WO2011040499A1

WO2011040499A1 - Connector with built-in function

Info

Publication number: WO2011040499A1
Application number: PCT/JP2010/067007
Authority: WO
Inventors: 健伊藤
Original assignee: 矢崎総業株式会社
Priority date: 2009-10-01
Filing date: 2010-09-29
Publication date: 2011-04-07
Also published as: JP2011076971A; JP5467835B2

Abstract

Provided is a connector with a built-in function, wherein increase in the number of lines to be connected thereto can be handled, without using an additional connector. The connector (1) with a built-in function is one wherein a female terminal accommodating section (4) and ordinary male terminals (3) are provided in two rows within a connector housing (2), female terminals (5) are accommodated in the female terminal accommodating section, a function module (9), which has rear-side male terminals (6) to be connected to the female terminals and front-side male terminals (7) to be connected to the rear-side male terminals through an electronic element, is installed within the connector housing, and the front-side male terminals (7) are positioned in parallel with the ordinary male terminals (3). The number of front-side male terminals (7) was made to be less than the number of rear-side male terminals (6). Wires (21, 22) are connected to the ordinary male terminals (3) and the female terminals (5), and female terminals (30) of a female connector (25) at the other side are connected to the ordinary male terminals and the front-side male terminals (7).

Description

Built-in connector

The present invention relates to a connector with a built-in function that accommodates a functional module and is connectable to a male terminal of the functional module.

FIG. 5 shows a form of a harness structure in which the conventional normal connector 51 of FIG. 5A is replaced by the function-incorporated connector 52 of FIG. 5B and the normal additional connector 53 of FIG. 5C. It is shown.

5A includes a male connector 54 and a female connector 55. The male connector 54 includes a connector housing made of an insulating resin having a connector fitting chamber 56 (represented by reference numeral 54), A plurality of male terminals (not shown) with electric wires 57 housed in the connector housing and projecting pin-shaped or tab-shaped electrical contact portions in the connector fitting chamber are formed. The connector housing is made of an insulating resin having a terminal housing chamber 58 (represented by reference numeral 55) and a female terminal (not shown) with an electric wire 59 housed in each terminal housing chamber 58.

In the present specification, the male connector 54 has a male terminal and the female connector 55 has a female terminal.

Electric wires

57 and 59 are connected to the male and female terminals by crimping or pressure welding. The

electric wires

57 and 59 are insulation coated electric wires. The number of electric wires 57 led out from the male connector 54 is equal to the number of electric wires 59 led out from the female connector 55 (13 in this example).

5B includes a male connector 60 and a female connector 61. In this example, an electronic element (not shown) that functions as an IC, a microprocessor, or the like is built in the male connector 60. Has been. The electronic element exhibits a control function and the like, and can supply power to a load (not shown) such as a plurality of electrical components and devices of the vehicle and transfer signals by multiplex communication. For this reason, the number of electric wires 63 on the female connector 61 side (7 in this example) is smaller than the number of electric wires 62 on the male connector 60 side (10 in this example).

When there is a system that cannot be substituted by this function-incorporated connector 52 alone, the normal additional connector 53 in FIG. 5C is used for wiring to supplement the power supply and communication to the vehicle load. The additional connector 53 includes a small male connector 64 and a female connector 65, and the configuration of the male /

female connectors

64 and 65 is the same as that of the normal connector 51 shown in FIG. Three additional

electric wires

66 and 67 are led out from the additional connector 53.

The sum of the number of the electric wires 66 of the male connector 64 on the additional connector side (three) and the number of the electric wires 62 of the male connector 60 on the function built-in connector side (10) is the sum of the normal connector side in FIG. The number (13) of the electrical wires 59 of the female connector 55 on the normal connector side in FIG. 5A is equal to the number (13) of the electrical wires 57 of the male connector 54. This is larger than the sum of the number (7) of wires 63 of the female connector 61 and the number (3) of wires 67 of the female connector 65 on the additional connector side in FIG.

As a harness structure using a connector with a function other than the above, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a relay connector unit having a built-in communication relay device, and the communication relay device has signal address setting means (not shown). ), Patent Document 2 discloses a terminal arrangement of a connector connected to each load device in a configuration in which a control device and a plurality of load devices to be controlled are cable-connected, and a plurality of control signals and the like are transmitted using a common electric wire. It is described that the signal address of each load device is set using a pattern (not shown).

Further, in Patent Document 3, the connector with a communication function includes a microcomputer inside the connector, so that the functions of the ECU, which has been conventionally intensively controlled, can be distributed in the connector, and multiplexing of signal lines can be performed. It is described that the function of the wire harness is simplified by the conversion (not shown).

Similarly, in Patent Document 3, an IC is mounted on an insulating substrate, and a power line, a signal line, and a grant line following the load control ECU are connected to one terminal of the IC via a pressure contact terminal, and the other terminal of the IC is connected. It is described that a connector with a communication function is configured by connecting a female terminal to each terminal (not shown). Patent Document 4 describes that a power supply superposition multiplexing system that transmits signals without a dedicated communication line can be applied by superimposing communication on a power supply line (not shown).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-293747 (FIG. 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-285411 (paragraph number 2) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-8261 (paragraph number 4, FIG. 1) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-268630 (paragraph number 46)

However, in the conventional function built-in connector 52 of FIG. 5 and the harness structure using the same, the function (reinforcement of the number of connection circuits) that cannot be substituted by the function built-in connector 52 must be supplemented by another additional connector 53. For this reason, there is a concern that the material, cost, and installation space for the additional connector 53 may increase, which may cause environmental problems due to the increase in material, for example.

In view of the above, the present invention has an object to provide a connector with a built-in function that can cope with an increase in the number of connection circuits without using an additional connector.

In order to achieve the above object, a connector with a built-in function according to the first aspect of the present invention is a connector housing in which a female terminal accommodating portion for accommodating a female terminal and a normal male terminal are arranged in two upper and lower stages. A functional module having a male terminal on the rear side and a male terminal on the front side connected to the male terminal on the rear side via an electronic element, and the functional module is mounted on the connector housing. The rear male terminal is connected to the female terminal, and the front male terminal is positioned in parallel with the normal male terminal.

With the above configuration, the normal male terminal and the female terminal are arranged in one connector housing, the male terminal on the rear side of the functional module is inserted and connected to the female terminal, and the male terminal on the front side of the functional module and the normal male terminal are connected. Are parallel to each other and can be simultaneously connected to each female terminal of the mating connector. The function module has a control function and the like. As a result, for example, the number of front terminals can be made smaller than the number of rear terminals to provide a multiplex communication circuit. A circuit serving as a conventional additional connector is configured by a normal male terminal, and a circuit serving as a conventional function built-in connector is configured by a functional module. The “normal male terminal” means a male terminal without an electronic element. The number of female terminals is two or more, the number of rear male terminals is the same as the number of female terminals, the number of front male terminals is one or more, and the number of normal male terminals is one or more. Preferably there is.

The function built-in connector according to the second aspect of the present invention is the function built-in connector according to the first aspect, wherein the number of the front male terminals is smaller than the number of the rear male terminals.

With the above configuration, a multiplex communication circuit is formed by the control function of the equipment module, and the power and signals from the female terminal and the subsequent male terminal are multiplexed and communicated with the male terminal on the front side through the electronic elements, and the male terminal on the front side. The connector structure is made compact by reducing the number of terminals.

The function built-in connector according to a third invention of the present invention is the function built-in connector according to the first or second invention, wherein an electric wire is connected to the normal male terminal and the female terminal, and the normal male terminal and the front side The female terminal of the mating connector is connected to the male terminal.

With the above configuration, each electric wire is connected to the normal male terminal and female terminal in the connector housing to form a connector for a wire harness. A general wire-to-wire connector is configured by connecting the female terminal of the mating connector to the electric wire. The electric wire is not limited to a round insulation-coated electric wire, and may be a flat electric wire. The flat electric wire constitutes a bendable flat harness.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the additional connector can be provided with a function that cannot be substituted by the conventional function built-in connector by arranging the male terminal of the functional module and the normal male terminal not through the functional module at the same time. This eliminates the need for enlargement of the installation space, the increase in cost, and the increase in connector material due to the additional connector, and a space-saving, low-cost and environment-friendly connector structure can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to make the connector structure simpler and lighter by enabling the multiplex communication with the functional module and reducing the number of front male terminals for connection to the mating connector.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to enhance versatility by connecting the connector with a built-in function to an existing wire harness for vehicles.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the connector with a built-in function which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the assembly state of the connector with a built-in function which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows one form of the other party connector with respect to a connector with a built-in function. It is a perspective view which shows the fitting connection state of the connector with a built-in function which concerns on this invention, and the other party connector. It is a perspective view which shows one form of the harness structure using the conventional connector and the conventional function built-in connector, Comprising: Fig.5 (a) is a perspective view which shows the conventional normal connector, FIG.5 (b) is a conventional function. FIG. 5C is a perspective view showing a conventional ordinary additional connector. FIG.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a connector with a built-in function according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector with a built-in function 1 includes a connector housing 2 and a function module 9. The connector housing 2 made of insulating resin includes a plurality of normal male terminals 3 disposed in the upper half of the connector housing 2, and a female terminal accommodating portion 4 disposed on the rear half of the lower half of the connector housing 2. Have. The functional module 9 is disposed on the front half side of the lower half of the connector housing 2, the rear male terminals 6 connected to the female terminals 5 in the female terminal accommodating portion 4, and electronic elements or the like on the male terminals 6. Each male terminal 7 is connected to the front via a terminal (not shown). The direction in which the normal male terminals 3 and the female terminal accommodating portions 4 are arranged in two stages is the vertical direction, the direction in which the terminals are arranged is the horizontal direction, and the direction in which the

male terminals

6 and 7 are located across the electronic element. Is the front-rear direction.

The connector housing 2 is composed of right and left and rear

vertical wall portions

10 and 11, a lower horizontal wall portion 12, and a lid wall 24 (FIG. 4) that closes the upper opening 13. It has a part opening 14 and an inner space 15 following the front opening 14. A female connector housing portion made of an insulating resin as a female terminal accommodating portion 4 is integrally provided at the lower stage of the connector housing 2 so as to intersect the rear half of the lower wall 12 and the left and right side walls 10 and the rear wall 11. .

The horizontal upper wall 16 of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 is orthogonal to the intermediate portion in the height direction of the side wall 10 of the connector housing 2, and the vertical front wall 17 of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 is the lower wall 12 and both side walls of the connector housing 2. 10 is orthogonal. In the female terminal accommodating portion 4, a plurality (10 in this example) of terminal accommodating chambers 18 are provided in parallel at an equal pitch, and each terminal accommodating chamber 18 has a male terminal insertion hole 19 in the front wall 17 and a connector housing 2. The rear wall 11 communicates with a rear opening (female terminal insertion port) 20. The male terminal insertion hole 19 is smaller than the rear opening 20, and the front end (front end) of the conductive metal female terminal 5 comes into contact with and stops at the inner surface of the front wall 17.

Each female terminal 5 in the female terminal accommodating portion 4 has an electrical contact portion such as a rectangular tube in the first half and a wire connecting portion (crimping or pressure contacting portion) in the latter half, and the electrical contact portion is in the female terminal accommodating portion 4. Each electric wire (insulated coated electric wire) 21 which is locked by an insulating resin locking lance or spacer (not shown) and connected to the electric wire connecting portion is led out from the rear opening 20.

In the connector housing 2, a functional module housing space 15 a is located on the front side of the female terminal housing portion 4, and a male terminal housing space (represented by reference numeral 15) is located above the female terminal housing portion 4. A plurality of long pin-shaped normal male terminals 3 are arranged in parallel at equal pitches in the upper male terminal accommodating space 15.

In the example of FIG. 1, the rear end portion of each normal male terminal 3 is fixed to the upper wall 16 of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 by insert molding, fitting into a groove (not shown), etc. 3, the electric wire (insulation-coated electric wire) 22 is shown as being connected by welding or the like. For example, the upper wall 16 of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 is connected to the upper end (reference numeral 13 of both side walls 10 of the connector housing 2. In the extension, a male terminal press-fitting hole (not shown) is provided to fix the normal male terminal 3, and each male terminal accommodating chamber (not shown) is provided in the extension. Then, the latter half side of the normal male terminal 3 may be accommodated, and the electric wire 22 may be connected by providing an electric wire connecting portion (crimping portion or press contact portion) at the rear portion of the normal male terminal 3. In any case, the electric wire 22 connected to each normal male terminal 3 passes through the hole 23 of the rear wall 11 of the connector housing 2 and is led out to the outside.

Each normal male terminal 3 is used to connect a normal circuit. The number of normal male terminals 3 in this example is eight. Each normal male terminal 3 passes horizontally through the space 15 above the functional module housing space 15 a, and the tip (front end) 3 a of each normal male terminal 3 is positioned in front of the front opening 14 of the connector housing 2. . Each ordinary male terminal 3 in this example has a rectangular cross section, but may have a circular cross section.

The functional module 9 is arranged in the space 15a below each normal male terminal 3. The functional module 9 is composed of a functional unit body (represented by reference numeral 8) in which various electronic elements (not shown) forming an IC, a microprocessor, and the like are accommodated and insulated in a plate-shaped insulating resin body 8, and an insulating resin body. 8, each pin is connected to each electronic element, and is composed of front and rear short pin-

like male terminals

6 and 7 protruding outward from front and

rear end portions

8 a and 8 b of the insulating resin body 8.

In this example, 10 rear male terminals 6 are arranged in parallel at an equal pitch, 7 front male terminals 7 are arranged in parallel at an equal pitch, and the pitches of the front and rear

male terminals

6 and 7 are equal. Since the front male terminal 7 is connected to the rear male terminal 6 via an electronic element or the like, the number of front male terminals 7 is increased by the multiplex communication (the male terminal 7 is shared). The number has been reduced. The pitch of the front male terminal 7 is equal to the pitch of the upper normal male terminal 3. The pitch of the rear male terminals 6 is equal to the pitch of the female terminals 5. The protruding lengths of the front and rear

male terminals

6 and 7 in this example are the same as or slightly shorter than the length of the insulating resin body 8 in the front-rear direction.

The functional module 9 is inserted into the lower space 15a from the front opening 14 of the connector housing 2 as indicated by an arrow, and each terminal 6 on the rear side of the functional module 9 is connected to the front wall of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 of the connector housing 2. 17 is inserted into the female terminal accommodating portion 4 from the hole 19 and connected to each female terminal 5 in the terminal accommodating chamber 18. The insulating resin body 8 of the functional module 9 is locked to the left and right side walls 10 of the connector housing 2 by locking means (not shown) such as protrusions, arms, or recesses.

The assembly of the functional module 9 to the connector housing 2 can also be performed before the upper normal long normal male terminal 3 is mounted. In this case, each upper normal male terminal 3 is connected to the functional module. 9 is inserted into the male terminal accommodating chamber in the extension (not shown) on the female terminal accommodating portion 4 and locked with a locking lance (not shown) in the male terminal accommodating chamber, Or press-fit into the hole.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper and lower

male terminals

3, 7 are connected to the connector housing 2 with the rear female terminal 5 (FIG. 1), the upper normal male terminal 3, and the lower functional module 9 assembled. The tips (front ends) 3 a and 7 a of the upper and lower

male terminals

3 and 7 are positioned in parallel at the same pitch, and are positioned on the same virtual vertical plane before the front opening 14 of the connector housing 2.

A cover wall 24 (FIG. 4) is attached to the upper opening 13 of the connector housing 2, and between the cover wall (upper wall) 24 and each upper normal male terminal 3 and between the lower wall 12 and the lower wall. A similar gap is formed between the male terminal 7 and the male terminal 7. The lid wall 24 is locked to both side walls 10 of the connector housing 2 by locking means (not shown) such as a frame piece and a protrusion, a protrusion and a recess, or the like. The function built-in connector 1 of FIG. 2 can also be called a male / female terminal mixed connector.

FIG. 3 shows one form of a normal counterpart female connector 25 on the counterpart side with respect to the function built-in connector 1 of FIG. The mating female connector 25 includes a connector housing 26 made of an insulating resin having a plurality of terminal housing chambers 29 in two upper and lower stages and in parallel on the left and right sides, and a female terminal 30 with an electric wire 27 inserted into each terminal housing chamber 29. It consists of and.

A hole (not shown) through which the upper and lower

male terminals

3 and 7 of the connector with built-in function 1 of FIG. 2 are inserted is provided in the front wall 28 of the connector housing 26 so as to communicate with the terminal accommodating chambers 29. 26 has a rear opening 32 for inserting a female terminal larger than the hole.

The upper ten electric wires 27 and the lower nine electric wires 27 are led out from the mating female connector 25 of this example, but the number of the electric wires 27 and the number of the respective female terminals 30 can be set as appropriate. . Further, two of the upper ten female terminals 30 of the mating female connector 25 of FIG. (Not shown), the other female terminals 30 are jointed, and the nine female terminals 7 on the lower side of the mating female connector 25 in FIG. Two of the terminals 30 can be joined to other female terminals 30 by short-circuit terminals (not shown), so that the number of wires in each of the

connectors

1 and 25 in FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 4 in one form of a harness structure using the function built-in connector 1, the mating female connector 25 is inserted and fitted into the connector fitting chamber 15 of the function built-in connector 1. The upper and lower male terminals 3 and 7 (FIG. 2) and the upper and lower female terminals 30 (FIG. 3) of the mating female connector 25 are inserted and connected. The front wall 28 (FIG. 3) of the mating female connector 25 comes into contact with the front wall 17 of the female terminal accommodating portion 4 which is the bottom of the connector fitting chamber 15 of FIG.

Note that the front and rear of the connector with a built-in function 1 in FIG. 2 and the front and back of the female connector 25 with a counterpart in FIG. Accordingly, the front wall 28 of the mating female connector 25 may be referred to as a rear wall.

According to the function built-in connector 1, the lower function module 9 performs the function of the conventional function built-in connector of FIG. 5B, and the function of the additional connector of FIG. As a result, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved with one function-incorporated connector 1 and materials (resin material forming the connector housing of the additional connector shown in FIG. 5C and metal material forming the terminal) can be reduced. Can do.

In the above embodiment, the functional module 9 is arranged at the lower stage of the connector housing 2 and the normal male terminal 3 is arranged at the upper stage. On the contrary, the functional module 9 is arranged at the upper stage of the connector housing 2. It is also possible to arrange a normal male terminal 3 in the lower stage.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the

electric wires

21 and 22 were respectively connected to the normal male terminal 3 and the female terminal 5, it replaces with the

electric wires

21 and 22 and is electrically conductive to the normal male terminal 3 and / or the female terminal 5. It is also possible to connect or integrally form a metal plate bus bar (not shown). Moreover, it is also possible to use the flat type electric wire (not shown) which comprises a flat harness instead of a round insulation coating electric wire as the

electric wires

21 and 22. FIG.

The connector with a built-in function according to the present invention can be used when it is necessary to mix a circuit for multiplex communication and a normal circuit in response to, for example, addition of an optional part or upgrade of an automobile.

Although the present invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application filed on October 1, 2009 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-229515), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector with built-in function 2 Connector housing 3 Normal male terminal 4 Female terminal accommodating part 5 Female terminal 6 Rear male terminal 7 Front male terminal 9

Functional module

21,22 Electric wire 25 Opposite female connector

Claims

A connector housing in which a female terminal accommodating portion in which a female terminal is accommodated and a normal male terminal are arranged in two upper and lower stages;
A functional module having a rear male terminal and a front male terminal connected to the rear male terminal via an electronic element;
With
When the functional module is mounted on the connector housing, the rear male terminal is connected to the female terminal, and the front male terminal is positioned in parallel with the normal male terminal.
The function built-in connector according to claim 1, wherein the number of the front male terminals is smaller than the number of the rear male terminals.
3. The function built-in connector according to claim 1, wherein an electric wire is connected to the normal male terminal and the female terminal, and a female terminal of the mating connector is connected to the normal male terminal and the front male terminal.