JPS629988B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an improvement in a wiring harness interconnection device that has a large number of branch conductive paths formed by arranging bus bars and is used to connect wires of a wiring harness to form a branch circuit configuration. It is related to.

Wiring harnesses used for internal wiring of automobiles require a large number of branch circuits in the middle. Therefore, branch conductive paths corresponding to the branch circuits of the wiring harness are consolidated on the wiring board by bus bar arrangement. 2. Description of the Related Art A wiring harness interconnection device (hereinafter simply referred to as an interconnection device) that connects wires of a wiring harness to centrally configure required branch circuits is known. In order to incorporate electronic circuits to perform the functions of each branch circuit, such as an intermittent wiper relay and a fuel cut relay, control elements necessary for each branch circuit, that is, functional parts such as relays, diodes, and capacitors, are installed. An interconnection device is used in which each branch circuit is aggregated and housed in a separate casing, and has relay units each connected to the middle of a busbar conductive path by tab-shaped terminals provided in the casing.

However, as automobiles have become more sophisticated in recent years, the number of electrical components attached to the vehicle body has increased significantly and has become more sophisticated.In order to meet the demands for improved performance such as safety, drivability, and comfort, wiring harnesses are becoming more and more sophisticated. The number of branch circuits is increasing, and there is a growing trend to incorporate an extremely wide variety of electronic components into each branch circuit.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned relay unit type interconnection device, as the number of relay units increases, each relay unit gradually becomes larger, so the connection device becomes larger and the space required for mounting it on the vehicle body increases, causing problems. Moreover, as the structure becomes more complex, problems such as a gradual decline in the productivity of wiring harnesses occur.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide a small and compact interconnection device that is compatible with increasingly high-end automobiles.

That is, the present invention consists of a combination of a single printed wiring board on which the functional parts necessary for the branch circuit of the wiring harness are arranged in a concentrated manner, and a wiring board on which the necessary branch conductive path groups are formed by arranging bus bars. , the printed wiring board is mounted on the wiring board in a parallel three-dimensional manner, and has a connection mechanism that connects a tab-shaped contact portion formed at the end of the bus bar and a terminal portion of the printed wiring board via a relay terminal. It is characterized by a structure in which functional component circuits are incorporated and connected to the busbar conductive path.

A detailed explanation will be given below based on the drawings of the embodiment. First, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a wiring board 1 is shown.
The thin insulating plates 1' are stacked in multiple layers, and on each insulating plate 1' there is disposed a bus bar 3 comprising a large number of branch conductive paths corresponding to the branch circuits of the wiring harness. The end portion of the bus bar 3 connected to the electric wire 10 of the wiring harness is formed into a tab-shaped contact portion 4 and is concentrated on the right side in the figure, and a protective case body (not shown) is provided.
When covered with the wiring board 1, the contact portion 4 is surrounded by a frame provided on the case body as shown by the dotted line in the figure to form a connection port 8, and the connector 9 at the end of the electric wire 10 is received. , and branch circuits necessary for the internal wiring of the vehicle are centrally configured via the bus bar 3. Further, the bus bar 3 is divided at the intermediate portion of the branch conductive path formed by the bus bar 3, and each divided end forms a tab-shaped contact portion 15 and gathers in a generally straight line in the intermediate portion of the wiring board 1. They are connected to conductive paths of a printed wiring board 2 to be described later, and necessary functional component circuits are incorporated in intermediate portions of branch conductive paths of the bus bar 3.

On the other hand, a printed wiring board 2 consisting of a single rectangular plate body
6 groups of all necessary and sufficient functional components such as relays, diodes, capacitors, etc. in the branch circuit of the wiring harness are densely arranged on a board, and conductive paths 7 of each of the functional components 6 are arranged on the bottom surface. is printed and wired as shown by the dotted line. The ends of the conductive paths 7 are arranged in parallel at appropriate intervals on one side edge 2' of the printed wiring board 2, and their positions are such that when the printed wiring board 2 is attached to the wiring board 1, the functional component circuits are connected. It is made to correspond accurately to the contact portion 15 of the bus bar 3 to be assembled. Then, the printed wiring board 2 is placed on two holding frames 12 provided on the wiring board 1 with the side edges 2' facing forward, and is mounted three-dimensionally parallel to the wiring board 1 as shown by the dotted line in the figure. The contact portion 15 of the bus bar 3 and the conductive path 7 of the printed wiring board 2 are connected by a connection mechanism described later. Note that 5 in the figure is wiring board 1.
13 is a guide stopper for the printed wiring board 2 formed in a step shape on the outer edge of the holding frame 12.

Next, the connection mechanism will be explained.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 4, the end portion of the bus bar 3 connected to the conductive path 7 of the printed wiring board 2 is connected to the conductive path 7 of the printed wiring board 2.
When the printed wiring board 2 is attached to a predetermined position on the printed wiring board 1, a tab-shaped contact portion 1 is located near the side edge 2' of the printed wiring board 2 and stands upright generally parallel to the side edge 2'.
5. Further, on the upper surface of the printed wiring board 2, the tab-shaped contact portion 15 is in contact with the upper surface and
A tab-shaped terminal 16 facing the side is attached, and the front half of the tab-shaped terminal 16 protrudes from the side edge 2', and its tip faces the tab-shaped contact portion 15 with a slight distance therebetween. Then, two clamping parts 18A and 18B for receiving and clamping the tab-shaped terminal 16 and the tab-shaped contact part 15 are formed in a short groove body surrounded by a plate on three sides.
A relay terminal 17 having a press-contact piece 19 that is elastically pressed against one surface of the received tab-shaped terminal 16 is provided, and the tab-shaped terminal 16 and the tab-shaped contact portion 15 constitute a connection mechanism. Pressure contact piece 19 of relay terminal 17
is a cantilever-like elastic piece which is bent in such a way that the bottom plate 20 forming the groove body is folded back at the front and gradually raised to the rear. It has become like a ballistic contact,
The clamping parts 18A and 18B have deep groove-shaped notches on both sides with openings on the front and bottom surfaces of the groove body, and the tab-shaped terminal 16 is attached to the upper edge of the clamping part 18A and the top of the pressure contact piece 19. 19', and the tab-shaped contact part 15 is clamped at both edges of the clamping part 18B. Note that a small leg piece 16' is provided protruding from the lower surface of the tab-shaped terminal 16, and the small leg piece 16' is inserted into a mounting hole of the printed wiring board 2 and soldered to the conductive path 7 on the back surface. Further, 21 at the end of the clamping part 18B is
This is a "flesh-stealing part" that was added in consideration of the elasticity and durability of the clamping part 18B when clamping. In the above connection mechanism, as shown in FIG. 4, the relay terminal 17 is attached in advance to the tab-shaped contact portion 15 at the end of the bus bar 3, and then the printed wiring board 2 slides on the holding frame 12 and is parallel to the wiring board 1. The tab-shaped terminal 16 is press-fitted into the clamping portion 18A of the relay terminal 17, and the bus bar 3 and the conductive path 7 are connected.

Next, FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the connection mechanism, which is composed of a tab-shaped contact portion 15, a tab-shaped terminal 16, and a relay terminal 17 similar to those described above. However, the front end of the tab-shaped terminal 16 is located at the side edge 2'.
The relay terminals 17 are arranged in line with the pressure welding pieces 1.
9 is provided above, and the received tab-shaped terminal 1
It is formed so as to come into elastic contact with the upper surface of 6.

In addition, FIGS. 6 and 7 show the pressure welding piece 19 and the tab-shaped terminal 1.
6 is an example of a preferable pressure-welding form, in which the pressure-welding piece 19 is slightly curved and the edge portions at both ends are bitten into the tab-shaped terminal 16, as shown in FIG. If notches, grooves, etc. are provided to increase the edge portion and pressure contact is made, the conductive performance of the contact portion will be improved. Further, it is preferable that at least one of the terminals 16 and the relay terminal 17 is plated with nickel, tin, or the like.

In the above-mentioned interconnection device, all the functional components required for the branch circuit of the wiring harness are densely arranged on a single printed wiring board 2, and the necessary functional component circuits are connected via the connection mechanism. bus bar 3
Since it is incorporated and connected to the branch conductive path that constitutes the structure, it has the advantage of being extremely small and compact compared to the conventional structure. That is, in the conventional relay unit system described above in which the functional components of the branch circuit are housed in individual casings, there is a lot of wasted space in the casing due to the structure, and the casing volume increases, so the number of relay units that can be attached to the interconnection device is The number of functional component circuits is limited to 3 to 4, and some functional component circuits are unavoidably attached to the middle of the branch wires. However, in the interconnection device of the present invention, all of the functional components are densely arranged on a single printed circuit board to offset wasted space, so the interconnection device of the present invention is extremely small and compact compared to the conventional structure. , the above-mentioned conventional difficulties are solved. Further, it is possible to sufficiently cope with an increase in the number of functional parts and branch circuits that will accompany the future advancement of automobiles, and to satisfy the narrow installation space conditions allowed by the vehicle body.

In addition, since the interconnection device of the present invention consolidates all of the many functional component circuits onto a single printed wiring board, the overall configuration of the wiring harness is simplified and the production process can be divided into labor, mechanized, etc. It is easy to introduce and has the effect of improving productivity.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned connection mechanism allows the printed wiring board 2 to be installed by entering the wiring board 1 parallel to the wiring board 1, making it easy to use the guide section, holding frame, etc. on the wiring board 1, making the installation operation simple and accurate. Since the tab-shaped terminal 16 can be plated, etc., the conductive performance of the connection part is improved and stabilized. Since the terminal 16 is plate-shaped and does not protrude below the printed wiring board 2, it It has unique advantages such as not being a hindrance when soldering the functional component and the conductive path 7, making the soldering easy, and makes the effects of the present invention by the printed wiring board configuration even more effective. .

In addition, in connection of the printed wiring board 2 described above, the conductive path 7 is not necessarily connected strictly to the intermediate part where the bus bar 3 is divided, and depending on the circumstances of the device, one end of the functional component circuit may be connected to the bus bar 3. The other end may be directly connected to the terminal of the connector 9 of the electric wire 10.

In this manner, the present invention provides a useful interconnection device that responds to the recent trend toward higher-end automobiles and meets the demands thereof.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1: Perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2
Figures: Front view A and top view B showing the terminal portion of one embodiment of the connection mechanism in the present invention; Figure 3: Orthographic projection view of the relay terminal of the embodiment in Figure 2; Figures are omitted as they are symmetrical with the front view), B is a left side view, C is a right side view, D is a bottom view, E is a plan view, Figure 4: Figures 2 and 3 show the usage state of the connection mechanism. Front view, FIG. 5: A front view showing another embodiment of the connection mechanism, FIGS. 6 and 7: Cross-sectional views showing the form of pressure contact of the pressure contact piece of the connection mechanism. Main symbols: 1: Wiring board, 2: Printed wiring board, 3:
Bus bar, 6: Functional component, 7: Conductive path, 9: Connector, 10: Electric wire, 12: Holding frame, 15: Tab-shaped contact part, 16: Tab-shaped terminal, 17: Relay terminal, 18A, 18B: Pincer Wearing part, 19: Pressure welding piece.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Consists of a combination of a wiring board on which a group of branched conductive paths are formed by arranging bus bars and a printed wiring board, the printed wiring board being mounted parallel to and three-dimensionally on the wiring board. , an end of the bus bar is formed into a tab-shaped contact portion that stands upright generally parallel to the side edge of the printed wiring board, and a tab-shaped contact portion that is in contact with the upper surface is formed on the upper surface of the printed wiring board. A tab-shaped terminal facing the is attached, and further includes two clamping portions for receiving the tab-shaped contact portion and the tab-shaped terminal;
An interconnection device for wiring harnesses, characterized in that the wiring harness has a connection mechanism provided with a relay terminal having a press-contact piece that comes into elastic contact with the tab-shaped terminal, and has a structure in which the circuit of the printed wiring board is incorporated and connected to the branch conductive path. 2. The wiring harness interconnection device according to claim 1, wherein the first half of the tab-shaped terminal comprises a connection mechanism protruding from the side edge of the printed wiring board.