JP2003346958A - Female terminal metal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the height of a female terminal metal. <P>SOLUTION: An elastic contact piece 30 contacting a tab 11 is provided in inside the main body part 19 inserted with the tab 11. The elastic contact piece 30 has a tongue piece part 31 formed overhung extended diagonal- frontwards using a rear end part side of the main body part 19 as a base end. A close contact part 33 turned-up outwards in a close contact is formed in a tip of the tongue piece part 31, and a support part 35 is extended diagonally and flexibly from the close contact part 33 toward a tongue piece connecting face 26. Since the connection between the tongue piece part 31 and the support part 35 is formed by the close contact part 33 turned-up outwards with the close contact, the height is reduced, compared with one connected by a U-shaped bending. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a female terminal fitting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A female terminal fitting of this type is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No.
What is disclosed in -99783 is known.
As shown in FIG. 11, the female terminal fitting has an insertion portion 1 formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape on the distal end side, and has a barrel portion (not shown) for caulking and connecting an electric wire at the rear end. Have been. An opening on the distal end side of the insertion portion 1 is an insertion opening 1 for inserting a male terminal fitting 2 which is a mating terminal fitting.
a. In addition, inside the insertion portion 1, the bottom plate is folded inward from the lower edge of the opening of the insertion opening 1a, so that
A tongue-shaped elastic contact piece 3 is formed. After the elastic contact piece 3 is folded back from the lower edge of the opening of the insertion opening 1a, it is further curved upward and its rear end is curved downward.
When the male terminal fitting 2 is inserted into the insertion slot 1a,
The male terminal fitting 2 contacts the upwardly curved portion of the elastic contact piece 3 while bending the elastic contact piece 3 downward from the folded portion.

By the way, in a miniaturized connector, the insertion depth of the elastic contact piece of the male terminal fitting from the contact point between the male terminal fitting is increased, so that good connection between the miniaturized female and male terminal fittings is achieved. For reasons such as securing the state, there is a case where it is desired to set the contact point with the male terminal fitting at a more distal end side. However, in order to set the contact point on the distal end side in the above configuration, the rising angle at the folded portion must be increased. As a result, the bending angle at the time of contact at the folded portion increases, and the spring property of the elastic contact piece is impaired. It becomes easy to be. In addition, an increase in the bending angle of the folded portion leads to a quicker set of the elastic contact piece, which adversely affects the life.

On the other hand, it is conceivable that the elastic contact piece is not folded back from the front end side, but rises from the rear end side toward the front end to set the contact point closer to the front end. In such a configuration, even if the contact is set on the distal end side, the rising angle of the elastic contact piece does not become large, so that the elasticity of the elastic contact piece is sufficiently secured, and the above problem can be solved. However, the fact that the rising angle of the elastic contact piece is reduced, on the contrary, leads to a decrease in the elastic force of the elastic contact piece, and a new contact pressure cannot be sufficiently secured against the male terminal fitting. It creates problems.

Accordingly, a female terminal fitting having a configuration as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-40988 has been devised. this is,
As shown in FIG. 12, while the rising piece 6A of the elastic contact piece 6 rises from the rear end side of the female terminal fitting 5 toward the tip, the tip is bent toward the bottom plate side of the female terminal fitting 5. Have been. Therefore, at the time of contact with the male terminal fitting 9, the bent support piece 7 is pressed against the bottom plate, so that the elastic contact piece 6 becomes the base 6 B and the support piece 7.
Because it is supported by points, it is possible to secure a sufficient contact pressure.

[0006]

However, in the above-described configuration, since the elastic contact piece 6 is bent to support the elastic contact piece 6 at two points, the contact 8 with the male terminal fitting 9 is formed. , And the height dimension of the elastic contact piece 6 itself is large. As a result, the size of the female terminal fitting 5 also increases in the height direction, which hinders downsizing of the female terminal fitting 5.

The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above-described circumstances. Even if the contact is set closer to the side where the male terminal fitting is inserted, sufficient spring property and contact pressure can be secured.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a female terminal fitting that can be reduced in size.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems As means for achieving the above-mentioned object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a main body for inserting a tab portion of a male terminal fitting through a terminal insertion opening opened on the front surface. A female terminal fitting having an elastic contact piece that can be brought into contact with the tab portion in the main body portion, wherein the elastic contact piece has a tongue piece on one surface of an inner wall surface of the main body portion. A tongue portion extending from the rear end side of the tongue piece connection surface obliquely and flexibly toward the terminal insertion port, and a tongue portion, A contact portion that is folded back in close contact with the tab portion at the boundary portion while forming a contact point with the tab portion, and extends obliquely and flexibly from the close contact portion toward the tongue piece connection surface. A support portion, and the tip of the support portion is formed by the tab portion and the tongue piece portion. When in contact with the contact is characterized in was constructed that has become possible elastic contact with the tongue connection surface.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the contact portion is bent forward and outward while forming the contact at a boundary portion with the tongue piece. An inclined surface facing the insertion opening is formed, and when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion, the inclined surface comes into sliding contact with the tip of the tab portion so that the tab portion can be guided to the contact point. It has a characteristic where it is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, a guide piece inclined toward the elastic contact piece is integrally formed at an opening edge of the terminal insertion opening, And this guide piece slides on the tab portion when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion,
It is characterized in that the insertion operation of the tab portion can be guided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the whole main body is bent and formed into a rectangular tube shape, and a cover surface is overlapped outside the tongue piece connecting surface. The guide piece is formed so as to protrude from the front edge of the cover surface, and is folded inside the main body while clamping the tongue piece connection surface, thereby restricting the opening of the cover surface. The feature is that it is possible.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, a relief hole is formed on the tongue piece connecting surface, and the relief hole always has a depth at the rear end of the support portion. It is characterized in that the rear end portion of the support portion can be brought into contact with the inner surface of the cover surface when the tab portion is positioned within the dimensions and the tab portion is properly inserted into the main body portion.

[0013]

<Operation and effect of the invention><Invention of claim 1> When the tab portion of the male terminal fitting is inserted from the terminal insertion opening of the female terminal fitting, the tab portion comes into contact with the contact of the elastic contact piece and the elastic contact piece. It enters the inside while bending the whole. In a state where the tab portion reaches the regular insertion position, the tip of the support portion elastically contacts the tongue piece connection surface.

Therefore, when the tab is inserted, the elastic contact piece is supported at two points, that is, the base end of the tongue piece and the point where the support and the tongue piece connection surface come into contact with each other. Good contact pressure of the elastic contact piece against the tab portion can be obtained.

Further, by forming the contact portion and the folded portion of the support portion in close contact (close contact portion), the dimension in the height direction accompanying the turn can be reduced as compared with the conventional turn-formed one. Therefore, the dimension of the female terminal fitting in the bending direction of the elastic contact piece can be reduced.

<Invention of claim 2> Even when the tab portion is misaligned with the main body portion when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion, after the tab portion slides on the inclined surface of the elastic contact piece, Since the tab portion is guided to the contact side in accordance with the insertion operation, the misalignment is absorbed to enable smooth insertion.

<Invention of Claim 3> Even when the tab portion is misaligned with the main body portion when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion, the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion while being corrected to the normal position by the guide piece. You can be guided.

<Invention of Claim 4> Since the guide piece also serves to prevent the opening of the cover surface, the structure can be simplified as compared with a configuration in which the guide function and the opening prevention function of the tab portion are separately set. it can.

<Embodiment of Claim 5> Since the escape portion is provided to allow the support portion to escape into the escape hole in advance, the overall height of the main body portion can be reduced by the escape dimension.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The female terminal fitting 15 shown in these figures
Is formed integrally by bending a metal flat plate, and is composed of a main body 19 and a barrel 16 behind the main body 19 (hereinafter, the left side shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as a front, and the right side as a rear).
The barrel portion 16 is provided with a wire barrel 17 for caulking a wire of an electric wire (not shown) at a position near the main body portion 19, and an insulation barrel 18 for caulking the wire is provided behind this.

The main body 19 is bent and formed so as to form a rectangular tube as a whole, and has a terminal insertion opening 29 on the front surface thereof through which the tab portion 11 of the male terminal fitting 10 can be inserted. The main body 19 has a bottom surface 20 and a pair of side surfaces 21 and 21.
2. a tongue connecting surface 26 having an elastic contact piece 33 to be described later;
Further, it is constituted by a cover surface 24 which is superimposed on the outside of the tongue piece connection surface 26. An insertion hole 23 is provided at a boundary between the cover surface 24 and the continuous side surface 21. On the other hand, an insertion portion 27 is formed so as to protrude from the outer edge portion of the tongue piece connection surface 26, and the insertion portion 27 is inserted into the insertion hole 23 when the main body 19 is assembled.
This enables the tongue connecting surface 26 to be supported.
Further, a narrow opening preventing piece 2 is provided on the front edge of the cover surface 24.
8 are formed to protrude. When the main body 19 is assembled, the opening preventing piece 28 is folded back inward of the main body 19 and sandwiches the front end of the tongue connecting surface 26 to thereby prevent the cover surface 24 from opening.

As shown in FIG. 1, elastic contact pieces 30 are provided in parallel at the rear end of the tongue piece connecting surface 26 via a connecting portion 37. The elastic contact piece 30 is for making electrical contact with the male terminal fitting 10 and has a tongue piece connecting surface 26.
It is formed narrower and cantilevered with the connecting portion 37 as a base end. In addition, the elastic contact piece 30 has a portion that extends obliquely from the connecting portion 37 toward the terminal insertion port 29 when the main body 19 is assembled.
This portion becomes the tongue piece 31. At the tip of the tongue piece 31, a contact portion 33 described below is continuous, and at the boundary between the contact portion 33 and the tongue piece 31, a contact 3 for the tab 11 is provided.
2 are formed by tapping upward. However,
The gap between the contact 32 and the corresponding inner surface of the main body 19 is set slightly smaller than the thickness of the tab 11.

The contact portion 33 is provided between the tongue piece 31 and the contact 3.
2 and has a portion obliquely continuous with the contact 32 as an apex. This obliquely continuous portion is an inclined surface 34 facing the terminal insertion port 29, and the tab portion 1
When the tab 1 enters the main body 19 in a state of misalignment, the tab 11 comes into sliding contact with the tip of the tab 11 and the contact 32
Can be guided to Further, in the contact portion 33, the tip of the inclined surface 34 is folded outward while closely contacting.

The contact portion 33 is further continued to the support portion 35. As shown in FIG. 1, the support portion 35 is formed with a narrow portion 36 that is narrower than the contact portion 33 from the middle thereof, and the support portion 35 as a whole extends obliquely outward from the contact portion 33 and can be bent. It is. On the other hand, a rectangular escape hole 25 is opened at a position near the front end of the tongue piece connection surface 26,
The tip of the narrow portion 36 always enters the escape hole 25. Before the tab portion 11 enters, the tip of the support portion 35 has entered the escape hole 25 but is floating from the cover surface 24. However, when the tab portion 11 enters and the elastic contact piece 30 is bent and deformed, the inner surface of the cover surface 24 can be slid rearward.

The escape hole 25 is formed to such an extent that it does not interfere with the rear end even when the width sandwiching portion 36 slides normally. In addition, the front ends of both side surfaces 21 and 22 are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the restricting pieces 40 are formed so as to protrude, and are folded inward together when the main body 19 is assembled. By doing so, the width dimension at the terminal insertion opening 29 is narrowed, and positioning at the time of insertion of the tab portion 11 in the width direction is performed (see FIG. 4).

Next, the operation and effect of the above-described embodiment will be described. When the tab portion 11 is inserted into the main body portion 19 from the terminal insertion port 29, the tab portion 11 comes into contact with the contact 32 and the tongue piece portion. 31 while pressing and bending the body 31 outward.
Enter inside. At the same time, the rear end of the width sandwiching portion 36 slides rearward while elastically contacting the inner surface of the cover surface 24. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the tab portion 11 is properly inserted, the elastic contact piece 30 is supported by two points, the base end of the tongue piece 31 and the rear end of the width sandwiching portion 36. Due to the bending deformation, a sufficient contact pressure against the tab portion 11 can be secured. In addition, since the elastic contact piece 30 extends obliquely from the rear to the front of the main body 19, a sufficient length dimension up to the contact can be ensured. Spring properties can be imparted.

When inserting the tab portion 11 into the main body portion 19, even if the tip of the tab portion 11 is inserted at a position shifted upward in the height direction from a regular position where the tip of the tab portion 11 contacts the contact point 32,
Since the inclined surface 34 is formed so as to face the terminal insertion port 29, the tip of the tab portion 11 slides on the inclined surface 34 and contacts the contact 3.
2 and the tab 11 is corrected to the normal position.

Further, since the contact portion 33 is provided between the tongue piece portion 31 and the support portion 35, that is, the contact portion 33 is folded back so as to minimize the size in the height direction, so that the elastic contact piece 30 as in the prior art is provided. Compared to the case of turning
The height of the elastic contact piece 30 can be reduced. Therefore, the height dimension of the female terminal fitting 15 can be reduced. Furthermore, a relief hole 25 is provided in the tongue piece connection surface 26,
Since the tip of the support portion 35 is positioned within the depth of the escape hole 25, the main body 1
9 can be reduced in height as a whole.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the opening preventing piece 28 of the first embodiment is provided with a guide function for guiding the tab 11 of the male terminal fitting 10 into the main body 19.

That is, in the present embodiment, the opening preventing piece 28 in the first embodiment further extends obliquely inward of the main body 19, and in addition to the opening preventing function, the tab 11 is moved toward the elastic contact piece 30 side. The guide piece 46 has a guiding function. The inclination angle of the guide piece 46 can be made to be substantially continuous with the inclined surface 34 of the contact portion 33, so that the tab portion 11 can be easily shifted to the contact portion 33 side.

In the second embodiment configured as described above, in addition to the opening of the cover surface 24 being prevented by the guide piece 46, the tab portion 11 is inserted into the main body portion 19 when the tab portion 11 is inserted into the main body portion 19. Even when the tip of the portion 11 is inserted at a position shifted from the regular position toward the elastic contact piece 30 in the height direction, as shown in FIG. By sliding, it is possible to smoothly move to the inclined surface 34 of the contact portion 33. Then, also on the inclined surface 34, the tab portion 1 is similarly formed along the inclination.
1 can be guided to the contact point 32, so that the tab portion 1
1 can be smoothly performed.

The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the same effect is obtained. The same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the structure, operation, and effect related to this is omitted. I do.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the embodiment described above, the inclined surface 34 is
To provide a guide function for the tab portion 11,
It is not always necessary to provide an inclined surface.

(2) In each embodiment, the elastic contact piece 30 is formed on the ceiling side of the main body 19, but may be provided on the bottom side. (3) Similarly, the rear end of the support portion 35 is always covered with the cover surface 24.
Although it is in a state of floating from above, it may be in contact with the state before the insertion of the tab portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a development view of a female terminal fitting according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a top view of the female terminal fitting.

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

FIG. 5 is a partial side sectional view of a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 6 is a partial side sectional view showing a state where a tab portion is inserted into a female terminal fitting.

FIG. 7 is a partial side sectional view of a female terminal fitting according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 9 is a partial side sectional view showing a state in which a tab portion is guided by a guide piece.

FIG. 10 is a partial side cross-sectional view showing a state where a tab portion is inserted into a regular position of the female terminal fitting.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of a conventional terminal fitting.

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view of a terminal fitting in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Male terminal fitting 11 ... tab part 15 ... Female terminal fitting 19 ... Main unit 24 ... cover surface 25 ... escape hole 26 ... Tongue connection surface 29 ... Terminal insertion port 30 ... elastic contact piece 31 ... tongue piece 32 ... Contact 33 ... close contact 34 ... Slope 35 ... Support 46… Guide piece

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A male terminal fitting having a main body portion through which a tab portion of a male terminal fitting can be inserted through a terminal insertion opening opened in a front surface, and an elastic contact piece capable of contacting the tab portion is integrally formed in the main body portion. A female terminal fitting provided, wherein the elastic contact piece has one surface of an inner wall surface of the main body as a tongue connection surface, and a rear end side of the tongue connection surface as a base end. And a tongue extending obliquely and flexibly from the terminal to the terminal insertion opening; and forming a contact with the tab at a boundary portion between the tongue and the tongue. A contact portion, and a support portion that is continuous from the contact portion and extends obliquely and flexibly toward the tongue piece connection surface, and a tip of the support portion has a tab portion formed of the tongue piece portion. When it comes into contact with the contact, it should be able to elastically contact the tongue piece connection surface. Female terminal fitting according to claim. 2. The inclined portion facing the terminal insertion port is formed by bending the contact portion forward and outward while forming the contact point at a boundary portion with the tongue piece portion. 2. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the surface is slidably in contact with a tip of the tab portion when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion so that the tab portion can be guided to the contact. Metal fittings. 3. A guide piece that is inclined toward the elastic contact piece is formed integrally with an opening edge of the terminal insertion port, and the guide piece is formed when the tab portion is inserted into the main body portion. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal fitting can be guided by slidingly contacting the tab part. 4. The main body portion is formed by bending the whole body into a rectangular tube shape, and a cover surface is overlapped outside the tongue piece connection surface to form a double wall. 4. The cover surface is formed so as to protrude from a front edge of the cover surface and folded back inside the main body while holding the tongue piece connection surface therebetween, thereby enabling opening control of the cover surface. Female terminal fittings. 5. A relief hole is formed in the tongue piece connecting surface, and the relief hole always positions the rear end of the support portion within its depth dimension, and the tab portion is provided in the main body portion. The female terminal fitting according to claim 4, wherein a rear end portion of the support portion can be brought into contact with an inner surface of the cover surface when the female terminal is properly inserted.