Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-27
2002-04-09
Nguyen, Khiem (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
C439S404000, C439S949000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06368142
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an interlayer connection structure, and more particularly to an improved interlayer connection structure in which a branch•joint connection between a bus bar layer, having a plurality of bus bars, and a wire layer, having a plurality of wires, is effected.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been proposed a so-called interlayer connection structure used as a wiring connection structure capable of achieving a high-density branch•joint connection of the wiring in an electric connection box, such as a branch box, used in the connection of an electric system of an automobile.
In this structure, a branch•joint connection between a bus bar layer, having a plurality of bus bars, and a wire layer, having a plurality of wires, is effected through press-connecting terminal portions formed on the bus bars.
FIG. 14
shows one such conventional interlayer connection structure.
The interlayer connection structure, shown in this Figure, is disclosed in JP-A-4-92309 directed to a flat wire harness-producing method, and this structure comprises a bus bar board
1
of an insulative material, having a plurality of juxtaposed slits
1
a
formed therein, a plurality of junction bars (bus bars)
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e
press-fitted in the slits
1
a
to form a bus bar layer, and a plurality of wires
5
, which forms a wire layer, and are laid on the bus bar layer.
Each of the junction bars
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e
has tab terminals (connector terminals) T
1
, formed respectively at opposite ends thereof, and also has press-connecting terminal portions
14
formed on one longitudinal side edge thereof, the press-connecting terminal portion
14
having press-connecting end blades
14
a
for press-connection to the wire
5
. In this illustrated example, each tab terminal T
1
is connected to a male terminal (not shown), received in a connector
17
,
18
, through a relay terminal
16
of a female-female type.
The wires
5
are so-called sheathed (or covered) wires, and are arranged on the bus bar board
1
at predetermined intervals, and extend in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extending of the junction bars
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e.
These wires
5
are press-connected to the predetermined press-connecting terminal portions
14
of the junction bars
3
a
,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e,
respectively. A cover
19
, having press-connecting blade relief holes
21
formed therethrough for preventing the interference thereof with the press-connecting end blades
14
a,
is put on the bus bar board
1
, thus effecting the desired branch•joint connection.
In the above conventional interlayer connection structure, the press-connecting terminal portions
14
are formed integrally on the junction bars
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e
, and the positions of formation of the projected press-connecting terminal portions
14
are determined for each junction bar
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d,
3
e,
depending on the positions of the associated wires to be connected respectively to these terminal portions
14
.
Therefore, in order to achieve a wide variety of branch•joint connections for the plurality of wires
5
, many kinds of junction bars
3
a,
3
b,
3
c,
3
d
and
3
e,
having the press-connecting terminal portions
14
projecting from different positions, must be prepared as shown in the drawings. Therefore, the number of kinds of bus bars, used to form the bus bar layer, increases, and the number of the component parts increases, and this has invited a problem that the production cost increases.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to overcome the above problems, and more specifically to provide an interlayer connection structure in which a wide variety of branch•joint connections can be achieved without increasing kinds of bus bars used to form a bus bar layer.
The above object of the invention has been achieved by an interlayer connection structure comprising:
an insulative bus bar board having a plurality of juxtaposed bus bars of an electrically-conductive material mounted thereon, the bus bar board having a plurality of rows of terminal holding openings each row of which are formed in the bus bar board, and are spaced at predetermined intervals along a longitudinal side edge of a respective one of the bus bars;
press-connecting terminal members mounted respectively in the corresponding terminal holding openings to be electrically connected respectively to the corresponding bus bars; and
a plurality of wires press-connected to press-connecting end blades of the corresponding press-connecting terminal members extending through the terminal holding openings;
wherein a branch•joint connection between a bus bar layer, formed by the plurality of bus bars, and a wire layer, formed by the plurality of wires, is effected through the press-connecting terminal members.
In the above construction, the positions of mounting of the press-connecting terminal members on each bus bar can be easily changed arbitrarily by selectively changing the terminal holding openings in which the press-connecting terminal members are to be mounted, respectively. And, a variety of bus bar layers, having different mounting positions of the press-connecting terminal members, can be provided even by the use of a single kind of bus bars.
Therefore, there can be obtained the interlayer connection structure in which a wide variety of branch•joint connections can be effected without increasing the kind of the bus bars used to form the bus bar layer. By thus reducing the kind of the bus bars to be used, the production cost can be reduced.
In the above interlayer connection structure, preferably, there is provided a wire-holding insulative board which has a plurality of wire-mounting grooves, in which the wires can be mounted in a fixed manner, respectively, and press-connecting blade relief holes for enabling the press-connecting end blades to be press-connected to the wires held in the wire-mounting grooves, and the wires are mounted on the wire-holding insulative board mated with the insulative bus bar board.
With this construction, the wire layer and the bus bar layer are formed on the separate insulative boards, respectively, and therefore the wire layer-forming operation and the bus bar layer-forming operation can be effected concurrently, and the time, required for the operation, can be reduced. The bus bar layer and the wire layer, thus formed respectively on the two insulative boards, are superposed together, and by doing so, the desired interlayer connection can be easily completed, and the efficiency of the operation can be enhanced.
Preferably, the plurality of bus bars are mounted on an obverse surface of the insulative bus bar board, and a plurality of wire-mounting grooves, in which the wires can be mounted in a fixed manner, respectively, are formed in a reverse surface of the insulative bus bar board.
With this construction, only one insulative board is required for effecting the interlayer connection between the pair of bus bar layer and wire layer, and therefore the thickness in the direction of stacking of the layers can be reduced. Therefore, the number of the component parts, used in the interlayer connection, is reduced, so that the cost can be reduced, and besides an electric connection box, using the interlayer connection, can be formed into a small size.
Preferably, contact portions, which face the press-connecting terminal members, are formed by bending respectively on those portions of at least one longitudinal side edge of the bus bar corresponding respectively to the terminal holding openings, and each of the press-connecting terminal members has a resilient contact piece portion for press-contact with the contact portion.
With this construction, each of the juxtaposed bus bars, mounted on the insulative bus bar board, can be electrically connected to the press-connecting terminal member through the resilient contact of the resilient
Katoh Mitsubonu
Nishijima Masataka
Okahira Toshifumi
Tsukamoto Masashi
Nguyen Khiem
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Yazaki -Corporation
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