Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20040175985?ie=ISO-8859-1
Timestamp: 2014-07-10 04:16:02
Document Index: 793246228

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 24', 'art 36', 'arts 24', 'art 36', 'arts 24', 'art 33', 'art) 52', 'art) 31', 'art) 51', 'art 36', 'art 37', 'art 38', 'art 37', 'art 36', 'art 36', 'art 36', 'art 37', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'art 40', 'arts 40', 'art 36', 'arts 24', 'art 33']

Patent US20040175985 - Joint connector and its terminals - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsA notch 30 is provided at partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24 to support slidably a coupling member 50 from a slide start to a slide end of the notch 30, said partitions and side walls partitioning terminal receiving chambers 18, 28. A resiliently clipping member 40 is provided at a terminal 35 to...http://www.google.com/patents/US20040175985?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20040175985 - Joint connector and its terminalsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20040175985 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 10/790,685Publication dateSep 9, 2004Filing dateMar 3, 2004Priority dateMar 5, 2003Also published asDE102004010682A1, DE102004010682B4, DE102004010682B9, US6921289Publication number10790685, 790685, US 2004/0175985 A1, US 2004/175985 A1, US 20040175985 A1, US 20040175985A1, US 2004175985 A1, US 2004175985A1, US-A1-20040175985, US-A1-2004175985, US2004/0175985A1, US2004/175985A1, US20040175985 A1, US20040175985A1, US2004175985 A1, US2004175985A1InventorsToshiharu Takahashi, Motoyoshi SuzukiOriginal AssigneeYazaki CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (1), Classifications (5), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetJoint connector and its terminalsUS 20040175985 A1Abstract A notch 30 is provided at partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24 to support slidably a coupling member 50 from a slide start to a slide end of the notch 30, said partitions and side walls partitioning terminal receiving chambers 18, 28. A resiliently clipping member 40 is provided at a terminal 35 to clip the coupling member 50 at the slide end of the notch 30. Further, the coupling member 50 has a thin joint piece, slidably contacting piece continued to the joint piece in a same plane, and a vertically contacting piece formed perpendicular to the slidably contacting piece. A wall to prevent the coupling member 50 from lateral displacement is provided at the notch 30, said wall being contacted with a side part of the coupling member 50. Images(6) Claims(10)
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0051] One embodiment of this invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. Each of FIGS. 1 to 5 shows one embodiment of a joint connector according to this invention, and FIGS. 6 and 7 shows one embodiment and one modified embodiment respectively of a terminal according to this invention. [0052] The joint connector is a connector which jointly connects a coupling member to a plurality of terminals received in terminal receiving chambers respectively, whereby the terminals are short-circuited intentionally to be electrically common inside the connector housing, and connects to a mating connector (not shown) to make a joint circuit. As the mating connector, for example, a connector connected to an end of a wire harness, or a connector directly connected to an apparatus such as a motor, can be used. [0053] The terminal is a metal terminal having two functions at once, one function is to connect wire harnesses with each other by connecting with a mating terminal, and the other function is to form a joint circuit by jointly connected to the coupling member. [0054] First, the joint connector will be explained, next, the terminal will be explained. [0055] According to this invention, there is provided a joint connector 10 of this invention comprising: a connector housing with two rows, having a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 18, 28 partitioned by partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24, an upper row of said connector housing having an opening; a not-shown cover covering over the upper opening of the connector 22; a female terminal 35 received by each of terminal receiving chambers 18, 28; a joint bar (coupling member) 50 in a lateral chain shape for connecting electrically the female terminals 35 with each other to make a joint circuit, wherein a notch 30 is provided on the partitions 16, 26 and the side walls 14, 24 partitioning each of terminal receiving chambers 18, 28, said notch 30 slidably supporting the joint bar 50 from a start end to a stop end of a sliding path of the joint bar, wherein a resiliently clipping member 40 for clipping the joint bar 50 is provided on the female terminal 35 at the stop end of the sliding path in a tuning fork shape. Moreover, according to this invention, there is the joint connector as described above, wherein the joint bar has a thin joint piece 50, a plurality of slidably contacting pieces 52 continued to the joint piece 51 in a same plane, and a vertically contacting piece 53 provided vertically on each slidably contacting piece 52. [0056] Main parts of the composition of the joint connector and their functions will be explained in detail below. [0057] As shown in FIG. 1, the joint connector 10 has the connector housings 12, 22, the cover, the female terminal 35, and the joint bar 50. Each connector housing is made of synthetic resin, fabricated by injection molding in a U shape, having an open upper part. An outer wall of the connector housing has bottom walls 13, 23, and side walls 14, 24 on the sides of the bottom walls 13, 23. The joint connector 10 has two rows, upper and lower rows, the lower one of which, as the connector housing 12, is overlapped by the upper row as the connector housing 22, the upper one of which, as the connector housing 22, is overlapped by the cover. The cover is locked by a projection 14 formed on the side wall 14 of the connector housing 14 as the lower row. [0058] The side walls 14, 24 at the sides of the connector housings 12, 22 and partitions 16, 26 partition an inner space of the connector housings 12, 22 into a plurality of terminal receiving chambers 18, 23 extending in a depth direction of the connector housings 12, 22. The female terminal 35 shown in FIG. 6 is inserted into each of terminal receiving chambers 18, 28 from above, locked by a locking means, and fixed so as not to slip out from the terminal receiving chamber in a cross direction. [0059] For convenience of explanation in this description, definitions of a vertical direction z, a cross direction x, and a horizontal direction y are defined as below. The vertical direction Z is defined as a direction to which the connector housings 12, 22 with two rows are stacked, the cross direction X is defined as a direction to which the connector is engaged, and the horizontal direction y is defined as a width direction of the connector housings 12, 22 perpendicular to both the vertical direction Z and the cross direction x. [0060] An electric wire 47 connected to the female 35 is drawn out from a back end opening 28 b of the connector housing 12 and 22 (a back end opening of the connector housing 22 not shown), and a not shown male terminal as a mating terminal penetrates from each of front end openings 18 a, 28 a of the connector housings 12, 22. [0061] While the bottom wall 13 of the connector housing 12 as the lower row has a flat surface, the bottom wall 23 of the connector housing 22 located at the upper row has an uneven surface. Further, an upper part of the partition 16 of the connector housing 12 as the lower row and an upper part of the side wall 14 are engaged with a recess part of the bottom wall 23, so that the upper and lower rows as the connector housings 12, 22 can overlap each other without misalignment. [0062] Engaging parts 24 b and 26 a for locking the male terminal 35 are provided at the partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24 of the connector housing 12, 22. A locking part 36 a is provided at a position of the female terminal 35 corresponding to these engaging parts 24 b, 26 a. By engaging the locking part 36 a with the engaging parts 24 b, 26 a, the female terminal 35 is prevented from slipping out in the cross direction x. [0063] A notch 30 to support slidably the joint bar 50 is formed at a middle of the partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24. As shown in FIG. 2, the notch 30 is made by cutting a depth corresponding to a board thickness of the joint bar 50, so that an upper surface of the joint bar 50 is substantially flush with upper surfaces of partitions 16, 26 and side walls 14, 24. Namely, the joint bar 50 is set in the terminal receiving chambers 18, 28 without protruding beyond the connector housing 12 and 22. This saves the inner space of the connector housings 12, 22 to prevent them from being bulky. [0064] As shown in FIG. 4, a wall (positioning member) 33 a to position without misalignment and guide slidably the joint bar 50 is formed at a back end part 33 of the notch 30 from which the joint bar 50 starts to slide. This wall 33 a is a vertical wall of a groove formed straight in the cross direction x with an L shape section. A contact part (side part) 52 a of the slidably contacting piece of the joint bar 50 contacts the wall 33 a. [0065] As shown in FIG. 5, by the joint bar 50 being positioned at the slide start and slidably guided, the joint bar 50 is prevented from striking and deforming the female terminal 35, and also prevented from deforming itself. [0066] An engaging projection (engaging part) 31 a to prevent misalignment of the joint bar 50 in the horizontal direction after the joint connection is provided at a front end of the notch 30, said notch 30 being provided at a position where the joint bar 30 stops sliding. An engaging groove (engaged part) 51 a formed on a joint piece 51 of the joint bar 50 is engaged with the engaging projection 31 a. [0067] As shown in FIG. 2, to position the joint bar 50 at the position where the joint bar 50 stops sliding prevents the joint bar 50 from floating freely in the horizontal direction (horizontal misalignment) to keep a stable contact between the female terminal 35 and the joint bar 50. [0068]FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the joint bar 50. The joint bar 50 is a so-called joint terminal formed in a thin board, horizontal chain shape by punching out a conductive substrate, and as described above, has the joint piece 51, a plurality of slidably contacting pieces 52 continued to the joint piece 51, and a vertically contacting piece 53 vertically formed on each slidably contacting piece 52. [0069] The joint piece 51 and the slidably contacting piece 52 being continued to each other in a same plane, and back surfaces thereof, are flat slidable surfaces. The vertically contacting piece 53 is formed by folding perpendicularly downwardly a side part of the slidably contacting piece 52, which is initially in a L shape, and the adjacent vertically contacting pieces 53 are arranged in same pitches as the adjacent female terminals in the horizontal direction y. Additionally, the number of nodes of the joint bar 50 can be modified by cutting some of vertically contacting pieces 53 corresponding to a circuit form. Namely, by cutting some of the vertically contacting pieces 53, the number of the joint circuits can be modified optionally. [0070] When connecting the joint bar 50 into the female terminal, by sliding the joint bar 50 from the slide start to the slide end of the notch 30, then pushing the vertically contacting piece 53 between the resiliently clipping members 40, the joint bar is clipped resiliently. [0071]FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show the female terminal 35 received by the connector housings 12, 22. FIG. 6A shows a perspective view of the whole female terminal 35. FIG. 6B shows an enlarged perspective view of the resiliently clipping member 40 of the female terminal 35 shown in FIG. 6A. [0072] The female terminal 35 shown in FIG. 6A is formed by punching out and folding the conductive substrate. The female terminal 35 has an electrically contacting part 36 at one side, and an electric wire connecting part 37 continued to a body part 38 at the other side respectively, where the resiliently clipping member 40 extending straightly toward the electric wire connecting part 37 is formed integrally at the back of the electrically contacting part 36. [0073] The electrically contacting part 36 is in a box shape, and a not-shown resilient contact piece to support resiliently an electric contact of the female terminal is formed inside the electrically contacting part 36. The electric wire connecting part 37 has two pair of crimping pieces 37 a, 37 b at its back and forth respectively. A core of the electric wire 47 a is crimped with the pair of crimping pieces at forth side 37 a, 37 a. A sheath of the electric wire 47 b is crimped with the pair of crimping pieces at the back side 37 b, 37 b. [0074] The resiliently clipping member 40 has a rear anchor 40 a and a pair of free ends 40 b continued to the rear anchor 40 a. A projection length of the free ends 40 b is so suitable that resiliency and contactivity of the free ends 40 b with the vertically contacting piece 53 of the joint bar 50 are improved. Therefore, the vertically contacting piece 53 is inserted between the free ends 40 b extending in a longitudinal direction of the female terminal 35 with a low insertion force to jointly connect the female terminal 35 to the vertically contacting piece 53 easily, and the vertically contacting piece 53 is reliably clipped between the pair of the free ends 40 b, 40 b to maintain reliability of electrical connection. [0075] A contact part 40 c being bulgy inwardly and a slope part 40 d continued to the contact part 40 c, having a tapered opening, is formed at each top end of the free end 40 b. The vertically contacting piece 53 of the joint bar 50 firstly is inserted into the tapered opening from out side of the slope part 40 d, secondly is pushed into a depth of the resiliently clipping member 40 while expanding a gap between the contact parts 40 c facing each other, and thirdly is clipped resiliently by resiliently restoring power of the free ends 40 b being bent at their root as a fulcrum. [0076]FIG. 7 shows a female terminal 43 as one modification of the female terminal 35. A same mark is attached and explained to the same composition as the female terminal 35 shown in FIG. 6. This female terminal 43 is formed by folding the pair of free ends 45 b in a U shape, and rising the top end parts upward, orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the female terminal 43. A free end 45 b is formed inside a body 38 having a U-shaped section, and is not projected outside of the body 38. The joint bar 50 is inserted into the resiliently clipping member 45 from the top of the resiliently clipping member 35, and is clipped resiliently by the resiliently clipping member 45. [0077] According to this modification, since the top end of the resiliently clipping member 45 is not positioned at the back side of the female terminal 43, but rises upward, the depth of the connector housings 12, 22 can be shortened. Moreover, since the free ends 45 b is so folded in a U shape that the projection length of the free ends 45 b is proper, the resiliency is also prevented from being damaged. [0078] An assembling method of the joint connector according to this embodiment will be explained below. [0079] Firstly, each terminal receiving chamber 18 of the connector housing 12 receives the female terminal 35 connected to an end of the electric wire 47. The female terminal 35 is locked in the cross direction x, by engaging the locking part 36 a with the engaging parts 24 b, 26 a. Then, the joint bar 50 is set at the back end part 33 as the slide start of the notch 30. Since the wall 33 a is formed at the slide start, the joint bar 50 is set without misalignment, and guided slidingly from the slide start to the slide end straightly. [0080] By sliding the joint bar 50 along the notch 30, a top end surface of the joint piece comes into contact with a front end of the notch 30 as the slide end, and then the vertically contacting piece 53 is inserted into the resiliently clipping member 40 of the female terminal 35. At the slide end, the engaging projection 31 a of the notch 30 is engaged with the engaging groove 51 a of the joint piece 51 to prevent the joint bar 50 from horizontal misalignment, so that contact reliability between the female terminal 35 and the joint bar 50 can be maintained. [0081] Next, the connector housing 22 of the upper row is stacked on the connector housing 12, then similarly, the female terminal 35 and the joint bar 50 are attached one by one, so that the female terminal 35 and the joint bar 50 are joint connected with each other. Next, the top connector housing 22 is covered with a cover, and the cover is locked with the connector housing 12 as the lower row. Additionally, the joint bar 50 is clipped and fixed between the connector housings 12, 22 as the lower and upper rows and between the connector housing 22 and the cover. The assembly of the joint connector 10 is ended above. [0082] Thus, according to this embodiment, since the notch 30 to support slidably the joint bar 50 is provided at the partitions 16, 26 and the side walls 14, 24 partitioning the inner space of the connector housing into the terminal receiving chambers 18, 28, the joint bar 50 is assembled in parallel to the female terminals 34, 43 to prevent the connector housings 12, 22 from being bulky. Moreover, since the joint bar 50 is supported slidably by the notch 30 from the slide start to the slide end of the notch 30, the joint bar 50 can slide smoothly. [0083] Moreover, since the resiliently clipping member 40 to clip the joint bar 50 can be provided at the female terminal 35, the joint bar 50 is inserted between the resiliently clipping member 40 of the female terminal 35 with a low insertion forth to clip the joint bar 50 resiliently with the female terminal 35 at the slide end of the notch 30. [0084] Additionally, the joint connector 10 of this embodiment has two rows, upper and lower rows, but not limited to two rows, and can have one, three or more rows. [0085] Further, it is also effective that the front end part of the vertically contacting piece 53 of the joint bar 50 is formed in a taper shape. By forming the front end part in a taper shape, the vertically contacting piece 53 can be inserted smoothly into the resiliently clipping member 40 of the female terminal 35. [0086] Moreover, this invention is not limited to above embodiments, and can be modified variously and carried out without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleEP1930988A2 *Dec 3, 2007Jun 11, 2008Hosiden CorporationCable attachment, cable assembly including the same, and connector including the attachment* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification439/507International ClassificationH01R13/11, H01R31/08Cooperative ClassificationH01R31/085European ClassificationH01R31/08BLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionDec 27, 2012FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 8Dec 24, 2008FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4Mar 3, 2004ASAssignmentOwner name: YAZAKI CORPORATION, JAPANFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TAKAHASHI, TOSHIHARU;SUZUKI, MOTOYOSHI;REEL/FRAME:015045/0599Effective date: 20040301Owner name: YAZAKI CORPORATION 4-28, MITA 1-CHOME MINATO-KUTOKFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:TAKAHASHI, TOSHIHARU /AR;REEL/FRAME:015045/0599RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google