CN116529839A - Female terminal, connector, bus bar, terminal-equipped wire, connector-equipped wire, and wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a female terminal (10) which can be reliably electrically conductive by bringing a part of the female terminal into close contact with a male terminal (10) while being connected to the male terminal (10). A female terminal (10) provided with: a connection part (12) electrically connected with the flat connection sheet (3) of the connected convex terminal; and an electric wire connection part (11) connected to the electric wire (5), wherein the connection part (12) of the female terminal (10) has: a conductive base part (20) having a pair of side walls (21) and a side wall connecting part (22), wherein the pair of side walls (21) are arranged with an insertion space (12X) capable of inserting the connecting sheet (3) therebetween, and the side wall connecting part (22) connects the side walls (21) to each other; and a conductive spring member (30) which is disposed between the pair of side walls (21) of the base part (20) and is in contact with the connection piece (3) inserted into the insertion space (12X) so as to apply a force to the other side wall (21) by using one side wall (21) as a reaction force, wherein the spring member (30) and the side wall (21) are fixed by a conductive welding part (40) which can conductively weld the spring member (30) and the side wall (21).

Description

Female terminal, connector, bus bar, terminal-equipped wire, connector-equipped wire, and wire harness

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a female terminal, a connector, a bus bar, a terminal-attached electric wire, a connector-attached electric wire, and a wire harness, which are attached to, for example, a connector of a wire harness for large currents.

Background

An electrical device of an apparatus such as an automobile is connected to other electrical devices and a power supply device via a wire harness obtained by bundling covered wires to constitute an electrical circuit. At this time, the wire harness, the electrical equipment, and the power supply device are connected to each other through connectors mounted to each other.

Specifically, for example, a female terminal as shown in patent document 1 is attached to a cavity of a connector housing, and the female terminal is connected to the connector housing to which the male terminal is attached, and a part of the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, so that the terminals are electrically connected to each other. In this case, it is necessary to press a part of the female terminal against the male terminal inserted therein, so as to make the female terminal closely contact with the male terminal and reliably conduct electricity.

For example, if the current to be supplied to the drive system electric circuit or the like is increased, it is necessary to construct the terminal using a thick terminal plate material, and the spring property of the female terminal constructed of the thick terminal plate material is reduced, so that the pressing of the male terminal is reduced, and there is a possibility that the conductivity is reduced.

Prior art literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2009-245701

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a female terminal, a connector, a bus bar, a terminal-equipped wire, a connector-equipped wire, and a wire harness, each of which is capable of reliably conducting electricity by bringing a part of the female terminal into close contact with a male terminal in a state of being connected to the male terminal.

Means for solving the problems

The present invention is characterized by a female terminal provided with: a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal is inserted, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side walls being fixed by a conductive welding portion that conductively welds the spring member and the side walls.

The present invention is also characterized by a connector comprising: the concave terminal; and a connector housing that houses the female terminal, and a terminal-attached electric wire to which the female terminal is connected at a tip end of the electric wire, and a connector-attached electric wire having: the terminal-equipped wire; and a connector housing that accommodates therein a female terminal to which a tip of the terminal-attached electric wire is connected, and a wire harness that includes at least one of the terminal-attached electric wire and the connector-attached electric wire.

The welding includes laser welding such as fiber laser welding, electron beam welding, welding such as arc welding, pressure welding such as resistance welding, ultrasonic welding, friction welding, brazing such as brazing or soldering, and the conductive welding portion is a welding portion such as a bead formed by the welding.

According to the present invention, the spring member can be reliably electrically conductive by being brought into close contact with the male terminal in a state of being connected to the male terminal.

Specifically, the device is provided with: a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted interposed therebetween, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion. Therefore, the conductive spring member can be pressed against and brought into close contact with a part of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space by the side wall acting as a reaction force.

Further, since the spring member and the side wall are fixed by the conductive welded portion where the spring member and the side wall are conductively welded, for example, a high conductivity can be ensured as compared with a conductivity in a structure in which the spring member is formed separately from the terminal body and is brought into contact only to conduct electricity. Therefore, in a state of being connected to the male terminal, the spring member that is conductively fixed to the base portion can be reliably brought into close contact with the male terminal to conduct electricity.

In the present invention, the spring member may be provided for each of the pair of side walls.

According to the present invention, the spring member is capable of sandwiching and contacting a part of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space, and the contact area between a part of the male terminal and the spring member is increased, thereby further improving the electrical conductivity.

In the present invention, the spring member may be provided for one of the pair of side walls.

According to the present invention, the spring member and the other side wall can sandwich and contact a part of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space, and conductivity can be further improved.

In the present invention, the spring member may have a plurality of arm springs arranged in a direction intersecting a depth direction from the opening of the insertion space toward the rear side, the arm springs having an arm shape extending in the depth direction of the insertion space

The arm extending in the depth direction means an arm extending in a direction from the opening when the arm is inserted into the insertion space toward the rear side of the insertion space.

According to the present invention, by inserting a part of the male terminal into the insertion space, the contact area between the arm spring having the arm shape extending in the depth direction and a part of the male terminal increases, and the conductivity can be more reliably improved without preventing the insertion of a part of the male terminal into the insertion space.

In the present invention, the conductive welded portion may be formed to extend in a direction intersecting a direction in which the arm spring extends.

The conductive lands may be formed in a substantially elongated shape by being arranged adjacent to each other in the intersecting direction, or may be formed in a substantially elongated shape by being arranged adjacent to each other in the intersecting direction.

According to the present invention, the conductivity between the base portion and the arm springs arranged in the intersecting direction can be improved.

In the present invention, the spring member may have a grip plate that grips the side wall in cooperation with the base portion of the arm spring, the grip plate may be disposed outside the side wall, and the conductive welding portion may be configured to conductively weld the grip plate and the side wall.

According to the present invention, the arm spring can be conductively fixed to the side wall.

In detail, since the side wall is gripped by the base portion of the arm spring and the grip plate, the arm spring can be stably attached to the side wall. Further, since the grip plate disposed on the outer side of the side wall and the side wall are conductively welded, the workability of welding is improved, and the conductivity of the arm spring and the side wall can be reliably improved by reliable welding.

In the present invention, the terminal body may be thicker than the spring member and have higher conductivity than the spring member.

According to the present invention, even if the concave terminal of the terminal body is formed by using a thick plate material having low elasticity, the spring member which is reliably electrically conductive to the base portion by the electrically conductive welded portion can be brought into close contact with a part of the convex terminal, and the electrical conductivity can be further improved.

In the present invention, the terminal body may have a portion at least a part of the surface of which is not plated.

Since the side wall of the base portion is provided with the spring member having the conductivity secured by the conductive welded portion, high conductivity can be secured even if plating or the like is not performed on the surface of the side wall to improve conductivity in the case where conductivity is secured by contact between the side wall and the spring member.

The present invention is also characterized by a female terminal provided with: a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal is inserted, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side walls being fixed by a conductive welding portion that conductively welds the spring member and the side walls, the conductive welding portion being provided in plurality along a predetermined direction.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, since the number of parts where the spring member and the side wall are welded by the plurality of conductive weld portions increases, that is, the number of conductive parts between the side wall and the spring member due to the plurality of conductive weld portions increases, a so-called parallel circuit can be formed by the spring member and the side wall, contact resistance between the spring member and the side wall can be reduced, and conductivity can be improved.

The present invention is also characterized by a female terminal provided with: a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal is inserted, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side walls being fixed by a conductive welded portion that conductively welds the spring member to the side walls, the spring member being provided for one of the pair of side walls, and the other of the pair of side walls being provided with a protruding portion that protrudes toward the one side wall.

According to the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, the connection piece of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space and connected to the female terminal can be sandwiched from both sides by the protruding portion and the spring member and brought into contact therewith, thereby reliably obtaining conductivity.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a female terminal, a connector, a bus bar, a terminal-equipped wire, a connector-equipped wire, and a wire harness, each of which can reliably conduct electricity by bringing a part of the female terminal into close contact with the male terminal in a state of being connected to the male terminal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a connector.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a female terminal.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory view of the female terminal.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory view of the female terminal.

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal.

Fig. 6 is an explanatory view of the female terminal.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modification of the female terminal.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of still another modification of the female terminal.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a modification of embodiment 2.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a concave terminal of a modification of embodiment 2.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a female terminal of embodiment 3.

Fig. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal of embodiment 3 as seen from above.

Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal of embodiment 3 as seen from below.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the female terminal of embodiment 3.

Fig. 17 is an exploded perspective view of a modification of the female terminal of embodiment 3.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 19 is an exploded perspective view of a modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 20 is an explanatory diagram of still another modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram of still another modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram of another modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 23 is an explanatory diagram of another modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Fig. 24 is an explanatory diagram of another modification of the female terminal of embodiment 2.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an explanatory view of a wire 1 with a connector, fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a female terminal 10, fig. 3, 4 and 6 show explanatory views of the female terminal 10, and fig. 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10.

In detail, (a) of fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the electric wire 1 with a connector, and (b) of fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the electric wire 1 with a connector illustrating the connector housing 2 in a perspective state. Fig. 3 (a) shows a front view of the female terminal 10, and fig. 3 (b) shows a cross-sectional view as seen along arrow A-A of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 (a) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B arrow of fig. 3 (B), and fig. 4 (B) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B arrow in a state of being connected to a flat plate-like connection piece 3 as a part of a male terminal. Fig. 6 is an explanatory view of the assembly of the female terminal 10, fig. 6 (a) is a sectional view taken along the arrow B-B showing a state before the base part 20 and the spring member 30 are assembled, and fig. 6 (B) and (c) are sectional views taken along the arrow B-B showing a state in which the spring member 30 is welded to the base part 20.

The female terminal 10 described below is composed of a spring member 30 and a terminal body 15, and can be disposed inside the connector housing 2 as shown in fig. 1 to constitute the electric wire 1 with a connector.

The terminal body 15 has: a conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to a spring member 30, the spring member 30 being electrically connected to a flat connection piece 3 (see fig. 4 (b)) of the connected male terminal; and an electric wire connection portion 11 connected to the electric wire 5.

The electric wire 5 is a round electric wire for large current in which an inner conductor is covered with an insulating coating, and an electric wire obtained by connecting a conductor exposed by peeling the insulating coating from the tip of the electric wire 5 to a concave terminal 10 described later is referred to as a terminal-equipped electric wire 4. Also, the wire harness may be configured using the terminal-attached electric wire 4.

The connector housing 2 has a 1 st housing portion 2a having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and a wire penetrating insertion portion 2b extending from the 1 st housing portion 2a, the 1 st housing portion 2a has an arrangement space 2c, and the female terminal 10 of the terminal-equipped wire 4 penetrating from the wire penetrating insertion portion 2b is arranged in the arrangement space 2c inside the 1 st housing portion 2 a.

The arrangement space 2c in which the female terminal 10 is arranged is opened in the 1 st housing portion 2a on the opposite side to the side on which the wire penetrating insertion portion 2b is arranged so that the female terminal 10 arranged inside can be seen.

In the present embodiment, 2 wires 4 with terminals are attached to the wire 1 with a connector, and the connector housing 2 concave terminals 10 are adjacent to each other in the arrangement space 2c.

The electric wire 1 with a connector thus configured is, for example, an end portion of a harness, not shown, or an end portion of a branch line branched from a trunk line of the harness. The electric wire 1 with a connector is connected to a male connector, not shown, from the opening of the 1 st housing part 2a, and a male terminal provided in the male connector is connected to a female terminal 10 disposed in the disposition space 2c.

The female terminal 10 is connected to a conductor exposed by peeling an insulating coating at the tip of the electric wire 5, and constitutes the terminal-equipped electric wire 4.

The female terminal 10 is provided with a wire connection portion 11 and a connection portion 12. The connecting portion 12 includes a base portion 20 and a spring member 30 which are conductively fixed by a conductive welding portion 40 at the time of assembly, and the conductive welding portion 40 is formed by welding. The terminal body 15 is constituted by the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20.

In the female terminal 10, the wire connection portion 11 is arranged in series with the connection portion 12. In the following description, a direction in which the wire connection portion 11 and the connection portion 12 are arranged in series (a direction connecting the lower right and the upper left in fig. 2) is referred to as a longitudinal direction L. The direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and in which the wire connecting portion 11 is opened (in fig. 2, the direction connecting the lower left and upper right) is referred to as the width direction W. The direction intersecting the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W (vertical direction in fig. 2) is referred to as the height direction H, the direction in which the insertion space 12X is opened (upward direction in fig. 2) is referred to as the upward direction Hu, and the opposite direction (downward direction in fig. 2) is referred to as the downward direction Hd.

The wire connection portion 11 is composed of a connection plate 111 and a guide piece 112, the connection plate 111 extending in the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H, the guide piece 112 extending from both ends of the connection plate 111 in the height direction H to one of the width directions W. The wire connecting portion 11 formed of the connecting plate 111 and the guide piece 112 is formed in a transverse square U shape with one side in the width direction W open when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. In the present embodiment, the cross direction square U shape is formed so as to be open toward the front side in the width direction W.

The connection portion 12 electrically connected to the flat plate-shaped connection piece 3 (see fig. 4 b) of the connected male terminal includes a conductive base portion 20 and a conductive spring member 30, and the spring member 30 is disposed between a pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20.

The base portion 20 includes: a pair of side walls 21, the side walls 21 being disposed across an insertion space 12X into which the connection piece 3 can be inserted; and a side wall connecting portion 22 connecting the side walls 21 to each other.

The spring member 30 disposed between the pair of side walls 21 contacts the connecting piece 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X so as to apply a force to the side walls 21 as a reaction force.

Specifically, the side wall 21 constituting the base portion 20 is disposed on one side in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the wire connecting portion 11, and is formed in a planar shape in the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H. The side walls 21 constituting the base 20 are provided at predetermined intervals in the width direction W. The side wall connecting portion 22 constituting the base portion 20 is configured to connect the end portions of the pair of side walls 21 on one side in the height direction H in the width direction W as described above. The base portion 20 is formed in a U shape that is open in the upward direction Hu, which faces the side wall connecting portion 22 in the height direction H, when viewed in the longitudinal direction L.

One of the pair of side walls 21 is continuous with the connection plate 111 of the wire connection portion 11 in the longitudinal direction L. In the present embodiment, the rear side wall 21 in the width direction W is continuous with the connection plate 111, and is formed in a U shape with an opening in the upper side Hu in the height direction H.

Further, a part of the guide piece 112 in the lower direction Hd of the guide pieces 112 arranged in the height direction H in the wire connecting portion 11 is continuous in the longitudinal direction L with the side wall connecting portion 22 of the base portion 20.

A mounting recess 23 is formed at an end portion in an upper direction Hu of the height direction H of the pair of side walls 21, and the mounting recess 23 is recessed toward a lower direction Hd for mounting a cross-coupling portion 33 of a spring member 30 described later.

Specifically, the restricting convex portions 24 protruding in the upward direction Hu are provided at both end portions in the longitudinal direction L of the end portion of the upper side Hu in the height direction H of the side wall 21, and the restricting convex portions 24 of the end portion of the upper side Hu of the side wall 21 are provided as the mounting concave portions 23 therebetween.

The restricting convex portion 24 abuts against a cross-coupling portion 33, which will be described later, mounted in the mounting concave portion 23, and functions as a displacement prevention for preventing the spring member 30 mounted in the mounting concave portion 23 in the cross-coupling portion 33 from being displaced in the longitudinal direction L.

The base portion 20 is provided with a chamfer portion 25 formed by chamfering the corner portion of the mounting recess 23 of the side wall 21. Specifically, as shown in an enlarged view of a portion a in fig. 4, a chamfered portion 25 is formed by chamfering a cross-sectional corner portion of the mounting recess 23 in an end portion of the side wall 21 facing obliquely upward Hu.

Since the chamfer portion 25 is provided in the mounting recess 23, the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a of the square inverted U-shape constituting the spring member 30 can be easily mounted in the mounting recess 23 as will be described later.

Further, by providing the chamfer portion 25 in the mounting recess 23, as will be described later, heat concentration in welding the cross-connecting portion 33 of the spring member 30 mounted in the mounting recess 23 by the fiber laser welder 100 can be reliably performed, and the spring member 30 can be prevented from being denatured by the welding heat of the fiber laser welder 100.

The base portion 20 and the wire connecting portion 11 thus configured are formed by punching out a terminal plate material, which is a metal plate material having conductivity such as copper or copper alloy, into a predetermined shape and bending the terminal plate material.

The terminal body 15 formed by the wire connecting portion 11 and the base portion 20 is a non-plating member that is formed of a thick plate having a predetermined thickness to cope with a large current, and the surface of the terminal body 15 formed of a metal terminal plate having conductivity such as oxygen-free copper, tough pitch copper (copper alloy), or various copper alloys is not subjected to plating such as tin plating for improving conductivity. The entire surface of the terminal body 15 may be an electroless plating member that is not subjected to plating treatment, but may be a member that is partially subjected to plating treatment, such as the wire connecting portion 11.

The spring member 30 is disposed between the pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20, and is configured to contact the connection piece 3 (see fig. 4 (b)) inserted into the connection portion 12 so as to apply a force to the other side wall 21 with the one side wall 21 as a reaction force.

Specifically, the spring member 30 is configured to have a square-shaped substantially M-shaped structure when viewed from the longitudinal direction L by connecting the two ends of the longitudinal direction L with the 2 inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a facing each other in the width direction W and opening in the direction Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L.

The inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is formed of a grip plate 31, a spring plate 32, and a cross-coupling portion 33 in a square inverted U-shape that opens in a lower direction Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L.

Grip plate 31 is formed to extend in width direction W and height direction H, and is disposed outside in width direction W. The spring plate 32 is disposed at a predetermined interval on the inner side in the width direction W than the grip plate 31. The cross-coupling portion 33 is configured to couple the upper ends of the grip plate 31 and the spring plate 32 in the height direction H in the width direction W.

As shown in fig. 3 (b), the spring plate 32 has an inverted U-shaped frame 321 that opens in the lower direction Hd when viewed in the width direction W, and an arm spring 322 that has a substantially train shape when viewed in the longitudinal direction L.

The arm spring 322, which is substantially in the shape of a train when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, extends from the longitudinal direction portion 321b of the frame 321 to the lower side Hd in the height direction H, and is inclined inward in the width direction W as the lower side Hd is.

The frame 321 is formed in an inverted U shape having a vertical portion 321a and a longitudinal portion 321b that open in a lower direction Hd when viewed in the width direction W.

The vertical direction portion 321a extends in the height direction H, and the longitudinal direction portion 321b is a structure in which end portions in the upper direction Hu of the vertical direction portion 321a provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction L are connected to each other in the longitudinal direction L.

The arm springs 322 are arranged adjacently in the longitudinal direction L. The coupling portion 34 couples the lower ends of the up-down direction portions 321a of the frame portion 321 located outside the plurality of adjacent arm springs 322 in the longitudinal direction L, and thereby couples the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a in the width direction W. The connecting portion 34 extends in the longitudinal direction L.

The distance in the width direction W between the holding plate 31 and the spring plate 32 of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is formed to be slightly wider than the thickness in the width direction W of the side wall 21. The interval in the width direction W between the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a, that is, the interval in the width direction W between the spring plates 32 connected in the width direction W by the connecting portions 34 is formed to be slightly smaller than the interval between the side walls 21, that is, the length in the width direction W of the insertion space 12X.

In the spring member 30, plating such as tin plating is performed on a part of the surface of the arm spring 322, such as the surface of the arm spring 322 that contacts the connecting piece 3, to improve conductivity. Of course, the surface of the entire spring member 30 may be subjected to plating treatment.

The spring member 30 thus constituted can be constituted by punching out a plate material having a thickness thinner than the terminal plate material and having a higher elasticity in a predetermined shape and bending the plate material using a material different from the material constituting the terminal plate material of the terminal body 15. For example, a Corson alloy, a beryllium copper alloy, a chrome copper alloy, or the like can be used as the spring member 30, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The spring member 30 is assembled to the base portion 20 from the side of the opening of the insertion space 12X, that is, from the upper side Hu in the height direction H, and is conductively fixed by the conductive welded portion 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 6 (a), the spring member 30 is disposed above Hu in the height direction H of the base portion 20, and assembled such that the spring plate 32 and the connecting portion 34 are disposed in the insertion space 12X, the grip plate 31 is disposed outside in the width direction W of the side wall 21, and the attachment recess 23 is disposed at the upper end of the side wall 21 across the connecting portion 33. At this time, the end portion in the upward direction Hu of the side wall 21 is sandwiched by the base portion of the arm spring 322, that is, the longitudinal direction portion 321b of the frame portion 321 and the grip plate 31 from both sides in the width direction W.

Then, as shown in fig. 6 (b) and 6 (c), the fiber laser welder 100 is moved in the longitudinal direction L to weld and fix the portion where the upper surface of the mounting recess 23 portion of the side wall 21 and the cross-coupling portion 33 overlap in the height direction H.

The conductive welded portion 40 is a bead welded by the fiber laser welder 100, and the upper ends of the bridging portion 33 and the side wall 21 are melted and conductively connected and fixed by the conductive welded portion 40.

The fiber laser welder 100 for forming the conductive weld 40 has higher beam quality and higher power density than conventional semiconductor laser welders and YAG laser welders. Therefore, the conductive weld 40, which is a bead obtained by welding by the fiber laser welder 100, is welded at a high speed with a low thermal influence.

As described above, in the female terminal 10 composed of the connection portion 12 and the wire connection portion 11, the connection portion 12 is obtained by assembling the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 and electrically-conductively connecting the same with the conductive welding portion 40, the wire connection portion 11 is connected to the wire 5, and the wire connection portion 11 is connected to the wire 5 to constitute the terminal-attached wire 4, and the connector-attached wire 1 can be configured by being attached to the connector housing 2.

When the male connector is connected to the electric wire 1 with the connector, the connection piece 3 of the male terminal attached to the male connector is inserted into the insertion space 12X from the opening side as shown in fig. 4 (b). The connecting piece 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X is pressed between the arm springs 322 of the spring plate 32, and the arm springs 322 are brought into close contact with the connecting piece 3 in a state where the biasing force in the width direction W is applied, and can be electrically connected.

As described above, the female terminal 10 is provided with the spring member 30 and the terminal body 15, the spring member 30 is electrically connected to the flat plate-shaped connection piece 3 of the connected male terminal, the terminal body 15 has the conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to the spring member 30, the base portion 20 has the pair of side walls 21 arranged with the insertion space 12X through which the connection piece 3 can be inserted interposed, the spring member 30 is arranged between the pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20, the spring member 30 and the side walls 21 are fixed by the conductive welding portion 40 which electrically conductively welds the spring member 30 and the side walls 21, and the female terminal 10 can be reliably electrically conductive by bringing the spring member 30 into close contact with the connection piece 3 of the male terminal in a state of being connected to the male terminal.

Specifically, the female terminal 10X is provided with: a spring member 30 electrically connected to the flat plate-shaped connection piece 3 of the connected male terminal; and a terminal body 15 having a conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to the spring member 30 and an electric wire connection portion 11 connected to the electric wire 5.

The base portion 20 has a pair of side walls 21 disposed with an insertion space 12X into which the connection piece 3 can be inserted. The spring member 30 is disposed between the pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20 so as to apply a biasing force from one side wall 21 toward the other side wall 21. Accordingly, the conductive spring member 30 can be pressed against and brought into close contact with the connection piece 3 of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X by the side wall 21 acting as a reaction force.

The spring member 30 and the side wall 21 are fixed by a conductive welded portion 40 that conductively welds the spring member 30 to the side wall 21. Therefore, for example, compared with the conductivity of a structure in which the terminal body 15 and the spring member 30 are configured separately and only brought into contact with each other, high conductivity can be ensured.

Therefore, in the state of being connected to the male terminal, the spring member 30 that is electrically conductive and fixed to the base 20 can be reliably brought into close contact with the connecting piece 3 of the male terminal to conduct electricity.

Specifically, in the case of a structure in which the terminal body 15 and the spring member 30 are configured to be separate members, the spring member 30 is in contact with and in communication with the terminal body 15 and the arm spring 322 and the connecting piece 3 at the longitudinal portion 321b of the frame 321. Therefore, in order to ensure predetermined conductivity, the number of arm springs 322 needs to be increased, and the contact area needs to be increased. However, if the number of arm springs 322 increases, the insertion force of the connection piece 3 for connecting the female terminal 10 and the male terminal toward the female terminal 10 increases.

In contrast, in the female terminal 10, the spring member 30 and the side wall 21 are electrically integrated by the conductive welded portion 40, so that the contact is conducted only at a portion of the arm spring 322 and the connecting piece 3 in a state of being connected to the male terminal, and the electrical contact resistance is simply halved. Therefore, even if the number of arm springs 322 is halved, the same conductivity can be ensured. In this case, the insertion force of the connection piece 3 toward the female terminal 10 can be reduced.

Further, since the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a constituting the spring member 30 is provided for each of the pair of side walls 21, the arm spring 322 of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a can sandwich and contact the connection piece 3 of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X. Therefore, the contact area between the connecting piece 3 and the spring member 30 increases, and the conductivity of the female terminal 10 in the connected state with the male terminal can be further improved.

The spring member 30 includes a plurality of arm springs 322 arranged along a longitudinal direction L intersecting the height direction H, which is the depth direction of the insertion space 12X, and the arm springs 322 are formed in an arm shape extending along the height direction H of the insertion space 12X. Therefore, by inserting the connection piece 3 into the insertion space 12X, the contact area between the arm spring 322 extending in the height direction H and the connection piece 3 increases, and the conductivity in the state where the female terminal 10 and the male terminal are connected can be more reliably improved without interfering with the insertion of the connection piece 3 into the insertion space 12X.

Further, since the conductive welded portion 40 is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction L intersecting the height direction H, the electrical conductivity of the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 having the plurality of arm springs 322 arranged along the longitudinal direction L can be improved.

The spring member 30 includes a grip plate 31, and the grip plate 31 grips the side wall 21 in cooperation with a longitudinal portion 321b of a frame 321, which is a base portion of the arm spring 322, and the grip plate 31 is disposed outside the side wall 21 in the width direction W. The conductive welding portion 40 electrically connects the side wall 21 to the bridging portion 33 that connects the grip plate 31 and the spring plate 32. Accordingly, the spring member 30 having the arm spring 322 can be conductively fixed to the side wall 21.

Specifically, the upper portion of the side wall 21 is gripped by the longitudinal portion 321b, which is the base portion of the arm spring 322, and the grip plate 31, so that the spring member 30 having the arm spring 322 can be stably attached to the side wall 21. Further, since the bridging portion 33 and the side wall 21 are conductively welded and fixed by the conductive welding portion 40, the workability of welding is improved, and the conductivity of the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21 can be reliably improved by reliable welding.

The terminal body 15 integrally formed with the base portion 20 and the wire connecting portion 11 uses a thick plate material having higher conductivity but lower elasticity than the spring member 30, and the spring member 30, which is reliably electrically conductive to the base portion 20 by the conductive weld portion 40, is brought into close contact with the connection piece 3, whereby conductivity can be further improved.

Further, although the terminal body 15 is made of an electroless plating member whose surface is not plated, the spring member 30 can ensure conductivity by the conductive welded portion 40 with respect to the side wall 21 of the base portion 20. Therefore, in the case where the electrical conductivity is ensured by the contact between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30, high electrical conductivity can be ensured even if the electrical conductivity is improved without performing plating treatment or the like on the surface of the side wall 21.

In the above description, the conductive weld 40 is formed by melting the cross-connecting portion 33 and the side wall 21 by the fiber laser welder 100, and the conductive weld 40 may be formed by fusion welding such as arc welding, the conductive weld 40 may be formed by pressure welding such as resistance welding, ultrasonic welding, friction welding, or the conductive weld 40 may be formed by brazing such as brazing or soldering.

Further, although the conductive welded portion 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L is formed in the bridging portion 33, as shown in fig. 7, the conductive welded portion 40a may be formed above the grip plate 31 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction L. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified female terminal 10 a. In fig. 7, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

The female terminal 10a thus constructed achieves the same effects as the female terminal 10 described above. In the female terminal 10a, the grip plate 31 and the side wall 21 are conductively welded to each other by the conductive weld 40a, and therefore, the arm spring 322 can be fixed to the side wall 21.

Specifically, since the side wall 21 is gripped by the longitudinal portion 321b, which is the base of the arm spring 322, and the grip plate 31, the arm spring 322 can be stably attached to the side wall 21.

Further, since the grip plate 31 disposed on the outer side in the width direction W of the side wall 21 is conductively welded to the side wall 21, the workability of welding is improved, and the conductivity between the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21 can be reliably improved by reliable welding.

The conductive welded portion 40 is formed along the longitudinal direction L by crossing the connecting portion 33, but as shown in fig. 8, which is an explanatory diagram of the concave terminals 10b and 10c of another modification, a plurality of spot-like conductive welded portions 40b and linear conductive welded portions 40c may be arranged along the longitudinal direction L.

Fig. 8 (a) is a perspective view of a female terminal 10b having a plurality of spot-shaped conductive welded portions 40b, and fig. 8 (b) is a perspective view of a female terminal 10c having a plurality of line-shaped conductive welded portions 40c.

In fig. 8, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

Specifically, in the female terminal 10b, a plurality of spot-shaped conductive welded portions 40b are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction L at the cross-connecting portion 33 of the spring member 30 b.

The spot-shaped conductive lands 40b are arranged in a number corresponding to the arm springs 322 at positions corresponding to the centers of the arm springs 322 in the longitudinal direction L.

The concave terminal 10b configured as described above, like the concave terminal 10, can be welded to the side wall 21 so as to be electrically conductive to the cross-connecting portion 33 of the spring plate 32 attached to the side wall 21, and therefore, the workability of welding is improved, and the conductivity between the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21 can be reliably improved by reliable welding.

In the female terminal 10b, the number of parts where the spring member 30b and the side wall 21 are welded by the spot-shaped conductive welded part 40b is increased, that is, the number of conductive parts between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30b by the spot-shaped conductive welded part 40b is increased, compared with the female terminal 10 described above, so that a so-called parallel circuit can be formed by the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21, contact resistance between the spring member 30b and the side wall 21 can be reduced, and conductivity can be improved.

In contrast, as shown in fig. 8 (b), the female terminal 10c is formed by welding the holding plate 31 of the spring member 30c to the side surface of the side wall 21 by a plurality of linear conductive welded portions 40 c.

The linear conductive welded portions 40c are beads extending in the height direction H, and the number of the linear conductive welded portions is arranged corresponding to the number of the arm springs 322 at positions corresponding to the center of the arm springs 322 in the longitudinal direction L, similarly to the dot conductive welded portions 40 b.

The concave terminal 10c configured as described above can achieve the effects achieved by the concave terminal 10 and the concave terminal 10a described above. As described above, in the female terminal 10c, the number of parts of the female terminal 10c where the spring member 30c and the side wall 21 are welded by the linear conductive welded portion 40c increases as compared with the female terminal 10 b. Therefore, in the female terminal 10c, since the number of conductive portions between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30c by the linear conductive welded portion 40c increases, a so-called parallel circuit can be formed by the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21, and the contact resistance between the spring member 30c and the side wall 21 can be reduced, and the conductivity can be improved.

Further, the linear conductive welded portion 40c of the female terminal 10c can be formed longer than the spot conductive welded portion 40b of the female terminal 10 b. Therefore, the female terminal 10c can further improve the electrical conductivity as compared with the female terminal 10b welded by the spot-shaped conductive welded portion 40 b.

In the female terminal 10, the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is connected in the width direction W by the connecting portion 34, and the spring member 30 has a substantially M-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. In contrast, as in the female terminal 10X shown in fig. 9 and 10, separate spring members 30X may be used to attach the spring members to the side walls 21.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the female terminal 10X according to embodiment 2 to which the separate spring member 30X is attached, and fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10X. In fig. 9 and 10, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

The spring member 30X used for the female terminal 10X is formed in a substantially inverted L shape as viewed from the longitudinal direction L by the portion of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a of the female terminal 10 described above, which is only the longitudinal direction portion 321b of the arm spring 322 of the spring plate 32, and the fixing plate 35 corresponding to the cross-connecting portion 33.

The fixing plate 35 is a plate that is mounted on the upper surface of the mounting recess 23 of the side wall 21 in an assembled state, and is conductively fixed by a conductive welding portion 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L.

The two spring members 30X configured as described above are disposed at the upper ends of the side walls 21 in the opposite directions in the width direction W, respectively, and are conductively fixed by the conductive welded portions 40, thereby configuring the female terminal 10X.

The concave terminal 10X configured as described above can also achieve the same effects as the concave terminal 10 described above.

The spring members 30X may be integrally connected to each other in the width direction W.

Further, since the chamfer portion 25 is provided in the mounting recess 23, heat is concentrated in welding the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X mounted in the mounting recess 23 by the fiber laser welder 100 as described later, and therefore welding can be reliably performed, and the spring member 30X can be prevented from being denatured by the welding heat of the fiber laser welder 100.

In the concave terminal 10X described above, the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X is placed in the mounting recess 23, and the spring member 30X is fixed to the side wall 21 by the conductive welded portion 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L. In contrast, as in the female terminal 10Xa shown in fig. 11 and 12, the longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X may be fixed by the conductive welded portion 40X extending in the longitudinal direction L.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a female terminal 10Xa as a modification of the female terminal 10X described above, and fig. 12 is an explanatory view of the female terminal 10 Xa.

Specifically, (a) and (b) of fig. 12 show schematic diagrams for explaining a method of manufacturing the base portion 20, and (c) of fig. 12 shows a view as seen along arrows A-A of fig. 11.

In the following description, the female terminal 10Xa is different from the welded portion between the base portion 20 of the female terminal 10X and the spring member 30X, and the other structures are the same as those of the female terminal 10X, and therefore the same reference numerals are given to the same structures, and the description thereof is omitted.

The concave terminal 10Xa is formed by placing the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X in the longitudinal direction portion 321b of the spring member 30X of the mounting recess 23 and a side surface near the upper end of the upper direction Hu of the side wall 21, and is welded and fixed in the longitudinal direction L. That is, the female terminal 10Xa is welded and fixed to the inner surface of the side wall 21 on the insertion space 12X side.

As described above, in order to weld and fix the spring member 30X to the inner surface of the side wall 21 on the insertion space 12X side, as shown in fig. 12 (a), the spring member 30X is provided to the plate material 120 forming the base portion 20 constituted by the side wall 21 and the side wall connecting portion 22. Then, as shown in fig. 12 (b), the fiber laser welder 100 is scanned in the longitudinal direction L by a longitudinal direction portion 321b of the spring member 30X provided in the plate material 120, and laser welding is performed, thereby forming the conductive welded portion 40.

The plate material 120, which is welded by the fiber laser welder 100 and has the side wall 21 and the spring member 30X integrated, is bent into a predetermined cross-sectional shape, whereby the base portion 20 having a predetermined cross-sectional shape can be formed as shown in fig. 12 (c).

As described above, by welding and fixing the longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X to the plate-like plate material 120 and reliably welding the spring member 30X to the inner surfaces of the side walls 21 facing each other in the width direction W, the same effects as those of the concave terminal 10X described above can be achieved.

In the female terminal 10, the substantially M-shaped spring member 30 is used, which connects the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a in the width direction W by the connecting portions 34 on both sides in the longitudinal direction L, when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. In contrast, as in the female terminal 10Y shown in fig. 13 to 15, a spring member 30Y that is connected to an end in the longitudinal direction L may be used.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a female terminal 10Y according to embodiment 3 to which a spring member 30Y is attached, fig. 14 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Y from above, and fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Y from below. In fig. 13 to 15, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

In the terminal body 15Y of the female terminal 10Y, the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20Y are arranged in series in the longitudinal direction L. The wire connection portion 11 is formed in a square C shape as viewed from the longitudinal direction L by the connection plate 111 and the guide piece 112, similarly to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, but the opening orientation of the wire connection portion 11 of the present embodiment is different from the wire connection portion 11.

The base portion 20Y has a pair of side walls 21Y with respect to the base portion 20 formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L by connecting the lower end portions of the pair of side walls 21 in the width direction W by the side wall connecting portions 22, but upper portions of the side walls 21Y on the wire connecting portion 11 side in the longitudinal direction L are connected by the side wall connecting portions 22Y. Therefore, the insertion space 12X formed between the side walls 21Y is a space that is open on both sides in the height direction H and on the front end side in the longitudinal direction L.

Further, the side wall 21Y has a regulating projection 24 projecting in the height direction H at an upper end on the front end side in the longitudinal direction L. Further, a mounting recess 23 for mounting the spring member 30Y across the coupling portion 33 is formed between the side wall coupling portion 22Y and the restricting projection 24.

Further, a chamfer 25 is formed at a corner of the mounting recess 23 of the side wall 21Y.

The spring member 30Y used for the female terminal 10Y is configured by connecting the ends of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a in the longitudinal direction L of the grip plate 31Y in the width direction W by the connecting portion 34Y, and is configured in a substantially square U-shape when viewed from the height direction H.

Further, a clamp portion 36 is provided near the center of the grip plate 31Y, and the clamp portion 36 is attached to the base portion 20Y so that a pressing force acts on the outer surface of the side wall 21Y to assist in fixing the spring member 30Y to the base portion 20. The clamp portion 36 may be provided on the grip plate 31 of the spring member 30 of the female terminal 10.

The spring member 30Y thus configured is attached to the attachment recess 23 formed on the upper surfaces of the pair of side walls 21Y from above in the height direction H, and is conductively fixed by the conductive welded portion 40, thereby configuring the female terminal 10Y. In this attached state, the connecting portion 34Y is attached so as to span the end side surface of the side wall 21Y.

The concave terminal 10Y configured as described above can also achieve the same effects as the concave terminal 10 described above.

The spring member 30Y attached to the attachment concave portion 23 from the upward direction Hu can be prevented from being displaced in the longitudinal direction L by the side wall coupling portion 22Y and the restricting convex portion 24. That is, the restricting convex portions 24 and the side wall connecting portions 22Y of the side wall connecting portions 22Y provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction L of the mounting concave portion 23 connect the upper portions of the electric wire connecting portions 11, and function to prevent the spring members 30Y mounted in the mounting concave portion 23 from being displaced in cooperation with the restricting convex portions 24.

The structure of the base portion 20Y may be other than the U-shape as viewed in the longitudinal direction L as in the base portion 20, and various structures may be employed as long as the base portion has a pair of side walls 21 forming the insertion space 12X. For example, the base portion having a pair of side walls 21 along the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W facing each other in the height direction H may be configured such that the connection piece 3 is inserted from the front end side in the longitudinal direction L. Even with such a configuration, the same effects as those of the concave terminal 10 described above can be achieved.

Next, a description will be given of a concave terminal 10Ya of a modification of the spring member 30Y using the concave terminal 10Y described above, together with fig. 16 and 17.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory view of a modified female terminal 10Ya, specifically, fig. 16 (a) is a perspective view of the female terminal 10Ya, and fig. 16 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow B-B in fig. 16 (a). Fig. 17 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10 Ya.

The female terminal 10Ya has a terminal body 15Ya, and the terminal body 15Ya is configured in the same manner as the terminal body 15 of the female terminal 10 described above, and further has a distal end convex portion 26 obtained by extending the side wall connecting portion 22 of the base portion 20Ya toward the distal end side in the longitudinal direction L. The same reference numerals are given to the same structures as those of the female terminal 10 described above, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The distal end convex portion 26, which is obtained by extending the side wall connecting portion 22 toward the distal end side in the longitudinal direction L, is formed in an arc shape protruding downward Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, and is formed in a stepped shape by the side surface of the distal end side of the side wall 21 and the distal end convex portion 26.

When the spring member 30Y is attached to the base portion 20Ya configured as described above so as to attach the cross-coupling portion 33 to the attachment concave portion 23 between the restricting convex portions 24, the coupling portion 34Y is attached along the side surface of the front end side of the side wall 21Y.

Therefore, the end portion of the connecting portion 34Y of the spring member 30Y in the lower direction Hd is placed on the upper surface of the front end convex portion 26 formed in a stepped shape with the side surface of the front end side of the side wall 21 or is brought close to the upper surface of the front end convex portion 26.

Therefore, in the female terminal 10Ya, the spring member 30Y attached to the attachment concave portion 23 across the coupling portion 33 is prevented from being displaced in the longitudinal direction L by the restricting convex portion 24, and the end portion of the coupling portion 34Y in the lower direction Hd is brought into contact with the upper surface of the tip convex portion 26, whereby the displacement in the downward direction Hd can be prevented.

In the concave terminal 10X described above, the spring members 30X are disposed on the side walls 21, respectively. In contrast, as in the modification of the female terminal 10X shown in fig. 18 and 19, the spring member 30X may be disposed on only one side wall 21. In this case, the connection piece 3 and the female terminal 10X have lower electrical conductivity than the female terminal 10X having the spring members 30X disposed on the side walls 21, respectively, but can exert other effects in the same manner.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a modification of the female terminal 10X, and fig. 19 is an exploded perspective diagram showing a modification of the female terminal 10X.

Specifically, fig. 18 (a) is a perspective view showing a modification of the female terminal 10X, and fig. 18 (b) is a cross-sectional view as seen along the c—c arrow in fig. 18 (a).

Next, a description will be given of a female terminal 10Xb of another modification of the female terminal 10X, together with fig. 20 and 21.

Fig. 20 and 21 show explanatory views of the female terminal 10 Xb. Specifically, fig. 20 (a) shows a perspective view of the female terminal 10Xb, fig. 20 (b) shows a cross-sectional view as seen along the D-D arrow of fig. 20 (a), fig. 21 (a) shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Xb, and fig. 20 (b) shows a cross-sectional view as seen along the E-E arrow of fig. 20 (a).

The concave terminal 10Xb is constituted by a base portion 20Xb, and the base portion 20Xb has a side wall 21b formed flat without disposing the mounting recess 23 in the upper direction Hu of the side wall 21, as compared with the base portion 20 of the modification of the concave terminal 10Xa shown in fig. 19, and other constitution of the concave terminal 10Xb is the same, and therefore the same reference numerals are given to the same constitution and the explanation thereof is omitted.

The concave terminal 10Xb thus configured can achieve the same effects as the concave terminal 10X as in the modification of the concave terminal 10Xa shown in fig. 18 and 19 described above.

Next, the concave terminal 10Xc, which is a modification of the concave terminal 10Xb, will be described together with fig. 22 showing an explanatory diagram of the concave terminal 10 Xc.

Fig. 22 (a) shows a top view of the female terminal 10Xc, fig. 22 (b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow F-F in fig. 22 (a), and fig. 22 (c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along an arrow G-G in fig. 22 (a).

In the female terminal 10Xc shown in fig. 22, the abutment rib 27c is provided on the side wall 21c on the side where the spring member 30X is not attached (the lower side in fig. 22 (a)), and the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those of the female terminal 10Xb described above, and the description thereof is omitted.

Specifically, in the female terminal 10Xc, a plurality of contact ribs 27c extending in the height direction H are provided on the inner surface of the insertion space 12X side of the side wall 21c on the side where the spring member 30X is not attached, of the pair of side walls 21c facing each other in the width direction W.

The abutment rib 27c is provided at positions facing the arm springs 322 of the spring members 30X mounted on the facing side walls 21c in the longitudinal direction L, and is formed to extend from a position lower than the arm springs 322 in the lower direction Hd to a position slightly lower than the longitudinal direction portion 321 b. Accordingly, 6 abutment ribs 27c are provided corresponding to the spring member 30X having 6 arm springs 322.

The concave terminal 10Xc configured in this way achieves the same effects as the concave terminal 10X described above. Further, the concave terminal 10Xc is brought into contact with the connection piece 3 of the convex terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X and connected to the concave terminal 10Xc by sandwiching the connection piece from both sides in the width direction W by the contact rib 27c and the arm spring 322, whereby conductivity can be reliably obtained.

Next, the concave terminal 10Xd as a modification of the concave terminal 10Xb will be described together with fig. 23 showing an explanatory diagram of the concave terminal 10 Xd.

Fig. 23 (a) shows a plan view of the female terminal 10Xd, fig. 23 (b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the H-H arrow in fig. 23 (a), and fig. 23 (c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the I-I arrow in fig. 23 (a).

Unlike the female terminal 10Xc having 6 abutment ribs 27c corresponding to the number of arm springs 322, the female terminal 10Xd shown in fig. 23 is provided with the abutment ribs 27c smaller than the number of arm springs 322 of the spring member 30X, and is identical to the female terminal 10Xc described above, and therefore identical components are denoted by identical reference numerals and descriptions thereof are omitted.

Specifically, the concave terminal 10Xd is provided with a smaller number of contact ribs 27c than the number of arm springs 322 at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction L. The abutment ribs 27c are disposed at intervals wider than the intervals between the arm springs 322 within the range of the longitudinal direction L in which the arm springs 322 are disposed.

In the present embodiment, 4 abutment ribs 27c are provided for the 6 arm springs 322.

The concave terminal 10Xd thus configured also achieves the same effects as the concave terminal 10X described above as the concave terminal 10 Xc. Further, the concave terminal 10Xd is brought into contact with the connection piece 3 of the convex terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X and connected to the concave terminal 10Xd by sandwiching the connection piece from both sides in the width direction W by the contact rib 27c and the arm spring 322, whereby conductivity can be reliably obtained.

Further, the concave terminal 10Xe, which is a modification of the concave terminal 10Xb, will be described together with fig. 24 showing an explanatory diagram of the concave terminal 10 Xe.

Fig. 24 (a) shows a top view of the female terminal 10Xe, fig. 24 (b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the J-J arrow of fig. 24 (a), and fig. 24 (c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the K-K arrow of fig. 24 (a).

The concave terminal 10Xe shown in fig. 24 is provided with an abutment rib 27e extending in the longitudinal direction L, as compared with the concave terminal 10Xc having an abutment rib 27c extending in the height direction H, and is identical to the concave terminal 10Xc described above, and therefore the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description thereof is omitted.

Specifically, as in the case of the female terminal 10Xc, the female terminal 10Xe includes a plurality of contact ribs 27e extending in the longitudinal direction L on the inner surface of the insertion space 12X side of the side wall 21e on the side where the spring member 30X is not attached, of the pair of side walls 21e facing each other in the width direction W.

The abutment ribs 27e are formed to have a length longer than the range of the arm springs 322 in the longitudinal direction L, and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the height direction H as shown in fig. 24 (c).

The concave terminal 10Xe thus configured achieves the same effects as the concave terminal 10X described above. Further, the concave terminal 10Xe is brought into contact with the connection piece 3 of the convex terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X and connected to the concave terminal 10Xe by sandwiching it from both sides in the width direction W by the abutment rib 27e and the arm spring 322, whereby conductivity can be reliably obtained.

Although in the correspondence of the structure and the embodiment of the present invention, a part of the male terminal of the present invention corresponds to the connection piece 3, and similarly, the insertion space corresponds to the insertion space 12X, the side wall corresponds to the side walls 21, 21b, 21c, 21e, 21Y, the base portion corresponds to the base portion 20, 20Xb, 20Y, 20Ya, the spring member corresponds to the spring member 30, 30b, 30c, 30X, 30Y, the conductive welding portion corresponds to the conductive welding portion 40, 40a, 40X, the spot-like conductive welding portion 40b, and the linear conductive welding portion 40c, the female terminal corresponds to the female terminal 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10X, 10Xa, 10Xb, 10Xc, 10Xd, 10Xe, 10Y, 10Ya, the terminal body corresponds to the terminal body 15, 15Y, 15Ya, the depth direction and the direction in which the arm spring extends corresponds to the height direction H, the direction intersecting the direction in which the arm spring extends corresponds to the length direction L, the arm spring corresponds to the arm spring 322, the grip plate corresponds to the grip plates 31, 31Y, the outer side of the side wall corresponds to the outer side of the width direction W of the side wall 21, the terminal-attached wire corresponds to the terminal-attached wire 4, the protruding portion corresponds to the abutment ribs 27c, 27e, and the connector-attached wire corresponds to the connector-attached wire 1, but the present invention is not limited to the structure of the above embodiment, and can be applied based on the technical idea shown in the claims, and a large number of embodiments can be obtained.

For example, in the above description, the terminal main body 15 is constituted by the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20, but a plate-like conductive member such as a bus bar may be used instead of the wire connection portion 11 to which the wire 5 is connected.

In addition to directly welding a plate-like conductive member such as a bus bar to the wire connection portion 11, the following structure may be adopted: a structure having a through hole into which the fastening member can be inserted to fasten and connect the terminal body 15 and the plate-like conductive member such as a bus bar by the fastening means may be employed, for example, to fasten by using a bolt or the like. The base portion 20 may be provided at the tip of a plate-like conductive member such as a bus bar.

In the spring members 30, 30X, and 30Y described above, the arm spring 322 is formed along the direction in which the connecting piece 3 is inserted from the height direction H, that is, along the direction from the opening (the upper direction Hu) of the insertion space 12X toward the rear side (the lower direction Hd), but the arm spring 322 may be provided so as to extend along the length direction L intersecting the direction from the opening (the upper direction Hu) of the insertion space 12X toward the rear side (the lower direction Hd), and the connecting piece 3 may be inserted into the insertion space 12X from the front end side of the length direction L intersecting the height direction H.

In the side wall 21 described above, the chamfer portions 25 having the inclined surface shape are formed on both sides in the width direction W of the upper end portion constituting the mounting recess 23, but the chamfer portions 25 may be formed only at the corners on the outer sides in the width direction W of the side wall 21 opposed in the width direction W, or the chamfer portions 25 may be formed only at the corners on the insertion space 12X side. The chamfer portion 25 may be formed in a circular arc shape in cross section instead of an inclined surface.

In the above-described female terminals 10Xc, 10Xd, and 10Xe, the spring member 30X is attached to one of the side walls 21 constituting the pair, and the abutment ribs 27c and 27e are provided on the inner surface of the other side wall 21 on the insertion space 12X side, but the spring member provided with the abutment ribs 27c and 27e may be attached to the other side wall 21. The number of the abutment ribs 27c, 27e is not limited to the number in the above-described embodiment, and an appropriate number may be provided.

Description of the reference numerals

1: an electric wire with a connector; 3: a connecting sheet; 4: an electric wire with a terminal; 10. 10a, 10b, 10c, 10X, 10Xa, 10Xb, 10Xc, 10Xd, 10Xe, 10Y, 10Ya: a female terminal; 11: a wire connection portion; 12X: an insertion space; 15. 15Y, 15Ya: a terminal body; 20. 20Xb, 20Y, 20Ya: a base section; 21. 21b, 21c, 21e, 21Y: a sidewall; 22. 22Y: a connecting part; 27c, 27e: an abutment rib; 30. 30b, 30c, 30X, 30Y: a spring member; 31. 31Y: a grip plate; 40. 40a, 40X: a conductive weld; 40b: a spot-shaped conductive weld; 40c: a linear conductive weld; 322: an arm spring; l: a length direction; w: a width direction; h: and the height direction.

Claims (15)

1. A female terminal provided with:

a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and

a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member,

the base portion has a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted,

the spring member is disposed between a pair of the side walls of the base portion,

the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that conductively welds the spring member to the side wall.

2. The female terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

the spring member is provided for each of the pair of side walls.

3. The female terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein,

the spring member is provided for one of the pair of side walls.

4. The female terminal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein,

the spring member has arm springs which are arranged in a plurality along a direction intersecting a depth direction from the opening of the insertion space toward the rear side, and which are in an arm shape extending along the depth direction of the insertion space.

5. The female terminal as set forth in claim 4, wherein,

the conductive welding portion is formed to extend in a direction crossing a direction in which the arm spring extends.

6. The female terminal as claimed in claim 4 or 5, wherein,

the spring member has a grip plate that grips the side wall in cooperation with the base of the arm spring,

the holding plate is arranged outside the side wall and

the conductive weld conductively welds the grip plate to the sidewall.

7. The female terminal as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein,

the terminal body is thicker than the spring member and has higher conductivity than the spring member.

8. The female terminal as set forth in claim 7, wherein,

the terminal body has a portion where at least a portion of the surface is not plated.

9. A connector, comprising:

the female terminal of any one of claims 1 to 8; and

and a connector housing accommodating the female terminal.

10. A terminal-attached electric wire, to the front end of which the female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is connected.

11. A connectorized wire having:

the terminated wire of claim 10; and

and a connector housing that accommodates therein the female terminal to which the tip of the terminal-equipped wire is connected.

12. A wire harness comprising at least one of the terminal-attached electric wire of claim 10 and the connector-attached electric wire of claim 11.

13. A bus bar integral with the female terminal of any one of claims 1 to 8 at an end of the bus bar.

14. A female terminal provided with:

a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and

a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member,

the base portion has a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted,

the spring member is disposed between a pair of the side walls of the base portion,

the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that conductively welds the spring member to the side wall,

the conductive welding parts are arranged along a specified direction.

15. A female terminal provided with:

a spring member electrically connected to the connected male terminal; and

a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member,

the base portion has a pair of side walls disposed with an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted,

the spring member is disposed between a pair of the side walls of the base portion,

the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that conductively welds the spring member to the side wall,

the spring member is provided for one of the pair of side walls,

the other of the pair of side walls is provided with a protruding portion protruding toward one of the side walls.