JPH08288029A - Electricity distribution connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an electricity distribution connector at low production cost without need of setting a jointing process or the like specifically, complicating an assembly process or the like, and specifically fitting a dedicated component such as a bus bar. CONSTITUTION: This connector is equipped with a plurality of wires 20 having fixed terminals 21, a housing 25 to house the terminals 21, and a jointing wire 27 to connect the terminals 21 to one another in the housing 25. Also, the edge of each terminal 21 is formed to have a U-shape, and a crimp groove 22 is formed on both sides of the terminal 21 along a direction orthogonal with the lengthwise direction of the wires 20. The jointing wire 27 is pressed into the groove 22 for connecting the wire terminals 21 thereto, and the wires 20 are thereby connected to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric distribution connector for distributing conducting wires of a wire harness of an automobile, etc., and particularly to an electric distribution connector for improving workability in manufacturing a wire harness and reducing manufacturing cost by reducing the number of parts. Distributor connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electricity distribution methods for automobile wire harnesses are roughly divided into two types. First
Is a method of distributing electricity in one type of wire harness, and the second is a method of connecting various types of wire harness to an electricity distribution box. The latter requires an electric distribution box, which increases the size accordingly.

As the method of distributing electricity by the former method,
Conventionally, (1) a method of crimping a plurality of electric wires with a joint splice to distribute electricity, (2) a commonly used female terminal is arranged in a housing, and the female terminals each have a tab shape. Connected to the bus bar
Method for distributing electricity, (3) Method for distributing electricity by press-contacting a plurality of electric wires with a bus bar having slits (Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-1)
2593).

First, FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the method (1). As shown in FIG. 6A, the coating on both ends of the electric wire 1 is removed and the terminals 2 and 3 are pressure-bonded. Next, in the middle portion of the electric wire 1 of FIG.
To expose. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6C, the electric wire 1 in which the conductor 5 in the middle portion is exposed as described above, the electric wire 5 at the end is exposed, and the terminal 3 is crimped to the other end
The exposed portions of the conductors of a are brought into contact with each other, and the conductor portions are caulked and connected by the U-shaped joint splice 6.
After that, as shown in FIG. 6D, the joint portion where the conductor wire is exposed is wound by the insulating tape 7 and is then exteriorly mounted.
In this way, the joint splice 6
To connect and connect.

On the other hand, the method (2) is also called a joint connector method, and its outline is shown in FIG.
A plurality of female terminals 2 crimped to the tip of the electric wire 1 are fitted and arranged in the housing 8. The illustrated housing 8 is an example of eight terminals. Then, the joint terminal 10 provided with four claws on the upper and lower stages is inserted from the rear portion of the cap 9, and the cap 9 is fitted into the housing 8. The claws of the joint terminal 10 are inserted into the female terminals 2 of the electric wires 1 connected to the housing 8 to electrically connect the respective electric wires 1.

In the method (3), as shown in FIG. 8, a branch terminal 12 having electric wire insertion grooves (only the upper groove is shown) provided on the insulating substrate 11 is provided upright. 1
The electric wire 13 under the substrate is press-fitted and connected in the lower groove of 2,
The electric wire 15 fixed to the holder 14 is press-fitted and connected into the upper groove of the branch terminal 12. In this way, the electric wire 15
And the electric wire 13 are connected to distribute electricity.

[0007]

However, each of the above-mentioned prior arts has the following drawbacks. First, the method of using the joint splice of (1) is
Generally, the manufacturing process of wire harness is
It consists of a series of steps of terminal crimping, intermediate joint, wire binding and sheathing, and the joint step shown in Fig. 6 is required between terminal crimping and wire binding, increasing the number of work in process and the number of steps. Therefore, there is a drawback that the manufacturing cost is high.

Further, when binding the wires, it is necessary to divide the process depending on the size of the wire harness, but in the initial pre-assembly, the part crimped by the joint splice and the branched wires hinder the workability. To do. This hinders automation of the process.

Next, the female terminal 2 of (2) is attached to the housing 8
In the method of connecting the female terminals with the tab-shaped joint terminal 10 for electrical distribution, the shape of the joint terminal used for electrical distribution differs depending on the type or number of circuits.
Therefore, since it is necessary to prepare a large number of types of joint terminals, the number of required parts is increased and parts management is complicated. Further, the dedicated part called the joint terminal also has a drawback that the cost for electricity distribution is high because the processing cost is high.

Furthermore, the method (3) for distributing electricity by press-fitting a plurality of electric wires into the branch terminal 12 having grooves is as follows.
If the electric wire used is a conductor twisted wire, there is a drawback that the twisted wire is likely to separate during pressure contact. Therefore, in the method (3), it is not preferable to use an electric wire using a twisted wire for a conductor.
However, these wires have a problem in flexibility. Therefore, the method of manufacturing the wire harness and the work of assembling the wire harness to the vehicle are restricted.

In order to solve the drawback that the single wire or the tin-plated wire has low flexibility, a technique has been proposed in which a compressed conductor formed by compressing a plurality of conductors is used as an electric wire (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5). No. 159628). However, this compressed conductor has the drawback of high manufacturing costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is not necessary to separately provide a joint process or the like, and the assembly process or the like is not complicated, and a bus bar or the like can be used depending on the type of electric distribution. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector for electric distribution that does not require separate dedicated parts and has a low manufacturing cost.

[0013]

An electrical distribution connector according to the present invention comprises a plurality of electric wires to which terminals are fixed, a housing for accommodating the terminals of these electric wires, and the terminals in the housing. A joint electric wire that is connected to each other, and the terminal has pressure welding grooves on both side surfaces thereof in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the electric wire, and the joint electric wire is press-fitted into the pressure welding groove. Thus, the terminal of the electric wire and the electric wire for joint are connected.

The housing has a lid for inserting the electric wire for joint, and the lid and the engaging member provided on the housing are engaged with each other to fix the lid to the housing. With this lid, the joint electric wire can be configured to be fixed in the housing.

Further, the terminal has a plurality of pairs of pressure welding grooves which are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire, and the terminal fixed to the electric wires of the first group and the second group adjacent to each other has the electric wire longitudinal direction thereof. The first and second joint wires may be press-fitted into the press-fitting grooves that are not aligned in the direction.

[0016]

In the present invention, each electric wire is electrically connected by press-fitting the joint electric wire into the press-contact groove of the press-contact terminal locked in the housing. In this case, as the electric wire for the joint, an electric wire which is not a stranded conductor such as a single wire or a collective tin-plated wire is used in order to prevent the electric wires from being separated, but the electric wire to which the terminals are joined is used. There is no restriction on the type itself, and an electric wire whose conductor is a stranded wire can also be used.

Further, the connector of the present invention can be carried out as an extension of the wire binding process, and it is not necessary to provide a special process.

Further, by providing a lid on the housing, press-fitting the joint electric wire, and fixing the lid to the housing, the joint electric wire is surely inserted into the press-fitting groove, and the vibration is generated. It can be prevented from falling off.

Furthermore, a plurality of pairs of pressure welding grooves are provided, and the terminals fixed to the electric wires of the first group and the terminals fixed to the electric wires of the second group are provided at positions displaced from each other. By press-fitting into the groove, it is possible to individually connect the first group of electric wires and the second group of electric wires, and it is possible to prevent short-circuiting of the joint electric wires.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is an assembly view of an electric distribution connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a housing 25.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of FIG. A crimping crimp terminal 21 is crimped and connected to the tip of the electric wire 20. The pressure contact crimp terminal 21 has a U-shaped end surface, and both side surfaces 23 thereof are formed with pressure contact grooves 22 which are cut from the upper side to the lower side.

The housing 25 is provided with six terminal insertion grooves 28 therein, and in the terminal insertion grooves 28,
The pressure contact terminal 21 of the electric wire 20 is inserted.
Guide grooves 28a extending in the terminal insertion direction are formed on both inner side surfaces of the terminal insertion hole 28. Also, the terminal 21
Protrusions 23a that engage with the guide grooves 28a are formed on the outer surfaces of both side surfaces 23 of the. Thereby, the terminal 21 is inserted into the guide groove 28a by inserting the terminal 21 into the terminal insertion groove 28 while inserting the protrusion 23a into the guide groove 28a.
It is guided by a and is inserted into the terminal insertion groove 28.

The upper rear portion of the housing 25 is designed to be lifted upward as a lid 26. The lid 26 is fixed to the lower portion of the housing by engaging an engaging piece 30 provided on the side surface of the lid 26 over the lower rear portion of the housing with a claw 29 provided on the side surface of the lower portion of the housing 25. You can do it. The lid 26 is provided with a protrusion 26a on its inner surface. The protrusion 26a presses the joint electric wire 27 toward the terminal 21 by closing the lid 26. The electric wire 27 for joint is configured by a single wire or a collective tin-plated wire.

In the electrical distribution connector thus constructed, the pressure contact terminals 21 of the plurality of electric wires 20 are connected to the guide groove 2.
8a to be inserted into the terminal insertion groove 28 of the housing 25, the joint electric wire 27 is press-fitted into the grooves 22 of the both side surfaces 23 of the terminal 21, and the adjacent electric wires 20 are electrically connected by the joint electric wire 27. Connecting. In this case, the projections 23a of the terminal 21 are aligned with the guide grooves 28a of the terminal insertion groove 28.
Therefore, even if a downward stress is applied to the terminal 21 when the joint electric wire 27 is press-fitted, the terminal 21 can be prevented from being displaced against the stress. Although not shown, there is a recess on the lower surface of the terminal 21, and a lance for locking the terminal is provided on the inner bottom surface of the housing 25. The lance engages with the recess after the terminal is inserted. By doing so, the terminal will not come off. In this case, since the protrusion 23a on the side surface of the terminal is engaged in the guide groove 28a, the terminal 21 is not displaced upward due to the reaction force of the lance.

After that, the lid 26 is closed, and the engaging piece 30 is attached to the claw 2.
The terminal 21 is fixed to the lid 2 by engaging with 9 and fixing the lid.
Protect by 6. In this case, since the projection 26a provided on the inner surface of the lid 26 presses the joint electric wire 27, the joint electric wire 27 can be reliably held in the press-contact groove 22. In this way, the electric wires 20 inserted in the housing 25 can be connected to each other. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 of the prior art of the electric wire A, even when the second electric wire is branched from the middle of the first electric wire and connected to the second electric wire,
One terminal fixed to the electric wire A forming the electric wire, the other terminal fixed to the other electric wire B forming the first electric wire, and the terminal fixed to the electric wire C forming the second electric wire. C and C may be connected to each other in the housing. As a result, the first electric wire connecting the specific circuit to the second electric wire
You can branch the electric wire.

In the present embodiment, the joint electric wire 27 such as a single wire or a batch tin-plated wire is cut into an appropriate length, and the joint electric wire 27 is pressure-welded to the pressure-welding groove 22 of the terminal 21 in the housing 25. Since each electric wire 20 is connected by this, even if the size of the housing is different and the number of electric wires to be connected is different, the cutting length of the joint electric wire 27 is simply changed. There is no need to prepare dedicated parts. Further, it is not necessary to use a single wire or the like for the main wire of the wire harness, that is, the electric wire 20, and an electric wire using a stranded wire conductor having excellent flexibility can be used. Further, since this branching process can be performed by extending the wire binding process, it is not necessary to provide a special process and workability is not impaired.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The wire 30 has a terminal 31 at its tip.
Is crimped. The terminal 31 has two U-shaped side surfaces 32, and two press-contact grooves 33 and 34 are provided on each side surface 32.

In this embodiment, the terminal 31 is inserted into the housing 26, and the tin-plated wire 35 for joint having a length extending over the entire area of the six holes 28 of the housing 25 is press-fitted into one groove 34 of the terminal 31. Then, all the six electric wires 30 are connected to each other.

On the other hand, the length of the wire 35 is about half the length of the wire 35.
The three adjacent electric wires 30 can be connected to each other by press-fitting the three joint electric wires 36 and 36 into the press-contact grooves 33 and 34 of the terminals 31 of the three adjacent electric wires, respectively. In this case, the one joint electric wire 36 is press-fitted into the one press-contact groove 33, and the other joint electric wire 36.
Since it is press-fitted into the other press-contact groove 34, there is no possibility that the joint electric wires 36, whose conductors are exposed at the ends, come into contact with each other to cause a short circuit. In this way, the types of electricity distribution can be easily increased.

As described above, the joint wire 36 has a conductor exposed at its end. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, when there is only one pair of pressure contact grooves 22, a short circuit may occur between the electric wires 36. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, one joint electric wire 36 is press-fitted into one pressure welding groove 33 of the three electric wires 30, and the other joint electric wire 3 is inserted.
6 is press-fitted into the other pressure welding groove 34 of the other three electric wires 30, so that the end faces of the adjacent electric wires 36 are connected to each other.
Can be displaced in the longitudinal direction and separated from each other. As a result, a short circuit between the electric wires 36 can be avoided.

Further, such a short circuit between the electric wires can be avoided by improving the structure of the housing 25 as shown in FIG. That is, a protrusion is formed at the center of the overlapping surface of the lid 26 of the housing 25, and the protrusion is formed.
Set to 4. As a result, when the lid 26 is closed, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the partition 24 is interposed between the two electric wires 36, and a short circuit between the electric wires 36 can be prevented. Note that FIG. 5D shows the case where the partition portion 24 does not exist between the two electric wires 36, and FIG. 5E shows the case where one electric wire 35 is used.

The shape of the end surface of the terminal 21 is not limited to the U-shape as in the above embodiments, but may be various shapes such as a rectangular box shape. In this case, the head wall is also provided with a slit to form a pressure welding groove.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since a terminal having a groove is provided at the tip of the electric wire to be connected and each electric wire is connected by press-fitting the electric wire for joint in the groove for press-connecting the terminal in the housing, the work itself is performed as an extension of the wire binding process. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special process. Also, since there is no branching of the electric wire, the work is not complicated. Furthermore, there is no need for dedicated parts such as busbars, and there is no need to prepare such dedicated parts according to the type of electrical distribution such as how many circuits are distributed, reducing the cost for branching. can do. Furthermore, as the main wire of the wire harness, an electric wire using a low-cost stranded wire conductor having excellent flexibility can be used. Therefore, the present invention makes a great contribution to improving the technology of electricity distribution in wire harnesses such as automobile harnesses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an assembled state of an electrical distribution connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the same housing.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an assembled state of the electrical distribution connector according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an assembled state of the electrical distribution connector according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the same housing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first conventional electricity distribution method.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second conventional electricity distribution method.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third conventional electric distribution method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20, 30: Electric wire 21, 31: Terminal 22, 33, 34: Groove for pressure welding 23, 33: Side surface 23a: Protrusion 24: Partition part 25: Terminal 26: Lid 27: Electric wire for joint 28: Terminal insertion groove 28a: Guide Groove 29: Claw 30: Engagement piece

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of electric wires to which terminals are fixed, a housing for accommodating the terminals of the electric wires, and a joint electric wire for connecting the terminals to each other in the housing, The terminal has a press-contact groove in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the electric wire on both side surfaces thereof, and the terminal of the electric wire and the electric wire for the joint are connected by press-fitting the electric wire for the joint in the press-contact groove. An electrical distribution connector characterized by: 2. The housing has a lid for inserting the electric wire for the joint, and the lid and the housing are fixed to each other by engaging engagement members provided on the housing with each other. The connector for electric distribution according to claim 1, wherein the electric wire for joint is fixed in the housing by the lid. 3. The terminal has a plurality of pairs of pressure welding grooves which are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire, and the terminal fixed to the electric wires of the first group and the second group adjacent to each other has the electric wire longitudinal direction thereof. First and second grooves are respectively formed in the press-contact grooves at positions not aligned in the direction.
3. The electric distribution connector according to claim 1, wherein the joint electric wire is press-fitted.