JP2002184500A - Female side terminal metal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female side terminal metal fitting including a resilient contacting piece whose contacting pressure relative to a terminal as the mating party is well secured. SOLUTION: The part extended from a rear ceiling wall 28 in the direction across the width is folded back to the inside surface of the rear ceiling wall 28 about a fold-back edge 37 so that a contacting piece base part 34 is formed. From this base part 34 the resilient contacting piece 36 is extended. Because the fold-back edge 37 is received by a receipt hole 38 formed on the sidewall 21A of a square cylinder part 21, there is no need to provide any fold-back edge part on the inside of the square cylinder part 21, and therefore, the width W2 of the resilient contacting piece 36 can be set off large, and it is possible to heighten the contacting pressure relative to a tab as mating party of the resilient contacting piece 36.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a female terminal fitting having an elastic contact piece capable of contacting a mating male terminal fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a general female terminal fitting, a square tube portion into which a mating male terminal fitting is inserted is provided at a front portion, and a portion extending from the front end of the square tube portion is defined as a square tube portion. There is one in which an elastic contact piece which can be elastically contacted with the male terminal fitting by being turned inward is formed. When manufacturing such terminal fittings, first, a plurality of terminal fittings formed in a developed shape are arranged in the width direction and connected via a band-shaped carrier, and then punched out of a metal plate material. After being bent into the shape of the terminal fitting, it is separated from the carrier to form the terminal fitting. The above-mentioned female terminal fitting has a drawback that, in the unfolded state, the elastic contact piece has a shape extending forward from the rectangular tube portion, so that the length dimension of the entire separating plate piece is large and the yield is poor. there were.

[0003] Conventionally, to improve this point,
For example, there is a female terminal fitting described in JP-A-11-345644. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the female terminal fitting 1 includes a square tube part 2 at a front part, a contact piece base part 3 at a part of a ceiling surface, and a rearward part from here. The elastic contact piece 4 is formed so that the extended portion is folded forward. This female terminal fitting 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the unfolded state, a contact piece base 3 is provided at a portion extending in the width direction (the lower side in the figure) from the rectangular tube portion 2, and the elastic contact piece 4 extends rearward from the contact piece base 3. As a result, the length dimension of the unfolded plate piece is not increased by the elastic contact piece as in the above-mentioned female terminal fitting, and the yield can be improved.

[0004]

As described above, when the elastic contact pieces are provided at the side positions of the female terminal in the deployed state, depending on the shape of the female terminal,
In some cases, the position of the elastic contact piece overlaps with another part such as the rear barrel, so that the deployed shape cannot be formed. As one means for solving this, for example, as shown in the female terminal fitting 10 shown in FIGS.
2, a folded edge 13 is provided on the side edge of the ceiling member 12 and the tip thereof is folded on the lower surface of the ceiling wall 12 to form a contact piece base 14, from which the elastic contact piece 15 is extended rearward, so that the elasticity in the developed shape is improved. It is conceivable that the position of the contact piece 15 is shifted outward in the width direction so that it does not overlap with other parts.

However, in the female terminal fitting 10, the width W1 of the elastic contact piece 14 is reduced by the amount of the folded edge 13 provided inside the rectangular tube portion 11, and as a result, the elastic contact There is a problem that the contact pressure of the piece 14 against the mating male terminal fitting is reduced. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal fitting capable of securing a contact pressure of an elastic contact piece with a counterpart terminal.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a female terminal fitting having a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction by bending a conductive metal plate in a width direction. A rectangular tube part formed at one end and capable of inserting a mating male terminal fitting is provided at one end, and an elastic contact piece capable of elastically contacting the mating male terminal fitting is provided inside the square tube part. In the female terminal fitting, a contact piece base is provided by folding a portion extended in the width direction in the unfolded state from the square tube portion to the inside of the square tube portion via a folded edge portion, and a contact piece base is provided. The present invention is characterized in that the elastic contact piece extends in the front-rear direction, and a receiving hole for receiving the folded edge portion is provided on a wall surface of the rectangular tube portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the hole edge of the receiving hole is locked near the folded edge to restrict the opening deformation of the rectangular tube portion. Has features.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is necessary to arrange the folded edge inside the rectangular tube by receiving the folded edge in the receiving hole provided in the wall surface of the rectangular tube. Disappears. Therefore, the width dimension of the elastic contact piece can be increased, and the contact pressure of the elastic contact piece with the counterpart terminal can be increased.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the hole edge of the receiving hole is locked in the vicinity of the folded edge so that, for example, when the male terminal fitting on the mating side is protruded from the inside of the rectangular tube portion, etc. In addition, it is possible to prevent the rectangular tube portion from opening and deforming from the folded edge portion.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the method of manufacturing the female terminal fitting 20 of the present embodiment will be briefly described. First, a conductive metal plate is punched into a shape shown in FIG. This is achieved by arranging a plurality of plate pieces P in the width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 6) of the unfolded shape of the female terminal fitting 20 via a band-shaped carrier C at the rear end (right side in FIG. 6). It is connected to. Subsequently, after bending each plate piece P into a predetermined shape, the carrier C is cut off to obtain a completed female terminal fitting 20.

The female terminal fitting 20 has an elongated shape in the front-rear direction. The female terminal fitting 20 has a rectangular tube portion 21 at a front portion into which a tab (not shown) of a mating male terminal fitting can be inserted. It is provided with a barrel portion 22 to which a terminal of an electric wire not to be connected can be connected. In the barrel portion 22, an insulation barrel 22A for caulking the core of the electric wire and a wire barrel 22B for caulking the electric wire are sequentially provided in the front and rear direction, and are provided over the entire length of the female terminal fitting 20 respectively. The bottom wall 23 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section so that both ends in the width direction of the bottom wall 23 are turned up.

The square tube portion 21 is formed in a substantially square tube shape by bending the plate piece P in the width direction from the developed shape.
A tab insertion opening 25 into which a mating tab is inserted is opened at the front end. The ceiling wall of the rectangular tube portion 21 is divided into two parts, a front ceiling wall 27 and a rear ceiling wall 28 at a position near the front end, and the front ceiling wall 27 includes, as shown in FIG.
A front stabilizer 29 in which the right half is raised more than the left half is formed. When inserting the female terminal fitting 20 into a cavity of a connector housing (not shown), the front stabilizer 29 is inserted into a guide groove provided on a wall surface of the cavity together with a rear stabilizer 33 to be described later. invite. On the other hand, the rear ceiling wall 28
A contact projection 31 protruding downward is provided at the front part,
The tip can contact the other side tab.
In addition, an upper ceiling wall 32 is provided on the upper surface of the rear ceiling wall 28 to be doubled. As shown in FIG. 5, the right half of the upper ceiling wall 32 is higher than the left half, and the above-mentioned rear stabilizer 33 is formed. A gap is provided between the front stabilizer 29 and the rear stabilizer 33, and a female lance provided in a cavity (not shown) enters and engages to prevent the female terminal fitting 20 from falling into the cavity. Is to be done.

As shown in FIG. 6, a contact piece base 34 extends from the rear ceiling wall 28 in the width direction (upward in the figure) in the unfolded state.
A strip-shaped elastic contact piece 36 extends rearward from the rear. In the assembled state, the contact piece base 34 is
7 and is folded on the lower surface of the rear ceiling wall 28. On the other hand, a receiving hole 38 is opened at a position corresponding to the folded edge 37 on the side wall 21 </ b> A of the rectangular tube portion 21, and the folded edge 37 is received inside the receiving hole 38. The hole edge portion 38A of the receiving hole 38 is locked near the folded edge portion 37, whereby the rear ceiling wall 28 and the contact piece base portion 34 are in a state where the vertical displacement is restricted. For this reason, the opening deformation of the square tube part 21 from the vicinity of the folded edge 37 is restricted.

The width W2 of the elastic contact piece 36 is
1 is formed substantially the same as the inner width dimension, extends slightly backward from the contact piece base 34, is bent toward the bottom wall 23, and is further bent forward from a position where it abuts against the bottom wall 23, It is substantially U-shaped as a whole. The tip of the resilient contact piece 36 has a slightly upward gradient toward the front, and is capable of bending and deforming up and down, and a contact portion 36A is formed by stamping upward at the top.
The mating tab is elastically sandwiched between the contact portion 36A and the contact protrusion 31 of the rear ceiling wall 28 at the opposing position, so that conduction with the male terminal fitting is established. An elastic auxiliary piece 39 is formed on the rectangular tube portion 21 along the lower surface of the elastic contact piece 36 diagonally forward from the rear portion of the bottom wall 23. The elastic auxiliary piece 39 supports the elastic contact piece 36 by bending and deforming up and down together with the elastic contact piece 36. Further, in front of the elastic auxiliary piece 39, the guide projection 4 which forms an ascending gradient from the bottom wall 23 to the rear side.
1 is cut and raised so that the tip of the tab is guided between the tip of the elastic contact piece 36 and the contact protrusion 31 when the tab is inserted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the folded edge portion 37 is received in the receiving hole 38 provided in the side wall 21A of the rectangular tube portion 21 so as to be folded inside the rectangular tube portion 21. There is no need to dispose the edge 37. Therefore, the width dimension W2 of the elastic contact piece 36 can be increased, and the contact pressure of the elastic contact piece 36 on the mating tab can be increased.

Further, since the hole edge 38A of the receiving hole 38 is locked near the folded edge 37, the rear ceiling wall 28 and the contact piece base 34 are restricted from being displaced upward. Thereby, for example, when the wall surface of the rectangular tube portion 21 is protruded by the opposing tab, the rectangular tube portion 21 can be prevented from being opened and deformed from the folded edge 37.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the above-described embodiments. For example, the followings are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. (1) In the above embodiment, the folded edge 37 is formed in the receiving hole 3
8, the folded edge 37 may protrude outward from the receiving hole 38 according to the present invention. (2) In the above embodiment, the tip of the elastic contact piece 36 extends forward from the rear side, but according to the present invention, the elastic contact piece 36 may extend rearward from the front side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a female terminal fitting of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a developed shape when the female terminal fitting is manufactured.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional female terminal fitting.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of a conventional female terminal fitting.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a developed shape of a conventional female terminal fitting.

FIG. 10 is a side cross-sectional view showing the female terminal fitting when the folded edge is provided inside the rectangular tube part;

FIG. 11 is a front sectional view showing the female terminal fitting when the folded edge is provided inside the rectangular tube part;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 female terminal fitting 21 square tube part 34 contact piece base 36 elastic contact piece 37 folded edge 38 receiving hole 38A hole edge of receiving hole P plate piece (metal plate)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rectangular tube portion, which is formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape extending in the front-rear direction by bending a conductive metal plate in a width direction, and has a rectangular tube portion at one end into which a male terminal fitting on the other side can be inserted. In a female terminal fitting provided with an elastic contact piece capable of elastically contacting the mating male terminal fitting inside a cylindrical portion, a portion extended in a width direction in a developed state from the square cylindrical portion is folded back. A contact piece base is provided by folding back the inside of the rectangular tube portion through a portion, the elastic contact piece extends in the front-rear direction from the contact piece base portion, and further, the folded edge portion is formed on a wall surface of the square tube portion. A female terminal fitting provided with a receiving hole for receiving the female terminal. 2. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein a hole edge of the receiving hole is locked near the folded edge to restrict the opening deformation of the rectangular tube.