JP2005166594A - Structure of female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female terminal structure of a connector capable of reducing the insertion force, without impairing its connection reliability. <P>SOLUTION: In the female terminal 1 of this connector, a tongue piece shape spring contact part 5 is formed in an cylindrical engagement part 2 inserted with a male tab 3 of an male terminal 4 from one side by extending the end part on one side of this engagement part 2, and by bending the extension part to the other side. As this spring contact part 5 contacts the male tab to be inserted as above, it is displaced in a prescribed direction with the bending portion of one side end part of the engagement part 2 as at least one of fulcrum. A prior displacement imposing means which gives an elastic displacement to the spring contact part 5 beforehand, based on the displacement amount of the spring contact part 5 corresponding to the insertion amount which exceeds the insertion amount requiring the maximum insertion force of the male tab 3, when the spring contact part 5 is not elastically displaced beforehand, is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal structure of a connector in which a tongue-like spring contact portion that is elastically displaced in contact with the male tab is formed in a cylindrical fitting portion into which the male tab of the male terminal is inserted. Is.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part illustrating a female terminal structure of a conventional connector, in which (a) is a state before the male tab of the male terminal is inserted and when the same male tab is inserted, (b). Indicates the state in which insertion of the male tab of the male terminal is completed. In (a), the solid line in the figure shows the state before the male tab is inserted, and the two-dot chain line shows the state when the male tab is inserted.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when connecting an automobile wire harness or the like, one end of the fitting portion 102 is extended and bent to the other side. Thus, a female terminal 101 having a tongue-like spring contact portion 105 formed in the fitting portion 102, and inserted into the fitting portion 102 of the female terminal 101 from the one side to the spring contact portion 105. A connector A having a male terminal 104 provided with a male tab 103 to be contacted is used to electrically connect a wire harness or the like (not shown) by coupling the male terminal 104 and the female terminal 101. .

  In the connector A as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), the initial clearance 106 between the fitting portion 102 and the spring contact portion 105 is provided on the male tab 103 in order to ensure the connection reliability of the connector. A value smaller than the plate thickness by a predetermined amount is set. Therefore, when the male tab 103 of the male terminal 104 is inserted into the fitting portion 102 of the female terminal 101, the male tab 103 comes into contact with the spring contact portion 105, and the spring contact portion 5 is supported at the bent portion. Thus, it is displaced elastically in a predetermined direction.

  At this time, the insertion force F in the insertion direction acts on the male tab 103 in accordance with the amount of progress (insertion amount) ωh in the insertion direction, and at the same time, the contact reaction force in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction acts on the spring contact portion 105. (Contact load) PL acts. For example, according to Patent Document 2, the relationship between the insertion amount ωh, the insertion force F, and the contact load PL is expressed by the following equation.

F = [(μ + tan φL) / (1−μ · tan φL)] · [3EI / (γh + ωh) ³ ]
・ Γv ・ [ωh / γh] (1)
PL = [3EI / (γh + ωh) ³ ] · γv · [ωh / γh] (2)
Where μ is the friction coefficient of the contact surfaces of the terminals 101 and 104, E and I are the longitudinal elastic modulus and the moment of inertia of the section of the spring contact portion, φL is the inclination angle of the spring contact portion 105 with respect to the male tab 103, γh, γv Is a horizontal distance and a vertical distance from the base end portion (folded portion) of the spring contact portion 105 to the initial contact position of the male tab 103.

  Curves of the insertion force F and the contact load PL based on these expressions (1) and (2) are as shown in FIG. In the figure, the horizontal axis indicates the value of the insertion amount ωh, and the vertical axis indicates the values of the insertion force F and the contact load PL.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, as the male tab 103 is inserted, the curve of the contact load PL rises rapidly, and the curve of the insertion force F of the male tab 103 rises sharply, so that the insertion amount ωh = ΔT. The respective peak values PLT and FT are indicated at the positions (TP point, TF point). When the male tab 103 is further inserted, the curves of the contact load PL and the insertion force F both rapidly fall and take the intermediate values PLA and FA at the position where the insertion amount ωh = ΔA ( (Indicated by AP point and AF point in the figure, respectively). When the male tab 103 is further inserted, the curves of the contact load PL and the insertion force F continue to gradually fall and reach their bottom values PLB and FB. When the male tab 103 is further inserted, the curves of the contact load PL and the insertion force F gradually increase, reaching the final values PLE and FE, where the insertion of the male tab 103 is completed.
JP 2001-155808 A JP 2002-246094 A

The spring contact portion 105 of the female terminal 101 of the connector A is greatly elastically deformed until the maximum displacement amount Δ _{0 in} FIG. 4 is reached. However, a large operating force is required when connecting the terminals 101 and 104 with the peak value FT of the insertion force F.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal structure of a connector that can reduce the insertion force without impairing the connection reliability.

  In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the female terminal according to the present invention is such that one end of the fitting portion is extended in a cylindrical fitting portion into which the male tab of the male terminal is inserted from one side. And a tongue-like spring contact portion is formed by bending the extended portion to the other side. When the spring contact portion comes into contact with the inserted male tab, one of the fitting portions is formed. The male tab when the spring contact portion is not elastically displaced in advance in a female terminal structure of a connector configured to be elastically displaced in a predetermined direction with a bent portion of a side end as at least one fulcrum. A pre-displacement applying means for elastically displacing the spring contact portion in advance with a displacement amount of the spring contact portion corresponding to the insertion amount exceeding the insertion amount requiring the maximum insertion force is provided. Is.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the pre-displacement imparting means is provided with a protrusion at a position where the male tab to be inserted in the fitting portion can be avoided, and the tip of the protrusion has the male tab. It is preferable to be configured to contact the spring contact portion in a non-inserted state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the protruding portion is formed by cutting and raising a part of the ceiling wall of the fitting portion and having its tip directed toward the spring contact portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the displacement imparting means is provided with a protrusion at a position where the male tab to be inserted can be avoided in the spring contact portion, and the tip of the protrusion is not at the male tab. It is preferable to be configured to abut against a portion facing the spring contact portion in the fitting portion in the inserted state.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the protruding portion is formed by extending the spring contact portion and bending the extended portion toward a portion facing the spring contact portion in the fitting portion. Preferably there is.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the amount of displacement of the spring contact portion corresponding to the amount of insertion exceeding the amount of insertion that requires the maximum insertion force of the male tab when the spring contact portion is not elastically displaced in advance. Therefore, since the pre-displacement imparting means for elastically displacing the spring contact portion in advance is provided, the spring contact portion is elastic as the male tab of the male terminal is inserted into the fitting portion of the female terminal. Deformation, the contact load suddenly rises, and the insertion force of the male terminal suddenly rises, so that insertion of the male tab is started after exceeding the so-called peak top. In this case, when the insertion of the male tab is completed, a contact load similar to that of the conventional example can be obtained, so that the connection reliability after the coupling of both terminals can be secured, and the insertion force until the male tab is completely inserted can be reduced. A large operating force is not required when connecting both terminals.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the pre-displacement applying means is provided with a protrusion at a position where the male tab to be inserted in the fitting portion can be avoided, and the tip of the protrusion has the male tab. Since it is configured to abut against the spring contact portion in an uninserted state, the amount of displacement when the spring contact portion is elastically displaced in advance is easily set by the height of the protrusion. Can do.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the protrusion has a simple structure because it cuts and raises a part of the ceiling wall of the fitting portion and has its tip directed toward the spring contact portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the pre-displacement imparting means is provided with a protruding portion at a position where the male tab to be inserted of the spring contact portion can be avoided, and the leading end of the protruding portion is the male tab. Since it is configured to abut against a portion of the fitting portion that faces the spring contact portion in the uninserted state, the amount of displacement when the spring contact portion is elastically displaced in advance is determined by the protrusion portion. It can be easily set according to the height.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the protruding portion is formed by extending the spring contact portion and bending the extended portion toward a portion facing the spring contact portion in the fitting portion. Since there is, it becomes a simple structure.

  FIG. 1 shows a structure of a female terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows a state before inserting a male tab of a male terminal, and (b) shows a state where a male tab of a male terminal is inserted. ing. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship of the insertion force with respect to the insertion amount of the male tab of the male terminal and the relationship of the contact load of the spring contact portion of the female terminal with respect to the insertion amount.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the connector B1 includes a female terminal 1 having a cylindrical fitting portion 1 and a male tab inserted into the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1. 3 and a male tab 3 of the male terminal 4 is inserted into the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1 so that an electric wire (not fixed) is fixed to the rear end of the female terminal 1. The electrical terminal (not shown) fixed to the rear end of the male terminal 4 is electrically connected. As a material of the female terminal 1 and the male terminal 4, for example, a tin-plated copper alloy is used.

  The female terminal 1 is formed by punching a flat plate into a predetermined shape, and then the protruding portion of the portion that becomes the bottom wall of the fitting portion 2 is folded into a mountain shape to form a spring contact portion 5. A part of the portion that becomes the ceiling wall (however, the position where the tip of the inserted male tab 3 does not reach) is cut and raised to easily form the projection 6 as the pre-displacement imparting means.

  And the right and left of the part used as the bottom wall of the said fitting part 2 are stood up, and the front-end | tip part is further bend | folded and the part used as a ceiling wall is faced, or it mutually overlaps and the whole becomes a cylindrical shape. Form. Then, in this state, the tip 8 of the spring contact portion 5 comes into contact with the tip 9 of the projection 6, and a predetermined clearance 7 is formed between the apex of the spring contact portion 5 and the ceiling wall of the fitting portion 2. The The clearance 7 is set to be smaller by a predetermined amount than the thickness of the male tab 3 as in the conventional example.

In FIG. 1A, a state before the protrusion 6 is formed is shown by a broken line. In this state, the tip 8 of the spring contact portion 5 jumps to the ceiling wall side of the fitting portion 2 and is free. In the solid line, since the spring contact portion 5 is pushed down by the projection 6, the spring contact portion 5 is elastically displaced by the amount of depression (displacement amount) Δ ₀₁ . The amount of displacement Δ ₀₁ can be easily set only by adjusting the height of the protrusion 6.

  In FIG. 5 described above, the peak value FT of the curve of the insertion force F is generated at the position of the insertion amount ωh = ΔT (point TF). Therefore, if the amount of displacement of the spring contact portion 5 is set so that the corresponding insertion amount ωh becomes ΔA within the range of Δ (ΔT <Δ <ΔE) in the figure, its peak value FT It can be seen that can be avoided. The present invention focuses on this point and will be described in detail below.

  FIG. 2 corresponds to the structure of the connector B1 in FIG. 5 described above, but all the reference numerals in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the curve of the insertion force F in the connector B1 starts from the intermediate value FA (that is, the insertion amount ωh <ΔA, the male tab 3 has not yet been inserted into the fitting portion 2; The curve of the force F is indicated by a broken line). The maximum insertion force at this time is FA (FE depending on the value of ΔA), and FT> FA (or FT> FE). Therefore, the maximum insertion force is reduced, and the operating force when connecting both terminals 1 and 4 is reduced. Becomes smaller. Even in this case, when the insertion of the male tab 3 as shown in FIG. 1B is completed, the curve of the contact load PL in FIG. 2 is the final value PLE, thereby ensuring the connection reliability of the connector B1. Has been.

  FIG. 3 shows a structure of a female terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) shows a state before inserting a male tab of a male terminal, and (b) shows a state where a male tab of a male terminal is inserted. Show. In addition, the same number is attached | subjected to the element which is common in the said embodiment in the figure, and duplication description is also eliminated here.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the connector B2 is also provided with a female terminal 1 having the cylindrical fitting portion 2 and a male terminal inserted into the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1. A male terminal 4 having a tab 3, and by inserting the male tab 3 of the male terminal 4 into the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1, an electric wire ( (Not shown) and an electric wire (not shown) fixed to the rear end of the male terminal 4 are electrically connected. As a material of the female terminal 1 and the male terminal 4, a tin-plated copper alloy is used here, and the female terminal 1 is formed from the flat plate by the same method as the connector B1.

  However, in this connector B2, unlike the connector B1, the spring contact portion 5 in the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1 is extended to a position where the tip of the inserted male tab 3 does not reach, The extended portion 8a is bent in an arc shape toward the ceiling portion of the fitting portion 2, so that the protruding portion 6a as the pre-displacement applying means is easily formed.

  The tip 9a of the projection 6a is in contact with the ceiling wall of the fitting portion 2 before the male tab 3 of the male terminal 4 is inserted. In this state, a predetermined clearance 7 is formed between the apex of the spring contact portion 5 and the ceiling wall of the fitting portion 2, and this clearance 7 is larger than the plate thickness of the male tab 3 as in the conventional example. It is set smaller by a predetermined amount.

In FIG. 6A, a state before the protruding portion 6a contacts the fitting portion 2 is shown by a broken line. In this state, the spring contact portion 5 jumps up to the ceiling wall side of the fitting portion 2 and is free. and which is, in its solid line, since the spring contact portion 5 pushes down on their own projections 6a, only the depressed were min (displacement) delta ₀₂ is elastically displaced. The amount of displacement delta ₀₂ can also be easily set only by adjusting the height of the protrusion 6a.

  Similarly to the connector B1, the curve of the insertion force F in the connector B2 starts from the intermediate value FA in FIG. The maximum insertion force at that time is still FA (FE depending on the value of ΔA), and FT> FA (or FT> FE). Therefore, the maximum insertion force is reduced, and the operation when connecting both terminals 1 and 4 is performed. The power is reduced. Even in this case, when the insertion of the male tab 3 as shown in FIG. 2B is completed, the curve of the contact load PL becomes the final value PLE, thereby ensuring the connection reliability of the connector B2.

  As described above, according to each embodiment of the present invention, it corresponds to the amount of insertion exceeding the amount of insertion that requires the maximum insertion force of the male tab 3 when the spring contact portion 5 is not elastically displaced in advance. Since the pre-displacement imparting means for elastically displacing the spring contact portion 5 in advance by the amount of displacement of the spring contact portion 5 is provided, the male tab 3 of the male terminal 4 is fitted to the fitting portion of the female terminal 1. 2, the spring contact portion 5 is elastically deformed, the curve of the contact load PL rapidly rises, and the curve of the insertion force F of the male tab 3 rises rapidly. The insertion of the male tab 3 is started after the points TP and TF are exceeded. In this case, when the insertion of the male tab 3 is completed, the final value PLE in the curve of the contact load PL similar to the conventional example is obtained, so that the connection reliability after the connection of both terminals 1 and 4 can be secured, and the male tab 3 Since the insertion force F until the insertion is completed is small, a large operating force is not required when the terminals 1 and 4 are coupled.

  In addition to the above embodiment, there are various modifications. For example, protrusions are provided from both side walls of the fitting portion 2 toward the spring contact portion 5, or fitting is performed from both sides of the spring contact portion 5. It is good also as providing the projection part 6 toward the both-sides wall of the joint part 2. FIG. In such a case, the same configuration as described above can be realized.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the projection parts 6 and 6a in the fitting part 2 are all formed in the position where the front-end | tip of the male tab 3 inserted there does not reach | attain, such a structure is necessarily required. And not. For example, it is sufficient to cut the projections 6 and 6a so that the tip of the male tab 3 can be inserted.

It is principal part dance sectional drawing which shows the female terminal structure of the connector which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the insertion amount of the male tab of the male terminal in the connector which concerns on the said embodiment, insertion force, and the contact load of the spring contact part of a female terminal. It is principal part dance sectional drawing which shows the female terminal structure of the connector which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows an example of the female terminal structure of the conventional connector. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the insertion amount of the male tab of the male terminal in a conventional connector, insertion force, and the contact load of the spring contact part of a female terminal.

Explanation of symbols

B1, B2 Connector 1 Female terminal 2 Fitting part 3 Male tab 4 Male terminal 5 Spring contact 6, 6a Protrusion (pre-displacement applying means)
7 Clearance 8 Spring contact tip 8a Spring contact extension 9, 9a Projection tip

Claims (5)

In the cylindrical fitting part into which the male tab of the male terminal is inserted from one side, one end part of this fitting part is extended, and the extension part is bent to the other side to form a tongue-like shape. A spring contact portion is formed, and when the spring contact portion comes into contact with the inserted male tab, the bent portion at one end of the fitting portion is at least one fulcrum and elastic in a predetermined direction. In the female terminal structure of the connector configured to be displaced to
When the spring contact portion is not elastically displaced in advance, the spring contact portion is elastically provided in advance with a displacement amount of the spring contact portion corresponding to an insertion amount exceeding the insertion amount that requires the maximum insertion force of the male tab. A female terminal structure of a connector, comprising pre-displacement imparting means for displacing.   The pre-displacement imparting means is provided with a projection at a position where the male tab to be inserted in the fitting portion can be avoided, and the tip of the projection is attached to the spring contact portion with the male tab not inserted. The female terminal structure of a connector according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal structure is configured to abut.   3. The female terminal structure for a connector according to claim 2, wherein the protruding portion is formed by cutting and raising a part of the ceiling wall of the fitting portion and having a tip thereof directed to the spring contact portion.   The displacement applying means is provided with a protrusion at a position where the inserted male tab of the spring contact portion can be avoided, and the spring in the fitting portion is in a state where the male tab is not inserted at the tip of the protrusion. 2. The female terminal structure of a connector according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal structure is configured to contact a portion facing the contact portion.   5. The projecting portion according to claim 4, wherein the protruding portion is formed by extending the spring contact portion and bending the extended portion toward a portion facing the spring contact portion in the fitting portion. Connector female terminal structure.

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