JP4531572B2 - Joint connector for wire harness - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a joint connector for a wire harness that is wound and fixed around a wire harness routed in an automobile or the like and electrically connects electric wires included in the wire harness.

  Conventionally, for a joint connector that electrically interconnects electric wires included in a wire harness, an adhesive tape is wound around the connector and the body portion of the wire harness to fix the connector to the wire harness body portion. Is often performed (Patent Document 1).

For example, in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 of Patent Document 1 below, female terminals are respectively fixed to ends of a plurality of electric wires included in the wire harness, and these female terminals are male terminals for interconnection provided on the joint connector. And the joint connector is fixed to the main body portion of the wire harness by tape winding.
JP-A-8-79948 (pages 2 and 3, FIGS. 5 and 6)

  As the number of wires to be interconnected as described above increases, the joint connector also increases in size, and it becomes difficult to tape the wire harness body. Even if the tape is wound, the joint connector may greatly protrude in the radial direction from the wire harness main body, which may hinder wiring or the like.

  In FIGS. 1 to 4 of Patent Document 1, a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers are arranged on the outer periphery of a band wound around a wire harness, and one electric wire side terminal can be inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber. In such a configuration, the inserted terminals are electrically connected to each other via a conductive thin plate included in the band. However, even in such a configuration, the number of electric wires that can be connected is limited. Circuit design is also significantly restricted. In addition, since each wire-side terminal is inserted into each terminal accommodating chamber at the site with the wire harness already assembled, the work is extremely troublesome when the number of wires is large. Become. Moreover, since the terminal accommodating chamber is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the band that is bent with the same curvature as the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness body, the terminal insertion operation into the terminal accommodating chamber is also a terminal to the normal connector housing. It becomes more difficult than insertion.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention makes it possible to electrically interconnect a plurality of electric wires included in a wire harness without increasing the size of the connector itself, and in addition, the main body of the wire harness. It aims at providing the joint connector for wire harnesses which can be fixed in the stable state on an outer peripheral surface.

As means for solving the problems, the present invention provides a plurality of unit connectors in which a plurality of connector terminals are held by a connector housing, and the unit connectors are arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the connector terminals. and a flexible wiring member which is routed in the arrangement direction in state, the connector housing of the unit connector, the a position between the unit connector adjacent to the position and the unit connector that holds the connector pin A locking shaft for locking the flexible wiring material, the flexible wiring material including a conductor for electrically connecting connector terminals of different unit connectors to each other, and orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the connector housing; And having a shape that can be bent and deformed in a thickness direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the connector terminal, and a specific conductor State where the has a through hole penetrating in the thickness direction, the connector terminal is held in the conductor and the connector housing contained in the flexible wiring member intersect each other at a position inside of the connector housing than the locking shaft in conjunction with the conductor and the predetermined connector terminal is electrically connected, wherein the through hole by the locking shaft in the through hole is inserted it is provided conductor and the said connector terminal and the conductor electrically the tension acting is transmitted to the connecting portion between the conductor and the connector terminals on the flexible wiring member in Rukoto locked to the connector housing side at a location between the location and the adjacent unit connector to be connected is prevented, the respective connector housings accompanied by bending deformation of the flexible wiring member is arranged in the circumferential direction of the main body of the wire harness In which has become wound possible around the wire harness-energized.

  Here, “an attitude in which the main body of the wire harness is aligned in the circumferential direction” widely means an attitude in which the connector housings are arranged with their positions shifted in the circumferential direction, and not only in the circumferential direction but also in the axial direction. Alternatively, the positions of the connector housings may be shifted.

  The specific structure of the flexible wiring material is not limited. For example, the flexible wiring material can be configured by a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a ribbon wire, or a simple arrangement of a plurality of insulated wires. However, a flat wiring material in which a plurality of flat conductors are integrated with an insulator covering the periphery thereof in a state where they are arranged in parallel with each other is preferable. This flat wiring material has a simple structure and is easy to handle.

  According to such a joint connector for a wire harness, a plurality of unit connectors that can be coupled to the connector on the wire harness side are provided, and the connector terminals of each unit connector are electrically interconnected via a flexible wiring material. Therefore, each unit connector has a small structure, but by simply connecting an appropriate connector on the wire harness side to these unit connectors, the wires connected to the connector can be connected to the connector terminal and the flexible wiring. They can be interconnected via a joint circuit made of material. In addition, while bending the flexible wiring material, the unit housing is stably wound around the wire harness body by winding the connector housing of each unit connector around the wire harness body in the circumferential direction. It can be fixed in the state.

Here, there is a possibility that tension is applied to the flexible wiring material due to relative displacement between the unit connectors, but the connector housing holds the connector terminal in the connector housing of each unit connector. While a locking shaft is provided at a position between the position and the unit connector adjacent thereto , a corresponding conductor of the flexible wiring material is provided with a through-hole penetrating in the thickness direction corresponding to this, When the locking shaft is inserted into the through-hole, the conductor provided with the through-hole is a connector between the position where the conductor and the connector terminal are electrically connected and the adjacent unit connector. Since it is designed to be directly locked to the housing side, even if tension is applied to the flexible wiring material, the tension is applied between the conductor of the flexible wiring material and the connector terminal. It is prevented that acts on the connecting portion, which high the connection reliability is ensured by.

  The through holes of the flexible wiring material may be provided in all the conductors, or may be provided only in some of the conductors.

  In the latter case, it is more preferable that the through holes of the flexible wiring material are provided in conductors located on both outer sides in the width direction of the flexible wiring material. With this configuration, when an external force that twists around the central axis in the longitudinal direction is applied to the flexible wiring material, the conductors on both outer sides in the width direction where particularly large tension acts are locked to the connector housing side. Thus, the connection portion between the flexible wiring member and the connector terminal can be more effectively protected.

  Further, if the conductor provided with the through hole is wider than the other conductors, the conductor provided with the through hole is provided even though the through hole is provided in the specific conductor. It becomes possible to secure a sufficient cross-sectional area as with other conductors.

  Further, if the conductor provided with the through hole is made of a material having a higher tensile strength than the material constituting the other conductor, the holding strength of the conductor can be further increased, and the other conductors are By constituting the material with a relatively low tensile strength, the flexibility (ease of bending) of the entire flexible wiring member can be ensured.

  The specific shape of the locking shaft and the through-hole through which the locking shaft is inserted can be set as appropriate. The shape of the shape in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conductor is the width direction of the conductor. If the shape is larger than the dimension in the direction parallel to the length of the conductor, the width dimension of the through hole is reduced to suppress the reduction in the cross-sectional area of the conductor due to the presence of the through hole. It is possible to ensure the strength of the locking shaft by increasing the dimension in the direction parallel to the axis.

  The connector housing of each unit connector includes a housing body that holds the connector terminal, and a cover that is attached to the housing body so as to cover a connection portion between the connector terminal and the conductor of the flexible wiring member, It is preferable that one of the housing main body and the cover is provided with the locking shaft and the other is provided with a locking shaft insertion hole into which an end of the locking shaft can be inserted.

  According to this configuration, by attaching the cover to the housing body, the connection portion between the connector terminal and the conductor of the flexible wiring member can be protected, and the housing body and the cover are formed on one side. By passing the locking shaft through the through hole of the flexible wiring material and then inserting the tip of the locking shaft into the other locking shaft insertion hole, it is possible to prevent the flexible wiring material from falling off the locking shaft. it can.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of unit connectors that can be coupled to the connector on the wire harness side are provided, and the connector terminals of each unit connector are electrically interconnected via the flexible wiring material. Therefore, while each unit connector has a small structure, the connector terminals and the flexible wiring material are connected to each other by a simple operation of simply connecting an appropriate connector on the wire harness side to these unit connectors. Can be interconnected via a joint circuit composed of In addition, while bending the flexible wiring material, the unit housing is stably wound around the wire harness body by winding the connector housing of each unit connector around the wire harness body in the circumferential direction. It can be fixed in the state.

  Further, by inserting the locking shaft provided in the connector housing of each unit connector into the through hole provided in the specific conductor of the flexible wiring material, the conductor is directly locked to the connector housing side. Therefore, the tension of the flexible wiring material can be prevented from acting on the connection portion between the connector terminal and the conductor of the flexible wiring material, and the reliability of electrical connection by the flexible wiring material can be kept high.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The wire harness joint connector shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 is configured as a joint connector for electrically connecting the electric wires included in the wire harness 50 shown in FIG. 9, and includes four unit connectors C1. , C2, C3, C4 are integrally connected and electrically interconnected.

  Each of the unit connectors C1 to C4 includes a plurality of (in the illustrated example, five) pin-shaped connector terminals 10 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and a housing body 20 that holds these connector terminals 10. The housing main body 20 and a cover 40 described later constitute a connector housing. The connector terminals 10 are arranged in a direction (width direction) substantially orthogonal to the axial direction thereof, and the housing bodies 20 are also arranged in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the connector terminals 10 and are different from each other. The connector terminals 10 of the unit connectors are electrically connected to each other via the flexible wiring member 30, and the housing main bodies 20 of the adjacent unit connectors are integrally connected by the housing connecting portion 26.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the axial front portion of each connector terminal 10 (the left portion in FIGS. 5A and 5B and the lower portion in FIG. 5C) is: The electrical connection tab 12 can be fitted into the electrical connection portion of the counterpart female terminal, and the rear portion in the axial direction (the right side portion in FIGS. 1A and 1B and the upper side portion in FIG. 1C) is the flexible wiring. A wiring member connecting portion 14 connected to the member 30 is formed, and a wide flange portion 16 is formed at a boundary portion between the electric connection tab 12 and the wiring member connecting portion 14. These connector terminals 10 are held by the housing body 20 in a state of being arranged in a direction (connector width direction) orthogonal to the axial direction.

  In addition, what is necessary is just to select the connector terminal contained in the connector which concerns on this invention suitably according to the use location irrespective of male and female.

  A front portion of each housing body 20 in the axial direction is a hood 22 into which the connector housing of the mating connector can be fitted, and a rear portion in the axial direction is a hollow frame-shaped wiring member holding portion 24 extending rearward from the back wall of the hood 22. It has become. 4A, the electrical connection tab 12 of each connector terminal 10 protrudes into the hood 22, and the wiring material connection portion 14 is positioned immediately below the wiring material holding portion 24. As shown in FIG. Thus, the connector terminal 10 is held in a press-fitted state in a terminal holding portion 25 which is a boundary portion between the hood 22 and the wiring material holding portion 24.

  Terminal holding grooves 24d and 24e into which the wiring material connecting portion 14 is fitted are formed on the lower surface of the front portion (the portion on the terminal holding portion 25 side) and the rear portion of the wiring material holding portion 24, respectively. (FIG. 6).

  The flexible wiring member 30 includes a thin wall provided with two first conductors 31 and three second conductors 32 as shown in FIG. 5C and an insulating layer 34 covering these conductors 31 and 32. It is composed of flat wiring material.

  Each of the conductors 31 and 32 has a flat and thin shape (for example, a flat shape), and the conductors 31 and 32 are arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the thickness direction in a posture parallel to each other to cover them. By forming the insulating layer 34 as described above, the whole is integrated and can be bent and deformed in the thickness direction.

  Of the conductors 31, 32, the first conductor 31 is wired on both outer sides in the width direction of the flexible wiring member 30, and the second conductor 32 is wired on the inner side. These second conductors 32 are made of a relatively soft conductive material such as soft copper, for example, and the first conductors 31 on both outer sides thereof are conductive materials having higher tensile strength than the constituent material of the second conductor 32. It is made of a material such as hard copper, semi-hard copper, or copper alloy.

  Further, the conductors 31 and 32 and the wiring member connection portion 14 of the connector terminal 10 to be connected to the conductors 31 and 32 intersect at appropriate positions on both sides of the insulating layer 34 of the flexible wiring member 30. A window 34a is formed at a position where the conductors 31 and 32 are partially exposed to the outside of the insulating layer 34 through the window 34a.

  In the present invention, the specific structure of the flexible wiring material is not limited. For example, the flexible wiring material may be constituted by a flexible printed circuit (FPC), a ribbon electric wire, or a simple arrangement of a plurality of insulated electric wires. Is possible. However, a flat wiring material as shown in the figure has a simple structure and is easy to handle.

  The flexible wiring member 30 is wired so that the conductors 31 and 32 and the wiring member connecting portions 14 corresponding to the conductors 31 and 32 intersect at the position where the window 34a of the insulating layer 34 is formed. One of the welding electrodes is applied to the conductors 31 and 32 through the lower window 34 a of the wiring member 30, and the other of the welding electrodes is applied to the wiring member connecting portion 14 at the intersection through the inner space of the wiring member holding portion 24. As a result, it is possible to weld the conductors 31 and 32 and the wiring material connecting portion 14 at the intersection to electrically connect them.

  Further, on the lower surface of the both sides of the wiring material holding portion 24 in the connector width direction (that is, the portion located on both outer sides in the width direction than the connector terminal 10), a pair of front and rear (a pair aligned in the wiring material width direction) is respectively engaged While the shaft 27 protrudes downward, the first conductor 31 of the flexible wiring member 30 and the insulating layer 34 covering the first conductor 31 are provided with through-holes 37 penetrating in the thickness direction. The positions and cross-sectional shapes of the through hole 37 and the locking shaft 27 are set so that the locking shaft 27 can be inserted from above.

  Specifically, the position of the locking shaft 27 and the through hole 37 is a position corresponding to both the first conductors 31, and when the locking shaft 27 is inserted into the through hole 37, the connector The flexible wiring member 30 is locked to the housing body 20 side at a position closer to the adjacent unit connector than the position where the terminal 10 is held. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 37 and the locking shaft 27 inserted through the through hole 37 is such that the dimension in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the first conductor 31 (dimension in the connector width direction) is parallel to the width direction of the conductor. It has a shape (substantially oval shape in the illustrated example) that is larger than the dimension in the proper direction (dimension in the connector axial direction). The first conductor 31 is wider than the second conductor 32 to compensate for the reduction in cross-sectional area due to the formation of the through hole 37.

  The cover 40 includes a housing body so as to cover the connection portion between the wiring member connection portion 14 of each connector terminal 10 and the conductors 31 and 32 of the flexible wiring member 30 from both the connector terminal 10 side and the flexible wiring member 30 side. 20 has a shape to be mounted. Specifically, a wiring material side covering portion 42 that covers the connecting portion from the flexible wiring material 30 side, a terminal side covering portion 44 that covers the connecting portion from the connector terminal 10 side, and a thin wall that connects both the covering portions 42 and 44. The hinge portions 46 are integrally formed, and the cover portions 42 and 44 can be opened and closed with the deformation of the hinge portions 46.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A, 7 and 8, an inward projection 42a is formed on the end wall near the hinge portion 46 of the wiring material side covering portion 42, and the wiring material is held correspondingly. A locking recess 24a into which the protrusion 42a is fitted is formed at the rear end portion (right end portion in the figure) of the portion 24. Similarly, outward projections 42b and 44a are formed on the outer end portions (end portions opposite to the hinge portion 46) of the wiring material side covering portion 42 and the terminal side covering portion 44, respectively, while the housing body 20 The terminal holding portion 25 is formed with locking holes 25b and 25a into which the protrusions 42b and 44a are respectively fitted. The cover 40 is detachably locked to the housing body 20 by the engagement of the projections 42a, 42b, 44a and the locking holes 24a, 25b, 25a.

  Further, a latched piece 44b protrudes from the back surface of the terminal side covering portion 44, and a leading end portion of the latched piece 42b is a latch hole 24b formed inside the frame of the wiring material holding portion 24 (FIG. 6). The cover 40 is also locked by engaging with the peripheral edge.

  A plurality of protrusions 45 protrude downward from the back surface of the terminal side covering portion 44 (the lower surface in the mounted state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B). These protrusions 45 extend in a direction parallel to the axial direction of the connector terminal 10 and are interposed between the wiring material connection portions 14 of the connector terminals 10 to isolate the wiring material connection portions 14 from each other. The protruding amount of each protrusion 45 is set so that the tip of the flexible wiring member 30 is pressed against the back surface of the wiring member side covering portion 42 while being formed at the position.

  The housing connecting portion 26 has a thin plate shape and is integrally formed with the housing main body 20 so as to connect both housing main bodies 20 between the housing main bodies 20 of adjacent unit connectors. In the illustrated example, the position is on the upper side of the flexible wiring member 30 (the outer side of the flexible wiring member 30 in the winding state to be described later) and on both sides of the connector in the longitudinal direction of the connector. A housing connecting portion 26 is formed. The housing connecting portion 26 can be bent and deformed in the thickness direction, that is, the direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the housing main bodies 20 and the axis direction of the connector terminals 10 (vertical direction in FIG. 1B). It has become.

  Further, at the positions between the housing connecting portions 26, reverse bending deformation restraining plates 28 protruding from the housing main bodies 20 toward the housing main bodies 20 adjacent to the housing main bodies 20 are formed. The tip portions of the deformation suppression plates 28 are in close proximity with a minute gap. These reverse-direction bending deformation suppression plates 28 are flexible in the direction in which the flexible wiring member 30 is outside of the flexible wiring member 30 and the housing connecting portion 26 (the direction in which the flexible wiring member 30 protrudes downward in FIG. 1B). It functions to prevent the wiring member 30 and the housing connecting portion 26 from being bent and deformed.

  The reverse bending deformation restraining plate 28 and the housing connecting portion 26 are not necessarily required in the present invention, and can be omitted as appropriate.

  Next, an example of the assembly procedure and use procedure of this wire harness joint connector will be described.

  1) The connector terminal 10 is press-fitted and held in the terminal holding portion 25 of each housing body 20 interconnected by the housing connecting portion 26, thereby completing the unit connectors C1, C2, C3, and C4.

  2) In the flexible wiring member 30, through holes 37 are provided at appropriate positions of the first conductor 31 and the insulating layer 34 covering the first conductor 31, and an appropriate portion of the insulating layer 34 is removed to form a window 34a. Appropriate portions of the conductors 31 and 32 are exposed.

  3) The positioning of the flexible wiring member 30 with respect to the housing body 20 is performed by inserting the locking shaft 27 of each housing body into the through hole 37 formed in the first conductor 31 of the flexible wiring member 30. As a result, the conductors 31 and 32 of the flexible wiring member 30 intersect the wiring member connecting portion 14 of the connector terminal 10 at the location where the window 34a is formed.

  4) The conductors 31 and 32 are connected to the wiring member connecting portion 14 at the intersection. Specifically, an electrode is applied from above to the wiring member connecting portion 14 at the intersecting portion through the space inside the frame of the wiring member holding portion 24, and the conductors 31 and 32 at the intersecting portion are connected to the conductors 31 and 32 at the intersecting portion through the lower window 34a. By applying an electrode paired with the electrode from the lower side and applying a voltage between both electrodes, the conductors 31 and 32 and the wiring member connecting portion 14 are welded and electrically connected at the intersection.

  In the present invention, the assembly procedure of the wire harness joint connector is not particularly limited. For example, the connector terminal and the flexible wiring member may be connected in advance, and then the connector terminal may be set in the connector housing.

  5) The wiring member holding portion 24 of the housing body 20 is attached to the housing body 20 so as to be sandwiched between the wiring material side covering portion 42 and the terminal side covering portion 44 while the cover 40 is bent at the hinge portion 46. At that time, since the end of each locking shaft 27 is inserted into each locking shaft insertion hole 47 of the cover 40, the flexible wiring member 30 is more reliably prevented from being detached from the locking shaft 27.

  6) The wire harness joint connector is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the wire harness 50 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the unit connectors C 1, C 2, C 3, and C 4 are bent around the body of the wire harness 50 while the flexible wiring member 30 and the housing connecting portion 26 are bent and deformed so that the housing connecting portion 26 is radially outward. The wire harness joint connector is wound around the wire harness body in a posture aligned in the direction. Then, for example, an adhesive tape 60 as shown in FIG. 6 is wrapped around the wire harness joint connector to fix the wire harness joint connector to the main body of the wire harness 50.

  In such a winding operation or the like, tension may act on the flexible wiring member 30 wired across the housing main bodies 20, but the locking shaft 27 of the housing main body 20 is inserted into the through hole 37. Since the relative position of the flexible wiring member 30 with respect to each connector housing is fixed, even if tension is generated in the flexible wiring member 30, the tension is applied between the conductors 31 and 32 and the connector terminal 10. Acting on the connecting portion with the wiring material connecting portion 14 is prevented.

  7) As shown in FIG. 6, the corresponding connector 54 of the connectors 54 provided at the end of the electric wire 52 included in the wire harness 50 is coupled to each of the unit connectors C1, C2, C3, and C4. By such a simple connector coupling operation, appropriate wires of the wires 52 are electrically connected to each other via a joint circuit constituted by the connector terminal 10 and the conductors 31 and 32 of the flexible wiring member 30. Can be connected to.

  According to such a joint connector for wire harnesses, the electric wires 52 can be electrically connected with a simple operation without increasing the size of each of the unit connectors C1, C2, C3, and C4. In addition, the unit connectors C1 to C4 can be stably fixed by winding the housing connecting portion 26 and the flexible wiring member 30 around the body of the wire harness 50 while bending the housing connecting portion 26 and the flexible wiring member 30.

  Further, the first conductor 31 of the flexible wiring member 30 is locked to the connector housing side by the insertion of the locking shaft 27 into the through hole 37, so that the tension acting on the flexible wiring member 30 is connected to the connector terminal 10. It is possible to prevent the transmission to the connection portion with the conductors 31 and 32 and to maintain high reliability of the connection.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the through-hole 37 is provided in the first conductor 31 located on both outer sides in the width direction of the flexible wiring member 30, the central axis in the longitudinal direction with respect to the flexible wiring member 30. The connection between the flexible wiring member 30 and the connector terminal 10 is achieved by engaging the first conductors 31 on both outer sides in the width direction, to which a particularly large tension is applied, on the connector housing side when an external force twisting around is applied. It is possible to protect the part more effectively.

  In addition, since the first conductor 31 provided with the through hole 37 is wider than the other second conductor 32, the cross-sectional area of the conductor of the first conductor 31 can be increased regardless of the formation of the through hole 37. It is possible to make it equal to or close to the conductor cross-sectional area of the second conductor 32.

  Further, by configuring the first conductor 31 with a material having a higher tensile strength than the constituent material of the second conductor 32, the holding strength of the conductor 31 can be further increased, and the other first By configuring the second conductor 32 with a material having a relatively low tensile strength, it is possible to ensure flexibility (easy to bend) of the entire flexible wiring member.

  However, in the present invention, the specific structure and material of each conductor are not limited, and for example, all conductors may be of the same material and the same shape. Moreover, the structure by which a through-hole is provided in all the conductors contained in the flexible wiring material 30, for example regardless of the position and number of conductors which provide a through-hole may be sufficient.

  In addition, the present invention can take the following embodiments, for example.

  In the embodiment, the housing body 20 is provided with the locking shaft 27, and the locking shaft insertion hole 47 into which the locking shaft 27 is inserted is provided in the cover 40. A structure in which a locking shaft is provided and a locking shaft insertion hole is provided in the housing main body 20 may be employed. Alternatively, the connector housing may be constituted only by the housing body 20.

  The specific shape of the locking shaft 27 is not limited, and may be a pin having a circular cross section, for example. However, the shape of the locking shaft 27 is such that the dimension in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conductor is parallel to the width direction of the conductor, such as an oval shape, oval shape, rectangular shape, or the like shown in the figure. If the shape is larger than that, the width dimension of the through-hole 37 is reduced to suppress a reduction in the cross-sectional area of the conductor 31 due to the presence of the through-hole 37, and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conductor 31 than this width dimension. It is possible to secure the strength of the locking shaft 27 by increasing the dimension in the appropriate direction.

  In the present invention, not all unit connectors are necessarily coupled to connectors included in a specific wire harness (a wire harness 50 around which a wire harness connector is wound). For example, a unit connector coupled to a connector led from a wire harness other than the specific wire harness 50 may be included in part. In other words, the circuit configuration may be such that the connector 54 included in the specific wire harness 50 is electrically connected to the connector guided from the other wire harness.

  -The "position in which the wire harness main body is arranged in the circumferential direction" in claim 1 of the present application broadly means an attitude in which the connector housings are arranged with their positions shifted in the circumferential direction. The positions of the connector housings may be shifted in the axial direction. For example, a plurality of unit connectors may be wound around the main body of the wire harness 50 in a state where the unit connectors are arranged in a spiral shape. Also, the specific number of unit connectors can be selected as appropriate according to the specifications.

It is a top view of the joint connector for wire harnesses which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the joint connector for wire harnesses. It is a bottom view of the joint connector for wire harnesses. (A) is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. 2, (b) is the sectional view on the BB line of (a). (A) is a top view of the connector terminal contained in the said joint connector for wire harnesses, (b) is the side view, (c) is a top view which shows the positional relationship of the said connector terminal and a flexible wiring material. It is a bottom view of the housing main body contained in the said joint connector for wire harnesses. (A) is the side view of the cover contained in the said joint connector for wire harnesses, (b) is the figure which looked at the cover from the surface side. (A) is the top view of the said cover, (b) is the figure which looked at the said cover from the back side, (c) is a bottom view of the said cover. (A) is the cross-sectional front view which shows the state which wound the said wire harness joint connector around the wire harness main body periphery, (b) is the side view.

Explanation of symbols

C1, C2, C3, C4 Unit connector 10 Connector terminal 14 Wiring material connecting portion 20 Housing body 24 Wiring material holding portion 27 Locking shaft 30 Flexible wiring material 31 First conductor (conductor having a through hole)
32 Second conductor (conductor other than the first conductor)
34 Insulating layer 37 Through hole 40 Cover 47 Locking shaft insertion hole 50 Wire harness 52 Electric wire included in wire harness 54 Wire harness side connector

Claims (7)

A plurality of unit connectors in which a plurality of connector terminals are held in a connector housing;
These unit connectors include a flexible wiring member arranged in the arrangement direction in a state arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the connector terminals,
The connector housing of each unit connector has a locking shaft for locking the flexible wiring member at a position between the position where the connector terminal is held and the unit connector adjacent to the unit connector.
The flexible wiring member includes a conductor for electrically connecting connector terminals of different unit connectors to each other, and is bent and deformed in a thickness direction orthogonal to the connector housing arrangement direction and orthogonal to the connector terminal axial direction. Having a possible shape, and having a through hole penetrating a specific conductor in the thickness direction,
The conductor and the predetermined connector terminal are electrically connected so that the conductor included in the flexible wiring member and the connector terminal held by the connector housing intersect each other at a position inside the connector housing with respect to the locking shaft. It is connected to the locking shaft unit connector conductors to which the through hole is provided to the adjacent position to said connector terminal and the conductor are electrically connected by is inserted into the through hole The tension acting on the flexible wiring member is locked to the connector housing side at a position between and prevents transmission to the connection site between the connector terminal and the conductor ,
A joint connector for a wire harness, wherein the connector housings can be wound around the wire harness in a posture aligned with the circumferential direction of the body of the wire harness while being bent and deformed by the flexible wiring member. .   The wire harness joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the through hole of the flexible wiring member is provided only in a part of the conductors included in the flexible wiring member. connector.   The joint connector for wire harnesses of Claim 2 WHEREIN: The through-hole of the said flexible wiring material is provided in the conductor located in the width direction both outer side of this flexible wiring material, The wire harness joint connector characterized by the above-mentioned.   The joint connector for wire harnesses of Claim 2 or 3 WHEREIN: The conductor in which the said through-hole is provided is wider than another conductor, The joint connector for wire harnesses characterized by the above-mentioned.   The joint connector for a wire harness according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the conductor provided with the through hole is made of a material having a higher tensile strength than a material constituting the other conductor. Joint connector for wire harness.   The joint connector for wire harnesses according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the locking shaft and the through hole through which the locking shaft is inserted have a dimension in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the conductor. A joint connector for a wire harness having a shape larger than a dimension in a direction parallel to a width direction. The joint connector for wire harnesses in any one of Claims 1-6 WHEREIN: The connector housing of each unit connector is the connection part of the housing main body holding the said connector terminal, and the connector terminal and the conductor of the said flexible wiring material A cover attached to the housing body so as to cover
One of the housing main body and the cover is provided with the locking shaft, and the other is provided with a locking shaft insertion hole into which an end of the locking shaft can be inserted. Joint connector.

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