Title of Invention

"A WIRE CONNECTING DEVICE"

Abstract In a wire connecting device 1 including a plurality of parallel horizontal wires 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d, a plurality of parallel vertical wires 3d, 3e, 3f, and 3g intersecting the horizontal wires 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d, and a plurality of pressure connectors 5 for connecting the horizontal wires 4a to 4d and the vertical wires 3d to 3g at their intersections; the pressure connectors 5 are in a staggered arrangement. [Effect] A space occupied by the pressure connectors can be made smaller than that in the prior art employing a checkered arrangement of pressure connectors, thereby obtaining a compact wire connecting device.
Full Text [DETAILED DESCRIPTION OP THE INVENTION]
[Field of the Invention]
The present invention relates to an improvement in a wire connecting device.
[Prior Art]
A technique of simply making electrical connection of a plurality of intersecting wires is known from
Japanese Utility Model Laid-open No. Sho55-21553 entitled "Wire Connecting Device", for example. This technique employs a plurality of metal hook elements 20 shown in FIGS . 2 to 4 of the above publication and a plurality of connection holes 9 shown in FIG. 1 of the above publication for engaging the metal hook elements 20. As shown in FIG. I of the above publication, each metal hook element 20 is engaged with a set of four connection holes 9, and all the metal hook elements 20 engaged are in a checkered arrangement.
The checkered arrangement will be described with reference to. FIG. 8 and each metal hook element 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing intersecting
wires. In making electrical connection of two intersecting wires 101 and 102 at their intersection 103 and making electrical connection of two intersecting wires 104 and 105 at their intersection 106, it is necessary to remove insulating covers 107, 108, 111, and 112 of the wires 101, 102, 104, and 105 and to make
contact of conductors 113 and 114 as well as contact of

conductors 115 and 116.

FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate a wire connection
technique by use of pressure connectors. More specifically, FIG. 7a is a perspective view of one pressure connector 117 and two intersecting wires 101 and 1.02 at the intersection 103 shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. 7b is a plan view showing a connected condition of the intersecting wires 101 and 102 by the pressure connector 117 .
As shown in FIG. 7a, the pressure connector 117 is used to remove the insulating covers 107 and 108 and to contact the conductors 113 and 114.
The pressure connector 117 has four forked portions 121, 122, 123, and 124. Each of the forked portions 121 to 124 has a pair of inclined portions 125 (one side of which being numbered) opposed to each other, a pair of edge portions 126 (one of which being numbered) opposed to each other, and a pair of nipping portions 127 (one side of which being numbered) opposed to each other. [£0-olf]
In connecting the intersecting wires 101 and 102 by use of the pressure connector 117, the pressure connector 117 is pressed against the intersecting wires 101 and 102, so that the wires 101 and 102 are guided into the pressure connector 117 by the inclined portions 125, the insulating covers 107 and 108 are next stripped off by
bhe edge portions 126, and the conductors 113 and 114 are Finally nipped by the nipping portions 127.

As shown in FIG. 7b, the conductor 113 and the pressure connector 117 make electrical connection at pressure contact portions 131 and 132, and the conductor 114 and the pressure connector 117 make electrical connection at pressure contact portions 133 and 134, thereby making electrical connection of the conductors 113 and 114.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a checkered arrangement of pressure connectors in the prior art. A plurality of parallel wires 135, 101, 104, and 137 are equally spaced with a pitch p, and a plurality of parallel wires 138, 102, and 105 are equally spaced with the same pitch p so as to intersect the wires 135, 101, 104, and 137 at right angles. The wires 101 and 102 are electrically connected at their intersection 103 by the first pressure connector 117. The wires 104 and 105 are electrically connected at their intersection 106 by the second pressure connector 117. The wires 135 and 105 are
•v
electrically connected at their intersection 141 by the third pressure connector 117. The wires 137 and 138 are electrically connected at their intersection 142 by the
fourth pressure connector 117.
Other pressure connectors 117B shown by double-dptted dash line as an assumption line similar to the pressure connectors 117 can be located at the other intersections of the intersecting wires. Thus, these pressure connectors 117 as well as 117B can be located at all the intersections of the intersecting wires in a checkered arrangement. FIG. 8 shows an example of the checkered arrangement, in which the four pressure connectors 117 are located at the intersections 103, 106, 141, and 142,
In this example, the space required for arrangement of the four pressure connectors 117 is determined by the width w of each pressure connector 117 and the distance c between the adjacent pressure connectors 117. This space is a rectangular space having a horizontal length a and a vertical length b. The size of this space is equivalent to the size of a wire connecting device including the vertical wires 135, 101, 104, and 137, the horizontal wires 138, 102, and 105, and the four pressure connectors
This space is shown as sp2 also in FIG. 4 in comparison with a space sp1 according to the present invention.
[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]
However, the number of on-vehicle electrical parts as on a motorcycle has recently been increased in response to the needs of users, so that a wire connecting device for connecting wires for such electrical parts becomes large in size. As a result, a large space is occupied by the wire connecting device. It is therefore desired to reduce the size of the wire connecting device.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a compact wire connecting device.
[Means of Solving the Problem]
According to the present invention as defined in claim 1, there is provided in a wire connecting device including a plurality of parallel horizontal wires, a plurality of parallel vertical wires intersecting said horizontal wires, and a plurality of pressure connectors for connecting said horizontal wires and said vertical wires at their intersections, each of said pressure connectors, having a pair of nipping portions for removing
an insulating cover of each of said horizontal and

vertical wires and for making contact with a conductor of each of said horizontal and vertical wires; the improvement wherein said pressure connectors are in a
staggered arrangement.
With this configuration that the plural pressure connectors are in a staggered arrangement, the space occupied by the pressure connectors can be made smaller than that in the prior art employing a checkered arrangement, thereby obtaining a compact wire connecting device.
Accordingly the present invention relates to in a wire
connecting device having a plurality of parallel
horizontal wires (4a-4f) , a plurality of parallel vertical wires (3a-3k) intersecting said horizontal wires, and a plurality of pressure connectors (5) for connecting said horizontal wires and said vertical wires at their intersections, each of said pressure connectors having a pair of nipping portions (41) for removing an insulating cover (3n, 4n) of each of said horizontal and vertical wires and for making contact with a conductor (3n, 4n) of each of said horizontal and vertical wires; characterized in that said pressure connectors are in a staggered arrangement.
[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS]
[FIG. 1]
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway, plan view of a wire connecting device according to the present invention.
[FIG. 2]
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.
[FIG. 3]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one pressure connector and its associated wires according to the present invention.
[FIG. 4]
FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the pressure
connectors shown in FIG. 1 and the intersecting wires connected by the pressure connectors.
[FIG. 5]
FIGS. 5a to 5c are schematic plan views for illustrating the arrangement of the pressure connectors according to the present invention.
[FIG. 6]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of intersecting wires
in the prior art. [FIG. 7]
FIGS. 7a and 7b are a perspective view and a plan view, respectively, for illustrating a wire connection technique using pressure connectors in the prior art.
[FIG. 8]
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the pressure connectors in the prior art.

[Preferred Embodiment]
A.preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. Each drawing is to be viewed in the same orientation as that of reference numerals included therein.
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a wire connecting device 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The wire connecting device 1 includes a base 2, a vertical wire group 3 composed of a plurality of vertical wires arranged in parallel on the base 2, a horizontal wire group 4 composed of a plurality of horizontal wires laid over the vertical wires so as to intersect them at right angles, a plurality of pressure connectors 5 for connecting the vertical wires of the vertical wire group 3 and the horizontal wires of the horizontal wire group 4 at their intersections, and a
cover 6 for covering the base 2, the vertical wire group 3, the horizontal wire group 4, and the pressure connectors 5.
Reference numerals 7 denote fastening portions formed on the cover 6 for fastening the cover 6 to the base 2 .
Reference numerals 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3j, and 3k denote the above-mentioned vertical wires constituting the vertical wire group 3.
Reference numerals 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, and 4f denote the above-mentioned horizontal wires constituting the horizontal wire group 4.
[09^4]
FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the base 2 includes a first wire supporting portion 11 for supporting the vertical wire group 3, connector inserting grooves 12 formed along the opposite sides of the first wire supporting portion 11 (the groove 12 on the back side of the first wire supporting portion 11 being not
shown) , and a second wire supporting portion (not shown)
for supporting the horizontal wire group 4.
The first wire supporting portion 11 has a
plurality of positioning grooves 11a each having a semicircular cross section for respectively positioning the vertical wires 3a to 3k.
Similarly, the second wire supporting portion has a plurality of positioning grooves (not shown) each having a semicircular cross section for respectively positioning the horizontal wires 4a to 4f.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pressure connector 5 and the intersecting wires 3d and 4a in this preferred embodiment. The pressure connector 5 is a member integrally formed from a plate, and it is composed generally of first and second forked portions 21 and 22 adapted to be electrically connected to the vertical wire 3d, for example, third and fourth forked portions 23 and 24 adapted to be electrically connected to the horizontal wires 4a, for example, and a base portion 25 for connecting the first forked portion 21, the second forked portion 22, the third forked portion 23, and the fourth forked portion 24. The vertical wire 3d is composed of a conductor 3m obtained by twisting a plurality of strands
(not shown) and an insulating cover 3n covering the
conductor 3m. Similarly, the horizontal wire 4a is composed of a conductor 4m obtained by twisting a plurality of strands (not shown) and an insulating cover
4n covering the conductor 4m.
The first and second forked portions 21 and 22 have the same dimensions, and the third and fourth forked portions 23 and 24 have the same dimensions. The height of the first and second forked portions 21 and 22 is different from the height of the third and fourth forked portions 23 and 24, so as to allow connection of the vertical wire 3d and the horizontal wire 4a intersecting each other at different levels.
The first and second forked portions 21 and 22 have slot portions 26 and 27 for receiving the vertical wire 3d, respectively.
Similarly, the third and fourth forked portions 23 and 24 have slot portions 28 and 29 for receiving the horizontal wire 4a, respectively.
The first and second forked portions 21 and 22 are parallel to each other, and respectively have outer surfaces 31 and 32 spaced a distance w from each other.
Similarly, the third and fourth forked portions 23
are parallel to each other, and respectively have
outer surfaces 33 and 34 spaced the same distance w (not
shown) from each other.
The slot portion 26 is composed of a pair of first inclined portions 35, 35 (one side of which being numbered) formed at the lower opening for guiding the vertical wire 3d, a pair of edge portions 36, 36 (one side of which being numbered) contiguous to the first inclined portions 35 for stripping off the insulating cover 3n, a pair of second inclined portions 37, 37 (one side of which being numbered) contiguous to the edge portions 36 for compressing and rearranging the strands constituting the conductor 3m, a pair of chamfered portions 38 each formed on the outer surface 31 at a portion contiguous to the first and second inclined portions 35 and 37 for enhancing the cover stripping effect of the edge portions 36, and a pair of nipping portions 41, 41 (one side of which being numbered) contiguous to the second inclined portions 37 for nipping the conductor 3m, and a rounded portion 42 contiguous to the nipping portions 41 for preventing stress concentration upon forcing the vertical wire 3d into the slot portion 26.
Each of the other slot portions 27, 28, and 29 has
the same shape as that of the slot portion 26, so the

description thereof will be omitted herein.
The connector inserting groove 12 shown in FIG. 2
functions to receive the first and second forked portions 21 and 22 of the pressure connector 5, and the bottom of the groove 12 serves as a stopper for the first and second forked portions 21 and 22 fully received in the groove 12, thereby positioning the conductors 3m and 4m almost centrally of the nipping portions 41, 41 of the slot portions 26, 27, 28, and 29.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the pressure connectors shown in FIG. 1 and the intersecting wires connected by the pressure connectors. While the pressure connectors shown in FIG. 4 are denoted by reference numerals 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d for convenience of illustration, each of the pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d is identical with the pressure connector 5. The width w of each of the pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d is the same as that in the prior art shown in FIG. 8, and the distance c between any adjacent ones of the pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d is the same as that in the prior art shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure connector 5a is located at an intersection 51 between the vertical wire 3d and the horizontal wire
4a; the pressure connector 5b is located at an intersection 52 between the vertical wire 3f and the horizontal wire 4a; the pressure connector 5c is located
at an intersection 53 between the vertical wire 3e and the horizontal wire 4c; and the pressure connector 5d is Located at an intersection 54 between the vertical wire 3.g and the horizontal wire 4d. Thus, the pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are in a staggered arrangement, which will be hereinafter described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.
The horizontal position of the pressure connector 5c is set at the center between the pressure connector 5a and the pressure connector 5b. In other words, while the horizontal pitch of the pressure connectors 5a and 5b is set to p (which is equal to the pitch of the vertical wires 3d and 3f), the horizontal pitch of the pressure connectors 5a and 5c is set to 0.5p.
Further, the horizontal pitch of the pressure connectors 5c and 5d is set to p, and the vertical pitch of the pressure connectors 5c and 5d is set to 0.5p.
The space required for arrangement of the four pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d as mentioned above
is a rectangular space sp1 shown by a single-dot and dash

line in FIG. 4. The rectangular space spl has a horizontal length A and a vertical length B. In contrast thereto, reference symbol sp2 denotes a rectangular space
required for arrangement of four pressure connectors in the prior art as shown in FIG. 8. The rectangular space sp2 has a horizontal length a larger than A and a vertical length b larger than B. Accordingly, the space sp1 in the present invention is much smaller than the space sp2 in the prior art.
In this manner, the plural pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d are staggeredly arranged in the condition that the size of each pressure connector and the distance c between the adjacent pressure connectors are unchanged from those in the prior art shown in FIG. 8, thereby reducing the space occupied by the pressure connectors 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d to thereby reduce the size of the wire connecting device 1 (see FIG. 1).
The arrangement of the pressure connectors 5 mentioned above will now be described in detail.
FIGS. 5a, 5b, and 5c are schematic plan views for illustrating the arrangement of the pressure connectors according to the present invention. In FIGS. 5a to 5c, reference symbols d and f denote horizontal wires, and reference symbols e and g denote vertical wires.
FIG. 5a shows an arrangement such that the plural parallel horizontal wires d intersect the plural parallel
vertical wires e and that the plural pressure connectors 5 are located at all intersections between the horizontal w.ires d and the vertical wires e. That is, the pressure c.onnectors 5 are in a checkered arrangement.
FIG. 5b shows an arrangement such that the plural parallel horizontal wires f intersect the plural parallel vertical wires e and that the plural pressure connectors 5 are located at all intersections between the horizontal wires f and the vertical wires e. The pressure connectors 5 shown in FIG. 5b are vertically shifted from those shown in FIG. 5a by half the vertical pitch of the horizontal wires d. That is, the pressure connectors 5 are in a vertical shifted arrangement.
FIG. 5c shows an arrangement such that the plural parallel horizontal wires d intersect the plural parallel vertical wires g and that the plural pressure connectors 5 are located at all intersections between the horizontal wires d and the vertical wires g. The pressure connectors 5 shown in FIG. 5c are horizontally shifted from those
shown in FIG. 5a by half the horizontal pitch of the

vertical wires e. That is, the pressure connectors 5 are in a horizontally shifted arrangement.
The staggered arrangement in the present invention means (1) the combination of the checkered arrangement s,hown in FIG. 5a and the vertically shifted arrangement shown in FIG. 5b, (2) the combination of the checkered arrangement shown in FIG. 5a and the horizontally shifted arrangement shown in FIG. 5c, or (3) the combination of the checkered arrangement shown in FIG. 5a, the vertically shifted arrangement shown in FIG. 5b, and the horizontally shifted arrangement shown in FIG. 5c. While the plural pressure connectors 5 are located in each of FIGS. 5a to 5c, at least one pressure connector 5 may be located in each of FIGS. 5a to 5c. Further, in each of the above combinations (1) to (3), at least one pressure connector 5 in one of FIGS. 5a to 5c and at least one pressure connector 5 in the other figure or in each of the other figures are laid on the different horizontal wires d and f or on the different vertical wires e and g.
It should be noted that the number of the pressure connectors 5, the horizontal wires d and f, and the vertical wires e and g is not limited in the present invention
While the four pressure connectors 5a to 5d are shown in FIG. 4 according to the above preferred embodiment, it is sufficient that two or more pressure connectors 5 be located in a staggered arrangement according to the present invention.
[Effect of the Invention]
The present invention can exhibit the following effect by the above configuration.
In the wire connecting device defined in claim 1, the plural pressure connectors are in a staggered arrangement. Accordingly, the space occupied by the pressure connectors can be made smaller than that in the prior art employing a checkered arrangement, thereby obtaining a compact wire connecting device.
[Explanation of Reference Numerals] 1: wire connecting device
3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f, 3g, 3h, 3j, 3k, e, g: vertical • wire
3m, 4m: conductor 3n, 4n: insulating cover
4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, d, f: horizontal wire 5, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d: pressure connector 41: nipping portion
51, 52, 53, 54: intersection
A, B: length
c.: distance between adjacent pressure connectors
p.: pitch of pressure connectors
w: width of each pressure connector



WE CLAIM:
1. In a wire connecting device having a plurality of parallel horizontal wires (4a-4f), a plurality of parallel vertical wires (3a-3k) intersecting said horizontal wires, and a plurality of pressure connectors (5) for connecting said horizontal wires and said vertical wires at their intersections, each of said pressure connectors having a pair of nipping portions (41) for removing an insulating cover (3n, 4n) of each of said horizontal and vertical wires and for making contact with a conductor (3n, 4n) of each of said horizontal and vertical wires; characterized in that said pressure connectors are in a staggered arrangement.
2. A wire connecting device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Documents:

614-del-1999-abstract.pdf

614-del-1999-claims.pdf

614-DEL-1999-Correspondence-Others.pdf

614-del-1999-correspondence-po.pdf

614-del-1999-description (complete).pdf

614-del-1999-drawings.pdf

614-del-1999-form-1.pdf

614-del-1999-form-19.pdf

614-del-1999-form-2.pdf

614-del-1999-form-3.pdf

614-del-1999-form-4.pdf

614-del-1999-form-6.pdf

614-del-1999-gpa.pdf

abstract.jpg


Patent Number 231091
Indian Patent Application Number 614/DEL/1999
PG Journal Number 13/2009
Publication Date 27-Mar-2009
Grant Date 28-Feb-2009
Date of Filing 20-Apr-1999
Name of Patentee HONDA GIKEN KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicant Address 1-1, MINAMIAOYAMA 2-CHOME, MINATO-KU, TOKYO, JAPAN.
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 TAKAO YAMMAMOTO C/O KABUSHIKI KAISHA HONDA GIJUTSU KENKYUSHO, OF 4-1, CHUO 1-CHOME, WAKO-SHI, SAITAMA, JAPAN.
2 HIROSHI TANAKA C/O KABUSHIKI KAISHA HONDA GIJUTSU KENKYUSHO, OF 4-1, CHUO 1-CHOME, WAKO-SHI, SAITAMA, JAPAN.
PCT International Classification Number H01R 43/01
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 HEI-10-135755 1998-05-18 Japan