terminal 41 of the vehicle body side ground wire 40 is fastened and fixed to the ground point of the vehicle body with a bolt 45.
Thereby, the six harness-side ground wires 50 connected to each other through the joint bus bar 21 in the housing 11 of the joint connector 10 can be collectively connected to the vehicle body.

  As described above, when the joint connector 10 is used, since the joint connection of each ground wire 50 is completed in one housing 11, the ground joint connector and the harness connector having different housings are connected by male and female. Compared to the above, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. Further, the weight and size can be reduced, and the installation space for the joint connector can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, the joint connector 10 of the present invention is configured such that the joint connector 10 is connected to the ground circuit by disconnecting the ground wire 40 from the ground wire connecting terminal portion 24 of the joint bus bar 21. Can be used as Alternatively, it can also be used as a splice-forming joint connector.
That is, one joint connector 10 can be selectively used as an earth joint connector, a joint connector for connecting an earth circuit, or a joint connector for a splice according to the application, improving versatility and reducing costs. be able to.

  Furthermore, when a circuit change occurs, only the back cover 13 and the joint bus bar 21 need to be replaced, and the entire connector 10 including the housing body 12 does not need to be replaced / changed. In addition, the cost can be reduced.

6 to 8 show a joint connector 10-1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
The joint connector 10-1 is used to jointly connect a plurality of electric wires 52a to 52f branched from the electric wire group constituting the wire harness. Female terminals 53a to 53f connected to the ends of the electric wires 52a to 52f are inserted into the six cavities 14a to 14f.

  In the present embodiment, the ground joint bus bar 31 and the circuit connection joint bus bar 32 are fixed to the inner surface side of the back cover 13 attached to the back surface 12b of the housing body 12 so as to be separated from each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the earth joint bus bar 31 has three tab-shaped male terminal portions 35 erected in parallel from one side edge of the plate-shaped substrate portion 33. A ground wire connecting terminal portion 37 is projected from one side edge where the male terminal portion 35 is not erected. The parallel position and parallel direction of the male terminal portion 35 correspond to the parallel position and parallel direction of the cavities 14a to 14c.
The ground connection terminal portion 37 has an L-shaped cross section similar to the ground connection terminal portion 24 of the first embodiment. However, unlike the first embodiment, a vehicle body side ground wire is connected. Not.

  The other circuit connection joint bus bar 32 has three tab-shaped male terminal portions 36 standing in parallel from one side edge of the flat plate-shaped substrate portion 34, but is not provided with a ground wire connection terminal portion. . The parallel position and parallel direction of the male terminal portion 36 correspond to the parallel position and parallel direction of the cavities 14d to 14f.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ground joint bus bar 31 and the circuit connection joint bus bar 32 are configured to insert the respective board portions 33 and 34 into the fitting grooves 26 and 27 formed on the inner surface side of the back cover 13. The male terminal portions 35 and 36 and the ground connection terminal portion 37 are protruded from the inner surface of the back cover 13.

  When the back cover 13 is attached to the housing body 12, the male terminal portion 35 of the earth joint bus bar 31 protrudes into the cavities 14a to 14c and is fitted and connected to the female terminals 53a to 53c of the electric wires 52a to 52c. The connection joint bus bar 36 protrudes into the cavities 14d to 14f and is fitted and connected to the female terminals 53d to 53f of the electric wires 52d to 52f.

  On the side wall of the housing body 12, a ground wire insertion recess 18 is formed by notching from the lower end at a position facing the protruding direction of the ground wire connecting terminal portion 37 of the ground joint bus bar 31. As a result, when the back cover 13 is attached to the housing body 12, as shown in FIG. 8, the ground wire connection port 19 is formed at a position surrounded by the ground wire insertion recess 18 and the back cover 13. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the joint connector 10-1 uses the ground joint bus bar 31 as a circuit connection joint bus bar by not connecting the ground wire to the ground wire connection terminal portion 37 of the ground joint bus bar 31. ing. In one housing 11, the three electric wires 52 a, 52 b, 52 c are joint-connected via the earth joint bus bar 31, and the other three electric wires 52 d, 52 e, 52 f are connected via the circuit-connecting joint bus bar 32. And two joint connections can be performed which are electrically connected to each other.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the joint connector 10-1 is connected to the ground 11 in one housing 11 by a simple operation of connecting the ground wire 40 to the ground wire connecting terminal portion 37 of the ground joint bus bar 31. The joint portion for circuit and the joint portion for circuit connection can be provided.
In this case, the female terminals 51a to 51c of the harness side ground wires 50a to 50c are inserted into the cavities 14a to 14c, and the female terminals 53a to 53c of the normal electric wires 52a to 52c are inserted into the cavities 14d to 14f. The ground wires 50a to 50c can be jointly connected via the ground joint bus bar 31 to be collectively grounded to the vehicle body, and the electric wires 52a to 52c can be jointly connected via the circuit connection joint bus bar 32.

As described above, the joint connector 10-1 can form a plurality of circuits independent from each other, so that it can cope with various circuit configurations, and partially selects a use as a ground joint connector or a use as a joint connector for circuit connection. Therefore, the range of use can be further expanded.
In addition, since the joint bus bars 31 and 32 are detachably fixed to the back cover 13, it is possible to cope with the circuit change only by exchanging the joint bus bars 31 and 32, and further cost reduction can be achieved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. Some cavities 14 may not have terminals inserted. The ground wire connection port 19 may be formed through the side wall of the housing body 12.

It is a disassembled perspective view of the joint connector which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of a joint bus bar. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the state which attached the back cover to the housing main body. It is front view cross-section explanatory drawing which shows the structure in a housing. It is a perspective view which shows the other usage example of the joint connector which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the joint connector which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which fixed the joint bus bar to the back cover shown in FIG. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the state which attached the back cover to the housing main body of the joint connector shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other usage example of the joint connector which concerns on 2nd embodiment. It is a figure which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 10-1 Joint connector 12 Housing main body 13 Back cover 14, 14a-14f Cavity 19 Ground wire connection port 21, 31, 32 Joint bus bar 22, 33, 34 Substrate part 23, 35, 36 (male) terminal part 24, 37 Ground wire connection terminal portion 40 Car body side ground wire 41 Ground terminal 42 Female terminal 50, 50a to 50c Harness side ground wire (electric wire)
51, 53 (female) terminals 52, 52a to 52f

Claims (4)

A housing main body having a plurality of cavities for inserting terminals respectively connected to a plurality of electric wire terminals branched from the electric wire group constituting the wire harness;
A back cover attached to the back surface of the housing body opposite to the terminal insertion side of the cavity;
A plurality of terminal portions projecting into the respective cavities are projected from the substrate portion, and insert molding is performed at the time of molding the back cover so that the terminal portions protrude from the back cover inner surface, or provided on the inner surface of the back cover. A joint bus bar having the terminal portion protruding by inserting and locking the substrate portion into the fitting groove,
A ground wire connection terminal portion projects from one end of the substrate portion of the joint bus bar, and a ground wire connection is made between the housing body or the housing body and a back cover at a position facing the ground wire connection terminal portion. Make a mouth,
A ground joint connector, wherein a terminal of the other end of a ground wire having a ground terminal connected to one end is inserted into the ground wire connection port and is fitted and connected to the terminal portion for ground wire connection. In the housing body, a plurality of the cavities are arranged side by side in the same row, or a plurality of rows in which the plurality of cavities are arranged in parallel are provided,
2. The joint bus bar according to claim 1, wherein the joint bus bar includes one joint bus bar including the terminal portions protruding into all the cavities or a plurality of joint bus bars including the terminal portions protruding into a plurality of cavities. Earth joint connector.   3. The joint bus bar of the plurality of joint bus bars is an earth joint bus bar having the ground wire connecting terminal portion, and the other joint bus bar is a joint bus bar for connecting an earth circuit or a splice circuit. The ground joint connector described in 1.   The ground joint according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the back cover is detachably attached to the back surface of the housing body, and the joint bus bar fixed to the back cover can be changed according to a circuit configuration. connector.

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