JP2011154942A - Female terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female terminal fitting capable of securing an enough contact load with a counterpart male terminal even in a downsized state or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The female terminal fitting is integrally structured of: a terminal connecting body 2 with a terminal insertion inlet formed at a front-end side for a counterpart male terminal to be inserted into, and formed in a rectangular cylinder shape equipped with an elastic contact piece 21 protruded inward and in contact with the male terminal; and a wire connecting body 3 arranged at a rear end side of the terminal connecting body 2 and connected with a wire. The terminal connecting body 2 is provided with a fulcrum part 22 biasing the elastic contact piece 21, 25 inward by being in contact from outside with a middle part of the elastic contact piece 21, 25, protruded inwardly and the elastic contact piece 21, 25 is provided with a bent part 21c fitted along an axis direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal fitting in which an electric wire is connected to one end and a mating male terminal is connected to the other end.

  Conventionally, what was described in patent document 1 is proposed as a female terminal metal fitting. The female terminal fitting 100 is integrally formed by bending a conductive metal plate, and as shown in FIG. 9, a terminal insertion port 101a into which a male terminal on the other side (not shown) is inserted. A terminal connection body 101 having a rectangular tube shape (box shape), and a wire connection body 102 provided on the rear end side of the terminal connection body 101 and connected to an electric wire (not shown).

  The terminal connector 101 includes an elastic contact piece 103 that is folded inward from the front end edge of the terminal insertion port 101a and extends rearward. The wire connection body 102 is a pair of connection pieces 104 facing each other and connected to a conductor portion of an electric wire (not shown), and a pair of crimping pieces arranged on the rear end side of the pair of connection pieces 104 and crimped to the wires. And a fastening piece 105.

  In the above configuration, the connecting piece 104 is electrically connected to the conductor portion of the electric wire by caulking the connecting piece 104 with the electric wire inserted between the connecting pieces 104 and the caulking piece 105 of the electric wire connecting body 102, and the caulking piece 105 is Hold the wire by crimping. Next, when the female terminal fitting 100 is mounted on a connector housing (not shown) and the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connector 101 from the terminal insertion port 101a on the front end side, the elastic contact piece 103 contacts the male terminal. By doing so, the mating male terminal is elastically held. Thus, the electric wire and the counterpart electric wire are electrically connected via the female terminal fitting 100.

JP 2004-253166 A

  By the way, in the conventional female terminal fitting 100 described above, when the female terminal fitting 100 is downsized, or when the thickness of the conductive metal plate as a material is reduced, the elastic contact piece 103 is used as a counterpart. There is a problem that it is difficult to ensure a sufficient contact load with the male terminal.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention sufficiently reduces the contact load with the mating male terminal even when the size is reduced or the thickness of the conductive metal plate is reduced. An object is to provide a female terminal fitting that can be secured.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, a terminal insertion opening into which a mating male terminal is inserted is formed on the front end side, and the terminal is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape having an elastic contact piece that protrudes inward and contacts the male terminal. A female terminal fitting that is integrally formed with a terminal connection body and a wire connection body that is disposed on the rear end side of the terminal connection body and is connected to an electric wire, A fulcrum that protrudes and abuts against an intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece from the outside and urges the elastic contact piece inward, and the elastic contact piece includes a bent portion along an axial direction. To do.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the female terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the elastic contact piece is formed on a substrate portion formed along one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion, and on an edge portion of the substrate portion. And a bent plate portion formed along the other side wall that is bent at the bent portion and intersects the one side wall.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the female terminal fitting according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the elastic contact piece has the bent plate portions disposed at both edges of the substrate portion and opens outward. It is characterized by having a substantially U-shaped cross section.

  A fourth aspect of the present invention is the female terminal fitting according to the first aspect, wherein the elastic contact piece includes a substrate portion formed along one side wall of a rectangular cylindrical portion, and the substrate portion is connected to the bent portion. And a bent plate portion that is folded on and overlapped with the substrate portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the elastic contact piece protruding inward from the rectangular cylindrical terminal connector is bent along the axial direction by the bent portion. Compared to the case where the plate-shaped metal plate is used, the second moment of section of the elastic contact piece can be increased, and the spring constant can be improved. Further, since the fulcrum portion protruding inward from the terminal connecting body abuts on the intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece, the intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece is biased toward the mating male terminal, so that the elastic contact piece The spring property on the movable end side can be improved. Therefore, when the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connection body, the elastic contact piece can contact the mating male terminal and apply a relatively large spring force. Even when the size is reduced or the thickness of the conductive metal plate is reduced, the elastic contact piece can sufficiently secure the contact load with the mating male terminal. .

  According to the invention of claim 2, the elastic contact piece is bent at the bent portion at the edge of the substrate portion and the substrate portion formed along one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion, and intersects the one side wall. Since it is comprised from the bending board part formed along another side wall, the cross-sectional secondary moment of an elastic contact piece can be enlarged, and the improvement of a spring constant can be aimed at.

  According to invention of Claim 3, while arrange | positioning the board | substrate part of the elastic contact piece which protrudes inward from a rectangular cylindrical terminal connection body in the width direction of a terminal connection body, each from the both ends of the width direction of this board | substrate part respectively Since a pair of bent plate portions are arranged and the elastic contact piece is configured to have a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens outward, the cross-sectional secondary moment of the elastic contact piece can be increased, The spring constant can be improved.

  According to the invention of claim 4, the elastic contact piece is folded along the axial direction at the bent portion along the substrate portion formed along the one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion, and is superposed on the substrate portion. Since it is comprised from the bending board part, the cross-sectional secondary moment of an elastic contact piece can be enlarged, and the improvement of a spring constant can be aimed at.

It is a perspective view which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows a female terminal metal fitting. It is sectional drawing which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention and shows a female terminal metal fitting. FIG. 3 shows the first embodiment of the present invention and is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. It is a development view of the conductive metal plate which shows a 1st embodiment of the present invention and constitutes a female terminal metal fitting. It is a perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention and shows a female terminal metal fitting. It is sectional drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention and shows a female terminal metal fitting. It is sectional drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention and follows the VII-VII line of FIG. It is a development view of a conductive metal plate showing a second embodiment of the present invention and constituting a female terminal fitting. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional female terminal metal fitting.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a female terminal fitting, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the female terminal fitting, and FIG. 3 is a line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a developed view of the conductive metal plate constituting the female terminal fitting. In addition, in FIG. 1-3, in order to make the shape of an elastic contact piece easy to understand, it has shown in the state which cut off the front-end part of a terminal connection body.

  The female terminal fitting 1 of this embodiment is integrally formed by subjecting the conductive metal plate 10 shown in FIG. 4 to a molding process such as a press process or a cold forging process. It is comprised from the rectangular cylindrical terminal connection body 2 shown, and the electric wire connection body 3 arrange | positioned at the rear end side of this terminal connection body 2. FIG.

  The terminal connector 2 has upper surface portions 2a and 2b that are overlapped with each other, side surface portions 2c and 2d that face each other, and a bottom surface portion 2e, and a mating male terminal (not shown) is inserted on the front end side. A terminal insertion opening (not shown) is formed. In addition, the terminal connector 2 includes an elastic contact piece 21 that comes into contact with the mating male terminal, and a fulcrum portion 22 that protrudes inward from the upper surface portion 2a and abuts against an intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece 21 from the outside. Yes.

  The elastic contact piece 21 protrudes from the upper surface portion 2a along the upper surface portion 2b (one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion) to the front end side and inclines inward, and from both ends in the width direction of the substrate portion 23a. Upward (outside) from the pair of bent plate portions 23b and 23c bent along the side surface portions 2c and 2d (other side walls) intersecting the upper surface portion 2b respectively outward at the bent portions 21c along the axial direction. The board portion 23a is disposed in the width direction of the terminal connector 2 (left and right direction in FIG. 3), and the pair of bent plate portions 23b and 23c are terminals. The connector 2 is disposed in the height direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3). That is, the elastic contact piece 21 is extended in both the width direction and the height direction of the terminal connector 2.

  Further, the elastic contact piece 21 has a movable end 21a disposed at a position relatively close to the terminal insertion opening, and the board portion 23a in order to easily receive the mating male terminal in the vicinity of the movable end 21a. Is folded upward, and a contact portion 21b that contacts the mating male terminal is provided at the folded portion. The pair of bent plate portions 23b and 23c are respectively arranged from the rear end of the substrate portion 23a to the vicinity of the contact portion 21b, and the fulcrum portion 22 abuts on the upper edge side of the pair of bent plate portions 23b and 23c. Thus, the elastic contact piece 21 is urged inward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom surface portion 2e of the terminal connector 2 includes an indent portion 24 disposed so as to face the movable end 21a and the contact portion 21b of the elastic contact piece 21, and these elastic contact pieces. 21 and the indent portion 24 hold the mating male terminal. Note that the indent portion 24 protrudes inward by denting the bottom surface portion 2 e of the terminal connector 2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the electric wire connection body 3 is disposed on the rear end side of the pair of connection pieces 30 facing each other and connected to a conductor portion of an electric wire (not shown) and the pair of connection pieces 30. And a pair of caulking pieces 31 to be caulked.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the conductive metal plate 10 constituting the female terminal fitting 1 has upper surface portions 2a and 2b on both sides in the short direction (vertical direction in FIG. 4), and each upper surface portion 2a and 2b. Are continuous with the side surface portions 2c and 2d in a state of being separated into a front end side and a rear end side, and an elastic contact piece 21 is interposed between the front end side and the rear end side of the upper surface portion 2a. 21 is separated from the side surface portion 2c. One side surface portion 2c is provided with a notch portion 2g with which an engaging arm portion 2f protruding from the upper surface portion 2b is engaged.

  In the above-described configuration, the conductive metal plate 10 shown in FIG. 4 is subjected to a molding process such as a press process or a cold forging process to thereby form a female terminal fitting 1 including a rectangular cylindrical terminal connection body 2 and a wire connection body 3. Form. As a result, the elastic contact piece 21 that protrudes from the upper surface portion 2a of the terminal connector 2 to the front end side and is inclined downward is formed. The engagement portion 2f protruding from the upper surface 2b is engaged with the notch 2g of the one side surface 2c, thereby preventing the rectangular cylindrical terminal connector 2 from spreading outward.

  Next, after receiving the electric wire between the connecting pieces 30 and the crimping pieces 31 of the electric wire connecting body 3 and positioning in the axial direction, the electric wire connecting body 3 and the conductor portion of the electric wire are crimped by caulking the pair of connecting pieces 30. Are electrically connected, and the electric wire is held by caulking the pair of caulking pieces 31 to the electric wire.

  After the female terminal fitting 1 is assembled and attached to a connector housing (not shown) in this way, when the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connector 2 via the terminal insertion port, the male terminal 2e is in sliding contact with the indented portion 24, and the contact portion 21b of the elastic contact piece 21 is in sliding contact with the male terminal, so that the elastic contact piece 21 is pushed outward. Is added to the male terminal. Therefore, the elastic contact piece 21 and the indent portion 24 hold the mating male terminal and make electrical connection.

  As described above, according to the female terminal fitting 1 of the present embodiment, the elastic contact piece 21 is bent along the axial direction by the bent portion, and not only in the width direction of the terminal connector 2 but also in the height direction. Since the elastic contact piece is made of a single plate-like metal plate as in the prior art, the cross-sectional secondary moment of the elastic contact piece 21 can be increased and the spring constant can be increased. Improvements can be made. Moreover, since the fulcrum part 22 which protrudes inward from the terminal connection body 2 contacts the intermediate part of the elastic contact piece 21, the intermediate part of the elastic contact piece 21 is urged in the direction of the male terminal on the other side. The spring property on the movable end 21a side of the elastic contact piece 21 can be enhanced. Therefore, when the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connector 2, the elastic contact piece 21 can contact the mating male terminal and apply a relatively large spring force. Even when the terminal metal fitting 1 is miniaturized or when the thickness of the conductive metal plate 10 as a material is reduced, the elastic contact piece 21 sufficiently provides a contact load with the mating male terminal. Can be secured.

  Moreover, according to the said structure, since the elastic contact piece 21 is extended not only in the width direction but the height direction of the terminal connection body 2, there exists an effect similar to increasing plate | board thickness in a pseudo manner. Therefore, even in the stress distribution, the elastic limit is not exceeded, and the spring property of the elastic contact piece 21 can be maintained.

  Moreover, according to the said structure, since the upper surface part 2a and the elastic contact piece 21 were arrange | positioned in the edge part of the transversal direction of the electroconductive metal plate 10 which comprises the female terminal metal fitting 1, an elastic contact piece is conventionally provided. Compared with a material that protrudes greatly in the axial direction of the conductive metal plate, the size of the conductive metal plate 10 in the axial direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4) is reduced to improve the yield of the conductive metal plate 10. Cost can be reduced.

  In the first embodiment, the elastic contact piece 21 is bent outward from the substrate portion 23a that protrudes from the upper surface portion 2a to the front end side and is inclined downward, and from both ends in the width direction of the substrate portion 23a. Although the case where it comprised from a pair of bending-plate parts 23b and 23c and formed so that a cross section may be formed in a U shape and it opens toward upper direction was illustrated, this invention is not limited to this, An elastic contact piece It is also possible to form a U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section and to open outward or inward.

Second Embodiment
5 to 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a female terminal fitting, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the female terminal fitting, and FIG. 7 is a VII-VII line in FIG. FIG. 8 is a developed view of the conductive metal plate constituting the female terminal fitting. 5 to 8, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. 5-7, it has shown in the state which cut off the front-end part of the terminal connection body in order to make the shape of an elastic contact piece easy to understand.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the female terminal fitting 1 </ b> A of the present embodiment includes a substrate portion 26 a that protrudes from the upper surface portion 2 a to the front end side along the upper surface portion 2 b (one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion). The elastic contact piece 25 includes a bent plate portion 26b that is bent outside the substrate portion 26a at the bent portion 26c along the axial direction and is overlapped in a close contact state.

  The elastic contact piece 25 has a movable end 25a disposed at a position relatively close to the terminal insertion port, and the board portion 26a is provided in order to easily receive the mating male terminal in the vicinity of the movable end 25a. Is folded outward, and a contact portion 25b that contacts the mating male terminal is provided in the folded portion. The bent plate portion 26b is disposed from the rear end of the substrate portion 26a to the vicinity of the contact portion 25b, and the fulcrum portion 22 is in contact with the outside of the bent plate portion 26b.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the conductive metal plate 11 constituting the female terminal fitting 1A has upper surface portions 2a and 2b on both sides in the short direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8), and the upper surface portions 2a and 2b. Is continuous with the side surface portions 2c and 2d in a state of being divided into a front end side and a rear end side, and an elastic contact piece 25 is interposed between the front end side and the rear end side of the upper surface portion 2a. The contact piece 25 is separated from the side surface portion 2c. In addition, in the state before performing a shaping | molding process, the bending board part 26b is arrange | positioned on the outer side of the transversal direction (up-down direction of FIG. 8) of the board | substrate part 26a.

  In the above-described configuration, the conductive metal plate 11 shown in FIG. 8 is subjected to a molding process such as a press process or a cold forging process to thereby form a female terminal fitting 1A composed of a rectangular cylindrical terminal connector 2A and a wire connector 3. Form. As a result, an elastic contact piece 25 is formed which includes a substrate portion 26a protruding from the upper surface portion 2a to the front end side, and a bent plate portion 26b superimposed on the substrate portion 26a. The engagement portion 2f protruding from the upper surface portion 2b is engaged with the cutout portion 2g of the one side surface portion 2c, thereby preventing the rectangular cylindrical terminal connector 2A from spreading outward.

  Next, the electric wire is held by electrically connecting the electric wire connector 3 and the conductor portion of the electric wire and caulking the crimping piece 31 to the electric wire. After the female terminal fitting 1A is assembled and attached to the connector housing (not shown) in this way, when the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connector 2A via the terminal insertion port, the male terminal 2e is in sliding contact with the indented portion 24, the contact portion 25b of the elastic contact piece 25 is in sliding contact with the male terminal, the elastic contact piece 25 is pushed outward, and a spring force is applied from the elastic contact piece 25 to the male terminal. Added. Therefore, the other male terminal is held by the elastic contact piece 25 and the indent portion 24 and is electrically connected.

  As described above, according to the female terminal fitting 1A of the present embodiment, the elastic contact piece 25 is composed of the substrate portion 26a and the bent plate portion 26b that are overlapped with each other. Compared with the case where is formed from a single flat metal plate, the secondary moment of section of the elastic contact piece 25 can be increased, and the spring constant can be improved. Further, since the fulcrum portion 22 protruding inward from the terminal connection body 2A abuts against the intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece 25, the intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece 25 is biased in the direction of the mating male terminal. The spring property on the movable end 25a side of the elastic contact piece 25 can be enhanced. Therefore, when the mating male terminal is inserted into the terminal connector 2A, the elastic contact piece 25 can contact the mating male terminal and apply a relatively large spring force. Even when the terminal fitting 1A is downsized or the elastic contact piece 11 is thinned, the elastic contact piece 25 can sufficiently secure a contact load with the mating male terminal. it can.

  Moreover, according to the said structure, since the elastic contact piece 25 is extended not only in the width direction of the terminal connector 2A but in the height direction, there exists an effect similar to increasing plate | board thickness artificially. Therefore, even in the stress distribution, the elastic limit is not exceeded, and the spring property of the elastic contact piece 25 can be maintained.

  Further, according to the above configuration, the upper surface portion 2a and the elastic contact piece 25 are disposed at the end in the short direction of the conductive metal plate 11 constituting the female terminal fitting 1A. Compared with a material that protrudes greatly in the axial direction of the conductive metal plate, the dimension of the conductive metal plate 11 in the axial direction (left-right direction in FIG. 8) is reduced to improve the yield of the conductive metal plate 11. Cost can be reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the elastic contact piece 25 is composed of a substrate portion 26a protruding from the upper surface portion 2a to the front end side and a single bent plate portion 26b superimposed on the substrate portion 26a. Although illustrated, this invention is not limited to this, An elastic contact piece may comprise a board part which protrudes from the upper surface part to the front end side, and two or more bent plate parts superimposed on this board part. it can.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A Female terminal metal fittings 2,2A Terminal connection body 3 Electric wire connection body 21 Elastic contact piece 22 Support point part 23a Substrate part 23b, 23c Bending plate part 25 Elastic contact piece 26a Substrate part 26b Bending plate part

Claims (4)

A terminal connection body formed in a rectangular tube shape having a resilient contact piece that protrudes inward and is in contact with the male terminal, with a terminal insertion opening into which the mating male terminal is inserted on the front end side. It is a female terminal fitting that is arranged on the rear end side of the connection body and is integrally formed with the wire connection body connected to the electric wire,
A fulcrum portion that protrudes inward from the terminal connector and abuts against an intermediate portion of the elastic contact piece from the outside, and urges the elastic contact piece inward,
A female terminal fitting, wherein the elastic contact piece includes a bent portion along an axial direction. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1,
The elastic contact piece is
A substrate portion formed along one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion;
A female terminal fitting comprising: a bent plate portion formed along the other side wall that is bent at the bent portion and intersects the one side wall at an edge portion of the substrate portion. The female terminal fitting according to claim 2,
The elastic contact piece is
The bent plate portions are disposed on both edges of the substrate portion;
A female terminal fitting having a substantially U-shaped cross section that opens toward the outside. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1,
The elastic contact piece is
A substrate portion formed along one side wall of the rectangular cylindrical portion;
A female terminal fitting, wherein the substrate portion is formed of a bent plate portion that is bent at the bent portion and overlapped with the substrate portion.

Images