JP4829725B2 - Branch connector and branch connector manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a branch connector and a branch connector manufacturing method, and more particularly, to a function of attenuating reflection of signals generated in a branch connection portion of a communication circuit that is interposed in a LAN routed in an automobile. Is provided.

Conventionally, a connector is often used for connection between electric wires arranged in an automobile, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-4852 (Patent Document 1) provides a connector incorporating an electronic component.
As shown in FIG. 7, the connector 1 provided in Patent Document 1 accommodates a printed circuit board 6 in which a plurality of electronic components 5 are mounted in a housing 4 including an upper case 2 and a lower case 3. The terminal 7 connected to is connected to the terminal of the terminal of the external electric wire (not shown).

Since the connector 1 provided in Patent Document 1 includes a printed circuit board 6 on which an electronic component 5 is mounted, the connector can have various functions, and a resistor or a coil can be provided at a branch point of the communication circuit. When an electronic component is mounted, reflection of a signal at a branch point can be attenuated.
However, when the printed circuit board 6 on which the electronic component 5 is mounted is used as the connector 1 accommodated in the connector housing, a complicated mounting process is required in the manufacturing process, and a large number of components are required. And there exists a problem which a connector enlarges.

JP 2006-4852 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an electronic component disposed in a branch connector is provided in a circuit without being mounted on a substrate, and a mounting process and a substrate for mounting the electronic component are not required. Is an issue.

In order to solve the above problems, as a first invention, a branch connector manufacturing method provided at a position where a plurality of branch lines are branched from a trunk line,
Punching a conductive metal plate and providing a bus bar,
The bus bar is provided with a first elongated portion connected to the conductor on the main line side and a second elongated portion connected to the conductors on the plurality of branch lines side by side, and the first and second elongated portions are connected to each other. Connect with a connecting part for cutting at intervals,
A terminal portion for connecting a branch line protrudes in a direction opposite to the first long portion with a distance in the length direction from the second long portion, and a pressure contact terminal portion on a side portion of each terminal portion for connecting the branch line And erected the pressure contact terminal portion on the first elongated portion opposite to each pressure contact terminal portion,
A first long portion connected to the main line side and a terminal portion connected to each branch line side by press-connecting the lead wires at both ends of the electronic component to the opposite pressure contact terminal portions of the first and second long portions; Are connected via the electronic components,
After the bus bar is accommodated and fixed in the connector housing, the cutting connecting portion is cut and removed, and the terminal portion connected to each branch line side of the second elongated portion and the press contact terminal portion are combined into a set of branch lines. As a connection circuit material, there is provided a method of manufacturing a branch connector characterized in that a connecting portion between adjacent branch connection circuit materials is also cut and removed.

  The connecting part for cutting that connects the first long part and the second long part is continuously connected to the connecting part to be removed by cutting between the branch line connecting circuit members of the second long part. If it is provided, the cut portion becomes a continuous portion, so that the cutting and removing work is facilitated. However, the connecting parts to be cut and removed are not necessarily provided continuously.

According to the method for manufacturing a branch connector of the present invention, a terminal for main line connection is used instead of connecting a branch line connection circuit that accommodates a printed circuit board on which electronic components are mounted in a connector housing and branches off from the main line connection circuit. An electronic component is interposed between the first long portion connected to the material and the terminal portion for connecting each branch line by pressure contact.
As described above, since the electronic component is interposed between the first long portion of the bus bar and the terminal portion by press-contact connection, a complicated process of mounting the resistor on the substrate is not necessary. In addition, since the substrate on which the resistor is mounted is not used, there is no adverse effect on the electronic component due to the high temperature generated when the resistor is mounted on the substrate.

In addition, since the first and second long portions, the terminal portion, and the press contact terminal portion are formed from a bus bar formed by punching one conductive metal plate through a cutting connecting portion, the cutting connecting portion is formed. Since the circuit is cut into a required circuit shape, an internal circuit material in which a main line side circuit and a branch line side circuit accommodated in the branch connector are branched can be easily formed.
The conductors of the trunk line and the branch line include electric wires and conductors on the board.

As a second invention, the circuit material for main line connection and the circuit material for branch line connection manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention are provided by cutting and separating one bus bar,
In the connector housing,
A circuit material for connecting the main line comprising a bus bar including a first long portion that is electrically connected to the main line side, and a press-contact terminal portion provided at intervals in the length direction of the first long portion;
For connecting the branch line, comprising a bus bar comprising: a pressure contact terminal portion arranged at a position opposite to the pressure contact terminal portion; and a branch line connection terminal portion continuously provided on a side portion of each pressure contact terminal portion at the opposite position . Circuit material,
Between the circuit material for connecting the main line and the press contact terminal portion of the circuit material for connecting the branch line, an electronic component interposed by press-connecting lead wires at both ends,
A branch connector is provided.

  According to the branch connector of the present invention, since a board on which electronic components are mounted is not necessary, the branch connector can be reduced in size and cost can be reduced.

When the branch line and the branch line are communication lines, the circuit material for connecting the branch line is provided with the two pressure contact terminal portions in parallel, and is opposed to the two pressure contact terminal portions. Two pressure contact terminals are provided on the circuit material for main connection,
A resistor is press-connected as the electronic component between the one opposing pressure contact terminal portions via the lead wire, and a coil is connected as the electronic component between the other opposing pressure contact terminal portions. It is preferable that the pressure connection is established via

In addition, in the case where the main line and the electric wires of the plurality of branch lines are made of a pair electric wire such as a twisted pair electric wire or a shielded twisted electric wire constituting the differential transmission line,
The circuit housing for connecting the main line and the circuit material for connecting the branch line are accommodated in the upper and lower two stages in the connector housing,
Either the first communication line or the second communication line of the paired wires is connected to the circuit material on the upper stage side and the other is on the lower stage side, and the paired wires on the branch line side include a filter circuit composed of the resistor and the coil. It is preferable that it is connected with the pair electric wire of the trunk line side via.

  According to the above configuration, a filter circuit composed of a parallel circuit of the resistor and the coil can be easily formed on the branch line side near the branch part where the branch line branches from the trunk line of the communication circuit. The resulting signal reflection can be attenuated early.

The resistance value of the resistor is preferably 6% to 50%, preferably 10% to 22%, of the impedance (Zo) of the trunk line of the communication circuit.
If it is 6% or more, the resistor can function as a filter circuit, and the reflection of the signal at the branch portion of the communication circuit can be attenuated. On the other hand, if it exceeds 50%, a voltage drop on the receiving side is caused and a communication error occurs.

As described above, according to the branch connector manufactured by the manufacturing method of the present invention, an electronic component is interposed between the first long portion connected to the main line side and the terminal portion for connecting each branch line by pressure contact. Therefore, the step of mounting the electronic component on the substrate is not required, and the substrate on which the resistance material is mounted is not required, so that the branch connector can be miniaturized and the cost can be reduced.
Furthermore, a filter circuit composed of a resistor and a coil can be easily provided at a connection branch position from the trunk line to the branch line of the communication circuit, and reflection of a signal generated at the branch portion can be attenuated at an early stage by the filter circuit.

  Further, according to the branch connector manufacturing method of the present invention, the internal circuit material for branching the trunk line and the branch line and interposing the electronic component is formed from a bus bar formed by punching one conductive metal plate. Therefore, the internal circuit material of the branch connector can be easily formed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention, and a branch connector 10 forms a branch portion 103 where a branch line 102 branches from a main line 101 in an in-vehicle LAN 100 that performs CAN communication (differential transmission method). is there.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the branch connector 10 includes an upper and lower two-stage bus bar accommodating portion 12 that accommodates a bus bar 20 composed of a circuit material 21 for main line connection and a circuit material 22 for branch line connection on one side of the connector housing 11. And a connector fitting portion 16 on the other side. A resistor 30 and a coil 31 are connected in parallel to the pressure contact terminal portions 20f and 20e provided on the circuit material 21 for main line connection and the circuit material 22 for branch line connection accommodated in the bus bar accommodating portion 12, respectively. A filter circuit 32 is formed between the circuit material 21 for use and the circuit material 22 for connecting branch lines.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the connector housing 11 of the branch connector 10 is provided with the bus bar housing portion 12 in two upper and lower stages on one side and the connector fitting portion 16 on the other side, as described above. The connector fitting portion 16 and each bus bar accommodating portion 12 are communicated with each other.
In addition, an opening 13 for inserting a cutting jig is provided above the upper bus bar housing portion 12, while an opening 13 for inserting a cutting jig is provided below the lower bus bar housing portion 12 to close these openings 13. 14 is provided.
Further, the connector fitting portion 16 is provided with a locking projection 16 a for locking the connector 40 fitted to the connector fitting portion 16 so as to protrude from the inner surface of the connector housing 11.

The bus bar 20 to be inserted and locked into the bus bar accommodating portion 12 of the connector housing 11 is formed by punching one conductive metal plate into a required shape.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the bus bar 20 has a first long portion 20a and a second long portion 20b arranged in parallel, and a space between the first and second long portions 20a and 20b. Are connected by a connecting part 20c for cutting at intervals. The second elongate portion 20b has a terminal portion 20d protruding in the opposite direction to the first elongate portion 20a with an interval in the length direction, and a pressure contact comprising a pair of pressure contact tabs on the side of each terminal portion 20d. Two sets of the terminal portions 20e are provided upright, and the press contact terminal portions 20f are provided upright on the first long portions 20a opposite to the press contact terminal portions 20e.

  Of the terminal portion 20d of the bus bar 20, the press contact terminal portion 20e and the press contact terminal portion 20f provided on the side portion of the terminal portion 20d-2 connected to the branch line side are connected to both ends of a resistor 30 and a coil 31 having a resistance value of 10Ω. Lead wires 30a and 31a are press-connected, and a resistor 30 and a coil 31 are connected in parallel between the first elongated portion 20a and the terminal portion 20d-2 of the second elongated portion 20b. Yes. Further, of the terminal portion 20d of the bus bar 20, a resistor 30 and a coil 31 are press-connected to the press contact terminal portion 20e and the press contact terminal portion 20f provided on the side portion of the terminal portion 20d-1 connected to the main line side. Absent.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the cutting connecting portions 20 c provided on both sides of the bus bar 20 in the length direction with respect to the terminal portion 20 d-2 connected to the branch line side among the cutting connecting portions 20 c are cut and removed. Then, the branch line connecting circuit material 22 composed of the terminal portion 20d-2 and the pressure contact terminal portion 20e is separated from the main line connecting circuit material 21 on the first long portion 20a side, and the terminal portion 20d-2 and the first length are separated. The scale portion 20 a is connected via a filter circuit composed of a parallel circuit of a resistor 30 and a coil 31. Further, the adjacent branch line connecting circuit members 22 are separated by cutting and removing the cutting connecting portions 20c.
3 and 4, one terminal portion 20d-1 connected to the main line side and two terminal portions 20d-2 connected to the branch line side are shown, but in this embodiment, one bus bar 20 is shown. Two terminal portions 20d-1 and six terminal portions 20d-2 are provided.

  The connector housing 41 of the connector 40 that fits into the connector fitting portion 16 of the connector housing 11 is provided with two upper and lower terminal accommodating chambers 42 as shown in FIGS. Is connected to the twisted pair electric wire terminal of the differential transmission line.

In the connector 40A connected to the main line 101, the terminal 53A connected to the terminal of the first communication line 101A (CAN_H) of the twisted pair wire is inserted and locked in the upper terminal accommodating chamber 42, while the lower terminal accommodating chamber The terminal 53A connected to the terminal of the second communication line 101B (CAN_L) of the twisted pair electric wire is inserted and locked to 42.
Similarly, in the connector 40B connected to the branch line 102, the terminal 53B connected to the terminal of the first communication line 102A (CAN_H) of the twisted pair wire is inserted and locked in the upper terminal accommodating chamber 42, while the lower part A terminal 53B connected to the terminal of the second communication line 102B (CAN_L) of the twisted pair electric wire is inserted and locked in the terminal accommodating chamber 42.
Further, the elastic piece 43 is provided by folding back from the distal end on the insertion side of the connector housing 41, and the locking protrusion that is locked to the locking protrusion 16 a provided on the connector fitting portion 16 of the branch connector 10 on the outer surface of the elastic piece 43. 44 is provided.

  The required number of connectors 40 are inserted into the connector fitting portion 16 of the branch connector 10 (in this embodiment, two connectors 40A and six connectors 40B), and the locking projections 44 of the connector 40 are inserted into the branch connectors 10. The connector 40 is fitted into the connector fitting portion 16 of the branch connector 10 by being latched by the latching protrusion 16a. At this time, the terminal portions 20d-1 and 20d-2 of the bus bar 20 of the branch connector 10 and the terminals 53A and 53B of the connectors 40A and 40B are fitted and connected, respectively, and the first communication lines 101A and 102A of the trunk line 101 and the branch line 102 are connected. The second communication lines 101B and 102B are connected to each other via the first long portion 20a of the bus bar 20 to form a branch portion, and the resistor 30 and the coil 31 are connected in parallel to the branch connection side of the branch line 102. A filter circuit is interposed.

Next, a method for manufacturing the branch connector 10 will be described.
First, the bus bar 20 shown in FIG. 3 is provided by punching out a conductive metal plate, and the resistor 30 and the coil 31 are pressed against the press contact terminal portions 20e and 20f provided on the side portion of the terminal portion 20d-2 connected to the branch line side. The filter circuit which connected and connected the resistor 30 and the coil 31 in parallel between the terminal part 20d-2 and the 1st elongate part 20a is formed.
Next, the bus bar 20 is inserted and locked into the bus bar accommodating portion 12 of the connector housing 11, and a required cutting connecting portion 20 c is cut and removed through the opening 13 by a cutting jig (not shown).
Next, the cutting connecting portion 20 c that has been cut and removed is taken out from the bus bar accommodating portion 12 through the opening 13, and a cover 14 is attached to the opening 13 to close the opening 13.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to form the filter circuit in which the resistor 30 and the coil 31 are connected in parallel on the branch circuit branched from the trunk line of the communication circuit, and to quickly reflect the signal generated at the branching portion by the filter circuit. Can be attenuated.
Further, since the press contact terminal portions 20e and 21e of the bus bar 20 are press-connected to the lead wires 30a and 31a at both ends of the resistor 30 and the coil 31, respectively, a complicated process of mounting the resistor 30 and the coil 31 on the substrate. Is unnecessary, and it is not necessary to accommodate the board in the connector housing, so that the branch connector can be miniaturized and the cost can be reduced.
Further, since the electronic component is not mounted on the substrate, there is no adverse effect of the electronic component due to the high temperature in the mounting process.

  Further, the first and second elongated portions 20a and 20b, the terminal portion 20d, the pressure contact terminal portions 20e and 20f, and the cutting connecting portion 20c are formed by a bus bar 20 provided by punching out one conductive metal plate. Therefore, the internal circuit material of the branch connector can be easily formed.

In the present embodiment, two pairs of bus bars 20 are provided because the twisted pair electric wires constituting the differential transmission line are connected to the branch connector 10. However, when connecting electric wires other than the pair electric wires, One set or three or more sets may be provided.
Moreover, the pair electric wire connected to the branch connector 10 is not limited to the twisted pair electric wire but may be a shielded twisted pair electric wire or the like.
Further, in this embodiment, the connector housing 11 is provided with an opening 13 for inserting a cutting jig. However, the connector housing is constituted by a main body and a cover whose entire upper surface is open, and the cutting connecting portion 20c of the bus bar 20 is cut. Thereafter, the main body and the cover may be combined to accommodate the bus bar 20 in the connector housing.

It is the schematic which shows the branch part formed with the branch connector of this invention. It is a perspective view of a connector housing. It is drawing which shows the bus bar before cut | disconnecting the connection part for cutting. It is drawing which shows the bus bar after cut | disconnecting the connection part for cutting. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fitted the connector connected to the branch line terminal to the branch connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which fitted the connector connected to the trunk line terminal to the branch connector. It is drawing which shows a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Branch connector 11 Connector housing 12 Bus bar accommodating part 20 Bus bar 20a 1st elongate part 20b 2nd elongate part 20c Connection part 20d-1 for cutting Terminal part 20d-2 connected with the trunk line side Terminal connected with the branch line side 20e, 20f Pressure contact terminal portion 21 Circuit material for connecting main line 22 Circuit material for connecting branch line 30 Resistor 31 Coil 32 Filter circuit 40 Connector 53 Terminal 100 In-vehicle LAN
101A trunk first communication line 101B trunk second communication line 102A branch first communication line 102B branch second communication line 103 branching section

Claims (2)

A method of manufacturing a branch connector provided at a position where a plurality of branch lines are branched and connected from a trunk line,
Punching a conductive metal plate and providing a bus bar,
The bus bar is provided with a first elongated portion connected to the conductor on the main line side and a second elongated portion connected to the conductors on the plurality of branch lines side by side, and the first and second elongated portions are connected to each other. Connect with a connecting part for cutting at intervals,
A terminal portion for connecting a branch line protrudes in a direction opposite to the first long portion with a distance in the length direction from the second long portion, and a pressure contact terminal portion on a side portion of each terminal portion for connecting the branch line And erected the pressure contact terminal portion on the first elongated portion opposite to each pressure contact terminal portion,
A first long portion connected to the main line side and a terminal portion connected to each branch line side by press-connecting the lead wires at both ends of the electronic component to the opposite pressure contact terminal portions of the first and second long portions; Are connected via the electronic components,
After the bus bar is accommodated and fixed in the connector housing, the cutting connecting portion is cut and removed, and the terminal portion connected to each branch line side of the second elongated portion and the press contact terminal portion are combined into a set of branch lines. A method for manufacturing a branch connector, characterized in that, as a connection circuit material, the cutting connecting portions between adjacent pairs of branch line connection circuit materials are also cut and removed. The circuit material for main line connection and the circuit material for branch line connection manufactured by the method according to claim 1 are provided by cutting and separating one bus bar,
In the connector housing,
A circuit material for connecting the main line comprising a bus bar including a first long portion that is electrically connected to the main line side, and a press-contact terminal portion provided at intervals in the length direction of the first long portion;
The consisting of the bus bar with the pressure contact terminal portion disposed on a position facing the press-connecting terminal portion and a terminal portion for branch connection provided continuously to the side of each press contact terminal portion disposed on the counter position Circuit material for connecting branch lines;
Between the circuit material for connecting the main line and the press contact terminal portion of the circuit material for connecting the branch line, an electronic component interposed by press-connecting lead wires at both ends,
A branch connector comprising:

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