JP3083071B2 - Joint connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a joint connector for connecting a plurality of connector housings in accordance with the number of mating connectors and simultaneously connecting the short-circuit terminals in each connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 shows a conventional joint connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 56-11578. The joint connector 51 includes a connector housing 54 made of synthetic resin having connector fitting portions 52 and 53 on the front and rear sides, and a short-circuit terminal 55 accommodated in the connector housing 54. The short-circuit terminal 55
Connecting portion 56 located at the center of connector housing 54
And a plurality of male tab terminals 57 projecting into the respective fitting portions 52 and 53 from the connecting portion 56.

Openings 58, 5 are formed in fitting portions 52, 53, respectively.
The male connectors 60 and 60 'are respectively inserted from 9 and the female terminals 63 and 63' in each of the male connectors 60 and 60 'are fitted into the male terminals 57. The short terminals 55 connect the female terminals 63 and 63 'to the same potential.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional joint connector 51 has a male connector 6 to be fitted.
Since the number of male connectors and the number of poles are specially made in accordance with the number and the number of poles, the number must be reset each time the number of male connectors and the number of poles are changed. However, there is a problem in that the cost of a joint connector with a small amount of use increases in order to lay a molding die.

[0005] In view of the above, the present invention does not require a new manufacturing even if the number of connectors on the mating side and the number of poles are changed, eliminates an increase in the number of part numbers, and reduces the cost required for the molding die. It is an object of the present invention to provide a joint connector capable of reducing the number of joints.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a connector housing having a male connecting portion provided on an outer wall thereof and a female connecting portion corresponding to the male connecting portion. The connector housing is connectable, a contact portion at one end of the short-circuit terminal provided in the connector housing is exposed inside the male connection portion, and a contact portion at the other end of the short-circuit terminal is connected to the female connection portion. The structure is basically such that the contact portions on one connector housing side and the contact portions on the other connector housing side can be brought into contact with each other by connecting the connector housings to each other. A structure is also possible in which one of the contact portion at one end and the contact portion at the other end is a contact plate portion, and the other is a contact spring portion.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION One type of joint connector according to the present invention is commonly used, and a plurality of joint connectors are connected in parallel according to the number of mating connectors. The short-circuit terminals inside the joint connector are connected to each other to short-circuit the terminals in each fitting-side connector to the same potential. Although it is preferable that the joint connectors have the same specifications, it is possible to connect and use connectors having different shapes and the number of poles of the short-circuit terminal.

A specific example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a joint connector according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 show a state where the joint connectors are similarly connected to each other by a triangular method. In the figure, each component of one joint connector 1 has a positive sign, and each component of the other joint connector 1 ′ has the same shape as the joint connector 1, but is represented by a code with a plus sign (dash) added thereto. .

In FIG. 1, joint connectors 1, 1 '
Is used by connecting two identical ones in parallel. A male connector 2 is connected to each of the joint connectors 1 and 1 '(only one of the male connectors 2 is shown in the figure).

The joint connectors 1 and 1 ′ include a female connector housing 4, 4 ′ made of a synthetic resin having a connector insertion opening 3 on one side, and the connector housing 4, 4 ′.
Short-circuit terminals 8, 8 'integrally embedded in the bottom 5 (FIG. 3) of 4' and projecting a plurality (three in this example) of male tab terminals 6 into the fitting chamber 7; 4, 4 ', and male connecting portions 9, 9' formed on one side of the connector housing 4, 4 ', and female connecting portions 10, 1 formed on the other side of the connector housing 4, 4'.
0 ', contact plate portions 11 and 11' connected to the short-circuit terminals 8 and 8 'and provided in the male connection portions 9 and 9' and also provided in the female connection portions 10 and 10 '. Contact spring part 1
2, 12 '.

The connector housings 4 and 4 'have an engaging wall 14 for the flexible lock arm 13 of the mating male connector 2, a guide wall 16 for the ribs 15 on both sides of the lock arm 13, and one guide wall. Inside 16, an engagement recess 18 with a positioning projection 17 on the side of the rib 15 is formed. A notch (19) is formed between the pair of guide walls 16, 16 and the rear of the engaging wall 14, and the notch 19 communicates with the fitting chamber 7. The male tab terminals 6 in the fitting chamber 7 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, and the male side connecting portion 9 and the other side wall (outer wall) 21 are arranged on one side wall (outer wall) 20 in the terminal arrangement direction.
Are formed with female side connecting portions 10, respectively.

The male side connecting portion 9 is formed by a pair of slide ridges 23, 23 bent outward in a substantially L-shape, and protrudes from one side wall 20 between the pair of slide ridges 23, 23. And the flexible locking arm 24. The flexible locking arm 24 has an outward locking projection 25 (FIG. 3) at the tip.

The female connecting portion 10 is bent inwardly with respect to the slide ridge 9 'of the other joint connector 1', and has a pair of guide rails 27 having a concave guide groove 26 inside. 27 and the pair of guide rails 2
7, 27, projecting from the other side wall 21, and the inclined surface 2 which climbs over the locking projection 25 of the flexible locking arm 24.
8 and an engagement protrusion 29 having the same. The guide groove 2
A stop wall 30 is formed at the insertion end portion 6. The stop wall 30 protrudes rearward from the housing bottom wall 5, and the guide rail 27 is formed to have the same length as the slide ridge 23.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the contact plate 11 is provided on the inner wall 23a of one slide ridge 23 by insert molding. The surface of the contact plate portion 11 is exposed at the same plane position as the inner wall surface 23a of the slide ridge 23. Since the contact plate portion 11 is exposed in the space (concave groove) 32 inside the slide ridge 23, that is, between the inner wall 23a and the housing outer wall (side wall) 20, the contact plate portion 11 contacts the outside and is short-circuited. There is no danger of doing.

The base 11b of the contact plate 11 is bent at a right angle and continues to the connecting plate 33 (FIG. 3) of the short-circuit terminal 8. The connecting plate 33 is embedded in the bottom wall 5 of the connector housing 4 and the three male tab terminals 6
Are formed to protrude. The connecting plate 33 is formed wider than the male tab terminal 6, and the contact plate portion 11 is formed with the same width as the connecting plate 33.

A standing plate 34 (FIG. 2) is connected to the other end of the connecting plate 33 from the rear end of the connecting plate 33 in the direction in which the contact plate 11 protrudes. Extension plate 3
5 is bent at a right angle, and the housing bottom wall 5 and the guide groove 26 are formed.
The board portion 36 (FIG. 3) extends in the longitudinal direction of the connecting plate along the stop wall 30 of the connecting plate, and the board portion 36 (FIG. 3) is bent at a right angle from the tip of the extension plate portion 35 in the projecting direction of the male tab terminal. In the groove 26), the contact spring portion 12 is formed to project obliquely from the tip of the substrate portion 36 toward the extension plate portion 35. The extension plate 35 is molded in the stop wall 30 of the guide groove 26, but may be exposed on the inner surface of the stop wall 30.

A spring receiving groove 37 is formed on the inner wall 27a of one guide rail 27.
The substrate portion 36 is located along the inner side surface of the contact spring portion 1.
2 protrudes from the inner wall 27a into the space inside the guide rail 27, that is, into the space (guide groove) 26 sandwiched between the inner wall 27a and the housing outer wall (side wall) 21. The contact spring portion 12 is located inside the guide rail 27, that is, the guide groove 26.
Since it is located inside, there is no danger that the contact spring portion 12 contacts the outside and short-circuits.

The contact spring portion 12 and the contact plate portion 11 are arranged at symmetric positions. The length L ₁ (FIG. 3) of the contact spring portion 12 is set substantially equal to the plate width L ₂ of the contact plate portion 11, and the plate width H ₁ (FIG. 2) of the contact spring portion 12 is the height of the contact plate portion 11. It is set smaller than the H _2, the contact spring portion 12 is positioned in the height direction center of the contact plate portion 11 (FIG. 2).

When the two joint connectors 1 and 1 'are connected to each other, the contact spring portion 12 comes into contact with the contact plate portion 11', and the short-circuit terminals 8 and 8 'in the two connectors 1 and 1' are connected to each other. . Since the connecting portion 38 is located inside the two connecting portions 9 'and 10, there is no danger of a short circuit with the outside.

To connect the two joint connectors 1 and 1 ', the slide ridge 23' which is the male connecting portion 9 'is connected to the female connecting portion 1'.
This is performed by sliding engagement with the concave groove 26 of the guide rail 27 which is zero. At this time, the flexible locking arm 24 '
Is engaged over the engaging projection 29 along the inclined surface 28, and the joint connectors 1, 1 'are mutually locked and fixed. Each joint connector 1, 1 '
As shown in FIG. 1, the mating male connectors 2 are connected to each other, and the female terminals 39 (six in this example) in each male connector 2 are connected.
Are connected to the same potential via short-circuit terminals 8, 8 '.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the joint connector 1 as seen from the direction of the male connecting portion 9, and reference numeral 40 denotes a flexible locking arm 24 (FIG. 3) between a pair of sliding ridges 23, 23. A continuous ridge portion, 14 is an engagement wall portion of the mating male connector 2 with the lock arm 13, 6 is a male tab terminal portion of the short-circuit terminal 8, 11 is a contact plate portion, 34 is an upright plate portion, and 35 is The extension plate portion 12 indicates a contact spring portion.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to connect joint connectors having the same shape according to the number of mating connectors and the number of poles when connecting joints. It is not necessary to newly set a joint connector every time the number of mating connectors or the number of poles is changed, so that the number of part numbers and the cost required for a molding die can be reduced. In addition, since the short-circuit terminals in the joint connectors are connected to each other at the same time as the joint connectors are connected to each other, no electrical connection work is required between the joint connectors, and the joint work is made more efficient.
Further, since the contact portions (the contact plate portion and the contact spring portion) of the short-circuit terminal are arranged inside the male side connection portion and the female side connection portion,
There is no danger of the contact portion coming into contact with the outside and short-circuiting, so that there is no need to provide a protective wall such as a hood in the connector housing, and the joint connector itself is made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where a joint connector is connected.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the joint connector of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a conventional joint connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,1 'joint connector 4,4' connector housing 8,8 'short-circuit terminal 9,9' male-side connecting part 10,10 'female-side connecting part 11,11' contact plate part 12,12 'contact spring part 20, 21 Exterior wall

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-326805 (JP, A) JP-A-2-14883 (JP, A) JP-A-9-45441 (JP, A) 79483 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 61-7882 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application Hei 4-91090 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 62-152382 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 31/08 H01R 13/514

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A male connector is provided on an outer wall of a connector housing, and a female connector corresponding to the male connector is provided so that a plurality of connector housings can be connected and provided in the connector housing. A contact portion at one end of the short-circuit terminal is exposed inside the male-side connection portion, and a contact portion at the other end of the short-circuit terminal is exposed inside the female-side connection portion. A joint connector wherein a contact portion on the housing side and a contact portion on the other connector housing side can be contacted. 2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein one of the contact portion at one end and the contact portion at the other end is a contact plate portion, and the other is a contact spring portion.