JPH08321356A - Joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent a wire harness from being improperly assembled at a work site. CONSTITUTION: A locking piece 23d1 formed on a joint terminal 23 held on a joint housing 20 is made to be locked with a guide groove 11a1 formed on the internal cylinder of a connector housing 10. As a result, a joint housing 20 is temporarily engaged with the connector housing 10 in such a state as not disturbing the insertion of a female terminal fitting 13, and can be carried to a wire harness assembling work site in a state integrated with the housing 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a joint connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of joint connector, the one shown in FIG. 11 has been known. In the figure, a rectangular box-shaped connector housing 1 is formed with a plurality of terminal fitting housing chambers 2 that communicate with each other in the vertical direction. The terminal portion 3a of the female-side terminal fitting 3 is faced and held from the opening. On the other hand, a rectangular lid-shaped joint housing 4 capable of covering the upper end portion of the connector housing 1 holds therein a tab-shaped joint terminal 5 folded back in a U shape.

When the joint housing 4 is covered on the upper end of the connector housing 1, the joint terminal 5 enters into the terminal metal fitting accommodating chamber 2 and is connected to the female terminal metal fitting 3 held therein. Depending on the formation pattern of the joint terminal 5, the combination of the electrically conductive female side metal fittings changes, and a desired joint pattern can be obtained. That is, different joint patterns can be formed by the common joint housing 4.

Such a joint connector is mounted at a wire harness assembly work site. Therefore, the connector housing 1 and the joint housing 4 must be paired in order to obtain a predetermined joint pattern at the wire harness assembly work site. Here, if the joint housing 4 is attached to the connector housing 1 in advance, the joint housing 4 must be removed once when the female side terminal fitting 3 to which the electric wire is crimped is inserted in the wire harness assembly work place. I will have to do it. For this reason, normally, the hues of the pairs are matched so that the combinations do not change while being conveyed separately.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional joint connector, the hues are matched and the connector housing 1 and the joint housing 4 forming a pair are connected at the wire harness assembly work site. Even so, there was a problem that misassembly could occur because the same type of materials were mixed. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a joint connector capable of preventing erroneous assembly of a wire harness in a workplace.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a connector housing for accommodating and holding a plurality of terminal fittings, and a fitting connection capable of fitting connection with the connector housing. A joint connector, which is sometimes connected to the terminal metal fittings and holds a joint terminal for conducting each of the terminal metal fittings to each other, wherein the joint housing holds the joint housing in a temporarily mounted state. The terminal and the connector housing are formed with a concave and convex locking mechanism capable of locking each other.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the joint connector according to the first aspect, the joint terminal is a terminal piece which is fitted and connected to the terminal fitting to conduct electricity.
The connector housing includes a locking piece for locking the connector housing, and the connector housing has a locking portion capable of locking the locking piece. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the joint connector according to claim 2, wherein the joint housing is formed in a cap shape capable of covering the connector housing, and the cap opening end and the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing. A waterproof seal is provided between the and.

[0008]

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, the joint terminal held by the joint housing and the connector housing are provided with the concavo-convex locking mechanism capable of locking with each other. The joint mechanism holds the joint housing temporarily attached to the connector housing by the stop mechanism. In this temporarily mounted state, the joint housing and the connector housing are integrated, but the insertion of the terminal fitting into the connector housing is not hindered.
As it is, the wire harness is transported to the assembly work site, the terminal fittings are accommodated, and the assembly is completed. Since the joint housing is conveyed integrally with the connector housing, the joint terminal is not exposed and damage to the joint terminal due to collision with foreign matter is prevented.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 configured as described above, the joint terminal held in the joint housing is formed with the terminal piece and the locking piece, and the connector housing is fitted into the joint terminal. Then, the locking piece is locked and temporarily mounted on the locking portion of the connector housing. At this time, the terminal piece is not yet inserted in the connector housing side, and if the terminal fitting is inserted in the wire harness assembly work place and then put into the proper mounting state, the terminal piece fits and connects with the terminal fitting. Conduct.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3 configured as described above, the joint housing is formed in a cap shape capable of covering the connector housing, and waterproof is provided between the open end of the cap and the outer peripheral surface of the connector housing. A seal is provided, and when the joint housing is covered with the connector housing, the terminal fittings and the like are watertightly held from the outside. Here, since the joint terminal engages with the connector housing inside the joint housing, waterproofness can be maintained.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the joint housing can be temporarily attached to the connector housing by the concavo-convex locking mechanism formed on the joint terminal and the connector housing, the joint housing can be integrated. It is possible to provide a joint connector that can be transported to a work site for assembling a wire harness, and in which the terminal fittings can be inserted, and workability can be improved. Further, since the joint terminal is not exposed to the outside during transportation, it is possible to prevent damage.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to improve the workability while maintaining the simple structure by merely engaging the joint terminal with the engaging piece formed together with the terminal piece. In particular, the locking piece is protected similarly to the terminal piece and can prevent damage. Further, according to the invention of claim 3, the locking piece housed together with the terminal piece is locked inside the joint housing, so that reliable waterproofness can be secured.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a joint connector according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical section, and FIG. 3 is a horizontal section. In the figure, the connector housing 10 is formed in a double cylinder shape, and the inner cylinder part 11 is formed with three rows of the terminal fitting housing chambers 12 in the horizontal direction and three stages in the vertical direction. Each terminal fitting housing chamber 12 penetrates back and forth, and when the female terminal fitting 13 is inserted from the rear side opening from the end terminal portion 13a side, the resin lance 14 formed on the bottom surface engages with the female fitting. The terminal fitting 13 is held in the terminal fitting housing chamber 12.
A tubular outer tubular portion 15 is formed so as to surround the inner tubular portion 11, and a part of the outer tubular portion 15 serves as a seesaw-type lock arm 16. A ring-shaped rubber seal 17 can be mounted on the outer periphery of the inner tubular portion 11 surrounded by the outer tubular portion 15, and the female terminal fitting 13 inserted into the terminal fitting housing chamber 12 can be attached. At the rear end, a rubber plug 19 that closes a gap between the electric wire 18 and the terminal fitting accommodating chamber 12 is attached.

On the other hand, the joint housing 20 is formed in a cap shape having a cylindrical shape with a bottom which can be mounted on the tip of the inner cylindrical part 11 of the connector housing 10, and has a cylindrical wall part 21.
And a back wall 22. The wall portion 21 is formed so as to be insertable between the inner tubular portion 11 and the outer tubular portion 15,
The lock protrusion 2 corresponding to the lock arm 16 is provided on the upper surface.
1a, the inner peripheral surface of which is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rubber seal 17 mounted on the inner cylindrical portion 11 to form a watertight surface. A joint terminal 23 having a tab-shaped terminal piece 23 a is press-fitted and fixed to the inner wall 22.

In this embodiment, the connector housing 10 is formed in a double cylindrical shape, and the joint housing 20 is formed in a cap shape inserted between the double wall surfaces. The joint terminal 2 is provided on the front end side of the connector housing 10 that houses the side terminal fitting 13.
It suffices that the joint housing 20 provided with the connector 3 be mounted, and it may have a shape that covers the tip of the connector housing as it is as in the conventional case.
Further, in the present embodiment, the rubber seal 17 is provided and the waterproof type is used, but the waterproof type is not necessarily required.

The joint terminal 23 is a strip-shaped base portion 23b.
In addition, a tab-shaped terminal piece 23a corresponding to the number of terminal fittings is extended from one side edge thereof, and a press-fitting tab piece 23c is extended from the other side edge. 4 and 5 show a state in which the press-fitting tab piece 23c is press-fitted into the back wall 22 and the terminal piece 23a is erected in the opening direction of the joint housing 20. In this embodiment, an integral joint terminal 2 bent into an S-shape
3 is press-fitted and fixed to the back wall 22, and locking pieces 23 protruding toward the opening direction are provided at both end portions similarly to the terminal pieces 23a.
d is formed.

This locking piece 23d is the connector housing 1
It projects toward the outer wall surface of the inner cylindrical portion 11 at 0, and a small projection 23d1 is formed inside the tip. On the other hand, in the inner cylindrical portion 11, a guide groove 11a as a locking portion is formed on the outer wall surface facing the locking piece 23d, and the small protrusion 23d1 is formed on the open end side of the guide groove 11a.
A shallow groove portion 11a1 is formed which can be overridden and locked. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the locking piece 23d
The guide groove 11 when the tip approaches the inner cylindrical portion 11.
When it enters a, the small protrusion 23d1 rides over the shallow groove portion 11a1 and in this state, it is lightly locked so that it cannot be returned backward.

In this embodiment, the locking piece 23d and the guide groove 11a constitute a concave and convex locking mechanism. However, a part of the joint terminal 23 is temporarily locked to the connector housing 10. Any mechanism will do. Therefore, the joint terminal 23 is provided with the same locking piece 23d, and the connector housing 10 is formed with a projection capable of locking the small projection 23d1 on the outer wall surface without forming the guide groove 11a. It is also possible to adopt other shapes such as not having the locking piece 23d in 23 and having a shape in which the wall surface of the inner tubular portion 11 of the connector housing 10 is locked to the tip of the terminal piece 23a. Also, the joint terminal 2
The 3 may not be integrated, but may be composed of a plurality of pieces according to a desired joint pattern.

The locking piece 23d is the shallow groove portion 1 of the guide groove 11a.
The state of getting over 1a1 and locking is called a temporary locking state. At this time, the tip of the seesaw-shaped lock arm 16 is
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lock projection 21a formed on the upper surface of the wall portion 21 abuts. Therefore, unless a particularly large force is applied, the joint housing 20 will not be further inserted into the connector housing 10. In this temporarily locked state, the tip of the terminal piece 23a of the joint terminal 23 is slightly inserted into the open end of the terminal metal housing chamber 12 of the connector housing 10, so that the female side metal terminal in the temporarily locked state The insertion of 13 is not disturbed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described. In the joint housing 20, the joint terminal 23 is inserted from the side of the press-fitting tab piece 23c to the inner wall 22.
Is press-fitted into the connector housing 10,
The rubber seal 17 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the inner tubular portion 11.
The wall portion 21 of the joint housing 20 covers the inner tubular portion 11 and the outer tubular portion 15 of the connector housing 10 so that the joint housing 20 covers the tip of the inner tubular portion 11.
When it is inserted between the joint terminals 23, the tips of the locking pieces 23d formed at both ends of the joint terminal 23 start to enter into the guide grooves 11a formed on the outer wall surface of the inner tubular portion 11. Locking piece 23d
The small protrusion 23d1 formed on the inner side of the tip of the guide groove 11a
When passing over the shallow groove portion 11a1 formed at the entrance portion of the lock housing, the lock protrusion 21a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the wall portion 21 abuts on the tip of the lock arm 16, and the joint housing 20 cannot move forward or backward. And stop.

In this state, the wire harness is conveyed to the assembly work site, and the female side terminal fitting 13 provided with the electric wire 18 and the rubber plug 19 at the rear end is inserted into the terminal fitting housing chamber 12 of the connector housing 10 at the assembly work area. Insert from the rear end side opening. In the state where the joint housing 20 is temporarily locked to the connector housing 10, the tip end of the terminal piece 23a is only slightly inserted into the front end side opening of the terminal fitting housing chamber 12, so that the female side The terminal fitting 13 can be easily inserted. When the joint housing 20 is pushed further toward the connector housing 10 after inserting the female-side terminal metal fitting 13, the lock arm 16 rides on the lock projection 21a and gets over and is locked (FIG. 10). Then, the terminal piece 23a of the joint terminal 23 is inserted into each terminal fitting housing chamber 12 to electrically connect the female terminal fittings 13 to each other.

When the joint housing 20 is pushed in, the rubber seal 17 is compressed and held between the wall portion 21 and the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylindrical portion 11 to form a watertight surface to prevent water from entering from the outside. Here, since the locking mechanism for locking the joint housing 20 and the connector housing 10 is constituted by the joint terminal 23,
It will be locked inside the waterproof and the waterproof property will be good. In this way, the locking piece 23d1 formed on the joint terminal 23 held by the joint housing 20 is locked to the guide groove 11a1 formed on the inner cylindrical portion 11 on the connector housing 10 side. The joint housing 20 is temporarily locked to the connector housing 10 without hindering the insertion of the female-side terminal fitting 13, and the joint housing 20 can be conveyed to the wire harness assembly work site in an integrated state.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a joint connector.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the joint connector.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the joint housing in an assembled state.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a joint housing in an assembled state.

FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view of the joint connector in a temporarily locked state.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a concave-convex locking mechanism portion.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the joint connector in a temporarily locked state.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a lock protrusion and a lock arm portion in a temporarily locked state of the joint connector.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a lock protrusion and a lock arm portion when the joint connector is mounted.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional joint connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Connector housing 11 ... Inner cylinder part 11a ... Guide groove 11a1 ... Shallow groove part 13 ... Female terminal metal fitting 17 ... Rubber seal 20 ... Joint housing 23 ... Joint terminal 23a ... Terminal piece 23d ... Locking piece 23d1 ... Small projection

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A connector housing for accommodating and holding a plurality of terminal fittings, and a joint terminal which can be fitted and connected to the connector housing and which is connected to the terminal fittings at the time of fitting connection to electrically connect the respective terminal fittings. A joint connector including a joint housing for forming a concavo-convex locking mechanism capable of locking the joint terminal and the connector housing with each other in order to hold the joint housing temporarily attached to the connector housing. A joint connector characterized by that. 2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the joint terminal includes a terminal piece that is fitted and connected to the terminal fitting to conduct electricity, and a locking piece that is locked to the connector housing. A joint connector comprising: the connector housing, wherein the connector housing is formed with a locking portion capable of locking the locking piece. 3. The joint connector according to claim 2, wherein the joint housing is formed in a cap shape capable of covering the connector housing, and is waterproof between an opening end of the cap and an outer peripheral surface of the connector housing. A joint connector having a seal.