# Patent

## Title
Joint connector and joint terminal

## Abstract

A joint connector includes a housing that includes terminal chambers. At least two neighboring joint terminals are housed in terminal chambers neighboring among the terminal chambers, respectively. Each of the neighboring joint terminals includes a wire-crimping portion, a terminal body housed in a terminal chamber among the plurality of terminal chambers, and a pair of first and second contact portions, respectively. The first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals. A pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body and contacts with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior. According to the joint connector, an increase of a contact resistance to be generated by vibrations and temperature variations can be sufficiently restricted.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a Continuation Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2012/008246 (filed on Dec. 25, 2012), which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-31306 (filed on Feb. 16, 2012), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein with reference.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a joint connector for electrically connecting plural joint terminals inserted into a connector housing with each other, and to a joint terminal to be used with the joint connector.
2. Background Art
A Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. H6-36268) discloses one of prior art joint connectors. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the joint connector 50 includes a connector housing 51, and plural joint terminals 60 housed in the connector housing 51. Note that only one of the joint terminals 60 is shown in FIG. 7, and others of them are not shown in FIG. 7.
The connector housing 51 is provided with plural terminal chambers 53 segmented by partitions 52. A slit 54 is formed on each of the partitions 52.
The joint terminal 60 includes a wire-crimping portion 61 with which a wire W is connected, a terminal body 62 integrally provided with the wire-crimping portion 61, and a pair of contact tabs 63 integrally provided with the terminal body 62. The terminal body 62 is mainly constituted of a bottom wall 62a and a pair of sidewalls 62b. The terminal body 62 is inserted into the terminal chamber 53 and thereby housed in the terminal chamber 53. The contact tabs 63 are bent laterally outward from upper ends of the sidewalls 62b, respectively.
The two contact tabs 63 of the joint terminal 60 are located in the adjacent slits 54, respectively. In a slit 54, a one-side contact tab 63 of a joint terminal 60 contacts with an other-side contact tab 63 of a next joint terminal 60. The contact tabs 63 in the slit 54 are overlapped so as to contact with each other. Therefore, the neighboring joint terminals 60 are electrically contacted with each other.
According to the prior art joint connector 50, the neighboring joint terminals 60 are directly contacts with each other, electrically, so that no additional component is needed for connecting the neighboring joint terminals 60, such as an interposed conductive member and components associated with the conductive member.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
According to the prior art joint connector 50, the terminal body 62 of the joint terminal 60 is inserted into the terminal chamber 53 of the housing 51, so that a clearance must be needed between surfaces of the partitions 52 and outer face of the sidewalls 62b to enable the terminal body 62 of being inserted into the terminal chamber 53.
However, if such a clearance is provided between the terminal body 62 and the partitions 52, the joint terminal 60 may be vibrated in the terminal chamber 53 under a vibrational environment. The contact tabs 63 of the neighboring joint terminals 60 slides while contacted with each other, so that a contact resistance may increase. In the worst case, the neighboring joint terminals 60 may lose electrical conductivity.
In addition, the connector housing 51 is generally made of a material (e.g. resin) different from that (e.g. metal) of the joint terminals 60. Namely, the connector housing 51 generally has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) different from that of the joint terminals 60. The terminal body 62 may changes its position in the terminal chamber 53 due to temperature variations, so that a contact resistance may increase.
An object of the present invention provides a joint connector that can sufficiently restrict an increase of a contact resistance to be generated by vibrations and temperature variations, and a joint terminal to be used with the joint connector.
A first aspect of the present invention provides a joint connector that includes: a housing that includes a plurality of terminal chambers segmented by a plurality of partitions; and at least two neighboring joint terminals that are housed in terminal chambers neighboring among the plurality of terminal chambers, respectively, wherein each of the neighboring joint terminals includes a wire-crimping portion with which a wire is connected, a terminal body housed in a terminal chamber among the plurality of terminal chambers, and a pair of first and second contact portions laterally extended outward from both sides of the terminal body, respectively, the first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals in a slit among the plurality of slits that is located between the neighboring joint terminals, and a pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body of the each of the neighboring joint terminals, respectively, and contacts with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior of the pair of spring tabs.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a joint terminal that is to be used in a connector housing in a plurality and includes: a wire-crimping portion with which a wire is connected; a terminal body to be housed in a terminal chamber of the connector housing; and a pair of first and second contact portions laterally extended outward from both sides of the terminal body, respectively, wherein the first contact portion of one of neighboring joint terminals is configured to be electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals, and a pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body, respectively, so as to contact with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior of the pair of spring tabs.
According to the above first or second aspect, the joint terminal(s) can be prevented from being vibrated when the joint connector is located under a vibrational environment, because the joint terminal is held in the terminal chamber by the spring tabs contacting with the inner surfaces of the terminal chambers. In addition, the joint terminal(s) can be located at a constant position in the terminal chamber when clearances between the partitions and the sidewalls of the terminal body change due to temperature variations, because the changes of the clearances can be compensated by the elastic restoration behavior of the spring tabs. Therefore, the first contact portion and the second contact portion of the neighboring joint terminals can be stably contacted with each other. As a result, an increase of a contact resistance to be generated by vibrations and temperature variations can be sufficiently restricted.
In the above first or second aspect, it is preferable that the pair of spring tabs is formed by cutting and bending the sidewalls of the terminal body, respectively.
In the above first or second aspect, it is also preferable that the second contact portion includes an upper contact tab and an lower contact tab that are located parallel and a gap is formed between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab, and the first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is configured to be wedged into the gap between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab of the second contact portion of the other of the neighboring joint terminals.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a joint connector and a joint terminal according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main portion of the joint connector;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the joint terminal.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective cross-sectional view showing the main portion;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main portion of the joint terminal (viewed from its bottom side);
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a joint connector and a joint terminal according to a prior art; and
FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main portion of the joint connector in which the joint terminals are housed according to a prior art.



DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
An embodiment of a joint connector and a joint terminal will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
The joint connector 1 includes a non-conductive housing 2, and plural joint terminals 10 housed in the connector housing 2. Note that only one of the joint terminals 10 is shown in FIG. 1 and others of them are not shown in FIG. 1.
The connector housing 2 is provided with plural terminal chambers 4 segmented by partitions 3. A slit 5 is formed on each of the partitions 3. The neighboring terminal chambers 4 are communicated with each other via the slit 5. Lances 6 are integrally formed on the connector housing. The lances 6 are associated with the terminal chambers 4, respectively. The lances 6 are formed as barbed tabs and have pawls protruded from bottoms of the terminal chambers 4, respectively. Each of the lance 6 locks the joint terminal 10 had been inserted into the terminal chamber 4 in order to prevent the joint terminal 10 from being pulled out from the terminal chamber 4.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the joint terminal 10 is formed by bending a conductive (metal) plate having a given dimension. The joint terminal 10 includes a wire-crimping portion 11 to which a wire is to be connected, a terminal body 12 integrally provided with the wire-crimping portion 11, and a pair of a first contact portion 20 and a second contact portion 21 that are integrally provided with the terminal body 12.
The terminal body 12 is mainly constituted of a bottom wall 13, and a pair of sidewalls 14 and 15. The terminal body 12 is inserted into the terminal chamber 4 and thereby housed in the terminal chamber 4. A lance receive hole 13a is formed on the bottom wall 13. The lance receive hole 13a is to be engaged with the above-explained lance 6 formed on the housing 2. The joint terminal 10 is prevented from being pulled out from the terminal chamber 4 due to an engagement of the lance receive hole 13a with the pawl of the lance 6.
A pair of a first contact portion 20 and a second contact portion 21 is extended laterally outward from both sides of the terminal body 12, respectively. The first contact portion 20 is bent laterally outward from an upper end of the sidewall 14. The second contact portion 21 is constituted of an upper contact tab 21a bent laterally outward from an upper end of the sidewall 15, and a lower contact tab 21b extended from an inner upper edge of the first contact portion 20. A height level of the first contact portion 20 is set in a range between a height level of the upper contact tab 21a and a height level of the lower contact tab 21b. The lower contact tab 21b passes through a hole formed on the sidewall 15, so that an end portion of the lower contact tab 21b locates just beneath the upper contact tab 21a. The upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b are located parallel and a gap is formed between the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the first contact portion 20 and the second contact portion 21 of the joint terminal 10 are located in the adjacent slits 5, respectively. The first contact portion 20 of a joint terminal 10 is inserted into the gap between the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b of the second contact portion 21 of a next joint terminal 60 so as to contact with the lower contact tab 21b of the second contact portion 21. Therefore, the two joint terminals 10 in the neighboring terminal chambers 4 are electrically contacted with each other.
In addition, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, two spring tabs 30 are formed on the sidewall 14. Similarly, two spring tabs 30 are formed on the sidewall 15. The spring tabs 30 are slightly inclined laterally outward (see FIGS. 3 and 5). The spring tabs 30 are formed by cutting and bending portions of the sidewalls 14 and 15 (here, “lancing” is included in the “cutting and bending”). Pairs of the spring tabs 30 contact with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber 4 by their own elastic restoration behavior (elastic restoration characteristics). Note that the joint terminal 10 can be inserted into the terminal chamber 4 because the spring tabs 30 can be elastically bent.
According to the above-explained configuration, the joint terminal(s) 10 can be prevented from being vibrated when the joint connector 1 is located under a vibrational environment, because the joint terminal 10 is held in the terminal chamber 4 by the spring tabs 30 contacting with the inner surfaces of the terminal chambers 4. In addition, the joint terminal(s) 10 can be located at a constant position in the terminal chamber 4 when clearances between the partitions 3 and the sidewalls 14 and 15 of the terminal body 12 change due to temperature variations, because the changes of the clearances can be compensated by the elastic restoration behavior of the spring tabs 30.
Therefore, the first contact portion 20 and the second contact portion 21 of the neighboring joint terminals 10 can be stably contacted with each other. In other words, a difference between a thermal distortion of the housing 2 and a thermal distortion of the joint terminal(s) 10 can be compensated by the pairs of the spring tabs 30. As a result, an increase of a contact resistance to be generated by vibrations and temperature variations can be sufficiently restricted.
Further, the spring tabs 30 are formed by cutting and bending of the sidewalls 14 and 15. Therefore, the spring tabs 30 can be provided with no need for additional components.
Furthermore, the second contact portion 21 includes the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b located parallel and the gap is formed between the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b. The first contact portion 20 of one of the neighboring joint terminals 10 is wedged into the gap between the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b of the second contact portion 21 of another of the neighboring joint terminals 10. Here, a total contacting area of the first contact portion 20 and the second contact portion 21 can be made large, and the first contact portion 20 is surely held between the upper contact tab 21a and the lower contact tab 21b of the second contact portion 21. As a result, the neighboring joint terminals 10 are electrically contacted with each other securely.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-explained embodiment. It is not necessary that the joint terminals 10 must be housed in all of the terminal chambers 4. In this case, one group of the joint terminals 10 and another group of the joint terminals 10 may be electrically separated by a hollow terminal chamber(s) 4. But the joint terminals 10 in the one group (or the other group) can be electrically connected with each other.

## Claims

1. A joint connector comprising:
a housing that includes a plurality of terminal chambers segmented by a plurality of partitions; and
at least two neighboring joint terminals that are housed in terminal chambers neighboring among the plurality of terminal chambers, respectively, wherein
each of the neighboring joint terminals includes a wire-crimping portion with which a wire is connected, a terminal body housed in a terminal chamber among the plurality of terminal chambers, and a pair of first and second contact portions laterally extended outward from both sides of the terminal body, respectively,
the first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals in a slit among the plurality of slits that is located between the neighboring joint terminals, and
a pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body of the each of the neighboring joint terminals, respectively, and contacts with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior of the pair of spring tabs.

2. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein, in the each of the neighboring joint terminals,
the pair of spring tabs is formed by cutting and bending the sidewalls of the terminal body, respectively.

3. The joint connector according to claim 1, wherein, in the each of the neighboring joint terminals,
the second contact portion includes an upper contact tab and an lower contact tab that are located parallel and a gap is formed between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab, and
the first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is wedged into the gap between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab of the second contact portion of the other of the neighboring joint terminals.

4. A joint terminal, to be used in a connector housing in a plurality, the terminal comprising:
a wire-crimping portion with which a wire is connected;
a terminal body to be housed in a terminal chamber of the connector housing; and
a pair of first and second contact portions laterally extended outward from both sides of the terminal body, respectively, wherein
the first contact portion of one of neighboring joint terminals is configured to be electrically contacted with the second contact portion of another of the neighboring joint terminals, and
a pair of spring tabs is formed on both sidewalls of the terminal body, respectively, so as to contact with opposed inner surfaces of the terminal chamber, respectively, by an elastic restoration behavior of the pair of spring tabs.

5. The joint terminal according to claim 4, wherein
the pair of spring tabs is formed by cutting and bending the sidewalls of the terminal body, respectively.

6. The joint terminal according to claim 4, wherein
the second contact portion includes an upper contact tab and an lower contact tab that are located parallel and a gap is formed between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab, and
the first contact portion of one of the neighboring joint terminals is configured to be wedged into the gap between the upper contact tab and the lower contact tab of the second contact portion of the other of the neighboring joint terminals.