Joint receiving connector

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6755664
  • Patent Number
    6,755,664
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, March 6, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, June 29, 2004
    20 years ago
Abstract
In a connector assembly for receiving a plurality of mating connectors each provided with a wire harness, each of subassemblies is provided with a first internal space and a second internal space which are defined by an internal partition wall, and conductive tabs piercing the partition wall so as to project into both of the first internal space and the second internal space. The subassemblies are stacked one on another. Each of the connectors is inserted into the first internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies. Terminals are provided in each of the connectors to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs. A first end of an electric wire is connected to one of the terminals which is provided in one of the connectors. A second end of the electric wire is connected to another one of the terminals which is provided in another one of the connectors. Each of the mating connector is inserted into the second internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a joint receiving connector for receiving a joint of a wire harness, and a method for manufacturing the same.





FIGS. 12

,


13


and


14


show such a joint receiving connector.




In

FIG. 12

, an electric junction box


101


is constructed to have an upper case


102


and a lower case


103


made of synthetic resin. There are formed in the upper case


102


, a plurality of housings


106


each of which is adapted to be connected with a terminal connector


105


of a wire harness


104


. Moreover, there are formed a plurality of slits


107


in the lower case


103


.




Into the slits


107


, there are inserted longitudinal bus bars


108


having electrical conductivity for receiving the joint, and a plurality of tabs


109


continuously formed on the longitudinal bus bars


108


are adapted to project into the housings


106


via a plurality of through holes


110


. The upper case


102


and the lower case


103


are so designed as to be integrated with each other by way of engagement between locked portions


111


formed on the upper case


102


and locking hooks


112


formed on the lower case


103


, so that a plurality of the longitudinal bus bars


108


can be clamped between these upper case


102


and the lower case


103


.




In

FIGS. 13 and 14

, both an upper surface


121




a


and a lower surface


121




b


of a connector housing


121


are designed as joining faces. There are formed housing lock projections


122


in forward areas of the upper joining face


121




a


. There are also formed housing lock grooves


123


on the lower joining face


121




b


corresponding thereto.




The connector housing


121


has a plurality of terminal cavities


125


which are partitioned by respective cavity walls


124


. In the respective terminal cavities


125


, a plurality of crimp terminals


126


are respectively contained in a state engaged with fitting holes


121




c.






Each of the crimp terminals


126


is constructed to have a wire crimping portion


126




a


to which an electric wire W is crimped, a locked portion (not shown) to be locked to the connector housing


121


, a tab portion


126




c


adapted to project from the upper joining face


121




a


, and a tab contact


126




d


to which the tab portion


126




c


inserted from the lower joining face


121




b


is brought into contact.




A coupling part


128


couples two laterally adjacent crimp terminals


126


to each other. A cut-out


129


is formed in each of the cavity walls


124


so that the coupling part


128


is adapted to couple the adjacent crimp terminals


126


to each other astride the cut-out


129


.




On the basis of the above described structure, operation of mounting the terminals to the connector housing


121


, and coupling operation between the connector housings


121


will be described.




The crimp terminals


126


are inserted into a plurality of the terminal cavities


125


of the connector housing


121


from back faces thereof. When the crimp terminals


126


have been respectively inserted up to mounting positions, the locked portions (not shown) of the crimp terminals


126


are engaged with the connector housing


121


. Then, by conducting treatments such as crimping the electric wires W to the wire crimping portions


126




a


of the crimp terminals


126


and so on, the electric wires W and the crimp terminals


126


are connected with each other.




Subsequently, by moving the connector housings


121


in such a direction that the joining faces


121




a


and


121




b


of the two connector housings


121


may come close to each other, positional alignment of the housing lock projections


122


and the housing lock grooves


123


is performed. After then, by further moving the connector housings


121


in the direction in which the joining faces


121




a


and


121




b


of both the connector housings


121


may come close to each other, the joining faces


121




a


and


121




b


are joined to each other, so that the housing lock and the coupling operation are completed.




On this occasion, along with the movement of both the connector housings


121


to the coupled position, the tab portions


126




c


of the crimp terminals


126


in the lower connector housing


121


are introduced into the upper connector housing


121


through the fitting holes


121




c


, to be brought into contact with the tab contacts


126




d


of the respective crimp terminals


126


in the upper connector housing


121


. It is to be noted that in case where the upper and lower crimp terminals


126


are not intended to be electrically connected, folding work for folding the tab portions


126




c


should be conducted in advance.




As described above, by laminatedly coupling the connector housings


121


, a joint connector assembly


130


is constructed. This joint connector assembly


130


is constructed in such a manner that the vertically adjacent crimp terminals


126


and the laterally adjacent crimp terminals


126


can be electrically interconnected, according to requirement.




In the above electrical junction box


101


, the arrangement of the connectors is previously fixed, and therefore, upon receiving a joint of a wire harness, arrangement adaptation has to be performed in the wire harness side to match with the requirement predetermined in the junction box side. Consequently, productivity of the wire harness cannot be enhanced.




In addition, the joint connector assembly


130


cannot be provided with such a function as complying with the arranging requirements of the wire harness side.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an economical joint receiving connector having a function capable of complying with the arranging requirements of the wire harness side, and a method for manufacturing the same.




In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention, there is provided A connector assembly for receiving a plurality of mating connectors each provided with a wire harness, comprising:




a plurality of subassemblies, each provided with a first internal space and a second internal space which are defined by an internal partition wall, and conductive tabs piercing the partition wall so as to project into both of the first internal space and the second internal space, the subassemblies being stacked one on another;




a plurality of connectors, each of which is inserted into the first internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies;




a plurality of terminals, provided in each of the connectors to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs; and




at least one electric wire, a first end of which is connected to one of the terminals which is provided in one of the connectors, and a second end of which is connected to another one of the terminals which is provided in another one of the connectors,




wherein each of the mating connector is inserted into the second internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs.




Preferably, the connectors connected by the electric wire is so selected as to match with a wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.




In such a configuration, it is capable of complying with the arranging requirements of the wire harness, so as to contribute to enhancement of the productivity of the wire harness. Moreover, alteration of the arrangement can be easily made, irrespective of conditions such as vehicle grade, shipment destination or the like, so that needless circuits can be decreased, and that the cost can be cut down.




Preferably, the terminals includes a chained terminal which electrically connects adjacent ones of the terminals.




Here, it is preferable that a position at which the chained terminal is provided is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.




In such a configuration, variation of arrangement of the terminals in compliance with the arranging requirements of the wire harness can be increased. It is also advantageous that needless circuits can be decreased.




Preferably, each of the subassemblies is provided with an engaging member which engages with a stacked one of the subassemblies.




In such a configuration, the stacking operation of the subassemblies can be facilitated.




According to the invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing a connector assembly, comprising steps of:




providing a plurality of subassemblies, each provided with a first internal space and a second internal space which are defined by an internal partition wall, and a conductive tab piercing the partition wall so as to project into both of the first internal space and the second internal space;




stacking the subassemblies one on another;




providing a plurality of connectors, each of which is provided with a plurality of terminals;




connecting a first end of an electric wire to one of the terminals which is provided in one of the connectors;




connecting a second end of the electric wire to another one of the terminals which is provided in another one of the connectors;




inserting each of the connectors into the first internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, so that the terminals are electrically connected with the conductive tabs;




providing mating connector each provided with a wire harness; and




inserting each of the mating connector into the second internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs.




Preferably, the step of providing the connectors includes steps of: providing an insulating body; fixing the terminals on the insulating body; and dividing the insulating body to form the connectors.




In such a configuration, working efficiency in the connector forming process will be enhanced, and that the manufacturing of the joint receiving connector can be facilitated.




Preferably, the connectors connected by the electric wire is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.




Preferably, the step of providing the connectors includes step of providing a chained terminal which electrically connects adjacent ones of the terminals.




Here, it is preferable that a position at which the chained terminal is provided is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:





FIG. 1

is a perspective view showing a joint receiving connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of a connector subassembly in the joint receiving connector;





FIG. 3

is a longitudinal sectional view of the connector subassembly;





FIG. 4

is a perspective view of a connector assembly in the joint receiving connector;





FIG. 5

is an explanatory view of a connector housing provided within the connector subassembly;





FIG. 6

is an explanatory view showing a condition that connector housings are connected via crimp terminals and electric wires;





FIG. 7

is an explanatory view of the crimp terminals and the electric wires.





FIGS. 8A

to


8


C are explanatory views showing how to manufacture a joint receiving connector according to a second embodiment of the invention;





FIGS. 9 and 10

show modified example of the joint receiving connector of the second embodiment;





FIG. 11

is an explanatory view of connecting members of a chained crimp terminals as seen in a direction of an arrow A in

FIGS. 9 and 10

.





FIG. 12

is an exploded perspective view of a first related-art joint receiving connector;





FIG. 13

is a perspective view of a second related-art joint receiving connector; and





FIG. 14

is a sectional view of the second related-art joint receiving connector.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.




In

FIG. 1

, a joint receiving connector


1


according to a first embodiment of the invention is constructed to have a connector assembly


2


, a plurality of connectors


3


, and an electric wire group


4


, and so adapted to receive a joint (mating connector


6


) of a wire harness


5


which is provided at a terminal end of the wire harness


5


.




As shown in

FIGS. 1

to


4


, the connector assembly


2


has a plurality of (six in this embodiment) connector subassemblies


7


which are stacked one on another. Each of the connector subassemblies


7


is designed to have a housing


8


made of synthetic resin and a plurality of male tabs


9


having electrical conductivity. The housing


8


is formed in a box-like shape which is open at a front face and a back face. A partition wall


10


is formed at an intermediate position inside the housing


8


, so that there are formed a first connecting space


11


and a second connecting space


12


at both sides of the partition wall


10


.




The housing


8


is provided with a pair of engaging portions


13


and a pair of engaged portions


14


on side walls outside thereof. A pair of the engaging portions


13


are located in lower areas, while a pair of the engaged portions


14


are located in upper areas. They are provided for the purpose of stacking and fixing the housings


8


on occasion of forming the connector assembly


2


. A pair of the engaging portions


13


of this connector subassembly


7


are adapted to be engaged with a pair of the engaged portions


14


of the connector subassembly


7


in a lower step, and a pair of the engaging portions


13


of the connector subassembly


7


in an upper step are adapted to be engaged with a pair of the engaged portions


14


of this connector subassembly


7


.




Each of the male tabs


9


serves as a relay terminal for interconnecting the first connecting space


11


and the second connecting space


12


, and arranged on the partition wall


10


to be fixed by crimping or by insertion molding. To the male tab


9


projecting into the first connecting space


11


, a crimp terminal


16


(or a chained crimp terminal


17


), which will be described below, of the connector


3


is adapted to be electrically connected. To the male tab


9


projecting into the second connecting space


12


, a known female terminal, which is not shown, of the connector


6


of the wire harness


5


is adapted to be electrically connected.




As shown in

FIGS. 1 and 5

to


7


, the connector


3


is constructed to have a housing


15


made of synthetic resin, and a plurality of crimp terminals


16


and/or chained crimp terminals


17


of a known shape. In the housing


15


, there are formed a plurality of terminal cavities


19


which are partitioned by respective cavity walls


18


. In these terminal cavities


19


, there are respectively formed terminal engaging parts which are not shown, and a plurality of the crimp terminals


16


and/or the chained crimp terminals


17


are respectively contained in the terminal cavities


19


in a state engaged with the above mentioned non-shown terminal engaging parts. The chained crimp terminals


17


have connecting members


20


for electrically connecting the adjacent terminals, and are formed in such a shape as to straddle the cavity walls


18


.




Electric wires


21


constituting the electric wire group


4


are arranged astride a plurality of the connectors


3


. Terminal ends of the electric wires


21


are respectively crimped to wire crimping parts of the corresponding crimp terminals


16


or the chained crimp terminals


17


. As for the electric wire group


4


, a manner of fixing them is not limited to either of a case in which the electric wires


21


may be arranged after the crimp terminals


16


have been fixed to the housing


15


, and a case in which the crimp terminals


16


may be fixed to the housing


15


after the electric wires


21


have been arranged to the crimp terminals


16


.




On the basis of the above described structure, an example of method for manufacturing the joint receiving connector


1


will be described. The joint receiving connector


1


is manufactured through the following processes in this embodiment.




As a first step, the connector subassemblies


7


having the above described structure is manufactured.




Then, a plurality of the connector subassemblies


7


are stacked to form the connector assembly


2


. In this process, a pair of the engaging portions


13


of one connector subassembly


7


are engaged with a pair of the engaged portions


14


of another connector subassembly


7


in the lower step, and a pair of the engaged portions


14


of the one connector assembly


7


are engaged with a pair of the engaging portions


13


of still another connector subassembly


7


in the upper step. By forming the engaging portions


13


and the engaged portions


14


, stacking of the connector subassemblies


7


can be facilitated, and productivity can be enhanced.




Subsequently, a plurality of the connectors


3


each having the housing


15


and a plurality of the crimp terminals


16


and/or the chained crimp terminals


17


are assembled. Incidentally, the terminal ends of the electric wires


21


are crimped to the crimp terminals


16


and/or the chained crimp terminals


17


, and the group


4


of the electric wires are arranged astride a plurality of the crimp terminals


3


as shown in FIG.


6


.




Finally, the respective connectors


3


in a state equipped with the electric wire group


4


are inserted into the associated first connecting spaces


11


of the subassemblies


7


in the connector assembly


2


, so as to be connected with the male tabs


9


.




When the mating connector


6


is connected, via the second connecting spaces


12


, with the joint receiving connector


1


which has been assembled through the above described processes, the joint receiving can be performed.




Since the arrangement of the crimp terminals


16


and/or the chained crimp terminals


17


are freely selected in accordance with the arranging requirements of the wire harness


5


, and the arrangement of the electric wires


21


are also freely selected, the joint receiving connector


1


has the function capable of complying with the arranging requirements of the wire harness


5


.




Consequently, the joint receiving connector


1


can contribute to enhancement of the productivity of the wire harness


5


. Moreover, irrespective of the conditions such as vehicle grade, shipment destination or the like, the joint receiving connector


1


can easily perform the joint receiving. Further, by simply modifying the arrangement of the crimp terminals


16


,


17


and the electric wires


21


, the configuration can be easily altered. Furthermore, needless circuits can be decreased so that the cost can be cut down.





FIGS. 8A

to


8


C are explanatory views showing how to manufacture a joint receiving terminal


25


according to a second embodiment of the invention.




As a first step, as shown in

FIG. 8A

, an elongated insulating body


22


is prepared, and crimp terminals


23


of a known shape are fixed to the elongated insulating body


22


. Then, electric wires


24


constituting an electric wire group


26


are crimped to the corresponding crimp terminals


23


as shown in FIG.


8


B. Finally, the elongated insulating body


22


is cut to a predetermined length as shown in FIG.


8


C. The insulating body


22


which has been cut serves as the housings.




As described above, the joint receiving connector


25


can be easily manufactured by employing the elongated insulating body


22


.




It is to be noted that a part of the crimp terminals


23


to be fixed to the elongated insulating body


22


may be replaced with chained crimp terminals


27


, as shown in FIG.


9


. These chained crimp terminals


27


may be fixed collectively to one position as shown in FIG.


10


. Connecting members


28


of the chained crimp terminals


27


are formed in an inverted U-shape as shown in FIG.


11


. Specifically, in case where cavity walls are formed in the elongated insulating body


22


, the connecting members


28


are so designed as to straddle the cavity walls.




Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. Such changes and modifications as are obvious are deemed to come within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the invention as defined in the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. A connector assembly for receiving a plurality of mating connectors each provided with a wire harness, comprising:a plurality of subassemblies, each provided with a first internal space and a second internal space which are defined by an internal partition wall, and conductive tabs piercing the partition wall so as to project into both of the first internal space and the second internal space, the subassemblies being stacked one on another; a plurality of connectors, each of which is inserted into the first internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies; a plurality of terminals, provided in each of the connectors to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs; and at least one electric wire, a first end of which is connected to one of the terminals which is provided in one of the connectors, and a second end of which is connected to another one of the terminals which is provided in another one of the connectors, wherein each of the mating connector is inserted into the second internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs.
  • 2. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the connectors connected by the electric wire is so selected as to match with a wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.
  • 3. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein the terminals includes a chained terminal which electrically connects adjacent ones of the terminals.
  • 4. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 3, wherein a position at which the chained terminal is provided is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.
  • 5. The connector assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the subassemblies is provided with an engaging member which engages with a stacked one of the subassemblies.
  • 6. A method of manufacturing a connector assembly, comprising steps of:providing a plurality of subassemblies, each provided with a first internal space and a second internal space which are defined by an internal partition wall, and a conductive tab piercing the partition wall so as to project into both of the first internal space and the second internal space; stacking the subassemblies one on another; providing a plurality of connectors, each of which is provided with a plurality of terminals; connecting a first end of an electric wire to one of the terminals which is provided in one of the connectors; connecting a second end of the electric wire to another one of the terminals which is provided in another one of the connectors; inserting each of the connectors into the first internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, so that the terminals are electrically connected with the conductive tabs; providing mating connector each provided with a wire harness; and inserting each of the mating connector into the second internal space of an associated one of the subassemblies, to be electrically connected to the conductive tabs.
  • 7. The manufacturing method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the step of providing the connectors includes steps of:providing an insulating body; fixing the terminals on the insulating body; and dividing the insulating body to form the connectors.
  • 8. The manufacturing method as set forth in claim 6, the connectors connected by the electric wire is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.
  • 9. The manufacturing method as set forth in claim 6, wherein the step of providing the connectors includes step of providing a chained terminal which electrically connects adjacent ones of the terminals.
  • 10. The manufacturing method as set forth in claim 9, wherein a position at which the chained terminal is provided is so selected as to match with an wire arranging requirement of the wire harness.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
P2002-073649 Mar 2002 JP
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number Name Date Kind
3829821 Derr et al. Aug 1974 A
4099821 Debaigt Jul 1978 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
1 041 676 Oct 2000 EP
59-35379 Feb 1984 JP