This invention relates to a connector and a vehicular wire harness connecting structure.
The vehicular wire harness connecting structure S1 shown in
In the illustrated example, the electrical equipment 1 is a map lamp mounted on a ceiling portion above a driver's seat or other portion in a vehicle. The electrical equipment 2 is a dome lamp mounted on the ceiling portion above the driver's seal or other portion in the vehicle, and comprises a design portion 2a to be fixed to the ceiling portion, and a function portion 2b detachably attached to the design portion 2a.
The wire harness W1 shown in
The terminal connector C1 is a connector to be connected by a connector to an upstream trunk wire harness, an electric connection box or the like.
The terminal connector C2 is a connector to be fitted and connected to the harness connection portion (connector portion) provided at the electrical equipment 1.
The function portion 2b is the harness connection portion of the electrical equipment 2 to which the wire harness is connected, and this function portion 2b is a unit incorporating a lamp body and a switch mechanism to which the wire harness is connected.
The vehicular wire harness connecting structure S2 shown in
The wire harness W2 shown in
In this wire harness W2, a terminal connector C3 is connected to a proximal end of the basic branch wire wa5, and a terminal connector C4 is connected to a distal end of the branch wire wa3, and a function portion 2b of the electrical equipment 2 is connected to a distal end of the branch wire wa4.
The terminal connector C3 is a connector to be connected by a connector to an upstream trunk wire harness, an electric connector box or the like, and corresponds to the terminal connector C1 in the wire harness connecting structure S1 of
The terminal connector C4 is a connector to be fitted and connected to the harness connection portion (connector portion) provided at the electrical equipment 1, and corresponds to the terminal connector C2 in the wire harness connecting structure S1 of
The connector 5 shown in
This connector 5 comprises a housing 7 made of an electrically-insulating material, a plurality of contacts 8 made of an electrically-conductive material and held by the housing 7, a press-contacting cover 9 made of an electrically-insulating material and connected to the housing 7, and wires 13 fitted in and press-contactingly connected to press-contacting grooves 11a formed respectively in terminal portions 11 of the contacts 8. When connecting the press-contacting cover 9 to the housing 7, the wires 13 are pressed by the press-contacting cover 9, and are press-contactingly fitted into the press-contacting grooves 11a of the contacts 8.
As shown in
Further, housing-side wire holding grooves 16 are formed in the housing 7. At the time when the press-contacting cover 9 is connected to the housing 7, and the wires 13 are press-contactingly fitted into the press-contacting grooves 11a, the wires 13 held in the cover-side wire holding grooves 15 are pressed by the press-contacting cover 9, and are press-fitted into the housing-side wire holding grooves 16.
Another known wire press-contacting type wire harness-connecting structure is disclosed in PTL 2 mentioned below.
[PTL 1] JP-A-2005-332796
[PTL 2] JP-A-61-161677
However, in the wire harness connecting structures S1 and S2 shown respectively in
In addition, a possibility that the terminals provided within the terminal connectors C1, C2, C3 and C4 and the function portion 2b may be stained at the time of installing the wire harness is not zero, and it has been feared that the reliability may be lowered by the degraded quality due to the staining of the terminals, etc.
Furthermore, in the above wire harness connecting structures S1 and S2, the wire harness is branch-connected to the electrical equipments, and therefore there has also been encountered a problem that the diameter and weight of the wire harness increase.
Furthermore, in the conventional wire press-contacting type connector 5 shown in
It is therefore an object of this invention to solve the above problems, and more specifically to provide a connector and a vehicular wire harness connecting structure, in which a press-contacting jig specially designed for the manufacture of a wire harness, as well as an end processing operation requiring much time and labor, is not necessary, so that the manufacturing cost of the wire harness can be reduced, and also the quality is not degraded by the staining of terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
The above object of the present invention has been achieved by the following constructions.
(1) A connector comprising:
a wire holder adapted to be mounted on a wire harness and having a wire arranging portion that holds a plurality of wires configuring the wire harness in parallel relation to each other, and a holder reception portion provided at an electrical equipment and serving as a harness connection portion to which the wire harness is to be connected;
wherein the wire holder includes a mounting shaft portion disposed at one side of the wire arranging portion and spaced a distance from the one side of the wire arranging portion, and a mounting engagement portion disposed at the other side of the wire arranging portion and spaced a distance from the other side of the wire; and
the holder reception portion includes a holder shaft support portion that rotatably supports the mounting shaft portion, a lock portion that engages with the mounting engagement portion of the wire holder that pivotally moves using the holder shaft support portion as a rotation fulcrum so as to fix the wire holder, and a terminal fixing portion that has a plurality of press-contacting terminals that are arranged between the holder shaft support portion and the lock portion in accordance with an arrangement of the wires at the wire arranging portion so that when the wire holder is fixed to the lock portion, press-contacting connection of the press-contacting terminals to the wires disposed at the wire arranging portion is completed.
(2) The connector according to (1), wherein the wire holder comprises an inner frame body that is located close to the terminal fixing portion when the wire holder is fixed to the holder reception portion, and an outer frame body that is superposed on an upper surface of the inner frame body to hold the plurality of wires between it and the inner frame body; and the mounting shaft portion and the mounting engagement portion are formed integrally on the outer frame body.
(3) The connector according to (1) or (2), wherein the outer frame body of the wire holder has an outer edge portion extending to be disposed outwardly of the mounting shaft portion relative to the wire arranging portion; and
the holder shaft support portion includes a notched groove into which an end portion of the mounting shaft portion is inserted in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the mounting shaft portion when the wire holder is disposed in a vertically-upstanding condition relative to the holder reception portion, and a withdrawal prevention portion constructed such that when the wire holder is pivotally moved toward the terminal fixing portion after the mounting shaft portion reaches an inner end of the notched groove, the withdrawal prevention portion abuts against the outer edge portion moving outside the notched groove by this pivotal movement, thereby restraining withdrawal of the mounting shaft portion.
(4) The connector according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the press-contacting terminals arranged at the terminal fixing portion have respective press-contacting grooves into which the wires are inserted, respectively, and the press-contacting grooves are formed into an arc-shape, and are disposed respectively on and along loci of movement of the wires during the pivotal movement of the wire holder.
(5) A vehicular wire harness connecting structure in which the wire holder as defined in any one of (1) to (3) is mounted on a connection portion of a wire harness to be connected to an in-vehicle electrical equipment, and the holder reception portion as defined in any one of (1), (3) and (4) is provided at the electrical equipment, and the wire holder is fixed to the holder reception portion of the electrical equipment so as to connect the electrical equipment and the wire harness.
In the construction of the above (1), the mounting shaft portion disposed at the one side of the wire arranging portion of the wire holder mounted on the wire harness is brought into engagement with the holder shaft support portion of the holder reception portion provided at the electrical equipment, and the wire holder is pivotally moved, using the holder shaft support portion as the rotation fulcrum, and is laid down on the terminal fixing portion, and the mounting engagement portion disposed at the other side of the wire arranging portion is brought into engagement with the lock portion, and by doing so, the wire holder is fixed to the holder reception portion.
When the wire holder is thus fixed to the holder reception portion, the plurality of wires held at the wire arranging portion of the wire holder are press-contactingly connected respectively to the plurality of press-contacting terminals arranged at the terminal fixing portion of the holder reception portion, so that the electrical connection between the wire harness and the electrical equipment is completed.
And besides, the pivotal movement of the wire holder, in which the wire holder is pivotally moved using the holder shaft support portion of the holder reception portion as the rotation fulcrum so as to fix the wire holder to the lock portion, is effected by pressing that portion of the wire holder which is as far as possible from the rotation fulcrum for the wire holder, and by doing so, the wire holder functions as a lever. Therefore, even if the operating force is small, the plurality of wires can be positively pressed respectively into the plurality of press-contacting terminals, and the press-contacting connection can be completed. Therefore, in the connector having the construction of the above Paragraph (1), any special-purpose jig is not required for the press-contacting connection of the wires, and the press-contacting connection can be easily completed with the small operating force. Furthermore, the press-contacting starts sequentially from that side near to the fulcrum, and therefore the peaks of the press-contacting are staggered, so that the insertion force can be reduced.
Furthermore, in the manufacture of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment via the connector having the construction of the above Paragraph (1), the part which need to be mounted on that portion of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment is only the wire holder regardless of the kind of the electrical equipment to which the wire harness is to be connected. And besides, the wire holder merely holds the plurality of wires (forming the wire harness) in parallel relation, and will not effect the press-contacting connection of the wires, and therefore the wire holder can be easily mounted on the wire harness with a small force. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wire harness can be reduced.
Furthermore, the wire holder to be mounted on the wire harness does not hold the press-contacting terminals and has the simple construction, and therefore the quality will not be degraded by the staining of the terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
In the construction of the above (2), when the wire holder mounted on the wire harness is pivotally moved using the holder shaft support portion as the rotation fulcrum, and is laid down on the terminal fixing portion, the outer frame body presses the wires against the respective press-contacting terminals, and therefore the wires can be positively pressed into the respective press-contacting terminals, and the reliability of the press-contacting connection can be enhanced.
In the construction of the above (3), the operation for engaging the mounting shaft portion of the wire holder with the holder shaft support portion of the holder reception portion can be effected merely by inserting the mounting shaft portion into the notched groove of the holder shaft support portion, with the wire holder kept in the vertically-upstanding posture, and the operation for pivotally connecting the wire holder to the holder reception portion becomes easy, and the handling ability of the connector can be enhanced.
In the construction of the above (4), at the time when each wire held at the wire holder is pressed into the press-contacting groove of the press-contacting terminal provided at the terminal fixing portion by pivotally moving the wire holder, the direction of extending of the press-contacting groove coincides with the direction of insertion of the wire since the press-contacting groove is formed into the arc-shape and is disposed on and along the locus of movement of the wire during the pivotal movement of the wire holder. Therefore, there can be avoided a situation in which the wire is pressed into the press-contacting groove while being offset to one side of this press-contacting groove, so that an offset load acts on the wire. Therefore, the wire cutting, etc., due to the offset load can be prevented, and the press-contacting connection of a high reliability can be achieved.
In the construction of the above (5), the part which need to be mounted on that portion of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment is only the wire holder regardless of the kind of the electrical equipment to which the wire harness is to be connected. And besides, the wire holder merely holds the plurality of wires (forming the wire harness) in parallel relation, and will not effect the press-contacting connection of the wires, and therefore the wire holder can be easily mounted on the wire harness with a small force. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wire harness can be reduced.
Furthermore, the wire holder to be mounted on the wire harness does not hold the press-contacting terminals and has the simple construction, and therefore the quality will not be degraded by the staining of the terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
Furthermore, the wire holder corresponds to a press-contacting cover of a conventional wire press-contacting type connector, and as compared with the case of connecting the conventional wire press-contacting type connector to a wire harness, the wire harness can be formed into a small and lightweight design.
Furthermore, the wire holder provided at an intermediate portion of the wire harness is constructed such that the wires are passed through the wire holder, and the electrical connection of this wire holder to the corresponding holder reception portion is made by a through connection, and by doing so, the wire harness can be formed into the simple structure having no branch structure.
In the connector of the present invention, the pivotal movement of the wire holder, in which the wire holder is pivotally moved using the holder shaft support portion of the holder reception portion as the rotation fulcrum so as to fix the wire holder to the lock portion, is effected by pressing that portion of the wire holder disposed near to the mounting engagement portion, and by doing so, the wire holder functions as a lever. Therefore, even if the operating force is small, the plurality of wires can be positively pressed respectively into the plurality of press-contacting terminals, and the press-contacting connection can be completed. Therefore, in the connector of the invention, any special-purpose jig is not required for the press-contacting connection of the wires, and the press-contacting connection can be easily completed with the small operating force. Furthermore, the press-contacting starts sequentially from that side near to the fulcrum, and therefore the peaks of the press-contacting are staggered, so that the insertion force can be reduced.
In the vehicular wire harness connecting structure of the present invention, the part which need to be mounted on that portion of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment is only the wire holder regardless of the kind of the electrical equipment to which the wire harness is to be connected. And besides, the wire holder merely holds the plurality of wires (forming the wire harness) in parallel relation, and will not effect the press-contacting connection of the wires, and therefore the wire holder can be easily mounted on the wire harness with a small force. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wire harness can be reduced.
Furthermore, the wire holder to be mounted on the wire harness does not hold the press-contacting terminals and has the simple construction, and therefore the quality will not be degraded by the staining of the terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
Furthermore, the wire holder corresponds to the press-contacting cover of the conventional wire press-contacting type connector, and as compared with the case of connecting the conventional wire press-contacting type connector to a wire harness, the wire harness can be formed into a small and lightweight design.
Furthermore, the wire holder can be provided at an intermediate portion of the wire harness, and this wire holder provided at the intermediate portion of the wire harness is electrically connected to the corresponding holder reception portion by a through connection, and by doing so, the wire harness can be formed into the simple structure having no branch structure.
A connector and a vehicular wire harness connecting structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The vehicular wire harness connecting structure S5 of this first embodiment comprises a wire harness W11 to be connected to in-vehicle electrical equipments 21 and 22, and holder reception portion J1 and J2 provided as harness connection portions respectively at the electrical equipments.
In
The wire harness W11 shown in
The terminal connector C1 is a connector to be connected by a connector to an upstream trunk wire harness, an electric connection box or the like.
The first wire holder H1 is mounted on a connection portion of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment 21, and cooperates with the holder reception portion J1 to form a connector C11 of the invention.
The second wire holder H2 is mounted on a connection portion of the wire harness to be connected to the electrical equipment 22, and cooperates with the holder reception portion J2 to form a connector C12 of the invention.
In the above-mentioned wire harness connecting structure S5, the wire holders H1 and H2 are fixed respectively to the holder reception portions J1 and J2 of the corresponding electrical equipments 21 and 22, thereby connecting the electrical equipments 21 and 22 to the wire harness W11.
Next, the constructions of the first wire holder H1 and the holder reception portion J1 jointly forming the connector C11 of the invention will be described.
The first wire holder H1 is mounted on the connection portion (more specifically, the distal end portion of the wire group 24) of the wire harness W11 to be connected to the electrical equipment 21.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The elastic engagement piece portion 53 is spaced a predetermined distance toward the other end from the intermediate portion at which the plurality of wire pressing portions 51 are arranged. Also, the pair of frame body connecting holes 55 and 55 are spaced a predetermined distance toward the one end from the intermediate portion at which the plurality of wire pressing portions 51 are arranged.
On the other hand, a lock projection 43 corresponding to the elastic engagement piece portion 53 is formed at the other end portion of the inner frame body 31 remote from the thin hinge portion 35. A pair of elastic retaining piece portions 45 and 45 corresponding to the pair of frame connecting holes 55 and 55 are formed in a projecting manner at that portion of the inner frame body 31 disposed near to the one end thereof.
The lock projection 43 is spaced a predetermined distance toward the other end from the intermediate portion at which the plurality of wire holding grooves 41 are arranged. The pair of elastic retaining piece portions 45 and 45 are spaced a predetermined distance toward the one end from the intermediate portion at which the plurality of wire holding grooves 41 are arranged.
When the outer frame body 33 is superposed on the upper surface 31a of the inner frame body 31 as a result of bending of the thin hinge 35, the lock projection 43 is engaged in the engagement hole 52 of the elastic engagement piece portion 53, thereby locking the condition in which the outer frame body 33 is superposed on the inner frame body 31.
Also, when the outer frame body 33 is superposed on the upper surface 31a of the inner frame body 31 as a result of bending of the thin hinge 35, the pair of elastic retaining piece portions 45 and 45 are engaged respectively in the pair of frame body connecting holes 55 and 55, thereby locking the condition in which the outer frame body 33 is superposed on the inner frame body 31.
When the outer frame body 33 is superposed on the upper surface 31a of the inner frame body 31, the wire holding grooves 41 of the inner frame body 31 and the wire pressing portions 51 of the outer frame body 33 cooperate with each other to function as a wire arranging portion 36 for holding the plurality of wires in parallel relation.
Press-contacting blade passage holes 46 are formed through the inner frame body 31, and press-contacting blade passage holes 56 are formed through the outer frame body 33, and when fixing the first wire holder H1 to the holder reception portion J1, press-contacting blades of the press-contacting terminals provided at the holder reception portion J1 pass through the corresponding press-contacting blade passage holes 46 and 56.
As shown in
The mounting shaft portions 57 are disposed at one side of the wire arranging portion 36 and are spaced a suitable distance from the one side of the wire arranging portion 36 along the direction of the length of the first wire holder H1. The mounting engagement portions 58 are disposed at the other side of the wire arranging portion 36 and are spaced a suitable distance from the other side of the wire arranging portion 36 along the direction of the length of the first wire holder H1. In
In this embodiment, the mounting shaft portions 57 and the mounting engagement portions 58 are formed integrally on the outer frame body 33 as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The holder shaft support portions 61 are bearing portions for respectively rotatably supporting the mounting shaft portions 57 of the first wire holder H1. In this embodiment, each holder shaft support portion 61 has a notched groove 611, and a withdrawal prevention portion 612.
As shown in
When the first wire holder H1 is pivotally moved toward the terminal fixing portion 64 after each mounting shaft portion 57 reaches an inner end of the notched groove 611 as shown in
The lock portions 62 are holes into which the mounting engagement portions 58 of the first wire holder H1 can be fitted, respectively. As shown in
As shown in
The terminal fixing portion 63 is the portion having the plurality of press-contacting terminals 63 arranged between the holder shaft support portions 61 and the lock portions 62. As shown in
The first wire holder H1 described above is fixed to the holder reception portion J1 according to the procedure shown in
Namely, first, the mounting shaft portions 57 are inserted respectively into the notched grooves 611 of the holder shaft support portions 61, with the first wire holder H1 kept in a vertically-upstanding posture as shown in
Then, the first wire holder H1 is pivotally moved, using the holder shaft support portions 61 (those portions thereof near to the inner ends of the notched grooves 611) as the rotation fulcrum, and is laid down on the terminal fixing portion 64 as shown in
When the wires 24a at the wire arranging portion 36 of the first wire holder H1 are brought into abutting engagement with open edges of the press-contacting grooves 631 of the press-contacting terminals 63, provided at the terminal fixing portion 64, as a result of pivotal movement of the first wire holder H1 as shown in
When the first wire holder H1 having the outer edge portion 59 held against the withdrawal prevention portions 612 is further laid down toward the terminal fixing portion 64, the first wire holder H1 is pivotally moved toward the terminal fixing portion 64, using, as a rotation fulcrum, abutting portions T where the outer edge portion 59 abut against the withdrawal prevention portions 612, as shown in
Then, when the mounting engagement portions 58 of the first wire holder H1 are engaged respectively with the lock portions 62 of the holder reception portion J1 as shown in
In the wire harness connecting structure S5 of the first embodiment, the second wire holder H2 forming the connector C12 is identical in construction to the first wire holder H1 except that notches for the passage of the wire group 24 therethrough are formed in a peripheral wall of the first wire holder H1 so that the second wire holder can be mounted on the intermediate portion of the wire group 24, and therefore explanation thereof will be omitted. Also, the holder reception portion J2 forming the connector C12 is identical in construction to the holder reception portion J1, and therefore explanation thereof will be omitted.
As described above, in the connector C11 of the first embodiment, the mounting shaft portions 57 disposed at one side of the wire arranging portion 36 of the first wire holder H1 mounted on the wire harness W11 are brought into engagement with the respective holder shaft support portions 61 of the holder reception portion J1 provided at the electrical equipment, and the first wire holder H1 is pivotally moved, using the holder shaft support portions 61 as the rotation fulcrum, and is laid down on the terminal fixing portion 64, and the mounting engagement portions 58 at the other side of the wire arranging portion 36 are brought into engagement with the respective lock portions 62, and by doing so, the first wire holder H1 is fixed to the holder reception portion J1.
When the first wire holder H1 is thus fixed to the holder reception portion J1, the plurality of wires 24a held at the wire arranging portion 36 of the first wire holder H1 are press-contactingly connected to the plurality of press-contacting terminals 63 arranged at the terminal fixing portion 64 of the holder reception portion J1, so that the electrical connection between the wire harness W11 and the electrical equipment 21 is completed.
And besides, the pivotal movement of the first wire holder H1, in which the first wire holder H1 is pivotally moved using the holder shaft support portions 61 of the holder reception portion J1 as the rotation fulcrum so as to fix the first wire holder H1 to the lock portions 61, is effected by pressing the portion which is as far as possible from the rotation fulcrum for the first wire holder H1, and by doing so, the first wire holder H1 functions as a lever. Therefore, even if the operating force is small, the plurality of wires 24a can be positively pressed into the plurality of press-contacting terminals 63, and the press-contacting connection can be completed. Therefore, in the connector C11 of the above first embodiment, any special-purpose jig is not required for the press-contacting connection of the wires 24a, and the press-contacting connection can be completed with the small operating force.
Furthermore, in the manufacture of the wire harness W11 to be connected to the electrical equipments 21 and 22 via the connectors C11 and C12 of the first embodiment, the parts which need to be mounted respectively on those portions of the wire harness W11 to be connected respectively to the electrical equipments 21 and 22 are only the wire holders H1 and H2 of the similar construction regardless of the kind of the electrical equipments 21 and 22 to which the wire harness W11 is to be connected. And besides, the wire holders H1 and H2 merely hold the plurality of wires 24a (forming the wire harness W11) in parallel relation, and will not effect the press-contacting connection of the wires, and therefore the wire holders can be easily mounted on the wire harness W11 with a small force. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wire harness W11 can be reduced.
Furthermore, the wire holders H1 and H2 to be mounted on the wire harness W11 do not hold the press-contacting terminals and have the simple construction, and therefore the quality will not be degraded by the staining of the terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness W11, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
Furthermore, in the above first embodiment, the first wire holder H1 includes the inner frame body 31 which is disposed near to the terminal fixing portion 64 when the first wire holder is fixed to the holder reception portion J1, and the outer frame body 33 which is superposed on the upper surface of the inner frame body 31 to hold the plurality of wires 24a between it and the inner frame body 31, as shown in
Therefore, when the first wire holder H1 mounted on the wire harness W11 is pivotally moved using the holder shaft support portions 61 as the rotation fulcrum, and is laid down on the terminal fixing portion 64, the outer frame body 33 presses the wires 24a against the press-contacting terminals 63, and therefore the wires 24a can be positively pressed into the press-contacting grooves 631 of the press-contacting terminals 63, and the reliability of the press-contacting connection can be enhanced.
In the above first embodiment, the outer frame body 33 of the first wire holder H1 has the outer edge portion 59 extending to be disposed outwardly of the mounting shaft portions 57 relative to the wire arranging portion 36, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
Therefore, the operation for engaging each mounting shaft portion 57 of the first wire holder H1 with the holder shaft support portion 61 of the holder reception portion J1 can be effected merely by inserting the mounting shaft portion 57 into the notched groove 611 of the holder shaft support portion 61, with the first wire holder H1 kept in the vertically-upstanding posture as shown in
Furthermore, in the wire harness connecting structure S5 of the above first embodiment, the wire holders H1 and H2 are mounted respectively on the portions of the wire harness W11 which are to be connected respectively to the in-vehicle electrical equipments 21 and 22, and the holder reception portions J1 and J2 are provided respectively in the electrical equipments 21 and 22, and the wire holders H1 and H2 are fixed respectively to the holder reception portions J1 and J2 of the electrical equipments 21 and 22, and by doing so, the electrical equipments 21 and 22 are connected to the wire harness W11.
Namely, the parts which need to be mounted respectively on those portions of the wire harness W11 to be connected respectively to the electrical equipments 21 and 22 are only the wire holders H1 and H2 of the similar construction regardless of the kind of the electrical equipments 21 and 22 to which the wire harness W11 is to be connected. And besides, the wire holders H1 and H2 merely hold the plurality of wires 24a (forming the wire harness W11) in parallel relation, and will not effect the press-contacting connection of the wires, and therefore the wire holders can be easily mounted on the wire harness W11 with a small force. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the wire harness W11 can be reduced.
Furthermore, the wire holders H1 and H2 to be mounted on the wire harness W11 do not hold the press-contacting terminals 63 and has the simple construction, and therefore the quality will not be degraded by the staining of the terminals, etc., at the time of installing the wire harness W11, so that the reliability can be enhanced.
Furthermore, each of the wire holders H1 and H2 corresponds to a press-contacting cover of a conventional wire press-contacting type connector, and as compared with the case of connecting the conventional wire press-contacting type connector to a wire harness, the wire harness W11 can be formed into a small and lightweight design.
Furthermore, the wire holder H2 provided at the intermediate portion of the wire harness W11 is constructed such that the wires 24a are passed through the wire holder H2, and the electrical connection of this wire holder H2 to the corresponding holder reception portion J2 is made by a through connection, and by doing so, the wire harness W11 can be formed into the simple structure having no branch structure.
In the holder reception portion J3 shown in
Therefore, as shown in
In
In the case of the press-contacting grooves 631 of the first embodiment shown in
However, according to the construction of the press-contacting terminals 63A shown in
In the vehicular wire harness connecting structure S6 of this second embodiment, an electrical equipment 21 to be connected to an intermediate portion of a wire harness W12 is connected thereto by a connector C12 of the invention. However, with respect to an electrical equipment 2 to be connected to a distal end of the wire harness W12, the wire harness is connected directly to a function portion 2 of the electrical equipment 2.
In this embodiment, the electrical equipment 21 is an in-vehicle map lamp. The connector C12 for connecting the electrical equipment 21 to the wire harness W12 comprises a wire holder H2 which is mounted on the wire harness W12 and holds a plurality of wires (forming this wire harness W12) in parallel to each other, and a holder reception portion J2 provided as a harness connection portion at the electrical equipment 21. The basic construction of the wire holder H2 may be similar to that of the first wire holder H1 of the first embodiment except that the wire holder H2 holds the wires passing therethrough. Also, the basic construction of the holder reception portion J2 may be similar to that of the holder reception portion J1 of the first embodiment.
The electrical equipment 2 is a dome lamp for mounting on a ceiling portion above a driver's seat or other portion in a vehicle, and comprises a design portion 2a for being fixed to the ceiling portion, and the function portion 2b detachably attached to the design portion 2a.
As shown in
The connector and the vehicular wire harness connecting structure according to the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments, and suitable modifications, improvements, etc., can be made. Furthermore, the material, shape, dimensions, numerical values, form, number, disposition, etc., of each of the constituent elements of the above embodiments are arbitrary and are not limited in so far as the invention can be achieved.
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-268928 filed on Nov. 26, 2009, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2 electrical equipment (dome lamp)
2
a design portion
2
b function portion
21 electrical equipment (map lamp)
22 electrical equipment (dome lamp)
24 wire group
24
a wire
31 inner frame body
33 outer frame body
35 thin hinge
41 wire holding groove
46 press-contacting blade passage hole
51 wire pressing portion
56 press-contacting blade passage hole
57 mounting shaft portion
58 mounting engagement portion
59 outer edge portion
61 holder shaft support portion
62 lock portion
63, 63A press-contacting terminal
64 terminal fixing portion
611 notched groove
612 withdrawal prevention portion
631, 631A press-contacting groove
C11, C12 connector
H1 first wire holder
H2 second wire holder
J1, J2 holder reception portion
Ox rotation center
S5, S6 wire harness connecting structure
W11, W12 wire harness
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2009268928 | Nov 2009 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2010/071622 | 11/26/2010 | WO | 00 | 4/27/2012 |