JPH0231733Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> The present invention is useful for grounding multiple electric wires at once in electrical wiring systems such as automobiles, for example wiring systems using wire harnesses. This relates to joint connectors.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, various joint connectors have been proposed for collectively grounding a plurality of electric wires. For example, it consists of a vertical housing, a metal terminal plate with a plurality of upright branch tab terminals, a vertical partition box that partitions the inside of the housing according to the branch tab terminals, and a large number of joint terminals. Attach a metal terminal plate to the bottom of the vertical housing, set the branch tab terminals upright inside the housing, insert a partition box from the top of the housing to partition each branch tab terminal part, and insert the joint terminals from above into this partition part. There is a method in which the terminal is connected to a branch tab terminal (Utility Application No. 56-157869 (Utility Patent Application No. 58-62574)).

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, in the case of the conventional joint connector of this type, the housing is vertical, so the component itself occupies a large space, and furthermore, the joint terminal and the bottom of the housing are attached to each other. Since the connecting pieces other than the branch tab terminals of the metal terminal plate are not on the same connection plane, the wiring space for the connecting wires also increases. Furthermore, in this case, an unreasonable load is applied to the wires due to the difference in connection direction. Furthermore, the number of parts is large and the cost is insufficient.

<Means for solving the problems> The present invention was developed in view of the problems of the conventional technology. A large number of terminal storage chambers formed through the housing in the longitudinal direction are arranged in the width direction inside the body, and a collective short terminal board having a large number of branch tab terminals is installed in this housing. While inserting and fixing into each terminal storage chamber, a joint terminal is inserted into each terminal storage chamber from the opposite direction of the collective short terminal plate and connected to the branch tab terminal, and the collective short terminal is inserted into each terminal housing chamber and connected to the branch tab terminal. An engagement arm piece made of a folded piece and having an engagement hole at its tip is provided on the plate as a fixing means to the housing, and correspondingly, an engagement arm piece is provided on the housing side to engage with the engagement hole of this arm piece. A stop protrusion is provided, and a slit of the engaging arm piece is provided at the base of the engaging arm piece.

<Function> Therefore, when the branch tab terminals of the collective short terminal board are inserted into each terminal storage chamber from one side of the housing, the engagement hole of the engagement arm piece is simultaneously engaged with the locking protrusion on the top surface of the housing. Then, the short terminal board is stably fixed all at once, and then by inserting the joint terminals into each terminal storage chamber from the opposite side, the joint terminals and branch tab terminals can be easily connected in the terminal storage chamber. . After this connection, even if an external force is applied, the engagement arm pieces will not easily disengage due to the slits.

<Example> Hereinafter, the joint connector of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the illustrated example.

1 to 11 show a connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, in these figures, the top surface of this connector in use is the 11th
Corresponding to the figures, in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 10, the bottom surface of the present connector is shown as the top surface for convenience.

In the figure, 1 is a housing made of a thin plastic case 2, 3 is a bulk short terminal plate for ground connection formed of a single metal plate, and 4 is a joint terminal to which each ground wire 5 is connected. be.

The housing 1 is formed by arranging a large number of terminal storage chambers R formed in the width direction of the interior of a plastic case 2 and penetrating the case 2 in the longitudinal direction. At the back of the flexible top plate,
A protrusion 6 having a tapered surface 6a on the insertion opening side of the joint terminal 4 is formed as a housing lance for fixing the joint terminal 4.
Also, for the insertion port side of the bulk shot terminal board 3,
Part of the partition wall 7 of the adjacent terminal storage chambers R, R is cut out to provide a stepped portion 8, which serves as a stopper for regulating the insertion position of the collective short terminal board 3. Further, a tapered protrusion 9 having a tapered surface 9a on the insertion opening side (outside) of the collective short terminal plate 3 is formed on the inner wall of the outer side of the outermost terminal storage chambers R, R. Further, on the bottom surface of the plastic case 2, there are reinforcing protrusions 10..., and on the left and right sides of the insertion port side of the bulk short terminal plate 3, there are tapered surfaces 11a on the insertion port side.
Locking projections 11, 11 having 11a are provided. In the vicinity of this locking projection 11, that is, on the inside parallel to the longitudinal direction of the locking projection 11, there is a displacement prevention projection 12 for preventing displacement of the engaging arm piece of the collective short terminal plate 3, which will be described later. is provided as a continuous ridge.

In this example, the collective short terminal plate 3 has a triangular flat fixing piece 13 at the rear end (on the right side in FIG. 1).
, for example, as a grounding fixing piece, and in the front width direction extending slightly upward from the base of the flat fixing piece 13 with a step, each of the terminal storage chambers R is provided.
A large number of branch tab terminals 14 . . . housed in . . . are formed and arranged at appropriate intervals. The inner bottom portion 15a of the notch 15 between these adjacent branch tab terminals 14, 14 abuts against the stepped portion 8 of the partition wall 7 of the plastic box 2 and is positioned. These branch tab terminals 14...
...On both outer sides of the arrangement part, there are engaging protrusions 1 that engage with the tapered protrusions 9 of the plastic case 2.
6 and 16 are provided. Further, at the base of the outermost branch tab terminals 14, 14, engagement arm pieces 17, 17 are formed which are folded into a U-shape from the base onto the branch tab terminals 14, 14.
Engagement holes 18, 18 that engage with the locking protrusions 11, 11 of the housing 1 are provided at the tips of the housings 7, 17. At the base of the engaging arm pieces 17, 17,
As is clear from FIG. 2, the engagement arm piece 17,
Slits 19, 19 are provided by cutting from the base of the branch tab terminals 17 to the bases of the branch tab terminals 14, 14 (the two outermost terminals). This slit 1
Reference numerals 9 and 19 separate the bases of the engagement arm pieces 17 and 17 from the base of the flat fixing piece 13 to impart appropriate elasticity to the engagement arm pieces 17 and 17. Furthermore, in order to ensure the rigidity of the collective shot terminal plate 3, press reinforcing grooves 20 are preferably inserted between the bases of these branch tab terminals 14 and the bases of the flat fixing pieces 13. Note that 21 is a fixing hole provided at the top of the flat fixing piece 13.

Therefore, when using the joint connector of the present invention to collectively ground a large number of ground wires 5 of a plurality of wire harnesses in a car, for example, it can be done as follows. .

First, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the housing 1 is
Then, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the short terminal board 3 is placed opposite the short terminal board 3, and the branch tab terminals 14 are placed in the corresponding terminal storage chambers R of the housing 1, as shown in FIGS. When inserted, the inner bottom 15a of the notch 15 between the branch tab terminals 14, 14 of the bulk short terminal plate 3 is connected to the partition wall 7 of the housing 1.
Insert it until it touches the stepped part 8. Immediately before this contact with the stepped portion 8, the engagement protrusions 16, 16 on both outer sides of the collective shot terminal plate 3 climb over the tapered surfaces 9a, 9a of the tapered protrusions 9, 9 inside the housing 1, and the protrusions 9, It is locked with the inner step part of 9.
At the same time, the tips of the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 located on both sides of the collective short terminal plate 3 are connected to the tapered surfaces 11 of the locking protrusions 11, 11 on the upper surface of the housing 1.
a, 11a, and the engaging arm piece 17,
17 engagement holes 18, 18 engage with the locking protrusions 11, 11. Also, at this time, the engaging arm pieces 17, 17
The inner side is in close contact with the protrusions 12, 12 for preventing slippage.
Thereby, the short terminal plate 3 is fixed to the housing 1 in an extremely stable manner.

Thereafter, the required number of joint terminals 4 to which the ground wire 5 is connected are inserted into the terminal storage chamber R from the insertion opening on the opposite side of the collective short terminal board 3.
Then, the tip of the joint terminal 4 is fixed by the protrusion 6 of the flexible top plate in the terminal storage chamber R, and the tip of the joint terminal 4 just protrudes as shown in FIG. It fits into the tip of the branch tab terminal 14 and is connected. This connection completion state is shown in FIG. 10.

In order to further attach this connector to a car body or the like and ground it, as shown in FIG. .

This fixed state requires an extremely small space because the plastic case 2 of the housing 1 is thin and the short terminal plate 3 and the joint terminals 4 are connected on substantially the same plane. Further, the ground wire 5 is also in the same direction as the joint terminal 4, so that no excessive load is applied to it. Further, the collective short terminal plate 3 is fixed by the engaging protrusions 16, 16 of the collective short terminal plate 3, the tapered protrusions 9, 9 on the housing 1 side, and the engaging arm piece 17 of the collective short terminal plate 3, 17 and the locking protrusions 11, 11 on the housing 1 side are double fixed, making it extremely stable. Furthermore, since the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 are in close contact with the anti-displacement protrusions 12, 12, they do not easily displace. Furthermore, due to the slits 19, 19, the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 are given appropriate elasticity independently from the rigid flat fixing piece 13, so that, for example, as shown in FIG. Even when an upward external force is applied to the housing 1 due to tension such as
The engagement holes 18, 18 of 7, 17 are the locking protrusions 11, 1
It never deviates from 1. On the other hand, if the slits 19, 19 are not provided, the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 will not be connected to the flat fixing piece 13, as shown in FIG.
There is a surface where it is difficult to follow the movement of the housing 1 because the rigidity strength is more than necessary from the parts, and the engagement holes 18, 18 of the engagement arm pieces 17, 17 are connected to the locking protrusions 11, 17.
There is a possibility that it will be removed from the list of 11.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the collective short terminal plate 3
In fixing, the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 of the collective short terminal plate 3 and the locking protrusion 1 on the housing 1 side
1 and 11, sufficient fixing strength is obtained, so that the engagement protrusion 1 of the collective short terminal plate 3
6, 16 and the tapered protrusion 9 on the housing 1 side.
It is also possible to omit the engagement with 9.

Further, the fixing means by engaging the engaging arm pieces 17, 17 with the locking protrusions 11, 11 on the housing 1 side is not limited to this, and a simple design change, for example, the engaging arm piece 17 , 17 engagement hole 1
Of course, the present invention also includes a case where the portions 8 and 18 are formed into projections projecting from the upper surface, and the locking projections 11 and 11 on the housing 1 side are formed into recessed holes. The same applies to the engagement between the engagement protrusions 16, 16 of the collective short terminal plate 3 and the tapered protrusions 9, 9 on the housing 1 side. For example, an engagement recess is formed in the collective short terminal plate 3, and the housing 1 For example, a locking protrusion that locks with the side is formed on the side.

In addition to the above embodiments, the slits in the present invention include, for example, the slits 19' and 19' shown in FIG.
As shown in 19', the depth of the cut can be adjusted as appropriate, and the shape of the cut is not particularly limited.

Furthermore, the connector of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned automotive ground connection, but can be applied to other general electrical connections when collectively connecting.
Of course.

<Effects of the invention> According to the invention, as is clear from the above description, the housing is thin, and the joint terminal and the collective short terminal board are connected on substantially the same plane via the housing. This is an excellent joint connector that requires a small connection space, provides sufficient connection strength between the housing and the short terminal plate, has extremely stable connection fixing strength, prevents unexpected disengagement, and has a small number of parts. can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention before assembly; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the collective short terminal board from the bottom side;
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the housing, Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view with the top surface of the housing removed, Figure 5 is a side view of the housing on the joint terminal insertion opening side, and Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the housing and the short terminal plate. FIG. 7 is a partial vertical side view corresponding to the state shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional plan view showing the short terminal board inserted and fixed into the housing. , FIG. 9 is a partial vertical side view corresponding to the state shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the completed state of connector assembly, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view with the collective shot terminal board grounded. Fig. 12 is a partial longitudinal side view showing the operating state of the engagement arm piece with a slit, Fig. 13 is a partial longitudinal side view showing the operating state of the engagement arm piece without a slit, and Fig. 14 is a partial longitudinal side view showing the operating state of the engagement arm piece with a slit. It is a perspective view of the collective short terminal board which showed another example. In the figure, 1...Housing, 2...Plastic box, 3...Bulk shot terminal board, 4...Joint terminal, 5...Ground wire, 11...Locking protrusion,
13... Flat fixing piece, 14... Branch tab terminal, 1
7...Engagement arm piece, 18...Engagement hole, 19...
Slit, R...Terminal storage room.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It is a thin plastic box, consisting of a housing consisting of a large number of terminal storage chambers formed in the width direction of the inside and passing through the case in the longitudinal direction, and a single metal plate, with a rear end. A collective short terminal having a flat fixing piece at the front thereof, and having a large number of branch tab terminal groups arranged at appropriate intervals and stored in each terminal storage chamber in the width direction on substantially the same plane as the flat fixing piece in front of the flat fixing piece. a board, a number of joint terminals that are inserted into each of the terminal storage chambers from the direction opposite to the short terminal board and connected to the branch tab terminals, and a plurality of joint terminals that are inserted into the respective terminal storage chambers from the direction opposite to the short terminal board and connected to the branch tab terminals; an engagement arm piece that is folded back into a U-shape on the tab terminal and has a locking hole at its tip;
A locking protrusion provided on the upper surface of the housing in a portion where the locking hole of the engaging arm piece occupies, and the engaging arm piece cut from the base of the engaging arm piece to the base side of the branch tab terminal. A joint connector characterized by comprising a slit and a slit.