Ground Joint Connector for Compact Vehicle Wiring
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ground connecting devices for vehicles occupy large spaces, making them difficult to use in confined vehicle interiors, as they require significant protrusion from the vehicle body to avoid interference and accommodate large connector housings for terminal fitting and locking.
Innovation Solution
A ground joint connector design that includes wire terminals, a grounding conductor with aligned wire-side terminal portions perpendicular to the terminal fitting direction, and a connector housing with terminal receiving chambers and locking portions, allowing for compact connection of multiple grounding wires to a vehicle ground site without the need for a dedicated connector housing, and an external grounding terminal for additional safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional ground connecting device with separate connector housings is used, then reliable terminal fitting and locking is achieved, but the device occupies large space and requires significant protrusion from the vehicle body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of holding wire terminals and locking them into a single integrated connector housing structure. The connector housing includes both terminal receiving chambers for holding terminals and locking portions within the same housing, eliminating the need for separate connector housings and reducing overall device volume while maintaining reliable terminal fitting and locking
Solution Approach 2:
The connector housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it holds the grounding conductor, accommodates wire terminals in receiving chambers, provides locking portions for securing terminals, and enables connection to the ground site through the grounding terminal portion. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed, thereby reducing space occupation
2Reliability
If connector housings are made large to accommodate terminal fitting and locking mechanisms, then terminal connection reliability is improved, but the device requires larger gap size from the vehicle body to avoid interference
Solution Approach 1:
By combining the terminal holding and locking functions into a single connector housing with integrated locking portions, the patent reduces the overall length and protrusion requirements of the device while maintaining reliable terminal connection through the integrated locking mechanism
3Reliability
If multiple grounding wires including extra grounding wires are connected collectively, then grounding safety and completeness is improved, but the device complexity and space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector housing is designed to accommodate multiple wire terminals for different grounding wires including extra grounding wires through its multiple terminal receiving chambers. The grounding conductor is configured with multiple wire-side terminal portions that can be fitted with respective wire terminals, enabling collective connection of multiple grounding wires while maintaining a unified and relatively simple device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The grounding conductor is segmented into multiple wire-side terminal portions that are aligned in a specific direction, allowing each terminal portion to be independently fitted with a wire terminal while maintaining overall structural simplicity and enabling collective connection of multiple grounding wires
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a ground joint connector capable of collectively connecting a plurality of grounding wires included in a wire harness for a vehicle, to a given ground site, while occupying a little space. The ground joint connector JC comprises a plurality of wire terminals to be attached to respective terminal ends of the grounding wires, a grounding conductor a connector housing holding the grounding conductor. The grounding conductor includes a plurality of wire-side terminal portions to be fitted to the respective wire terminals in a terminal fitting direction and a ground-side terminal portion to be connected to the ground site while fixed onto the wall surface around the ground site. The wire-side terminal portions aligned in a direction approximately perpendicular to the terminal fitting direction and parallel to the wall surface, and integrally joined to the ground-side terminal portion. The connector housing holds the grounding conductor to allow the ground-side terminal portion to protrude to outside and includes a plurality of terminal receiving chambers and a plurality of terminal locking portions. The terminal locking portions lock the respective wire terminals inserted into the respective terminal receiving chambers and fitted with the respective wire-side terminal portions.