JP2003173855A - Manufacturing method of male tab - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of a male tab which can be carried out with a stable pressing operation even the male tab is miniaturized. <P>SOLUTION: The male tab 3 is formed by folding a conductive plate 4 into an upper plate 4A and a bottom plate 3B. A side plate 3C is laid between the upper plate 4A and a bottom plate 3B. A stabilizing part 12 is protrusively formed to a peripheral part opposite to the peripheral part to which, the side plate 3C is formed. A stable pressing operation can be carried out when forming the male tab 3 by folding because the stabilizing part 12 acts as bottom plate in addition to the bottom plate 3B. As concave parts 14 are formed to the front and back end parts 24 of the stabilizing part 12, the generation of flash is prevented when cutting the stabilizing part 12 along cutting lines 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a male tab.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
The male terminal fitting 100 disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7 is shown. A male tab 101 connected to a female terminal fitting (not shown) is projectingly provided on the front portion of the male terminal fitting 100. The male tab 101 is manufactured by pressing in the vertical direction in the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting 100, and its cross section is substantially U-shaped as shown in FIG.

[0003]

By the way, in recent years, for example, miniaturization of connectors attached to automobiles and the like has been advanced. In order to miniaturize the connector, the terminal fittings attached to the connector must also be miniaturized. Therefore, development of small male and female terminal fittings is in progress. In such a male-side terminal fitting that has been reduced in size, a problem that has not occurred in the conventional male-side terminal fitting 100 may occur.

For example, in the male tab 101, the width T
Is too small, the stability of the portion that will become the bottom surface 102 during pressing will be lacking. Therefore, it becomes difficult to stably press the conductive plate material, and it becomes impossible to manufacture the male tab 101 that satisfies the standard. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a manufacturing method capable of performing stable pressing operation even with a downsized male tab.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems, Actions of the Invention, and Effects of the Invention In order to solve the above problems, a first invention is a male tab formed by folding a conductive plate material into a predetermined shape. In the manufacturing method, in the conductive plate member, a stabilizing portion that expands the width of the bottom surface is projected on a surface side that becomes a bottom surface when the male tab is bent, and the conductive member is bent in a predetermined manner with respect to the upper surface. After performing the operation, the stabilizing portion is cut. The raw material and thickness of the "conductive plate material" are not limited, but the plate material is made of a conductive material such as copper, iron, gold, silver, etc., and is about 0.4 mm to about 0.
A material having a size of about 1 mm can be used. Further, the surface of the plate material may be subjected to an appropriate plating treatment. The male tab has at least a bottom surface and a top surface,
Surfaces other than the two surfaces may be provided. Further, the timing for cutting the stabilizing portion may be after a predetermined bending operation is performed between the top surface and the bottom surface and after the time when the bottom surface becomes unstable during pressing. Therefore, it may be done before the completion of the production of the male tab or at the same time as the completion of the production of the male tab. According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a male tab is manufactured by pressing a conductive plate material, a stabilizing portion projects from a bottom surface thereof, so that a stable pressing operation can be performed even in a downsized male tab. It can be performed.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the edge when the stabilizing portion is cut from the bottom surface is
It is characterized in that a recess is provided. The number of "recesses" is not limited, and may be one or two or more. However, by setting one end side of the stabilizing portion as the front end side of the male tab, the recess can be formed as one location. First
According to the invention, after the upper surface is bent at a predetermined angle, the stabilizing portion is cut from the bottom surface. Therefore, in the second aspect of the invention, since the recess is provided at the edge when cutting, it is possible to prevent the cutting burr from appearing at the edge.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the gist of the invention will be described. It can be implemented in various forms without modification. Moreover, the technical scope of the present invention extends to an equivalent range.

FIG. 1 shows a male terminal fitting 1 provided with a male tab 3 according to this embodiment. The male terminal fitting 1 is manufactured by folding a conductive plate material into a predetermined shape, and a wire connecting portion 2 for connecting an end portion of an electric wire (not shown) is provided at a rear portion thereof. ing. Further, a support member 6 having a substantially rectangular tube shape is provided at the center of the male-side terminal fitting 1, and a male tab 3 is projectingly provided in front of the support member 6. Male tab 3
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two conductive plate members 4 are folded and stacked, and each has a substantially U-shaped cross section. The width of the male tab 3 is very small, for example, about 0.2 mm to about 0.8 mm.

Here, the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. Male side terminal fitting 1
As shown in FIG. 4, the conductive plate material 4 is a strip shape elongated in the vertical direction in the figure, and the conductive plate material 4 is fed in the length direction in a press device (not shown) at a predetermined pitch. As a result, the male-side terminal fitting 1 is manufactured through a pressing process of about several tens of steps. 4 to 8 show typical portions of the conductive plate member 4 manufactured as the male side terminal fitting 1 with the conductive plate member 4. In practice, FIGS.
(And the portion filling the intermediate stage of each figure) is continuously formed on the series of conductive plate members 4. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the male-side terminal fitting 1 is manufactured in a state in which the male-side terminal fitting 1 is connected at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the length direction of the strip 5. It should be noted that the alternate long and short dash line L in FIGS. 4 to 8 is shown as a guide for indicating the position of the male side terminal fitting 1 on the conductive plate member 4.

In the process shown in FIG. 4, the space 7 separating the male side terminal fittings 1 is opened small, and the groove portion 8 is provided in the electric wire connecting portion 2 at the portion where the core wire portion of the electric wire is caulked. Next, in the step shown in FIG. 5, pitch holes 9 are provided at regular intervals at both end portions in the width direction of the conductive plate member 4 so that the inside of the pressing device can be moved at a predetermined pitch, and each male side terminal is provided. Opening 10 forming the outer edge of the metal fitting 1
A and 10B are die-cut. Although not shown in the figure,
The press device is provided with a protrusion that fits into the pitch hole 9, and the conductive plate member 4 is moved in the lengthwise direction while the protrusion and the pitch hole 9 are fitted together at a predetermined position.
The pressing process proceeds in sequence.

Further, in the step shown in FIG. 6, the outer edge of each male side metal terminal 1 is pressed so that it becomes clearer, and the bending step is started in a part of the area (for example, the wire connecting portion 2). is doing. In the next step shown in FIG. 7, as the bending step proceeds, the strip-shaped piece 11 on the left side of the drawing that connects the male tabs 3 of the adjacent male side terminal fittings 1 is cut, and the manufacturing step of the male tab 3 is performed. Is progressing. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the production of the male terminal fitting 1 is completed in the final step.

Next, the manufacturing process of the male tab 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 shows a state of a portion of the conductive plate member 4 which is processed as the male tab 3. The male tab 3 is formed by folding two conductive plate members 4, and the top surface 3A and the bottom surface 3B have side surfaces 3C.
It is provided on both sides of the part. Of these, the bottom surface 3B
In, the stabilizing portion 12 that widens the width of the bottom surface 3B is provided on the edge side opposite to the side edge on which the side surface 3C is provided.

This stabilizing portion 12 is for improving the stability of the bottom surface 3B side on the mold when the male tab 3 is pressed, and ensuring a highly accurate pressing operation. The stabilizing part 12 is formed of three parts 12A to 1 along the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 9) of the male terminal fitting 1.
It is divided into 2C. Each stabilizing portion 12A ~
12C projects from the side edge of the bottom surface 3B in a substantially rectangular shape. Further, the front and rear end stabilizing portions 12A, 1
2C has almost the same shape, while the central stabilizing portion 12B has a rectangular shape smaller than them. A cutting line 13 in FIG. 9 is a line for cutting an unnecessary stabilizing portion 12 during manufacturing of the male tab 3. A pair of recesses 14 are provided inwardly from the edges of the bottom surface 3B at both front and rear edges 24 of the cutting line 13 (that is, the edges when the stabilizing portion 12 is cut from the bottom surface 3B). Has been. The depth of the recess 14 is about 0.05 mm. The recess 14 prevents the cutting burr from appearing at the edge portion of the bottom surface 3B when the stabilizing portion 12 is cut.

The process chart shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 shows the male tab 3
This shows a typical process for forming the. Figure 1
Of the pair of upper and lower molds 15A and 15B shown in FIG. 0, the lower mold 15A is provided with a recess 16 into which a portion to be the male tab 3 is fitted. On the other hand, the upper mold 15B is
It is formed to be slightly smaller than the cross section of the recess 16. In this step, the tip side of the stabilizing portion 12 is bent upward with respect to the bottom surface 3B, and predetermined creases are formed on the top surface 3A and the side surface 3C.

Next, in the step shown in FIG. 11, the degree of bending of the portions to be the upper surface 3A and the side surface 3C is increased. Especially at this step, if the width of the bottom surface 3B is small,
It becomes difficult to perform the pressing operation (bending operation) stably. The lower die 17A is provided with a die entrance recess 18, into which the tip of the upper die 17B can enter. The upper molds 17B and 17C are
It is divided into two parts. Among them, the pressing die 17C located on the right side of the drawing sandwiches the stabilizing portion 12 and the bottom surface 3B portion of the male tab 3 between the pressing die 17C and the die 17A so that the bending die 17B can perform a stable press operation. I will support you. At the tip of the bending die 17B,
A bending space 19 having a predetermined angle is provided on the surface side on which the conductive plate member 4 is located. Upper and lower molds 17A, 1
When the bending die 17B is lowered with the conductive plate member 4 being instructed by 7C, the upper surface 3A and the side surface 3C are bent upward.

In the next step shown in FIG. 12, the stabilizing portion 1
Cut 2 from male tab 3. In this step, the lower mold 20A and the upper two molds 20B and 20C are used.
Of the upper molds 20B and 20C, the mold 20 on the left side in the figure
At the lower end portion of B, on the surface side where the male tab 3 is located,
A positioning recess 21 is provided to prevent the male tab 3 from being displaced during cutting. In addition, a pair of molds 20A,
The edges where 20C oppose each other act as cutters, and the upper die 20C is the lower die 20C.
By descending toward the tip edge of A, the stabilizing portion 12 is cut off along the cutting line 13. Although the stabilizing portion 12 is cut off, after the bottom surface 3B and the side surface 3C are bent at a predetermined angle, the bottom surface 3B is appropriately recessed (for example, the recess 23 shown in FIG. 13).
If the press working is carried out in the state of being housed in, it becomes possible to carry out a stable operation.

After the stabilizing portion 12 is cut off in this manner, the upper surface 3A is folded over the bottom surface 3B as shown in FIG. A pair of upper and lower molds 22 shown in FIG.
Of the A and 22B, the lower die 22A is provided with a recess 23 that holds the bottom surface 3B. Thus, the manufacture of the male tab 3 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the conductive tab 4 is pressed to manufacture the male tab 3, the stabilizing portion 12 is projected from the bottom surface 3B of the male tab 3. Even when performing, the bottom surface 3B does not wobble, and a stable press operation can be performed even with the downsized male tab 3. After the upper surface 3A is bent at a predetermined angle, the stabilizing portion 12 is cut from the bottom surface 3B. At this time, since the recess 14 is provided at the edge when cutting, it is possible to prevent the cutting burr from appearing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a male side terminal fitting having a male tab.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a male tab portion of the male-side terminal fitting.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram (1) showing a manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting (2).

FIG. 6 is a diagram (3) showing the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting.

FIG. 7 is a diagram (4) showing the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting.

FIG. 8 is a view (5) showing the manufacturing process of the male terminal fitting.

FIG. 9 is a development view of a male tab on the male terminal fitting.

FIG. 10 is a diagram (1) showing the manufacturing process of the male tab.

FIG. 11 is a view (2) showing the manufacturing process of the male tab.

FIG. 12 is a view (3) showing the manufacturing process of the male tab.

FIG. 13 is a view showing a manufacturing process of a male tab (4).

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a male terminal fitting in a conventional example.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a male tab in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Male tab, 3B ... Bottom surface, 4 ... Conductive plate material, 12 ... Stabilizing portion 14 ... Recess, 24 ... Edge

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method of manufacturing a male tab formed by folding a conductive plate member into a predetermined shape, wherein the conductive plate member has a bottom surface when the male tab is bent, A method for manufacturing a male tab, wherein a stabilizing portion for expanding the width of the bottom surface is projected, and the stabilizing portion is cut after performing a predetermined bending operation on the upper surface. 2. The method for manufacturing a male tab according to claim 1, wherein a recess is provided at an edge of the stabilizing portion cut from the bottom surface.