JP2009117379A - Terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve insertion workability of a terminal fitting. <P>SOLUTION: A terminal fitting 20A includes a stabilizer 27A which can be inserted to an insertion groove 12 formed on an inner surface of a cavity 11. The stabilizer 27A has: a first piece part 29A to be bent at its front edge portion in the direction of inserting an connection part 21A connectable with a counterpart male-side terminal fitting, thereby forming a curved part 30A; and a second piece part 32 located at the back of the first piece part 29A and to be bent in the direction perpendicular to the bending direction of the first piece part 29A. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting provided with a stabilizer.

  Conventionally, what was described in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 8-190951 is known as an example of the terminal metal fitting provided with the stabilizer. This terminal metal fitting has a substantially box-shaped connecting portion that opens in the front-rear direction, and plate-like stabilizers project downward from both side plates forming the connecting portion. In the process of inserting the terminal fitting into the cavity of the housing, the stabilizer is inserted into the insertion groove formed in the inner side edge of the cavity so that the insertion operation of the terminal fitting can be guided.

JP-A-8-190951

By the way, since this terminal metal fitting is formed by bending a punched metal plate, the end edge portion of the stabilizer tends to become a sharp edge with the punching. If the stabilizer is inserted into the insertion groove with the edge standing in this way, the edge will be caught on the peripheral surface of the insertion groove, and smooth insertion will not be possible. There was a risk of getting worse.
The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to improve the insertion workability of the terminal fitting.

  To achieve the above object, a terminal fitting according to the invention of claim 1 is inserted into a cavity provided in a connector housing, and includes a stabilizer that can be inserted into an insertion groove provided in an inner surface of the cavity. In the terminal fitting provided, the stabilizer is arranged on the rear side of the first piece portion that extends forward in the insertion direction to form a curved surface portion, and extends upward, and then is folded downward. It has the characteristic in having a 2nd piece part.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the stabilizer according to the first aspect is provided with a substantially box-shaped connecting portion projecting from the stabilizer and connectable to a mating terminal fitting, and the front end of the first piece portion is It is characterized by being substantially aligned with the front end of the connecting portion.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the stabilizer according to the first or second aspect is elastically locked to the lance protruding from the cavity when the stabilizer is inserted into the cavity at a normal depth. As a result, it is characterized in that it is held in the cavity in a state of being prevented from coming off.

When the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity, the stabilizer is inserted into the insertion groove. In this process, the curved surface part provided on the stabilizer is slidably contacted with the peripheral surface of the insertion groove, so that the stabilizer can smoothly guide its insertion operation without being caught by the peripheral surface of the insertion groove. The insertion workability can be improved.
Moreover, since the length of the 1st piece part can be made small by the length of a 2nd piece part, it can suppress that a 1st piece part opens and deform | transforms.

The perspective view which looked at the terminal metal fitting concerning a reference example from the back side Enlarged sectional view from above showing the state before the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity The expanded sectional view seen from the upper side which shows the state in the middle of a stabilizer passing through an insertion slot The expanded sectional view seen from the upper side which shows the state where the lance was bent by the stabilizer Enlarged cross-sectional view from above showing terminal fitting inserted to normal depth The perspective view which looked at the terminal metal fitting which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention from the front side. The perspective view which looked at the terminal metal fitting which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention from the front side.

Hereinafter, reference examples and embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<Reference example>
Reference examples will be described with reference to FIGS. In this reference example, the female terminal fitting 20 accommodated in the connector housing 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as the housing 10) is illustrated. In the following description, the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 20 with respect to the housing 10 is assumed to be the front.

  First, the structure of the housing 10 will be described. The housing 10 is made of synthetic resin and includes a cavity 11 into which the terminal fitting 20 can be inserted from the rear as shown in FIG. An insertion groove 12 through which the stabilizer 27 can be inserted is formed straight along the front-rear direction on the front side edge of FIG. 2 on the upper surface of the cavity 11. The insertion groove 12 has a width dimension slightly larger than that of the stabilizer 27 and is formed over a range from the root position of the lance 14 described below to the rear end position (not shown) of the housing 10. From the front end of the upper wall 13 of the cavity 11, a cantilevered lance 14 protrudes forward. The lance 14 protrudes to the front position of the insertion groove 12 from the front side surface in FIG. 2 of the arm portion 15 that can be elastically deformed along the width direction (direction intersecting the insertion direction of the terminal fitting 20). The protrusion 16 can be locked to the stabilizer 27 of the terminal fitting 20 inserted to the normal depth in the cavity 11. The rear surface of the protrusion 16 is formed in a tapered shape that can be guided to elastically deform the arm portion 15 by being pressed by the stabilizer 27 from the rear. The front side surface of the arm portion 15 in FIG. 2 is flush with the peripheral surface of the insertion groove 12. The lance 14 constitutes a part of the upper surface of the cavity 11 so that the inserted terminal fitting 20 can be supported.

  The terminal fitting 20 is formed into a shape as shown in FIG. 1 by bending a metal plate punched into a predetermined shape. The terminal fitting 20 includes a connecting portion 21 that allows a male terminal fitting (not shown) to be conductively connected and a barrel portion 22 that is crimped to an end of an electric wire connected to an external circuit (not shown). . The connecting portion 21 protrudes from the front and rear substrates 23, a pair of side plates 24 and 25 raised from both side edges of the substrate 23, and the left side plate 24 of FIG. 1 and the left side of the right side plate 25. The projecting plate 26 is bent so as to be abutted against the surface, so that the whole is formed in a substantially box shape that opens back and forth. Further, from the front end of the substrate 23, a tongue piece is formed to be folded inward in a substantially U shape so that it can be elastically contacted with a male terminal fitting inserted into the connecting portion 21 from the front. A contact piece 35 is provided for electrical connection with the male terminal fitting.

  A stabilizer 27 protrudes from the right side plate 25 in FIG. The stabilizer 27 includes a main body 28 that extends forward and backward and is connected to the upper end of the rear end of the side plate 25, and a piece 29 that is formed to extend forward from the front end of the main body 28 and is folded back. By providing, the whole is formed in the shape of a double plate, and among these, the front end portion which is a folded portion of the piece portion 29 is the curved surface portion 30. On the other hand, the rear end surface of the stabilizer 27 is a locked portion 31 to which the lance 14 can be locked.

  The main body 28 has a length that is slightly more than 1/3 of the length of the connecting portion 21, and its rear end surface is flush with the rear end surface of the side plate 25. The piece portion 29 has substantially the same height and length as the main body portion 28, and is formed by folding back the base end portion thereof to the left side of FIG. . The folded end surface of the one portion 29 is flush with the rear end surface of the main body portion 28, and the lower surface thereof is arranged so as to press the upper surface of the protruding end portion of the protruding plate 26. A folded portion (a leading edge portion in the insertion direction in the stabilizer 27) of the piece portion 29 forming the curved surface portion 30 is formed in a semicircular shape by close contact bending, and its outer peripheral surface has a gentle arc-shaped curved surface without a sharp edge. It is said that. The locked portion 31 has an area obtained by adding the rear end surface of the body portion 28 and the folded end surface of the piece portion 29 that are flush with each other, and the area of the protruding portion 16 of the lance 14 is locked. Is consistent with the area to be.

  The reference example has the above structure, and its operation will be described. As the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 11 from the rear of the housing 10, the stabilizer 27 enters the insertion groove 12. In the process in which the stabilizer 27 is inserted through the insertion groove 12, as shown in FIG. 3, the curved surface portion 30 that forms the front edge portion of the stabilizer 27 in the insertion direction is brought into sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the insertion groove 12. The insertion operation is smoothly guided without being caught. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the peripheral surface of the insertion groove 12 from being damaged.

  When the terminal fitting 20 reaches a predetermined depth, the stabilizer 27 protrudes forward of the insertion groove 12 and the curved surface portion 30 comes into contact with the rear surface of the protrusion 16 of the lance 14. As the terminal fitting 20 is advanced from this state, as shown in FIG. 4, the arm 16 is elastically deformed in the width direction by the projection 16 being pressed by the stabilizer 27. Here, since the curved surface portion 30 presses the protrusion 16 of the lance 14, the stabilizer 27 advances without being caught, and the lance 14 is smoothly bent, and the lance 14 is damaged. It is prevented beforehand.

  When the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 11 to a normal depth, the lance 14 is elastically restored and the front end surface of the protrusion 16 is engaged over substantially the entire region of the locked portion 31 as shown in FIG. Stopped. As described above, the terminal fitting 20 is elastically locked by the lance 14, and thus is held in the cavity 11 in a state of being prevented from coming off.

  As described above, according to this reference example, since the curved surface portion 30 is provided at the leading edge portion in the insertion direction of the stabilizer 27, the curved surface portion 30 is inserted into the insertion groove 12 in the process of inserting the stabilizer 27 into the insertion groove 12. By being slidably contacted with the peripheral surface, the insertion operation can be smoothly guided, and the insertion workability of the terminal fitting 20 can be improved.

  Moreover, the curved surface portion 30 can be formed by bending the piece portion 29, and since this bending processing is included in the forming process of the terminal fitting 20, the curved surface portion is temporarily processed by hitting a stabilizer. When molding is performed, the curved surface portion 30 can be easily molded as compared with the case where it is necessary to add a new tapping process during the molding process of the terminal fitting.

  Furthermore, since the locked portion 31 has an area obtained by adding the rear end surface of the main body portion 28 and the folded end surface of the piece portion 29, the stabilizer is temporarily formed in a single plate shape composed of only the main body portion. Compared to the case, the locking area of the lance 14 can be amplified, and the terminal fitting 20 can be securely prevented from coming off.

<First Embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this 1st Embodiment, the case where a stabilizer is comprised from a main-body part and two piece parts protrudingly provided from the main-body part is shown.

  The connecting portion 21A of the terminal fitting 20A is configured such that a protruding plate 26A protrudes from the left side plate 25A in FIG. 6 and a stabilizer 27A protrudes from the right side plate 24A. The stabilizer 27A includes a main body portion 28A connected to the upper end of the front portion of the side plate 24A, and a first piece portion 29A formed to extend forward from the front end of the main body portion 28A and folded back (the piece of the above reference example). Corresponding to the portion 29) and the upper end of the main body portion 28A and extending downward (in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the first piece portion 29A and along the main body portion 28A) and downward. The second piece 32 is folded back, and both the pieces 29A and 32 are bent tightly together. The first piece portion 29A has a length from the turn back base end to the end (turn back length) of about 1/3 of the length dimension of the main body portion 28A, and its front end position is the front end position of the connection portion 21A. Are almost aligned. A folded portion of the first piece portion 29A is a curved surface portion 30A. Further, an elastic contact piece 35A having the same shape and function as those of the reference example is formed from the front end of the substrate 23A of the connection portion 21A.

  The second piece portion 32 has a length (a length of about 2/3 of the length of the main body portion 28A) extending from the folded end position of the first piece portion 29A to the rear end position of the main body portion 28A. The second piece 32 is folded back to the same side as the first piece 29A (the left side in FIG. 6 with respect to the main body 28A), and the folded end surface of the second piece 32 together with the lower surface of the first piece 29A covers the upper surface of the protruding plate 26A. It is arranged to hold down. The folding length of the second piece 32 is substantially the same as the height of the main body 28A and the folding length of the first piece 29A. The folded end surface of the first piece portion 29 </ b> A is abutted against the front end surface of the second piece portion 32. Further, in the same manner as in the above reference example, the locked portion 31A in which the lance can be locked is obtained by adding the rear end surface of the main body portion 28A and the rear end surface of the second piece portion 32 that are flush with each other. It has an area.

By configuring the stabilizer 27A as described above, the folded lengths of the first piece portion 29A and the second piece portion 32 can both be about １ ／ of the length of the main body portion 28A. it can. Compared with the case where the folded length of the piece portion 29 is the length over the entire length of the main body portion 28 in the reference example, in the first embodiment, the first piece portion is the same as the length dimension of the second piece portion 32. Since the folding length of 29A can be shortened, it is possible to suppress the first piece portion 29A from being dissociated from the main body portion 28A and opening and deforming.
In addition, since other structures, operations, and effects are the same as those in the above-described reference example, a duplicate description is omitted.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A case where the stabilizer includes a main body portion and three pieces projecting from the main body portion, and a pair of curved surface portions are arranged in the front-rear direction.

  In the stabilizer 27B, the first piece 29B protrudes from the front end of the main body 28B and the second piece 32B protrudes from the upper end of the main body 28B, as in the first embodiment. A third piece 33 is formed to extend rearward from the rear end of the main body 28B. The third piece portion 33 is folded back to the same side as the first piece portion 29B and the second piece portion 32B (left side in FIG. 7 with respect to the main body portion 28B) by close contact bending, and the turn-back length is the first. The length is substantially the same as that of the piece portion 29B, and the folded end surface is abutted against the rear end surface of the second piece portion 32B. In other words, the third piece portion 33 is formed so as to be symmetrical with the first piece portion 29B. A rear curved surface portion 34 having the same shape as the front curved surface portion 30B formed by the first piece portion 29B is formed at the rear end portion of the stabilizer 27B, which is a folded portion of the third piece portion 33. The locked portion 31B with respect to the lance is a rear end surface of the protruding plate 26B. Further, an elastic contact piece 35B having the same shape and function as those of the reference example is formed from the front end of the substrate 23B of the connection portion 21B.

Since the rear curved surface portion 34 is formed by folding the third piece portion 33 as described above, the rear curved surface portion 34 is brought into sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the insertion groove when the terminal fitting 20B is removed from the cavity. Thus, the operation in which the stabilizer 27B is inserted through the insertion groove can be smoothly guided. Thereby, the removal workability | operativity of the terminal metal fitting 20B can be improved, and it becomes effective especially in the connector which inserts / extracts the terminal metal fitting 20B comparatively frequently.
Other structures, operations, and effects are the same as those in the first embodiment described above, and thus redundant description is omitted.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
(1) Although the case where the terminal fitting is accommodated in the non-waterproof housing has been described in the above-described embodiment, it may be accommodated in the waterproof type housing. For example, when a terminal fitting is inserted into a housing with a batch type waterproof rubber plug having a plurality of insertion holes communicating with each cavity on the rear end side of the housing, the terminal fitting must be It will pass through the insertion hole of the collective waterproof rubber stopper. In this process, the curved surface portion of the stabilizer is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole, so that the batch type rubber stopper is hardly damaged. It is done.
(2) In the first and second embodiments described above, the case where both the second piece portion and the third piece portion are connected to the main body portion is shown. However, the second piece portion or the third piece portion is the first piece. It may be made to connect with the front-and-rear end of a part, and such a thing is also included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Housing 11 ... Cavity 12 ... Insertion groove 14 ... Lance 20, 20A, 20B ... Terminal metal fitting 27, 27A, 27B ... Stabilizer 28, 28A, 28B ... Main-body part 29 ... Single part 29A, 29B ... 1st single part 30, 30A ... curved surface portion 30B ... front curved surface portion (curved surface portion)
31: Locked portion 32, 32B ... Second piece 34 ... Rear curved surface (curved surface)

Claims (3)

In a terminal fitting that is inserted into a cavity provided in a connector housing and includes a stabilizer that can be inserted into an insertion groove provided in an inner surface of the cavity.
The stabilizer includes a first piece part that extends forward in the insertion direction to form a curved surface part, and a second piece part that is arranged behind the first piece part, extends upward, and is folded downward. Terminal fitting characterized by having. The stabilizer is protruded, and includes a substantially box-shaped connection portion connectable with a mating terminal fitting,
The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein a front end of the first piece portion is substantially aligned with a front end of the connection portion.   When inserted into the cavity at a normal depth, the stabilizer is elastically locked to a lance projecting in the cavity, so that the cavity is held in a state of being prevented from coming off. The terminal fitting according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

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