JP5533472B2 - Branch circuit forming method and connector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method of forming a branch circuit by crossing wire harnesses each including a plurality of electric wires and electrically connecting the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses, and a connector suitable for use of this method.

  A method described in Patent Document 1 is known as a method of forming a branch circuit by intersecting wire harnesses each including a plurality of electric wires and electrically connecting the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses.

  In this method, as shown in FIG. 17, the plurality of electric wires 60a included in the first wire harness 60 are arranged in a plane, and the plurality of electric wires 62a included in the second wire harness 62 are arranged in a plane. . And the group of the electric wires 60a and the group of the electric wires 62a are overlapped with each other with the connector 64 interposed therebetween, and the predetermined electric wires 60a of the first wire harness and the predetermined electric wires 62a of the second wire harness 62 Are electrically connected by the connector 64 at the position where the wires cross each other.

  The connector 64 includes an insulating plate 66 (connector housing) having a plurality of terminal housing holes 66a arranged in a matrix, and a plurality of press contact terminals 68 housed in predetermined terminal housing holes 66a of the insulating plate 66. . The press contact terminal 68 includes press contact blades 68a and 68b whose blade directions are orthogonal to each other on the upper and lower sides. The press contact blades 68a and 68b protrude from both sides of the insulating plate 66 and are received in the terminal receiving hole 66a. The That is, in this method, the 60 electric wires 60a of the first wire harness are pressed from one side of the connector 64 to the press contact blade 68a on one side of the press contact terminal 68, and the electric wires 62a of the second wire harness 62 from the other side. Is press-contacted to the press-contact blade 68b on the other side of the press-contact terminal 68, whereby predetermined wires of the wire harnesses 60 and 62 are electrically connected by the press-contact terminal 68 at a position where the wires cross each other.

JP 2000-152465 A

  In the conventional method as described above, in order to cross each wire harness in a state where the wires of the wire harness are arranged in parallel, for example, wire harnesses each including 10 wires are connected to form a branch circuit. Then, an intersection area of 10 × 10 electric wires is necessary. Therefore, the increase in the crossing area of the wire harnesses accompanying the increase in the number of electric wires is significant, and the size of the connector is also increased. Such an increase in the size of the connector not only increases the manufacturing cost of the branch circuit, but may cause problems when the branch circuit is incorporated into various devices.

  As a means for avoiding such inconvenience, for example, the electric wires of one side of the wire harness are divided into a plurality of electric wire groups, and these electric wire groups are individually arranged at a plurality of locations in the longitudinal direction with respect to the other side wire harness. It is conceivable that the branch circuit is subdivided by forming the branch circuit by intersecting with each other, thereby forming the branch circuit without using a large connector.

  However, in this case, since it is necessary to perform the operation of pressing the electric wire to the connector for each branch circuit, there is an adverse effect that the manufacturing process increases and the cost increases. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to form a branch circuit more compactly without subdividing such a branch circuit.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to form a branch circuit more compactly.

  The present invention for solving the above problems is a method of forming a branch circuit by a wire harness, including a first wire harness including a plurality of electric wires, a plurality of electric wires, and the plurality of electric wires being in the middle thereof An electric wire preparation step of preparing a second wire harness in which a loop portion of the electric wire is formed by being folded at the portion, a first press contact blade capable of press contact connection to the electric wire included in the first wire harness, and the second A plurality of press contact terminals having second press contact blades that can be press contacted in a posture in which each electric wire of the loop portion included in the wire harness intersects with the electric wire included in the first wire harness, and each of the press contact terminals. A connector having a connector housing for holding the first press contact blades in the same direction on the same side and holding the second press contact blades in the same direction on the opposite side. A connector in which the press contact terminal is incorporated in the connector housing is prepared so that each electric wire of the loop portion of the second wire harness is connected to a plurality of electric wires of the first wire harness predetermined for each electric wire. Each of the first wire harnesses is brought into pressure contact with the first press contact blade in a state in which the wires of the first wire harness are arranged so that the wires are arranged in parallel with each other in a specific direction. A first electric wire connecting step of connecting an electric wire to the press contact terminal; and the loop portion in a state in which the electric wires of the loop portion are arranged in parallel to each other in a direction orthogonal to the specific direction. A second electric wire connecting step of connecting the electric wires in the loop portion of the second wire harness to the press contact terminals by press-contacting the respective electric wires to the second press contact blade. Cutting each wire of the loop portion of the second wire harness connected to the press contact terminal at a position between two predetermined press contact terminals among the press contact terminals to which the wire is connected. And a dividing step of dividing the wires into wires insulated from each other at the position.

  According to the branch circuit formed by such a method, the crossing area between the wires of the wire harness can be reduced as compared with the branch circuit formed by the conventional method (Patent Document 1). That is, in the branch circuit finally formed by the above method, half of the electric wires of the second wire harness are connected to the electric wires of the first wire harness in a state where they overlap each other. Therefore, compared with the branch circuit based on the conventional method in which the wire harnesses intersect with each other in a state where the electric wires are arranged in parallel in a plane, the crossing area of the wire harnesses can be reduced to half. It can be made compact.

  In the branch circuit forming method, in the connector preparing step, a predetermined dividing line that intersects each electric wire at a specific position in the longitudinal direction of each electric wire included in the second wire harness is determined in advance, and the dividing line is used as a boundary. Of the electric wires of the first wire harness, a plurality of electric wires including at least one electric wire located on one side in the arrangement direction thereof and at least one electric wire located on the other side, and the second wire harness A connector in which the press contact terminal is incorporated in a connector housing so as to be connected to each wire in the loop portion is prepared, and in the dividing step, each wire in the loop portion of the second wire harness is arranged along the dividing straight line. It is preferable to cut.

  According to such a method, since it becomes possible to cut each electric wire of the loop part of the 2nd wire harness at once with a linear cutting blade in a division process quickly, productivity of a branch circuit improves. .

  Preferably, the branch circuit forming method further includes a step of interposing an insulating member between the wires divided by cutting each wire of the second wire harness after the dividing step. It is.

  According to this method, since it is possible to more reliably electrically insulate each electric wire of the cut second wire harness, it is possible to prevent troubles such as a short circuit in the branch circuit. .

  On the other hand, the connector according to the present invention overlaps in a state where wire harnesses each including a plurality of electric wires intersect with each other, and forms a branch circuit in which predetermined electric wires of each wire harness are electrically connected at their intersecting positions. A plurality of press contact terminals provided with both ends of a first press contact blade and a second press contact blade capable of press-connecting wires orthogonal to each other, and a connector housing holding these press contact terminals. The connector housing includes a first electric wire holding portion capable of holding the electric wires of the wire harness including a plurality of electric wires in a state of being arranged in parallel, and provided back to back with the first electric wire holding portion. In a state where the electric wires of the wire harness having the electric wires are arranged in parallel and orthogonal to the electric wires of the wire harness held by the first electric wire holding portion A second electric wire holding portion that can be held, and a wire harness of each wire harness held by each electric wire holding portion is provided at a position where the electric wires cross each other, and the first press contact blade is attached to the first electric wire holding portion. A direction that is arranged in the first electric wire holding portion in a direction orthogonal to each electric wire of the held wire harness and that the second press contact blade is orthogonal to each electric wire of the wire harness held in the second electric wire holding portion. A plurality of terminal holding portions capable of holding the press contact terminals so as to be arranged in the second electric wire holding portion, and the second electric wire holding portion includes the second electric wire holding portion. A space that allows a predetermined cutting blade for cutting each electric wire of the held wire harness to enter is formed.

  Such a connector is useful for carrying out the above-described method for forming a branch circuit of the present invention. That is, a connector is prepared in which a pressure contact terminal is held at a predetermined position of the connector housing, and each wire of a wire harness having a plurality of wires (first wire harness) is held by the first wire holding portion of the connector housing. While connecting the wire to the pressure contact terminal by pressure contact with the first pressure contact blade, a wire harness including a plurality of wires and forming a loop portion of the wire by folding the plurality of wires in the middle thereof While holding each electric wire of the loop portion of the (second wire harness) to the second electric wire holding portion, the electric wires are pressed against the pressure contact terminals while being pressed against the second press contact blade, so that the desired electric wires of the respective wire harnesses Can be electrically connected to each other at their intersection. And the said loop part of a wire harness can be divided | segmented by cut | disconnecting each electric wire currently hold | maintained at the said 2nd electric wire holding part, inserting a predetermined cutting blade in the said space of a 2nd electric wire holding part. Therefore, according to this connector, it is possible to form a branch circuit according to the method described above.

  As a more specific configuration, each of the electric wire holding portions includes a plurality of groove portions that extend in parallel to each other and have a shape that allows the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses to be inserted from a direction orthogonal to the axis. And the said space of the said 2nd electric wire holding part is formed when the side wall which forms each said groove part is parted in the same position of those longitudinal directions.

  According to this connector, while inserting each electric wire of a wire harness (1st wire harness) in each groove part of a 1st electric wire holding part, while connecting each wire part (loop part of a 2nd wire harness) to each groove part of a 2nd electric wire holding part ), The desired electric wires can be electrically connected to each other by easily and quickly crossing the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses. Moreover, since the said space is formed by dividing the side wall which forms each said groove part in those longitudinal positions, the groove part of the 2nd electric wire holding part 1 is inserted if a cutting blade is inserted in the said space Each electric wire of the wire harness (loop portion of the second wire harness) inserted into the wire can be appropriately cut.

  In the above connector, the connector housing includes a housing body including the wire holding portions, a terminal holding portion, and a wire cutting portion, and an insulating member attached to the housing body. In the mounted state, it is preferable that the cut electric wires are electrically insulated from each other by being interposed between the electric wires at the cut portions of the electric wires cut by the cutting blade.

  According to this connector, by attaching the housing body to the insulating member, it becomes possible to more reliably electrically insulate each electric wire of the wire harness cut by the cutting blade, such as a short circuit in the branch circuit Trouble can be prevented beforehand.

  In this case, it is preferable that the insulating member has a cover portion that covers the wire harness held by the second electric wire holding portion from the outside while being attached to the housing body.

  According to such a configuration, the cut portion can be covered and protected from the outside while electrically insulating the cut wires. Therefore, it is possible to prevent troubles such as a short circuit in the branch circuit due to the entry of foreign matter into the cut portion.

  The connector housing includes the electric wire holding portions, the terminal holding portions, and the electric wire cutting portions, and is interposed between the housing main bodies and a plurality of housing main bodies stacked in the arrangement direction of the electric wire holding portions. The intermediate member has a shape that can be locked to the upper and lower housing main bodies, and connects the housing main bodies by being locked to the upper and lower housing main bodies. It may be.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to construct a laminated body in which branch circuits are laminated, and it is possible to arrange many branch circuits in a stacked state in a compact state in a small space.

  In this case, the intermediate member is electrically held between the wires at the cut portion of each wire cut by the cutting blade while being locked to the housing body, thereby electrically connecting the cut wires. It is preferable to provide an insulating part for insulating.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to more reliably electrically insulate each wire of the wire harness cut by the cutting blade in each housing body, and prevent troubles such as a short circuit in the branch circuit of each layer. It becomes possible.

  As described above, according to the method for forming a branch circuit of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the size of the connector while suppressing the cross area of the wire harnesses. And according to the connector of this invention, a branch circuit can be favorably formed according to the formation method of the said branch circuit. Therefore, according to the present invention, a more compact branch circuit can be provided.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the connector (connector which concerns on this invention) used for the formation method of the branch circuit of this invention. (A) is a perspective view which shows a press-contact terminal, (b) is sectional drawing which shows a press-contact terminal. It is sectional drawing which shows the housing main body of a connector housing. It is a top view which shows the wire harness used for the formation method of the branch circuit of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining arrangement | positioning of the press-contact terminal in a connector (housing main body). It is a figure explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure (sectional drawing) explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a figure (sectional drawing) explaining the formation method of a branch circuit. It is a perspective view which shows the laminated body of the branch circuit constructed | assembled using the connector which concerns on a modification, and its connector. It is sectional drawing which shows the laminated body of a branch circuit. It is a perspective view which shows an intermediate member. It is sectional drawing which shows an intermediate member. It is a perspective view explaining the formation method of the conventional branch circuit.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In this embodiment, an example will be described in which a branch circuit is formed by connecting the electric wires of the wire harnesses 1A and 1B shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B using the connector 10 shown in FIG.

  First, the configuration of the connector 10 will be described. The connector 10 holds the electric wires of the wire harnesses 1A and 1B in a state of crossing each other and electrically connects the electric wires at the crossing position.

  FIG. 1 shows the connector 10 in an exploded perspective view. As shown in the figure, the connector 10 includes a connector housing 11 and a press contact terminal 12 held by the connector housing 11. The connector housing 11 is a rectangular member in plan view made of an insulating resin material, and includes a housing main body 11A, and an upper cover 11B and a lower cover 11C that are detachably attached thereto.

  The housing main body 11A is provided back-to-back with the first electric wire holding portion 13A capable of holding the electric wires of the wire harness including a plurality of electric wires in a state of being arranged in parallel, and the first electric wire holding portion 13A. 2nd electric wire which can be held in the state where each electric wire of another wire harness including this electric wire was arranged in parallel, and intersected with each electric wire of the wire harness held by the 1st electric wire holding part 13A A holding part 13B and a plurality of terminal holding parts 15 capable of holding the press contact terminals 12 at positions where the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses held by the electric wire holding parts 13A and 13B intersect with each other are provided. .

  The first electric wire holding portion 13A and the second electric wire holding portion 13B are provided back to back as described above. In the illustrated example, the lower side of the housing body 11A is the first electric wire holding portion 13A and the upper side is the second electric wire. The holding portion 13B is used.

  13 A of 1st electric wire holding parts have the several groove part 14 which is located in parallel with each other, and opens downward, and the 2nd electric wire holding part 13B is located in parallel with each other in the direction orthogonal to each groove part 14, and opens upwards A plurality of grooves 16 are provided. In this example, the first electric wire holding portion 13 </ b> A has ten rows of groove portions 14 as the groove portions 14, and the second electric wire holding portion 13 </ b> B has five rows of groove portions 16 as the groove portions 16. Each groove part 14 and 16 has the cross-sectional shape which can hold | maintain the electric wire of each electric wire group of a wire harness, Therefore, the said electric wire is inserted in each groove part 14 and 16 from the direction orthogonal to the axial direction. Thus, the electric wire holding portions 13A and 13B hold the electric wires of both electric wire groups in a state of crossing each other.

  As shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3, each electric wire of the wire harness hold | maintained at the said 2nd electric wire holding part 13 is each in the intermediate part of the 2nd electric wire holding part 13B, ie, the longitudinal direction intermediate part of the groove part 16, respectively. A space 22 that allows a postscript cutter K (corresponding to the cutting blade of the present invention) to cut into is formed. The space 22 is formed by dividing the side walls forming the groove portions 16 by a predetermined dimension at the same position in the longitudinal direction, specifically, at an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction of the groove portions 16. Accordingly, the cutter K having a linear blade extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each wire of the wire harness held in the second wire holding portion 13 can be interposed in the space 22. In addition, each groove part 14 of 13 A of 1st electric wire holding parts is isolate | separated into both sides by 5 rows on both sides of the position of this space 22. As shown in FIG.

  The terminal holding portion 15 is provided at an inner bottom portion of each groove portion 14 of the first electric wire holding portion 13A and at a position where each groove portion 14 and each groove portion 16 of the second electric wire holding portion 13B intersect. Each terminal holding part 15 has a shape capable of holding the press contact terminal 12 as will be described later.

  The press contact terminal 12 includes a pair of press contact blades that are capable of press-contacting wires that are orthogonal to each other outwardly on both sides. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2A and 2B, the press contact terminal 12 includes a first press contact blade 42 extending to one side (downward), and the first press contact blade 42 is opposite to the first press contact blade 42. A pair of second press contact blades 44 extending in parallel with each other in the direction (upward) and a base portion 40 connecting the press contact blades 42 and 44 are provided. As shown in the figure, the first press contact blade 42 and the second press contact blade 44 have a shape orthogonal to each other. Therefore, the press contact terminal 12 presses the electric wire to the first press contact blade 42, and By pressing the electric wire against the second press contact blade 44, the electric wires that intersect (orthogonal) each other are electrically connected to each other at the intersection position. Reference numerals 42a and 44a in the figure are slots formed in the press contact blades 42 and 44, and the electric wires are press contacted to the press contact blades 42 and 44 by being press-fitted into these slots.

  The press contact terminal 12 is held by the terminal holding portion 15 in a state of being inserted into each groove portion 14 of the first electric wire holding portion 13A. Specifically, a through hole 40 a is formed in the base portion 40 of the press contact terminal 12. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, each terminal holding portion 15 has a pair of slits 18 arranged in the width direction of the groove portion 14 (left-right direction in the figure), and a columnar shape protruding downward at a position between the slits 18. Projection 20. Each slit 18 has a shape capable of press-fitting the pair of second press contact blades 44 of the press contact terminal 12, and the protrusion 20 has a shape capable of being fitted into the through hole 40 a of the press contact terminal 12. ing. Therefore, as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure, the press contact terminal 12 is inserted into the groove portion 14 from the second press contact blade 44 side, and each second press contact blade 44 of the press contact terminal 12 is inserted into the slit 18 respectively. The press contact terminal 12 is held by the terminal holding portion 15 by fitting the protrusion 20 into the through hole 40a. And in the state which hold | maintained the press-contact terminal 12 by the terminal holding part 15 in this way, as shown by the continuous line in the figure, the said 1st press-contacting blade 42 is the said groove part in the groove part 14 of 13 A of 1st electric wire holding parts. 14, the second press contact blade 44 is interposed in the groove portion 16 of the second electric wire holding portion 13 </ b> B in a state orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the groove portion 16. That is, each terminal holding part 15 is press-contacted in such a state that the electric wires of the wire harness held by the respective electric wire holding parts 13A and 13B can be pressed against the press contact blades 42 and 44 from the upper and lower sides of the housing main body 11A, respectively. The terminal 12 is held.

  The upper cover 11B covers the second electric wire holding portion 13B, thereby protecting the connection portion between the electric wire held by the second electric wire holding portion 13B and the press contact terminal 12. The upper cover 11B includes a top plate portion 30 that covers the second electric wire holding portion 13B and a peripheral wall portion 31 provided along the periphery thereof. The peripheral wall portion 31 has a shape that can be externally fitted to the housing main body 11A, and a plurality of locking holes 32 are formed at predetermined positions thereof. On the other hand, a plurality of hook portions 24 are formed at positions corresponding to the locking holes 32 on the side surface of the housing main body 11A. Accordingly, when the upper cover 11B is mounted on the housing main body 11A so that the peripheral wall portion 31 is fitted, the hook portions 24 of the housing main body 11A are inserted into the locking holes 32 of the upper cover 11B, and thereby the upper cover 11B. Is locked to the housing body 11A.

  The top plate portion 30 of the upper cover 11B is provided with an insulating portion 34 that protrudes downward from the lower surface thereof and extends in the direction in which the grooves 16 are arranged. As will be described later, the insulating portion 34 insulates the electric wires of the wire harness held by the second electric wire holding portion 13B and cut by the cutter K, and the upper cover 11B is attached to the housing main body 11A. In such a state, it has a shape that can be interposed between the wires at the cut portion of each wire cut by the cutter K. That is, in this implementation, the upper cover 11B corresponds to the insulating member of the present invention.

  The lower cover 11C protects the connection portion between the electric wire held by the first electric wire holding portion 13A and the press contact terminal 12 by covering the first electric wire holding portion 13A. The lower cover 11C includes a bottom plate portion 36 that covers the first electric wire holding portion 13A and a peripheral wall portion 37 provided along the periphery thereof. The peripheral wall portion 37 has a shape that can be externally fitted to the housing body 11A, and a plurality of locking holes 38 are formed at predetermined positions thereof. On the other hand, a plurality of hook portions 26 are formed at positions corresponding to the locking holes 38 on the side surface of the housing main body 11A. Accordingly, when the lower cover 11C is attached to the housing main body 11A so that the peripheral wall portion 31 is fitted, the hook portions 26 of the housing main body 11A are inserted into the locking holes 38 of the lower cover 11C, thereby the lower cover 11C. Is locked to the housing body 11A.

  Next, the wire harnesses 1A and 1B will be described.

  4 (a) and 4 (b) show the wire harnesses 1A and 1B, respectively. One side wire harness 1 </ b> A (referred to as a first harness 1 </ b> A) includes a plurality of electric wires 2, specifically ten electric wires 2, and connectors 3 provided at both ends of these electric wires 2.

  The other side wire harness 1B (referred to as second harness 1B) includes a trunk line 4 formed by bundling a plurality of electric wires 8 made of a covered electric wire, an electric wire 8 constituting the main line 4, and a branched electric wire 9 branched from the main line 4. Connector 5a-5d provided at the end of each.

  The trunk line 4 is configured by folding an electric wire bundle composed of five electric wires 8 and fixing it with a tape. In the present embodiment, the electric wire 8 of the second harness 1B, specifically, the electric wire 8 of the folded portion (referred to as the loop portion 6) of the trunk line 4 and the electric wire 2 of the first harness 1A are connected using the connector 10. Thus, as described below, the electric wires 8 of the trunk line 4 are connected to the ten electric wires 2 of the first harness 1 </ b> A as ten independent electric wires 8. Thus, a branch circuit is formed in which the electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B are connected to the electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A as branch electric wires, respectively.

  Hereinafter, a method of forming the branch circuit by connecting the wires of the wire harnesses 1A and 1B using the connector 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the connector 10 in which the press contact terminal 12 is incorporated in the housing main body 11A is prepared. As described above (see FIG. 3), the press contact terminal 12 is assembled into the housing main body 11A by inserting the press contact terminal 12 into the groove portion 14 from the second press contact blade 44 side, and connecting each second press contact blade 44 of the press contact terminal 12 respectively. It inserts in the slit 18, and it carries out by inserting the said protrusion 20 in the said through hole 40a.

  Note that the position where the press contact terminal 12 is assembled in the housing main body 11A is such that each electric wire 2 of the first harness 1A is held by the first electric wire holding portion 13A of the housing main body 11A, while the second harness 1B is held by the second electric wire holding portion 13B. Each of the electric wires 8 of the loop portion 6 is held, and the electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B are assembled so that the two electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A are connected to each other. In that case, a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the groove portion 16 at the position of the space 22 of the second electric wire holding portion 13A is specifically defined with a dividing straight line orthogonal to each electric wire included in the second harness 1B as a boundary. Of the electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A held by the first electric wire holding portion 13A as the dividing line, at least one electric wire 2 and the other side located on one side of the dividing line in the arrangement direction thereof The press contact terminal 12 is incorporated into the housing main body 11A so that the plurality of electric wires 2 including at least one electric wire 2 located at the position and the electric wires 8 of the loop portion 6 of the second harness 1B are connected to each other.

  For example, in this example, as schematically shown in FIG. 5, the press contact terminal 12 is incorporated into the housing main body 11A. In the figure, the positions of the circle marks indicate the positions of the press contact terminals 12, and the positions of the press contact terminals 12 are shown with the position of the space 22 as the dividing line.

Specifically, each of the groove portions 14 of the first electric wire holding portion 13A is formed as a first horizontal groove n1, a second horizontal groove n2,. When each groove portion 16 of the second electric wire holding portion 13B is a first vertical groove m1, a second vertical groove m2, ... a fourth vertical groove m4 and a fifth vertical groove m5 in order from one end side in the arrangement direction thereof,
The electric wire 8 inserted into the first vertical groove m1 is connected to the electric wire 2 inserted into the second horizontal groove n5 and the tenth horizontal groove n10, respectively.
The electric wire 8 inserted into the second vertical groove m2 is connected to the electric wire 2 inserted into the fourth horizontal groove n4 and the ninth horizontal groove n9, respectively.
The electric wire 8 inserted into the third vertical groove m3 and the fourth vertical groove m4 is connected to the electric wire 2 inserted into the third horizontal groove n3 and the eighth horizontal groove n8, respectively.
The pressure contact terminal 12 is incorporated in the housing body 11A so that the electric wire 8 inserted into the fifth vertical groove m5 and the electric wire 2 inserted into the first horizontal groove n4 and the sixth horizontal groove n6 are connected to each other.

  Next, the 1st harness 1A is prepared, and as shown in FIG. 6, each electric wire 2 is inserted in each groove part 14 of the 1st electric wire holding | maintenance part 13A in the housing main body 11A, and each electric wire 2 is the 1st of the press-contact terminal 12. Press contact with the press contact blade 42. After that, as shown in FIG. 7, the lower cover 11 </ b> C is attached to the housing main body 11 </ b> A to protect the connection portion between each electric wire 2 and the press contact terminal 12.

  Next, the 2nd harness 1B is prepared and each electric wire 8 is inserted in each groove part 16 of the 2nd electric wire holding part 13B in 11 A of housing main bodies, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the electric wires 8 of the loop portion 6 of the second harness 1B are inserted into the respective groove portions 16, and the electric wires 8 are pressed into contact with the second press contact blades 44 of the press contact terminals 12. Thereby, in a state where each electric wire 2 of the first harness 1A and each electric wire 8 of the second harness 1B are crossed, the predetermined electric wire 2 of the first harness 1A and the predetermined electric wire 8 of the second harness 1B are connected to each other. Electrical connection is made by the press contact terminal 12 at the intersection position.

  When the electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B are inserted into the respective groove portions 16 of the second electric wire holding portion 13B in this way and the electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B and the electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A are electrically connected. 5, 9, and 11, the cutter K is inserted into the space 22 of the second electric wire holding portion 13B of the housing main body 11A, and thereby the second electric wire is held by the second electric wire holding portion 13B. By cutting each electric wire 8 of the loop portion 6 of the harness 1B, each electric wire 8 of the main line 4 of the second harness 1B is made into ten independent electric wires 8 insulated from each other.

  And if each electric wire 8 of the loop part 6 of the 2nd harness 1B is cut | disconnected in this way, as shown in FIG. 5, 1st harness 1A will be carried out with respect to each electric wire 8 of the loop part 6 of 2nd harness 1B. As a result of connecting the two electric wires 2 at the positions on both sides of the space 22, the ten electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B are connected to the ten electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A by cutting the electric wires 8. Each branch circuit connected as a branch wire is formed.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 10, the upper cover 11B is attached to the housing body 11A. When the upper cover 11B is attached to the housing body 11A in this way, as shown in FIG. 12, the insulating portion 34 formed on the lower surface of the top plate portion 30 of the upper cover 11B is interposed in the cut portion of each electric wire 8, and this The electric wires 8 of the loop portion 6 cut by the above are insulated.

  As described above, the branch circuit formed by the method as described above connects the ten electric wires 2 of the first harness 1A and the ten electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B. As shown, in the finally formed branch circuit, half of the wires 8 of the wires 8 of the second harness 1B are connected in series with each other and connected to the wires 2 of the first harness 1A in a state of overlapping each other. Will be.

  Therefore, compared with the branch circuit based on the conventional method (Patent Document 1) in which the wire harnesses intersect with each other in a state where all the wires are arranged in parallel in a plane, the crossing area of the wire harnesses 1A and 1B in the branch circuit is halved. Thus, the branch circuit can be made compact. Specifically, in the branch circuit based on the conventional method, when a branch circuit is configured by crossing wire harnesses including 10 electric wires, an intersection area of 10 × 10 electric wires is required. According to the branch circuit based on the said embodiment, the crossing area of an electric wire can be restrained to 10x5, and a crossing area can be restrained in half compared with the past.

  Therefore, according to the branch circuit forming method as described above, the branch circuit can be provided more compactly than the conventional method, and the manufacturing cost of the connector 10 can be reduced and the branch circuit can be provided at a low cost. It becomes possible.

  Next, a modification of the connector shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The basic configuration of the connector according to the modification and the wire harness connected by the connector are the same as those shown in FIGS. Therefore, in the following description, common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and differences from those in FIG. 1 are mainly described.

  13 and 14 show a usage state of the connector 10 'according to the modification. As shown in the figure, this connector 10 'is for constituting a laminated body in which a plurality of branch circuits by the wire harnesses 1A and 1B as described above are laminated.

  This connector 10 'includes a plurality of housing main bodies 11A, the upper cover 11B, the lower cover 11C, and a plurality of intermediate members 11D as a connector housing 11, and the connector 10' shown in FIG. One housing body 11A and four intermediate members 11D are provided. As shown in the figure, five housing bodies 11A are stacked with an intermediate member 11D interposed therebetween, and an upper cover 11B is attached to the uppermost housing body 11A, while the lowermost layer body 11A is attached. A lower cover 11C is attached to the housing main body 11A.

  The intermediate member 11D has a structure that combines the structure of the upper cover 11B and the lower cover 11C. That is, the intermediate member 11D includes an intermediate plate 50 interposed between the upper and lower housing bodies 11A and a peripheral wall portion 52 provided along the periphery thereof. The peripheral wall portion 52 extends in both the upper and lower sides of the intermediate plate 50 and has a shape that can be fitted onto the upper and lower housing main bodies 11A. Are formed, and a plurality of locking holes 54 into which the hook portion 24 of the lower housing body 11A can be inserted. Therefore, when the connector 10 is interposed between the pair of housing main bodies 11A, the hook portions 24 and 26 of the upper and lower housing main bodies 11A are inserted into the respective locking holes 52 and 54 of the intermediate member 11D, thereby The intermediate member 11D is locked to the housing main body 11A, whereby the upper and lower housing main bodies 11A and the intermediate member 11D are integrally connected.

  The intermediate member 11D includes an insulating portion 56 having the same shape as the insulating portion 34 of the upper cover 11B on the lower surface of the intermediate plate 50. The insulating portion 56 is interposed between the electric wires 8 at the cut portions of the electric wires 8 cut by the cutter K in the lower-layer housing main body 11A in a state where the intermediate member 11D is locked to the housing main body. The insulated electric wires 8 are electrically insulated from each other.

  Next, an example of a method of forming a branch circuit laminate as shown in FIG. 13 using this connector will be schematically described.

  First, the lowermost branch circuit is formed according to the branch circuit formation method already described, specifically, the method shown in FIGS.

  Separately from this, four branch circuits, which are the uppermost layer and the intermediate layer, are formed according to the method shown in FIGS. For these branch circuits, the intermediate member 11D is attached to the lower surface (the first electric wire holding portion 13A side) of the housing main body 11A instead of the lower cover 11C.

  When the branch circuit of each layer is formed in this way, the housing body 11A on which the intermediate member 11D is mounted is overlaid on the housing body 11A constituting the lowermost branch circuit on which the lower cover 11C is mounted, and the intermediate member 11D. Is locked to the lowermost housing body 11A. As a result, a two-layer branch circuit is formed. In this case, a part of the electric wires 8 of the second harness 1B forming the lower branch circuit is released to the side of the housing main body 11A as shown in FIG.

  Next, in the same manner, another housing body 11A on which the intermediate member 11D is mounted is sequentially laminated on the upper housing body 11A among the housing bodies 11A constituting the two-layer branch circuit, thereby A 5-layer branch circuit is configured. Finally, by attaching the upper cover 11B to the uppermost housing body 11A, a laminated body of branch circuits as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is completed.

  Such a connector 10 ′ can be integrated in a state where the branch circuits are stacked, and is useful when it is desired to arrange the branch circuits in a specific place. In particular, the connector 10 ′ shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 has a structure in which the housing main body 11A and the intermediate member 11D having the same structure are repeatedly stacked. Therefore, the number of stacked branch circuits can be increased by increasing or decreasing the number of the housing main body 11A and the intermediate member 11D. Can be changed arbitrarily. Therefore, there exists an advantage that the optimal laminated body can be constructed | assembled according to a use or a place.

  The branch circuit formation direction and the connector used in the method of the present invention described above are examples of the branch circuit formation method and connector according to the present invention, and are more specific for forming a branch circuit. The specific method and the more specific configuration of the connector can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in the connector 10 of the above embodiment, the insulating portion 34 is formed on the upper cover 11B, and the insulating portion 34 is interposed between the cut portions of the cut electric wire 8 by attaching the upper cover 11B to the housing body 11A. In this configuration, the cut portions are insulated (that is, the insulating member of the present invention has a cover portion that covers the wire harness held by the second electric wire holding portion from the outside). An insulating member for insulating the cut portion may be provided separately from the upper cover 11B. For example, it is good also as a structure which insulates the cut part of the electric wire 8 with the said member for insulation by providing the plate-shaped insulation member which consists of insulating materials so that it can fit in the site | part of the said space 22 of the housing main body 11A. Such a configuration is the same for the connector 10 'according to the modification. However, according to the configuration in which the insulating portions 34 and 56 are provided in the upper cover 11B and the intermediate member 11D as in the above embodiment, the assembly of the connector is improved by the common use of the members, and the connector housing 11 is manufactured. It is advantageous in terms of management.

  The insulating portions 34 and 56 of the upper cover 11B and the intermediate member 11D are arranged between the electric wires 8 without the insulating portions 34 and 56 being interposed in the cut portions of the electric wires 8 of the second wire harness 1B after the electric wires 8 are divided. If it can be insulated, it may be omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1A, 1B Wire harness 2, 8 Electric wire 10, 10 'Connector 11A Housing main body 11B Upper cover 11C Lower cover 12 Pressure contact terminal 13A 1st electric wire holding part 13B 2nd electric wire holding part 15 Terminal holding part 14, 16 Groove part 34 Insulating part 42 First press contact blade 44 Second press contact blade

Claims (9)

A method of forming a branch circuit with a wire harness,
Electric wire preparation for preparing a first wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and a second wire harness including a plurality of electric wires and forming a loop portion of the electric wires by folding the plurality of electric wires in the middle thereof Process,
A posture in which each electric wire in the loop part included in the first wire harness and the first wire blade included in the first wire harness intersects the wire included in the first wire harness. A plurality of press contact terminals having second press contact blades that can be press contacted with each other, and the respective press contact terminals are arranged in the same direction on the same side, and the second press contact blades are arranged in the same direction on the opposite side. A connector housing that holds the cable in such a manner that each electric wire of the loop portion of the second wire harness is connected to a plurality of electric wires of the first wire harness predetermined for each electric wire. A connector preparing step of preparing a connector in which a pressure contact terminal is incorporated in the connector housing;
Each electric wire of the first wire harness is pressed against the first press contact blade in a state in which the electric wires of the first wire harness are arranged so that the electric wires are arranged in parallel with each other in a specific direction. A first electric wire connecting step of connecting to
The wires in the loop portion are pressed against the second press contact blade in a state where the wires in the loop portion are arranged so that the wires in the loop portion are arranged in parallel to each other in a direction orthogonal to the specific direction. A second electric wire connecting step of connecting each electric wire of the loop portion of the two-wire harness to the press contact terminal;
The cutting position by cutting each electric wire of the loop portion of the second wire harness connected to the press contact terminal at a position between two predetermined press contact terminals among the press contact terminals to which the wire is connected. And a dividing step of dividing the wires into wires insulated from each other at the boundary. A method of forming a branch circuit according to claim 1,
In the connector preparation step, a predetermined dividing line that intersects each electric wire at a specific position in the longitudinal direction of each electric wire included in the second wire harness is determined in advance, and each of the first wire harnesses is defined by using the dividing line as a boundary. A plurality of electric wires including at least one electric wire located on one side in the arrangement direction of the electric wires and at least one electric wire located on the other side, and each electric wire in the loop portion of the second wire harness, respectively Prepare a connector that incorporates the pressure contact terminal into the connector housing to be connected,
In the dividing step, the electric wires in the loop portion of the second wire harness are cut along the dividing straight line. A method for forming a branch circuit according to claim 1 or 2,
After the said division | segmentation process, the process of forming an insulating member between the electric wires divided | segmented mutually by the cutting | disconnection of each electric wire of the said 2nd wire harness is further included, The formation method of the branch circuit characterized by the above-mentioned. It is a connector for forming a branch circuit in which wire harnesses each including a plurality of electric wires are overlapped in a state where they intersect each other, and predetermined electric wires of each wire harness are electrically connected at their intersecting positions,
A plurality of press contact terminals each having a first press contact blade and a second press contact blade capable of press-connecting wires orthogonal to each other; and a connector housing for holding these press contact terminals;
The connector housing has a first electric wire holding portion capable of holding the electric wires of the wire harness including a plurality of electric wires in a state of being arranged in parallel;
The first electric wire holding portion is provided back to back, and the electric wires of the wire harness having a plurality of electric wires are arranged in parallel and orthogonal to the electric wires of the wire harness held by the first electric wire holding portion. A second electric wire holding part capable of being held in
Each wire harness held by each wire holding part is provided at a position where the wires of each wire harness intersect with each other, and the first pressure contact blade is in a direction orthogonal to each wire of the wire harness held by the first wire holding part. It is arranged in the first electric wire holding part, and the second press contact blade is arranged in the second electric wire holding part in a direction orthogonal to each electric wire of the wire harness held in the second electric wire holding part. A plurality of terminal holding parts capable of holding the press contact terminals,
The second electric wire holding portion is formed with a space that allows a predetermined cutting blade for cutting each electric wire of the wire harness held by the second electric wire holding portion to enter. connector. The connector according to claim 4,
Each of the electric wire holding portions includes a plurality of groove portions extending in parallel with each other and having a shape capable of inserting the electric wires of the respective wire harnesses from a direction orthogonal to the axis line thereof,
The said space of the said 2nd electric wire holding part is formed by dividing the side wall which forms each said groove part in the same position of those longitudinal directions, The connector characterized by the above-mentioned. The connector according to claim 4 or 5,
The connector housing includes a housing main body including the electric wire holding portions, a terminal holding portion, and an electric wire cutting portion, and an insulating member attached to the housing main body.
The insulating member is a connector characterized by being electrically insulated between the cut wires by being interposed between the wires in the cut portion of each wire cut by the cutting blade in the mounted state. . The connector according to claim 6, wherein
The connector according to claim 1, wherein the insulating member includes a cover portion that covers the wire harness held by the second electric wire holding portion from the outside while being attached to the housing body. The connector according to claim 4 or 5,
The connector housing includes the electric wire holding portions, the terminal holding portions, and the electric wire cutting portions, respectively, and a plurality of housing main bodies stacked in the arrangement direction of the electric wire holding portions, and an intermediate member interposed between the housing main bodies. The intermediate member has a shape that can be locked to the upper and lower housing bodies, and connects the housing bodies by being locked to the upper and lower housing bodies. Connector. The connector according to claim 8, wherein
Insulation that electrically insulates the cut wires by interposing between the wires at the cut portion of each wire cut by the cutting blade while the intermediate member is locked to the housing body. A connector characterized by comprising a portion.

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