Terminal device

Abstract

To provide a terminal device that can be easily connected to a vehicle control device. [Solution] The terminal device 10 includes a terminal portion that is inserted into the port 14a of the connector 14 provided on the vehicle's control device 12 and connects to the vehicle's control device 12, and a connecting portion that connects to a plurality of wires used for in-vehicle communication and electrically connects the plurality of wires to the terminal portion.

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a terminal device for connecting a plurality of electric wires used in in-vehicle communication to a vehicle control device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connector assembly that is used for a wire harness constituting a CAN communication line including a high-voltage side electric wire and a low-voltage side electric wire, and is wound around a bundling body of the wire harness with a bundling tape. This connector assembly includes a high-voltage side joint connector that connects high-voltage side electric wires respectively led out from a plurality of electric devices, a low-voltage side joint connector that connects low-voltage side electric wires respectively led out from a plurality of electric devices, and a holder that detachably holds a terminating resistor connected between the high-voltage side joint connector and the low-voltage side joint connector with respect to both joint connectors.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When a plurality of CAN communication lines including high-voltage side electric wires and low-voltage side electric wires are connected to the electric devices described in Patent Document 1, if the plurality of high-voltage side electric wires and the plurality of low-voltage side electric wires are individually connected to the connectors of the electric devices, it takes time and effort to attach and detach them.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal device that can be easily connected to a vehicle control device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] According to the present invention, a terminal device that can be easily connected to a vehicle control device can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing the terminal device of the embodiment connected to the control device. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view of the terminal device of an embodiment, cut along the longitudinal direction. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal device shown by line segment AA. [Figure 4] This is a front view of the terminal device with the wires attached. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the terminal device 10 of the embodiment connected to the control device 12. The control device 12 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted in the vehicle. The control device 12 is connected to the CAN (Controller Area Network) in-vehicle communication. The control device 12 may be connected to the Ethernet in-vehicle communication.

[0010] The connector 14 is provided on the control device 12 and has multiple ports 14a for connecting various wires to the control device 12. The terminal device 10 connects the first wire 22, the second wire 24, the third wire 26, and the fourth wire 28 (when not distinguished, simply referred to as "wires") to the control device 12 via the connector 14.

[0011] The terminal device 10 connects multiple wires 22, 24, 26, and 28 to a connector 14 by bundling them into a single unit. This makes it easy to attach and detach them from the connector 14. The first wire 22 and the second wire 24 are paired stranded wires and are used for in-vehicle communication. The third wire 26 and the fourth wire 28 are also paired stranded wires and are used for the same in-vehicle communication as the first wire 22 and the second wire 24. For example, the first wire 22 and the second wire 24 may be connected to the in-vehicle communication bus, while the third wire 26 and the fourth wire 28 may be connected to other ECUs.

[0012] The first wire 22 and the third wire 26 are high-voltage wires, and the second wire 24 and the fourth wire 28 are low-voltage wires. The configuration is not limited to this configuration; the first wire 22 and the third wire 26 may be low-voltage wires, and the second wire 24 and the fourth wire 28 may be high-voltage wires.

[0013] Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal device 10 of an embodiment, cut along the longitudinal direction. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of line segment AA of the terminal device 10 shown in Figure 2. The terminal device 10 comprises a housing portion 20, a housing 30, a first connecting portion 32a, a second connecting portion 32b, a first terminal portion 40a, and a second terminal portion 40b.

[0014] The housing portion 20 is formed in a box shape and accommodates the connection portions for each electric wire. As shown in Figure 2, when the first electric wire 22 inserted into the housing portion 20 has its coating stripped off, the first conductor 22a at the end is exposed, and the second electric wire 24 has its second conductor 24a exposed. The third electric wire 26 has its third conductor exposed. The fourth electric wire 28 shown in Figure 3 has its fourth conductor 28a exposed.

[0015] The first connecting portion 32a is connected to the first electric wire 22, and the second connecting portion 32b is connected to the second electric wire 24. The first connecting portion 32a has a first crimping portion 34a and a first extension portion 36a. The first crimping portion 34a is crimped to the first conductor 22a by crimping or the like. The first extension portion 36a is formed in a flat plate shape and extends from the first conductor 22a and the first crimping portion 34a toward the first terminal portion 40a.

[0016] The second connecting portion 32b has a second crimping portion 34b and a second extension portion 36b. The second crimping portion 34b is crimped to the second conductor 24a. The second extension portion 36b is formed in a flat plate shape and extends from the second conductor 24a and the second crimping portion 34b toward the second terminal portion 40b.

[0017] The first extension section 36a and the second extension section 36b are positioned opposite each other in a direction perpendicular to the plane, with the first electric wire 22 and the second electric wire 24 that they connect to each other in between, and extend in parallel. The direction perpendicular to the plane is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the first extension section 36a and the second extension section 36b. By positioning the first electric wire 22 and the second electric wire 24 between the first extension section 36a and the second extension section 36b, neither the first extension section 36a nor the second extension section 36b is positioned between the first electric wire 22 and the second electric wire 24, allowing the first electric wire 22 and the second electric wire 24 to be positioned close together. This allows the first electric wire 22 and the second electric wire 24 that constitute the stranded wire to be brought close together, thereby suppressing the generation of noise.

[0018] The housing portion 20 encloses the connecting portion 32 and the connection points of the multiple electric wires. The first connecting portion 32a and the second connecting portion 32b (referred to as "connecting portion 32" unless otherwise specified) are insulated by a resin material not shown. In other words, the first connecting portion 32a and the second connecting portion 32b are separated by the interposition of the resin material inside the housing portion 20. After being crimped onto the electric wires, the pair of connecting portions 32 are fixed in place while being insulated by the resin material filled inside the housing portion 20.

[0019] The first terminal section 40a and the second terminal section 40b (referred to as "terminal section 40" when not distinguished) are arranged side by side in the vertical direction. The first terminal section 40a is connected to the high-voltage side wire of the stranded first wire 22 and second wire 24. The second terminal section 40b is connected to the low-voltage side wire of the stranded first wire 22 and second wire 24. This allows the high-voltage side wire and the low-voltage side wire to be connected separately to the terminal section 40.

[0020] The first terminal portion 40a and the second terminal portion 40b are surrounded by the housing 30. The housing 30 may be formed to accommodate the first terminal portion 40a and the second terminal portion 40b and be insertable into one port, and a pair may be formed separately for each of the first terminal portion 40a and the second terminal portion 40b and be formed to be insertable into two ports. In any case, the terminal portion 40 is inserted into the port 14a and connected to the vehicle control device 12.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the second connecting portion 32b connects to the second electric wire 24 and the fourth electric wire 28 and electrically connects the second electric wire 24 and the fourth electric wire 28 to the second terminal portion 40b. The first connecting portion 32a also connects to the first electric wire 22 and the third electric wire 26 and electrically connects the first electric wire 22 and the third electric wire 26 to the first terminal portion 40a.

[0022] The second crimping portion 34b crimps both the second conductor 24a and the fourth conductor 28a. Thereby, two low-voltage side electric wires are connected to one second terminal portion 40b.

[0023] The first electric wire 22 and the third electric wire 26, which are high-voltage side electric wires, are connected to the first connecting portion 32a, and the second electric wire 24 and the fourth electric wire 28, which are low-voltage side electric wires, are connected to the second connecting portion 32b. Thereby, a plurality of high-voltage side electric wires or a plurality of low-voltage side electric wires are respectively connected to the common terminal portion 40, and the terminal device 10 forms a branch circuit outside the control device 12. Compared with the case where the control device 12 forms a branch circuit inside the ECU, the control device 12 can eliminate the need to change the substrate and shorten the lead time. Also, since the branch lines inside the control device 12 can be shortened, even if the communication load increases, the generation of noise can be suppressed. Further, a plurality of high-voltage side electric wires and a plurality of low-voltage side electric wires can be easily connected to the connector 14 together.

[0024] As shown in Figure 3, the first terminal portion 40a and the second terminal portion 40b are positioned close to one side 20a of the housing portion 20, and are positioned closer to one side 20a than to the other side 20b. The housing portion 20 and the housing 30 may be uniformly formed so that one side is flat. As shown in Figure 1, because the terminal portion 40 is offset from the housing 30, the housing 30 can be configured so that it does not block other ports 14a when connected to the connector 14.

[0025] Figure 4 is a front view of the terminal device 10 with the wires attached. The stranded first wire 22 and second wire 24 are positioned side by side in the vertical direction, and the stranded third wire 26 and fourth wire 28 are also positioned side by side in the vertical direction. The high-voltage side wires, the first wire 22 and third wire 26, are positioned offset in the vertical direction, and the low-voltage side wires, the second wire 24 and fourth wire 28, are positioned offset in the vertical direction. The vertical direction is the direction in which the first terminal section 40a and the second terminal section 40b are aligned.

[0026] By arranging the stranded wires with a vertical offset from each other, they can be positioned closer together horizontally, thereby reducing the width of the housing 20.

[0027] The present disclosure has been explained above based on the examples described. The present disclosure is not limited to the examples described above, and various modifications such as design changes can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0028] In this embodiment, the first wire 22 and the third wire 26 are connected to the first terminal section 40a, and the second wire 24 and the fourth wire 28 are connected to the second terminal section 40b. However, the embodiment is not limited to this configuration, and three or more wires may be connected to the first terminal section 40a and the second terminal section 40b, respectively. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0029] 10 Terminal device, 12 Control device, 14 Connector, 14a Port, 20 Enclosure, 22 First wire, 24 Second wire, 26 Third wire, 28 Fourth wire, 30 Housing, 32a First connection section, 32b Second connection section, 34a First crimp section, 34b Second crimp section, 36a First extension section, 36b Second extension section, 40a First terminal section, 40b Second terminal section.

Claims

1. A terminal portion that is inserted into a port of a connector provided on the vehicle control device and connects to the vehicle control device, A terminal device comprising a connecting portion that connects to multiple wires used for in-vehicle communication and electrically connects the multiple wires to the terminal portion.

2. The terminal section has a first terminal section and a second terminal section arranged side by side. The aforementioned connecting portion is A first connecting portion connected to the first terminal portion, It has a second connecting portion connected to the second terminal portion, Multiple wires are connected to the first connecting portion. The terminal device according to claim 1, characterized in that a plurality of other electric wires are connected to the second connecting portion.

3. The enclosure comprises the aforementioned connecting portion and the connection portions of the multiple electric wires, The terminal device according to claim 2, characterized in that the first connecting portion and the second connecting portion are separated by the interposition of a resin material inside the housing portion.

4. The first connecting portion has a first extension portion that extends from the electric wire to be connected toward the first terminal portion, The second connecting portion has a second extension portion that extends from the electric wire to be connected toward the second terminal portion, The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the first extension and the second extension are opposite each other, with a pair of electric wires to be connected in between.

5. The first terminal is connected to the high-voltage wire of the pair of stranded wires. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the low-voltage wire of the pair of stranded wires is connected to the second terminal portion.

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