Abstract:
A connector structure of a motor vehicle door is provided, by which a space for mounting electric components can be secured in a vehicle body and the cost of the electric component can be reduced by making the connector have multifunction. The connector structure includes a first female terminal forming a break contact provided in one connector selected between a first connector at a vehicle body-side and a second connector at a door-side; and an insulating member provided in the other connector, so that the insulating member is inserted into the first female terminal when the first and second connectors engage with each other, thereby an electric circuit can be cut. A second female terminal forming a make contact is provided next to the first female terminal and a male terminal forming a break terminal coming in contact with the second female terminal is provided next to the insulating member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a connector structure of a motor vehicle door, which is applied to a rear door or sliding door of a motor vehicle. 
     (2) Description of the Related Art 
     Various auxiliary machines or electric components such as a rear wiper, door lock, tail lamp, defroster, back monitor and power window are mounted in a motor vehicle door such as a rear door or sliding door. Various connector structures, each of which supplies an electric power of the vehicle body-side, have been proposed. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a connector structure of a motor vehicle door described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-62546 proposed by the present applicant as an example of the prior art in connection with this kind of connector structure of a motor vehicle door. 
     A vehicle body-side connector  53  includes a housing  71  made of insulating (electrically insulating) resin and a plurality of female terminals  65  received in the housing  71  in parallel closely to each other. The housing  71  consists of an upper cover (not shown) and a lower cover (not shown). 
     The housing  71  has openings  77  situated in parallel to each other for receiving a male terminal  55 . Each female terminal  65  is received in a corresponding opening  77 . The opening  77  is closed by a shutter  75  made of synthetic resin mounted to an end of the female terminal  65 . The housing  71  is fixed to a vehicle body by an inclined-shape flange (not shown). 
     The female terminal  65  is inserted over a cylinder shaft (support shaft)  76  made of metal with being opened and closed, and biased to the closing direction by a twisted coil spring (spring member)  72  around the cylinder shaft  76 . The twisted coil spring  72  consists of a coil roll  73  and a leg  74  extending backward long from the coil roll  73 . 
     Each contact member  63  of the female terminal  65  includes a flat plate-shaped hinge  64 , a side plate (a part to receive a bias)  66  rising perpendicularly from the hinge  64 , an inclined part  67  being inclined forward from the side plate  66 , and a contact  68  continuing to the inclined part  67 . 
     A pair of the hinges  64  is piled up each other and pressed onto an electrode (not shown) at the housing  71 -side by the coil roll  73  of the twisted coil spring  72 . The twisted coil spring  72  biases the contact  68  and biases the hinge  64  with respect to the electrode simultaneously. The electrode is connected to a power supply wire (not shown) through a terminal in a female connector (not shown) for connecting the power supply. 
     A shutter  75  is fixed to an end of each female terminal  65  and opens or closes together with the contact  68 . The shutter  75  includes an end surface  75   a  having narrow width, a guide surface  75   b  inclining inward with a tapered-shape from the end surface  75   a , and closing surface  75   c  adhering at the inside end of the guide surface  75   b . A pair of the closing surfaces  75   c  comes in close contact with each other when both contacts  68  come in contact with each other, thereby a water drop or a dust is prevented from entering into the contact  68  from the opening  77  of the housing  71 . 
     A connector  52  at the door-side includes a housing  58  made of insulating resin, a male terminal  55  biased by a spring in the protruding direction in the housing  58 , and a cushion  61  made of rubber for the connector at the vehicle-body side, which is arranged outside the electric contact  54  of the male terminal  55 . 
     A projection (not shown) for receiving a spring and a notch (not shown) for inserting the spring are formed at a base end-side of the electric contact  54  of the male terminal  55 . A compression coil spring  60  is provided between the projection for receiving the spring at the base end-side of the electric contact  54  and a projection  59  for receiving a spring of the cover  56 . The strength of the compression coil spring  60  is set larger than the insertion force of the electric contact  54  against the female terminal  65 . The electric contact  54  retreats inward with compressing the compression coil spring  60  in the event that the electric contact  54  receives an accidental external force. 
     FIG. 6 is a circuit view illustrating the engaging state of the connector. The vehicle body-side has a battery (not shown) for supplying the power. The battery supplies the power to various electric components. Switches S 1 , S 2  and electromagnetic relays R 1 , R 2  are provided between the battery and the various electric components, thereby the on/off operation for the various electric components is carried out. 
     The switches S 1 , S 2  are a lock-up switch, in which the state of the contact is maintained once the operation is done as long as the inverse operation is not done. The switch S 1  is a switch for a defroster while the switch S 2  is a switch for a courtesy lamp cooperating with the open/close action of the motor vehicle door. The courtesy lamp (not shown) turns on when the motor vehicle door is open while it turns off when the door is close. 
     As for the electromagnetic relays R 1  and R 2 , each of them includes an electromagnetic coil rc 1  or rc 2  and a contact rs 1  or rs 2 , respectively. The contact rs 1  is a make contact (a contact to be closed upon excitation of the electromagnetic coil rc 1 ) while the contact rs 2  is a break contact (a contact to be opened upon excitation of the electromagnetic coil rc 2 ). 
     However, as for the conventional connector structure of a motor vehicle door as described above, there are problems as mentioned below. 
     One problem is that a space for mounting the electric components cannot be secured when many switches and so on are mounted in a vehicle body space. That is, in a background that the number of the electric components to be mounted in a rear door or sliding door of a one-box car or station wagon tends to increase, if the number of the switches S 1  and S 2  increases, a space for mounting the electric components cannot be secured, resulting in that not only the electric components cannot be mounted but also there is a possibility that the interference among the components or the entanglement of the electric wires take place. 
     Another problem is that the cost of the component inevitably raises if the number of the switches S 1  and S 2  increases in a ground that the number of the electric components to be mounted on the vehicle body increases. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an objective of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a connector structure of a motor vehicle door, by which a space for mounting electric components and so on can be secured in a space in a vehicle body and the cost of the electric component can be reduced by making a connector have multifunction. 
     In order to attain the above objective, the present invention is to provide a connector structure of a motor vehicle door comprising: 
     a first female terminal forming a break contact, which is provided in one connector selected between a first connector at a vehicle body-side and a second connector at a door-side; and 
     an insulating member, which is provided in the other connector selected between the first connector at the vehicle body-side and the second connector at the door-side, 
     wherein the insulating member is inserted into the first female terminal when the first and second connectors engage with each other, so that an electric circuit is cut. 
     With the construction described above, since the first female terminal forming a break contact (b-contact) is provided in one connector selected between the first connector at a vehicle body-side and the second connector at a door-side, the first female terminal forms a close circuit when the first and second connectors do not engage with each other, thereby supplying a power to an electric component such as a courtesy lamp, while the insulating member is inserted into the female terminal so as to cut the electric circuit when the first and second connectors engage with each other. That is, by the engagement or disengagement of both first and second connectors, a switching of the courtesy lamp cooperating with the open/close action of the door can be carried out, thereby both connectors can carry out a similar function as that of a courtesy lamp switch. Therefore, a space for mounting the electric components can be secured by omitting the courtesy lamp switch and the cost of the electric component can be reduced by making the connector have multifunction. 
     Preferably, the connector structure of a motor vehicle door further comprises: 
     a second female terminal forming a make contact, which is provided next to the first female terminal; and 
     a male terminal forming a break terminal coming in contact with the second female terminal, which is provided next to the insulating member. 
     With the construction described above, since a plurality of male terminals facing with a plurality of second female terminals that forms a make contact (a-contact) are provided, the male terminal comes in contact with the second female terminal when both connectors engage with each other, thereby a closed electric circuit is formed and a power can be supplied from the vehicle body-side to the electric components at the door-side. The break contacts, the number of which is equal to that of the male terminals, can be formed. Therefore, a connection structure between the electric circuit at the vehicle body-side and that at the door-side can be integrated into the connector and the cost of the electric component can be reduced by making the connector have multifunction. 
     Preferably, the first female terminal includes a pair of contact members. 
     With the construction described above, by biasing one side end of the contact member using an elastic member or the like, a female terminal that can be opened or closed is formed, thereby the insulation member is allowed to enter into the female terminal when both connectors engage with each other so as to cut the electric circuit. 
     Therefore, a return-type switch having a break contact can be integrally formed in the connector, thereby a space for mounting the electric components can be secured by omitting a switch at the vehicle body-side. 
     Preferably, a first contact coming in contact with the insulating member is provided at one side of each of the pair of contact members while a second contact coming in contact with an electrode that continues to the electric circuit is provided at the other side, and each said first contact comes in contact with the other first contact receiving an inward bias by an elastic member while each said second contact is pressed onto the electrode receiving an outward bias by the elastic member. 
     With the construction described above, each first contact can electrically comes in contact with the other first contact while each second contact can come in contact with the corresponding electrode, thereby a female terminal having a break contact can be formed. 
     Therefore, the reliability of the electric contact of the female terminal that forms a closed electric circuit can be improved. 
     Preferably, one contact member of the pair of contact members is connected to an electromagnetic coil forming an electromagnetic relay through the electrode while the other contact member is grounded to a motor vehicle body through the electrode. 
     With the construction described above, when the both connectors do not engage with each other, that is, when the door is open, the female terminal forms a closed electric circuit to allow the electric power to be conducted, thereby the power can be supplied to the electric component such as a courtesy lamp and so on. 
     On the other hand, when the door is closed, the female terminal forms an open circuit not to allow the electric power to be conducted. 
     Consequently, the female terminal having a break contact can function as a courtesy lamp switch and a space for mounting the electric components can be secured by omitting a conventional courtesy lamp switch. 
     Preferably, a projecting length of the insulating member is smaller than that of the male terminal. 
     With the construction described above, even when the first connector at the vehicle body-side and the second connector at the door-side halfway engage with each other, that is, even when the door is incompletely closed, the closed electric circuit by the female terminal is not cut by the insulating member, thereby the detection of an incomplete door-closing can be carried out. 
     Therefore, the connector that has a function as a courtesy lamp switch can also has a function to detect the halfway opened door. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view illustrating a primary part of a connector structure of a motor vehicle door according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view illustrating a primary part of a connector structure of a motor vehicle door as shown in FIG. 1 in its halfway engaging state; 
     FIG. 3 is a circuit view illustrating a non-engaging state of a connector in a connector structure of a motor vehicle door; 
     FIG. 4 is a circuit view illustrating an engaging state of a connector in a connector structure of a motor vehicle door; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view illustrating a primary part of a conventional connector structure of a motor vehicle door; and 
     FIG. 6 is a circuit view illustrating an engaging state of a connector in a conventional connector structure of a motor vehicle door. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view illustrating a primary part of a connector structure of a motor vehicle door according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view illustrating a primary part of a connector structure of a motor vehicle door as shown in FIG. 1 in its halfway engaging state. 
     The connector structure of a motor vehicle door is for supplying an electric power to various auxiliary machines or electric components in a door such as a rear wiper, door lock, tail lamp, defroster and power window. The connector structure includes a connector  11  at the vehicle body-side and a connector  40  at the door-side and applied to a rear door of a station wagon and a sliding door of a one-box car. 
     Here, a front-and-rear direction, right-and-left direction, and up-and-down direction are defined as follows. The front-and-rear direction is defined as a direction, in which both connectors  11 ,  40  engage with each other. The front side of each connector is defined as the side, from which the connector faces with the mating connector. The right-and-left direction (i.e. horizontal direction) of each connector is defined as the direction, in which the pair of contact members  2  opens or closes. Both connectors have bilateral symmetry. The up-and-down direction is defined as the direction, in which the contact member  2  is inserted into a cylinder shaft  34 . The down side is defined as the side, on which the contact member  2  is placed relatively to a bottom wall  14   b  of a case  14 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the connector  11  at the vehicle body-side includes a box-shaped housing  12  having an inner space  13 , a female terminal  1  forming a break contact, and at least one female terminal  25  forming a make contact. 
     The housing  12  includes a case  14  on which the female terminals  1 ,  25  are placed and a cover  17  for covering the case  14 . A front wall surface  17   a  of the cover  17  has each opening  18  in parallel for inserting an insulating member  20  and male terminal  46  (explained later on). The female terminal  1  or  25  is inserted into the inside of each opening  18 . The opening  18  is closed by a shutter  33  (explained later on) to prevent an electrically conductive contamination, water drop or dust from entering thereinto. 
     The female terminal  1  forming a break contact has a pair of contact members  2  and is arranged facing an insulation member  20  of the connector  40  at the door-side. Each contact member  2  is made from a thin flat plate by cutting and bending it to have a S-shape or inverse S-shape as shown in FIG.  1 . Each contact member  2  is supported by a cylinder shaft  34  so as to be able to oscillate and biased to the right-and left direction by a twisted coil spring (elastic member)  38 , which is inserted over the cylinder shaft  34 . 
     Along the direction, in which both connectors  11 ,  40  engage with each other, each contact member  2  includes a part  27  for receiving the bias by the twisted coil spring  38 , a contact  4  coming in contact with an electrode, an inclined plate  31  which continues from the contact  4  and extends forward, and a contact  3  which continues from the inclines plate  31  and bends outward. 
     Each contact  3  comes in contact with the other contact  3  with receiving the inward bias from the twisted coil spring  38 . The pair of contacts  3  forms a break contact by coming in contact with each other under a moderate pressure when both connectors  11 ,  40  do not engage with each other. Thus, when the contact  3  is closed, an electrical conduction state is attained and a courtesy lamp (not shown) is turned on. To the contrary, when both connectors  11 ,  40  engage with each other, the contact  3  is opened, thereby a non-electrical conduction state is attained and a courtesy lamp (not shown) is turned off. That is, the contact  3  has a similar function to that of the switch (courtesy lamp switch) S 2  as shown in FIG. 6 of the prior art. 
     The inclined plate  31  connects the part  27  for receiving the bias to the contact  3  and is inclined inward as advancing forward. A locking step (not shown) is formed at the lower end of the inclined plate  31  so that the contact  2  is prevented from shifting when the insulating member  20  of the connector  40  at the door-side is inserted into the female terminal  1 . 
     The part  27  for receiving the bias has a L-shape or inverse L-shape in its cross sectional view and includes a side plate  27   a  and a bottom plate  27   b  which continues from the lower end of the side plate  27   a  and bends perpendicularly inward. The side plate  27   a  and bottom plate  27   b  is coated with an adherent insulating material  30  so as to prevent an electrical contact, which may happen when each side plate  27   a  approaches the other side plate  27   a  or when the bottom plate  27   b  approaches the other bottom plate  27   b , from occurring. 
     The contact member  2  is mounted by using a shaft hole  28  which is formed at the center of the bottom plate  27   b . That is, the shaft hole  28  is inserted over the cylinder shaft  34 , which engages with a boss (not shown) of a case  14 , so as to be able to oscillate, and a boss (not shown) of a cover  17  engages with the cylinder shaft  34  so as to fix each contact member  2 . 
     The twisted coil spring  38  is provided on the bottom plate  27   b  with aligning its axial direction (i.e. expansion-and contraction direction) with the up-and-down direction. The twisted coil spring  38  is fixed by combining the case  14  and cover  17  up and down and bolting with a bolt (not shown). 
     A coil roll  38   a  of the twisted coil spring  38  presses the bottom plate  27   b  downward, thereby each contact member  2  can be mounted without a back-lash. The elastic force (i.e. pressing force) thereof is set so that the horizontal oscillation of each contact member  2  can be smoothly carried out. 
     A pair of legs  38   b  of the twisted coil spring  38  biases the side plate  27   a  of the part  27  for receiving the bias outward in the right-and-left direction, thereby the contact  4  coming in contact with the electrode, which continues from the side plate  27   a , abuts against an electrode  36  buried in a partition wall  35  so as to be electrically connected to the electrode  36 . 
     The contact  4 , which continues from the side plate  27   a , is formed having a smoothly bulged-shape, thereby the contact between the contact  4  and the electrode  36  is always maintained even when each contact  3  oscillates. 
     As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one of the pair of contact members  2  that forms the female terminal  1  is connected to an electromagnetic coil rc 2  of an electromagnetic relay R 2  through the electrode  36 , while the other of the pair of contact members  2  is grounded to the motor vehicle body through the electrode  36 . Consequently, when both connectors do not engage with each other (see FIG.  3 ), the female terminal  1  is in the electrical conduction state and the courtesy lamp (not shown) is turned on with receiving the electric power from a battery. To the contrary, when both connectors engage with each other (see FIG.  4 ), the female terminal  1  is in the non-electrical conduction state and the courtesy lamp is turned off since the electric circuit is cut. 
     The electrode  36  is buried in the partition wall  35  and the side wall  14   a  of the case  14 , which functions as the partition wall  35 , and situated facing with the contact  4  of each contact member  2 . The electrode  36  is formed by integral molding or press fitting by using an electrically conductive metal material such as copper plate or electrically conductive synthetic resin. One electrode  36  is connected to an electric circuit of the courtesy lamp while the other electrode  36  is connected to an electric circuit of ground. 
     A plurality of female terminals  25  forming a make contact are arranged in parallel to the female terminal  1 . The female terminal  25  has a similar structure to that of the female terminal  1 . Each contact member  26  of a pair of contact members  26  functions as a contact terminal, which is independent from the other contact terminal, and is connected to a conductor  47   a  at one side of a male terminal  46  (explained later on), thereby the electric circuit of the vehicle body-side is connected to that of the door-side. 
     That is, the pair of contact members  2  of the female terminal  1  forms a break contact and the contact is opened to form an open circuit when both connector engage with each other. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pair of contact members  26  of the female terminal  25  forms a make contact and the contact is closed to form a closed circuit when both connector engage with each other. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector  40  at the door-side includes a box-shaped housing  41  having an opening space  42  at the end thereof, an insulating member  20  to be received in an interior space of the housing  41 , and a plurality of male terminals  46 . 
     The housing  41  includes a case  43  facing with the mating connector  11  at the vehicle body-side and a cover  44 , which is situated at the rear of the case  43  and inserted into the inside of the case  43 . The cover  44  and case  43  may be separately formed or integrally formed with each other. The cover  44  and case  43  are made of insulating synthetic resin. 
     The opening space  42  of the case  43  is provided with a cushion (not shown) made of urethane rubber or the like for absorbing the impact relatively to the connector  11  at the vehicle body-side. The cushion has an insertion hole  43   b , through which the insulating member  20  and the male terminal  46  pass. The insulating member  20  and male terminal  46  protrude from the insertion hole  43   b  so as to come in contact with the female terminals  1 ,  25  of the connector  11  at the vehicle body-side, respectively. 
     With the aid of the cushion, the impact arisen when the connector  11  comes in contact with the connector  40  (i.e. when the door is closed) is absorbed, thereby the insulating member  20  and male terminal  46  can be securely inserted without being bent or damaged. The insulating member  20  is made of hard synthetic resin material. 
     The rear side of the insulating member  20  is elastically supported by a coil spring  50 , which has a cylinder shape and can be compressed in the axis direction thereof. The insulating member  20  is strongly biased in the direction of insertion and can move back when accidentally interfered from the outside. The strength of the coil spring  50  is set larger than the insertion force of the insulating member  20  into the pair of contact members  2 , so that the insulating member  20  can be smoothly inserted between the contacts  3  of the pair of contact members  2 . By the coil spring  50  and the cushion, the insulating member  20  is doubly protected from the interference with the outside. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a projecting length L 2  of the insulating member  20  is set smaller than a projecting length L 1  of the male terminal  46  in order that the female terminal  1  can form a closed circuit so as to turn on the courtesy lamp even when the door of the vehicle is not completely closed, that is, in order to add the function of detecting an incomplete door-closing to the connector structure of the present invention. 
     A plurality of male terminals  46  are arranged in parallel to the insulating member  20 , each of which has a tab-shaped electrical contact  47  at the end side and a spring mount  49  at the base side. 
     The electrical contact  47  of the male terminal  46  includes a conductor  47   a  at both sides of the width direction (horizontal direction) and a straight insulator  48  situated between both conductors  47   a . The insulator  48  made of synthetic resin such as plastic is integrally formed with the conductor  47   a  by insert molding. The insulator  48  tightly adheres to the conductor  47   a  so that the junction thereof is not damaged even when the male terminal  46  is repeatedly inserted in the female terminal  25 . 
     The conductor  47   a  is provided at both sides of the insulator  48  and the end of the conductor  47   a  is covered with the insulator  48 , thereby each conductor  47   a  does not come in contact with the other conductor  47   a , that is, each conductor  47   a  functions as an independent contact terminal. 
     The base-side of the male terminal  46  is provided with a junction (not shown) for supplying an electric power to the electric components in the door. A terminal (not shown) having a wire is connected to the junction by screwing or the like. 
     A male terminal integrally formed with an electrically conductive board may be used instead of the male terminal  46  having the conductor  47   a  at both sides thereof. A female terminal of monopole may be used instead of the female terminal  25  of double pole that forms a make contact. 
     The aforementioned preferred embodiments are described to aid in understanding the present invention and variations may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.