JP2009277436A - Terminal connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent increase in a contact resistance between a tab terminal and a terminal fitting to be connected to this, when the tab terminal rolls in a rotation direction. <P>SOLUTION: A terminal connection structure includes a tab terminal T having contact faces T1, T2 on both of surface and back sides, a square tube part 11 into which the tab terminal T is inserted, and both ribs 18 and an elastic contact member 15 which are respectively provided on both the surface and back sides of the tab terminal T formed integrally with the square tube 11 and are connected to both contact faces T1, T2 of the tab terminal T, and since both contact faces T1, T2 are pinched elastically by both ribs 18 and the elastic contact member 15 from both the surface and back sides of the tab terminal T, electrical connection is made. The tab terminal T has a cross-sectional arc shape and both contact faces T1, T2 slide contact both ribs 18 and the elastic contact member 15 along the curved shape to maintain a contact state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal connection structure.

Conventionally, what is described in the following Patent Document 1 is known as a terminal fitting connected to a tab-shaped terminal having a flat cross-sectional shape. This terminal fitting includes a cylindrical portion into which a tab-like terminal is inserted, and an elastic contact piece that is elastically deflectable is provided on the bottom surface inside the cylindrical portion. On the other hand, a pair of receiving portions are provided on the ceiling surface inside the cylindrical portion with a gap in the width direction. When the tab-like terminal is inserted into the cylindrical portion, the tab-like terminal is elastically sandwiched between the elastic contact piece and the pair of receiving portions so that electrical connection is established.
JP 2006-344474 A

  However, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the tab-like terminal 1 is rolled (rolling, rotating, swelling, etc.) by receiving a load in the rotating direction inside the cylindrical portion 2, the tab-like terminal 1 is received by both ends. The contact resistance between the tab-shaped terminal 1 and the terminal fitting increases because the contact area decreases with only one of the portions 3 being in contact.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and when the tab-shaped terminal rolls in the rotating direction, the contact resistance between the tab-shaped terminal and the terminal fitting connected thereto is increased. The purpose is to prevent.

  The present invention provides a tab-shaped terminal having contact surfaces on both front and back sides, a cylindrical portion into which the tab-shaped terminal is inserted, and a tab-shaped terminal integrally formed with the cylindrical portion on both front and back sides. And a pair of connecting portions connected to both contact surfaces, and the contact surfaces are elastically sandwiched from both the front and back sides of the tab-like terminal by the both connecting portions. The tab-shaped terminal has a curved cross-sectional shape, and both contact surfaces are characterized in that the contact state is maintained while being in sliding contact with both connection portions along the curved shape.

  According to such a configuration, since the tab-shaped terminal has a curved cross-sectional shape, when the tab-shaped terminal rolls in the rotation direction, the contact state is maintained while the both contact surfaces and both connection portions are in sliding contact. Can do. Therefore, an increase in contact resistance between the tab-like terminal and the terminal fitting connected to the tab-like terminal can be prevented.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
The connection portion connected to the front-side contact surface may be a receiving portion that protrudes inward from the inner wall of the cylindrical portion.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the front contact surface and the receiving portion connected thereto.

A pair of receiving portions may be provided so as to be separated in the width direction.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the front-side contact surface and the pair of receiving portions connected thereto.

The connection part connected to the contact surface on the back side may be an elastic contact piece provided so as to be elastically displaceable in the plate thickness direction of the tab-like terminal.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the contact surface on the back side and the elastic contact piece connected thereto.

An elastic contact piece is good also as a structure which has a contact point located between both receiving parts in the width direction.
According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the contact surface on the back side and the contact point connected thereto. In addition, when the tab-shaped terminal rolls in the rotating direction, the two contact surfaces are in sliding contact with the two receiving portions and the contacts at three points, so that the contact state between the two contact surfaces and the two receiving portions and the contacts can be easily maintained. .

The contact may be arranged at the center in the width direction of the cylindrical portion.
According to such a configuration, even when the tab-shaped terminal rolls in any direction in the rotating direction, the contact state between the both contact surfaces and the contact can be reliably maintained.

The tab-like terminal may be configured to have a circular arc shape in cross section.
According to such a configuration, when the tab-shaped terminal rolls in the rotating direction, it moves while drawing an arc-shaped locus, and the shape of the arc-shaped locus and both contact surfaces completely match. The contact state between the surface and both connection parts (receiving part, elastic contact piece) connected to the surface can be reliably maintained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when a tab-shaped terminal rolls in the rotation direction, the increase in contact resistance between a tab-shaped terminal and the terminal metal fitting connected to this can be prevented.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1 to 3. The terminal fitting 10 of the present embodiment is formed by bending or punching a metal plate material punched into a predetermined shape, and has an elongated shape in the front-rear direction as a whole. As shown in FIG. 2, a substantially front half portion of the terminal fitting 10 is a rectangular tube portion 11 with both front and rear end surfaces open, and a tab that is a counterpart terminal from the front is formed inside the rectangular tube portion 11. The tab T of the terminal is inserted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rectangular tube portion 11 extends at a right angle to the left from the bottom wall 12, a pair of left and right side walls 13 that rises at right angles from the left and right edges of the bottom wall 12, and the upper edge of the right side wall 13. The left side ceiling wall 14 </ b> R and the left side ceiling wall 14 </ b> L extending rightward from the upper end edge of the left side wall 13 are formed in a horizontally long rectangular tube shape as a whole. The left ceiling wall 14L and the right ceiling wall 14R are in a state of abutting each extending end, and a gap is formed between these extending ends.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an elastic contact piece 15 that is folded back is extended from the front edge of the bottom wall 12. The elastic contact piece 15 is cantilevered obliquely upward and rearward inside the rectangular tube portion 11. That is, the elastic contact piece 15 is inclined so as to approach both the ceiling walls 14L and 14R (in a form away from the bottom wall 12) toward the extended end. Further, the dimension of the elastic contact piece 15 in the width direction (direction perpendicular to both the insertion direction of the tab T with respect to the rectangular tube portion 11 and the thickness direction of the tab T) is the front end portion (the edge connected to the bottom wall 12). Part) to the extended end.

  The elastic contact piece 15 can be displaced downward by elastically deforming the folded bent portion 16 at the front end thereof. Further, a contact point 17 is formed at the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 15 so as to protrude upward (to be described later on a rib 18 side). The contact point 17 has a hemispherical shape and is located slightly forward of the center of the rectangular tube part 11 in the front-rear direction. The bottom wall 12 is formed with a pair of excessive deflection restricting pieces 12 </ b> A projecting into the rectangular tube portion 11 by cutting and raising. The two excessive deflection restricting pieces 12A restrict the elastic contact piece 15 from being excessively bent and deformed beyond the elastic limit due to an external force applied to the elastic contact piece 15 or the like.

  Since the contact point 17 is set to have a short distance from the bent portion 16, the elastic restoring force of the elastic contact piece 15 (the force for elastically holding the tab T between the ribs 18) is sufficiently strong. It has become. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the contact 17 is disposed at the center in the width direction of the rectangular tube portion 11 and at the center in the width direction of the elastic contact piece 15. The contact 17 constitutes a “connecting portion connected to the front contact surface” in the present invention.

  A pair of left and right ribs 18 is formed on each of the ceiling walls 14L and 14R by knocking downward. These ribs 18 are arranged at intervals in the width direction of the tab T (left-right direction in FIG. 1), are elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole, and have a substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape and the same size. Both ribs 18 are symmetric with respect to a line passing through the center of the rectangular tube portion 11 in the width direction. The ribs 18 constitute the “connecting portion connected to the contact surface on the back side” and the “receiving portion” in the present invention. The distance in the vertical direction (the thickness direction of the tab T) between the lower ends of the ribs 18 and the upper end of the contact 17 in a state where the elastic contact piece 15 is not elastically displaced is a dimension smaller than the thickness dimension of the tab T. Is set to

  The tab T has a long and narrow plate shape in the front-rear direction, and has a pair of contact surfaces T1 and T2 on both front and back sides. The tab T is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 11 with the front-side contact surface T1 facing both the ceiling walls 14L and 14R and the back-side contact surface T2 facing the bottom wall 12. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the cross section of the tab T has an arc shape in which the central portion in the width direction bulges upward. That is, the front-side contact surface T1 is a circular arc surface having a convex shape, and the back-side contact surface T2 is a circular arc surface having a concave shape. The contact surface T2 on the back side is in elastic contact with the contact point 17 and receives a load upward from the contact point 17. Accordingly, the front-side contact surface T1 is elastically contacted with both ribs 18, and the tab T is elastically sandwiched from both the front and back sides by the contact point 17 and both ribs 18, thereby being electrically connected. Yes.

  According to such a structure of the tab T, as shown in FIG. 3, when the tab T receives a load from the width direction and the both contact surfaces T1 and T2 roll in the rotational direction along the curved surface shape, By maintaining the contact state while the front-side contact surface T1 and both ribs 18 are in sliding contact, and holding the contact state while the back-side contact surface T2 and contact 17 are in sliding contact, the tab-shaped terminal and the terminal fitting 10 are maintained. An increase in contact resistance can be prevented.

  The present invention has the structure as described above, and the operation thereof will be described subsequently. When the tab T is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 11 from the front, both contact surfaces T1 and T2 of the tab T come into contact with the ribs 18 and the contact point 17 of the elastic contact piece 15, and as the tab T is further inserted. The elastic contact piece 15 is elastically displaced downward. When the tab T reaches the proper insertion position, both contact surfaces T1, T2 of the tab T are elastically sandwiched between the lower ends of the ribs 18 and the upper ends of the contacts 17, and the tab-shaped terminal and the terminal fitting 10 And are connected so as to be conductive.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a case where the tab T tries to roll in the rotating direction by applying a load to the tab T from the width direction. In this case, since the tab T is formed in an arc shape in cross section, both contact surfaces T1 and T2 hold the contact state while being in sliding contact with both the ribs 18 and the contact point 17. As a result, it is possible to prevent the contact areas between the contact surfaces T1, T2, the ribs 18, and the contacts 17 from decreasing, and to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the tab-shaped terminal and the terminal fitting 10.

  Further, since the contact point 17 located between the ribs 18 in the width direction is provided on the elastic contact piece 15, when the tab T rolls in the rotating direction, both the contact surfaces T 1 and T 2 are connected to the ribs 18 and the contact point 17. On the other hand, since the sliding contact is made at three points, it is easy to maintain the contact state between the contact surfaces T1, T2, the ribs 18 and the contacts 17. Further, since the contact point 17 is arranged at the center in the width direction of the rectangular tube part 11, even when the tab T rolls in any direction in the rotation direction, the contact state between the contact surfaces T1, T2 and the contact point 17 is ensured. Can be held.

  In addition, since the tab T is formed in an arc shape in cross section, the arc-shaped locus when the tab T rolls in the rotating direction and the shapes of the contact surfaces T1, T2 completely coincide with each other, and the contact surfaces T1, T2 And the ribs 18 and the contacts 17 can be reliably maintained in contact with each other.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing of FIG. The terminal fitting 20 of the present embodiment is a partial modification of the configuration of both the ribs 18 and the contacts 17 in the first embodiment, and description of other overlapping configurations, operations, and effects is omitted. Further, unlike the first embodiment, the tab T of the present embodiment has an arc shape in which the central portion in the width direction bulges downward. That is, the front side contact surface T1 is a concave arc surface, and the back side contact surface T2 is a convex arc surface.

  The terminal fitting 20 according to the present embodiment is formed by bending or punching a metal plate material punched into a predetermined shape, and has a shape elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole. A substantially front half portion of the terminal fitting 20 is a rectangular tube portion 21 with both front and rear end surfaces open, and a tab T of a tab-shaped terminal is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 21 from the front. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rectangular tube portion 21 extends at a right angle to the left from the bottom wall 22, a pair of left and right side walls 23 rising at right angles from the left and right side edges of the bottom wall 22, and the upper edge of the right side wall 23. A presser plate 25 that is formed of a protruding ceiling wall 24 and extends to the right from the upper end edge of the left side wall 23 abuts on the outer surface (upper surface) of the ceiling wall 24, so that a substantially rectangular tube as a whole. It is held in shape.

  From the front end edge of the bottom wall 22, the elastic contact piece 26 of the form folded back is extended. In addition, a pair of contacts 27 protruding upward are formed at the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 26 with an interval in the width direction. On the other hand, a rib 28 is formed on the ceiling wall 24 by knocking it downward. The rib 28 is formed at the center in the width direction of the tab T and between the contacts 27.

  According to the above configuration, the tab T is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 21 with the front-side contact surface T1 facing the ceiling wall 24 and the back-side contact surface T2 facing the bottom wall 22. The contact surface T2 on the back side is in elastic contact with both contacts 27 and receives a load upward from both contacts 27. Accordingly, the contact surface T1 on the front side is elastically contacted with the rib 28, and the tab T is elastically sandwiched from both the front and back sides by both the contact points 27 and the both ribs 28 to be electrically connected. Yes.

  According to such a structure of the tab T, when the tab T receives a load from the width direction and the both contact surfaces T1 and T2 roll in the rotational direction along the curved surface shape, the front contact surface T1 and the rib The contact state is maintained while 28 is in sliding contact, and the contact state is maintained while the contact surface T2 on the back side and both contacts 27 are in sliding contact, thereby preventing an increase in contact resistance between the tab-shaped terminal and the terminal fitting 20. Can do.

<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.
(1) Although the tab T has a circular arc shape in the present embodiment, according to the present invention, the tab T may be a curved shape in cross section, and may be a U-shaped cross section, for example.
(2) Although the present embodiment illustrates the ribs 18 and 28 that are long in the front-rear direction as the receiving portion, according to the present invention, the receiving portion may be formed in a hemispherical shape like the contacts 17 and 27.

(3) Although a pair of ribs 18 are provided at intervals in the width direction in the first embodiment, only one rib 18 may be provided according to the present invention.
(4) Although the ribs 18 are formed in the same size in the first embodiment, the ribs 18 may be formed in different sizes according to the present invention.

(5) Although the elastic contact pieces 15 and 26 are elastically displaced in the vertical direction in the present embodiment, the elastic contact pieces 15 and 26 may be displaced in the thickness direction of the tab T according to the present invention. For example, it may be set slightly obliquely with respect to the vertical direction.
(6) Although the contact point 17 is provided between the ribs 18 in the first embodiment, the contact point 17 may be provided at a position away from between the ribs 18 according to the present invention.

(7) Although the contact point 17 is arranged at the center in the width direction of the rectangular tube part 11 in the first embodiment, according to the present invention, the contact point 17 may be arranged at a position deviated from the center in the width direction of the square tube part 11. Good.
(8) In the present embodiment, the rectangular tube portions 11 and 21 having a rectangular tube shape are illustrated as the cylindrical portion, but according to the present invention, the cylindrical portion may be a cylindrical portion.

The front view which showed the state in which the tab was inserted in the inside of a square cylinder part in Embodiment 1. Sectional view of the state where the tab is inserted into the inside of the rectangular tube section from the side Front view showing the tab rolled in the turning direction The front view which showed the state in which the tab was inserted in the inside of a square cylinder part in Embodiment 2. The front view which showed the state where the tab rolled in the rotation direction in the past

Explanation of symbols

10, 20 ... Terminal metal fitting 15, 26 ... Elastic contact piece (connection part)
17, 28 ... contact 18, 28 ... rib (receiving part)
T ... Tab (tab-shaped terminal)
T1, T2 ... contact surface

Claims (7)

Tab-like terminals having contact surfaces on both front and back sides;
A cylindrical portion into which the tab-like terminal is inserted;
A pair of connecting portions that are integrally formed with the cylindrical portion and provided on both front and back sides of the tab-shaped terminal, and connected to both contact surfaces of the tab-shaped terminal;
A terminal connection structure in which electrical connection is achieved by elastically sandwiching the two contact surfaces from both front and back sides of the tab-like terminal by the two connection portions,
The terminal connection structure characterized in that the tab-shaped terminal has a curved cross-sectional shape, and the two contact surfaces maintain a contact state while slidingly contacting the two connection portions along the curved shape. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion connected to the contact surface on the front side is a receiving portion that protrudes inward from an inner wall of the cylindrical portion. The terminal connection structure according to claim 2, wherein a pair of the receiving portions are provided apart from each other in the width direction. The said connection part connected with the said contact surface of a back side is an elastic contact piece provided so that it could displace elastically in the plate | board thickness direction of the said tab-shaped terminal. The terminal connection structure described. The terminal connection structure according to claim 4, wherein the elastic contact piece has a contact located between the receiving portions in the width direction. The terminal connection structure according to claim 5, wherein the contact is disposed at a center in the width direction of the cylindrical portion. The terminal connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the tab-shaped terminal has a circular arc shape in cross section.

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