JP7749072B2 - Connector housing, connector and connector-equipped electric wire, connector unit, and method for manufacturing connector-equipped electric wire - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a connector housing that holds a connection terminal having an electric wire connection portion that connects to an electric wire having a conductor inside, a connector and an electric wire with a connector, a connector unit, and a method for manufacturing an electric wire with a connector.

2. Description of the Related Art In vehicles such as automobiles, cables with connectors are used to transmit and receive signals between electrical devices and to supply power to these electrical devices.
In recent years, as vehicle control has become more complex and faster, there has been a trend toward an increase in the number of electrical devices and an increase in the number of electric wires and connectors that make up connector-equipped cables.

On the other hand, there is a demand for space-saving connector-equipped cables routed in vehicles in order to improve passenger comfort in the vehicle interior and to ensure space for installing electrical devices.
Against this background, efforts are being made to reduce the diameter of electric wires and the size of connector housings.

As exemplified by Patent Document 1, conventional connector-attached electric wires are known in which the terminal portion of a terminal-attached electric wire (i.e., the connection terminal connected to the electric wire) is inserted into a terminal insertion hole formed through a connector housing, pushed into a terminal accommodating chamber (cavity) that forms part of the terminal insertion hole, and held in the terminal accommodating chamber.

However, when the terminal portion of the terminal-attached electric wire is inserted into the terminal insertion hole of the connector housing, the electric wire may buckle (bend), which may result in a decrease in the transmission characteristics and durability of the electric wire.
For example, a twisted pair of wires, which are formed by twisting a pair of wires together, may have a specified characteristic impedance. When a connection terminal connected to such a twisted pair of wires is inserted into a terminal insertion hole, the wires may buckle, causing a change in the spacing between the wires. If the spacing between the wires changes in this way, the specified characteristic impedance may not be achieved.

In particular, as described above, when the diameter of the electric wire is reduced or the connector housing is made smaller, it becomes more difficult to insert the connection terminal connected to the electric wire into the terminal insertion hole, and the strength of the electric wire decreases. Therefore, for example, when a small-diameter electric wire having a conductor cross-sectional area of less than 0.35 ^mm2 is used, the above-mentioned problem of the electric wire buckling when the connection terminal connected to the electric wire is inserted into the terminal insertion hole of the connector housing becomes more pronounced.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-153458

The present invention was made in light of these issues, and aims to provide a connector housing, connector and connector-attached wire, connector unit, and method of manufacturing a connector-attached wire that allows a terminal-attached wire to be placed in a connector housing without buckling the wire, and prevents deterioration of the wire's transmission characteristics and durability due to buckling.

The present invention relates to a connector comprising a conductive connection terminal having a wire connection portion to be connected to the tip end of a covered wire , and a dielectric connector housing for holding the connection terminal, wherein the connector housing and a connector housing cover are assembled to the connector housing so as to accommodate the connection terminal together with the connector housing, forming an assembled connector housing, the connection terminal having a box portion on one side of the wire connection portion for connection with a mating connection terminal, the connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion having a wire connection portion arrangement region in which the wire connection portion is arranged and a box portion arrangement region in which the box portion is arranged , and the connector housing cover is When attached to the connector housing in which the connection terminal is arranged, the connector housing cover covers the box portion arrangement area, and has a cover-side through-hole at a location opposite the wire connection portion arrangement area that penetrates in the opposing direction of the connector housing cover and the connector housing, and the cover-side through-hole allows at least one of a pair of tools that clamp and connect the insulated wire and the wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present in the cover-side through-hole, and when the connection terminal is arranged in the connector housing, a rear wall portion is provided that abuts against the end of the connection terminal on the wire connection portion side and regulates the position of the connection terminal relative to the connection portion arrangement area .

The opening provided on the opposite side of the connection terminal from the connection portion arrangement portion described above may be an open portion including the portion of the connector housing facing the connection portion arrangement portion, or it may be a partial opening. Furthermore, the opening may remain open or may be closed when in use.

According to the present invention, when connecting an electric wire to a connection terminal held in a connector housing, the electric wire can be properly connected to the connection terminal without buckling.
In detail, when the connection terminal is attached to the connector housing, a tool for connecting the wire connection portion and the wire can be applied directly through the opening to the wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion of the connector housing, thereby securely connecting the wire connection portion and the wire.

As described above, this invention allows the connection terminal to be attached to the connector housing before the electric wire is connected to the electric wire connection portion. This prevents problems such as the electric wire buckling when attaching the connection terminal to the electric wire connection portion to the connector housing, and suppresses deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the electric wire connected to the connector due to buckling.

The tool used to connect the above-mentioned electric wire connection part and electric wire may be a pair of tools, such as an anvil and crimper, that clamp and connect the electric wire and electric wire connection part, or it may be a welding tool such as a laser welding or ultrasonic welding tool.

As an aspect of the present invention, the connector housing may have a fixing structure for fixing the connection terminal.
According to this invention, the wire connection portion of the connection terminal fixed to the connector housing can be fixed to the connection portion arrangement portion, so that a tool that acts directly through the opening can reliably act on the wire connection portion, thereby more firmly connecting the wire connection portion and the wire in the connected state.

The fixing structure for fixing the connection terminal described above may be located anywhere on the connection terminal, but is preferably located at or near the wire connection portion where a tool directly acts. Furthermore, the fixing structure for fixing the connection terminal described above may be located anywhere on the connector housing, as long as it is located in a position that does not interfere with the tool acting directly through the opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, the connector housing may cover a portion other than the opposite side corresponding to the connection portion placement portion.
According to this invention, the connector housing covers all areas of the wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion except for the opening where the tool acts, so that the connection terminal can be protected by the connector housing and the connection terminal can be stably fixed to the connector housing.

The portion of the connector housing other than the opposite side corresponding to the connection portion placement portion may be covered by a separate connector housing after the electric wire and connection terminal are connected, or may be covered before the electric wire and connection terminal are connected.

In another aspect of this invention, the connection portion placement portion has a through hole that allows at least one of a pair of tools that clamp and connect the electric wire and the electric wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a connector-attached electric wire, which includes a connector having a conductive connection terminal and a dielectric connector housing that holds the connection terminal, and an electric wire whose end is connected to the connection terminal, and which electrically connects the electric wire to the electric wire connection portion provided on the connection terminal. The method includes a terminal arrangement step in which the connection terminal is arranged in the connector housing so that the electric wire connection portion is arranged in the connection portion arrangement step of the connector housing, an electric wire arrangement step in which the end of the electric wire is arranged in the electric wire connection portion, and an electric wire connection step in which the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire are clamped from both sides using a pair of tools to connect them. In the electric wire connection step, one of the pair of tools, which is arranged on the side of the connector housing opposite the side on which the electric wire connection portion is arranged, is inserted into a through-hole formed through the connector housing in the clamping direction of the pair of tools and directly abuts against the electric wire connection portion, thereby applying pressure to the electric wire connection portion.

The present invention also provides a dielectric connector housing that holds a conductive connection terminal having a wire connection portion that connects to an electric wire having a conductor inside, and that is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion in which the wire connection portion is arranged, and that has a through hole that allows at least one of a pair of tools that clamp and connect the electric wire and the wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present in the connection portion.

The present invention also provides a connector-equipped electric wire comprising an electric wire having a conductor inside, a conductive connection terminal provided with an electric wire connection portion electrically connected to the electric wire, and a dielectric connector housing that holds the connection terminal, wherein the connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion in which the electric wire connection portion is arranged, and the connection portion arrangement portion has a through hole that allows at least one of a pair of tools that clamp and connect the electric wire and the electric wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present.
According to this invention, when connecting an electric wire to a connection terminal held in a connector housing, the electric wire and the connection terminal can be properly connected without buckling the electric wire.

For example, in a configuration in which the wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion and the wire arranged in the wire connection portion are connected to each other by being clamped from both sides with a pair of tools (pressure tools), a through hole through which one of the pair of tools, arranged on the side opposite the side having the connection portion with respect to the connector housing, is inserted from the opposite side, can be formed in the clamping direction of the pair of tools.

According to the above configuration, the connection portion arrangement portion and through-hole are provided in a dielectric connector housing that holds a conductive connection terminal equipped with an electric wire connection portion. One of a pair of tools that connects the electric wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion and the electric wire arranged in the electric wire connection portion is inserted into the through-hole, so that the pair of tools can clamp the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire while it is arranged in the connector housing from both sides to connect them. This allows the electric wire and the connection terminal to be properly connected without buckling the electric wire. This prevents deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the electric wire connected to the connector due to buckling.

This invention allows for proper connection of an electric wire to a connection terminal held in a connector housing without buckling the electric wire. This prevents deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the electric wire due to buckling of the electric wire connected to the connector.

As an aspect of the present invention, the through hole may be provided with a size and shape that match the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing so that it satisfies a predetermined range.
According to this invention, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connecting portion of the electric wire to the connector housing falls within a predetermined range in accordance with the size and shape of the through hole formed in the connector housing.

Another aspect of the present invention may include a twisted pair electric wire formed by twisting two of the electric wires together, with an untwisted portion formed at each end of the two electric wires, which is placed in the electric wire connection portion in an untwisted state.

With this invention, even if the characteristic impedance of the connector housing portion of the electric wire deviates from a predetermined value, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing falls within a predetermined range, depending on the size and shape of the through hole formed in the connector housing.

Here, "the characteristic impedance must be within a specified range" means, for example, 95 to 140 Ω, or more preferably 120 Ω ±10% when the communication protocol is CAN, and 90 to 110 Ω, or 100 Ω ±10% when using Ethernet (registered trademark).

In another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the connection portion arrangement portions may be arranged side by side and spaced apart from one another on the surface of the connector housing that includes the connection portion arrangement portion, and the through holes may be provided spaced apart from one another at locations corresponding to the connection portion arrangement portions.

According to this invention, by forming a through hole in the connector housing in the above manner, the reduction (effect of reduction) in the characteristic impedance at the connector portion of the electric wire caused by the presence of a dielectric connector housing can be kept small, and highly accurate matching to a specified value can be achieved.
Therefore, even if the characteristic impedance of the electrical wire at the connector housing deviates from a predetermined characteristic impedance, it can be matched with a predetermined value with high accuracy.

In another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the connection portion arrangement portions may be arranged side by side and spaced apart from one another on the surface of the connector housing that includes the connection portion arrangement portion, and the through hole may be provided across the areas corresponding to the plurality of connection portion arrangement portions.

This invention reduces the reduction (impact) of characteristic impedance at the connector portion of the electric wire, which is caused by the presence of a dielectric connector housing. Specifically, this can be significantly reduced compared to, for example, when the through holes are provided at separate locations corresponding to the connection portion placement section, thereby enabling impedance matching that deviates significantly from a predetermined value.

In other words, by forming the through hole in the connector housing in the manner described above, it is possible to match the characteristic impedance of the electrical wire at the connector housing even if the deviation from the specified characteristic impedance is large.

In another aspect of the present invention, the through hole may be a first through hole, and the connector housing may have a second through hole at a location opposite the first through hole, through which at least the other of the pair of tools can pass or into which it can be temporarily present, and the second through hole may be the opening.

In another aspect of the present invention, in the above-described method for manufacturing a connector-attached electric wire, the through hole may be a first through hole, and the connector housing may have a second through hole at a location opposite the first through hole, through which at least the other of the pair of tools may pass or into which it may be temporarily present, and the other tool may be inserted into the second through hole and directly abut against the electric wire connection portion, thereby applying pressure to the electric wire connection portion.

According to the above-described invention, the connector housing has a first through hole in the connection portion arrangement portion and a second through hole in the portion facing the connection portion arrangement portion. Therefore, when crimping the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire, the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire can be directly clamped and crimped with a tool without the tool interfering with the connection portion arrangement portion or the portion facing the connection portion arrangement portion.

Furthermore, with the above-mentioned invention, by having a first through hole and a second through hole in the connector housing, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing falls within a predetermined range based on the size and shape of not only the first through hole but also the first and second through holes.

As another aspect of the present invention, an assembled connector housing may be formed by the connector housing and a connector housing cover that is assembled to the connector housing so as to house the connection terminals together with the connector housing.
According to this invention, by accommodating the connection terminals inside the connector housing and the connector housing cover, the connection portions between the connection terminals and the electric wires can be protected from external factors.

As another aspect of the present invention, the electric wire connecting portion may be provided with a pressure-contact piece.
According to this invention, the wire connection portion is provided with a pressure-contact piece that can be inserted into the wire to press it against the insulation, eliminating the need to strip the insulation from the wire. Furthermore, the pressure-contact piece does not need to be plastically deformed by pressure when connecting to the insulation. This allows the wire connection portion to be compact, and ultimately allows the pair of tools that press the connection terminal and the through-hole in the connector housing, into which at least one of the tools is inserted, to be compact as well.

As another aspect of the present invention, the electric wire connecting portion may be provided with a crimping piece (barrel piece).
According to this invention, by providing a crimping piece on the wire connection portion of the connection terminal, the wire and the connection terminal can be connected in a state in which the conductor at the end of the wire is crimped so as to be covered by the crimping piece, and therefore the connection terminal can be connected to the wire with excellent connection strength even when placed in the connector housing.

The present invention is also characterized in that it is a connector unit comprising a plurality of the above-mentioned connectors and a unit housing for holding the plurality of connectors.
According to this invention, by holding a plurality of connectors in a unit housing, it is possible to increase the number of poles compared to when a single connector is used.
Therefore, even if the number of poles of the connector increases in accordance with the high performance and high functionality of the electrical equipment mounted on the vehicle, the connector can be reliably and efficiently connected to the mating connector.

Furthermore, with this invention, when a connector having a through hole in the connector housing is held inside a unit housing, the through hole can be covered by the unit housing to prevent water from getting into the connection between the electric wire connection part and the electric wire through the through hole, thereby improving the waterproofness of the connection part.

In another aspect of this invention, the connection portion placement section is provided with a high-strength section that is stronger than other sections, which prevents damage or deformation of the connector housing when the placed electric wire connection portion and the electric wire are clamped and connected by a pair of pressure means.

The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a connector-attached electric wire, which comprises a connector having a conductive connection terminal and a dielectric connector housing that holds the connection terminal, and an electric wire whose end is connected to the connection terminal, and which electrically connects the electric wire to the electric wire connection portion provided on the connection terminal, wherein the connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion in which the electric wire connection portion is arranged while holding the connection terminal, and a pressurized portion formed as a high-strength portion with higher strength than other portions, which suppresses damage or deformation of the connector housing when the electric wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion and the electric wire are clamped and connected by a pair of pressure means, The connector comprises a terminal arrangement process in which the connection terminal is arranged in the connector housing so that the wire connection portion is arranged in the connection portion arrangement section, a wire arrangement process in which the end of the wire is arranged in the wire connection portion, and a wire connection process in which the pair of pressure means clamp the wire connection portion and the wire from both sides to connect them. In the wire connection process, one of the pair of pressure means is positioned on the side opposite the side having the connection portion arrangement section in the clamping direction of the pressure means, and presses the wire connection portion via the connector housing, applying pressure to the wire connection portion via the pressurized portion in the connector housing.

The present invention also provides a dielectric connector housing that holds a conductive connection terminal and has a wire connection portion that connects to an electric wire having a conductor inside. The connector housing has a connection portion arrangement portion in which the wire connection portion is arranged, and the connection portion arrangement portion is a high-strength portion that is stronger than other portions and that suppresses damage or deformation of the connector housing when the wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion and the electric wire are clamped and connected by a pair of pressure means.

The present invention also provides a connector-attached electric wire comprising an electric wire having an internal conductor, a conductive connection terminal provided with an electric wire connection portion for electrical connection with the electric wire, and a dielectric connector housing for holding the connection terminal. The connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion in which the electric wire connection portion is arranged, and the connection portion arrangement portion is formed as a high-strength portion with greater strength than other portions, which suppresses damage or deformation of the connector housing when the electric wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion and the electric wire are clamped and connected by a pair of pressure means.

According to this invention, when connecting an electric wire to a connection terminal held in a connector housing, the electric wire and the connection terminal can be properly connected without buckling of the electric wire.
For example, the wire connection portion disposed in the connection portion arrangement portion and the wire disposed in the wire connection portion are connected to each other by being sandwiched from both sides by a pair of pressure means. In this case, one of the pair of pressure means in the sandwiching direction is disposed on the side of the connector housing opposite the side having the connection portion arrangement portion. Therefore, when connecting the wire connection portion and the wire, one of the pressure means indirectly presses the wire connection portion via the connector housing. In this case, the connector housing is directly pressurized by one of the pressure means.

The present invention therefore employs a configuration in which a portion of the connector housing that is directly pressurized by one of the pressure means is designated as the pressurized portion, and a high-strength portion that is stronger than other portions is provided in the connection arrangement portion to prevent damage or deformation of the connector housing when the wire connection portion arranged in the connection portion arrangement portion is sandwiched between the pair of pressure means and connected to the wire.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the end portion of the electric wire and the electric wire connection portion can be connected by clamping them with a pair of pressure devices while they are placed inside the connector housing. Therefore, after placing the electric wire connection portion in the connection portion placement portion, the end portion of the electric wire can be placed in the electric wire connection portion. In other words, according to the present invention, the end portion of the electric wire and the electric wire connection portion can be placed separately inside the connector housing, allowing for smoother insertion compared to inserting them into the connector housing while connected to each other.

More specifically, for example, if the end portion of the electric wire and the electric wire connection portion are connected to each other and inserted together into the connector housing, as in conventional methods of manufacturing electric wires with connectors, there is a concern that the wires may get caught on the inner wall of the connector housing during insertion, causing buckling.

In contrast, with the present invention, the end of the wire and the wire connection portion can be positioned inside the connector housing before being connected to each other, allowing for smooth insertion without the end of the wire or the wire connection portion buckling during insertion.

With this configuration, the pair of pressure devices can connect the wire connection portion and the wire without damaging or deforming the connector housing or buckling the wire. This prevents deterioration of the transmission characteristics and durability of the wire connected to the connector due to buckling.

The pair of pressure means herein is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to connect the wire connection portion and the wire by applying pressure (pressing). Specifically, the pair of pressure means is not limited to being configured as a pair of tools, and at least one of the pressure means may be formed from a pressure member other than a tool, such as a jig that supports the connection terminal or a support surface (placing surface) on a workbench, etc.

In the present invention, when one of the pair of pressure means is configured as a movable tool (one tool being, for example, a movable tool (anvil)) and the other pressure means is configured as a support surface (a fixed pressure member other than a tool), when the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire are sandwiched between the pair of pressure means and connected to each other, a configuration may be adopted in which, for example, the connection terminal is placed directly on the support surface without using a fixed tool (the other tool being, for example, a fixed tool (crimper)), and the movable tool is moved from the side opposite the support surface to the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire to apply pressure toward the support surface.

Furthermore, regardless of whether a tool or a pressure member other than a tool is used as at least one of the pair of pressure means, it is sufficient that at least one of the one pressure means and the other pressure means is movable; for example, a configuration in which both of the pair of pressure means are movable may be used.
The direction in which the pair of pressure means clamp the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire, i.e., the pressure direction, is not limited to the vertical direction, but may be any direction other than the vertical direction.

In one aspect of this invention, the high-strength portion is provided with a size and shape that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing so that it falls within a predetermined range.

With this configuration, the high-strength portion is sized and shaped to match the characteristic impedance of the connection portion so that it is within a predetermined range, making it possible to match the characteristic impedance so that it is within a predetermined range.

In other words, by changing the size (including thickness) and shape of the high-strength portion, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion changes, and the size and shape of the high-strength portion can be set so that the characteristic impedance falls within a specified range.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the high strength portion is provided with a raised portion that raises the pressure-applied portion of the connector housing toward the one pressure means relative to the periphery of the pressure-applied portion.
According to this invention, by providing a protrusion on the high strength portion of the connector housing, the pressure-receiving portion of the connector housing can be thickened and reinforced.

Furthermore, with this invention, by providing a raised portion in the high-strength portion, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion tends to be lower compared to when no raised portion is provided.

Therefore, if the characteristic impedance at the connection point of the electric wire to the connector housing is higher than a specified range, providing a raised portion in the high-strength portion makes it possible to match the characteristic impedance of the connection point so that it falls within the specified range.

Here, the raised portion is not limited to a configuration in which the entire pressurized area, i.e., the entire high-strength portion, is raised compared to other areas; for example, a configuration in which the pressurized area (the high-strength portion) is partially raised in a rib-like manner may be adopted.

In this way, by raising the pressure-receiving area in a rib-like manner, the strength of the pressure-receiving area can be efficiently increased while preventing the connector housing from becoming heavier compared to when the entire pressure-receiving area is raised.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the high-strength portion includes a high-strength member having a strength higher than that of the other portions.
According to the above configuration, by providing the high-strength portion with a high-strength member, it is possible to increase the strength of the pressure-receiving portion while preventing the pressure-receiving portion from becoming thicker than other portions.
Therefore, the strength of the pressure-applied portion can be increased without increasing the size of the connector housing.

The material of the high-strength member is not particularly limited, as long as it is stronger than the other portions. For example, even if the high-strength portion and the other portions of the connector housing are both made of synthetic resin material, the high-strength portion can be made of a different type of synthetic resin material than the other portions, and have higher strength than the other portions.

Furthermore, the high-strength portion may be formed, for example, by providing the high-strength member in the portion corresponding to the high-strength portion during molding of the connector housing and molding the portion integrally with the other portions, or by molding only the other portions without the high-strength portion and then attaching the high-strength member to the other portions by bonding, welding, or the like.

Furthermore, when a high-strength member is used as the high-strength portion, it is preferable that the high-strength member be made of a material that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing so that it falls within a predetermined range.

In another aspect of the present invention, the other portion of the connector housing is made of only a non-metallic material, and the high strength portion is made of a metallic member.
According to this invention, by using a metal member for the high strength portion, it is possible to significantly increase the strength compared to when the high strength portion is made of, for example, a synthetic resin material.

In another aspect of the present invention, the connector housing is configured to have a through-hole at a location facing the connection portion placement section, allowing the pressure applying means to pass through or be temporarily present therein.

With this configuration, when connecting the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire, one of the pressure applying means can apply pressure to the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire from one side in the clamping direction via the high-strength portion at the pressurized location, and the other pressure applying means can apply pressure directly to the electric wire connection portion and the electric wire from the other side in the clamping direction through the through-hole.

As a result, whether the connector housing is formed as a separate body from the housing body and includes a cover, as described below, or the parts corresponding to the housing body and cover are integrally formed, the wire connection portion and the wire can be connected to each other while they are located inside the connector housing.

With this configuration, the connector housing has a high-strength portion and a through hole, which allows for more precise matching of the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the electric wire to the connector housing so that it falls within a specified range, based not only on the size and shape of the high-strength portion but also on the size and shape of the high-strength portion and the through hole.

In another aspect of the present invention, an assembled connector housing is formed by the connector housing and a connector housing cover that is assembled to the connector housing so as to accommodate the connection terminals together with the connector housing.
According to this invention, by accommodating the connection terminals inside the connector housing and the connector housing cover, the connection portions between the connection terminals and the electric wires can be protected from external factors.

In another aspect of the present invention, the wire connection portion is provided with a crimping piece that pierces and presses against the conductor at the end of the wire where the conductor is covered with an insulating coating.
In this way, by inserting the electric wire together with the coated conductor into the insulation displacement piece provided in the electric wire connection part, it is possible to connect the electric wire to the electric wire connection part without peeling off the coated conductor or plastically deforming the insulation displacement piece by applying pressure. As a result, the electric wire connection part can be configured compactly, and the pressing means for pressing the connection terminal can also be made compact. Furthermore, the high-strength portion of the connector housing that is pressed by the pressing means can also be made compact.

The present invention may also provide a connector unit that includes a plurality of the above-described connectors and a unit housing that holds the plurality of connectors, with the plurality of connectors held in the unit housing.

According to the above configuration, by holding a plurality of connectors in the unit housing, it is possible to increase the number of poles compared to when a single connector is used.
Therefore, even if the number of poles of the connector increases in accordance with the high performance and high functionality of the electrical equipment mounted on the vehicle, the connector can be reliably and efficiently connected to the mating connector.

In addition, for connectors with through holes in the connector housing, a configuration is adopted in which the connector is held within a unit housing, allowing the through hole to be covered by the unit housing to prevent water from entering the connection between the electric wire connection part and the electric wire through the through hole, thereby improving the waterproofing of the connection part.

This invention provides a connector housing, connector and connector-equipped electric wire, connector unit, and method for manufacturing a connector-equipped electric wire, which allows a terminal-equipped electric wire to be placed in a connector housing without buckling the electric wire, and prevents deterioration of the electric wire's transmission characteristics and durability due to buckling.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the connector-attached electric wire according to the first embodiment. 2A is a plan view of the connector housing, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2A. 2A and 2B are plan views illustrating a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to the first embodiment. 4A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before a wire connecting step in the first embodiment; FIG. 3A and 3B are a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2C and a transverse sectional view corresponding to FIG. 2B, respectively, illustrating a state of an electric wire connecting step in the first embodiment. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ) are plan views showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to the first embodiment. The internal structure of the assembled connector housing of the connector-attached electric wire in the first embodiment is shown in a longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to FIG. 2(c), a transverse cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to FIG. 2(b), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in FIG. 6. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a second embodiment. 2(a), a cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to FIG. 2(b), and a longitudinal-sectional view (c) corresponding to FIG. 2(c), respectively, of a connector-equipped electric wire of the second embodiment. 2A and 2B are plan views illustrating a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 10A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before a wire connecting step in a second embodiment; FIG. 2(a) and 2(b) are a longitudinal sectional view and a transverse sectional view, respectively, corresponding to FIG. 2(c) and FIG. 2(b), illustrating a state of an electric wire connecting step in a second embodiment. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, showing the internal configuration of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to a second embodiment, respectively. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a third embodiment. 2( a ) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state immediately before a wire connecting step in a third embodiment; FIG. 2( b ) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a state of the wire connecting step in the third embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2( c ); 2(a) and 2(b) are a longitudinal sectional view and a transverse sectional view, respectively, corresponding to FIG. 2(c) and FIG. 2(b), showing the internal configuration of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to a third embodiment. A cross-sectional view (a) taken along the arrow A'-A' in Figure 17(b), a longitudinal cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 2(b) of the electric wire with connector of the fourth embodiment, and a cross-sectional view (c) corresponding to Figure 2(c). FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector unit including a connector-attached electric wire and a mating connector unit according to a third embodiment. 19 is an external view of the connector unit shown in FIG. 18 as viewed from the other side in the depth direction. 2A is a plan view showing a connector housing according to a modified example of the first embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2A; FIG. 2B is a plan view showing a connector housing according to a modified example of the second embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2A; 2(a) is a plan view showing a connector housing according to another modified example of the first embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2(a); FIG. 2(b) is a plan view showing a connector housing according to another modified example of the second embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2(a); FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the connector-attached electric wire of the sixth embodiment as viewed from below. 24(a) is a plan view of the connector housing, FIG. 24(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 24(a), and FIG. 24(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 24(a). 24A and 24B are plan views illustrating a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to the sixth embodiment. 24(a) and 24(b) are longitudinal and transverse cross-sectional views, respectively, corresponding to FIG. 24(c) and FIG. 24(b), illustrating a state immediately before a wire connecting step in the sixth embodiment. 24( a ) and 24 ( b ), respectively, showing a state of an electric wire connecting step in the sixth embodiment. 24( a ) and 24 ( b ) are plan views showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire in a sixth embodiment. The internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire in the sixth embodiment is shown in a cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to Figure 24(b), a cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 24(c), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 28. 24(a), a cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to FIG. 24(b), and a cross-sectional view (c) corresponding to FIG. 24(c), respectively, of a connector-equipped electric wire of the seventh embodiment. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to an eighth embodiment. 24(a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 24(c) showing the state immediately before the electric wire connecting step in the eighth embodiment, and FIG. 24(b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 24(c) showing the state of the electric wire connecting step in the eighth embodiment. 24(a) and 24(b) are cross-sectional views showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire in an eighth embodiment, respectively, corresponding to FIG. 24(c) and FIG. 24(b). A cross-sectional view (a) taken along the arrow A'-A' in Figure 34(b), a horizontal cross-sectional view (b) showing the connector housing of the ninth embodiment of the electric wire with connector in correspondence with Figure 24(b), and a horizontal cross-sectional view (c) showing the connector housing of the ninth embodiment of the electric wire with connector in correspondence with Figure 24(c). FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector unit including a connector-attached electric wire and a mating connector unit according to an eighth embodiment. 36 is an external view of the connector unit shown in FIG. 35 as viewed from the other side in the depth direction. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a modified example of the sixth embodiment. 24A and 24B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a connector-attached electric wire according to a modified example of the sixth embodiment, respectively. FIG. 29 is a plan view showing a connector-attached electric wire according to a modified example of the sixth embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 28 . 24A and 24B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of a connector-attached electric wire according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment, respectively, and are shown in correspondence with FIG. 24A and FIG. 24C. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to another modified example of the first embodiment. 43(a) is a plan view of a connector housing of another modified example in the first embodiment, FIG. 43(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 43(a), and FIG. 43(c) is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line BB in FIG. 43(a). 10A and 10B are plan views illustrating a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to another modified example of the first embodiment. 43( a ) and 43 ( b ). FIG. 43( a ) is a plan view showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for an electric wire with a connector according to another modified example of the first embodiment. The internal structure of an assembled connector housing of another modified example of a connector-attached electric wire in the first embodiment is shown in a longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to Figure 43 (c), a transverse cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 43 (b), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 45. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to still another modified example of the first embodiment. 48(a) is a plan view of a connector housing of yet another modified example in the first embodiment, FIG. 48(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 48(a), and FIG. 48(c) is a cross-sectional view of a main part taken along line BB in FIG. 48(a). FIG. 48( a ) is a plan view showing a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step of yet another modified example of the first embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 48( a ). 48( a ) and 48 ( b ). FIG. 48 is a plan view showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to still another modified example of the first embodiment. The internal structure of an assembled connector housing of yet another modified example of a connector-attached electric wire in the first embodiment is shown in a longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to Figure 48(c), a transverse cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 48(b), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 50. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to a modified example of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment, viewed from below. 13A and 13B are plan views showing a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment. 56A and 56B are cross-sectional views showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for an electric wire with a connector according to another modified example of the sixth embodiment, and FIG. 56C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 56A. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to still another modified example of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire according to still another modified example of the sixth embodiment, viewed from below. FIG. 23 is a plan view showing a terminal arrangement step and an electric wire arrangement step according to still another modified example of the sixth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the internal configuration of an assembled connector housing for a connector-attached electric wire according to still another modified example of the sixth embodiment. 61A and 61B are cross-sectional views showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing for a wire-connector assembly of yet another modified example of the sixth embodiment, and FIG. 61C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 61A. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector unit including a connector-attached electric wire and a mating connector unit; FIG. 64 is an external view of the connector unit shown in FIG. 63 as viewed from the other side in the depth direction.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
1, the electric wire with connector 1 of the first embodiment includes an assembled connector housing 2, two covered electric wires 3, and two connection terminals 4. Of these, the assembled connector housing 2 and the connection terminals 4 held therein constitute a connector 5.

In the following description, the longitudinal direction, lateral direction, and thickness direction of the assembled connector housing 2 are respectively referred to as the front-to-rear direction, width direction, and up-to-down direction, and in Figure 1, arrow F indicates the front direction, arrow U indicates the upward direction, arrow R indicates the rightward direction, and arrow L indicates the leftward direction.
As shown in FIG. 1, the coated wire 3 has a conductor 31 made of a conductive material and an insulating coating 32 made of an insulating material that coats the entire outer periphery of the conductor 31 .

The conductor 31 is formed by bundling together multiple strands of copper or its alloy to form a copper core wire, but the conductor 31 may also be formed from a single strand. Depending on the purpose, the material of the conductor 31 may be other than copper or its alloy, and only the surface of the conductor 31 may be a highly conductive conductor.

At the end 33 (hereinafter referred to as the "wire end 33") of the insulated wire 3 in the longitudinal direction, which is the end that connects to the connection terminal 4, an exposed conductor portion 31a is formed by peeling off the insulating coating portion 32 to expose the conductor 31. Furthermore, at the wire end 33, a coating end portion 32a is formed closer to the base (opposite the end) than the exposed conductor portion 31a.

The connector-attached electric wire 1 includes two of the above-described coated electric wires 3, and these two coated electric wires 3 are twisted together to form a twisted pair electric wire 35.
The two coated electric wires 3 are untwisted (unwound) to form untwisted portions 35a at the ends of the two wires 3 connected to the connector 5. The untwisted portions 35a have electric wire end portions 33 on which exposed conductor portions 31a are formed.

The connection terminal 4 is a female terminal fitting, and is formed by punching a conductive metal plate into a predetermined terminal development shape and then bending the same.
The connection terminal 4 includes a box portion 41, a transition portion 42, and a wire connection portion 43. The box portion 41, the transition portion 42, and the wire connection portion 43 are arranged in series from the front to the rear in this order and are integrally formed, so that the connection terminal 4 is formed in an elongated shape.

The box portion 41 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape and has a resilient contact piece 41a (see FIG. 7C) disposed inside the box portion 41, the portion of the extension extending forward from the front end of the bottom surface of the box portion 41 being folded back backward.
Therefore, when a tab provided on a mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) (not shown) is inserted from the front of the box portion 41, the resilient contact piece 41a is biased against the tab and comes into contact with the tab inside the box portion 41, thereby electrically connecting the mating connection terminal and the connection terminal 4. The tab provided on the above-mentioned mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) has the same shape as the male terminal 65 provided on the connection mating connector unit 60 shown in FIG.

The transition portion 42 is interposed between the box portion 41 and the electric wire connection portion 43, and is a portion that integrally connects the bottom surfaces of these portions.
The wire connecting portion 43 is a portion to which the wire end portion 33 of the insulated wire 3 is connected. The wire connecting portion 43 has a wire barrel portion 44 on the front side and an insulation barrel portion 45 on the rear side.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4(a) and (b), the wire barrel portion 44 and the insulation barrel portion 45 are both integrally formed with barrel bottom surfaces 44a and 45a (see Figures 4(a) and (b)) and a pair of left and right barrel pieces 44b and 45b.

The pair of left and right barrel pieces 44b, 45b are formed so as to extend upward toward the outer sides in the width direction relative to the barrel bottom surfaces 44a, 45a.
In this way, the wire barrel portion 44 and the insulation barrel portion 45, which are constituted by the barrel bottom surfaces 44a, 45a and the barrel pieces 44b, 45b, are formed in an open barrel shape.

The wire barrel portion 44 crimps the exposed conductor portion 31 a at the wire end portion 33 in the wire connecting step described below (see FIGS. 5A and 5B ). The insulation barrel portion 45 crimps the insulation end portion 32 a at the wire end portion 33 in the wire connecting step (see FIG. 5A ). The insulation barrel portion 45 is formed slightly larger than the wire barrel portion 44 so that it can hold the insulation end portion 32 a.
As shown in FIG. 1 , the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment includes two connection terminals 4 in total, each corresponding to one of the two coated electric wires 3 .

The assembled connector housing 2 is composed of a housing main body 2d and a cover 2u that covers the housing main body 2d from above, and is formed into an overall rectangular parallelepiped shape. Both the housing main body 2d and the cover 2u that make up the assembled connector housing 2 are made of a synthetic resin material with dielectric (insulating) properties.

At least one terminal accommodating chamber 6 is provided inside the assembled connector housing 2. One connection terminal 4 is accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 6. As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a) and (b), in the first embodiment, two terminal accommodating chambers 6 are arranged side by side in the width direction inside the assembled connector housing 2 so that two connection terminals 4 can be accommodated.

As shown in FIGS. 7(b) and 7(c), the terminal accommodating chamber 6 is composed of an upper terminal accommodating recess 6u and a lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.
The upper terminal accommodating recess 6u is formed on the cover 2u side so as to be able to accommodate the upper side (one side in the thickness direction) of the connection terminal 4. The lower terminal accommodating recess 6d is formed on the housing main body 2d side so as to be able to accommodate the lower side (the other side in the thickness direction) of the connection terminal 4.

The upper terminal accommodating recess 6u is formed as a recess with the bottom surface of the cover 2u opening downward so that the connection terminal 4 can be fitted into the cover 2u from below. The lower terminal accommodating recess 6d is formed as a recess with the top surface of the housing main body 2d opening upward so that the connection terminal 4 can be fitted into the housing main body 2d from above.

As long as the terminal accommodating chamber 6 can accommodate the connection terminal 4, for example, the cover 2u may have a flat bottom surface rather than a concave bottom surface, and only the top surface of the housing main body 2d may be concave.

In this case, the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d is formed deep enough to fit the entire connecting terminal 4 in the vertical direction, and is configured so that when the cover 2u and housing main body 2d are assembled, the opening of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d is closed from above by the cover 2u.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), (b), and (c), the housing main body 2d is integrally formed and includes a base portion 21, a front wall portion 22, a rear wall portion 23, side wall portions 24, 24 on each side, and a partition portion 25.
The base portion 21 forms the bottom plate of the housing body 2d, and the upper surface of the portion of the base portion 21 that corresponds to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d in plan view forms the bottom surface of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

The rear wall 23, partition wall 25, and left and right side wall sections 24, 24 are all formed as vertical walls with a height slightly lower than that of the assembled connector housing 2. On the other hand, the front wall 22 is formed as a vertical wall with a height approximately the same as that of the assembled connector housing 2.

As a result, the upper part of the front wall 22 protrudes upward in a stepped manner relative to the upper surfaces of the pair of left and right side walls 24, 24 and the partition wall 25 (see Figure 1). The side walls 24, 24 extend in the front-to-rear direction at both widthwise ends of the housing main body 2d. Therefore, the side walls 24, 24 connect the widthwise ends of the front wall 22 and the rear wall 23. The partition wall 25 extends in the front-to-rear direction so as to widthwise divide the box section arrangement areas 61 (described later) on each of the left and right sides.

As described above, of the upper terminal accommodating recess 6u and the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d that constitute the terminal accommodating chamber 6, the configuration of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d formed on the housing body 2d side will be mainly described below.
As shown in Figures 2(a), (b), (c), Figure 6, and Figures 7(a), (b), (c), the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d has a box portion arrangement area 61 and a wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

The box portion arrangement region 61 is provided with the box portion 41 of the connection terminal 4 arranged so as to be fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d from above.
The wire connection portion arrangement region 62 accommodates the wire connection portion 43 and the transition portion 42 of the connection terminal 4 arranged so as to be fitted from above into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

In the housing main body 2d, the inner wall of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d is formed by the vertical wall-shaped front wall portion 22, rear wall portion 23, side wall portions 24, 24, and partition portion 25, so that it faces the internal space of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

The box section arrangement areas 61 in the lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d on each side are separated in the width direction by the partitions 25, as described above. Furthermore, the box section arrangement areas 61 are formed slightly wider than the box section 41 by the partitions 25 and the corresponding side walls 24, 24 on the left and right, allowing the box section 41 to fit within them (see Figures 6 and 7(c)).

As a result, the box portions 41 of the two connection terminals 4 are positioned so that they fit into the box portion placement areas 61 recessed on each side of the top surface of the housing main body 2d. In this state, the box portions 41 are fitted and held in place in the width direction by the inner walls of the box portion placement areas 61, which are formed by the corresponding left and right side wall portions 24, 24 and partition wall portion 25.

In this way, by holding the box portion 41 in the width direction in the box portion arrangement area 61, the housing main body 2d can hold the connection terminal 4 itself in the width direction while it is positioned so that it is fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

Note that the manner in which the connection terminals 4 are held by the housing main body 2d is not limited to the above-described configuration in which the connection terminals 4 are held by fitting the box portion 41 into the box portion arrangement area 61 in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

For example, although not shown, the housing main body 2d may have an engaging portion or the like formed on the inner wall of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d that engages with the connection terminal 4 arranged to fit into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, and the connection terminal 4 may be held by the engaging portion or the like. Note that the engaging portion or the like may have a known structure, and may have a shape such as the engaging protrusion 29d shown in Figure 1, for example.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), (b), and (c), in the first embodiment, a wide recess 7 is formed behind the box section arrangement area 61 on each of the left and right sides of the housing main body 2d, recessed into the top surface of the housing main body 2d.

The wide recess 7 has wire connection part placement areas 62 on each side, and its bottom surface is formed by the upper surface of the base 21 so as to be the same depth as these wire connection part placement areas 62. Furthermore, the inner wall of the wide recess 7 is formed by the side wall parts 24, 24 on each side, the rear wall part 23, and the rear end of the partition part 25, so as to be surrounded by these.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), the wide recesses 7 are formed wide so that the inner walls of the widthwise outer ends on each side are positioned widthwise outward of the inner walls of the widthwise outer ends of the corresponding box section arrangement areas 61. Furthermore, the wide recesses 7 are formed to span the widthwise electrical wire connection section arrangement areas 62, including the area between the left and right electrical wire connection section arrangement areas 62 spaced apart in the widthwise direction of the housing main body 2d. In other words, the wide recesses 7 are not separated widthwise by the partitions 25, but are formed so that they are interconnected widthwise.

The rear ends of the box section arrangement areas 61 on each side open toward the wide recess 7, and the box section arrangement areas 61 on each side and the wide recess 7 are connected in the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the wide recess 7, which has the wire connection section arrangement areas 62 on each side in part of its width, is formed in the housing main body 2d.

By forming the wide recess 7 in the housing main body 2d in this way, interference between the pair of tools 81, 82 (here, the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82, which are pressure tools) that crimp the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 during the wire connection process described below is avoided, particularly between the upper tool 81 and the housing main body 2d (see Figures 5(a) and (b)).

Specifically, to connect the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4, the upper tool 81 is lowered from above onto the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the housing main body 2d. The lowered upper tool 81 enters the recessed space of the wide recess 7, preventing interference between the upper tool 81 and the housing main body 2d.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), an insertion hole 22a is formed in the front wall portion 22 of the housing main body 2d, into which the tab of the mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) to be connected to the connection terminal 4 is inserted.
Specifically, in the front wall portion 22, an insertion hole 22a into which the tab of the mating connection terminal is inserted from the front is formed in the front-to-rear direction at each of the left and right sides corresponding to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d when viewed from the front (viewed from the front to the rear).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2(a), (b), and (c), a wire placement recess 23a in which the coated wire 3 is placed is formed in the rear wall 23 of the housing body 2d.
In detail, on the left and right sides of the rear wall portion 23, which correspond to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d when viewed from the rear (viewed from the rear to the front), wire arrangement recesses 23a in which the insulated wire 3 is arranged are formed in a concave shape on the upper surface of the rear wall portion 23.

The wire placement recess 23a prevents interference between the insulated wire 3 and the rear wall 23 when the wire end 33 is placed in the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d during the wire placement process described below (see Figures 3 and 4(a)).

This configuration prevents the connection terminal 4 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d from shifting in the front-to-rear direction. Specifically, the front end of the connection terminal 4 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d abuts against the rear surface of the front wall 22. Furthermore, the rear end of the connection terminal 4 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d abuts against the front surface of the rear wall 23. In this way, the front and rear ends of the connection terminal 4 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d abut against the front wall 22 and rear wall 23, thereby restricting the front-to-rear position of the connection terminal 4 relative to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

1 and 2(a), (b), and (c), a through-hole 10 is formed in the electric wire connection portion arrangement region 62 of the housing main body 2d, penetrating the housing main body 2d in the vertical direction. The through-hole 10 is formed across the electric wire connection portion arrangement regions 62 on both the left and right sides of the housing main body 2d that are spaced apart in the width direction.
In other words, as shown in FIG. 2A, the through-hole 10 is formed in a rectangular shape in plan view in the central portion of the bottom surface of the wide recess 7 excluding the peripheral edge.

The through-hole 10 is formed in a size and shape that allows at least the lower tool 82 (fixed tool: the tool that is fixed in the wire connection process) of a pair of tools 81, 82 to be inserted when the housing main body 2d is placed relative to the lower tool 82 during the wire connection process described below (see Figures 4(a) and (b) and Figures 5(a) and (b)).

More specifically, the through-hole 10 is sized and shaped so as not to interfere with the housing main body 2d when the lower tool 82 supports from below the wire connection parts 43 arranged in the wire connection part arrangement areas 62 on each side (see Figures 5(a) and (b)).

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the through hole 10 is formed with a size and shape that does not interfere with the housing main body 2d when the upper tool 81 (movable tool: the tool that moves during the wire connection process), of the pair of tools 81, 82, which is positioned above the housing main body 2d, is lowered (see Figure 5(b)).

In addition, the through hole 10 is formed to have a size and shape that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C (see Figure 7(a)) of the coated electric wire 3 to the assembled connector housing 2 so that it falls within a predetermined range.
The opposite side of the through hole 10, that is, the opposite side (upper side) of the wire connection portion 43 of the wire connection portion arrangement region 62 when the connection terminal 4 is attached, is open.

As shown in Figures 1 and 7(a) and (b), the above-mentioned cover 2u is integrally formed of a flat top plate portion 27 and cover side wall portions 28, 28 extending downward from both sides of the top plate portion 27 in the width direction.
The top plate portion 27 is configured to cover the housing main body 2d, including the front wall portion 22, from above.
The cover side wall portions 28, 28 are configured to cover the side wall portions 24, 24 from the outside in the width direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, an engaging projection 29d is formed on the outer surface of the side wall portions 24, 24 of the housing main body 2d.
Furthermore, an engagement hole 29u that engages with the engagement protrusion 29d when the housing body 2d and the cover 2u are assembled is formed in the cover side wall portions 28, 28 at a position corresponding to the engagement protrusion 29d. Note that the engagement protrusion 29d and the engagement hole 29u are only shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figures 7(a), (b), and (c), the electric wire with connector 1 is accommodated inside an assembled connector housing 2 formed by assembling a housing main body 2d and a cover 2u into one body, with the connection terminal 4 and the electric wire end portion 33 crimped and connected.
As a result, in the connector-attached electric wire 1 , the conductor exposed portion 31 a of the electric wire end portion 33 and the connection terminal 4 are electrically connected inside the assembled type connector housing 2 .

Next, a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned electric wire with connector 1 will be described.
The manufacturing method of the connector-attached electric wire 1 includes a terminal arrangement step, an electric wire arrangement step, an electric wire connection step, and a cover assembly step.
The terminal arrangement step is a step of arranging the connection terminals 4 in the housing main body 2d.

The electric wire placement step is a step of placing the electric wire end portion 33 on the electric wire connection portion 43 .
The electric wire connecting step is a step of crimping and connecting the electric wire connecting portion 43 and the coated electric wire 3 using a pair of tools 81 and 82 .
The cover assembling step is a step in which the cover 2u is attached to the housing body 2d to complete the connector-attached electric wire 1.

Each step will be described in detail below.
First, a terminal arrangement step is performed in which the connection terminals 4 are arranged in the housing main body 2d.
In this terminal arrangement step, the two connection terminals 4 are arranged from above the housing body 2d so as to fit into the left and right lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d provided in the housing body 2d (see FIG. 3).
As a result, the box portion 41 is held by the inner wall of the box portion arrangement region 61 in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

On the other hand, the transition portion 42 and the electric wire connection portion 43 are arranged in the electric wire connection portion arrangement region 62 , that is, in a state where they are fitted into the wide recess 7 .
At this time, the electric wire connecting portion 43 is arranged in the electric wire connecting portion arrangement area 62 with both the wire barrel portion 44 and the insulation barrel portion 45 facing upward (see FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B).

In the subsequent wire placement step, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4(a) and (b), the wire end portion 33 is placed from above onto the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.
At this time, the exposed conductor portion 31 a of the wire end portion 33 is placed on the barrel bottom surface 44 a of the wire barrel portion 44 , and the coated end portion 32 a of the wire end portion 33 is placed on the barrel bottom surface 45 a of the insulation barrel portion 45 .

In the wire connection process, the wire connection section 43, on which the wire end section 33 is placed, is clamped from both the top and bottom sides by a pair of tools 81, 82 to crimp and connect them together. The pair of tools 81, 82 consists of an upper tool 81 and a lower tool 82.

In the wire connection process, as shown in Figures 4(a) and (b), a pair of tools 81, 82 are set so that the lower tool 82 is positioned below the wire connection section 43 in which the insulated wire 3 is placed, and the upper tool 81 is positioned above it.

At this time, the lower tool 82 is inserted into the through-hole 10 from below, and the upper surface (pressure surface 82a) of the lower tool 82 is brought into direct contact with the lower surface of the wire connection portion 43. As a result, the lower tool 82 is in a state of supporting, from below, the wire connection portion 43 on which the wire end portion 33 is positioned.

Then, as shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the upper tool 81, which is positioned above the wire end portion 33, is lowered. This allows the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82 to crimp and connect the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 together by sandwiching them from both above and below.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the wire barrel portion 44 is plastically deformed so that the barrel piece 44b wraps around the outer periphery of the exposed conductor portion 31a of the wire end portion 33. As a result, the exposed conductor portion 31a is crimped by the wire barrel portion 44, and the exposed conductor portion 31a and the wire barrel portion 44 come into contact with each other, electrically connecting the wire end portion 33 and the connection terminal 4.

The insulation barrel portion 45 undergoes plastic deformation so that the barrel piece 45b wraps around the outer circumference of the insulation end portion 32a. As a result, as shown in Figure 5(b), the insulation end portion 32a is crimped by the insulation barrel portion 45. Therefore, the holding force with which the connection terminal 4 holds the wire end portion 33 can be increased compared to when only the conductor exposed portion 31a and the wire barrel portion 44 are crimped.

In the above-described wire connection process, as shown in Figures 5(a) and (b), the wire connection portion 43 is supported directly by a lower tool 82 inserted through the through-hole 10, without using the housing main body 2d. Furthermore, an upper tool 81, which descends and applies pressure to the wire connection portion 43, enters the wide recess 7 and the through-hole 10 from above (see Figure 5(b)).

As a result, the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82 can crimp and connect the electric wire connecting portion 43 and the electric wire end portion 33 without interfering with the housing main body 2d.
That is, the electric wire connecting portion 43 and the electric wire end portion 33 can be crimped and connected to each other while both are disposed in the housing main body 2d.

After the above-described electric wire connecting step, a cover assembling step is carried out, in which the cover 2u is assembled onto the housing main body 2d from above.
As shown in FIG. 7, the connection terminal 4 of the terminal-attached electric wire, in which the electric wire end portion 33 and the electric wire connecting portion 43 are connected, is fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d of the housing main body 2d.

In this state, the housing main body 2d, on which the connection terminals 4 for the terminal-equipped electric wires are arranged, is covered from above with the cover 2u. At this time, the engaging protrusions 29d on the housing main body 2d are engaged with the engaging holes 29u on the cover 2u to secure the housing in place.

As a result, as shown in Figures 7(a), (b), and (c), the housing body 2d and the cover 2u can be assembled together with the connection terminals 4 of the terminal-attached electric wire housed in the terminal accommodating chambers 6, thereby creating the connector-attached electric wire 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the connector-equipped wire 1 includes a covered wire 3 having a conductor 31 therein, a metal connection terminal 4 having a wire connection portion 43 electrically connected to the covered wire 3, and a dielectric housing main body 2d that holds the connection terminal 4.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2(a), (b), and (c), the housing main body 2d is provided with a lower terminal accommodating recess 6d (connection portion placement portion) in which the wire connection portion 43 is placed. As shown in Figure 3, the wire connection portion 43 placed in the wire connection portion placement area 62 and the wire end portion 33 placed in the wire connection portion 43 are connected to each other by clamping them from both sides with a pair of tools 81 and 82, as shown in Figures 4(a), (b), and 5(a), (b).

Also, as shown in the figure, a through-hole 10 is formed in the housing main body 2d in the vertical direction (the direction in which the pair of pressure tools are sandwiched) through which a lower tool 82 (one of the pressure tools) arranged on the lower side (opposite the side on which the electric wire connection portion 43 is arranged) of the housing main body 2d is inserted from the lower side (opposite side) (see Figures 2(a), (b), and (c)).

According to the above configuration, the assembled connector housing 2 includes a conductive connection terminal 4 with a wire connection portion 43 for connection to the insulated wire 3, and a dielectric housing main body 2d that holds the connection terminal 4. The housing main body 2d is provided with a wire connection portion arrangement area 62 in which the wire connection portion 43 is arranged. When the connection terminal 4 is attached to the housing main body 2d, the housing main body 2d is open at an upper U side of the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 that sandwiches the connection terminal 4. Therefore, when connecting the insulated wire 3 to the connection terminal 4 held in the housing main body 2d, the insulated wire 3 can be properly connected to the connection terminal 4 without buckling.

More specifically, with the connection terminal 4 attached to the housing main body 2d, a tool for connecting the wire connection portion 43 and the insulated wire 3 can be applied directly through the opening to the wire connection portion 43 located in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 of the housing main body 2d, thereby ensuring a secure connection between the wire connection portion 43 and the insulated wire 3.

As described above, the insulated wire 3 can be connected to the wire connection portion 43 after the connection terminal 4 is attached to the housing main body 2d. This prevents problems such as buckling of the insulated wire 3 when attaching the connection terminal 4, to which the insulated wire 3 is connected, to the wire connection portion 43, to the housing main body 2d. This also reduces deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the insulated wire 3 due to buckling of the insulated wire 3 when connected to the assembled connector housing 2.

Furthermore, because the housing main body 2d has a fixing structure for fixing the connection terminal 4, the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 fixed to the housing main body 2d can be fixed to the wire connection portion arrangement area 62. This allows a tool that acts directly through the opening to reliably act on the wire connection portion 43, ensuring a more secure connection between the wire connection portion 43 and the insulated wire 3 in the connected state.

In addition, because the housing body 2d covers all areas except the opposite side corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement area 62, all areas except the opening where the tool acts on the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 are covered by the housing body 2d. This means that the connection terminal 4 can be protected by the housing body 2d and can be stably fixed to the housing body 2d.

When connecting the insulated wire 3 to the connection terminal 4 held in the housing main body 2d, the insulated wire 3 can be properly connected to the connection terminal 4 without buckling. This ensures the durability of the insulated wire 3 connected to the housing main body 2d and reduces transmission loss.

More specifically, when connecting the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 to the housing main body 2d, the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 are placed in the housing main body 2d that constitutes the connector 5 in a separate state, without being connected to each other, and then the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 are connected in this state.

Specifically, the wire connection portion 43, which is located in the wire connection portion placement area 62 of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, and the wire end portion 33, which is located in the wire connection portion 43, are clamped from both sides by a pair of tools 81, 82 to connect the insulated wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 to each other.

At this time, the lower tool 82 is inserted through the through hole 10 formed in the vertical direction in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 of the housing main body 2d, and the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 is directly supported from below by the lower tool 82.
Then, the wire connection portion 43 on which the wire end portion 33 is disposed is sandwiched vertically between an upper tool 81 (the other pressure tool) and a lower tool 82 to connect them together.

In this way, when connecting the connection terminal 4 arranged in the housing main body 2d to the insulated electric wire 3, the insulated electric wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 are separately placed in the housing main body 2d and then pressurized and connected using a pair of tools 81, 82. This means that the connection terminal 4 arranged in the housing main body 2d can be connected to the insulated electric wire 3 without having to insert the connection terminal 4 of a terminal-attached electric wire, which has already been connected to the insulated electric wire 3, into the connector housing, as was done in the past.

In addition, because the insulated wire 3 and connection terminal 4 are pressure-connected using a pair of tools 81, 82, two terminal placement tasks - placing the connection terminal 4 on the pressure surface 82a of the lower tool 82 and placing the connection terminal 4 on the housing main body 2d to hold it in place - can be combined into a single terminal placement task of placing the connection terminal 4 on the housing main body 2d, simplifying the labor required for the terminal placement task.

More specifically, when connecting the insulated electric wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 and arranging the connection terminal 4 in the housing main body 2d, one possible method is to first prepare a terminal-attached electric wire with the connection terminal 4 attached, and then connect the two by fitting the connection terminal 4 of this terminal-attached electric wire into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d provided on the top surface of the connector housing.

This connection method eliminates the need to insert the connection terminal 4 of a terminal-equipped electric wire, which has already been connected to the connection terminal 4, into the connector housing, as was previously required. This has the advantage of eliminating the risk of buckling of the insulated electric wire 3 when connecting the insulated electric wire 3 to the connector housing.

However, when manufacturing a connector-equipped electric wire by placing the connection terminal 4 of a terminal-equipped electric wire in which the connection terminal 4 and the coated electric wire 3 are previously connected in the housing main body 2d, there is an issue in that the process of placing the connection terminal 4 during the manufacturing process is time-consuming.

This is because, in the conventional method of making an electric wire with a connector, in the electric wire connection process, as a preliminary step to applying pressure with a pair of tools 81, 82, it is necessary to perform both the work of placing the terminal on the pressure surface of the crimper (fixed tool) of the pair of tools 81, 82, and the work of placing the connection terminal 4 of the electric wire with terminal in the connector housing in the terminal attachment process to the connector housing.
Therefore, in such a conventional method for producing an electric wire with a connector, the terminals must be arranged in each process, which is troublesome.

In contrast, with the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, simply by placing the connection terminal 4 in the housing main body 2d, the terminal placement work of placing the connection terminal 4 in the housing main body 2d using a pair of tools 81, 82 to pressurize and connect the connection terminal 4, and the terminal placement work of fitting the connection terminal 4 into the housing main body 2d to hold (attach and fix) the connection terminal 4 in the housing main body 2d, can be combined into one, simplifying the labor required for the terminal placement work.

In particular, when a connector-equipped electric wire has multiple connection terminals 4, the terminal placement work requires that the connection terminals 4 be placed one by one according to the number of terminals 4. Therefore, if the terminal placement work needs to be performed for each process, as in conventional methods of manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires, the labor required for the overall terminal placement work increases as the number of connection terminals 4 increases.

In contrast, with the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, even when connecting multiple thin-diameter insulated wires 3 to the housing main body 2d, the arrangement of multiple connection terminals 4 corresponding to the number of insulated wires 3 can be consolidated into one process between each step. This significantly improves the efficiency of connecting the connector 5 to the insulated wires 3.

Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, the location where the insulated electric wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 are clamped between a pair of tools 81, 82 to perform the pressure connection can be combined with the location where the connection terminal 4 is held and positioned in the housing main body 2d, and where the insulated electric wire 3 is placed on the connection terminal 4. This allows for a compact configuration of the manufacturing device for the connector-attached electric wire 1.

As shown in Figures 1, 2(a), 2(b), 6(a), 6(b), and 7(a), 7(b), the through hole 10 is sized and shaped to match the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing main body 2d so that it falls within a predetermined range.

With this configuration, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing main body 2d falls within a predetermined range, depending on the size and shape of the through hole 10 formed in the housing main body 2d.

In this embodiment, the size and shape of the through-hole 10 are used to achieve matching of the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C, but it is also possible to configure the connection portion 3C to match the characteristic impedance using only the size or shape of the through-hole 10.

To explain in more detail below, the characteristic impedance is generally set to 120 Ω in CAN communication systems, and 100 Ω in 100BASE-T communication systems commonly used in Ethernet (registered trademark).

Therefore, for example, when the connector-equipped electric wire 1 is applied to a CAN communication system, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3 to the housing body 2d is matched to be within the range of 120 Ω±10%. Also, when the connector-equipped electric wire is applied to a 100BASE-T communication system, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C is matched to be within the range of 100 Ω±10%.
Specifically, the thicker the dielectric housing body 2d is, the lower the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing body 2d tends to be.

Furthermore, the portion of the housing body 2d corresponding to the through hole 10 is filled with air, which has a lower dielectric constant than the housing body 2d, and therefore tends to have a higher characteristic impedance.
Furthermore, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3 to the housing body 2d tends to increase as the inter-wire distance of the insulated electric wires 3 (the distance between a pair of insulated electric wires 3) or the distance between the connection portions 3C increases.

Thus, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 varies depending on factors such as the inter-wire distance and the dielectric constant of the housing main body 2d, but the size and shape of the through hole 10 formed in the housing main body 2d are set so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C is matched to a predetermined range of 120 Ω ± 10%.

For example, the transition portion 42 of the connection terminal 4, which connects the box portion 41 that connects to the mating connection terminal and the wire connection portion 43, tends to have a higher characteristic impedance because the proportion of metal components in the connection terminal 4 is smaller than in the box portion 41 and the wire connection portion 43.

Therefore, by providing through holes 10 in the wire connection portion arrangement region 62, particularly in the area where the transition portion 42 is arranged, when viewed from above on the housing main body 2d, it is possible to achieve more effective matching of the characteristic impedance than, for example, providing through holes only in the area where the wire connection portion 43 is arranged.

The twisted pair electric wire 35 provided in the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment, which is formed by twisting together a pair of coated electric wires 3, is generally used in a CAN type communication system.
As shown in FIG. 1 , each wire end 33 of the twisted pair electric wire 35 formed by twisting two coated electric wires 3 together is provided with an untwisted portion 35 a that is untwisted and placed at the wire connection portion 43.

Twisted pair wires 35 are commonly used in CAN-based communication systems, and in these systems the characteristic impedance is often set to 120 Ω. However, due to the formation of an untwisted portion 35a at the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing main body 2d, the characteristic impedance may deviate from the specified value, i.e., fall outside the range of 120 Ω ±10%. With the above configuration, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing main body 2d is within the range of 120 Ω ±10%, depending on the size and shape of the through hole 10 formed in the housing main body 2d.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 2(a), (b), and (c), two lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d are arranged side by side and spaced apart from each other in the housing main body 2d, and the through hole 10 is provided across the wire connection portion arrangement areas 62 of the two lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d.

With this configuration, the reduction in characteristic impedance (the effect of the reduction) at the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing main body 2d can be significantly reduced compared to, for example, when through holes 10 are provided spaced apart at each location corresponding to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d. As a result, it is possible to match characteristic impedance that deviates significantly from a predetermined value.

In other words, even if the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3 deviates significantly from the predetermined value, matching can be achieved by forming the through-holes 10 in the housing main body 2d across the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62 as described above.

As shown in Figures 1 and 7(a), (b), and (c), the assembled connector housing 2 is constructed by assembling a cover 2u (connector housing cover) to the housing main body 2d so as to accommodate the connection terminals 4 inside the housing main body 2d.
According to the above-described configuration, the connection portion where the coated electric wire 3 and the connection terminal 4 are connected can be housed inside the housing body 2d and the cover 2u, thereby protecting the connection portion from external factors.

As shown in Figures 1, 3, 4(a), (b), 5(a), (b), 6, and 7(a), (b), the wire connection portion 43 is provided with barrel pieces 44b, 45b that crimp and clamp the positioned wire end portion 33 using a pair of tools 81, 82.

In this way, by providing the barrel pieces 44b, 45b on the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4, the exposed conductor portion 31a can be crimped and connected so that it is covered by the barrel pieces 44b, 45b. This allows for an excellent connection strength between the connection terminal 4 arranged in the housing main body 2d and the insulated wire 3.

Next, we will explain other embodiments that differ from the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment described above. However, the same components as those in the above embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

Second Embodiment
As shown in Figures 8 and 10, the connector-equipped electric wire 1A of the second embodiment does not have an exposed conductor portion 31a at the end portion 33A of the electric wire, and the entire outer periphery of the conductor 31 in the longitudinal direction of the coated electric wire 3A is covered with the insulating coating portion 32 up to the end, including the portion corresponding to the exposed conductor portion 31a.

The wire connection portion 43A of the connection terminal 4A has an insulation barrel portion 45A on the rear side, but does not have a wire barrel portion 44 on the front side, but has a pressure-contact portion 44A.
11(a) and 11(b), the pressure contact portion 44A has a bottom wall 44Aa, side walls 44Ab extending upward from both left and right ends of the bottom wall 44Aa, and a pair of pressure contact pieces 44Ac. The pair of pressure contact pieces 44Ac are disposed so as to face each other and spaced apart in the front-rear direction.

As shown in Figures 8 and 11(a) and (b), the insulation displacement piece 44Ac is formed to be wider than the outer diameter of the insulated electric wire 3A. Furthermore, a recess 44d extending downward from the upper end is formed in the center of the width of the insulation displacement piece 44Ac. The recess 44d is formed to be slightly wider than the outer diameter of the conductor 31.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9(a), (b), and (c), the through holes 10A formed through the assembled connector housing 2Ad are spaced apart in the width direction at locations corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement areas 62 on each side. In other words, two through holes 10A are formed independently in one assembled connector housing 2Ad, one corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement areas 62 on each side.

However, the through holes 10A formed so as to be spaced apart in the width direction in the assembled connector housing 2Ad are formed to a size and shape that allows the lower tool 82 (fixed tool) placed below the assembled connector housing 2Ad to be inserted therethrough (i.e., to allow the lower tool 82 to pass through or temporarily reside (reside) therein) during the wire connection process.

Furthermore, like the through hole 10 of the first embodiment, the through hole 10A is formed with a size and shape that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C (see Figure 13(a)) of the insulated electric wire 3A so that it falls within a predetermined range.

Next, a method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1A will be described, focusing on the configurations that differ from the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1 according to the first embodiment described above.
10, in the terminal arrangement step, the connection terminals 4 are arranged so as to be fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d provided on the left and right sides of the assembled connector housing 2Ad. Then, in the electric wire arrangement step, the electric wire end portions 33A are arranged from above relative to the electric wire connection portions 43A.

In this case, as shown in Figure 11(a), the wire end portion 33A is placed from above relative to the insulation displacement portion 44A and the insulation barrel portion 45A, with the portion corresponding to the insulation displacement portion 44A being positioned so as to straddle the pair of insulation displacement pieces 44Ac provided on the insulation displacement portion 44A from front to back.

Next, to perform the wire connection process, the pair of tools 81A, 82A are set so that the lower tool 82A is positioned below the wire connection section 43A where the insulated wire 3A is placed, and the upper tool 81A is positioned above (see Figure 11(a)).

The upper tool 81A includes an upper tool 81Aa for pressure welding and an upper tool 81Ab for crimping. The lower tool 82A includes a lower tool 82Aa for pressure welding and a lower tool 82Ab for crimping.

During the wire connection process, the crimping portion 44A and the wire end portion 33A are crimped together using an upper crimping tool 81Aa and a lower crimping tool 82Aa. Additionally, the insulation barrel portion 45A and the wire end portion 33A are crimped together using an upper crimping tool 81Ab and a lower crimping tool 82Ab.

Specifically, the lower crimping tool 82Aa and the lower crimping tool 82Ab are inserted into the through-hole 10A from the underside of the assembled connector housing 2Ad, and the upper surface (pressure surface) of the lower crimping tool 82Aa is brought into direct contact with the underside of the crimping portion 44A of the wire connection portion 43A.

At the same time, the upper surface (pressure surface) of the lower crimping tool 82Ab is brought into direct contact with the lower surface of the insulation barrel portion 45A of the wire connection portion 43A. This allows the lower crimping tool 82Aa and the lower crimping tool 82Ab to support the wire connection portion 43A, on which the wire end portion 33A is located, from below.

From this state, the upper tool 81A (upper tool for crimping 81Aa and upper tool for crimping 81Ab), which is positioned above the wire end portion 33A, is lowered. This causes the upper tool for crimping 81Aa and the lower tool for crimping 82Aa to crimp the insulation barrel portion 45A and the wire end portion 33A together, sandwiching them from above and below. The upper tool for crimping 81Aa and the lower tool for crimping 82Ab also crimp the insulation barrel portion 45A and the wire end portion 33A together, sandwiching them from above and below.

In particular, during insulation displacement connection, the conductor 31 is fitted into the recess 44d of the insulation displacement piece 44Ac, the insulation displacement piece 44Ac cuts through the insulating coating 32, and the conductor 31 fitted into the recess 44d abuts against the periphery of the recess 44d of the insulation displacement piece 44Ac, electrically connecting the insulated electric wire 3A and the connection terminal 4A.

In this way, since the through hole 10A is provided in the assembled connector housing 2Ad, during the wire connecting process, the lower tool 82A does not interfere with the assembled connector housing 2Ad, and the wire connecting portion 43A can be directly supported by the lower tool 82A inserted into the through hole 10A without going through the assembled connector housing 2Ad.
That is, the coated wire 3A and the connection terminal 4A can be pressure-connected to each other while they are disposed in the assembled connector housing 2Ad.

In this way, when crimping the insulated electric wire 3A to the connection terminal 4A, it is only necessary to insert the electric wire end portion 33A into the crimping piece 44Ac so as to cut through the insulating coating portion 32. Compared to the first embodiment, where the open-barrel-type wire barrel portion 44 is plastically deformed to crimp the insulated electric wire 3A to the connection terminal 4A, the crimping connection can be made without the lower tool 82A interfering with the assembled connector housing 2Ad, even if the width of the through hole 10A is small.

This allows the wire connection portion 43A to be compact, and ultimately allows the pair of tools 81A, 82A that pressurize the connection terminal 4A to be compact as well. Furthermore, the through-hole 10A in the assembled connector housing 2Ad, into which the lower tool 82A is inserted, can also be made compact.

However, even when connecting the coated electric wire 3A and the connection terminal 4A by crimping as in the second embodiment, the through hole of the present invention may be configured to be wide, extending across the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62 on both the left and right sides of the assembled connector housing 2Ad, as in the through hole 10 of the first embodiment.

Furthermore, even when the through holes of the present invention are used to crimp and connect the coated electric wire 3A and the connection terminal 4 as in the first embodiment, they may be configured as through holes 10A of the second embodiment, in which they are formed independently for each of the electric wire connection portion arrangement areas 62 on each side of the housing main body 2d, as long as the lower tool 82 does not interfere with the housing main body 2d.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9(a), (b), and (c), in the connector-attached electric wire 1A of the second embodiment, the lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d are arranged side by side and spaced apart from each other on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the assembled connector housing 2Ad, and the through holes 10A are arranged spaced apart from each other at positions corresponding to these two lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d.

With this configuration, the through holes 10A can be formed as small as possible by providing them at a distance from each other in positions corresponding to the lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d. This prevents interference between the lower tool 82A inserted into the through holes 10A during the wire connection process and the assembled connector housing 2Ad, while also minimizing any reduction in strength caused by the formation of the through holes 10A.

Furthermore, by forming the through hole 10A in this manner to keep its size as small as possible, the reduction (effect of reduction) in the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3A to the assembled connector housing 2Ad, which is caused by the accumulation of electrostatic capacitance in the dielectric assembled connector housing 2Ad, can be kept small compared to, for example, when the through hole 10 in the first embodiment is formed wide across the areas corresponding to the lower terminal accommodating recesses 6d on both the left and right sides, thereby enabling highly accurate matching.
That is, even if the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3A deviates slightly from a predetermined value, it is possible to achieve high accuracy of matching with the predetermined value.

(Third embodiment)
As shown in Figure 14, the assembled connector housing 2B (hereinafter abbreviated as "assembled connector housing 2B") provided in the connector-equipped electric wire 1B (connector 5B) of the third embodiment has through holes 10 (10d, 10u) formed in both the housing main body 2d and the cover 2Bu.

In the following description, when distinguishing between the through holes 10 formed on the housing main body 2d side and the cover 2Bu side, the through holes 10 formed on the housing main body 2d side will also be referred to as main body-side through holes 10d, and the through holes 10 formed on the cover 2Bu side will also be referred to as cover-side through holes 10u.

The main body-side through hole 10d is formed wide so as to straddle the wire connection portion arrangement areas 62 on both the left and right sides, similar to the through hole 10 formed in the housing main body 2d in the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment. In other words, the main body-side through hole 10d is formed in the same formation position as the through hole 10 of the first embodiment, and has the same shape and size as the through hole 10.

On the other hand, the cover-side through-hole 10u in the cover 2Bu is formed in a position on the cover 2Bu that is vertically opposed to the body-side through-hole 10d in the housing body 2d when the cover 2Bu is covering the housing body 2d from above.

In this embodiment, the position and shape of the cover-side through-hole 10u are formed to exactly match the position and shape of the body-side through-hole 10d when the assembled connector housing 2B is viewed in plan.

The cover-side through-hole 10u allows at least the upper tool 81 of the pair of tools 81, 82 to pass through or be temporarily present during the wire connection process described below (see Figure 15(b)).

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1B of the third embodiment, the cover assembly process is performed between the electric wire placement process and the electric wire connection process, rather than after the electric wire connection process.

Specifically, as shown by arrow s1 in Figure 14, in the terminal placement process, the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 is placed from above into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, and as shown by arrow s2 in Figure 14, in the wire placement process, the wire end portion 33 is placed from above onto the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d in the housing main body 2d.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1B of the third embodiment, the terminal arrangement process and the electric wire arrangement process may be performed simultaneously. That is, the electric wire end portion 33 may be arranged above the electric wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4, and the electric wire connection portion 43 may be arranged together with the electric wire end portion 33 in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

In a subsequent cover assembling step, the cover 2Bu is attached to the housing main body 2d from above, as shown by an arrow s3 in FIG.
As a result, the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 arranged inside the assembled connector housing 2B are exposed to the outside through the cover side through hole 10u and the main body side through hole 10d (see Figure 15 (a)).

In the subsequent wire connection process, as shown in Figure 15(a), the lower tool 82 supports the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, directly contacting it from below through the main body through-hole 10d, as described above.

Furthermore, during the wire connection process, the upper tool 81 is lowered from above the cover 2Bu onto the wire end portion 33 placed in the wire connection section 43.

Here, the housing main body 2d is covered from above by the cover 2Bu, and a cover-side through-hole 10u is formed in the cover 2Bu directly above the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d. Therefore, as shown in Figure 15(b), even if the upper tool 81 is lowered from above the cover 2Bu onto the wire end portion 33 located in the wire connection portion 43, the upper tool 81 does not interfere with the cover 2Bu and can directly apply pressure to the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33.

This allows the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82 to crimp and connect the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 together by sandwiching them from both the top and bottom, thereby obtaining the connector-equipped wire 1B (connector 5B) of the third embodiment, as shown in Figures 16(a) and 16(b).

In the connector-attached electric wire 1B of the third embodiment described above, by forming the body-side through-hole 10d in the housing body 2d and the cover-side through-hole 10u in the cover 2Bu, it is possible to perform the electric wire connection process after the cover assembly process. In other words, it is possible to connect the electric wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 to the electric wire end portion 33 with the cover 2Bu assembled to cover the housing body 2d from above.

In other words, the cover 2Bu can cover and hold the connection terminal 4 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d and the wire end portion 33 placed in the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 from above to prevent them from shifting position relative to the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d or slipping out during the wire connection process.

Therefore, even when performing the wire connection process on-site, for example, the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82 can easily and accurately crimp the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 together compared to when the cover 2Bu is not held down.

Furthermore, the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment has a body-side through hole 10d formed in the housing body 2d and a cover-side through hole 10u formed in the cover 2Bu, so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated wire 3 to the housing body 2d can be matched to be within a predetermined range based on not only the size and shape of the body-side through hole 10d but also the size and shape of the cover-side through hole 10u.
That is, the characteristic impedance can be matched more precisely than when the matching is based only on the size and shape of the main body through-hole 10d.

Furthermore, in the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment, like the assembled connector housing 2 of the first embodiment, the cover 2Bu and the housing main body 2d are not integrally formed from a single member, but rather the cover 2Bu and the housing main body 2d are constructed from separate members that can be assembled together.

For this reason, in the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment, similar to the assembled connector housing 2 of the first embodiment, the cover 2Bu is not attached to the housing main body 2d during the terminal placement process, and the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 can be placed from above into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d (see Figure 14).

Furthermore, in the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment, the wire end portion 33 can be positioned relative to the wire connection portion 43 without attaching the cover 2Bu to the housing main body 2d during the wire placement process.

In other words, unlike connector housings in which the housing main body 2d and cover 2Bu are integrated, the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment does not require the wire connection portion 43 and wire end portion 33 to be inserted into the connector housing during manufacturing. Therefore, there is no risk of buckling, as occurs when the wire connection portion 43 and wire end portion 33 are inserted into the connector housing, and they can be easily positioned from above relative to the housing main body 2d.

Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1B of the third embodiment, as in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1 of the first embodiment, the labor required for terminal arrangement can be simplified compared to conventional methods for manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires.

Specifically, in conventional manufacturing methods for electric wires with connectors, when crimping the electric wire connection portion 43 provided on the connection terminal 4 to the electric wire end portion 33, it is necessary to place the connection terminal 4 on the pressure surface 82a of the lower tool 82. Furthermore, in conventional manufacturing methods for electric wires with connectors, in order to attach a connector to the connection site between the electric wire connection portion 43 and the electric wire end portion 33, it is necessary to insert the connection terminal 4 connected to the electric wire end portion 33 into the connector housing.

In contrast, in the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1B of the third embodiment, the two terminal placement operations described above, which were performed in conventional methods for manufacturing connector-attached electric wires, can be combined into a single terminal placement operation of placing the connection terminal 4 and the electric wire end portion 33 in the assembled connector housing 2C.

(Fourth embodiment)
As shown in Figures 17(a), (b), and (c), the integrated assembled connector housing 2C (hereinafter abbreviated as "assembled connector housing 2C") provided in the connector-attached electric wire 1C (connector 5C) of the fourth embodiment has portions corresponding to the housing main body 2d and the cover 2u in the assembled connector housing 2 of the first embodiment formed integrally.

The assembled connector housing 2C is formed with a terminal accommodating chamber 6 inside, similar to the assembled connector housing 2 of the first embodiment.

Specifically, the assembled connector housing 2C is hollow and has two terminal accommodating chambers 6 arranged side by side at least in the width direction (left-right direction) so that two connection terminals 4 can be accommodated. As shown in Figures 17(b) and 17(c), the assembled connector housing 2C has an upper wall portion 27' corresponding to the cover 2u (top surface). Furthermore, the rear wall portion 23', partition wall portion 25', and left and right side wall portions 24', 24' are all vertical walls that are approximately the same height as the front wall portion 22. The terminal accommodating chambers 6 are not divided into an upper terminal accommodating recess 6u and a lower terminal accommodating recess 6d.

As with the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment, the assembled connector housing 2C of the fourth embodiment also has through holes 10 (10u', 10d') formed in both the base portion 21, which corresponds to the lower wall portion, and the upper wall portion 27'.

In the following description, the through-hole 10 formed on the base portion 21 side will also be referred to as the lower surface through-hole 10d', and the through-hole 10 formed on the upper wall portion 27' side will also be referred to as the upper surface through-hole 10u'.

The lower surface through-hole 10d' and the upper surface through-hole 10u' are formed in positions that face each other in the vertical direction, separated by the internal space of the wide recess 7. The lower surface through-hole 10d' corresponds to the body side through-hole 10d in the third embodiment, and the upper surface through-hole 10u' corresponds to the cover side through-hole 10u in the third embodiment.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment, in the terminal placement process, the connection terminal 4 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 inside the assembled connector housing 2C through the electric wire placement recess 23a formed through the rear wall portion 23'.

As a result, the box portion 41 of the connection terminal 4 is positioned in the box portion arrangement area 61 in the terminal accommodating chamber 6 (see Figures 17(a), 17(b), and 17(c)), and the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4 is positioned in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 in the terminal accommodating chamber 6 (see the same figures).

Furthermore, in the wire placement process, the wire end portion 33 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 (wire connection portion placement area 62) inside the assembled connector housing 2C through the wire placement recess 23a formed through the rear wall portion 23'. As a result, the wire end portion 33 is positioned above the wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4. In this state, the wire end portion 33 and the wire connection portion 43 are accommodated (stored) inside the assembled connector housing 2C without being connected to each other.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment, the terminal arrangement process and the electric wire arrangement process may be performed simultaneously. That is, with the electric wire end portion 33 arranged above the electric wire connection portion 43 of the connection terminal 4, the connection terminal 4 and the electric wire end portion 33 may be simultaneously inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the electric wire arrangement recess 23a.

In the subsequent wire connection process, the lower tool 82 can be brought into direct contact with the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 from below through the lower surface through-hole 10d', and the upper tool 81 can be brought into direct contact with the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 from above through the upper surface through-hole 10u'.

This allows the upper tool 81 and the lower tool 82 to crimp and connect the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 together by sandwiching them from both the top and bottom without interfering with the assembled connector housing 2C.

In the above-described terminal placement process, when placing the connection terminal 4 in the terminal accommodating chamber 6, it is not limited to inserting it into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the wire placement recess 23a, but it may also be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the lower surface through-hole 10d' or the upper surface through-hole 10u'.

The method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment described above differs from the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1B of the third embodiment in that the wire connection portion 43 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the wire placement recess 23a in the terminal placement process, and the wire end portion 33 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the wire placement recess 23a in the wire placement process.

However, the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment also simplifies the labor required for terminal placement compared to conventional methods for manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires.

Specifically, in the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment, before the electric wire connecting step, the connection terminal 4 is inserted into the assembled connector housing 2C through the electric wire arrangement recess 23a. Then, the electric wire end portion 33 is inserted into the assembled connector housing 2C through the electric wire arrangement recess 23a and placed on the electric wire connecting portion 43.
This allows the wire end portion 33 and the wire connecting portion 43 to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 more smoothly through the wire placement recess 23a than when they are inserted in a state where they are connected in advance.

More specifically, for example, if the wire end portion 33 and wire connection portion 43 are pre-connected and inserted into the assembled connector housing 2C, as in conventional methods of manufacturing connector-attached wires, there is a concern that the wires may easily get caught on the inner walls of the terminal accommodating chamber 6 or the wire placement recess 23a during insertion, causing buckling.

In contrast, in the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment, the electric wire end portion 33 and the electric wire connection portion 43 can be inserted separately into the terminal accommodating chamber 6 through the electric wire placement recess 23a, allowing for smooth insertion without buckling of the electric wire end portion 33 or the connection terminal 4 during insertion.

Furthermore, the connector-attached electric wire 1C of the fourth embodiment described above does not include the cover 2u, but instead employs an integrated configuration in which the parts corresponding to the housing main body 2d and the cover 2u are integrally formed. This reduces the number of parts compared to an assembled configuration, and also eliminates the cover assembly process during manufacturing.

Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, the connector-attached electric wire 1C also has a bottom surface through-hole 10d' and a top surface through-hole 10u' formed in the vertical direction, separated by the wide recess 7, similar to the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment. Therefore, the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 3C of the insulated electric wire 3 to the assembled connector housing 2C can be matched based on the respective sizes and shapes of the bottom surface through-hole 10d' and the top surface through-hole 10u'.

Therefore, the characteristic impedance can be matched more precisely than when matching is performed based on only one of the lower surface through-hole 10d' and the upper surface through-hole 10u' (10d' or 10u').

Fifth Embodiment
A connector unit 50 will be described as a fifth embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Figures 18 and 19, the connector unit 50 of this embodiment is equipped with a plurality (two in this example) of the connector-equipped electric wires 1B of the third embodiment described above, and is configured with a unit housing 51 that holds the connectors 5B (assembled connector housings 2B) provided on each of the plurality of connector-equipped electric wires 1B.

In Figures 18 and 19, arrow Y indicates the depth direction of the unit housing 51, arrow Y1 indicates one side in the depth direction, and arrow Y2 indicates the other side in the depth direction. Also, in Figure 18, detailed illustration of the internal structure (the connection portion between the connection terminal 4 and the wire end portion 33) that can be seen from the outside of the connector 5B through the cover-side through-hole 10u provided in the assembled connector housing 2B is omitted.

The unit housing 51 is made of a synthetic resin material and has a connector fitting portion 55 as an internal space into which a plurality of (two in this example) connectors 5B are fitted and held substantially entirely.
A plurality of (two in this example) connector fitting portions 55 are arranged in the width direction corresponding to the plurality of connectors 5B, and each is formed in the same shape and is separated.

The connector fitting portion 55 is formed to penetrate the inside of the unit housing 51 in the depth direction.
A connector insertion port 55a is formed on one side in the depth direction of the connector fitting portion 55, into which the connector 5B is inserted into the connector fitting portion 55. A terminal insertion port 54 (see FIG. 19) is formed on the other side in the depth direction of the connector fitting portion 55, into which a male terminal 65 provided on a mating connector unit 60 (described later) can be inserted.

As shown in Figure 19, two terminal insertion ports 54 are arranged in the width direction per connector fitting portion 55, corresponding to the two insertion holes 22a (see Figure 1) provided in the front wall portion 22 of the assembled connector housing 2B.
That is, four terminal insertion openings 54 are arranged in the width direction on the other end surface in the depth direction of the unit housing 51, corresponding to the two connector fitting portions 55 (see FIG. 19).

As a result, in the connector unit 50 of this embodiment, when the connector 5B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 55, the insertion hole 22a provided in the assembled connector housing 2B and the terminal insertion port 54 provided in the unit housing 51 are communicated in the depth direction.

The connector unit 50 of this embodiment is configured as a female connector unit with multiple poles (four poles in this example, i.e., four terminal sockets 54) corresponding to two assembled connector housings 2B.

In addition, the reference numeral 60 in Figure 18 indicates the mating connector unit. The mating connector unit 60 is configured as a male connector unit with four poles that can be connected to the connector unit 50 of this embodiment from the other side in the depth direction. Note that although the mating connector unit 60 of this embodiment is connected to the tip of the cable 63, it may also be connected to a connector or terminal mounted on a circuit board.

When the connector 5B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 55 of the connector unit 50 described above and the mating connector unit 60 is connected to the connector unit 50 from the other side in the depth direction, the protruding piece 65a (tab) at the tip of the male terminal 65 on the mating connector unit 60 is inserted into the box portion 41 (see FIGS. 1 and 6) of the connection terminal 4 provided inside the connector 5B through the terminal insertion port 54 (see FIG. 19) and the insertion hole 22a (see FIG. 19), and is electrically connected to the connection terminal 4.

In addition, a shield shell 57 is disposed on the unit housing 51 so as to surround the pair of connector fitting portions 55 from both sides in the width direction and from above. The shield shell 57 can be disposed in at least one of all directions, such as surrounding the unit housing 51 in all directions around a central axis extending in the depth direction.

In this embodiment, the shield shell 57 is formed from a bent metal plate so that it is sized to fit substantially the entire surface of the top wall and left and right side walls, and is insert-molded so that it is embedded inside the top wall and left and right side walls of the unit housing 51. The shield shell 57 may be press-fitted into the unit housing 51, or may be formed to cover the outer periphery of the unit housing 51.

By providing a metal shield shell 57 on the unit housing 51, the connector unit 50 can electromagnetically shield the connection between the assembled connector housing 2B and the connector holding portion 54, as well as the connection with the mating connector unit 60.

On the other hand, two sets of twisted pair electric wires 35 corresponding to two assembled connector housings 2B held in the unit housing 51 are covered along the longitudinal direction from the outer periphery of each twisted pair electric wire 35 with a braided wire 58. The shield shell 57 is electrically connected to the end of the braided wire 58 that covers the outer periphery of the coated electric wire 3 along the longitudinal direction.
The shield shell 57 may be provided on the assembled connector housing 2B in addition to the unit housing 51, or may be provided only on the assembled connector housing 2B.

In addition, the shield shell 57 may be provided on both the inner periphery of the connector fitting portion 55 of the unit housing 51 and the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2B.

In this configuration, the shield shell 57 on the inner periphery of the connector fitting portion 55 of the unit housing 51 is electrically connected to the shield shell (not shown) on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2B. Furthermore, in this configuration, the braided wire 58 is preferably connected to the shield shell (not shown) provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2B.

Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, when the connector 5B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 55 of the unit housing 51, the through holes 10u, 10d formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the assembled connector housing 2B can be covered by the inner walls of the connector fitting portion 55.

Therefore, by fitting the connector 5B into the connector fitting portion 55 of the unit housing 51, the waterproofness of the connection portion between the wire connection portion 43 and the wire end portion 33 can be improved compared to when the connector 5B is used alone without being fitted.

In addition, the connector unit 50 of this embodiment can easily be configured with a multi-pole (four-pole in this example) structure by holding multiple connectors in the connector holding portion 54 of the unit housing 51.

Furthermore, as described above, the connector unit of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which multiple connector fitting portions 55 are arranged in the width direction of the unit housing 51, but can be configured to have multiple connector fitting portions in at least one of the width direction and the vertical direction of the unit housing.

Furthermore, the connector unit of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which only a connector fitting portion 55 for accommodating the connector 5B is provided, as in the unit housing 51 described above. Although not shown, the connector unit may also have a configuration in which a terminal fitting portion is provided into which the connection terminal 4 can be fitted alone without the connector 5B.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the first to fifth embodiments described above, but can be formed in various other embodiments.
As a modified example of the above-described embodiment, when the present invention adopts a configuration in which a through hole is formed in at least the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d of the assembled connector housing 2Ad, the through hole may be extended not only to the portion corresponding to the bottom surface of the wide recess 7 but also to the box portion arrangement area 61.

Specifically, the through holes of the present invention may be formed in a form similar to through hole 10' shown in Figure 20(a), in which the through holes 10 of the first embodiment, which are formed across the left and right electric wire connection part arrangement areas 62, are extended all the way to the box part arrangement area 61. Also, as shown in Figure 20(b), the through holes 10A of the second embodiment, which are formed in each electric wire connection part arrangement area 62, may be formed all the way to the box part arrangement area 61.

As a modification of the above-described embodiment, the through holes of the present invention may be formed independently in the region corresponding to the wire barrel portion 44 and the region corresponding to the insulation barrel portion 45, as shown in through holes 10f and 10r in Figure 21(a), instead of the through hole 10 of the first embodiment formed across the left and right wire connection portion arrangement regions 62.

Alternatively, the through holes of the present invention may be formed independently in the region corresponding to the insulation contact portion 44A and the region corresponding to the insulation barrel portion 45A, as in the second embodiment where the through holes 10Af and 10Ar are formed spaced apart from each other in the left and right wire connection portion arrangement regions 62, as shown in FIG. 21(b).
In this way, the through holes of the present invention are not limited to being formed spaced apart in the width direction of the assembled connector housing 2Ad like the through holes 10A of the second embodiment, but may also be formed spaced apart in the front-rear direction.

Furthermore, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 21(a), of the above-mentioned through holes 10f, 10r, the through hole 10f (front through hole 10f) formed in the portion corresponding to the wire barrel portion 44 may be extended up to the box portion arrangement area 61. Further, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 21(b), of the above-mentioned through holes 10Af, 10Ar, the through hole 10Af (front through hole 10Af) formed in the portion corresponding to the crimping portion 44A may be extended up to the box portion arrangement area 61.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that when the through holes 10A are formed at intervals in the width direction and the front-to-rear direction of the assembled connector housing 2Ad, the number of holes is not limited to two each in the width direction or the front-to-rear direction, and a configuration in which three or more holes are provided independently may be adopted, although this is not shown in the figures.

The present invention also allows for a configuration in which a through hole is provided in the cover, such as the cover 2Bu provided on the connector-attached electric wire 1B of the third embodiment. However, when providing a through hole in the cover, the present invention allows for the through hole to be provided in various ways (size, shape, location, number, etc.) that allow at least the upper tool 81 of the pair of tools 81, 82 to pass through or be temporarily present during the electric wire connection process.

In other words, the cover-side through-hole may be formed in a shape different from the cover-side through-hole 10u of the third embodiment, as long as it has a size and shape that does not interfere with the pair of tools 81, 82 (particularly the upper tool 81) when crimping the insulated wire 3 to the connection terminal 4 with the cover 2u covering the housing main body 2d from above during the wire connection process.

Furthermore, the coated electric wire 3 provided in the connector-attached electric wires 1, 1A, 1B, and 1C of the above-described embodiments is a twisted pair electric wire formed by twisting two of the above-described electric wires together, but is not limited to a twisted pair electric wire, and an untwisted pair electric wire may also be used.
Specifically, the electric wire may be a pair electric wire having a pair of conductors 31 arranged so that the distance between them is approximately constant along the longitudinal direction, i.e., arranged approximately in parallel.

The paired electric wires may be, regardless of whether they are twisted or not, for example, a ribbon electric wire, in which a pair of conductors 31 are arranged approximately parallel (in parallel) so that the spacing between them is approximately constant along the longitudinal direction, and are integrally coated with an insulating coating portion 32.
Alternatively, the paired electric wires may be, for example, a power cable in which a pair of conductors 31 are each independently covered with an insulating covering 32 .

Furthermore, regardless of whether the pair of electric wires are twisted or not, it is preferable that they are covered with an electromagnetic shielding material made of braided wire, metal foil, etc., but an electromagnetic shielding material is not required, and they may not be covered with an electromagnetic shielding material.

Furthermore, the connector housing provided in the present invention has a configuration in which the connection terminals 4 are held mainly by the housing main body 2d (lower terminal accommodating recess 6d) of the housing main body 2d and the cover 2u, as in the assembled connector housing 2 of the first embodiment described above, but is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration in which the connection terminals 4 are held mainly by the cover 2u (upper terminal accommodating recess 6u) may also be adopted.
That is, the connector housing provided in the present invention may adopt a configuration in which the connection terminals 4 are substantially held in a fitted state on the cover 2u side, not on the housing main body 2d side.

Furthermore, as described above, the shield shell 57 provided on the unit housing 51 of the connector unit 50 of the fifth embodiment may be provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2B, i.e., the assembled connector housing 2B of the first embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration in which the shield shell 57 is provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2A of the second embodiment, the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2B of the third embodiment, or the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 2C of the fourth embodiment may also be adopted.

As shown in FIG. 41, as a modification of the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment, the cover 2u composed of the top plate portion 27 and a pair of cover side wall portions 28 may be divided.
41 shows an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire 1D that is a modified example of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those of the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The connector-equipped wire 1D, which is a modified example of the connector-equipped wire 1 of the first embodiment, has an assembled connector housing 2D in which the cover 2u, which is formed by a top plate portion 27 and a pair of cover side wall portions 28 and has a concave shape facing in the opposite direction when viewed from the arrow F, is divided into two in the front-to-back direction: a front cover 2uF and a rear cover 2uB.
The front cover 2uF is configured to cover the terminal accommodating chambers 6 in the housing main body 2d from the upper side U, and the rear cover 2uB is configured to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 in the housing main body 2d from the upper side U.

For this reason, two engagement holes 29u are provided at a predetermined distance in the front-to-rear direction on each of the cover side walls 28 of the front cover 2uF and rear cover 2uB, and two engagement protrusions 29d are also provided on each of the side walls 24 in the terminal accommodating chamber 6 and the side walls 24 in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

In the assembled connector housing 2D configured in this manner, the connection terminals 4 are attached to the housing main body 2d, the front cover 2uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in which the box portion 41 is disposed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, the wire end portion 33 is connected to the wire connection portion 43 disposed in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 2uB is attached to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 1D configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped electric wire 1 of the first embodiment described above, when connecting the wire end portion 33 to the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 with a crimping tool, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 is open, the front cover 2uF is attached to and covers the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in which the box portion 41 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, allowing the wire end portion 33 to be connected to the wire connection portion 43 in a stable manner.

In contrast, as shown in Figures 42 to 46, the rear cover 2uB may not be provided, and the cover may consist of only the front cover 2uF. In this case, the upper side U of the wire connection portion arrangement area 62, where the wire end portion 33 is connected to the wire connection portion 43, remains open.

Note that Figure 42 shows an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire 1E that is another modified example of the first embodiment, and Figure 43 shows a plan view (a) of an assembled connector housing 2E that is another modified example of the first embodiment, a cross-sectional view (b) of Figure 43(a) taken along line A-A, and a cross-sectional view (c) of a main portion taken along line B-B in Figure 43(a).

Figure 44 is a plan view showing the terminal arrangement process and the electric wire arrangement process of another modified example of the first embodiment, and Figure 45 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 43(a) showing the internal structure of the assembled connector housing 2E of the connector-attached electric wire 1E of another modified example of the first embodiment.

Figure 46 shows the internal structure of an assembled connector housing 2E of another modified example of a connector-attached electric wire 1E in the first embodiment, in the form of a longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to Figure 43(c), a transverse cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 43(b), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 45.
In the following description, the same components as those of the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Specifically, the connector-attached electric wire 1E, which is another variation of the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment described above, is configured with only a front cover 2uF, which is the length obtained by dividing the cover 2u in the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the above-described example in half in the front-to-rear direction.

In the assembled connector housing 2E configured in this manner, the connection terminal 4 is attached to the housing main body 2d, the front cover 2uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in which the box portion 41 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, the wire end portion 33 is connected to the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 2uB is attached to the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 to cover it.
Therefore, two engagement holes 29u are provided in the cover side wall portion 28 of the front cover 2uF at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction, and two engagement protrusions 29d are also provided in the side wall portion 24 of the terminal accommodating chamber 6.

The front cover 2uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in the housing main body 2d, covering the upper side U of the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d. In other words, even when the front cover 2uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 6, the upper side U of the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 remains open.

Therefore, the side walls 24E, 24E on each side of the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62 are formed thicker by the thickness of the cover side walls 28 of the front cover 2uF than the side walls 24, 24 on each side of the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62 of the above-described electric wire with connector 1. Note that the side walls 24E are not provided with the engaging projections 29d.
As a result, as shown in FIGS. 46 and 47, the side surface of the assembled connector housing 2E to which the cover 2uE is attached is flush with the cover side wall portion 28 of the cover 2uE and the side wall portion 24E.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 1E configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped electric wire 1 of the first embodiment described above, when connecting the wire end portion 33 to the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 with a crimping tool, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 is open, the front cover 2uF is attached to and covers the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in which the box portion 41 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d, allowing the wire end portion 33 to be connected to the wire connection portion 43 in a stable manner.

Next, a connector-attached electric wire 1G, which is yet another modified example, will be described with reference to FIGS.
Note that Figure 47 shows an exploded oblique view of a connector-attached electric wire 1G that is yet another modified example of the first embodiment, and Figure 48 shows a plan view (a) of an assembled connector housing 2G that is yet another modified example of the first embodiment, a cross-sectional view (b) of line A-A in Figure 48(a), and a cross-sectional view (c) of a key part that is taken along line B-B in Figure 48(a).

Figure 49 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 48(a) showing the terminal arrangement process and electric wire arrangement process of yet another modified example of the first embodiment, and Figure 50 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 48(a) showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing 2G of a connector-attached electric wire 1G of yet another modified example of the first embodiment.

Figure 51 shows the internal structure of an assembled connector housing 2G of yet another modified example of a connector-attached electric wire 1G in the first embodiment, in the form of a longitudinal cross-sectional view (a) corresponding to Figure 48(c), a transverse cross-sectional view (b) corresponding to Figure 48(b), and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 50.
In the following description, the same components as those of the connector-attached electric wire 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the electric wire with connector 1G shown in FIGS. 47 to 51, the terminal accommodating chamber 6 on which the cover 2u is attached in the electric wire with connector 1 of the first embodiment is integrated.
Specifically, the assembled connector housing 2G has a terminal accommodating chamber 6G, indicated by an arrow F in the front-rear direction, which is box-shaped and has a lower terminal accommodating recess 6d formed therein.

Then, the rear cover 2uB, which is the rear portion of the cover 2u in the first embodiment divided into two in the front-to-rear direction, is attached to the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

For this reason, two engagement holes 29u are provided in the cover side wall 28 of the rear cover 2uB, spaced a predetermined distance apart in the front-to-rear direction, and two engagement protrusions 29d are also provided in the side wall 24 in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

The side wall portions 24G, 24G on each side of the terminal accommodating chamber 6G are formed thicker by the thickness of the cover side wall portion 28 of the rear cover 2uB than the side wall portions 24, 24 on each side of the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in the first embodiment.
As a result, as shown in Figures 50 and 51, the side surface of the assembled connector housing 2G to which the rear cover 2uB is attached is flush with the cover side wall portion 28 of the cover 2uG and the side wall portion 24G of the terminal accommodating chamber 6.

In an assembled connector housing 2G configured in this manner, the connection terminal 4 is attached to the housing main body 2d, the box portion 41 is inserted from the rear into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d inside the terminal accommodating chamber 6G, the wire end portion 33 is connected to the wire connection portion 43 located in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 2uB is attached to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 62.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 1G configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped electric wire 1 of the first embodiment described above, when the wire end portion 33 is connected with a crimping tool to the wire connection portion 43 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 62 is open, the box portion 41 is inserted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 6d inside the box-shaped terminal accommodating chamber 6G, so that the wire end portion 33 can be connected to the wire connection portion 43 in a stable state.
It should be noted that the cover 2uG may not be provided.

Sixth Embodiment
22, the connector-attached electric wire 101 includes an assembled connector housing 102, two coated electric wires 103, and two connection terminals 104. Of these, the assembled connector housing 102 and the connection terminals 104 held therein constitute a connector 105.

In the following description, the longitudinal direction, lateral direction, and thickness direction of the assembled connector housing 102 are referred to as the front-to-back direction, width direction, and up-to-down direction, respectively, and in Figure 22, arrow F indicates the forward direction, arrow U indicates the upward direction, arrow R indicates the rightward direction, and arrow L indicates the leftward direction.
As shown in FIG. 22, the coated wire 103 has a conductor 131 made of a conductive material and an insulating coating 132 made of an insulating material that coats the entire outer periphery of the conductor 131 .

Conductor 131 is formed by bundling together multiple strands of copper or its alloy to form a copper core wire, but conductor 131 may also be formed from a single strand. Depending on the purpose, the material of conductor 131 can be other than copper or its alloy, and only the surface of conductor 131 can be a conductor with high conductivity.

As shown in Figures 22 and 25, the entire outer circumference of the conductor 131 of the insulated electric wire 103 is covered with an insulating coating 132, including the end portion 133 (hereinafter referred to as the "electric wire end portion 133") on the side that connects to the connection terminal 104 in the longitudinal direction.

The connector-equipped electric wire 101 includes two of the above-described coated electric wires 103, and these two coated electric wires 103 are twisted together to form a twisted pair electric wire 135.
The two coated electric wires 103 are untwisted (unwound) to form untwisted portions 135a at the ends of the two wires 103 connected to the connector 105. The untwisted portions 135a have electric wire end portions 133 on which exposed conductor portions 131a are formed.

The connection terminal 104 is a female terminal fitting formed by punching a conductive metal plate into a predetermined terminal expansion shape and then bending the metal plate. The connection terminal 104 includes a box portion 141, a transition portion 142, and a wire connection portion 143. The box portion 141, the transition portion 142, and the wire connection portion 143 are arranged in series from front to rear in this order and are integrally formed, giving the connection terminal 104 an elongated shape.

The box portion 141 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape and has an elastic contact piece (not shown) disposed inside, the elastic contact piece being formed by folding back an extension portion extending forward from the front end of the bottom surface of the box portion 141.
Therefore, when a tab provided on a mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) (not shown) is inserted from the front of the box portion 141, the resilient contact piece is biased against the tab and comes into contact with the tab inside the box portion 141, thereby electrically connecting the mating connection terminal and the connection terminal 104. The tab provided on the above-mentioned mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) has the same shape as the male terminal 165 provided on the connection mating connector unit 160 shown in FIG.

The transition portion 142 is interposed between the box portion 141 and the electric wire connection portion 143, and is a portion that connects the bottom surfaces of these portions together.
The electric wire connection portion 143 has a pressure contact portion 144 on the front side and an insulation barrel portion 145 on the rear side.

The pressure contact portion 144 has a bottom wall 144a, side walls 144b extending upward from both the left and right ends of the bottom wall 144a, and a pair of pressure contact pieces 144c. The pair of pressure contact pieces 144c are arranged facing each other and spaced apart in the front-to-rear direction.

As shown in Figures 22, 25, and 26(b), the insulation displacement piece 144c is formed to be wider than the outer diameter of the insulated wire 103. Furthermore, a recess 144d extending downward from the upper end is formed in the center of the width of the insulation displacement piece 144c. The recess 144d is formed to be slightly wider than the outer diameter of the conductor 131.

As shown in Figures 24 and 25(a) and (b), the insulation barrel portion 145 is integrally formed of a barrel bottom surface 145a (see Figures 25(a) and (b)) and a pair of left and right barrel pieces 145b.
The pair of left and right barrel pieces 145b are formed so as to extend upward toward the outer sides in the width direction relative to the barrel bottom surface 145a.

In this way, the insulation barrel portion 145, which is composed of the barrel bottom surface 145a and the barrel piece 145b, is formed in an open barrel shape.
The insulation barrel portion 145 crimps the covering end portion 132a on the wire end portion 133 side in the wire connecting process (see FIG. 26(a)).
As shown in FIGS. 22 and 25, the connector-attached electric wire 101 includes two connection terminals 104 in total, each corresponding to one of the two coated electric wires 103 .

As shown in Figures 22 and 23, the assembled connector housing 102 is composed of a housing main body 102d and a cover 102u that covers the housing main body 102d from above, and is formed into an overall rectangular parallelepiped shape. Both the housing main body 102d and the cover 102u that make up the assembled connector housing 102 are made of a synthetic resin material with dielectric (insulating) properties.

As shown in Figures 22 and 29(c), at least one terminal accommodating chamber 106 is provided inside the assembled connector housing 102. One connection terminal 104 is accommodated in each terminal accommodating chamber 106. Therefore, two terminal accommodating chambers 106 are arranged side by side in the width direction inside the assembled connector housing 102 so that two connection terminals 104 can be accommodated (see Figures 22 and 24).

As shown in FIG. 29(c), the terminal accommodating chamber 106 is composed of an upper terminal accommodating recess 106u and a lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.
The upper terminal accommodating recess 106u is formed on the cover 102u side so as to be able to accommodate the upper side (one side in the thickness direction) of the connection terminal 104. The lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is formed on the housing main body 102d side so as to be able to accommodate the lower side (the other side in the thickness direction) of the connection terminal 104.

The upper terminal accommodating recess 106u is formed as a recess with the bottom surface of the cover 102u opening downward so that the connection terminal 104 can be fitted into the cover 102u from below. The lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is formed as a recess with the top surface of the housing main body 102d opening upward so that the connection terminal 104 can be fitted into the housing main body 102d from above.

In addition, as long as the terminal accommodating chamber 106 can accommodate the connection terminal 104, for example, the cover 102u may have a flat, rather than concave, bottom surface, and only the top surface of the housing main body 102d may be concave.

In this case, although not shown, the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is formed with a depth that allows the connection terminal 104 to be fitted entirely in the vertical direction, and is configured so that when the cover 102u and the housing main body 102d are assembled, the opening of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is closed from above by the cover 102u.

As shown in Figures 22, 23, 24(a), (b), and (c), the housing main body 102d is integrally formed and is composed of a base portion 121, a front wall portion 122, a rear wall portion 123, side wall portions 124, 124 on each side, and a partition portion 125.
The base portion 121 forms the bottom plate of the housing main body 102d, and the upper surface of the portion of the base portion 121 that corresponds to the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d in plan view forms the bottom surface of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

The rear wall 123, partition 125, and left and right side walls 124, 124 are all formed as vertical walls with a height slightly lower than that of the assembled connector housing 102. On the other hand, the front wall 122 is formed as a vertical wall with approximately the same height as the assembled connector housing 102.

As a result, the upper part of the front wall 122 protrudes upward in a stepped manner relative to the upper surfaces of the pair of left and right side walls 124, 124 and the partition wall 125 (see Figure 22). The side walls 124, 124 extend in the front-to-rear direction at both widthwise ends of the housing main body 102d. Therefore, the side walls 124, 124 connect the widthwise ends of the front wall 122 and the rear wall 123. The partition wall 125 extends in the front-to-rear direction so as to widthwise divide the box section arrangement areas 161 (described later) on each of the left and right sides.

As described above, of the upper terminal accommodating recess 106u and the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d that constitute the terminal accommodating chamber 106, the configuration of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d formed on the housing main body 102d side will be mainly described below.
As shown in Figures 24(a), (b), (c), 25, 28, and 29(a), (b), (c), the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d has a box portion arrangement area 161 and a wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

The box portion arrangement region 161 is provided with the box portion 141 of the connection terminal 104 arranged so as to be fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d from above.
The wire connection portion arrangement region 162 accommodates the wire connection portion 143 and the transition portion 142 of the connection terminal 104 arranged so as to be fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d from above.

In the housing main body 102d, the inner wall of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is formed by the vertical wall-shaped front wall portion 122, rear wall portion 123, side wall portions 124, 124, and partition portion 125, so that it faces the internal space of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

As shown in Figures 22, 24(a), and 29(c), the box section arrangement area 161 in each of the left and right lower terminal accommodating recesses 106d is separated in the width direction by the partition wall 125, as described above. Furthermore, the box section arrangement area 161 is formed slightly wider than the box section 141 by the partition wall 125 and the corresponding left and right side walls 124, 124, so that the box section 141 can be fitted into it (see Figures 25 and 29(c)).

As a result, the box portions 141 of the two connection terminals 104 are positioned so that they fit into the box portion placement areas 161 recessed on each of the left and right sides of the top surface of the housing main body 102d. In this state, the box portions 141 are fitted and held in place in the width direction by the inner walls of the box portion placement areas 161, which are formed by the corresponding left and right side wall portions 124, 124 and partition wall portion 125.

In this way, by holding the box portion 141 in the width direction in the box portion arrangement area 161, the housing main body 102d can hold the connection terminal 104 itself in the width direction while it is positioned so that it is fitted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

Note that the manner in which the housing main body 102d holds the connection terminals 104 is not limited to the above-described configuration in which the connection terminals 104 are held by fitting the box portion 141 into the box portion arrangement area 161 in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

For example, although not shown in the figure, a configuration may be adopted in which an engaging portion or the like that engages with the connection terminal 104 arranged to fit into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d is formed on the inner wall of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d in the housing main body 102d, and the connection terminal 104 is held by the engaging portion or the like.
The engaging portion may have a known structure, for example, a shape like the engaging projection 129d shown in FIG. 22.

As shown in Figures 22 and 24(a), (b), and (c), wide recesses 107 are formed in the upper surface of the housing main body 102d behind the box section arrangement areas 161 on each side of the housing main body 102d.

The wide recess 107 has wire connection portion placement areas 162 on each side, and its bottom surface is formed by the upper surface of the base portion 121 so as to be the same depth as these wire connection portion placement areas 162. Furthermore, the inner wall of the wide recess 107 is formed by the side wall portions 124, 124 on each side, the rear wall portion 123, and the rear end of the partition portion 125 so as to be surrounded by these.

As shown in Figures 22 and 24(a), the wide recesses 107 are formed wide so that the inner walls of the widthwise outer ends on each side are positioned widthwise outward of the inner walls of the widthwise outer ends of the corresponding box section arrangement areas 161. Furthermore, the wide recesses 107 are formed to span the widthwise electrical wire connection section arrangement areas 162, including the area between the left and right electrical wire connection section arrangement areas 162 spaced apart in the widthwise direction of the housing main body 102d. In other words, the wide recesses 107 are not separated widthwise by the partition wall 125 but are formed to be interconnected widthwise.

The rear ends of the box section arrangement areas 161 on each side open toward the wide recess 107, and the box section arrangement areas 161 on each side and the wide recess 107 are connected in the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the wide recess 107, which has the wire connection section arrangement areas 162 on each side in part of its width, is formed in the housing main body 102d.

In this way, by forming a wide recess 107 in the housing main body 102d, which has wire connection portion placement areas 162 on each side in part of the width direction, during the wire connection process described below, in which the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 are connected using a pair of tools 181, 182 (here, upper tool 181 and lower tool 182, which are pressure tools) as pressure means, the housing main body 102d avoids interference with the pair of tools 181, 182, particularly the upper tool 181 (movable tool).

Specifically, to connect the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104, the upper tool 181 descends from above onto the wire connection portion 143 located in the housing main body 102d. The descended upper tool 181 enters the recessed space of the wide recess 107, preventing interference between the upper tool 181 and the housing main body 102d (see Figures 27(a) and (b)).

As shown in Figures 22, 23 and 24(a), an insertion hole 122a is formed in the front wall portion 122 of the housing main body 102d, into which the tab of the mating connection terminal (male connection terminal) to be connected to the connection terminal 104 is inserted.
Specifically, in the front wall portion 122, insertion holes 122a into which the tabs of the mating connection terminals are inserted from the front are formed in the front-to-rear direction at the left and right sides corresponding to the lower terminal accommodating recesses 106d when viewed from the front (viewed from the front to the rear).

As shown in FIGS. 22, 24(a), 24(b), and 24(c), a wire placement recess 123a in which the insulated wire 103 is placed is formed in the rear wall 123 of the housing main body 102d.
In detail, on the left and right sides of the rear wall portion 123, which correspond to the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d when viewed from the rear (viewed from the rear to the front), wire arrangement recesses 123a in which the insulated wire 103 is arranged are formed in a concave shape on the upper surface of the rear wall portion 123.

The wire placement recess 123a prevents interference between the insulated wire 103 and the rear wall 123 when the wire end 133 is placed in the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d during the wire placement process described below (see Figures 25 and 27(a)).

This configuration prevents the connection terminal 104 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d from shifting in the front-to-rear direction. Specifically, the front end of the connection terminal 104 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d abuts against the rear surface of the front wall portion 122. Furthermore, the rear end of the connection terminal 104 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d abuts against the front surface of the rear wall portion 123. In this way, the front and rear ends of the connection terminal 104 accommodated in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d abut against the front wall portion 122 and rear wall portion 123, thereby restricting the front-to-rear position of the connection terminal 104 relative to the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

As shown in Figures 26(a) and (b), in a plan view of the housing main body 102d, at least the areas corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement areas 162 on each of the left and right sides correspond to areas that overlap with the lower tool 182 (fixed tool) of the pair of tools 181, 182, which is positioned below the housing main body 102d during the wire connection process described below.

That is, as shown in Figures 22, 23, and 24(a), (b), and (c), at least the areas corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement areas 162 on each of the left and right sides of the housing main body 102d in a plan view correspond to the areas (hereinafter referred to as "pressurized areas Zp") that are pressurized from below by the lower tool 182 during the wire connection process (see Figures 26(a) and (b)).

At least the pressure-receiving areas Zp on each of the left and right sides of the housing main body 102d are formed as high-strength sections 110 that are stronger than other sections. Specifically, the high-strength sections 110 have raised sections 111 that are stepped downward relative to the areas on the underside of the housing main body 102d that correspond to the high-strength sections 110.

This raised portion 111 makes the base portion 121 thicker in the area corresponding to the high-strength portion 110 than the surrounding area, thereby forming the high-strength portion 110 into a shape that is highly resistant to clamping (pressure in the thickness direction).

More specifically, the high-strength portion 110 is thicker than the remaining portions of the base portion 121, and the front wall portion 122, rear wall portion 123, and left and right side wall portions 124 of the housing main body 102d. This allows the high-strength portion 110 to be stronger than its surroundings, preventing damage or deformation of the housing main body 102d when the lower tool 182 applies indirect pressure from below via the high-strength portion 110 of the housing main body 102d (see Figures 26(a) and 26(b)) during the wire connection process described below. In other words, the raised portion 111 reinforces at least the left and right pressurized areas Zp of the housing main body 102d.

The protruding portion 111 is formed as a part of the housing main body 102d and is made of a dielectric synthetic resin material integrally with other parts.
The raised portion 111 is formed continuously on the underside of the housing main body 102d, including at least the pressure-receiving portions Zp (areas corresponding to the electric wire connection portion arrangement regions 162) on both the left and right sides.

The raised portion 111 is formed with the same amount of protrusion (downward protrusion) across the entire raised portion 111 when viewed from the bottom of the housing main body 102d so that the lower surface of the raised portion 111 is flat (see Figure 23).

In addition, the opposite side of the high-strength portion 110, i.e., when the connection terminal 1044 is attached, the opposite side (upper side) of the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 across the wire connection portion 143, is open.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 22, 23, 28, and 29(a), (b), and (c), the above-mentioned cover 102u is integrally formed with a flat top plate portion 127 and cover side wall portions 128, 128 extending downward from both sides of the top plate portion 127 in the width direction.

The top plate portion 127 is configured to cover the housing main body 102d, including the front wall portion 122, from above.
The cover side walls 128, 128 are configured to cover the side walls 124, 124 from the outside in the width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, an engaging projection 129d is formed on the outer surface of the side wall portions 124, 124 of the housing main body 102d.
Furthermore, an engagement hole 129u that engages with the engagement protrusion 129d when the housing main body 102d and the cover 102u are assembled is formed in the cover side wall portions 128, 128 at a position corresponding to the engagement protrusion 129d. Note that the engagement protrusion 129d and the engagement hole 129u are only shown in Figures 22 and 23.

As shown in Figures 23, 28, and 29(a), (b), and (c), the connector-equipped wire 101 is accommodated inside the assembled connector housing 102, which is formed by assembling a housing main body 102d and a cover 102u into one unit, with the connection terminal 104 and the wire end portion 133 connected.
As a result, in the connector-attached electric wire 101 , the conductor exposed portion 131 a of the electric wire end portion 133 and the connection terminal 104 are electrically connected inside the assembled connector housing 102 .

Next, a method for manufacturing the above-described connector-attached electric wire 101 will be described.
The manufacturing method of the connector-attached electric wire 101 includes a terminal arrangement step, an electric wire arrangement step, an electric wire connection step, and a cover assembly step.
The terminal arrangement step is a step of arranging the connection terminals 104 in the housing main body 102d.

The electric wire placement step is a step of placing the electric wire end portion 133 on the electric wire connection portion 143 .
The electric wire connecting step is a step of crimping the electric wire connecting portion 143 and the insulated electric wire 103 together using a pair of tools 181 and 182 .
The cover assembling step is a step of assembling the cover 102u to the housing main body 102d to complete the connector-attached electric wire 101.

Each step will be described in detail below.
First, a terminal arrangement step is performed in which the connection terminals 104 are arranged in the housing main body 102d.
In this terminal arrangement step, as shown in FIG. 25, two connection terminals 104 are arranged from above relative to the housing body 102d so as to be fitted into corresponding lower terminal accommodating recesses 106d on the left and right sides of the housing body 102d.

As a result, the box portion 141 of the connection terminal 104 is held in the box portion arrangement area 161 of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d by the housing main body 102d, i.e., by the inner wall of the box portion arrangement area 161.

On the other hand, the transition portion 142 and the electric wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 are arranged in the electric wire connection portion arrangement region 162 , that is, in a state of being fitted into the wide recess 107 .
At this time, the electric wire connecting portion 143 is arranged in the electric wire connecting portion arrangement area 162 with both the insulation displacement portion 144 and the insulation barrel portion 145 facing upward (see FIGS. 25, 26(a) and 26(b)).

In the subsequent electric wire arrangement step, as shown in FIGS. 26(a) and 26(b), the electric wire end portion 133 is arranged relative to the electric wire connection portion 143 from above.
In this case, as shown in Figure 26 (a), the wire end portion 133 is positioned from above relative to each of the insulation displacement portion 144 and the insulation barrel portion 145, and the portion corresponding to the insulation displacement portion 144 is positioned so as to straddle a pair of insulation displacement pieces 144c provided on the insulation displacement portion 144 from front to back.

Next, when performing the wire connection process, the pair of tools 181, 182 are set so that the lower tool 182 is positioned below the wire connection portion 143 and the insulated wire 103, and the upper tool 181 is positioned above them (see Figures 26(a) and (b)).
The upper tool 181 includes an upper tool 181a for pressure welding and an upper tool 181b for crimping. The lower tool 182 includes a lower tool 182a for pressure welding and a lower tool 182b for crimping.

As shown in Figures 26(a) and 26(b), in the wire connection process, the upper crimping tool 181a and the lower crimping tool 182a are used to crimp the crimp portion 144 to the wire end portion 133, and the upper crimping tool 181b and the lower crimping tool 182b are used to crimp the insulation barrel portion 145 to the wire end portion 133.

Specifically, as shown in the figure, the lower crimping tool 182a and the lower crimping tool 182b are set so that they are positioned below the housing main body 102d. The upper surface (pressure surface 182au) of the lower crimping tool 182a and the upper surface (pressure surface 182bu) of the lower crimping tool 182b are brought into contact with the portion of the underside of the housing main body 102d that corresponds to the pressurized location Zp.

From this state, the upper tool 181 (upper tool for crimping 181a and upper tool for crimping 181b), which is positioned above the wire end portion 133, is lowered. This causes the upper tool for crimping 181a and the lower tool for crimping 182a to crimp the insulation barrel portion 145 and the wire end portion 133 together by sandwiching them from above and below (both sides in the clamping direction). Furthermore, the upper tool for crimping 181b and the lower tool for crimping 182b crimp the insulation barrel portion 145 and the wire end portion 133 together by sandwiching them from above and below (both sides in the clamping direction).

In the above-described wire connection process, the conductor 131 is fitted into the recess 144d of the insulation displacement portion 144, and the insulation displacement portion 144c cuts through the insulating coating portion 132. The conductor 131 fitted into the recess 144d comes into contact with the periphery of the recess 144d of the insulation displacement portion 144c, thereby electrically connecting the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104.

The insulation barrel portion 145 undergoes plastic deformation so that the barrel piece 145b wraps around the outer circumference of the insulation end portion 132a. As a result, as shown in Figure 26(b), the insulation end portion 132a is crimped by the insulation barrel portion 145. This increases the holding force with which the connection terminal 104 holds the wire end portion 133.

Furthermore, in the above-described wire connection process, the lower tool 182 (lower tool 182a for pressure welding and lower tool 182b for crimping) indirectly pressurizes the wire connection portion 143 from below via the high-strength portion 110 of the housing main body 102d (see Figures 26(a) and (b)).

As a result, pressure is applied to the housing main body 102d from the lower tool 182A, but since the high strength portion 110 to which the pressure is applied is reinforced by the raised portion 111, the housing main body 102d is not damaged.
That is, the coated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 can be connected to each other while they are still disposed in the housing body 102d.

As described above, the assembled connector housing 102 includes a conductive connection terminal 104 with a wire connection portion 143 that connects to the insulated wire 103, and a dielectric housing main body 102d that holds the connection terminal 104. The housing main body 102d is provided with a wire connection portion arrangement area 162 in which the wire connection portion 143 is arranged, and the housing main body 102d is open at an upper U-side that sandwiches the connection terminal 104 in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 when the connection terminal 104 is attached to the housing main body 102d. Therefore, when connecting the insulated wire 103 to the connection terminal 104 held in the housing main body 102d, the insulated wire 103 can be properly connected to the connection terminal 104 without buckling.

More specifically, with the connection terminal 104 attached to the housing main body 102d, a tool for connecting the wire connection portion 143 and the insulated wire 103 can be applied directly through the opening to the wire connection portion 143 located in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 of the housing main body 102d, thereby ensuring a secure connection between the wire connection portion 143 and the insulated wire 103.

As described above, the insulated electric wire 103 can be connected to the electric wire connection portion 143 after the connection terminal 104 is attached to the housing main body 102d. This prevents problems such as buckling of the insulated electric wire 103 when the connection terminal 104 connected to the electric wire connection portion 143 is attached to the housing main body 102d, and suppresses deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the insulated electric wire 103 due to buckling of the insulated electric wire 103 when connected to the assembled connector housing 102.

In addition, because the housing main body 102d has a fixing structure for fixing the connection terminal 104, the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 fixed to the housing main body 102d can be fixed to the wire connection portion arrangement area 162. This allows a tool that acts directly through the opening to reliably act on the wire connection portion 143, ensuring a more secure connection between the wire connection portion 143 and the insulated wire 103 in the connected state.

In addition, because the housing body 102d covers all areas except the opposite side corresponding to the wire connection portion arrangement area 162, all areas except the opening where the tool acts on the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 are covered by the housing body 102d. This means that the connection terminal 104 can be protected by the housing body 102d and can be stably fixed to the housing body 102d.

As shown in Figures 22, 28, and 29(a), (b), and (c), the connector-equipped electric wire 101 is a connector-equipped electric wire comprising a conductive connection terminal 104 provided with a wire connection portion 143 that is electrically connected to a coated electric wire 103 having a conductor 131 therein, and a dielectric (insulating) housing main body 102d that holds the connection terminal 104.

The housing main body 102d is provided with a wire connection portion arrangement area 162 (connection portion arrangement area) in which the wire connection portion 143 is arranged. The wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 and the insulated wire 103 arranged in the wire connection portion 143 are connected to each other by being clamped from both sides with a pair of tools 181, 182 (see Figures 27(a) and (b)).

Specifically, in the housing main body 102d, of the pair of tools 181, 182, the lower tool (one of the tools) is positioned on the lower side of the housing main body 102d (opposite the side having the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 in the clamping direction of these tools), and applies pressure to the wire connection portion 143 via the housing main body 102d.
The pressure-receiving portion Zp of the housing body 102d that is pressurized by the lower tool 182 is made into a high-strength portion 110 that is stronger than other portions (see Figure 23 and Figures 29(a), (b), and (c)).

With this configuration, when connecting the insulated electric wire 103 to the connection terminal 104 held in the housing main body 102d, the insulated electric wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 can be properly connected without buckling. Therefore, deterioration in the transmission characteristics and durability of the insulated electric wire 103 connected to the housing main body 102d can be suppressed.

More specifically, during the wire connection process, the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 and the insulated wire 103 arranged in the wire connection portion 143 are clamped from both sides by a pair of tools 181, 182 to connect them to each other. During this process, the lower tool 182 is positioned so that it directly abuts the pressurized portion Zp (high-strength portion 110) of the housing main body 102d from below, and applies pressure to the wire connection portion 143 via the pressurized portion Zp during the wire connection process.

In this way, by separately positioning the connection terminal 104 and the insulated wire 103 in the housing main body 102d and then connecting them with pressure using a pair of tools 181, 182, the connection terminal 104 and the insulated wire 103 can be connected in the housing main body 102d without having to insert the terminal portion of the terminal-attached wire connected to the connection terminal 104 into the connector housing as in the past.

Therefore, when connecting the insulated electric wire 103 to the connection terminal 104 held in the housing main body 102d, the insulated electric wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 can be properly connected without buckling.

In addition, two terminal placement tasks - placing the connection terminal 104 on the pressure surface 182au of the lower tool 182 of the pair of tools 181, 182 to connect the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 with pressure using the pair of tools 181, 182, and placing the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d to hold the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d - can be combined into a single terminal placement task of placing the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d, thereby simplifying the labor required for the terminal placement task.

More specifically, when connecting the insulated electric wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 to the housing main body 102d, one possible method is to first prepare a terminal-attached electric wire with the connection terminal 104 attached, and then connect the terminal portion of this terminal-attached electric wire by fitting it into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d provided on the top surface of the connector housing.

This connection method eliminates the need to insert the terminal portion of a terminal-equipped electric wire, to which a connection terminal 104 has already been connected, into the connector housing, as was previously the case. This has the advantage of eliminating the risk of buckling of the insulated electric wire 103 when connecting the insulated electric wire 103 to the connector housing.

However, when manufacturing a connector-equipped electric wire by placing the terminal portion of the terminal-equipped electric wire, which has already been connected to the connection terminal 104 and the coated electric wire 103, in a connector housing, there is an issue in that the process of placing the connection terminal 104 during the manufacturing process is time-consuming.

The reason for this will be explained based on a conventional method for making a connector-attached electric wire. This involves connecting the electric wire and terminal in a wire connection process, in which a pair of tools clamps and applies pressure to the terminal and electric wire to connect them, and then, in the subsequent terminal attachment process to the connector, connecting the terminal portion of the terminal-attached electric wire, which has been connected to the electric wire and terminal, to the connector housing.

In the case of such a conventional method for producing an electric wire with a connector, in the electric wire connecting step, as a step prior to applying pressure with the pair of tools, it is necessary to perform an operation of placing the connection terminal 104 on the pressure surface of the lower tool 182 (fixed tool) of the pair of tools 181, 182. Furthermore, in the terminal attachment step to the connector housing, it is also necessary to perform an operation of placing the terminal portion of the terminal-attached electric wire in the connector housing.
Therefore, in such a conventional method for producing an electric wire with a connector, the terminals must be arranged in each process, which is troublesome.

In contrast, with the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, simply by placing the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d, the terminal placement work of placing the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d using a pair of tools 181, 182 to pressurize and connect the connection terminal 104, and the terminal placement work of fitting the connection terminal 104 into the housing main body 102d to hold (attach and fix) the connection terminal 104 in the housing main body 102d, can be combined into one, simplifying the labor required for the terminal placement work.

In particular, when a connector-equipped electric wire has multiple connection terminals 104, the terminal placement work requires that the connection terminals 104 be placed one by one according to the number of connection terminals 104. Therefore, if the terminal placement work needs to be performed for each process, as in conventional methods of manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires, the labor required for the overall terminal placement work increases as the number of connection terminals 104 increases.

In contrast, with the manufacturing method of the present invention described above, even when connecting multiple thin-diameter insulated wires 103 to the housing main body 102d, the arrangement of multiple connection terminals 104 corresponding to the number of insulated wires 103 can be consolidated into one process between each step, significantly improving the efficiency of the connection process between the connector 105 and the insulated wires 103.

Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, the location where only the pressure connection is performed by clamping the insulated electric wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 between a pair of tools 181, 182 can be combined with the location where the connection terminal 104 is held and placed in the housing main body 102d, or where the insulated electric wire 103 is placed on the connection terminal 104, allowing for a compact configuration of the manufacturing device for the connector-attached electric wire 101.

23, 26(a), (b), 28, and 29(a), (b), (c), the high-strength portion 110 is provided with a raised portion 111 that raises the pressurized portion Zp in the housing main body 102d downward relative to the periphery of the pressurized portion Zp, i.e., toward the lower tool 182 (the side of one of the tools).
According to the above-described configuration, by providing the protruding portion 111 on the high-strength portion 110 of the housing main body 102d, the pressure-applied portion Zp of the housing main body 102d can be reinforced by being thickened.

Furthermore, by thickening only the pressure-receiving portion Zp relative to its surrounding area, the housing body 102d can be pinpoint reinforced against pressure applied by the lower tool 182 to the wire connection portion via the housing body 102d, while preventing the housing body 102d from becoming too heavy or large.

Furthermore, with the above configuration, by providing the raised portion 111 in the high-strength portion 110, the dielectric constant of the raised portion 111 becomes greater than the dielectric constant of air, which tends to reduce the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 103C of the insulated electric wire 103 to the housing main body 102d.

Therefore, if the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 103C of the insulated electric wire 103 is higher than a predetermined range, providing the protruding portion 111 in the high-strength portion 110 can adjust the characteristic impedance to be within the predetermined range. The impedance can also be adjusted by extending the protruding portion 111 to part of the base portion 121.

The twisted pair electric wire 135 provided in the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment, which is formed by twisting together a pair of coated electric wires 103, is generally used in a CAN type communication system.
As shown in FIG. 22 , each wire end 133 of a twisted pair electric wire 135 formed by twisting two coated electric wires 103 together is provided with an untwisted portion 135 a that is untwisted and placed at a wire connection portion 143.

Twisted pair wires 135 are commonly used in CAN-based communication systems, and in CAN-based communication systems, the characteristic impedance is often set in the range of 95 to 140 Ω. However, due to the formation of an untwisted portion 135a at the connection portion 103C of the insulated wire 103 to the housing main body 102d, the characteristic impedance may deviate from the specified value, i.e., fall outside the 95 to 140 Ω range.

With this configuration, matching can be achieved so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 103C of the insulated wire 103 to the housing main body 102d is in the range of 95 to 140 Ω, and more preferably 120 Ω ±10%, depending on the size and shape of the protrusion 111 formed on the housing main body 102d.

If the communication protocol is, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark), it is preferable to match the characteristic impedance of connection part 103C so that it is in the range of 90 to 110 Ω, i.e., 100 Ω ±10%.

In addition, as shown in Figures 22, 25, 27(a), (b), 28, and 29(a), (b), and (c), the wire connection portion 143 is provided with a pressure-contact piece 144c that pierces the wire end portion 133 until it abuts the conductor 131 and presses it into contact with the wire end portion 133.

In this way, by providing the wire connection portion 143 with the insulation displacement piece 144c that is pressed against the wire end portion 133 by piercing the wire end portion 133, there is no need to strip the insulating coating portion 132 of the wire end portion 133 when connecting the wire connection portion 143. Furthermore, there is no need to plastically deform the insulation displacement piece 144c by applying pressure during the wire connection process.

This allows the wire connection portion 143 to be compact, the pair of tools 181, 182 that pressurize the connection terminal 104 to be compact, and the high-strength portion 110 in the housing main body 102d that is pressurized by the lower tool 182 to be compact as well.

As shown in Figures 22, 23, 28, and 29(a), (b), and (c), the assembled connector housing 102 is made up of the above-mentioned housing main body 102d and a cover 102u (connector housing cover) that is assembled to the housing main body 102d so as to house the connection terminals 104 therein together with the housing main body 102d.

With this configuration, the connection between the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 is housed inside the housing main body 102d and the cover 102u, protecting the connection from external factors.

Next, we will explain other embodiments that differ from the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment described above. However, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

Seventh Embodiment
As shown in Figures 30(a), (b), and (c), the seventh embodiment of the connector-equipped electric wire 101A does not have a raised portion 111 in the high-strength portion 110 described above, but instead has a metal plate 112, for example, as a material that is stronger than the synthetic resin material that is the main forming material of the housing main body 102Ad.

The metal plate 112 is formed thinner than the base portion 121A of the housing main body 102Ad and is provided inside the housing main body 102Ad. In other words, the housing main body 102Ad is insert-molded so that the metal plate 112 is embedded in the portion of the base portion 121A that corresponds to the pressure-applied location Zp (see Figures 30(b) and (c)).

As a result, the metal plate 112 reinforces the pressure-applied portion Zp of the housing main body 102Ad.
The metal plate 112 is disposed at least at the pressure-receiving portion Zp of the housing main body 102Ad, in other words, at a portion that coincides with the above-described protruding portion 111 in a plan view.

Furthermore, even in a configuration in which the metal plate 112 is embedded in the high-strength portion 110A, the base portion 121A is formed so that the high-strength portion 110A and its surrounding area have the same plate thickness (see Figures 30(b) and (c)). In other words, the underside of the housing main body 102Ad is formed flat so that the area corresponding to the high-strength portion 110A and its surrounding area are flush with each other.

As described above, the connector-attached electric wire 101A has a housing main body 102Ad whose other portions are formed solely from synthetic resin (non-metallic material), and a high-strength portion 110A that is provided with a metal plate 112 (metal member) that is stronger than the other portions.

According to the above configuration, by providing the metal plate 112 in the high strength portion 110A, the strength of the pressure-applied portion Zp can be increased without the pressure-applied portion Zp becoming thicker than other portions.
Therefore, the strength of the pressure-receiving portion Zp against the pressure of the lower tool 182 can be increased without increasing the size of the housing main body 102Ad.

Furthermore, by providing the metal plate 112 at the pressure-applied portion Zp of the housing main body 102Ad, the rigidity of the pressure-applied portion Zp can be increased.
Therefore, the pressure force indirectly input from the lower tool 182 to the wire connecting portion via the pressure-receiving portion Zp of the housing main body 102Ad in the wire connecting process can be efficiently transmitted to the wire connecting portion.

Furthermore, by providing the metal plate 112 in a state where it is embedded inside the housing main body 102Ad so as not to be exposed, the rust resistance of the metal plate 112 can be improved.
Furthermore, by interposing the metal plate 112 at the pressurized portion Zp in the housing main body 102Ad, the characteristic impedance at the location where the metal plate 112 is disposed tends to decrease, similar to the case where the protrusion 111 is provided in the high-strength portion 110. By utilizing this tendency, the characteristic impedance can be matched to fall within a predetermined range.

Eighth Embodiment
As shown in Figure 31, a through hole 120 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the cover 102Bu of the assembled connector housing 102B (hereinafter abbreviated as "assembled connector housing 102B") provided on the connector-equipped electric wire 101B (connector 105B) of the eighth embodiment.
The through-holes 120 are formed in the cover 102Bu in the width direction (left-right direction) across the portions of the cover 102Bu that face the wire connection portion arrangement regions 162 on the left and right sides of the housing main body 102d.

More specifically, when the wire connection process described below is performed with the housing main body 102d covered from above by the cover 102u, the through-hole 120 is formed in the cover 102Bu with a size and shape that prevents the upper tool 181 (movable tool), which is positioned above the cover 102Bu, from interfering with the cover 102Bu even when the upper tool 181 (movable tool) of the pair of tools 181, 182 is lowered.

In other words, the through-hole 120 is formed with a size and shape that allows the upper tool 108 to pass through the cover 102Bu from top to bottom when it descends during the wire connection process, or to be temporarily present in the area corresponding to the cover 102Bu.

In addition, the through hole 120 is formed with a size and shape that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 103C of the insulated electric wire 103 to the assembled connector housing 102 so that it is within a predetermined range.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment, the cover assembling step is performed between the electric wire arranging step and the electric wire connecting step, rather than after the electric wire connecting step.
Specifically, as shown by arrow s1 in Figure 31, in the terminal placement process, the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 is placed from above in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d, and as shown by arrow s2 in Figure 31, in the wire placement process, the wire end portion 133 is placed from above relative to the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d in the housing main body 102d.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment, the terminal arrangement process and the electric wire arrangement process may be performed simultaneously. That is, the electric wire end portion 133 may be arranged above the electric wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104, and the electric wire connection portion 143 may be arranged together with the electric wire end portion 133 in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

In a subsequent cover assembly step, as shown by an arrow s3 in FIG. 31, the cover 102Bu is assembled to cover the housing main body 102d from above.
As a result, the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 are housed inside the assembled connector housing 102B without being connected to each other, and are exposed to the outside through the through hole 120 formed in the cover 102Bu.

In the subsequent wire connection process, as shown in Figure 32 (a), the lower tool 182 supports the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d so that it indirectly abuts from below via the pressurized portion Zp of the housing main body 102d, in other words, the high-strength portion 110, as described above.
Furthermore, in the electric wire connecting step, the upper tool 181 is lowered onto the electric wire end portion 133 arranged in the electric wire connecting portion 143 from above the cover 102Bu.

Here, the housing main body 102d is covered from above by the cover 102Bu, which has a through-hole 120 formed directly above the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d. Therefore, even if the upper tool 181 is lowered from above the cover 102Bu onto the wire end portion 133 disposed in the wire connection portion 143, as shown in FIG. 32(a), the upper tool 181 can directly pressurize the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 without interfering with the cover 102Bu, as shown in FIG. 32(b). Meanwhile, the lower tool 182 indirectly pressurizes the wire connection portion 143 from below via the high-strength portion 110 of the housing main body 102d, as described above (see FIG. 32(b)).

This allows the upper tool 181 and the lower tool 182 to crimp and connect the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 together by sandwiching them from both the top and bottom, thereby obtaining the connector-equipped wire 101B (connector 105B) of the eighth embodiment, as shown in Figures 33(a) and (b).

In the connector-attached electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment described above, by forming the through-hole 120 in the cover 102Bu, it is possible to perform the electric wire connection process after the cover assembly process. In other words, it is possible to connect the electric wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 to the electric wire end portion 133 in a state in which the cover 102Bu is assembled to cover the housing main body 102d from above.

This allows the cover 102Bu to cover and hold the connection terminal 104 placed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d and the wire end portion 133 placed in the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 from above, preventing them from shifting position relative to the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d or slipping out during the wire connection process.

Therefore, for example, when performing the wire connection process on-site, the upper tool 181 and the lower tool 182 can easily and accurately connect (crimp) the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 compared to when the cover 102Bu is not held down.

In addition, the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment has a protruding portion 111 as a high-strength portion 110 at the pressurized portion Zp of the housing main body 102d, and also has a through hole 120 formed in the cover 102Bu. This allows the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 103C of the insulated electric wire 103 to the housing main body 102d to be matched within a predetermined range based on the size and shape of not only the protruding portion 111 but also the through hole 120.

Specifically, the area corresponding to the high-strength portion 110 formed on the cover 102Bu is filled with air, which has a lower dielectric constant than the synthetic resin material forming the cover 102Bu, and therefore the characteristic impedance at the connection portion 103C of the insulated wire 103 to the housing main body 102d tends to be high. On the other hand, by providing the housing main body 102d with a raised portion 111 as the high-strength portion 110, the dielectric constant of the raised portion 111 becomes greater than the dielectric constant of air, and the characteristic impedance tends to decrease.

In this way, the cover 102Bu and the housing main body 102d can be expected to have opposing effects with regard to the characteristic impedance, so the characteristic impedance can be precisely matched based on the respective sizes and shapes of the high-strength portion 110 and the raised portion 111.

Furthermore, in the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, like the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment, the cover 102Bu and the housing main body 102d are not integrally formed from a single member, but rather the cover 102Bu and the housing main body 102d are constructed from separate members that can be assembled together.

For this reason, in the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, similar to the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment, the cover 102Bu is not attached to the housing main body 102d during the terminal placement process, and the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 can be placed from above in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d (see Figure 31).

Furthermore, in the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, during the wire placement process, the wire end portion 133 can be placed relative to the wire connection portion 143 without attaching the cover 102Bu to the housing main body 102d (see the same figure).

In other words, unlike connector housings in which the housing main body 102d and cover 102Bu are integrated, the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment does not require the wire connection portion 143 and wire end portion 133 to be inserted into the connector housing during manufacturing. Therefore, there is no risk of buckling, as occurs when the wire connection portion 143 and wire end portion 133 are inserted into the connector housing, and they can be easily positioned from above relative to the housing main body 102d.

Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment, as in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment, the labor required for terminal arrangement can be simplified compared to conventional methods for manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires.

Specifically, in conventional manufacturing methods for electric wires with connectors, when connecting (insulating) the electric wire connection portion 143 provided on the connection terminal 104 to the electric wire end portion 133, it is necessary to position the connection terminal 104 on the pressure surfaces 182au, 182bu of the lower tool 182. Furthermore, in conventional manufacturing methods for electric wires with connectors, in order to attach a connector to the connection site between the electric wire connection portion 143 and the electric wire end portion 133, it is necessary to insert the connection terminal 104 connected to the electric wire end portion 133 into the connector housing.

In contrast, in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment, the two terminal placement operations described above, which were performed in conventional methods for manufacturing connector-equipped electric wires, can be combined into a single terminal placement operation of placing the connection terminal 104 and the electric wire end portion 133 in the assembled connector housing 102C.

Ninth Embodiment
As shown in Figures 34(a), (b), and (c), the integrated assembled connector housing 102C (hereinafter abbreviated as "assembled connector housing 102C") provided in the connector-attached electric wire 101C (connector 105C) of the ninth embodiment has portions corresponding to the housing main body 102d and the cover 102Bu in the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment formed integrally.

The assembled connector housing 102C is formed to have terminal accommodating chambers 106 therein, similar to the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment.
Specifically, the assembled connector housing 102C is hollow and has two terminal accommodating chambers 106 arranged side by side at least in the width direction (left-right direction) so that two connection terminals 104 can be accommodated therein. As shown in Figures 34(b) and 34(c), the assembled connector housing 102C has an upper wall portion 127' corresponding to the cover 102Bu (top surface). Furthermore, the rear wall portion 123', the partition wall portion 125', and the left and right side walls 124', 124' are all vertical walls having approximately the same height as the front wall portion 122. The terminal accommodating chambers 106 are not divided into an upper terminal accommodating recess 106u and a lower terminal accommodating recess 106d.

As with the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, the assembled connector housing 102C of the ninth embodiment has a base portion 121, which corresponds to the lower wall portion, provided with a raised portion 111 as a high-strength portion 110, and a through-hole 120 formed in the upper wall portion 127'.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment, in the terminal arrangement process, the connection terminal 104 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 inside the assembled connector housing 102C through the electric wire arrangement recess 123a formed through the rear wall portion 123'.

As a result, the box portion 141 of the connection terminal 104 is positioned in the box portion placement area 161 in the terminal accommodating chamber 106, and the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104 is positioned in the wire connection portion placement area 162 in the terminal accommodating chamber 106.

Furthermore, in the wire placement process, the wire end portion 133 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 (wire connection portion placement area 162) inside the assembled connector housing 102C through the wire placement recess 123a formed through the rear wall portion 123'. As a result, the wire end portion 133 is positioned above the wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104. In this state, the wire end portion 133 and the wire connection portion 143 are accommodated (stored) inside the assembled connector housing 102C without being connected to each other.

In the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment, the terminal arrangement process and the electric wire arrangement process may be performed simultaneously. That is, with the electric wire end portion 133 arranged above the electric wire connection portion 143 of the connection terminal 104, the connection terminal 104 and the electric wire end portion 133 may be simultaneously inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the electric wire arrangement recess 123a.

In the subsequent wire connection process, the upper tool 181 applies pressure directly from above to the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 through the through-hole 120 without interfering with the upper wall of the assembled connector housing 102C, while the lower tool 182 applies pressure indirectly from below to the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 via the high-strength portion 110 of the housing main body 102d. This allows the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 to be crimped and connected to each other by sandwiching them from both above and below.

In the terminal placement process described above, when placing the connection terminal 104 in the terminal accommodating chamber 106, it is not limited to inserting it through the wire placement recess 123a, but it may also be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the through hole 120.

The method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment described above differs from the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment in that the wire connection portion 143 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the wire arrangement recess 123a in the terminal arrangement step, and the wire end portion 133 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the wire arrangement recess 123a in the wire arrangement step.

However, the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment can also simplify the labor required for arranging terminals compared to the conventional method for manufacturing a connector-equipped electric wire.
Specifically, in the method for manufacturing the connector-attached electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment, before the electric wire connecting step, the connection terminal 104 is inserted into the assembled connector housing 102C through the electric wire arrangement recess 123a. Then, the electric wire end portion 133 is inserted into the assembled connector housing 102C through the electric wire arrangement recess 123a and positioned on the electric wire connecting portion 143.

This allows the wire to be inserted more smoothly into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the wire placement recess 123a than when the wire end portion 133 and the wire connection portion 143 are inserted in a pre-connected state.

More specifically, for example, if the wire end portion 133 and wire connection portion 143 are pre-connected and then inserted together into the assembled connector housing 102C, as in conventional methods of manufacturing connector-attached wires, there is a concern that they may get caught on the inner walls of the terminal accommodating chamber 106 or the wire placement recess 123a during insertion, causing buckling.

In contrast, in the method for manufacturing the connector-equipped electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment, the electric wire end portion 133 and the electric wire connection portion 143 can be inserted separately into the terminal accommodating chamber 106 through the electric wire placement recess 123a, allowing for smooth insertion without buckling of the electric wire end portion 133 or the connection terminal 104 during insertion.

Furthermore, the connector-attached electric wire 101C of the ninth embodiment described above does not include the cover 102Bu, but instead employs an integrated configuration in which the parts corresponding to the housing main body 102d and the cover 102Bu are integrally formed. This reduces the number of parts compared to an assembled configuration, and also eliminates the cover assembly process during manufacturing.

Furthermore, in the ninth embodiment, as with the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, in addition to providing a raised portion 111 as a high-strength portion 110 on the base portion 121 of the housing main body 102d, a through hole 120 is formed in the upper wall portion 127', so that the characteristic impedance of the connection portion 103C of the insulated electric wire 103 to the housing main body 102d can be matched to be within a predetermined range based on not only the size and shape of the raised portion 111 but also the size and shape of the through hole 120.
That is, the characteristic impedance can be matched more precisely than when the characteristic impedance is matched based only on the size and shape of the protrusion 111 .

Tenth Embodiment
A connector unit 150 will be described as a tenth embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Figures 35 and 36, the connector unit 150 of this embodiment is equipped with a plurality (two in this example) of the connector-equipped electric wires 101B of the eighth embodiment described above, and is configured to include a unit housing 151 that holds the connectors 105B (assembled connector housings 102B) provided on each of the plurality of connector-equipped electric wires 101B.

In Figures 35 and 36, arrow Y indicates the depth direction of the unit housing 151, arrow Y1 indicates one side in the depth direction, and arrow Y2 indicates the other side in the depth direction. Also, in Figure 35, detailed illustration of the internal structure (the connection portion between the connection terminal 104 and the wire end portion 133) that can be seen from the outside of the connector 105B through the cover-side through-hole 110u provided in the assembled connector housing 102B is omitted.

The unit housing 151 is made of synthetic resin material and has a connector fitting portion 155 as an internal space into which multiple (two in this example) connectors 105B are fitted and held almost entirely.

A plurality of (two in this example) connector fitting portions 155 are arranged in the width direction corresponding to the plurality of connectors 105B, and each is formed in the same shape and is separated.
The connector fitting portion 155 is formed to penetrate the inside of the unit housing 151 in the depth direction.

A connector insertion port 155a is formed on one depth side of the connector fitting portion 155, into which the connector 105B is inserted. A terminal insertion port 154 (see Figure 36) is formed on the other depth side of the connector fitting portion 155, into which a male terminal 165 provided on the mating connector unit 160 (described below) can be inserted.

As shown in Figure 36, two terminal insertion ports 154 are arranged in the width direction per connector fitting portion 155, corresponding to the two insertion holes 122a (see Figure 22) provided in the front wall portion 122 of the assembled connector housing 102B.
That is, four terminal insertion openings 154 are arranged in the width direction on the other end surface in the depth direction of the unit housing 151, corresponding to the two connector fitting portions 155 (see FIG. 36).

As a result, in the connector unit 150 of this embodiment, when the connector 105B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 155, the insertion hole 122a provided in the assembled connector housing 102B and the terminal insertion port 154 provided in the unit housing 151 are connected in the depth direction.

The connector unit 150 of this embodiment is configured as a female connector unit with multiple poles (four poles in this example, i.e., four terminal sockets 154) corresponding to the two assembled connector housings 102B.

In addition, the reference numeral 60 in Figure 35 indicates the mating connector unit. The mating connector unit 160 is configured as a male connector unit with four poles that can be connected to the connector unit 150 of this embodiment from the other side in the depth direction. Note that although the mating connector unit 160 of this embodiment is connected to the tip of the cable 163, it may also be connected to a connector or terminal mounted on a circuit board.

When the connector 105B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 155 of the connector unit 150 described above and the mating connector unit 160 is connected to the connector unit 150 from the other side in the depth direction, the protruding piece 165a (tab) at the tip of the male terminal 165 provided on the mating connector unit 160 is inserted into the box portion 141 (see Figures 22 and 28) of the connection terminal 104 provided inside the connector 105B through the terminal insertion port 154 (see Figure 36) and the insertion hole 122a (see Figure 36), and is electrically connected to the connection terminal 104.

In addition, a shield shell 157 is arranged on the unit housing 151 to surround the pair of connector fitting portions 155 from both sides in the width direction and from above. Note that the shield shell 157 can be arranged in at least one of all directions, such as surrounding the unit housing 151 in all directions around a central axis extending in the depth direction.

In this embodiment, the shield shell 157 is formed from a bent metal plate so that it is sized to fit substantially the entire surface of the top wall and left and right side walls, and is insert-molded so that it is embedded inside the top wall and left and right side walls of the unit housing 151. The shield shell 157 may be press-fitted into the unit housing 151, or may be formed to cover the outer periphery of the unit housing 151.

By providing the unit housing 151 with a metal shield shell 157, the connector unit 150 can electromagnetically shield the connection between the assembled connector housing 102B and the connector holding portion 154, as well as the connection with the mating connector unit 160.

On the other hand, the two sets of twisted pair wires 135 corresponding to the two assembled connector housings 102B held in the unit housing 151 are covered longitudinally from the outer periphery of each twisted pair wire 135 with braided wire 158. The shield shell 157 is electrically connected to the end of the braided wire 158 that covers the outer periphery of the insulated wire 103 longitudinally.

The shield shell 157 may be provided on the assembled connector housing 102B in addition to the unit housing 151, or may be provided only on the assembled connector housing 102B.
Furthermore, a configuration may be adopted in which the shield shell 157 is provided on both the inner periphery of the connector fitting portion 155 of the unit housing 151 and the outer periphery of the assembled type connector housing 102B.

In this configuration, the shield shell 157 on the inner periphery of the connector fitting portion 155 of the unit housing 151 is electrically connected to the shield shell (not shown) on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102B. Furthermore, in this configuration, the braided wire 158 is preferably connected to the shield shell (not shown) provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102B.

Furthermore, with the above-described configuration, when the connector 105B is fitted into the connector fitting portion 155 of the unit housing 151, the through-hole 120 formed in the upper wall portion 127' of the assembled connector housing 102B can be covered by the inner wall of the connector fitting portion 155.

Therefore, by fitting the connector 105B into the connector fitting portion 155 of the unit housing 151, the waterproofness of the connection portion between the wire connection portion 143 and the wire end portion 133 can be improved compared to when the connector 105B is used alone without being fitted.

In addition, the connector unit 150 of this embodiment can easily be configured with a multi-pole (four-pole in this example) structure by holding multiple connectors in the connector holding portion 154 of the unit housing 151.

Furthermore, as described above, the connector unit of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which multiple connector fitting portions 155 are arranged in the width direction of the unit housing 151, but can be configured with multiple connector fitting portions in at least one of the width direction and vertical direction of the unit housing.

Furthermore, the connector unit of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which only a connector fitting portion 155 for accommodating the connector 105B is provided, as in the unit housing 151 described above. Although not shown, the connector unit may also have a configuration in which a terminal fitting portion is provided into which the connection terminal 104 can be fitted alone, without the need for the connector 105B.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the first to fifth embodiments described above, but can be formed in various other embodiments.
For example, the coated electric wire 103 provided in the connector-equipped electric wires 101, 101A, 101B, and 101C in the above-described embodiments is a twisted pair electric wire formed by twisting two of the above-described electric wires together, but is not limited to a twisted pair electric wire, and an untwisted pair electric wire may also be used.

Specifically, the electric wire may be a pair electric wire having a pair of conductors 131 arranged so that the distance between them is approximately constant along the longitudinal direction, i.e., arranged approximately in parallel.
The paired electric wires may be, regardless of whether they are twisted or not, for example, a ribbon electric wire, in which a pair of conductors 131 are arranged approximately parallel (in parallel) so that the spacing between them is approximately constant along the longitudinal direction, and are integrally coated with an insulating coating portion 132.

Alternatively, the paired electric wires may be, for example, a power cable, in which a pair of conductors 131 are each independently covered with an insulating covering 132 .
Furthermore, it is preferable that the pair of electric wires, whether twisted or not, are covered with an electromagnetic shielding material made of braided wire, metal foil, or the like, but the electromagnetic shielding material is not essential, and the pair of electric wires may not be covered with an electromagnetic shielding material.

Furthermore, the connector housing provided in the present invention, like the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment described above, employs a configuration in which the connection terminals 104 are held primarily by the housing main body 102d (lower terminal accommodating recesses 106d) of the housing main body 102d and the cover 102u. However, this configuration is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the connection terminals 104 are held primarily by the cover 102u (upper terminal accommodating recesses 106u) may also be employed.

That is, the connector housing provided in the present invention may adopt a configuration in which the connection terminals 104 are substantially held in a fitted state on the cover 102u side, not on the housing main body 102d side.
Furthermore, for example, the protrusion 111 of the sixth embodiment provided at the pressurized portion Zp and the metal plate 112 of the seventh embodiment provided at the pressurized portion Zp may be provided independently so as to be spaced apart for each pressurized portion Zp corresponding to the left and right wire connection portion arrangement areas 162.

Furthermore, the wire connection portion of the present invention is not limited to a configuration equipped with a crimping piece 144c, such as the wire connection portion 143 described above. It may also be configured, as in the wire barrel portion 44 and insulation barrel portion 45 shown in FIG. 1, in which the end of the wire is not covered with the insulating covering portion 132, leaving the conductor 131 exposed, and equipped with a crimping piece (barrel piece) that is crimped by a pair of tools with the end of the covered wire 103 in place.

In this way, by providing a crimping piece at the wire connection portion, when the terminal is placed in the connector housing, the conductor 131 exposed to the insulating sheath 132 at the end of the wire can be crimped to cover it, thereby firmly connecting the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104.

The present invention can also employ a configuration in which a through hole is provided in the cover, such as the cover 102Bu provided on the connector-attached electric wire 101B of the eighth embodiment. However, when a through hole is provided in the cover, the present invention can provide the through hole in various ways (size, shape, location, number, etc.) that allow at least the upper tool 181 of the pair of tools 181, 182 to pass through or be temporarily present during the electric wire connection process.

In other words, the cover-side through hole may be formed in a shape different from the cover-side through hole 120u of the eighth embodiment, as long as it has a size and shape that does not interfere with a pair of tools 181, 182 (particularly the upper tool 181) when the insulated wire 103 and the connection terminal 104 are press-welded together while the housing main body 102d is covered from above by the cover u during the wire connection process.
Needless to say, in the present invention, the configuration in which a through hole is provided in the cover may be applied to the cover 102u provided on the connector-attached electric wire 101A of the seventh embodiment.

Furthermore, as described above, the shield shell 157 provided on the unit housing 151 of the connector unit 150 of the tenth embodiment may be provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102B, i.e., the assembled connector housing 102B of the sixth embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and a configuration in which the shield shell 157 is provided on the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102A of the seventh embodiment, the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102B of the eighth embodiment, or the outer periphery of the assembled connector housing 102C of the ninth embodiment may also be adopted.

Furthermore, for example, the partition wall 125 provided in the assembled connector housing 102 of the sixth embodiment is formed so as to divide the box portion arrangement areas 161 on each side (described later) in the width direction (see Figure 22). However, the connector housing of the present invention may adopt a configuration in which the partition wall 125 is formed as a vertical wall so as to divide the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 in the width direction, as long as it is configured to divide the terminal accommodating chamber 106 (lower terminal accommodating recess 106d).

More specifically, as shown in Figures 37, 38(a), (b), and 39, the connector-attached electric wire 10101' (assembled connector housing 102') according to a modified example of the sixth embodiment has a partition 125 formed with a box portion partition 125a and an electric wire connection portion partition 125b, which extends continuously in a straight line so as to connect the front wall 122 and the rear wall 123 in the fore-and-aft direction.

The wire connection portion partition 125b is configured to guide the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 (connection portion arrangement portion) from the inside (center) in the width direction. However, the wire connection portion partition 125b is formed shorter and narrower than the box portion partition 125a so as not to interfere with the descending upper tool 181 when a pair of tools 181, 182 clamps the insulation displacement portion 144 and the wire end portion 133 from above and below to connect them together.

With the above configuration, the wire connection portion partition 125b enhances the guiding function of the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162, thereby preventing the connection terminal 104 from shifting position when the pair of tools 181, 182 press-connects the insulation displacement portion 144 and the wire end portion 133 from both above and below.

As a result, the connection portions of the wire end portion 133 and the wire connection portion 143 are housed inside the assembled connector housing 102' lined up in the width direction, but the relative positions of this pair of connection portions do not change from their relative positions before connection, so the characteristic impedance of connection portion 103C can be set to the desired value or a value as close to that value as possible.

The partition wall of the present invention is not limited to the shape of the wire connection portion partition wall 125b described above, and can be formed in other shapes as long as it has a position and shape (size) that does not interfere with the lowering upper tool 181 when the pair of tools 181, 182 clamp the insulation displacement portion 144 and the wire end portion 133 from above and below to connect them together.

For example, as shown in Figures 40(a) and (b), the wire connection portion partition wall 125b may be formed only in the area corresponding to the insulation contact portion 144, rather than in the area corresponding to the insulation barrel portion 145 of the wire connection portion 143 in the front-to-rear direction.

Even if the wire connection section is configured with a crimping piece (barrel piece), the wire connection section partition 125b can be formed in a position and shape (size) that does not interfere with the upper tool when a pair of tools are used to crimp and connect the insulation displacement section 144 and the wire end portion 133 together by sandwiching them from above and below.

Furthermore, the high-strength portions 110, 110A are not limited to being provided on the base portion 121, but may also be provided on at least a portion of the cover 102u (upper wall portion), front wall portion 122, rear wall portion 123, and left and right side wall portions 124, 124 of the connector housing.

Furthermore, the high-strength portions 110, 110A are not limited to being provided only at the pressurized portion Zp, as long as they are provided at least at the pressurized portion Zp. For example, the high-strength portions 110 may be provided on the base portion 121 so as to integrally reinforce the wide recess 107 from the pressurized portion Zp to the side wall portions 124, 124.

As shown in FIG. 52, as a modification of the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment, the cover 102u composed of a top plate portion 127 and a pair of cover side walls 128 may be divided.
52 shows an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire 101D which is a modified example of the sixth embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those in the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The connector-equipped wire 101D, which is a modified example of the connector-equipped wire 101 of the sixth embodiment, has a cover 102u which is concave and facing in the opposite direction when viewed from the arrow F, and which is made up of a top plate portion 127 and a pair of cover side wall portions 128, and which is divided into two in the front-to-rear direction into a front cover 2uF and a rear cover 102uB.
The assembled connector housing 102uF is configured to cover the terminal accommodating chambers 106 in the housing body 102d from the upper side U, and the rear cover 102uB is configured to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 in the housing body 102d from the upper side U.

For this reason, two engagement holes 129u are provided at a predetermined distance in the front-to-rear direction on each of the cover side walls 128 of the assembled connector housing 102uF and the rear cover 102uB, and two engagement protrusions 129d are also provided on each of the side walls 124 in the terminal accommodating chamber 106 and the side walls 124 in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

With the connector-equipped electric wire 101E configured in this manner, the connection terminal 104 is attached to the housing main body 102d, the assembled connector housing 102uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 106 in which the box portion 141 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d, the electric wire end portion 133 is connected to the electric wire connection portion 143 arranged in the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 162 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 102uB is attached to cover the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 101D configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment described above, when connecting the wire end portion 133 to the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 with a crimping tool, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 is open, the assembled connector housing 102uF is attached to and covers the terminal accommodating chamber 106 in which the box portion 141 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d, allowing the wire end portion 133 to be connected to the wire connection portion 143 in a stable manner.

It is also possible to have only the assembled connector housing 102uF without the rear cover 102uB. In this case, the upper side U of the wire connection portion arrangement area 162, where the wire end portion 133 is connected to the wire connection portion 143, remains open.

In contrast, as shown in Figures 53 to 46, the rear cover 102uB may not be provided, and the cover may consist only of the assembled connector housing 102uF. In this case, the upper side U of the wire connection portion arrangement area 162, where the wire end portion 133 is connected to the wire connection portion 143, remains open.

Note that Figure 53 shows an exploded perspective view of a connector-equipped electric wire 101E, another modified example of the sixth embodiment, and Figure 54 shows a perspective view of a connector-equipped electric wire 101E, another modified example of the sixth embodiment, viewed from below.

Figure 55 shows a plan view illustrating the terminal arrangement process and the wire arrangement process of another modified example of the sixth embodiment, and Figure 56 shows a plan view illustrating the internal structure of the assembled connector housing 102E of the connector-attached wire 101E of another modified example of the sixth embodiment.

Figure 57 shows cross-sectional views (a) and (b) respectively showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing 102E of another modified example of a connector-attached electric wire 101E in the sixth embodiment, and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 56.
In the following description, the same components as those of the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Specifically, the connector-equipped electric wire 101E, which is another modified example of the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment described above, has a cover that is composed only of an assembled connector housing 102uF, the length of which is obtained by dividing the cover 102u of the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the above-described example in half in the front-to-rear direction.

In the assembled connector housing 102E configured in this manner, the connection terminals 104 are attached to the housing main body 102d, the front cover 2uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 106 in which the box portion 141 is disposed in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d, the wire end portion 133 is connected to the wire connection portion 143 disposed in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 102uB is attached to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

For this reason, two engagement holes 129u are provided in the cover side wall 128 of the assembled connector housing 102uF, spaced a predetermined distance apart in the front-to-rear direction, and two engagement protrusions 129d are also provided in the side wall 124 of the terminal accommodating chamber 106.

The assembled connector housing 102uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 106 in the housing main body 102d, covering the upper side U of the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d. In other words, even when the assembled connector housing 102uF is attached to the terminal accommodating chamber 106, the upper side U of the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 remains open.

Therefore, the side walls 124E, 124E on each side of the electric wire connection portion arrangement region 162 are formed thicker by the thickness of the cover side wall 128 of the assembled type connector housing 102uF than the side walls 124, 124 on each side of the electric wire connection portion arrangement region 162 of the above-mentioned connector-attached electric wire 101. Note that the side walls 124E are not provided with the engaging protrusions 129d.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 45, the side surface of the assembled connector housing 102E to which the cover 102uE is attached is flush with the cover side wall portion 128 of the cover 102uE and the side wall portion 124E.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 101E configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment described above, when connecting the wire end portion 133 to the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 with a crimping tool, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 is open, the assembled connector housing 102uF is attached to and covers the terminal accommodating chamber 106 in which the box portion 141 is arranged in the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d, allowing the wire end portion 133 to be connected to the wire connection portion 143 in a stable manner.

Next, a connector-attached electric wire 1G, which is yet another modified example, will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 58 is an exploded perspective view of a connector-attached electric wire 101G according to yet another modification of the sixth embodiment.

Figure 59 shows a perspective view from below of a connector-attached electric wire 101G according to yet another modified example of the sixth embodiment, Figure 60 shows a plan view illustrating the terminal arrangement process and electric wire arrangement process according to yet another modified example of the sixth embodiment, and Figure 61 shows a plan view illustrating the internal structure of the assembled connector housing 102g of a connector-attached electric wire 101G according to yet another modified example of the sixth embodiment.

Figure 62 shows cross-sectional views (a) and (b) respectively showing the internal structure of an assembled connector housing 102g of a connector-attached electric wire 101G of yet another modified example in the sixth embodiment, and a cross-sectional view (c) taken along the CC line in Figure 61.
In the following description, the same components as those of the connector-attached electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the connector-equipped electric wire 101G shown in FIGS. 58 to 62, the terminal accommodating chamber 106 to which the cover 102u is attached in the connector-equipped electric wire 101 of the sixth embodiment is integrated.
Specifically, the assembled connector housing 102G has a terminal accommodating chamber 106G, which is box-shaped and extends in the forward and backward directions as indicated by the arrow F, and has a lower terminal accommodating recess 106d formed therein.

Then, the rear cover 102uB, which is the rear portion of the cover 102u in the sixth embodiment, divided into two in the front-to-rear direction, is attached to the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

For this reason, two engagement holes 129u are provided in the cover side wall 128 of the rear cover 102uB, spaced a predetermined distance apart in the front-to-rear direction, and two engagement protrusions 129d are also provided in the side wall 124 in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

The side wall portions 124G, 124G on each side of the terminal accommodating chamber 106G are formed thicker by the thickness of the cover side wall portion 128 of the rear cover 102uB than the side wall portions 124, 124 on each side of the terminal accommodating chamber 6 in the sixth embodiment.
As a result, as shown in Figures 50 and 62, on the side surface of the assembled connector housing 102G to which the rear cover 102uB is attached, the cover side wall portion 128 of the cover 102uG and the side wall portion 124G of the terminal accommodating chamber 6 are flush with each other.

In the assembled connector housing 102G configured in this manner, the connection terminal 104 is attached to the housing main body 102d, the box portion 141 is inserted from the rear into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d inside the terminal accommodating chamber 106G, the wire end portion 133 is connected to the wire connection portion 143 located in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 using a crimping tool, and then the rear cover 102uB is attached to cover the wire connection portion arrangement area 162.

In the connector-equipped wire 1G configured in this manner, in addition to the effects achieved by the connector-equipped wire 1 of the sixth embodiment described above, when the wire end portion 133 is connected with a crimping tool to the wire connection portion 143 arranged in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162, although the arrow F in the wire connection portion arrangement area 162 is open, the box portion 141 is inserted into the lower terminal accommodating recess 106d inside the box-shaped terminal accommodating chamber 106G, and therefore the wire end portion 133 can be connected to the wire connection portion 143 in a stable state.
It should be noted that the cover 102uG may not be provided.

Next, modified examples of the connector units 50, 150 described above as the fifth and tenth embodiments will be described using Figures 63 and 64.

In the following description, the same components as those of the connector units 50, 150 described in the fifth and tenth embodiments will be assigned the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

As shown in Figures 63 and 64, the connector unit 50X of this embodiment, like the connector units 50 and 150 described above, has multiple (two in this example) connector-attached electric wires 1 and 101 housed in a unit housing 51X.

In the above-mentioned connector units 50, 150, the assembled connector housings 2, 102 of the connector-attached electric wires 1, 101 are arranged widthwise and accommodated in the unit housing 51, 151, but in the connector unit 50X, the assembled connector housings 2, 102 are stacked thicknesswise and accommodated in the unit housing 51X.
In this case, the male terminals 65 of the mating connector unit 60X to be connected are arranged in a substantially square shape when viewed from one side Y1 in the depth direction.

The connector unit 50X configured in this manner achieves the same effects as the connector units 50 and 150 described above, and although it is taller than the connector units 50 and 150 described above, it is narrower, so it can be placed in narrow locations where the connector units 50 and 150 described above cannot be placed.

In addition, while the connector unit 50X described above has two assembled connector housings 2, 102 arranged vertically, three or more assembled connector housings 2, 102 may be arranged, or multiple assembled connector housings 2, 102 arranged in the width direction, as in the connector unit 50, 150 described above, may be arranged vertically as well.

In addition, in the above explanation, the insulated electric wires 3, 103 and connection terminals 4, 104 arranged in the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62, 162 are connected by being clamped from above and below with a pair of pressure means, an upper tool 81, 181 and a lower tool 82, 182. However, they may also be connected by welding from the upper side U of the electric wire connection portion arrangement area 62, 162 using a welding tool such as laser welding or ultrasonic welding.

1, 1A, 1B, 1C... Electric wire with connector 2, 2A, 2B... Assembled connector housing (connector housing)
2C...Integrated connector housing (connector housing)
2d, 2Ad, 2d', 2Ad', 2d'', 2Ad''...Housing main body 2u, 2Bu...Cover (connector housing cover)
3, 3A... Insulated electric wire 3C... Connection portion of electric wire to connector housing 4, 4A... Connection terminal 5, 5B, 5C... Connector 6d... Lower terminal accommodating recess (connection portion arrangement portion)
10 (10d, 10d'), 10A, 10', 10A', 10f, 10r, 10Af, 10Ar, 10u, 10u'...through hole 31...conductor 33...electric wire end portion (electric wire end portion)
35... Twisted pair electric wire 35a... Untwisted portion 43, 43A... Electric wire connection portion 44Ac... Pressure contact piece 44b, 45b... Barrel piece (crimping piece)
50... Connector unit 51... Unit housing 81, 82... Pair of tools 101, 101', 101A, 101B, 101C... Connector-attached electric wires 102, 102', 102A, 102B... Assembled type connector housing (connector housing)
102C...Integrated connector housing (connector housing)
102d, 102d', 102Ad... Housing main body 102u, 102Bu... Cover (connector housing cover)
103... Insulated electric wire 104... Connection terminal 105, 105B, 105C... Connector 110, 110A... High strength portion 111... Raised portion 112... Metal plate (metal member)
120...through hole 131...conductor 132...insulating coating portion 133...electric wire end portion (electric wire end portion)
143...electrical wire connection portion 144c...insulation-displacement piece 150...connector unit 151...unit housing 162...electrical wire connection portion arrangement area (connection portion arrangement portion)
181, 182...Pair of tools (pair of pressure means)
Zp: Pressurized area

Claims (16)

A connector comprising a conductive connection terminal having an electric wire connection portion to be connected to the tip portion of a covered electric wire, and a dielectric connector housing for holding the connection terminal,
the connector housing and a connector housing cover that is assembled to the connector housing so as to accommodate the connection terminals therein together with the connector housing constitute an assembled connector housing,
the connection terminal has a box portion on one side of the electric wire connection portion for connection to a mating connection terminal,
the connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion having a wire connection portion arrangement region in which the wire connection portion is arranged and a box portion arrangement region in which the box portion is arranged,
the connector housing cover closes the box portion arrangement area when attached to the connector housing in which the connection terminals are arranged, and has a cover-side through-hole at a location facing the electric wire connection portion arrangement area, the cover penetrating in a direction in which the connector housing cover and the connector housing face each other,
the cover-side through-hole allows at least one of a pair of tools that sandwich and connect the insulated electric wire and the electric wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present in the cover-side through-hole;
A connector having a rear wall portion that abuts against the end of the connection terminal on the wire connection portion side when the connection terminal is placed in the connector housing, and regulates the position of the connection terminal relative to the connection portion placement portion. the wire connection portion is provided with a pair of pressure-connecting pieces that connect to the conductor of the insulated wire, the insulated wire having a conductor made of a conductive material and an insulating coating portion made of an insulating material that coats the entire outer periphery of the conductor;
the pressure-contact piece has a diameter that decreases toward the center in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the connected insulated electric wire as it moves toward the connector housing with respect to the connector housing cover, and a recess having the same diameter as the conductor is formed in the central portion in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction,
The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the cover-side through-hole is provided at a position corresponding to at least the recess. an insulation barrel portion for holding the insulating coating portion is provided on the connection terminal closer to the electric wire connection portion than the insulation displacement piece;
The connector according to claim 2 , wherein the cover-side through-hole is provided at a position corresponding to the recess and the insulation barrel portion. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the cover-side through-hole is provided with a size and shape that match the characteristic impedance of the connected portion of the insulated electric wire to the connector housing so as to satisfy a predetermined range. a twisted pair electric wire formed by twisting two of the coated electric wires together,
5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein an untwisted portion is formed at each end of the two insulated wires and is placed in the wire connecting portion in an untwisted state. a plurality of the connection portion arrangement portions are arranged side by side and spaced apart from each other on a surface of the connector housing that has the connection portion arrangement portion;
4. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the cover-side through-hole is provided across portions corresponding to a plurality of the connection portion placement portions. A connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connection portion placement portion is provided with a high-strength portion that is stronger than other portions, thereby suppressing damage or deformation of the connector housing when the placed wire connection portion and the insulated wire are clamped and connected by a pair of pressure means. The high-strength portion is provided with a size and shape that matches the characteristic impedance of the connection portion of the insulated electric wire to the connector housing so that it falls within a predetermined range.
The connector according to claim 7 . The high strength portion is provided with a raised portion that raises the pressure-receiving portion of the connector housing toward the one pressure means relative to the periphery of the pressure-receiving portion.
The connector according to claim 7 . The high-strength portion is provided with a high-strength member having a strength higher than that of the other portion.
The connector according to claim 7 . the other portion of the connector housing is formed only from a non-metallic material,
The high strength portion is a metal member.
The connector of claim 10 . In the connector housing, at a position facing the cover-side through hole,
The connector according to claim 1 , further comprising a body-side through-hole through which at least the other of the pair of tools passes or is temporarily present. An assembled connector housing including a conductive connection terminal having an electric wire connection portion to be connected to a coated electric wire, and a dielectric connector housing for holding the connection terminal,
the connector housing and a connector housing cover that is assembled to the connector housing so as to accommodate the connection terminals therein,
the connection terminal has a box portion on one side of the electric wire connection portion for connection to a mating connection terminal,
the connector housing is provided with a connection portion arrangement portion having a wire connection portion arrangement region in which the wire connection portion is arranged and a box portion arrangement region in which the box portion is arranged,
the connector housing cover closes the box portion arrangement area when attached to the connector housing in which the connection terminals are arranged, and has a cover-side through-hole at a location facing the electric wire connection portion arrangement area, the cover penetrating in a direction in which the connector housing cover and the connector housing face each other,
the cover-side through-hole allows at least one of a pair of tools that sandwich and connect the insulated electric wire and the electric wire connection portion to pass through or be temporarily present in the cover-side through-hole;
An assembly-type connector housing having a rear wall portion that abuts against the end of the connection terminal on the wire connection portion side when the connection terminal is arranged in the connector housing, and regulates the position of the connection terminal relative to the connection portion arrangement portion. A method for manufacturing an electric wire with a connector, comprising: holding conductive connection terminals in an assembled connector housing, the assembly comprising a connector housing and a connector housing cover assembled together with the connector housing so as to house connection terminals therein; and electrically connecting wire connection portions provided on the connection terminals to insulated electric wires,
the connection terminal has a box portion on one side of the electric wire connection portion for connection to a mating connection terminal,
a terminal arrangement process in which, with the connector housing cover removed, the electric wire connection portion is arranged in an electric wire connection portion arrangement area of a connection portion arrangement portion provided in the connector housing, and the box portion is arranged in a box portion arrangement area of the connection portion arrangement portion;
an electric wire arrangement step of arranging the insulated electric wire in the electric wire connection portion;
a cover assembling step of assembling the connector housing cover to the connector housing;
a wire connecting step of clamping the wire connection portion and the insulated wire from both sides with a pair of tools to connect them to each other,
In the terminal arranging step, an end of the connection terminal on the side of the wire connection portion is brought into contact with a rear wall portion provided on the connector housing, thereby regulating the position of the connection terminal with respect to the connection portion arranging portion,
In the electric wire connecting process, one of the pair of tools, which is positioned on the side opposite to the side on which the electric wire connection portion is positioned relative to the connector housing, is inserted into a cover-side through-hole formed in the connector housing cover in the clamping direction of the pair of tools, and directly abuts against the electric wire connection portion, thereby pressurizing the electric wire connection portion. A plurality of connectors according to claim 1;
a unit housing for holding a plurality of the connectors; The connector according to claim 1;
a connector-attached electric wire including an insulated electric wire connected to the connection terminal held by the connector;