JP3454698B2 - Joint connector for circuit branch - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a waterproof circuit branch joint connector using a plurality of pressure contact terminals for pressure-connecting electric wires, and particularly to a circuit branch joint connector suitable for branch connection of a wire harness. Involved in

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a joint connector having a waterproof function using pressure contact terminals is shown in FIG.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 49480. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5D, the joint connector 1 includes a connector case 2 in which pressure contact terminals 3 are housed in parallel,
A connector cover 4 mounted on the connector case 2 and covering each pressure contact terminal 3, a plurality of electric wires 5 pressure-connected to each pressure contact terminal 3, and a rubber plug 6 for sealing each electric wire 5
And a box-shaped storage case 7 into which an opening 7a is fitted on the outer peripheral portion of the rubber plug 6.

[0003]

However, in the conventional joint connector 1, since the plurality of pressure contact terminals 3 are simply accommodated in parallel in the connector case 2, each pressure contact terminal 3 is accommodated.
It is difficult to deal with various variations of the terminal arrangement with the same number of poles and the pitch between adjacent pressure contact terminals 3 is determined by the shape of the pressure contact terminal 3, so that the joint connector 1 can be made smaller. Was difficult to convert.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily cope with various variations of the terminal arrangement, and at the same time, the pitch between the press contact terminals can be narrowed to achieve the whole structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive circuit branch joint connector that can be further miniaturized.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] of claim 1 invention forms a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers in the connector housing, to the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers, accommodating the pressure contact terminal for press connecting wires respectively, the plurality The pressure contact terminals of the
It is integrally molded for every distance, and this connecting part is connected to the conductive part of the branch circuit and
In a circuit branch joint connector that serves as a positioning portion for terminals, the connecting portion is provided in the connector housing.
The connecting portion accommodation chamber to be accommodated is communicated with each of the terminal accommodation chambers.
And the pitch between the terminal accommodating chambers
Set it to half the pitch between each pressure contact terminal,
The pressure contact terminals are integrally molded in the chamber through the connecting part.
The pressure contact terminals of the pair of chain terminal groups are
So that each connecting part is overlapped and stored in the connecting part storage chamber.
Characterized by being flexible .

In this circuit branch joint connector,
Since a plurality of pressure contact terminals are integrally molded at the connecting portion and this connecting portion is used for the conductive portion of the branch circuit, etc., a circuit branching joint connector that can easily accommodate various terminal arrangement variations is provided at low cost. It Especially between each pressure contact terminal
Narrower pitch and smaller connector housing
The entire circuit branch joint connector is even smaller
Be converted.

[0007]

[0008]

[0009] According to a second aspect of the invention, a circuit branch joint connector according to claim 1, the positioning projections respectively formed in positions facing the terminal accommodating chambers of the connecting portion receiving chamber, each connecting portion Positioning holes are formed at positions facing the respective positioning protrusions.

In this circuit branch joint connector,
For the positioning protrusion of the connector housing chamber of the connector housing,
By fitting the positioning holes of the connecting portions of the pair of chain terminal groups, the pressure contact terminals of the pair of chain terminal groups can be positioned easily and reliably.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3, whereas a claim 1, 2 SL placing the circuit branch joint connector, coating each terminal accommodating chambers and the connecting portion receiving chamber of the connector housing with a cover, these connector housings A rubber plug is attached to the opening formed between the cover and the cover, and the connector housing, the cover, and the rubber plug are housed in a box-shaped case.

In this circuit branch joint connector,
The waterproof property of each terminal accommodating chamber and the connecting part accommodating chamber of the connector housing is improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the circuit branch joint connector according to the third aspect, a pair of chain terminal groups are overlapped with each other at a position of the cover that faces the connecting portion accommodating chamber of the connector housing. It is characterized in that a pressing protrusion for pressing each connecting portion is formed.

In this circuit branch joint connector,
The pressing protrusion of the cover strengthens the conductive state between the overlapping connecting portions of the pair of chain terminal groups.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view showing a state in which a pair of chain terminal groups are respectively housed in a connector housing of a circuit branch joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 (b) is the same. Sectional drawing of the circuit branch joint connector, FIG. 1 (c) is a front view of the circuit branch joint connector, and FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (e) are step-by-step assembly steps of the circuit branch joint connector. It is sectional drawing explaining.

1 (a), 1 (b), 1 (c) and 2
As shown in (d) and (e), the circuit branch joint connector 10 includes a plurality of (eg, 10) terminal accommodating chambers 1.
2 and a connector housing 11 made of a synthetic resin in which a connecting portion accommodating chamber 13 communicating with each terminal accommodating chamber 12 is formed.
And a pair of electrically conductive metal chain terminal groups 20 and 20 integrally formed with a plurality of pressure contact terminals 21 and chain pieces (coupling portions) 22 respectively accommodated in the terminal accommodating chambers 12 and the connecting portion accommodating chambers 13, Each pressure contact terminal 21 of each chain terminal group 20
Between the connector housing 11 and the cover 40, an electric wire 30 that is press-connected to the press-connecting blade 21a of the connector housing 40, a cover 40 made of synthetic resin that covers the terminal housing chamber 12 and the connection housing chamber 13 of the connector housing 11. A rubber plug 50 attached to the connector housing 11 on the opening side to seal the electric wire 30; and a box-shaped case 60 made of synthetic resin for housing the connector housing 11, the cover 40 and the rubber plug 50. It is composed of.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 2 (a), the connector housing 11 is formed in a substantially box shape with the upper surface side and the front surface side opened, and each terminal accommodating chamber 12 and connecting portion accommodating chamber 13 are formed. Are partitioned and formed in a concave shape by the partition walls 14 each having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. That is, the connecting portion accommodating chambers 13 are arranged orthogonal to the terminal accommodating chambers 12 arranged in parallel, and the base end side of each terminal accommodating chamber 12 communicates with the connecting portion accommodating chamber 13. . Also, the connector housing 1
Pitch (P) between adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 12, 12 of 1
Is set to half the pitch (2P) between the adjacent pressure contact terminals 21 and 21 of each chain terminal group 20. Further, at a position facing each terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the connecting portion accommodating chamber 13 of the connector housing 11, a positioning protrusion 15 having a substantially conical shape on the upper end side and a cylindrical shape on the base end side from the upper end side is integrally formed. .

As shown in FIG. 1A, each chain terminal group 2
In No. 0, a plurality (for example, five) of pressure contact terminals 21 are integrally formed in a substantially comb-like planar shape via chain pieces (connecting portions) 22 so as to be parallel at equal intervals. Each pressure contact terminal 21
A press-contact blade 21a for press-connecting and connecting the electric wire 30 is formed by bending or the like at substantially the center. In addition, the chain piece 22 of each chain terminal group 20 serves as a conductive portion of the branch circuit and a positioning portion for terminals. That is, a pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 are provided in each terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the connector housing 11.
The press-connecting terminals 21 are alternately housed (the press-connecting terminals 21 of the other chain terminal group 20 are located in the center between the adjacent press-connecting terminals 21 and 21 of the one chain terminal group 20) and the connector housing 11 A part of each chain piece 22 of the pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 is overlapped and housed in the connecting part housing chamber 13. As a result, the pressure contact terminals 21 of the chain terminal groups 20 are in conduction with each other. Further, a circular positioning hole 22a is formed at a position of each chain piece 22 facing each positioning protrusion 15 of the connecting portion housing chamber 13 of the connector housing 11. Then, by inserting the positioning holes 22a of the chain pieces 22 of the pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 into the respective positioning protrusions 15 of the connector housing 11, the pressure contact terminals 21 of the pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 are connected to each other. Positioning (positioning) is performed respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (c), 2 (d) and 2 (e), the cover 40 is formed in a rectangular plate shape which abuts on the upper end surface 11a of the peripheral wall of the connector housing 11. Further, the rubber plug 50 is formed with a plurality of electric wire sealing holes 51 for inserting and sealing the electric wire 30, and on the front side of the outer peripheral surface of the rubber plug 50, a ring 52 made of synthetic resin and having a substantially rectangular tube shape. Is fitted. Locking claws (locking portions) 52 a, 52 a are integrally formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the ring 52 so as to project. Further, the case 60 has a box shape with the front side opened, and the front side of the case 60 has a rubber plug 50 and a ring 5.
The wide portion 61 to which 2 is mounted is formed. This wide part 6
A rectangular engaging hole (engaging portion) 61a for engaging and disengaging the locking claw 52a is provided at a position facing the locking claw 52a of the first ring 52.
Has been formed.

When assembling the circuit branch joint connector 10 of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2A, first, each terminal accommodating chamber 12 of the connector housing 11 is assembled.
Also, the five pressure contact terminals 21 and the chain pieces 22 of the one chain terminal group 20 are housed in the connecting portion housing chamber 13. At this time, the positioning holes 22a of the chain pieces 22 of the chain terminal group 20 are fitted into the respective positioning protrusions 15 of the connecting portion accommodation chamber 13. As a result, the pressure contact terminals 21 of the chain terminal group 20 are easily and reliably positioned. Thereafter, the five pressure contact terminals 21 and the chain pieces 22 of the other chain terminal group 20 are similarly positioned and housed in the respective terminal housing chambers 12 and the connecting portion housing chambers 13 of the connector housing 11. As a result, the chain pieces 22, 22 of the pair of chain terminals 20, 20 are overlapped with each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the rubber plug 5
The electric wire 30 inserted through the electric wire seal hole 51 of No. 0 is connected to the press contact blade 21a of each press contact terminal 21 from above by press contact. afterwards,
As shown in FIG. 2 (c), the upper opening side of the connector housing 11 is covered with the cover 40, as shown in FIG. 2 (d), these connector housing 11 and the cover 40 and the rubber plug 50 in case 60 When accommodated, as shown in FIG. 2E, the locking claws 52a of the synthetic resin ring 52 of the rubber stopper 50 are locked in the respective engagement holes 61a of the case 60,
Assembly of the circuit branch joint connector 10 having a waterproof function is completed.

As described above, the chain piece 22 as a connecting portion of each chain terminal group 20 having the five pressure contact terminals 21 is used as a joint, that is, a conductive portion of a branch circuit and a positioning portion for terminals, and Since it is possible to deal with the required number of poles of the pressure contact terminals 21 by cutting a predetermined position of the chain piece 22, it is possible to easily deal with various variations of the terminal arrangement. This is shown in FIG.
As in the other embodiments shown in (a) and (b), one of the chain terminal groups 20 'has three pressure contact terminals 21 and the other chain terminal group 20''has two pressure contact terminals 21. It is also understood from the fact that the circuit branch joint connector 10 'having a total of five poles can be easily assembled by cutting the predetermined position of each chain piece 22.

Further, each chain terminal group 20, 20 ', 20 "
The hole for feeding the terminal at the time of molding
Since it is also used as 2a, each chain terminal group 20, 2
0 ', 20 "can be manufactured at low cost. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 3 (a), the pitch (P) between adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 12 of the connector housing 11 can be reduced. The pitch (2
P), and each pressure contact terminal 2 in each terminal accommodating chamber 12
The connector housing 11 is formed by stacking the chain pieces 22 so that the pressure contact terminals 21 of the pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 or 20 ', 20 "formed by integrally molding 1 through the chain pieces 22 are alternately accommodated. Since it can be accommodated in the connecting portion accommodating chamber 13 communicating with the respective terminal accommodating chambers 12, the pitch between the adjacent pressure contact terminals 21 and 21 is made the same as the pitch between the adjacent terminal accommodating chambers 12 to narrow the pitch. As a result, the connector housing 11 can be downsized, and the circuit branch joint connectors 10 and 1 can be achieved.
The entire 0'can be made smaller and thinner. Furthermore, the connector housing 11 and the cover 40
Since the rubber stopper 50 is housed in the box-shaped case 60, and the locking claws 52a of the synthetic resin ring 52 of the rubber stopper 50 are locked in the respective engaging holes 61a of the wide portion 61 of the case 60, The waterproofness of each terminal accommodating chamber 12 and the connecting portion accommodating chamber 13 of the housing 11 can be improved.

FIG. 4 (a) is a sectional view showing a state before a cover is attached to the connector housing of the circuit branch joint connector of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 (b) is the circuit branch joint connector. It is sectional drawing which shows an assembly completion state. In this another embodiment, the chain pieces (connecting portions) 22, 22 to be overlapped with each other are provided at positions of the cover 40 facing the connecting portion accommodation chamber 13 of the connector housing 11.
It differs from each of the above-described embodiments in that a plurality of pressing protrusions 41 for pressing each other are integrally formed. Since other configurations are the same as those of the above-described respective embodiments, the same reference numerals are given and detailed description will be omitted.

That is, the pressing protrusion 41 of the cover 40 is integrally formed so as to project at a position facing the center between the positioning protrusions 15 of the connecting portion accommodating chamber 13. The pressing projections 41 cause the chain pieces 22, 22 in which the pair of chain terminal groups 20, 20 (or 20 ', 20 ") are superposed.
It is possible to surely press each other, and it is possible to strengthen the conductive state of the overlapped chain pieces 22, 22.

According to the above-described embodiments, the circuit branch joint connector suitable for branch connection of the wire harness as the automobile assembled wire has been described, but the application is limited to the branch connection of the wire harness. Of course, it is not a thing.

[0028]

[0029]

As described above , according to the invention of claim 1 , the pitch between the terminal accommodating chambers of the connector housing is set to half the pitch between the pressure contact terminals, and a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are provided. It can be housed in the joint housing chamber that communicates with each terminal housing chamber of the connector housing by stacking the joint parts so that the crimp terminals of the pair of chain terminal groups formed by integrally molding the crimp terminals can be accommodated alternately. Therefore, the pitch between the press contact terminals can be narrowed and the size of the connector housing can be reduced, and the size of the entire circuit branch joint connector can be further reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the pair of chains is formed by a simple operation of fitting the positioning holes of the connecting portions of the pair of chain terminal groups into the positioning protrusions of the connecting portion accommodation chamber of the connector housing. The pressure contact terminals of the terminal group can be positioned easily and reliably.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, each terminal accommodating chamber and connecting portion accommodating chamber of the connector housing are covered with a cover, and a rubber stopper is provided on the opening side formed between the connector housing and the cover. Since the connector housing, the cover, and the rubber plug can be housed in the box-shaped case while being attached, the waterproofness of the terminal housing chamber and the connecting portion housing chamber of the connector housing can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the connecting projections of the pair of chain terminal groups are reliably overlapped with each other by the pressing projection of the cover provided at the position facing the connection housing chamber of the connector housing of the cover. It is possible to press, and it is possible to strengthen the conductive state between the overlapping connecting portions of the pair of chain terminal groups.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view, partly in section, showing a state in which a pair of chain terminal groups are housed in a connector housing of a circuit branch joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is the same circuit branch joint. Sectional drawing of a connector, (c) is a front view of the same circuit branch joint connector.

2A is a sectional view showing a state before the chain terminal group and the rubber plug are attached to the connector housing, FIG. 2B is a sectional view showing a state after the attachment, and FIG. 2C is the connector housing. Sectional view showing the state before attaching the cover to
(D) is sectional drawing which shows the state before accommodating the same connector housing and cover in a case, (e) is sectional drawing which shows the same assembly completion state.

FIG. 3 (a) is a plan view showing, in a partial cross section, a state in which a pair of chain terminal groups are housed in a connector housing of a circuit branch joint connector according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 (b) is the same circuit branch. FIG. 5 is a front view of a joint connector for a vehicle.

4A is a sectional view showing a state before a cover is attached to a connector housing of a circuit branch joint connector according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is an overall sectional view after completion of the assembly. is there.

5A is a perspective view of a rubber plug used in a conventional joint connector, FIG. 5B is an exploded perspective view of the joint connector, and FIG. 5C is a connector case of the joint connector and a storage case for a connector cover. Is a perspective view showing a state before being fitted, and FIG. 3D is a perspective view showing a completed assembled state of the joint connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10 'Circuit branch joint connector 11 Connector housing 12-terminal housing chamber 13 Connection part accommodation room 15 Positioning protrusion 20, 20 ', 20 "chain terminal group 21 Pressure contact terminal 22 Chain piece (connecting part) 22a Positioning hole 30 electric wires 40 cover 41 Pressing protrusion 50 rubber stopper 60 cases

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are formed in a connector housing, and crimping terminals for crimping and connecting electric wires are respectively accommodated in the plurality of terminal accommodating chambers, and the plurality of crimping terminals are connected.
It is integrally molded at predetermined intervals via the joints, and the joints are separated.
In a circuit branch joint connector which is a conductive portion of a branch circuit and a positioning portion for terminals , a joint in which the joint portion is accommodated in the connector housing
The part accommodating chamber is formed so as to communicate with each of the terminal accommodating chambers.
In addition, the pitch between the terminal accommodating chambers is set between the pressure contact terminals.
Set to half of the pitch of the
A pair of chain ends integrally formed by connecting the pressure contact terminals of
Connect each crimping terminal of the child group so that each crimping terminal is housed alternately.
A joint connector for circuit branching, wherein parts are overlapped with each other and can be housed in the connecting part housing chamber . 2. The circuit branch joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the joint connector is located at a position facing each terminal accommodating chamber of the connecting part accommodating chamber.
The protrusions are respectively formed, and the positions of the connecting portions are
A joint connector for circuit branching, characterized in that a positioning hole is formed at a position facing the locating protrusion . 3. The circuit branch joint connector according to claim 1 , wherein each terminal accommodating chamber and connecting portion accommodating chamber of the connector housing are accommodated.
While covering the chamber with a cover, these connector housings
Attach a rubber stopper to the opening formed between the cover and the cover.
And the connector housing, cover and rubber stopper.
A joint connector for circuit branch, characterized in that it can be housed in a box-shaped case . 4. The circuit branch joint connector according to claim 3 , wherein the joint housing chamber of the connector housing of the cover is provided.
At a position facing each other, a pair of chain terminal groups are overlapped with each other.
A joint connector for circuit branching, characterized in that a pressing protrusion for pressing the connecting portions is formed .