Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF TEIE INVENTION
Connecting de~ice
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a connecting device,
and more particularly to one ~or electrically connecting
a plurality of lead wires to respective terminal strips,
which is ef~ective in use, ~or example, ~or connecting a
plurality of lead wires connected to a control circuit
of a ~an motor or a wiper motor to a group of terminal
str~ps connected to coils of the fan motor or the wiper
motor.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, in a fan motor or a wiper motor
mounted on a vehicle such as a motor car, in order to
connect terminal strips which are connected to pigtails
of a brush device to lead wires which are connected to a
power circuit, there has been adopted such a connecting
method that a longitudinal concave groove is formed in
the cent~al portion of each terminal strip and an end of
a lead wire is inserted into this longitudinal groove
and sold~ ~ thereto.
However, in this connecting method, after the
end of the lead wire is set into the longitudinal groove
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of the terminal strip, it is difficult to keep the end
of the lead wire fixed in the terminal strip until it is
soldered thereto. In other words, i~ the end of the
lead wire is only inserted into the longitudinal groove,
the end of the lead wire may fall out of the
longitudinal groove.
Therefore, such a connecting method has been
adopted that, after the end of the lead wire has been
inserted into the longitudinal groove of the terminal
strip, the ~orward end of the terminal strip is deformed
to close by clinching, so that the end of the lead wire
can be held in the longitudinal groove and fixed thereto.
However, in the conventional connecting method,
each time the end of the lead wire is inserted into the
longitudinal groove of the terminal strip, the terminal
strip should be deformed by clinching. Therefore, when
a plurality of lead wires are connected to terminal
strips respectively, the work for deforming the terminal
strip should be performed for each lead wire, thus
making the connecting work troublesome. ~-
It is an ob~ect of the present invention to
provide a connecting device capable of connecting
respectiv~-Yead wires to respective terminal strips, in
a state where a plurality of lead wires are held
together.
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DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A connectin~ device according to the present
lnvention is one wherein a plurality of lead wires are
mounted in a lead wire holder, and ends of the
respective lead wires mounted in the holder are
electrically connected to terminal strips of the same
number as the lead wires, respectively, and
is characterized in that:
the holder is made of an insulating material,
and ~ormed in a bo~ shape having openings at both ends
thereo~, a hollow portion of the holder being
partitioned by a plurality of partition plates to
provide a plurality of connecting terminal inserting
chambers, and a side wall of the holder being formed
with a plurality of lead wire mounting grooves whic~
face the respective connecting terminal inserting
chambers;
connecting terminals are mechanically and
electrlcally connected to ends of the respective lead
wires and each of the connecting terminals is formed
with a J-shaped connecting portion capable of being :~
coupled wl$~ each of the terminal strips;
these connecting terminals are inserted into the
respective connecting terminal inserting chambers one by
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one, and, the forward ends of the lead wires are ~oupled
into the lead wire mounting groo~es a~ their portions in
the ~icinity of ~he connecting terminals and held
thereat, respectively; and
the terminal strips are respectively coupled
into the connecting portions of the connecting terminals
inserted into the holder.
In the connecting device according to the
present in~ention as described, when the ends of the
lead wires each fixed thereto with the connecting
terminal are inserted into the lead wire inserting
chambers, respectively, and the lead wires are mounted -
into the lead wire mounting grooves respectively, a
plurality of lead wires are held in the lead wire holder.
Since the top and the bottom o~ the holder are open,
the terminal strips can be disposed to the side of one
of the openings and inserted into the connecting
portions in the forward ends of the connecting terminals.
When the connecting portions of the connecting
terminals are soldered to the terminal strips in this
state, the connecting terminals are fixed to the
terminal strips and the ends o~ the lead wires are
electricaL~ and mechanically connected to the terminal
strips respectively, in a state where the lead wires are
held in the holder.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF T~E DRAWINGS
Figs. l(a) and l(b) are views showing one
embodiment of the connecting device according to the
present invention, Fig. l(a) being a perspective view
showing the state of being assembled and Fig. l(b) a
partially sectional ~ront view showing the assembled
state;
Figs. 2(a) through 2(d) are views showing the
connecting terminals, Fig. 2(a) being a planar view, Fig.
2(b) a side view, Fig. 2(c) a front view and Fig. 2(d)
a perspective view, for explaining the method o~
connecting the connecting terminal to the terminal strip.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention will hereunder be
descrlbed in detail with reference to one embodiment
shown in the accompanying drawings.
In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the
connecting device according to the present invention is
of such an arrangement that four lead wires can be
simultaneously mounted to four terminal strips, and a
holder lQ~i~ pro~ided. The holder 10 is formed to
pro~ide a low box shape of a substantially rectangular
parallelopiped, with the top and bottom surfaces thereo~
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being open. Then, between a pair of side walls 11 and
12 on the longer sides opposed to each other, there are
provided three partition plates 15 equidistantly in the
longitudinal direction of the side walls, said partition
plates extending in parallel to both side walls on the
shorter sides 13 and 14 and bridging the longer side
walls ll and 12 integrally therewith. Accordingly, four
connecting terminal inserting chambers 16 are formed
between the side walls ll, 12, 13, 14 and the partition
plates 15.
In one (hereinafter referred to as a ~first side
walln) of the side walls on the longer sides, there are
opened four lead wire mounting grooves 17 so as to be ;~
communicated with the connecting terminal inserting
chambers 16 respectively, and each of the lead wire
mounting grooves 17 is formed in a substantially
inverted U-shape capable of holding a lead wire 18.
The four lead wires 18 are for supplying
electricity to a fan motor or a wiper motor, and are
connected to a drive control device, not shown, which
controls the driving of the ~an motor or the wiper motor,
and a connecting terminal 19 is secured to an end of
each o~ th~ead wires. The connecting terminal 19 is
~ ~ ,
integrally ~ormed to provide a mounting portion 20, a
securing portion 21 and a connecting portlon 22. The
mounting portion 20 and the securing portion 21 are
formed in substantially U-shapes respectively. :
The connecting portion 22 is projected from a
bottom portion of the U-shaped securing portion 21 at a
side opposite to the mounting portion 20, and bently
formed to provide a substantially J-shape which is
twisted by 90 with respect to the U-shapes of the
mounting portion 20 and the securing portion 21.
Then, the J-shaped connecting portion 22 is
bently formed such that the terminal strip pro~ectingly
provided on a terminal portion to be described hereunder
can be coupled thereinto, and a lower tapered portion 23
and an upper tapered portion 24 are provided at both
ends of this connecting portion 22. The lower tapered
portion 23 is formed to serve as a guide when the
terminal strip is inserted through the connecting
portion 22. Furthermore, the upper tapered portion 24
is formed to become a molten solder pool at the time of
soldering the connectin~ terminal 19, after the terminal
strip is inserted into the connecting portion 22.
Then, a coated portion at the end of each of the
lead wires 18 is mounted in the mounting portion 20, and
the mount~ng port~on 20 is clinched so that the lead
wire 18 can be fi~ed to the connecting terminal 19.
Further, the securing portion 21 is clinched so that the
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end of the lead wire 18 can be secured to the securing
portion 21 and the connecting terminal 19 is
electrically connected to the lead wire 18.
On the other hand, the terminal portion 25 is
formed on the outer surface of a housing, not shown, of
the fan motor or the wiper motor. On the terminal
portion 25, four terminal strips 26 are projected from
the inside o~ the housing and arranged in a row at the
same pitch of arrangement of the above-described four
lead wire inserting chambers 16. Each of the terminal
strlps ~6 is formed in a substantially rectangular flat
plate and provided at the forward end thereof with a
tapered portion 27.
Incidentally, the terminal strips 26 are
connected to pigtails of a brush device and to an auto-
stop switch which effectuates on-off operations for a
driving electric circuit of the fan motor or the wiper
motor, and the like, within the housing.
Description will hereunder be gi~en of the work
of connecting a group of lead wires to a group of
terminals and the operation thereof.
When the lead wires 18 are connected to the
terminal ~ips 26 respectively, as described above, the
:
connecting terminals 19 are previously, mechanically and
electrically connected to the ends of the lead wires 18
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respectively.
The lead wires are mounted in the holder 10 by
inserting the connecting terminals 19 into the iead wire
inserting chambers 16 respecti~ely from the bottom
portion of the holder 10, and inserting the coated
portions of the lead wires 18 disposed in the vicinity
of the connecting terminals 19 into the lead wire
inserting grooves 17 respectively.
The connecting terminals 19 inserted into the
lead wire inserting chambers 16 are prevented ~rom
movlng by the side walls 11, 12, 13, 14 and the
partition plates 15, so that the lead wires 18 can be
held in the holder 10 respectively.
In this state, the bottom portion of the holder
10 is disposed upwardly of the terminal portion 25 and
the holder 10 is moved toward the ter~inal portion 25.
At thls time, when the holder 10 ls moved toward the
terminal portion 25 while positioning the respective
terminal strips 26 so as to be coupled into the
connecting portions 22, the respective terminal strips
26 are coupled into the connecting portions 22 of the
respective connecting terminals 19.
~ his state, when the connecting portions 22
are soldered to the terminal strips 26, the connecting
terminals 19 are secured to and electrically connected
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to the terminal strips 24. Soldering operation can be
dispensed with because the connecting portions 22 and
the terminal strips 26 are reliably, electrically and
meohanically connected to each other.
As has been descri~ed hereinabove, in this
embodiment, the respective lead wires 18 can be
simultaneously connected to the respective terminal
strips 26 through the connecting terminals 19 in the
state where the plurality o~ lead wires 18 are held by
the holder 10, so that the work oY connecting the
plurality o~ lead wires 18 to the terminal strips 26
respectively, can be easily performed, thereby
contributing to improve the workability.
The present invention should not necessarily be
limited to the above embodiment, and, it is needless to ;~
say that various modifications can be made within the
scope of the invention. ~;
For example, the number o~ the lead wires and
the terminal strips should not necessarily be limited to
four, and may be set to an optional plural number.
As has been described hereinabove, according to
the present invention, the ends of the respective lead
wires can-b~ collectively connected to the respective
terminal strips in the state where the plurality of lead
wires are held by the holder, so that the plurality of
lead wires can be connected to the pluralitY of terminal
strips at once, thereby contributing the workability of
the connecting work.
In the fan motor or the wiper motor mounted on
the vehicle such as a motor car, the connecting device
according to the present invention can be effectively
utilized as the connecting de~ice for connecting the
plurality of lead wires connected to the control circuit
to the group of terminals connected to the coils.
