JP3274250B2 - Joint connector and joint terminal - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint connector for branching a trunk line to form a branch circuit, and a joint terminal used for the connector, in a wire harness used in an electric wiring system of an automobile or the like. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a joint connector for forming a branch circuit by branching a trunk line is provided by mounting a joint terminal, which is a connecting member, in a connector housing in which terminal portions of a primary side and a secondary side are housed. A connection is made, and a protective cover is provided on the connector housing from above.

[0003] In this case, the assembling workability is inferior.
No. 21107 was proposed. As shown in FIG. 10, the joint connector 50 according to this proposal has:
A housing 51 formed in the shape of a rectangular cylinder with a front opening and a bottom is provided with a flat rectangular terminal fitting groove 52 on the inner bottom. Terminal 54 provided with tab-like contact portion 53 disposed in
Is fitted. The joint terminal 54 connects the adjacent tab-shaped contact portions 53 with a connection band 55, and a locking portion 56 is provided on the opposite side of the tab-shaped contact portion 53 so as to protrude therefrom. The portion 56 and the connection band 55 are pressed into the terminal fitting groove 52.
The joint terminals 54 which are press-fitted into these terminal fitting grooves 52 are cut in a state where the chain-like terminals provided in a chain shape are connected with the tab-like contact portions 53 having the required number of poles, and the primary terminals to be connected are formed. It is divided and mounted according to the total number of side wires and secondary wires.

[0004] In the above-described joint connector 50, a joint terminal 54 in which a tab-shaped contact portion 53 formed in a chain with the connecting band 55 is cut in accordance with the required number of poles is provided as a thin housing as shown in FIG. A joint connector 58 housed in the section 57 was also used. This storage section 57
A groove 59 into which the joint terminal 54 is fitted.
The groove 59 is provided with an intermediate partition 60 through which only the tab-shaped contact portion 53 is inserted, and is formed so as to support a connection portion between the inserted tab-shaped contact portion 53 and the connection band 55. The joint terminal 54 is provided in the groove 59.
A partition wall 61 is provided at a position of a width corresponding to the number of poles of
It was formed so as to hold the joint terminal 54 housed in the housing part 57.

[0005]

However, all of the above-mentioned joint connectors have a configuration in which the former is inserted into the terminal fitting groove and the latter is inserted into the groove of the storage part. Sinking and warping are likely to occur when molding the part, which is inconvenient for assembling the joint terminal by an automatic machine. Furthermore, when the joint terminal is forcibly pressed into the terminal fitting groove of the housing or the groove of the housing where the sink or warp has occurred, the pitch of the joint terminal becomes unstable and the tips thereof become irregular, causing a pitch shift.
There is a problem that a contact failure of the tab-shaped contact portion occurs (see FIG. 13). In order to prevent this, the housing or the like may be formed using a material that is unlikely to cause sink marks and warpage, but it has a disadvantage that the cost is high and this is not a desirable measure.

In a joint connector using the latter storage section, the storage section 57 is provided with a partition wall 61 according to a change in the number of poles of the joint terminal 54 as shown in comparison with FIG. Therefore, when using a versatile chain-shaped terminal, when changing the circuit, it is necessary to change the case provided with the storage part that matches the pattern of each joint terminal each time, which increases the manufacturing cost There are also problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent sinks and warpage occurring in a housing and a terminal storage portion and to cope with the problem regardless of the number of poles of a joint terminal. A joint connector that can be pressed into the joint terminal without fail.
And a joint terminal used for the joint connector.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a joint connector according to the present invention cuts a bus bar formed in a chain into a predetermined number of poles and fits a joint terminal formed by this cutting. To separate adjacent joint terminals in the terminal mounting groove of the housing to be press-fitted
An interval corresponding to a predetermined pitch of the number of poles of the joint terminal
In the direction orthogonal to the mounting direction of the joint terminal
Projecting and the Joy when fitted and press-fitting of the joint terminal
A plurality of partition walls that are cut by a contact terminal . Further, the above object of the present invention is attained by a joint terminal used for the joint connector having the above-mentioned configuration, wherein a portion that comes into contact with the partition wall is provided in the shape of an acute-angled blade.

[0009]

[Operation] In the joint connector configured as described above, the partition wall in the terminal mounting groove portion provided in the housing can prevent sinks and warpage of the terminal mounting groove portion due to the molding of the housing. The formed bus bar is cut in accordance with the number of poles, and the cut joint terminal can be fitted and pressed into the terminal mounting groove in a constantly stable state. Then, by fitting and press-fitting the joint terminal, the partition wall is cut and acts so as to support the joint terminal.

Further, when another joint terminal fitted and press-fitted at an adjacent position is mounted across the partition wall, the joint terminal is separated by the partition wall. Blocking can also ensure electrical safety. Furthermore, since the terminal mounting groove is free of sink marks and warpage due to the partition wall, a joint connector maintained at a stable pitch can be obtained.

[0011]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention.
It will be explained by. In FIG. 1, a housing 2 of a joint connector 1 is a molded product of an insulating member having a rectangular tubular side wall 4 having an opening 3 at the front and a bottomed bottom 5 at the rear. The bottom portion 5 has a terminal mounting portion 6 protruding rearward, and a terminal mounting groove portion 7 provided rearward from the bottom portion 5 is formed in the terminal mounting portion 6. Further, the terminal mounting groove 7 is provided with a locking hole 9 according to the shape of the joint terminal 8 mounted in the groove.

The joint terminal 8 is, as shown in FIG.
The front end has a tab-shaped contact portion 10 having a substantially semicircular shape, and a connecting band 11 provided in the middle in the middle so that the connecting band 1
This is a joint terminal that is cut in accordance with the required number of poles from a chain-shaped bus bar 12 formed in a comb shape via the first bus bar 1. That is, the joint terminal 8 is obtained by separating the chain-shaped bus bar 12 indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2 from a position corresponding to the required number of poles. The connecting band 11 is provided with an edge that is in contact with a partition wall 15 described later in the shape of an acute angle blade.

The bus bar 12 is a terminal stamped by press molding or the like. The bus bar 12 is provided in the terminal mounting groove 7 behind (in FIG. 2) the connecting band 11 corresponding to an extension of each tab-shaped contact portion 10. Locking portions 13 fitted and pressed into the locking holes 9 are provided. Further, the space between the locking portion 13 and the connecting band 11 is slightly slender, and is formed so as to prevent a deviation after the locking portion 13 is fitted. This busbar 1
Numeral 2 is formed of a conductive metal thin plate, and the tab-shaped contact portion 10 maintains elasticity.

Returning to FIG. 1, the terminal mounting groove 7 has
Partition walls 15 are provided at intervals corresponding to the pole pitch of the joint terminals 8 so as to partition adjacent locking holes 9 from each other. In other words, the partition wall 15 projects from the mounting portion 6 toward the opening 3 at the position of the terminal mounting portion 6 where the connecting band 11 of the joint terminal 8 contacts, and the mounting direction of the joint terminal 8 is changed. The protruding tip is set to be slightly lower than the end face of the terminal mounting groove portion 7 so that the insertability of the joint terminal 8 is not deteriorated. It is provided as a partition wall 15 between eight.

The partition wall 15 is formed in a thin plate shape and is cut by the edge action of the connecting band 11 when the joint terminal 8 is press-fitted, and the cut partition wall 15 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is accommodated in the vicinity of the attachment portion between the locking portion 13 and the connection band 11, and is considered so as not to hinder the attachment of the joint terminal 8. Then, the partition wall 15 to which the joint terminal 8 does not contact is left as it is, and acts as an insulating wall between the adjacent joint terminals 8.

The joint terminals 8 are appropriately cut and mounted from the chain-shaped bus bars 12 according to the required number of poles. The partition walls 15 are provided corresponding to the pitch of the tab-shaped contact portions 10 of the joint terminals 8. Therefore, one partition wall 15 is always left between the attached joint terminals 8 irrespective of the required number of poles of the joint terminals 8.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the housing 2 of the joint connector 1 has a two-row configuration in which two terminal mounting grooves 7 of the joint terminals 8 are provided in parallel with each other. There is no difference even if two rows of terminal mounting grooves 7 are formed with respect to the joint terminal 8 provided in an annular shape. In addition, on the inner side surface of the side wall portion 4 in FIG. 1, a protruding surface portion protruding from the bottom portion 5 in the direction of the opening 3 is fitted into a concave surface portion of the other housing (not shown) assembled to the housing 1. The mating groove projections 16 prevent the fitting groove projections 16 from shifting in connection with the mating housing.

The housing 2 of the joint connector 1 is
As described above, the plurality of partition walls 15 functioning as ribs integrated with the terminal mounting groove 7 are provided in the mounting groove 7, so that sinks and warpage in the terminal mounting portion 6 generated at the time of molding the housing are prevented. it can. In the above embodiment, the partition wall 15 is provided in accordance with the number of poles of the joint terminal 8. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. A configuration may be provided, for example, every other pitch corresponding to the pitch of the tab-shaped contact portions 10. However, in such a configuration, there may be a case where the partition wall 15 does not exist between the adjacent joint terminals 8,
The occurrence of warpage or the like during molding of the housing 2 can be prevented.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a joint connector according to a second embodiment. In the figure, the joint connector 1A has a partition wall 15A in which a tab-shaped contact portion 10
At a position corresponding to every other pitch from the locking hole 9 to the terminal mounting groove 7.

The partition wall 15A is provided in a direction perpendicular to the mounting direction of the joint terminal 8 and is formed in a thin plate shape, as in the first embodiment, and is formed in a thin plate shape. At the time of press fitting, it is cut by the knife edge 13a (see FIG. 2) at the tip of the locking portion 13. Then, the cut partition wall 15A is housed between the locking hole 9 and the locking portion 13 as shown in FIG.
It is made so that it does not hinder the installation.

FIGS. 6 to 9 show a joint connector according to a third embodiment. 6, the joint connector 1B has a configuration in which a joint terminal 17 is fitted and press-fitted from the rear of the thin housing 2B. The thin housing 2B is a housing having a rectangular cylindrical shape. As shown in FIG. An inner partition 18 to which the terminal 17 is attached is provided on the inner side, and cutouts 19 corresponding to the width of the tab-shaped contact portion 10 of the joint terminal 17 are provided at equal intervals in the inner partition 18.

A boss portion 20 corresponding to a space provided between the tab-shaped contact portions 10 of the joint terminal 17 is formed in a portion adjacent to the cutout 19, and the boss portion 20 is formed on the boss portion 20. A partition wall 15B extending toward the terminal insertion side is provided. This partition wall 15B extends in the up-down direction of the housing 2B, and forms a storage portion 21 for storing the tab-shaped contact portion 10 of the joint terminal 17 one by one by the middle partition 18 and the partition wall 15B. are doing.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the joint terminal 17 is formed in a chain shape in which the tab-like contact portions 10 are arranged at one end of the connection band 11 at equal intervals. The knife edge 22 is provided at a chain position between the tab-shaped contact portion 10 and the connecting band 11.

By fitting and pressing the joint terminal 17 into the housing 2B formed as described above, as shown in FIG.
Is mounted by cutting a partition wall 15B provided on the housing 2B and abutting against the boss portion 20. Then, the partition wall 15B to which the joint terminals 17 are not attached keeps its state, and acts as an insulating wall between the joint terminals 17. The joint connector 1B shown in FIG. 9 has a four-pole joint terminal and a five-pole joint terminal mounted in the housing 2B.
Is exactly the same as that shown in FIG. In the above embodiment,
Although the description has been given based on the joint connector, the present invention can be applied to a part of a circuit such as a fuse box or a junction box.

[0025]

As described above, according to the joint connector of the present invention, a partition wall is provided in the terminal mounting groove to prevent sink and warp of the housing, and the joint wall is formed when the joint terminal is fitted and press-fitted. Since the joint terminal is cut, a joint connector can be realized in which the joint terminal can be mounted in the housing regardless of the number of poles of the terminal. In particular, according to the present invention, the occurrence of warpage or the like of the housing is prevented, so that the automatic assembly of the joint connector can be made advantageous. In addition, since the joint terminal is provided with a sharp edge at the portion of the connecting band that comes into contact with the partition wall, it is easy to press-fit the terminal into the terminal mounting groove, thereby improving workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A and 1B show a joint connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a front partial sectional view, and FIG. 1B is a side sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a chain-shaped bus bar mounted on the joint connector of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the joint connector of FIG. 1 with a joint terminal separated from the bus bar of FIG. 2;

4A and 4B show a joint connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 4A is a partial front sectional view, and FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the joint connector of FIG. 4 with a joint terminal separated from the bus bar of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a joint connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the housing of FIG. 6 with a joint terminal attached thereto.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view in which another joint terminal is mounted on the housing of FIG. 6;

10A and 10B show a conventional joint connector, and FIG.
Is a front partial sectional view, (B) is a side sectional view, and (C) is a main part horizontal sectional view.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of another conventional joint connector.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a modified example of the joint connector of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing deformation occurring in a housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A, 1B Joint connector 2 Housing 2B Thin housing 7 Terminal mounting groove 8 Joint terminal 9 Locking hole 12 Chain-shaped bus bar 15, 15A, 15B Partition wall 17 Joint terminal

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tadayoshi Nojiri 252 Kawashimada, Gotemba-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Yazaki Parts Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-61-277180 (JP, A) JP-A 63-171987 (JP) , U) Hira 4-42081 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 31/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A bus bar formed in a chain shape is cut into a predetermined number of poles, and an adjacent bus bar is inserted into a terminal mounting groove of a housing into which a joint terminal formed by the cutting is fitted and press-fitted .
To separate the joint terminals
At the interval corresponding to the predetermined pole pitch,
A joint connector comprising a plurality of partition walls protruding in a direction perpendicular to a mounting direction and being cut by the joint terminal when the joint terminal is fitted and press-fitted. 2. A joint terminal used in the joint connector according to claim 1, wherein a portion that comes into contact with the partition wall is provided in an acute blade shape.