Connector

A connector is disclosed. The connector comprises a housing, a plurality of terminal receiving grooves defined by a partition wall, a notch formed at one end portion of the respective partition wall, a plurality of terminals accommodated within the terminal receiving grooves, and an interconnecting portion which electrically interconnects at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of terminal portions each other and is disposed in the notch.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Present Invention 
This invention relates to a connector, and more particularly to a connector 
with a joint terminal, which is used, for example, for a wire harness in 
an automobile, or is used for connecting wires of various electronic 
equipments. 
2. Background of the Related Art 
One conventional connector includes a joint terminal as shown in FIG. 9 or 
as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 6-36817. 
FIG. 9(a) is a bottom view of such a joint terminal, FIG. 9(b) is a 
side-elevational view thereof, and FIG. 9(c) is a front-elevational view 
thereof. As shown in FIG. 9, this joint terminal 1 includes parallel, 
adjacent terminal portions 4 each having a contact portion 2 and a wire 
connection portion 3, and an interconnecting portion 5 (which is in the 
form of a flat plate) interconnecting the two terminal portions 4 in an 
electrically-conductive manner at their central portions each disposed 
between the contact portion 2 and the wire connection portion 3. 
Such a joint terminal 1 is previously formed, for example, by punching into 
an integral, multiple connected construction having a plurality of 
terminal portions 4 interconnected by the interconnecting portion or 
portions 5, and in accordance with a required circuit construction, this 
integral structure is cut at those portions indicated in chain lines in 
FIG. 9(a), and by doing so, a single-terminal joint terminal, a 
double-terminal joint terminal or a triple-terminal joint terminal can be 
formed. 
However, when such a conventional joint terminal having the plurality of 
terminal portions 4 and single terminal portion 4 formed by cutting the 
joint terminal are to be provided in a mixed manner in a housing of a 
connector, it has been necessary to prepare a housings of a special 
design, having those portions where cavity walls are formed and those 
portions where no such cavity wall is formed, depending on the wiring 
circuit construction, since the joint terminal has the interconnecting 
portion 5 formed between the terminal portions 4, so that a cavity wall, 
separating these terminal portions from each other, can not be formed. 
Thus, it has been necessary to mold the various housings so as to meet the 
various joint circuits, and therefore there have been encountered problems 
that the cost for molds of the housings increases, and that it is 
necessary to manage the storage of the various housings. 
And besides, in the above joint terminal, the terminal portions 4 are 
interconnected merely by the thin interconnecting portion 5, and therefore 
the terminal itself has a low strength, and the terminal portions 4 are 
liable to be twisted or bent with respect to each other. When this joint 
terminal is received in the housing, the joint terminal is liable to be 
shaken, and it has been difficult to connect the joint terminal to the 
housing in an integral manner. As a result, the distal end portion of the 
terminal is liable to be lifted off the inner surface of the housing, and 
therefore there have been encountered problems that the wire connection is 
unstable and that the wire connecting operation is complicated. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a connector in which 
a general purpose nature of a housing is enhanced, and the stability of 
the wire connection is enhanced, and the efficiency of a wire connecting 
operation is enhanced. 
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
connector comprises a housing, a plurality of terminal receiving grooves 
defined by a partition wall, a notch formed at one end portion of the 
respective partition wall, a plurality of terminals accommodated within 
the terminal receiving grooves, and an interconnecting portion which 
electrically interconnects at least two adjacent ones of the plurality of 
terminal portions each other and is disposed in the notch. 
In this manner, when inserting the terminals respectively into the terminal 
receiving grooves, the interconnecting portion, interconnecting the 
terminals, is disposed in the notch immediately before this inserting 
operation is completed. Therefore, the interconnecting portion will not 
adversely affect the insertion of the terminal portions into the housing, 
and the mounting of the terminal portions in the housing can be effected 
easily. 
Further, the terminals, each having one terminal portion, and the joint 
terminal can be provided in a mixed manner in the housing. In the 
connector, it is not particularly necessary to design the partition walls 
in accordance with the arrangement of these terminals, and therefore the 
general purpose nature of the housing is also enhanced. 
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the 
interconnecting portion further includes an intermediate portion and 
opposite end portions, wherein the intermediate portion is disposed on the 
notch, and wherein respective end portions press against opposite sides of 
the partition wall to hold the partition wall therebetween. The housing 
has a cover for covering above of the terminal receiving grooves, and an 
abutment portion abutting against upper surface of the notch is formed at 
an end portion of the cover corresponding the notch of the partition wall. 
In this manner, the interconnecting portion of the joint terminal is 
disposed in the notch, and therefore the interconnecting portion is 
prevented from projecting upwardly from the partition wall. 
Further, the interconnecting portion holds the partition wall therebetween, 
so that the terminal portions are supported by the partition wall. 
Therefore, the shaking of the joint terminal (having the interconnecting 
portion) relative to the housing is prevented, and the efficiency of the 
wire-connecting operation is enhanced. 
Still further, the abutment portion of the cover of the housing prevents 
the displacement and shaking of the interconnecting portion disposed in 
the notch. 
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the notch is formed 
in a proximal portion of the partition wall. A recess for receiving the 
interconnecting portion is formed in that portion of a bottom plate of the 
housing corresponding to the notches. The interconnecting portion is bent 
so as to project downwardly, wherein the size of the interconnecting 
portion is substantially the same as the size of the recess to be 
accommodated therein. 
In this manner, the interconnecting portion can be disposed over the inner 
bottom surface of the housing, and the partition wall prevents the 
interconnecting portion from being lifted since the notch is formed in the 
lower portion of the partition wall. 
Further, the terminal portions can be stably mounted on the housing since 
the interconnecting portion is received in the recess in the inner bottom 
surface of the connector. 
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the notch is 
formed over an entire height of the partition wall from the proximal 
portion thereof to the upper end thereof, wherein the length of the notch 
along the partition wall is substantially same as the width of the 
interconnecting portion along the partition wall. The interconnecting 
portion is bent so as to project upwardly, wherein one end of the 
interconnecting portion is abutted against the notch. 
In this manner, the housing can be easily molded since the rear end 
portions of the partition walls are removed by an amount corresponding to 
the width of the interconnecting portion, and the cost for a mold can be 
reduced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Preferred embodiments of connectors of this invention will be described 
below with reference to the drawings. 
1. First Embodiment 
FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a connector of the present 
invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an important portion of the 
connector 11 of this embodiment, showing a condition in which a cover 15 
of a housing 12 is removed. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an important 
portion of a joint terminal 14, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an 
important portion of the connector, and FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a 
connected condition of the connector. 
The connector 11 broadly comprises the housing 12 made, for example, of an 
electrically-insulative synthetic resin, a terminal 13 having one terminal 
portion 13A which is received in the housing 12, the joint terminal 14 
having an integral construction in which, for example, two terminal 
portions 14B connected together, and the cover 15. For example, this 
connector 11 is connected to its mating connector 16 as shown in FIG. 4. 
First, the construction of the housing 12 will be described. The housing 12 
includes a plurality of parallel partition walls (cavity walls) 18 
extending upright from an upper surface of a rectangular bottom plate 17 
of the housing 12. The housing has terminal receiving grooves 19 each 
formed between the adjacent partition walls 18, and the terminal 13 and 
the joint terminal 14 are received respectively in these terminal 
receiving grooves 19. 
One longitudinal end portions of the partition walls 18, that is, front end 
portions in a direction of insertion of the terminal portions, are 
slightly higher than the other portions thereof, and a transverse plate 
portion 20 is formed integrally on upper ends of these higher portions. 
The transverse plate portion 20, the juxtaposed partition walls 18 and the 
housing bottom plate 17 jointly form openings or ports into which mating 
connection terminals P (FIG. 4), projecting from the mating connector 16, 
are inserted, respectively. 
A notch 18A, having a predetermined length, is formed in an upper edge of 
the other longitudinal end portion of each partition wall 18, that is, a 
rear end portion in the direction of insertion of the terminal portions. 
Namely, the upper edge of the rear end portion of each partition wall 18 
is stepped to have a lower height. 
Next, the construction of the terminal 13, as well as the construction of 
the joint terminal 14, will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the 
joint terminal 14 includes the two parallel terminal portions 14B formed 
integrally interconnected by an interconnecting portion 14A formed by 
bending a metal sheet in a channel-shaped cross-section. The height of the 
interconnecting portion 14A is equal to the height of that portion of the 
partition wall 18 having the notch 18A, and the distance between opposed 
walls of the interconnecting portion 14A is equal to the thickness of the 
partition wall 18, and the length of the interconnecting portion 14A in 
the direction of the length of the partition wall 18 is equal to the 
length of the notch 18A. The opposed walls of the interconnecting portion 
14A are resiliently pressed respectively against the opposite sides or 
surfaces of the partition wall 18 to hold this partition wall 18 
therebetween. 
Each of the terminal portions 14B has wire support piece portions 14C each 
extending upwardly from opposite side edges thereof. These wire support 
piece portions 14C are bent inwardly to hold a wire. Wire connection piece 
portions 14D each extending upwardly from the opposite side edges of the 
terminal portion 14B, and are disposed forwardly of the wire support piece 
portions 14C. A plurality of press-connecting blades 14E are formed on 
each of opposed inner surfaces of the wire connection piece portions 14D, 
and these press-connecting blades 14E cut a shield sheath resin of the 
wire to come into electrical contact with a conductor of the wire. 
Although this joint terminal 14 is formed into the construction having the 
two interconnected terminal portions 14B, there may be previously prepared 
a terminal structure of a multiple connected construction having many 
interconnected terminal portions, in which case a double-terminal joint 
terminal, a triple-terminal joint terminal and so on can be easily formed 
by cutting this terminal structure at a lower edge (proximal portion) of 
the interconnecting portion 14. The terminals each having one terminal 
portion 14B, that is, the terminal 13, can be formed by cutting the joint 
terminal along a chain line shown in FIG. 2. Thus, by preparing the 
terminal structure of a multiple connected construction, various kinds of 
terminal portions can be obtained. 
The joint terminal 14, as well as the terminals 13, can be mounted in the 
housing 12 merely by inserting an end portion thereof which remotes from 
the interconnecting portion 14A (the front end portion in the inserting 
direction) into the cavities formed by the transverse plate portion 20, 
the partition walls 18 and the bottom plate 17. As shown in FIG. 3, the 
cover 15 has a rectangular shape, and covers the upper side of the housing 
12 over an area from the rear end of the housing 12 to the rear end of the 
transverse plate portion 20. A retaining portion 15A is formed on and 
projects downwardly from a rear end of the cover 15, and the retaining 
portion 15A is abutted against the rear ends of the upper edges of the 
partition walls 18 having the respective notches 18A. The retaining 
portion 15A is thus abutted against the partition walls 18 (see FIG. 3), 
thereby preventing the interconnecting portion 14A from being displaced 
out of place. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 21 denotes the wire connected 
to the joint terminal. 
When the connector 11 of this construction is fitted into the mating 
connector 16 as shown in FIG. 4, the connector 11 is connected to a 
predetermined circuit. 
In this embodiment, since the notch 18A is formed in the upper edge of the 
rear end portion of each partition wall 18 of the housing 12, and with 
this construction, the joint terminals 14 having the interconnecting 
portion 14A and the terminals 13 each having one terminal portion can be 
mounted in a mixed manner in the housing 12, and therefore the general 
purpose natures of the housing 12 and the terminals 13 and 14 can be 
improved. And besides, since the interconnecting portion 14A is supported 
by the partition wall 18, the stability of the wire connection and the 
efficiency of the connecting operation can be improved. 
Furthermore, the interconnecting portion 14A is formed by bending the 
relevant portion, and therefore that portion to be bent into the 
interconnecting portion 14A have a sufficient length or width. In this 
case, also sufficient lengths of that portions being the wire support 
piece portions 14C or the wire connecting piece portions 14D can be 
obtained because the joint terminal is integrally formed by punching a 
metal plate as described before. This fact also helps to improve the 
stability of the wire connection. 
As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, when inserting 
the terminal portions respectively into the terminal receiving grooves, 
the interconnecting portion, interconnecting the terminal portions, is 
disposed in the notch immediately before this inserting operation is 
completed. Therefore, the interconnecting portion will not adversely 
affect the insertion of the terminal portions into the housing, and the 
mounting of the terminal portions in the housing can be effected easily. 
Those terminals each having only one terminal portion can be formed merely 
by cutting the terminal of a multiple connected construction having many 
interconnected terminal portions, and therefore it is not necessary to 
prepare terminals having various patterns of terminal portions, so that 
the general purpose nature of the terminals are enhanced. 
Further, the terminals, each having one terminal portion, and the joint 
terminal, having a plurality of terminal portions, can be provided in a 
mixed manner in the housing. In the connector in which the terminals, each 
having only one terminal portion, and the joint terminal are provided in a 
mixed manner, it is not particularly necessary to design the partition 
walls in accordance with the arrangement of these terminals, and therefore 
the general purpose nature of the housing is also enhanced. And besides, 
since the notch is formed in the rear end portion of each partition wall, 
intermediate portions (and front end portions) of the terminal portions, 
to which wires are connected, respectively, are positively separated from 
one another by the partition walls, and therefore the short-circuiting is 
prevented from accidentally occurring between the adjacent terminal 
portions. 
Still further, the interconnecting portion of the joint terminal is 
disposed in the notch, and therefore the interconnecting portion is 
prevented from projecting upwardly from the partition wall. 
Still further, the interconnecting portion holds the partition wall 
therebetween, so that the terminal portions are supported by the partition 
wall. Therefore, the shaking of the joint terminal (having the 
interconnecting portion) relative to the housing is prevented, and the 
efficiency of the wire-connecting operation is enhanced. 
Still further, the abutment portion of the cover of the housing prevents 
the displacement and shaking of the interconnecting portion disposed in 
the notch. 
2. Second Embodiment 
FIGS. 5 to 7 show a second embodiment of a connector of the present 
invention. In this embodiment, explanation of those portions identical to 
those of the above first embodiment will be omitted. 
A notch (slit) 18A is formed in a lower portion of a rear end portion of 
each of partition walls 18 of a housing 12, and extends along the 
inserting direction of the terminals. A length of the notch 18A is 
substantially equal to a width of an interconnecting portion 14A of a 
joint terminal 14. Interconnecting portion receiving recesses 17A of a 
predetermined width are formed in that portion of a bottom plate 17 where 
the notches 18A are formed. 
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7(b), the interconnecting portion 14A of the joint 
terminal 14 is crushly bent at a lower side of the joint terminal 14, and 
projects slightly downwardly from the lower side. When the joint terminal 
14 is inserted into the housing 12, the bent interconnecting portion 14A 
is received in the interconnecting portion receiving recess 17A. At this 
time, a front end of the interconnecting portion 14A is abutted against a 
front end of the interconnecting portion receiving recess 1 A, thereby 
preventing the joint terminal 14 from being further inserted. Side edge 
portions of terminal portions 14B at the rear end portion of the joint 
terminal 14 are received in the respective notches 18A, and therefore the 
terminal portions 14B are prevented from being lifted. 
A transverse interconnecting plate 14F is formed on and extends between 
upper edges of front end portions of opposed walls of each terminal 
portion 14B of the joint terminal 14. Terminals 13 each having one 
terminal portion can be formed by cutting the joint terminal along chain 
lines shown in FIG. 7(a). The other construction of this embodiment is the 
same as described above in the first embodiment. 
In this embodiment, the interconnecting portion can be disposed over the 
inner bottom surface of the housing, and the partition wall prevents the 
interconnecting portion from being lifted since the notch is formed in the 
lower portion of the partition wall. 
Further, the terminal portions can be stably mounted on the housing since 
the interconnecting portion is received in the recess in the inner bottom 
surface of the connector. 
Still further, the interconnecting portion is formed by bending the 
relevant portion, and therefore that portion to be bent into the 
interconnecting portion have a sufficient length or width. In this case, 
also sufficient lengths of that portions being the wire support piece 
portions or the wire connecting piece portions can be obtained because the 
joint terminal is integrally formed by punching a metal plate as described 
before. This fact also helps to improve the stability of the wire 
connection. 
Another operations and effects of this embodiment are similar to those as 
described above in the first embodiment. 
3. Third Embodiment 
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an important portion of a third embodiment 
of a connector of the present invention. In this embodiment, explanation 
of those portions identical to those of the above first embodiment will be 
omitted. 
In this embodiment, notches 18A, formed respectively in partition walls 18 
of a housing 12, are formed by removing those portions of the partition 
walls 18 extending forwardly from a rear end of a bottom plate 17 over a 
distance equal to a width of an interconnecting portion 14A. Namely, that 
portion of the bottom plate 17 where the notches 18A are formed is 
exposed. The interconnecting portion 14A is formed by an 
upwardly-extending, double folded portion, and has a height substantially 
equal to the height of the partition wall 18. Therefore, a front end of 
the interconnecting portion 14A is abutted against a rear end of the 
partition wall 18. 
In this embodiment, the housing can be easily molded since the rear end 
portions of the partition walls are removed by an amount corresponding to 
the width of the interconnecting portion, and the cost for a mold can be 
reduced. 
Further, the interconnecting portion is formed by bending the relevant 
portion, and therefore that portion to be bent into the interconnecting 
portion have a sufficient length or width. In this case, also sufficient 
lengths of that portions being the wire support piece portions or the wire 
connecting piece portions can be obtained because the joint terminal is 
integrally formed by punching a metal plate as described before. This fact 
also helps to improve the stability of the wire connection. 
Another operations and effects of this embodiment are similar to those as 
described above in the first and second embodiments. 
Although the present invention has been described by way of the first to 
third embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these 
embodiments, but various modifications can be made. For example, in the 
above embodiments, although the joint terminal 14 has the two terminal 
portions, the joint terminal may have three or more terminal portions, 
depending on the design of a circuit.