JPH0817531A - Joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent any deformation of the tip of a tab terminal by providing a guide groove in which the pressing part of a bus bar inserting jig for pressing a base part of a bus bar can be inserted while intersecting to a bus bar locking groove. CONSTITUTION:A jig guiding groove 33 is slotted facing to the terminal of a bus bar 4 and the width of the groove is made larger than a bus bar locking groove 7 and slanted surfaces 37 are formed on both ends of the groove so as to easily guide the pressing parts 35 of a bus bar inserting jig 34. Fitting of the bar 4 to a connector housing 31 is performed by matching the direction of the pressing parts 35 to the groove 33 and pressing the upper end of the bar 4. At this time, as the pressing parts 35 are orthogonal to the plane of the bar 4, any accurate positioning within a plate thickness range of the bar 4 is not required and the pressing parts 35 can be pressed to the bar 4 easily. At the same time, the pressing parts 35 can not be detached from the bar 4 even if the position of the pressing parts 35 is dislocated in the plate thickness direction of the bar 4 during pressing operation. Therefore, the bar 4 can be easily fit and locked to the housing 31 and assembling workability can be improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint connector for interconnecting, for example, a plurality of connecting terminals in a mating connector housing with a flat conductive metal plate (bus bar) housed in a connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a joint connector capable of interconnecting a plurality of connection terminals has been used for obtaining a plurality of branch paths from one trunk line of a wire harness in an electric system such as an automobile.

8 to 12 show the basic structure of a conventional example of such a joint connector. The joint connector 1 is, as is clear from FIG.
A plurality of flat strip-shaped substrate portions 2 (two in this example)
The tongue-shaped tab terminal 3 is extended to have a substantially flat plate-shaped bus bar 4 and a connector housing 5 that houses and holds the bus bar 4.

The connector housing 5 is made of an insulative synthetic resin material and molded into a predetermined shape. As shown in FIGS.
A narrow busbar locking groove 7 is formed in the rear end face, and an opening 8 is provided in the front to insert each tab terminal 3 of the busbar 4 fitted in the busbar locking groove 7 into the opening 8. It is protruding.

Further, in the bus bar 4, the board portion 2 is inserted from the opening end (the upper end in FIG. 10) of the bus bar locking groove 7 to a certain depth and is buried in the bus bar locking groove 7, and the connector is formed. It is locked in the housing 5. As the locking structure of the bus bar 4 in the connector housing 5, for example, an elastic locking piece (not shown) protruding into the bus bar locking groove 7 is provided in the connector housing 5, while
The bus bar 4 may be provided with appropriate measures such as providing a locking hole (not shown) with which the elastic locking piece engages.

The joint connector having the above construction is shown in FIG.
As shown in 0 and 11, for example, it is coupled with a mating connector housing 10 that accommodates female connection terminals 9 that are fitted to the tab terminals 3 in a male and female manner. Further, in the joint connector, when the tab terminal 3 is connected to the bus bar terminal on the circuit board through a connecting terminal (not shown), or when the number of terminals is small (for example, 2 or 3), In some cases, the connector housing may be omitted and the female connection terminal 9 inserted directly into the opening 8 may be fitted.

By the way, in the above joint connector,
The bus bar 4 is attached to the connector housing 5 by using a bus bar insertion jig 11 as shown in FIG. The busbar insertion jig 11 is usually provided with a flat plate-shaped pressing portion 12 that can be inserted into the busbar locking groove 7 on the front end side, and the front end of the pressing portion 12 is the rear end of the substrate portion 2 of the busbar 4 ( By pressing it against the upper end in Fig. 9),
As shown in FIG. 10, the board portion 2 is provided with the bus bar locking groove 7
It can be installed by burying it from the open end to a certain depth.

In the joint connector disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-145673, the bus bar 15 has the structure shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, it has a substantially flat plate shape including a flat strip-shaped substrate portion 16 and a plurality of tongue-shaped tab terminals 17 extending from the substrate portion 16. The point that the tab terminals 17 are arranged is different from that shown in FIG.

On the other hand, a synthetic resin connector housing 1
Corresponding to the structure of the bus bar 15, 9 has a narrow bus bar locking groove 20 into which the bus bar 15 is fitted at one end side (upper end side in the figure), and tab terminals 17 of the bus bar project. The opening 21 is connected to the bus bar locking groove 20.

That is, the connector housing 19 has the same structure as that shown in FIG. 8 except that the openings 21 are continuously provided at both ends of the bus bar locking groove 20. When the bus bar 15 is fitted into the connector housing 19, the bus bar insertion jig 11 as shown in FIG. 9 is used. However, when the width dimension of the pressing portion 12 is smaller than the interval L between the adjacent tab terminals 17, the pressing portion 12 is pressed against the substrate portion 16 between the adjacent tab terminals 17 as shown by an arrow (a) in the figure. Although the insertion work can be performed as described above, when the width dimension of the pressing portion 12 is larger than the interval L between the adjacent tab terminals 17, the insertion work is performed as shown by an arrow (b) in the drawing. This is performed by pressing the pressing portion 12 against the tip of the terminal 17.

[0011]

However, in the joint connector 1 shown in FIG. 8 and the joint connector 14 shown in FIG. 12, it is easy to insert and lock the bus bar 4 into the bus bar locking groove 7. In addition, there was a problem that the assembly work required time and effort. That is, the problem is that the bus bar insertion jig 11 is
2 is provided in a thin plate shape which is fitted to the bus bars 4 and 15 and can be fitted into the bus bar locking grooves 7 and 20,
This is because when pushing the busbars 4 and 15 into the busbar locking grooves 7 and 20, it is necessary to accurately align the tip of the pressing portion 12 and the ends of the substrate portions 2 and 16, and This positioning operation is troublesome, and even if the positioning is performed once, the pressing portion 12 is pressed during the pressing operation.
However, it is necessary to perform the alignment operation again from the end faces of the bus bars 4 and 15.

Further, in the case of the bus bar 15 shown in FIG. 12, when the pressing portion 12 is pressed against the tip of the tab terminal 17 for pushing in, as indicated by an arrow (b) in the drawing, a plurality of parts are pressed. It becomes extremely difficult to apply a force evenly to the tab terminals 17, and the load tends to concentrate on some of the tab terminals 17. However, each tab terminal 17 is chamfered on the tip side in order to facilitate fitting with the female connection terminal and is thinned, so that it is easily deformed due to concentration of load, and when deformed, the female connection terminal is deformed. There is a risk of causing problems such as difficulty in fitting with.

Further, when the pressing portion 12 of the bus bar insertion jig 11 is set to be narrower than the width between the adjacent tab terminals 17, it is difficult to apply a uniform pressing force and the mechanical strength of the jig is increased. Was lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the work of inserting the bus bar into the connector housing is easy. Therefore, the workability of assembling the connector can be improved, and moreover, the tab terminal can be inserted during the work of inserting. It also prevents the occurrence of inconveniences such as deformation at the tip and improves the reliability of the connector. Furthermore, the jigs for inserting the bus bar have increased mechanical strength and avoid inconveniences such as damage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint connector excellent in that it can be performed.

[0015]

A joint connector according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a substantially flat bus bar in which a plurality of tongue-shaped tab terminals are extended from a board portion.
And a connector housing having a rear end surface having a bus bar locking groove into which the bus bar is fitted. The bus bar is locked in the connector housing when the board portion is fitted and buried to a certain depth from the rear end surface. And a jig guide groove for inserting a pressing portion of a bus bar insertion jig that abuts against a board portion of the bus bar intersects with the bus bar locking groove on the rear end surface of the connector housing. It is characterized by being provided. Further, the joint connector may be characterized in that an opening edge of the jig guide groove extending over a rear end surface of the connector housing is provided in an inclined surface shape that opens outward.

Further, in the joint connector according to the present invention, one side of the jig guide groove penetrates the side wall portion of the connector housing extending along the bus bar locking groove and the pressing portion of the bus bar insertion jig is provided. It may be characterized by communicating with a slit that allows insertion.

[0017]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, the pressing portion of the bus bar insertion jig for pressing the bus bar into the bus bar locking groove of the connector housing extends in the direction intersecting the plane formed by the bus bar. , It is not necessary to accurately position the bus bar within the plate thickness range, and the pressing portion can be easily pressed against the bus bar. At the same time, even if the position of the pressing portion deviates slightly in the plate thickness direction of the bus bar during the pressing operation, the pressing portion does not have the disadvantage of coming off the bus bar, and the pressing operation can be continued.

Moreover, since the pressing portion extends in the direction intersecting with the bus bar, even when the bus bar has a structure in which the tab terminals are extended to both sides of the substrate, the space between the tab terminals adjacent to each other is large. The fitting operation can be performed by abutting on the base plate portion, and it is also avoided from the situation that the tip of the tab terminal is pressed to damage the bus bar.

Further, since the pressing portion extends in the direction intersecting with the bus bar, it is not necessary to form the pressing portion into a thin plate shape matching the plate thickness of the bus bar, and the pressing portion is provided in a thick plate shape for inserting the bus bar. It is possible to increase the strength of the jig, and thus avoid inconvenience such as damage to the jig. Further, the jig guide groove is provided in the shape of an inclined surface that opens outward to the rear end surface of the connector housing, so that the bus bar insertion jig can be guided along this inclined surface and introduced into the groove. .

Further, one side of the jig guide groove is provided with a side wall portion of the connector housing extending along the bus bar locking groove, and is connected to a slit through which the pressing portion of the bus bar insertion jig can be inserted. In this case, the busbar insertion structure according to the present invention is applied to a connector housing having a small width dimension in the direction orthogonal to the busbar locking groove and an outer wall approaching the busbar locking groove. Therefore, it is possible to obtain excellent assembling workability, and it is also possible to appropriately increase the strength of the bus bar insertion jig.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a joint connector according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a joint connector according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the joint connector of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a bus bar insertion work, and FIG. A- in FIG.
Sectional drawing in the assembled state along the line A, FIG. 4 is BB of FIG.
It is sectional drawing along the line.

Joint connector 30 in this embodiment
Is a plurality of flat substrate portions 2 (in this example, 2
The tab bar 3 has a substantially flat plate-like shape having a tongue-shaped tab terminal 3 extending therefrom, and a connector housing 31 for accommodating and holding the bus bar 4. The connector housing 31 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin material in a predetermined shape. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connector housing 31 is a flat and narrow bus bar member for fitting and locking the bus bar 4. The stop groove 7 is opened in two rows on the rear end surface,
An opening 8 is provided on the front side, and each tab terminal 3 of the bus bar 4 fitted in the bus bar locking groove 7 is projected into the opening 8.

The structure of the bus bar 4, the bus bar locking groove 7, and the opening 8 is the same as that of the conventional structure shown in FIG. Therefore, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals to simplify the description. As shown in FIG. 3, the bus bar 4 is inserted so that the substrate portion 2 is embedded in the bus bar locking groove 7 at a constant depth from the open end (upper end in FIG. 3) of the bus bar locking groove 7. Then, the connector housing 31 is locked in the connector housing 31.
The structure for locking the bus bar 4 inside is the same as that described in the conventional example. That is, the connector housing 31 is provided with an elastic locking piece that projects into the bus bar locking groove 7, while the bus bar 4 is formed with a locking hole that engages with the elastic locking piece so that both are engaged. The bus bar 4 can be locked by fitting them.

The joint connector 30 of this first embodiment
The connector housing 31 is equipped with a jig guide groove 33 which is orthogonal to the bus bar locking groove 7 on the rear end surface. This jig guide groove 3
As shown in FIG. 2, the bus bar 4 is inserted into the bus bar locking groove 7 so that the bus bar insertion jig 34 is used in abutting contact with the base plate portion 2 of the bus bar 4 in a plate-like pressing portion. 35 is a groove that allows the connector housing 31 to be inserted therethrough.

In the case of the first embodiment, the jig guide groove 33 corresponds to the position of the tab terminal 3 of the bus bar 4, and
It is provided in a row. The jig guide groove 33 has a wider groove width than the bus bar locking groove 7, and the opening edges of the left and right side surfaces extending to the rear end surface of the connector housing on both end sides of the groove are shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 5, in order to easily guide the pressing portion 35 into the jig guide groove 33, the pressing portion 35 is formed in the shape of an inclined surface 37 that opens outward.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the bus bar insertion jig 34 has a pair of pressing portions 35 each having a flat plate shape and having a plate thickness that can be inserted into the jig guide groove 33. Three
The jig main body 38 is formed so as to project at intervals of 3, and an operating rod portion 39 for vertically moving the jig main body 38 toward the jig guide groove 33 is provided. The width W of the pressing portion 35 of the bus bar insertion jig 34 is set to be smaller than the length of the jig guide groove 33 intersecting the bus bar locking groove 7 in the extending direction.

To mount the bus bar 4 on the connector housing 31, as shown in FIG. 2, the pressing portion 35 is attached to the jig guide groove 33 on the connector housing 31, and the pressing portion 35 is attached to the bus bar 4. The pressing portion 35 extends in the direction orthogonal to the plane formed by the bus bar 4 in that case, so that accurate positioning within the plate thickness range of the bus bar 4 is unnecessary. In addition, the pressing portion 35 can be easily pressed against the bus bar 4, and at the same time, even if the position of the pressing portion 35 is slightly deviated in the thickness direction of the bus bar 4 during the pushing operation of the bus bar 4, the pressing portion 35 does not move. The pushing operation can be continued without the inconvenience of being disengaged. Therefore,
The work of fitting and locking the bus bar 4 into the connector housing 31 is facilitated, and the workability of assembling the connector can be improved.

Further, since the pressing portion 35 extends in the direction intersecting with the bus bar 4, it is not necessary to form the pressing portion 35 into a thin plate shape matching the plate thickness of the bus bar 4, and the plate thickness dimension of the pressing portion 35 is reduced. By increasing the number of bus bar insertion jigs 34
It is also possible to increase the mechanical strength of and to avoid the occurrence of inconveniences such as jig damage.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the joint connector according to the present invention. The joint connector 40 of the second embodiment corresponds to the conventional example shown in FIG. That is, the bus bar 15 has a flat strip-shaped substrate portion 16.
A plurality of tongue-shaped tab terminals 17 are provided on both sides of the structure. Further, the connector housing 41 made of synthetic resin into which the bus bar 15 is fitted and locked has a flat bus bar locking groove 20 into which the bus bar 15 is fitted and which is formed at one end side (the upper end side in the figure). The bus bar locking groove 20 is provided with an opening 21 through which the tab terminal 17 of the bus bar 15 fitted to a fixed position in the locking groove 20 is projected.
It is connected to.

In the case of this joint connector, a row of jig guides are formed on the rear end side of the connector housing 41 so as to be orthogonal to the bus bar locking groove 20 at the intermediate position between the pair of openings 21. The groove 43 is equipped. The jig guide groove 43 allows the thick plate-shaped pressing portion 45 of the bus bar insertion jig 44 used when inserting the bus bar 15 into the bus bar locking groove 20 to be inserted into the connector housing 41. It is a groove.

As described above, even when the jig guide groove 43 is provided so as to be orthogonal to the bus bar locking groove 20 at the intermediate position between the pair of openings 21, as in the case of the first embodiment described above. When the pressing portion 45 is pressed against the bus bar 15, accurate alignment with respect to the plate thickness dimension of the bus bar 15 is unnecessary, and therefore, the work of inserting the bus bar 4 into the connector housing 31 is easy and the workability of assembling the connector is improved. You can Further, by increasing the plate thickness of the pressing portion 45, the mechanical strength of the bus bar insertion jig 44 can be increased, and the occurrence of inconvenience such as breakage of the jig can be avoided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the pressing portion 45 is provided between the adjacent tab terminals 17 and the substrate portion 1
Since the insertion work can be performed by abutting on the tab 6, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the pressing portion 45 is pressed against the tip of the tab terminal 17 during the fitting / locking work. The reliability of the assembled connector can be improved by preventing the occurrence of inconvenience such as the deformation of the tip of the terminal 17.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show a third embodiment of the joint connector according to the present invention. The feature of the joint connector 50 of the third embodiment is that one side of the jig guide groove 52 provided on one end side of the connector housing 51 so as to be orthogonal to the bus bar locking groove 7 (on the front side in FIG. 6). ) Penetrates a side wall portion (front wall portion) 53 of the connector housing 51 extending along the bus bar locking groove 7 and has a slit 57 through which the pressing portion 56 of the bus bar insertion jig 55 can be inserted. This is the point formed on the side wall portion 53. The bus bar insertion jig 55 includes a pair of pressing portions 56 arranged corresponding to the positions of the tab terminals 3 of the bus bar 4, a connecting portion 58 connecting these pressing portions 56 to each other, and this connecting portion. And a support rod (not shown) connected to 58.

Therefore, when the bus bar 4 is pushed to a predetermined position in the bus bar engaging groove 7 by the bus bar inserting jig 55, the connecting portion 58 is connected to the connector housing 51.
The pressing portion 56 located outside the side wall portion 53 of the jig projecting from the connecting portion 58 is inserted through the slit 57 and the jig guide groove 52.
It is designed to be inserted inside. With such a configuration, it is possible to apply the busbar insertion structure according to the present invention to a connector housing having a small width dimension in the direction orthogonal to the busbar locking groove 7 and obtain excellent assembly workability. Further, it is possible to increase the strength suitable for the jig for inserting the bus bar.

The number of tab terminals of the bus bar used in the joint connector of the present invention, the number of rows of bus bar locking grooves formed in the connector housing, the number of terminals accommodated on the connector housing, etc. are the same as those in the above-described embodiment. It is not limited to one.

Further, in the present invention, if the jig guide groove formed on the rear end surface of the connector housing intersects with the bus bar locking groove, the above-described operation and effect can be obtained, and as in the above-described embodiment. It is not always necessary to keep the intersection angle between the jig guide groove and the bus bar locking groove at a right angle. The intersecting angle can be appropriately changed in design so that the busbar can be inserted efficiently depending on the arrangement of the busbar on the connector housing.

[0037]

As described above, according to the joint connector of the present invention, the pressing portion of the bus bar inserting jig that presses the bus bar into the bus bar locking groove of the connector housing is formed by the bus bar. Since it extends in the direction intersecting with the plane, it is possible to easily press the pressing portion against the bus bar without requiring accurate alignment within the range of the plate thickness of the bus bar. At the same time, even if the position of the pressing portion deviates slightly in the plate thickness direction of the bus bar during the pushing operation of the bus bar, the pushing operation can be continued without the inconvenience of the pushing portion coming off the bus bar. Therefore, the work of inserting and mounting the bus bar into the connector housing is easy, and the workability of assembling the connector can be improved.

Moreover, since the pressing portion extends in the direction intersecting with the bus bar, the pressing of the bus bar insertion jig is prevented even when the tab terminals are extended on both sides of the strip-shaped board portion of the bus bar. The portion can be brought into contact with the board portion between the tab terminals adjacent to each other to perform the insertion work, and a situation in which the pressing portion is pressed against the tip of the tab terminal can be avoided. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such as the deformation of the tip of the tab terminal and improve the reliability of the assembled connector.

Further, since the pressing portion extends in the direction intersecting with the bus bar, it is not necessary to form the pressing portion into a thin plate shape that matches the plate thickness of the bus bar, and the mechanical strength of the jig for inserting the bus bar is increased. It is also possible to avoid inconvenience such as breakage of the jig.

Further, a side wall portion of the connector housing extending along the bus bar locking groove is transparently provided on one side of the jig guide groove, and a pressing portion of the bus bar insertion jig can be inserted therethrough. When the slit is formed in the side wall portion of the connector housing, the connector housing according to the present invention has a small size in the direction orthogonal to the bus bar locking groove and the outer wall is close to the bus bar locking groove. By applying the busbar insertion structure, it becomes possible to obtain excellent assembling workability, and it is also possible to increase the mechanical strength appropriate for the busbar insertion jig.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a joint connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a bus bar inserting operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an assembled state taken along the line AA of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a joint connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a joint connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a bus bar insertion work of the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional joint connector.

9 is a perspective view showing a work of mounting a bus bar in the joint connector shown in FIG.

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD of FIG.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional joint connector.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 2 board part 3,17 tab terminal 4,15 bus bar 7,20 bus bar locking groove 30,40,50 joint connector 31,41,51 connector housing 33,43,52 jig guide groove 34,44 , 55 Busbar insertion jig 35, 45, 56 Pressing part 37 Sloping surface

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A bus bar having a substantially flat plate shape in which a plurality of tongue-shaped tab terminals are extended from a base plate portion, and a connector housing having a bus bar locking groove into which the bus bar is fitted are formed on a rear end surface. Is a joint connector that is locked in the connector housing by inserting the substrate portion to a certain depth from the rear end surface and burying the substrate portion in the substrate portion of the bus bar on the rear end surface of the connector housing. A joint connector, characterized in that a jig guide groove for inserting a pressing portion of a bus bar insertion jig that abuts is provided so as to intersect with the bus bar locking groove. 2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein an opening edge of the jig guide groove extending over a rear end surface of the connector housing is provided in an inclined surface shape that opens outward. 3. A slit that allows one side of the jig guide groove to penetrate a side wall portion of the connector housing extending along the bus bar locking groove and allow a pressing portion of the bus bar insertion jig to be inserted therethrough. 2. It is connected to
Joint connector described in.