Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-20
2002-03-12
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
C429S403000, C429S402000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06354864
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to joint terminals and a joint connector including such terminals. The invention also concerns a way of establishing connections between the unit terminals which form a joint terminal, and between the joint terminals which form a joint connector. The invention further concerns means for achieving these connections in a flexible way, as a function of the particular type of circuit connection system used.
DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Joint connectors are sometimes employed for interconnecting the electrical cables which are used in common circuit systems such as grounding lines.
FIG. 1
shows a joint connector
1
including a joint connector housing
1
a,
a connecting bus bar
2
adapted for a desired type of connection and inserted into the joint connector housing, and a connector C fitted into the joint connector housing
1
a.
The connector C includes terminals
3
previously bound to corresponding electrical cables D.
The construction of the above joint connector
1
has the drawback of requiring too many component parts. Further, various kinds of connecting bus bars
2
and joint connector housings
1
a
must be available, depending on the type of connector circuit. Moreover, in the above joint connector
1
, it is not easy to adapt to the increasing number of connections caused by circuit modifications. In view of the above, a variant joint connector
1
′ shown in
FIG. 2A
has been contemplated and disclosed in Japanese patent application published under No. HEI 8-306451. The variant joint connector
1
′ includes a variant connector housing
1
a
′ including terminal enclosures
1
b′,
into each of which is inserted a connector terminal
3
′ such as shown in FIG.
2
B.
Such a variant connector housing
1
a
′ includes a multi-stage structure for the terminal enclosures
1
b
′ (a four-stage structure is shown in FIG.
2
A). Partition walls defining these terminal enclosures
1
b
′ have openings for establishing electrical connections in the vertical direction (in FIG.
2
A). The front face
1
c
′ (left-hand side in
FIG. 2A
) of the variant connector housing
1
a
′ includes a respective insertion orifice
1
d
′ corresponding to the position of each terminal enclosure
1
b
′. The connector terminal
3
′ is provided with a first elastic contact member
3
a
′, a second elastic contact member
3
b
′ and a connector portion
3
c
′, respectively extending on the top, middle and bottom levels of each connector terminal
3
′ (FIGS.
2
A and
2
B).
When such connector terminals
3
′ are inserted into a variant connector housing
1
a
′ such as to form a layer, the first elastic contact member
3
a
′ of the connector terminal
3
′ positioned on the lower level is brought into contact with the connector portion
3
c
′ of the connector terminal
3
′ positioned on the upper level. Accordingly, the superposed connector terminals
3
′ can be connected without applying connecting bus bars
2
as was the case before. Further, a male terminal
4
may be inserted into each terminal enclosure
1
b
′ through a corresponding insertion orifice
1
d
′ provided in the front face
1
c
′ of the variant connector housing
1
a
′. The male terminal
4
can thus be connected to the corresponding second elastic contact member
3
b
′ of the connector terminal
3
′. Such a configuration makes it easier to respond to the increase of the number of connections to be made.
As mentioned above, the variant joint connector
1
′ has increased, to a certain degree, the number of connections to be made compared to the joint connector
1
. However, in the variant joint connector
1
′, the number of connections is restricted by the number of terminal enclosures
1
b
′ included in the variant connector housing
1
a
′. As a result, a certain range of connector housing products must be prepared in order to respond to the varieties of circuit types. Further, when the connector terminals
3
′ are superposed, connections are made forcibly, even if all the connections are not needed. As a result, the variant joint connectors
1
′ cannot be employed in a fully appropriate way.
Further, when mounting a wire harness, sub-harnesses K-
1
, K-
2
and K-
3
are first formed by preliminary bundling, as shown in FIG.
3
. At this stage, the cable's end portions T-
1
, T-
2
and T-
3
, which are envisioned to be led out to another sub-harness, are kept unengaged with the connector of any sub-harness, yielding the so-called “yet-to-be connected terminals”. These sub-harnesses are then subjected to a main bundling using an assembling design board. Consequently, the “yet-to-be connected” terminals must be inserted into the connectors of other sub-harnesses, while performing the main bundling. Such a mounting process impairs assembly efficiency. Usually, the preliminary bundling and the main bundling for a wire harness W/H are carried out in different workshops. As a result, the unengaged, “yet- to-be connected” terminals T-
1
, T-
2
and T-
3
contained in the sub-harnesses K-
1
, K-
2
and K-
3
tend to suffer deformation or damage during transfer. Such deformation or damage may render it difficult or unreliable to insert these “yet-to-be connected” terminals into another sub-harness connector in a proper way.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been contemplated to solve such problems. The invention relates to a joint connector in which sub-harnesses contain no “yet-to-be connected” terminal, and which flexibly responds to the increase in the number of electrical cables to be joined and to possible modifications of circuitry. The invention also contemplates providing joint terminals adapted for such a joint connector.
To this end, there is provided a joint terminal including a plurality of unit terminals, each unit terminal including a stem portion in the form of an elongate strip having first and second faces, and first, second and third side rim portions. At least a first cramping connector extends from the first side rim portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first face of the stem portion, the first cramping connector including a first cramping blade portion adapted to be connected to the first electrical cable. At least a second cramping connector extends from the second side rim portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second face of the stem portion, the second cramping connector including a second cramping blade portion adapted to be connected to a second electrical cable. Additionally, at least one link portion extends from the third side rim portion on substantially the same plane as the stem portion, and wherein the plurality of unit terminals are arranged substantially in parallel relation to one another over the length thereof, and are bound through the at least one link portion.
Preferably, each aforementioned unit terminal further includes at least one cable holder extending from a side rim portion of the stem portion, and adapted for holding a first electrical cable placed on the stem portion.
In another aspect of the present invention, a unitary connector assembly including the above described joint terminal and an insulator plate fixed therewith is provided. The joint terminal is fixed with the insulator plate such that the at least first cramping connector extends from the first side rim portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first face of the stem portion, the first cramping connector including a first cramping blade portion adapted to be connected to the first electrical cable. The at least second cramping connector extends from the second side rim portion in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second face of the stem portion, the second cramping connector including a second cramping blade portion adapted to be connected to a second electrical cable. Additio
Ito Yasuo
Kusumoto Kuniharu
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Nguyen Phuong
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
Ta Tho D.
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