JPH0878084A - Joint connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a joint connector with its simple structure and excellent assembling property. CONSTITUTION: On one end side of a main body part 1, a plurality of tubs 3 folded back to the other end side are formed in a row. A cover part 2 is formed while being raised through a hinge part 8 in the one end side of the main body part 1 and an installation plate 11 for earthing is formed in the upper edge of the cover part 2 through a curved joint plate 10. After female-type metal fitting 25, which is counter parts, is fitted in the tubs 3, the cover part 2 is brought down toward the direction shown as an arrow on the hinge part 8 as center, so that claw pieces 19 of object pieces 18 to be held which are formed in both sides of the upper edge of the cover part 2 are fitted in the window holes 22 of holding pieces 21 formed in the main body part 1 when the cover part 2 becomes in parallel to the main body part 1 and thus the cover part 2 is locked. As a result, a housing for covering the fitting parts between the female-type metal fitting 25 and the tubs 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved joint connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a grounding joint connector which is an example of this type of joint connector, an actual joint was used.
The thing described in the 1-197674 publication is known. This consists of a single metal plate that forms a bus bar with multiple tabs juxtaposed on the front edge of the main body and grounding attachments on the rear edge.The bus bar is separate from that. It is a structure assembled to the formed housing, and after inserting the female terminal metal fitting drawn out from each electric circuit into the housing and connecting it to each tab, attach the bus bar attachment part to the ground member such as the vehicle body panel It has become.

[0003]

However, since the conventional ground joint connector is composed of the two component parts of the bus bar and the housing as described above, the mold cost is high and the part management cost is high. In addition, since the process of assembling the bus bar and the housing is required, the manufacturing cost is high as a whole. Further, there is a drawback that the connector becomes large and requires a large mounting space.

The above-mentioned drawbacks similarly occur in a grounding joint connector for connecting a male terminal fitting and a joint connector used for other purposes. The present invention has been completed in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a joint connector having a simple structure and excellent in assembling property.

[0005]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 forms a housing into which a terminal fitting can be inserted with a conductive material, and the housing is provided with a terminal fitting and an electric member. It is characterized in that the connection portion that can be electrically connected is integrally formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the housing is made of a conductive flat plate material, and a main body portion provided with a connecting portion for the terminal fitting is arranged to face the main body portion. And a cover part that is folded back while allowing the insertion of the terminal fitting.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, at least one of the body and the cover is
It is characterized in that provisional assembling means for provisionally holding the cover portion at a position approaching the main body portion to a predetermined height is provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the second aspect, at least one of the main body portion and the cover portion is
It is characterized in that a lateral deviation preventing means for restricting movement of the terminal fitting in a direction orthogonal to the inserting direction is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the back surface of the main body portion can contact the mounting surface, and the main body portion is provided with a contact piece capable of elastically contacting the terminal fitting. Before the main body comes into contact with the mounting surface, the contact piece must be retracted by inserting the terminal fitting so that a part of the contact piece protrudes to the back side of the main body, and the protruding portion must be pressed by the mounting surface. It is characterized in that it can be pressed into contact with the terminal metal fittings.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the edge of the cover portion on the side of the connecting portion with the main body portion is connected to the connecting portion when the cover portion is folded back to the fully assembled state. It is characterized in that the retaining means that can be engaged with each of the terminal fittings collectively is formed along the width direction.

[0011]

In the invention of claim 1, since the connecting portion and the housing are integrally formed of the conductive material, the terminal fittings are short-circuited to each other when the terminal fittings are connected to the connecting portion. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the housing is formed of a flat plate material, and the housing is formed by folding the cover portion toward the main body portion.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the housing is temporarily held by the temporary assembling means so as to face the main body portion and the cover portion at a predetermined interval before the regular main assembly state, and the terminal fitting is attached. Hold loosely. In the invention of claim 4, when the terminal fitting is inserted, the lateral shift preventing means guides the inserting operation of the terminal fitting. Further, after the insertion, the lateral shift preventing means exerts the function of holding the terminal fitting in a fixed position.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, when the terminal fitting is inserted, the contact piece is flexibly deformed and the projecting portion projects toward the rear surface side of the main body portion. When the main body is attached to the mounting surface, the protrusion is pushed and the entire contact piece is pushed back, so that the contact piece is pressed against the terminal fitting. In the invention of claim 6, when the cover is folded back to the main assembly state after connecting the terminal fittings to the connecting portions, the retaining means automatically engages with the terminal fittings together with the folding operation. , It is held in the retaining state.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the housing and the connecting portion are integrally formed, the number of parts and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional case. Since an assembly process for producing a simple connector is unnecessary, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced. According to the invention of claim 2, since the housing is formed by bending a flat plate material, it is easy to manufacture.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the cover part is temporarily held at the temporary holding position, the operation up to the main assembly is facilitated and the cover part is inserted between the cover part and the main body part. Hold the terminal fitting loosely. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the lateral shift preventing means plays a role of a guide when the terminal fitting is inserted, and holds the terminal fitting in a fixed position in the housing after the insertion.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, before the main body is attached to the attachment surface, the terminal metal piece is inserted by flexibly deforming the contact piece, so that the insertion load becomes low. However, after the insertion is completed, the contact piece is pushed back by the mounting surface and pressure-contacts with the terminal fitting, so that the terminal fitting can be connected more reliably.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, by providing one retaining means, a plurality of terminal fittings can be brought into a retaining state at once, so that a very simple structure is sufficient. In addition, since the cover is provided with a retaining means, it does not cause any obstacle when inserting the terminal fitting, and the engaging operation doubles as the folding back operation of the cover. Also excellent in sex.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment exemplifies a ground joint connector in which a female terminal fitting is inserted and connected.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the female terminal fitting 25 is provided with a square tube portion 27 having an insertion port 27a on the tip side,
The rear end side is caulked and fixed to the end of the electric wire 26. Inside the rectangular tube portion 27, a resiliently deformable elastic contact piece 28 is formed by folding back. The reference numeral 29 is
It is a stopper piece for preventing the elastic contact piece 28 from excessively bending. Further, projecting pieces 30 for main locking are formed on both left and right edges of the upper surface in the central portion of the female terminal fitting 25 in the longitudinal direction, and one side of the lower surface at the position where the projecting piece 30 is provided is provided. A stabilizer 31 for temporary locking is projectingly provided on the edge portion.

Next, the structure of the joint connector of this embodiment will be described. This joint connector is formed by press-molding a single metal plate having conductivity, and is roughly divided into a direction perpendicular to the main body 1 before mounting the main body 1 and the female terminal fitting 25. It is composed of a cover part 2.

The body portion 1 has a substantially rectangular shape elongated in the left-right direction, and one edge side of the body portion 1 (on the right side in FIG. 1) is
A plurality of tabs 3 as connecting portions connected to the above-mentioned female terminal fittings 25 are provided side by side at regular intervals. These tabs 3 are formed by folding back from one edge side of the main body portion 1 to the other edge side in a posture parallel to the main body portion 1, and the tips of the tabs 3 are tapered so that the female terminal fittings 25 can be easily inserted. Has become.

On the upper surface of the main body 1, a first holding surface 5 is formed in a rectangular area which is slightly smaller than the outer shape of the main body 1. As shown in FIG. 3, on the first holding surface 5, the tabs 3 are deviated to a position on the front side of the tips of the tabs 3 and to the left of the center line of the tabs 3 in the width direction. At each position, an elongated temporary locking groove 6 is formed by punching along the insertion direction of the female terminal fitting 25. The temporary locking groove 6 is fitted with a stabilizer 31 provided therein during the insertion of the female terminal fitting 25, and the stabilizer 31 moves in the temporary locking groove 6 while inserting the female terminal fitting 25. Is to be done.

On the left and right ends of the edge of the body 1 opposite to the side where the tabs 3 are provided, connecting portions 7 are formed so as to stand up at a right angle, and in the middle of the connecting portions 7, a semicircular shape is formed on the front side. A hinge portion 8 that bulges out is formed. At the upper end of the connecting portion 7, a cover portion 2 capable of covering the upper surface side of the main body portion 1 is formed in a standing posture perpendicular to the main body portion 1.

At the center of the upper edge of the cover portion 2, a mounting plate 11 for earthing is formed integrally, which extends upward and has a substantially chevron shape, via a connecting plate 10 that is bent inward at a right angle. ing. The bending width of the connecting plate 10 is such that the mounting plate 11 and the main body 1 can be flush with each other when the cover 2 is tilted in a posture in which the cover 2 is parallel to the main body 1 about the hinge 8. ing. The mounting plate 11 has a mounting hole 1 for mounting on a ground portion (not shown) such as a vehicle body panel.
2 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 4, a second holding surface 14 is formed on the back surface of the cover portion 2 at a position approximately at the center of the cover portion. This second holding surface 1
4 and the first holding surface 5 of the main body 1 described above, when the cover 2 is tilted in a posture in which the cover 2 is parallel to the main body 1, the female terminal fittings 25 are formed between the both surfaces 5, 14 of the cover 2. The respective launching dimensions are set so that the can be sandwiched.

The lower edge of the cover portion 2 between the two connecting portions 7 extends to the vicinity of the upper end portion of the hinge portion 8. Below that, the female terminal metal fitting 25 is formed corresponding to the front of the tab 3. Is formed with an opening 33 for insertion of the. Further, a locking portion 16 serving as a retaining means for the female terminal fitting 25 is formed at the entire width of the lower edge of the cover portion 2 by being bent inward at a right angle. The bending width of the locking portion 16 is such that when the cover portion 2 is parallel to the main body portion 1, it can be locked to the rear side of the projecting piece 30 on the upper surface of the female terminal fitting 25. Has become.

At both ends of the upper edge of the cover part 2, there are formed locked pieces 18 which are bent at a right angle so as to be flush with the connecting plate 10 of the mounting plate 11 and the cover part 2 described above. . A claw piece 19 is formed on each locked piece 18 by cutting and raising.

Correspondingly, locking pieces 21 rising at a right angle are formed at both ends of the rear edge of the main body 1. The locking piece 21 is formed at a position where the locked piece 18 can enter inside when the cover portion 2 is tilted in a parallel posture with the main body portion 1. The fitting window hole 22 is opened, and the upper end is inclined outward to form a guide surface 23.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. The electric wires are connected in the shape of the joint connector at the time of molding in which the cover portion 2 stands upright at a right angle to the main body portion 1 as shown in FIG.

The female terminal fitting 25 is a protrusion 30 for main locking.
Is directed upward, and is inserted toward the corresponding tab 3 while riding on the first holding surface 5 through the opening 33. In that case, since the locking portion 16 at the lower edge of the cover portion 2 is in a state of being escaped to the outside of the upper edge of the opening portion 33, it does not hinder the insertion of the female terminal fitting 25. Each tab 3
On the other hand, when the female terminal fitting 25 is pushed in while bending the elastic contact piece 28 and reaches a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 5, the stabilizer 31 on the lower surface of the female terminal fitting 25 causes the first holding surface 5 to move. It fits in the temporary locking groove 6. As a result, the female terminal fitting 25 is in a temporary retaining state.

By the same procedure, the female terminal fittings 25 drawn out from the respective electric circuits are sequentially inserted into the respective tabs 3. In this case, since the cover portion 2 is upright and open, the fitting portion between the female terminal fitting 25 and the tab 3 can be visually checked, and the fitting work can be performed efficiently.

When all the female terminal fittings 25 have been fitted to the corresponding tabs 3, as shown in FIG.
In addition, the cover portion 2 is tilted around the hinge portion 8. When the cover 2 is tilted to a position slightly in front of the main body 1 in a parallel posture, the claw piece 19 of the locked piece 18 of the cover 2 contacts the guide surface 23 of the locking piece 21 of the main body 1.
When the cover part 2 is further pushed down, the cover part 2 is further tilted while being deformed so that the claw piece 19 is retracted, and as shown by the solid line in FIG. The piece 19 corresponds to the window hole 22 of the locking piece 21, and the claw piece 19 is restored to its original shape by the elastic force and is fitted into the window hole 22 and locked to the upper edge thereof, so that the cover part 2 is The part 1 is locked so that it cannot be pulled out.

As a result, each tab 3 and the female terminal fitting 25
Cover the upper and lower surfaces of the mating part with the cover part 2 and the main body part 1,
Further, the housing A is formed by covering the rear surface side with the cover portion 2 and the connecting plate 10 of the mounting plate 11. At the same time, the locking portion 16 provided on the cover portion 2 is rotated by 90 ° so as to face downward on the rear side of the projecting piece 30 on the upper surface of all the female terminal fittings 25. The metal fitting 25 is prevented from coming off the housing A (fully locked state). Further, the female terminal fittings 25 are vertically sandwiched between the first holding surface 5 of the main body 1 and the second holding surface 14 of the cover 2, and are housed in the housing A without rattling. The joint connector assembled in this manner is attached to the mounting plate 11
It is used by passing a bolt through the mounting hole 12 and fixing it to the ground portion.

As described above, the joint connector of this embodiment has the plurality of female terminal fittings 2 drawn out from each electric circuit.
It is applied when 5 are collectively connected for earth, and the main body 1
Since the housing A is configured by using the cover portion 2 and the cover portion 2 which is integrally formed with the housing portion, it is possible to use only a single component, which has conventionally been provided with the connecting portion and the housing separately, and the manufacturing cost of the component itself is low. In addition, since the conventional process of assembling the bus bar and the housing is not necessary, the number of manufacturing steps can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. Moreover, the housing A can be easily manufactured because it can be formed by simply bending a single metal plate. In addition, the entire unit is compact as compared with the case where the housing is provided separately, and it is possible to install in a small mounting space.

When fitting the female terminal fitting 25,
Since the cover portion 2 is open, the fitting can be performed while visually checking the fitting portion, so that the fitting operation of the female terminal fitting 25 can be easily performed.

Further, when the cover portion 2 is tilted until it becomes parallel to the main body portion 1, the pawl piece 19 is locked by being fitted into the window hole 22 and the cover portion 2 is held in the tilted posture. The housing A is securely held in a predetermined shape, and the deformation of the housing A is prevented.

Further, due to the extremely simple structure in which one locking portion 16 is provided along the lower edge of the cover portion 2,
All the female terminal fittings 25 can be put together in a retaining state. The locking portion 16 is a female terminal fitting 25.
Since it escapes to the outside of the opening 33 at the time of insertion, there is no hindrance to the insertion, and since the engaging operation doubles as the tilting operation of the cover 2, a special operation can be performed. It is unnecessary and has excellent operability.

<Second Embodiment> FIGS. 6 to 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment exemplifies a ground joint connector in which a male terminal fitting is inserted and connected.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, the male terminal fitting 41 is formed with a tab portion 43, a square tube portion 42, and a jaw portion 49 open on both upper and lower surfaces sequentially from the front end side, and a rear end side. The formed insulation barrel 44 and the wire barrel 45 are fixed by caulking to the end of the coating of the electric wire 46 and the end of the core wire 47 protruding therefrom. A projection piece 68 provided on the cover portion 52 of the joint connector, which will be described later, is provided in the upper surface side opening of the jaw portion 49.
Is engaged with the terminal fitting 41 in the pulling-out direction, and an opening on the lower surface side of the jaw portion 49 is provided with an elastic locking piece 58 formed in the main body portion 51 of the joint connector. It is a locking hole 48 for fitting and temporarily locking the terminal fitting 41 in the removal direction. Also, chin 4
The upper and lower edges of the both side plates 50 of 9 are formed so as to stand up from the upper surface of the rectangular tube portion 42 by a certain dimension.

Next, the structure of the joint connector will be described. This joint connector, like the first embodiment,
It is formed by press-molding one sheet of metal plate having conductivity, and is roughly divided into a main body portion 51 and a cover portion 52 provided so as to overlap the upper surface side thereof.

The main body 51 is in the form of a flat plate, and has a substantially rectangular plane as shown in FIG. On the rear edge side (on the right side in FIG. 7) of the main body portion 51, connecting portions 53 that are bulged upward by tapping are formed over the entire width, and on the upper surface of each connecting portion 53, the above-mentioned male terminal fittings are formed. A plurality of contact points 54 provided corresponding to the insertion pitch of 41 and capable of contacting each tab portion 43 are provided in a protruding manner.

In front of the connecting portion 53 (on the left side in FIG. 7), a plurality of first portions formed by cutting and raising upward.
The projections 55 are provided along the width direction of the main body 51 at regular intervals that are the same as the width dimension of the male terminal fitting 41, and in front of it, a plurality of second protrusions formed by cutting and raising. The protrusions 56 are provided at the same intervals as the first protrusions 55 and are shifted by one pitch phase from the first protrusions 55 as a whole. The first projection 55 and the second projection 56 have a function of guiding the male terminal fitting 41 straight toward each contact 54 of the connecting portion 53 with both side surfaces of the male terminal fitting 41 sandwiched therebetween. Is.

Between the parallel positions of the first projection 55 and the second projection 56, an elastic locking piece 58 for locking the locking hole 48 of each inserted male terminal fitting 41 is also cut and raised. Is formed in a posture in which the rear is directed obliquely upward. Further, at the rear edge of the main body portion 51, a main body side attachment portion 60 having an insertion hole 61 for the bolt 78 opened is provided in a protruding manner.

At the left and right ends of the front edge (left edge in FIG. 8) of the main body 51, arcuately bent hinges 63 are formed, and the cover 52 is provided via the hinges 63. The cover portion 52 is formed in advance so as to face the main body portion 51 with a slight opening angle. An opening 64 into which the male terminal fitting 41 can be inserted is formed between the left and right hinges 63.

The cover portion 52 is formed in a two-step stepped shape, which is lowered by one step in a region corresponding to the upper portion of the main body portion 51 where the connection portion 53 is provided and further lowered by one step on the trailing edge side. There is. On the middle surface of the cover portion 52, the pinching portion 6 protruding downward by being knocked out.
6 is formed over the entire width so as to correspond to above the connection portion 53 of the main body portion 51.

At a position slightly inserted from the front edge connected to the hinge portion 63 of the cover portion 52, a plurality of projecting pieces 68 which can individually enter into the jaw portions 49 of the inserted male terminal fitting 41.
Are formed by being struck downward. In addition, on the edge of the cover portion 52 on the folded back side,
A cover-side mounting portion 70 is formed so as to project an insertion hole 71 of the bolt 78 that is aligned with the insertion hole 61 of the main body 51.

Further, a pair of holding pieces 73 are formed upright on both side edges of the portion of the main body 51 where the connecting portion 53 is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the upper end portion of each holding piece 73 is formed with upper and lower two-stage locking projections 74 and 75 that project toward the front side by bending the holding piece 73. The upper locking projection 74 is for temporary assembly, and the lower locking projection 75 is for main assembly. Lock pieces 76 that can be locked to the locking projections 74 and 75 are provided on both side edges of the one cover 52.

When the lock piece 76 is locked by the upper locking projection 74, the cover 52 is in a slightly opened posture, as shown in FIG. 9, and the projection provided on the cover 52. 6
8 is retracted above the insertion region of the male terminal fitting 41 so that the male terminal fitting 41 can be inserted and removed. On the other hand, when the lock piece 76 is locked by the lower locking projection 75, as shown in FIG. 10, the cover 52 tilts in a posture parallel to the main body 51, and the projection 68 is inserted into the male shape. The terminal fitting 41 projects into the jaw 49 of the terminal fitting 41 so that it can be locked, and its cover-side mounting portion 70 is superposed on the body-side mounting portion 60 of the body 51.

The second embodiment has the structure as described above,
Subsequently, the assembling procedure will be described. First, FIG.
From this state, when the rear edge side of the cover portion 52 is pressed toward the main body portion 51 side around the hinge portion 63, the lock piece 76 of the cover portion 52 bends the holding piece 73 of the main body portion 51 and locks the upper stage. The projecting portion 74 is passed over and fitted to the lower surface thereof, whereby the cover portion 52 is held in the temporary assembled state shown in FIG.

In this temporarily assembled state, the male terminal fitting 41 drawn out from each electric circuit is guided through the opening 64 between the first and second projections 55 and 56, and the elastic locking piece on the lower surface is also guided. Insert 58 while bending it. When the tab portion 43 of the male terminal fitting 41 is inserted until it rides on the connection portion 53, the locking hole 48 of the male terminal fitting 41 corresponds to the upper surface of the elastic locking piece 58, and the elastic locking piece 58 is By elastically restoring and fitting into it, the male terminal fitting 41
Is temporarily locked in the pulling direction.

When all the male terminal fittings 41 have been inserted and their temporary locking is completed, the rear edge side of the cover portion 52 is further pressed. Then, the lock piece 76 rides over the lower locking projection 75 of the holding piece 73 and fits on the lower surface thereof, and the cover portion 52 is held in the fully assembled state shown in FIG. Thereby, each projecting piece 68 provided on the cover portion 52 projects into the insertion area of the male terminal fitting 41, and the corresponding male terminal fitting 41 is inserted.
The male terminal fitting 41 is finally locked by entering into the jaw portion 49 of the upper surface of the male terminal fitting 41.

Here, the tab portion 43 of each male terminal fitting 41 is provided.
Is a connecting portion 53 of the main body portion 51 and a pressing portion 66 of the cover portion 52.
The contact point 5 between the tab portion 43 and the connecting portion 53 is sandwiched between
And 4 are firmly contacted. Further, both outer side surfaces of a portion extending from the rectangular tube portion 42 of the male terminal fitting 41 to the side plate 50 of the jaw portion 49 are sandwiched by front and rear projections 55 and 56, and
Between the side plates 50 of the jaw 49, the protrusion 68 of the cover 52 is provided.
The male terminal fitting 41 is held so that the male terminal fitting 41 cannot be laterally displaced. Further, the attachment portions 60 and 70 of the main body portion 51 and the cover portion 52 are overlapped with the insertion holes 61 and 71 aligned with each other. That is, the main body 51
The cover portion 52 and the cover portion 52 form a housing B that covers the upper and lower surfaces of the male terminal fitting 41.

The housing B assembled in this way is
As shown in FIG. 11, the through holes 61 and 71 of the bolt 78 are aligned with the mounting holes 81 of the vehicle body panel 80 and overlapped with each other on the vehicle body panel 80.
It is fixed on the vehicle body panel 80 by screwing and tightening the nut 79 with the bolt 78 passed through 1. As a result, each electric wire 46 is grounded.

For maintenance, etc., the male terminal fitting 4
1 is removed, after loosening the bolt 78 to remove the housing B from the vehicle body panel 80, the rear edge side of the cover portion 52 is opened and returned to the temporary assembly position of FIG.
9 and the pinching force of the tab portion 43 is released, so that the elastic terminal piece 58 is bent by a jig (not shown) to remove it from the engaging hole 48 and the male terminal fitting 41 is pulled out. Good.

As described above, the joint connector of the second embodiment is applied to the case where a plurality of male terminal fittings 41 are collectively connected for grounding, and like the first embodiment, the main body portion 51.
Since the housing B is configured by the cover portion 52 integrally formed with the housing B, the number of parts can be reduced and the manufacturing process can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced. It is compact and can be installed in a small installation space.

Further, the cover portion 52 can be temporarily assembled in a state of being extremely close to the front main body portion 51 which is main assembled to the main body portion 51, and the male terminal fitting 41 can be inserted in that state. Since the male terminal fitting 41 is prevented from rattling in the vertical direction and is prevented from being laterally displaced by being sandwiched by the front and rear projections 55 and 56, the male terminal fitting 4
It is possible to accurately and smoothly perform the work of straightly inserting 1 toward the connecting portion 53.

When the cover part 52 is to be fully assembled, the work of the main assembly can be performed easily by pressing a little from the temporary assembly position, and after the main assembly, the protrusion 68 of the cover part 52 is Both side plates 50 of the jaw 49 of the male terminal fitting 41
With the fact that the male terminal fitting 41 is deeply inserted between the two and is sandwiched by the above-mentioned projections 55 and 56, the lateral displacement of the male terminal fitting 41 is reliably prevented.

<Third Embodiment> FIGS. 13 to 17 show a third embodiment. This third embodiment is a modification of the above-mentioned second embodiment, and instead of the connecting portion 53 of the second embodiment on the trailing edge side (right side of FIG. 13) of the main body 51, The opening 91 is formed over the entire width, and a plurality of contact pieces 92 are formed at the same intervals as the parallel intervals of the male terminal fittings 41 so as to be connected to the front edge side of the opening 91. . Each contact piece 92 is formed in a cantilever shape, and as shown in FIG. 14, has a substantially mountain-shaped cross section with its top surface being a horizontal plane. At the time of molding, the top surface of the male terminal fitting 4 protrudes from the upper surface of the main body 51 by a certain size.
At the time of inserting 1, the free end 94 can project to the lower surface through the opening 91. On the top surface of each contact piece 92,
A contact 93 is provided so as to be in contact with the tab portion 43 of the male terminal fitting 41.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a hook-shaped positioning projection 95 having a constant width is formed at the front edge of the main body 51 in the widthwise direction so as to project to the lower surface side. The other structure is the same as that of the second embodiment, and the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and the duplicate description will be omitted.

When assembling the third embodiment, FIG.
From this state, the rear edge side of the cover portion 52 is pressed to lock the lock piece 76 to the upper locking protrusion 74 of the holding piece 73, thereby temporarily assembling the cover portion 52 as shown in FIG.
Then, in the temporarily assembled state, similarly to the second embodiment, the male terminal fitting 41 is guided through the opening 64 between the first and second protrusions 55 and 56, and the lower surface is elastically locked. Insert the piece 58 while bending it. At that time, the tab portion 43 of the male terminal fitting 41 hits the corresponding contact piece 92,
It is pushed so as to ride on it while bending it to the lower surface side, and when a predetermined amount is inserted, the male terminal fitting 41
Is temporarily locked by the elastic locking piece 58 in the pulling direction. At that time, as the contact piece 92 bends, its free end 9
4 projects from the lower surface of the main body 51.

When the insertion of the male terminal fitting 41 is completed, the rear edge side of the cover portion 52 is further pressed to lock the lock piece 76 to the lower locking projection 75, as shown in FIG. The cover portion 52 is assembled into a book. Thereby, the housing C in which the upper and lower surfaces of the male terminal fitting 41 are covered by the body portion 51 and the cover portion 52 is formed.
Similar to the second embodiment, the projecting piece 68 of the cover part 52 enters into the jaw part 49 to permanently lock the male terminal fitting 41, and the tab part 43 of each male terminal fitting 41 contacts the contact piece. It is pinched between 92 and the pinching part 66 of the cover part 52. At that time, the free end 94 of the contact piece 92 remains protruding from the lower surface of the main body portion 51, and the attachment portion 6 of the main body portion 51 and the cover portion 52 is not removed.
0 and 70 overlap each other.

The housing C assembled in this way is
As shown in FIG. 17, the positioning protrusion 95 provided on the main body 51 is inserted into the positioning hole 96 opened at a predetermined position of the vehicle body panel 80 and fitted therein, and is overlaid on the vehicle body panel 80. At that time, the insertion holes 61 and 71 of the bolt 78 of the housing C are aligned with the attachment holes 81 of the vehicle body panel 80. Subsequently, a bolt 78 is passed through the insertion holes 61, 71 and the mounting hole 81, and a nut 79 is screwed into the bolt 78 to be tightened, so that the housing C is attached to the vehicle body panel 8.
It is fixed on 0. At that time, the hook-shaped positioning projection 95 of the housing C is inserted into the rim of the positioning hole 96 of the vehicle body panel 80, so that the housing C is prevented from rising from the vehicle body panel 80, and a rotation stopper is formed. As a result, the bolt 78 can be tightened very smoothly. Also, as the bolt 78 is tightened,
Each contact piece 92 protruding from the lower surface of the main body 51 is pressed by the body panel 80 toward the tab portion 43 of the male terminal fitting 41, and the tab portion 43 is pressed by the contact piece 92 and the pressing portion 66. It is strongly sandwiched between them and is kept in good contact.

When the male terminal fitting 41 is removed for maintenance or the like, the bolt 78 is loosened and the positioning projection 95 is pulled out from the positioning hole 96, while the housing C is removed from the body panel 8.
After removing from 0 and returning to the temporarily assembled state of FIG. 15 like the second embodiment, the male terminal fitting 41 may be removed.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the following, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

(1) In the above embodiment, the cover portion is integrally formed with the main body portion so that the cover portion can be tilted through the hinge portion. However, the main body portion and the cover portion are formed separately and tilted by hooking or the like. The structure may be integrally connected as much as possible. (2) In the above embodiment, the housing is formed by inclining the cover after inserting the terminal fitting, but the present invention separates the main body and the cover from each other before inserting the terminal fitting. Also included are those assembled to form a housing. (3) Further, the present invention can be widely applied to joint connectors for other purposes than the ground joint connector.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view of a mating female terminal fitting before fitting.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view illustrating a forming operation of the housing.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a cover portion according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the main body.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the housing during molding.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state where the cover part is temporarily assembled.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a state where the cover part is fully assembled.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the housing is attached to the vehicle body panel.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a mating male terminal fitting.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a main body portion according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the housing during molding.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing a state where the cover part is temporarily assembled.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing a state where the cover part is fully assembled.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing a state where the housing is attached to the vehicle body panel.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... Housing 1 ... Body part 2 ... Cover part 3 ... Tab (connection part) 8 ... Hinge part 16 ... Locking part (prevention means) 25 ... Female terminal metal fitting 33 ... Opening part B, C ... Housing 41 ... Male Shaped terminal fitting 51 ... Main body 52 ... Cover 53 ... Connection 55, 56 ... Projection (lateral deviation prevention means) 64 ... Opening 68 ... Projection piece (lateral deviation prevention means) 73, 74, 76 ... Temporary assembly means (73 ... Holding piece, 74 ...
Locking projection, 76 ... Lock piece 80 ... Vehicle body panel (mounting surface) 92 ... Contact piece (connecting portion) 94 ... Free end (projecting portion)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A joint connector characterized in that a housing into which a terminal fitting can be inserted is formed of a conductive material, and a connection portion that can be electrically connected to the terminal fitting is integrally formed in the housing. . 2. The housing is made of a conductive flat plate material, and has a main body portion provided with a connecting portion for the terminal fitting, and a housing facing the main body portion while allowing the terminal fitting to be inserted. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein the joint connector comprises a cover portion that is folded back. 3. A temporary assembly means for temporarily holding the cover part at a position close to a predetermined height with respect to the main body part is provided in at least one of the main body part and the cover part. The joint connector according to claim 2. 4. At least one of the main body portion and the cover portion is provided with a lateral deviation prevention means for restricting movement of the terminal fitting in a direction orthogonal to the inserting direction. The joint connector described in 2. 5. A back surface of the main body portion is capable of contacting a mounting surface, and a contact piece capable of elastically contacting a terminal fitting is formed on the main body portion. Before contacting the surface, the terminal metal fitting is inserted so that it is retracted to the back side of the main body so that part of it protrudes, and the protruding surface is pressed by the mounting surface so that it can be pressed into contact with the terminal metal fitting. The joint connector according to claim 2, wherein: 6. An end edge of the cover portion on the side of a connection portion with the main body portion is collectively engaged with each terminal fitting connected to the connecting portion when the cover portion is folded back to a fully assembled state. The joint connector according to claim 2, wherein the detachable retaining means is formed along the width direction.