JPH0963457A - Fuse connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve heat radiation and interchangeability of a fuse, and realize miniaturization and lightening of a connector, by mounting a pressure contact terminal to be connoted to a power source wire, and a joint terminal on which plural connector terminals are formed, andesiliminating a fuse box through keeping conrtinuity via the fuse. SOLUTION: In a fuse connector 21, both joint and pressure contact terminals 25 and 27 areconnected via a fuse 36, by inserting the fuse 63 into a fitting-in part 59. Also, a wire M is pressed in a pressure contact blade 45 to become a conductive condition with the blade 45, by inserting the power source wire M into a power source insertion groove 67 to close an opening/closing lid 69. A female connector 75, a mating connector to which fore circuits are connected, is fittedly engaged with the connector 21. Female terminals, connected to respective branch wirings A-D, are housed in the inside of the female connector 75, and are fittedly engaged with male terminals 35 respectively by the fitted engagement of the female connector 75 with the connector 21. Consequently, the wire M, having high electric current capacity, can be branched into plural circuits A-D, having low electric current capacity, by the pressure contact of the connector 21, mounted with the fuse 63, and the fittedly engagement of the connector 75 with the connector 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector having a fuse for protecting an electric circuit, and is particularly suitable for use in wiring electric components in automobiles.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wiring box of an automobile is provided with a fuse box in order to prevent ignition due to an abnormal current. In the fuse box, fuses connected in series to each of the plurality of circuits are centrally arranged. For this reason, there are problems that heat is accumulated in the fuse box due to the centrally arranged fuses and that wiring work is complicated.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which a fuse is incorporated in a connector to a branch circuit in order to solve such a problem and which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-73843.
2. Description will be given based on FIG. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a conventional fuse connector before mating, and FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram using the conventional fuse connector. The fuse connector 1 includes a female connector 5 to which the power supply wiring 3 is connected, and a male connector 9 fitted to the female connector 5 and connected to a branch wiring 7.

A fuse 11 is mounted on the fitting surface of the female connector 5, and one of the fuse terminals connected to both ends of the fusing part (not shown) is fitted to a connector terminal (not shown) to which the power supply wiring 3 is connected. On the other hand, the fuse terminal connected to the other of the fusing parts is fitted to the fitting part 15 that is connected to the connector female terminal 13. Therefore, the power supply wiring 3 and the female connector terminal 13 are connected in series via the fuse 11. Further, a male connector 17 to which the branch wiring 7 is connected is attached to the male connector 9.

In this fuse connector 1, the female connector 5 and the male connector 9 are fitted to each other, so that the fuse 11 is accommodated in a state covered by the connector housing, and the female connector terminal 13 and the male connector terminal 17 are connected together. And are fitted, and the power supply wiring 3 is connected to the branch wiring 7 via the fuse 11 as shown in FIG.

According to this fuse connector 1, since the fuse 11 is housed in the female connector 5, the fuse box can be eliminated, the thermal problem due to the centralized arrangement of the fuses can be solved, and the wiring can be concentrated. It was possible to prevent the deterioration of the wiring workability due to the.

[0007]

However, in the conventional fuse connector 1 described above, one branch circuit is
When one fuse connector 1 is required and wiring is performed for a plurality of branch circuits, a plurality of fuse connectors 1 and branch wirings associated therewith are required, and only the wiring that is a general method is passed through the fuse box. Compared with the case, there was a problem that the cost of parts increased significantly. Also,
Since the fuse 11 is housed in a state of being covered by the housings of the pair of connectors, there is a problem in that the heat dissipation is deteriorated. Furthermore, when a branch circuit is newly added, the branch power supply wiring 19 (see FIG. 13) to the female connector 5 has to be newly branched from the power supply wiring 3.
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and not only does the need for a fuse box be eliminated, but also power can be supplied to a plurality of branch circuits and the heat dissipation of the fuse can be good. (EN) Provided is a fuse connector capable of reducing the number of wires, reducing the size and weight, and eliminating thermal problems.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a fuse connector according to the present invention has a structure in which a housing, a fuse terminal fitting portion mounted on the housing and a plurality of connector terminals are integrally formed. Joint terminal, a pressure contact terminal mounted on the housing and integrally formed with a pressure contact blade and a fuse terminal fitting portion, and one of a pair of fuse terminals mounted on the housing in an exposed state and one of the fuse terminals of the joint terminal A fuse for electrically connecting the joint terminal and the pressure contact terminal via the fusing portion by inserting the other into the fuse terminal fitting portion of the pressure contact terminal while inserting the other into the fitting portion. Is. Further, in this configuration, by mounting the fuse in the housing, the joint terminal and the press contact terminal are connected via the fuse, and the power supply wire inserted into the wire insertion groove is press-fitted into the press contact blade of the press contact terminal. Then, the power supply line is brought into conduction with the press contact blade. The mating connector is fitted to the fuse connector in this state, and the branch wirings A, B,
By fitting the terminals of the counterpart connector connected to C and D to the connector terminals of the fuse connector, the power line with a large current capacity is branched into a plurality of circuits with a small current capacity through the fuse and joint terminals. Will be.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of a fuse connector according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the fuse connector according to the present invention together with a mating connector, and FIG.
2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuse connector viewed from the rear, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the terminals of the fuse connector of FIG. 2 are mounted, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the power supply line of the fuse connector of FIG. 1 is pressure-welded. 5 and 5 are branch wiring circuit diagrams when the fuse connector according to the present invention is used. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the fuse connector 21 is configured such that a joint terminal 25 and a pressure contact terminal 27 formed separately from the joint terminal 25 are mounted in a substantially rectangular tubular housing 23. .

The joint terminal 25 is provided with a pair of vertically parallel terminal plate portions 31 which are integrated via a connecting portion 29, and each terminal plate portion 31 is formed by a slit 33 cut from the central edge portion. The tip is a bifurcated connector terminal (male terminal) 35. That is, the joint terminal 25 is formed with four male terminals 35 in total, two in each of the upper and lower terminal plate portions 31. A small plate portion 37 is extended to the rear portion of the lower terminal plate portion 31, and the fuse terminal fitting portion 3 is provided on the small plate portion 37.
9a is formed. The fuse terminal fitting portion 39a is
Upper ends of a pair of parallel standing pieces that are erected on the small plate portion 37 are bent inward so that they are in contact with each other. Therefore, in the joint terminal 25, the four male terminals 35 and the fuse terminal fitting portion 39a are integrally formed.

The joint terminal 25 is inserted from the rear portion of the housing 23 with the male terminal 35 side as the front.
The joint terminal 25 inserted in the housing 23 is held in a predetermined position in the housing 23 by inserting the slits 33 into the partition walls 41 in the housing 23 so as to correspond to each other.

On the other hand, the pressure contact terminal 27 has a pressure contact blade 45 which cuts off the coating of the power supply line M (see FIG. 1) and enables connection with the power supply line conductor. A board portion 47 is extended from the press contact blade 45, and a fuse terminal fitting portion 39b is formed on the board portion 47. The fuse terminal fitting portion 39b is the board portion 4
7 are bent inward so that the upper ends of a pair of parallel standing pieces standing upright are in contact with each other. Pressure contact terminal 27
Is mounted in a recess 49 formed at the rear of the housing 23. In this state, the joint terminal 25 and the pressure contact terminal 27
Is held with a gap in the housing 23 and does not become conductive.

A hinge portion 5 formed by, for example, a thin portion of the housing 23 is formed at the lower end of the rear portion of the housing 23.
1, the storage lid 53 is continuously provided, and as shown in FIG.
The accommodating lid 53 is fixed in a state in which the rear portion of the housing 23 is closed by a locking means 55. A fuse accommodating wall 57a is connected to the lower end of the accommodating lid 53, and when the accommodating lid 53 is closed, the fuse accommodating wall 57a is brought into contact with the other fuse accommodating wall 57b protruding from the upper surface of the housing 23. The pair of fuse housing walls 57a and 57b that are in contact with each other are
The rectangular tube-shaped fuse fitting portion 59 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 23.
(See FIG. 1).

The bottom portion of the fuse fitting portion 59 penetrates into the housing 23 by the notch 61. In the notch 61, the fuse terminal fitting portions 39a and 39b of the joint terminal 25 and the pressure contact terminal 27 described above are arranged. That is, when the fuse 63 is inserted into the fuse fitting portion 59, the pair of fuse terminals 65 of the fuse 63 are inserted into the fuse terminal fitting portions 39 a and 39 b in the housing 23, respectively. Therefore, the joint terminal 25 and the press contact terminal 27 are brought into a conductive state through the fusing part of the fuse 63 only when the fuse 63 is inserted.

A wire insertion groove 67 is formed on the side surface of the housing 23.
(See FIG. 1) is formed, and the pressure contact blade 45 of the pressure contact terminal 27 is disposed in the wire insertion groove 67. An opening / closing lid 69 is continuously provided at a groove edge portion of the wire insertion groove 67 via a hinge portion made of a thin portion, and a power supply line M arranged in the wire insertion groove 67 is pressure-contacted to a surface of the opening / closing lid 69 on a closed side. A protrusion 71 is formed to be pushed into the blade 45. The opening / closing lid 69 is the wire insertion groove 6
When 7 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 4), the locking portion 73 is locked to a locking projection (not shown) provided on the housing 23 so as to be fixed in the closed state.

The fuse connector 2 thus constructed
1 will be described. In the fuse connector 21, the fuse 63 is inserted into the fuse fitting portion 59,
The joint terminal 25 and the pressure contact terminal 27 are connected to each other by the fuse 63.
Connected via In addition, the power wire M is inserted into the wire insertion groove 67.
Is inserted and the opening / closing lid 69 is closed, the power supply line M is press-fitted into the press contact blade 45, and the coating is torn, whereby the power supply line M is brought into conduction with the press contact blade 45.

A female connector 75, which is a mating connector to which four circuits are connected, is fitted to the fuse connector 21. Female terminals (not shown) connected to the respective branch wirings A, B, C, and D are housed inside the female connector 75, and the female connector 75 is fitted into the fuse connector 21 so that the female terminals are respectively It will be fitted to the male terminal 35.

Therefore, the power supply line M having a large current capacity is pressed against the fuse connector 21 having the fuse 63 mounted thereon, and further, the female connector 75 is fitted thereto, so that the fuse 63 as shown in FIG. Via a plurality of small current capacity circuits A, B, C, D.

Further, the fuse connector 21 having such a structure is attached and fixed by various methods. That is, a fixing method of directly winding a tape around the power supply line M, a method of attaching via a bracket or the like, a method of forming a fitting structure with other parts and then attaching and fixing via this fitting structure, As a method, a method of forming a stop hole in the housing 23 and directly screwing the stop hole to the vehicle body side or the like can be considered.

According to this fuse connector 21, since the joint terminal 25 having the plurality of male terminals 35 formed therein is connected to the press contact terminal 27 via the fuse 63, the power source is connected to the plurality of electric circuits via the fuse 63. Can be supplied. This makes it possible to remove extra circuits in advance if necessary, and
Since it is not necessary to provide a fuse connector for each branch circuit, it is possible to achieve wire saving and reduce the size and weight of the fuse wiring structure.

Further, since the pressure contact terminal 27 is provided in the housing 23, the power supply line M can be connected only by inserting the power supply line M into the wire insertion groove 67 and closing the opening / closing lid 69. As described above, the branch circuit can be formed without manufacturing the branch wiring from the power supply line M.

Further, according to the fuse connector 21, the fuse 63 is mounted in the fuse fitting portion 59 on the upper part of the housing 23 in an exposed state, so that the heat dissipation of the fuse 63 can be improved and the fuse can be improved. Exchangeability of 63 can also be made favorable.

Next, another embodiment of the fuse connector according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a perspective view showing a fuse connector according to another embodiment together with a mating connector as seen through the inside, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a joint terminal used in the fuse connector of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a fuse of FIG. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view showing a state where the fuse of the connector is mounted, and FIG. 9 is a branch wiring circuit diagram when the fuse connector of FIG. 6 is used. The fuse connector 81 is configured such that a pair of joint terminals 85a and 85b are vertically mounted in a substantially rectangular tubular housing 83.

As shown in FIG. 7, a joint terminal 85
a and 85b are slits 89 at the central edge of the terminal plate portion 87.
Is cut, and the tip becomes a bifurcated male terminal 91.
Further, the fuse terminal fitting portion 9 is provided at the rear of the terminal plate portion 87.
3a, 93b are formed, and the fuse terminal fitting portion 93a,
93b is projected in the direction opposite to the projecting direction of the male terminal 91. As for the joint terminals 85a and 85b, a pair of identically formed terminals are mounted in the housing 83 in a vertically parallel manner. In the joint terminals 85a and 85b mounted in the housing 83, four male terminals 91 are arranged in the fitting opening 95 on the front surface of the housing 83.

On the other hand, fuse terminal fitting portions 93a and 93b
Are arranged on the rear side in the housing 83 so as to face each other in the vertical direction. A rectangular tube-shaped fuse fitting portion 97 is formed on the rear end surface of the housing 83, and the fuse terminal fitting portions 93a and 93b of the joint terminals 85a and 85b are arranged inside the fuse fitting portion 97. That is, when the fuse 63 is inserted into the fuse fitting portion 97, the pair of fuse terminals 65 of the fuse 63 becomes the pair of fuse terminal fitting portions 93 a and 93 b in the housing 83.
To be inserted respectively. Therefore, the pair of joint terminals 85a and 85b are connected to each other by the fuse 63.
Is inserted into the conductive state through the fuse 63 for the first time.

A concave notch 101 is formed at the opening edge of the fuse fitting portion 97, and the flange 63a of the fuse 63 mounted in the fuse fitting portion 97 is notched.
1 is exposed (see FIG. 8). By sandwiching the flange portion 63a exposed by the cutout portion 101, the fuse can be easily attached and detached from the fuse fitting portion 97.

The fuse connector 8 thus constructed
1 will be described. The fuse connector 81 allows the fuse 63 to be inserted into the fuse fitting portion 97,
A set of joint terminals 85 a and 85 b are connected via a fuse 63. The fuse connector 81 is fitted with a female connector 103 (see FIG. 6) to which four circuits are connected. Inside the female connector 103, the power line M ₁ ,
Female terminals (not shown) connected to the power supply line M ₂ and the branch wirings A and B are accommodated, and the female connector 103 is fitted into the fuse connector 81, whereby the female terminals are respectively male terminals 91.
Is fitted to.

At this time, the power supply line M ₁ and the power supply line M ₂ are connected to the upper joint terminal 85a inside the housing 83, and the branch wirings A and B are connected to the lower joint terminal 85b inside the housing 83. Therefore, the large-current-capacity power supply line M ₁ and the power supply line M ₂ are directly connected to each other by the upper joint terminal 85a in the housing 83. Further, since the upper joint terminal 85a is connected to the lower joint terminal 85b via the fuse 63, as shown in FIG. 9, the large current capacity power supply line M ₁ and power supply line M ₂ are connected to the fuse 63. It is branched to the circuits A and B of small current capacity via.

Further, the fuse connector 81 having such a structure is attached and fixed by various methods. That is, a fixing method of directly winding a tape around the power supply line M ₁ or the power supply line M ₂ , a mounting method via a bracket or the like, or a fitting structure with other parts is configured, and the fitting structure is used for mounting. The method of fixing, and further, the housing 83
A method in which a fastening hole is provided in the vehicle body and screws are directly screwed to the vehicle body side or the like can be considered.

According to this fuse connector 81, since a pair of joint terminals 85a and 85b, each having a pair of male terminals 91 formed therein, are connected via the fuse 63, two power supply lines having a large current capacity are provided. M ₁ and the power supply line M ₂ can be connected by one joint terminal 85 a, and the fuse 6 can be connected from the joint terminal 85 a.
It is possible to take out a plurality of branch circuits A and B having a small current capacity through 3. As a result, it is not necessary to return the circuit to the fuse box or the like once, so that it is possible to achieve wire saving and reduce the size and weight of the fuse wiring structure.

Further, according to the fuse connector 81, the fuse 63 is attached to the fuse fitting portion 97 protruding from the housing 83 in an exposed state, so that the fuse 6
It is possible to improve the heat dissipation of 3 and
The replaceability of the fuse 63 can be improved.

According to the fuse connector 81, the small current circuit can be easily taken out from the large current circuit when an option is added to an automobile or the like. Further, at this time, since all the take-out portions can be connected to each other by the connector terminals, the reliability of the connecting portion can be improved.

Next, a modified example of the fuse connector according to another embodiment described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a fuse connector when six male terminals are provided in another embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a fuse connector when a pair of joint terminals are linearly arranged at both ends. . The fuse connector 81 according to another embodiment described above includes a joint terminal 8
Although it has been described that the pair of male terminals 91 are formed on the 5a and 85b, as shown in FIG.
Of course, the male terminals 91 formed on a and 85b may be two or more (three in this example). In this modification, since the number of male terminals 91 is three, the number of branch wirings having a small current capacity can be increased to three, that is, the branch wirings A, B, and C.

The fuse connector 81 according to the other embodiment described above has a structure in which one of the housings 83 has a front end face, the front end face side is fitted with the female connector 103, and the fuse 63 is mounted from the rear end face side. However, as shown in FIG. 11, the fuse connector 81 has a housing 83
A plurality of female connector fitting openings 11 on the front and rear end faces of the
3, 115, 117, 119 may be formed. At this time, the joint terminals 85a and 85b are mounted in the housing 83 with the male terminal 91 arranged on the opposite side on a straight line passing through the front and rear of the housing 83. The fuse terminal fitting portions 93a and 93b are formed so as to face each other in the housing 83 and stand upright.
It is assumed that the fuse can be connected by the fuse 63 that is opened on the upper surface of the fuse 3 and is attached to the fuse fitting portion 97.

In such a modified example, the branch circuits A and B are provided.
And the power supply lines M ₁ and M ₂ can be connected in a linear direction.
Therefore, it is suitable for use when the power supply side and the branch circuit side are arranged in opposite directions. And in this case,
By fixing the lower surface side of the housing 83 to another component or the body panel, the fuse 63 is exposed on the upper surface, and the heat dissipation and exchangeability of the fuse 63 can be improved.

[0036]

As described in detail above, according to the fuse connector of the present invention, the pressure contact terminal connected to the power supply line and the joint terminal having the plurality of connector terminals are mounted on the housing, In addition, since the pressure contact terminal and the joint terminal are electrically connected via the fuse, it becomes possible to supply the power circuit having a large current capacity to a plurality of electric circuits having a small current capacity. As a result, it is not necessary to provide a fuse connector for each branch circuit as in the conventional case, and it is possible to achieve wire saving and reduce the size and weight of the fuse wiring structure. Further, since the fuse is mounted on the housing in an exposed state, the heat dissipation of the fuse can be improved and the replaceability of the fuse can also be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a fuse connector according to the present invention together with a mating connector as seen through the inside.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the fuse connector of FIG. 1 viewed from the rear.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which terminals of the fuse connector of FIG. 2 are mounted.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the power supply line of the fuse connector of FIG. 1 is pressure-welded.

FIG. 5 is a branch wiring circuit diagram when the fuse connector according to the present invention is used.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a fuse connector according to another embodiment together with a mating connector, as seen through the inside.

7 is a perspective view showing a joint terminal used in the fuse connector of FIG.

8 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a fuse of the fuse connector of FIG. 6 is mounted.

9 is a branch wiring circuit diagram when the fuse connector of FIG. 6 is used.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a fuse connector in a case where there are six male terminals in another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a fuse connector when a pair of joint terminals are linearly arranged at both ends.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a conventional fuse connector before fitting.

FIG. 13 shows a circuit diagram using a conventional fuse connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

21, 81 Fuse connector 23, 83 Housing 25, 85a, 85b Joint terminal 27 Press contact terminal 35, 91 Male terminal (connector terminal) 39a, 39b, 93a, 93b Fuse terminal fitting part 45 Press contact blade 59, 97 Fuse fitting part 63 Fuse 65 Fuse terminal 67 Wire insertion groove 69 Opening / closing lid 113, 115, 117, 119 Fitting opening M, M ₁ , M ₂ Power line

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A housing, a joint terminal mounted on the housing, wherein a fuse terminal fitting portion and a plurality of connector terminals are integrally formed, and a press contact blade mounted on the housing, and a fuse terminal fitting portion are integrated. And one of a pair of fuse terminals mounted on the housing in an exposed state, and inserted into the fuse terminal fitting portion of the joint terminal and the other into the fuse terminal fitting portion of the pressure contact terminal. Thus, the fuse connector is provided with a fuse for electrically connecting the joint terminal and the pressure contact terminal via the fusing part. 2. An electric wire insertion groove through which a power supply wire can be inserted is formed in the housing, a pressure contact blade of the pressure contact terminal is arranged in the electric wire insertion groove, and an opening / closing lid for closing the electric wire insertion groove is provided in the housing. 2. The fuse connector according to claim 1, wherein the power supply wires that are connected to each other and are inserted into the wire insertion groove are pushed into the press contact blade by closing the opening / closing lid. 3. A housing, a set of joint terminals mounted on the housing, wherein a fuse terminal fitting portion and a plurality of connector terminals are integrally formed, and one of a pair of fuse terminals mounted on the housing, The pair of joint terminals are inserted into one of the fuse terminal fitting portions, and the other of the fuse terminals is inserted into the other fuse terminal fitting portion of the pair of joint terminals to fuse the pair of joint terminals. A fuse connector, comprising: a fuse that is electrically connected through a section. 4. A fitting opening portion of a mating connector is formed on a front end surface and a rear end surface of the housing, and one of the pair of joint terminals is arranged in the fitting opening portion on the front end surface side and the pair of joint terminals is arranged. 4. The fuse connector according to claim 3, wherein the other of the joint terminals is disposed in the fitting opening portion on the rear end surface side so that the mating connector from the front-rear direction can be fitted in the front and rear of the housing. 5. A fuse fitting part for communicating the inside and the outside of the housing is formed in the housing, and the fuse is mounted to the fuse fitting part with a part of the fuse exposed. The fuse connector according to claim 1 or 3.