JP5566730B2 - Pressure welding connector and wire harness manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a pressure connector used for manufacturing a wire harness of an automobile and a method of manufacturing a wire harness using the pressure connector.

As shown in, for example, Patent Document 1, a pressure contact connector is known in which a plurality of wire pressure contact terminals are accommodated in a housing in which a plurality of wire insertion ports are arranged at both ends. In this pressure contact terminal, two blade portions that press-contact a pair of adjacent wires are connected in a direction orthogonal to the wire, and when forming a branch circuit, the pressure contact terminals are paired in the direction orthogonal to the wire. A tool such as a nipper or a cutter is used to place the wires between the press contact terminals in a state where the positions of the wires are shifted, the three wires are inserted in parallel into the housing, and the two wires are pressed into each press contact terminal. Disconnect with. As a result, two sets of branch circuits having two branches are obtained.
Further, as a method of manufacturing a wire harness using such a pressure contact connector, as shown in Patent Document 2, after the same pressure contact connector in which a pressure contact terminal is set in advance is connected to both ends of the wire group, An invention that enables simultaneous connection of the same type or different types of temporary binding harnesses by press-connecting the other two press-connecting connectors at a predetermined interval in the middle of the group and cutting and removing the electric wire between the intermediate press-connecting connectors. It has been known.

Japanese Patent No. 3541540 JP-A-11-162272

  In the manufacturing method of Patent Document 2, a male or female electrical contact portion is provided at the tip of the substrate of the press contact terminal in order to connect the press contact connector that is press connected in the middle to electrically connect the electric wire. The front and rear ends in the wiring direction are opened. Therefore, only the pressure contact portion of the electric wire is immersed in the pressure contact connector and pressed to the pressure contact terminal, and the front and back thereof are drawn out of the pressure contact connector. For this reason, when a tensile force is applied to the electric wire when cutting and removing the electric wire between the intermediate press-connecting connectors, the electric wire may come out of the press-connecting terminal. In particular, when the electric wire is cut, the electric wire is likely to come out because the electric wire is pulled and fixed in a state without loosening.

  Therefore, the present invention can effectively prevent disconnection from the press contact terminal when cutting an electric wire between the housings while maintaining the advantage of manufacturing a plurality of wire harnesses using two housings. An object of the present invention is to provide a pressure contact connector having excellent connection reliability and a method of manufacturing a wire harness using the pressure contact connector.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a press-connecting connector, comprising two housings in which a plurality of press-connecting terminals capable of press-contacting electric wires are accommodated in parallel on a predetermined surface, and both housings are predetermined. A coupling means that can be coupled to overlap each other in a thickness direction perpendicular to the surface; and a coupling means that electrically connects the corresponding pressure contact terminals between the two housings in a coupled state of the two housings by the coupling means. By connecting the two housings to each other, the crimping connector that enables the electrical connection between the two housings to be electrically connected to each other via the crimping terminals , the two housings having one surface in the thickness direction as an open surface and parallel to the bottom plate. A vertical wall that is erected along the inner surface of the receiving groove as a plate-like shape in which a plurality of partition walls are erected at equal intervals to form a receiving groove for the electric wire. The conducting means is a conducting portion that protrudes higher than the partition wall on the vertical wall, while the coupling means is shifted in the width direction by the thickness of the vertical wall of the press contact terminal with the open surfaces facing each other. The two housings are joined in a superposed state, and a notch through which the conducting portion of the mating pressure contact terminal penetrates is formed in the partition wall, and the conducting portion that has entered the other notch is formed. It is characterized in that the press contact terminals are electrically connected to each other by being adjacent to the conductive portion on the other side .
In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 2 is a method of manufacturing a wire harness, wherein both housings of the press-connecting connector according to claim 1 are spaced apart from each other in the wiring direction of the electric wire. After arranging and wiring between the two housings and press-contacting to the press-contact terminals of both housings, the electric wires extending between the two housings are cut and removed, and the two housings are overlapped and coupled to each other by the coupling means. Then, the electric wires press-contacted to both housings are electrically connected through press-contact terminals.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when cutting an electric wire between housings, it can prevent effectively that an electric wire pulls out from a press contact terminal, and the reliability of the electrical connection by press contact becomes high. Further, the electric wires can be electrically connected by assembling and joining the housings in the thickness direction. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manufacture a plurality of wire harnesses that can be easily and reliably electrically connected by the pressure contact connector.
In addition , the press contact terminal and the electric wire are covered with the two housings simultaneously with the coupling of the two housings. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a cover or the like that covers the open surface, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and assembly work. Moreover, since the height dimension is reduced by adopting the plate-shaped housing, it can be easily assembled to an automobile even in a narrow place.
And since the operation | movement to the direction which a conduction | electrical_connection part leaves | separates from the other conduction | electrical_connection part can be controlled using a partition wall, while an electrical connection state is stabilized, it is hard to produce a short circuit between adjacent press-contact terminals. Become.

It is a perspective view of a pressure contact connector. It is a perspective view of a press-contact terminal. It is a perspective view of the state where the electric wire between both housings was cut. It is a perspective view which shows the overlapping state of both housings. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the overlapping state of both housings. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the example of a change of a press-connecting connector in an overlapping state. It is a perspective view of the example of a change of a press-contact terminal.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a pressure contact connector. The pressure contact connector 1 is formed of two first housings 2 and a second housing 3.
The first and second housings 2, 3 are provided with a plurality of partition walls 5, 5... Parallel to the bottom plate 4 at equal intervals, so that the electric wires 6 are placed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 4 that is a predetermined surface. It has a plate shape in which a plurality of accommodating grooves 7, 7. The side walls 8 and 8 located at both ends in the direction orthogonal to the housing groove 7 (width direction) in the first housing 2 are formed slightly higher than the partition wall 5 and have an outwardly-turned shape on the outer surface. A pair of locking projections 9 and 9 are provided in a protruding manner.

  On the other hand, in the second housing 3, the side walls 10, 10 at both ends in the width direction slightly higher than the partition wall 5 are formed at the same interval as the side walls 8, 8 of the first housing 2. A pair of elastic pieces 11, 11 covering the side walls 8, 8 of the first housing 2 in a state where the second housing 3 is superimposed on the first housing 2 so that the side walls 8, 10 face each other, Locking holes 12 are formed in the elastic pieces 11 so as to lock the locking protrusions 9 in an overlapped state. The elastic piece 11 and the locking projection 9 having the locking hole 12 serve as the coupling means of the present invention.

Further, press contact terminals 13, 13... Are arranged in parallel in the orthogonal direction to the electric wires 6 in the housing grooves 7 on the housings 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the press contact terminal 13 is a metal fitting having a U-shaped cross section in which a pair of receiving blades 14, 14 of the electric wire 6 are formed in the longitudinal direction. A pair of insulation barrels 15 and 15 are fixedly installed by caulking and fixing the insulation coating.
Further, in each press contact terminal 13, the upper end of the left and right vertical walls 16, 16 standing along the inner surface of the receiving groove 7 extends beyond the partition wall 5 in the receiving state in the receiving groove 7. Conductive portions 17 and 17 as projecting means for height are provided.

When manufacturing a wire harness using the press-connecting connector 1 configured as described above, first, the housings 2 and 3 in which the press-connecting terminals 13 are respectively disposed in the receiving grooves 7 are placed on a wiring board (not shown) at a predetermined interval in the wiring direction. After setting, the electric wire 6 is wired between the press contact terminals 13 and 13 of both housings 2 and 3 and positioned, and press-contacted to the press contact terminals 13 of both housings 2 and 3, respectively.
After the pressure welding of the electric wire 6, as shown in FIG. 3, the electric wires 6, 6,... Installed between the housings 2, 3 are cut using a cutting jig or the like at two locations on the housings 2, 3 respectively. .
At this time, since each electric wire 6 is installed in a straight line between the press contact terminals 13 and 13 of both the housings 2 and 3, the electric wire 6 comes out of the press contact terminal 13 even if a tensile force is applied when the electric wire 6 is cut. There is no fear.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the second housing 3 is turned upside down so that the second housing 3 faces the first housing 2 so that the pressure contact terminals 13 and 13 face each other and the side walls 8 and 10 face each other. Then, the second housing 3 is assembled to the first housing 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the end faces of the side walls 8, 8 of the first housing 2 and the side walls 10, 10 of the second housing 3 come into contact with each other, and the elastic pieces 11, 11 of the second housing 3 The housing 2 is locked to the locking projections 9 and 9. As a result, the housings 2 and 3 are joined together.
In this coupled state, between the press contact terminals 13 and 13 facing each other between the housings 2 and 3, the conductive portions 17 and 17 are in contact with and electrically connected to the other conductive portions 17 and 17, respectively. Therefore, a wire harness is obtained in which the electric wires 6 and 6 on the same line are electrically connected via the press contact terminals 13 in a plan view in which the housings 2 and 3 are press contacted.

  As described above, according to the method of manufacturing the press-connecting connector 1 and the wire harness of the above-described form, the two first and second housings 2 in which the plurality of press-connecting terminals 13 capable of press-contacting the electric wire 6 are accommodated in parallel on a predetermined surface. 3, a coupling means (locking projection 9 and elastic piece 11) that can be coupled by overlapping both housings 2, 3 in a thickness direction perpendicular to a predetermined plane, and both housings 2, 3 coupled by the coupling means Electrical connection between the corresponding press contact terminals 13 and 13 between the housings 2 and 3, and electrical connection between the housings 2 and 3. The electric wires 6 that are in pressure contact with each other can be electrically connected via the pressure contact terminals 13.

  With this configuration, when the electric wire 6 is cut between the housings 2 and 3, it is possible to effectively prevent the electric wire 6 from coming off from the press contact terminal 13, and the reliability of electrical connection by press contact is increased. Further, the electric wires 6 can be electrically connected by assembling and joining the housings 2 and 3 in the thickness direction. Therefore, a plurality of wire harnesses that can be easily and reliably electrically connected by the pressure contact connector 1 can be efficiently manufactured.

  In particular, the housings 2 and 3 are in the form of plates whose one surface in the thickness direction is an open surface, and the connecting means connects the housings 2 and 3 with the open surfaces facing each other. At the same time when the housings 2 and 3 are joined, the press contact terminal 13 and the electric wire 6 are covered with the housings 2 and 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a cover or the like that covers the open surface, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and assembly work. In addition, the use of the plate-like housings 2 and 3 reduces the size in the height direction, so that it can be easily assembled to a vehicle even in a small place.

  In the above embodiment, the two housings face each other and are electrically connected by bringing the conductive portions provided on the pressure contact terminals into contact with each other. However, if the partition wall is thick, as shown in FIG. The notches 18 through which the mating conductive portions 17 penetrate in the coupled state are respectively formed from the upper surface to the side surfaces of the partition walls 5, and the thicknesses of the vertical walls 16 of the press contact terminals 13 are formed in the housings 2 and 3. You may make it assemble | move by shifting in the width direction by the part. If it does in this way, the conduction | electrical_connection part 17 which approached the notch 18 of the other party will be electrically connected adjacent to the conduction part 17 of the other party. In particular, in this case, since the operation in the direction in which the conducting portion 17 is separated from the other conducting portion 17 can be regulated using the partition wall 5, the electrical connection state is stabilized and the adjacent press contact terminals 13, Short circuit between 13 is less likely to occur. The notch 18 may be inclined so as to be pressed toward the adjacent conductive portion 17 as the conductive portion 17 is inserted.

FIG. 6 also shows a modification example of the coupling means. Here, the interval between the side walls 10, 10 of the second housing 3 is made larger than the interval between the side walls 8, 8 of the first housing 2, and the locking projection 19, which is the same as the locking projection 9 of the first housing 2, is formed on the inner surface. And the housings 2 and 3 can be connected by locking the locking projections 9 and 19 together.
However, the coupling means is not limited to these structures, but can be coupled by covering the two housings with a cylindrical cover, or a hook piece provided on one housing can be locked in a through hole provided on the other. Other means such as joining and winding a belt or tape can also be employed.

  On the other hand, the conducting means is not limited to a structure in which the conducting portions projecting on the respective pressure contact terminals are in contact with each other. For example, a protrusion is formed on the vertical wall of the pressure contact terminal on one housing side, and a pressure contact on the other housing side is provided. It is also possible to conduct at a position where the vertical walls oppose each other by forming, for example, a recess (notch) in which the protrusions fit in the vertical wall of the terminal in a coupled state of the housings. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the case where the pressure contact terminals are touched in this way. For example, the vertical wall of one pressure contact terminal is extended to the mounting surface of both housings to form a conductive portion, and simply touches the vertical wall of the other pressure contact terminal. There is no problem even if it is a structure that is brought into contact with each other to serve as a conduction means.

  Furthermore, in the said form, although it overlap | superposed so that both housings may face each other, an open surface can also be piled up facing the same side. In this case, it is necessary to form a conduction means by providing a through hole through which a conduction portion projecting from the pressure contact terminal of the lower housing penetrates and contacts the upper pressure contact terminal on the bottom surface of the upper housing. In this way, if both housings are coupled with the open surfaces facing the same side, the work after cutting the wires becomes a simple one in which the housings are stacked and coupled together. Since it is not necessary to turn the electric wire upside down, the assembly work is reduced. In this case, the open surface of the upper housing is covered with a cover or the like as necessary.

  And in the said form, the drawing-out direction of the electric wire from a housing is mutually reversed, and the electric wire of both housings is piled up in the direction used as a continuous linear shape by planar view, but makes the drawing-out direction of an electric wire the same side mutually It is also possible to overlap the wires in both housings in a direction in which they overlap in a plan view. In this way, the wiring direction of the electric wire can be reversed at the position of the pressure contact connector. Moreover, the wiring direction of an electric wire can also be made into a cross shape if the adjacent press-contact terminal is shifted and arranged in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire.

  On the other hand, the number of receiving grooves and press contact terminals in each housing is not limited to the above-described form, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the number of electric wires. In particular, the press contact terminals are provided independently for each electric wire between the housings, and the electric wires are electrically connected in a one-to-one relationship. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the two press contact terminals 13 and 13 are paired in the width direction. It is also conceivable to use a double terminal 21 connected to each other by the connecting portions 20 and 20 and a triple or quadruple multiple terminal in which three or more press contact terminals are similarly connected. A desired branch circuit can be formed by changing the number of electric wires drawn out from each housing using such double or multiple terminals. For example, if the number of wires that are brought into pressure contact with the double terminals and drawn from one housing is made one, a branch circuit that branches into two from the other housing can be formed.

  1 ..Pressure connector 2 ..First housing 3 ..Second housing 4 ..Bottom plate 5 ..Partition wall 6 ..Electric wire 7 ..Accommodating groove 8, 10. , 19 .. Locking projection, 11 .. Elastic piece, 12 .. Locking hole, 13 .. Pressure contact terminal, 16 .. Vertical wall, 17 .. Conducting part, 21.

Claims (2)

Two housings that accommodate a plurality of press-contact terminals capable of press-contacting electric wires in parallel on a predetermined surface;
Coupling means capable of superposing and coupling the two housings in a thickness direction perpendicular to the predetermined surface;
Conductive means for electrically connecting the corresponding press contact terminals between the two housings in a coupled state of the two housings by the coupling means;
A press-connecting connector that enables electrical connection between the electric wires that are press-contacted to the two housings via the press-connecting terminals by coupling the housings by the coupling means ,
The two housings are arranged in the receiving grooves as plate-like shapes in which one surface in the thickness direction is an open surface and a plurality of partition walls parallel to each other are erected at equal intervals to form a receiving groove for electric wires. While the press contact terminal is provided with a vertical wall standing along the inner surface of the receiving groove, the conductive means is a conductive portion that protrudes higher than the partition wall on the vertical wall,
The coupling means is configured to couple the housings in an overlapped state in which the open surfaces face each other and are shifted in the width direction by the thickness of the vertical wall of the press contact terminal,
The partition wall is formed with a notch through which the conducting part of the mating pressure contact terminal penetrates in the coupled state, and the conducting part that has entered the notch on the mating side is adjacent to the conducting part on the mating side By doing so, the pressure contact terminals are configured to be electrically connected to each other . The pressure contact terminals of the two housings according to claim 1, wherein the two housings of the pressure contact connector are arranged at a predetermined interval in the wiring direction of the electric wires, and the electric wires are wired between the two housings. Then, the electric wires extending between the two housings are cut and removed, and the two housings are overlapped and joined to each other by the coupling means, whereby the electric wires that are in pressure contact with the two housings are connected to the pressure welding terminals. A method of manufacturing a wire harness, wherein the wire harness is electrically connected to the wire harness.

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