JP2011238372A - Female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the force to insert a male terminal by restricting excessive deflection of an elastic contact piece, which is caused by oblique insertion of the male terminal.SOLUTION: The invention relates to a female terminal 10 connecting to a tab-like male terminal 40. The female terminal 10 includes a prismatic tube portion 20 which opens in a front-back direction and an elastic contact piece 24 provided inside the prismatic tube portion 20 so as to be deflectable. The male terminal 40 is inserted into the prismatic tube portion 20, and the elastic contact piece 24 has a contact point 24a at its top. The female terminal 10 further includes a receiving portion 25A provided at a top surface 25, which is an inner wall of the prismatic tube portion 20 facing the elastic contact piece 24, and elastically holding the male terminal 40 with the contact point 24A, a front inclined surface 25B continuing into the front side of the receiving portion 25A in the top surface 25, and a back inclined surface 25C continuing into the back side of the receiving portion 25A. The receiving portion 25A is formed within an area R1 where the contact point 24A is positioned in the front-back direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal connected to a male terminal having a tab shape.

  As this type of female terminal, for example, one described in Patent Document 1 below is known. The female terminal has a rectangular tube portion, and a flexible elastic contact piece is accommodated in the rectangular tube portion. This elastic contact piece has a triangular shape with the contact portion as a vertex. On the other hand, a receiving portion is formed to extend in the front-rear direction on the top surface of the inner wall of the rectangular tube portion facing the elastic contact piece. The front end of the receiving portion is disposed in front of the contact portion, and the rear end of the receiving portion is disposed behind the contact portion.

JP 2002-246094 A

  However, in the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 10, when the male terminal 1 is inserted in an oblique posture with the tip facing downward with respect to the rectangular tube portion 3 of the female terminal 2, it is arranged in front of the contact portion 5. Since the front end portion 4A of the receiving portion 4 is used as a fulcrum, the male terminal 1 has an oblique posture in which the front end faces downward, so that the contact portion 5 is excessively bent downward. For this reason, the amount of bending displacement of the elastic contact piece 6 increases and the insertion force increases. Although not shown, when the male terminal 1 is inserted in an oblique posture with the tip facing upward with respect to the rectangular tube portion 3 of the female terminal 2, the rear of the receiving portion 4 disposed behind the contact portion 5. Since the end of the male terminal 1 is oriented upward with the end 4B as a fulcrum, the contact portion 5 is excessively bent downward as in the case of upward, and the insertion force increases.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to restrict excessive bending of an elastic contact piece due to oblique insertion of a male terminal to reduce insertion force.

  The present invention is a female terminal connected to a tab-shaped male terminal, and is provided with a rectangular tube portion that opens in the front-rear direction and into which the male terminal is inserted, and is bent inside the rectangular tube portion. An elastic contact piece whose apex is the contact portion; a receiving portion that is provided on the top surface of the inner wall of the rectangular tube portion facing the elastic contact piece and elastically holds the male terminal between the contact portion; A front inclined surface that is continuous with the front side of the receiving portion on the surface and a rear inclined surface that is continuous with the rear side, and the receiving portion is formed within a region where the contact portion is located in the front-rear direction. However, it has characteristics.

  According to such a configuration, when the male terminal is inserted in an oblique posture with the tip facing downward with respect to the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal, the male terminal is inserted along the front inclined surface of the receiving portion, and the contact portion and It will be in sliding contact with the receiving part. In other words, since the receiving portion is formed within the region where the contact portion is located in the front-rear direction, the male terminal does not interfere with the receiving portion in the region ahead of the contact portion, and restricts excessive bending of the elastic contact piece. Therefore, a low insertion force can be achieved. Similarly, when the male terminal is inserted in an inclined posture with the tip facing upward with respect to the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal, the male terminal is inserted along the rear inclined surface of the receiving portion, so that the elastic contact It is possible to reduce the insertion force by restricting excessive bending of the piece.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
A receiving part is good also as a structure provided in the top | upper surface side rather than the extended inclined surface at the time of extending the front side inclined surface which makes | forms planar shape back along the plane direction.

  When the receiving part is provided so as to protrude to the contact part side of the extended inclined surface, a step is formed between the receiving part and the front inclined surface, so the male terminal is inserted along the front inclined surface of the receiving part. If this happens, the tip of the male terminal may be caught by a step. In that respect, according to the above configuration, since no step is formed between the receiving portion and the front inclined surface, the male terminal is not caught by the receiving portion, and a lower insertion force can be achieved.

  The receiving portion may have a circular arc shape. According to such a configuration, the male terminal can be brought into point contact with the receiving portion, and the contact pressure with respect to the receiving portion can be increased.

  The receiving portion may have a planar shape. According to such a configuration, the male terminal can be brought into surface contact with the receiving portion, and the contact area with respect to the receiving portion can be earned.

  The inclined surface may be composed of a plurality of inclined surfaces. According to such a configuration, when the male terminal is inserted into the rectangular tube portion in an oblique posture, the male terminal is guided to the normal posture while sliding on the plurality of inclined surfaces, so that the male terminal can be inserted more smoothly. It becomes possible to do.

  The free end portion of the elastic contact piece may be configured to be in contact with a seating surface provided on the inner wall of the rectangular tube portion. According to such a configuration, since the elastic contact piece is supported at two points, that is, the base end portion and the free end portion, it is possible to secure a contact pressure with respect to the male terminal as compared with the case where the elastic contact piece is supported only by the base end portion.

  According to the present invention, the excessive bending of the elastic contact piece due to the diagonal insertion of the male terminal can be restricted to reduce the insertion force.

Partially cutaway sectional view showing a state before the male terminal is inserted in a normal posture with respect to the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal in the first embodiment Sectional drawing which showed the state after the male terminal was inserted in the square cylinder part after the state of FIG. Partially cutaway sectional view showing a state before the male terminal is inserted in an oblique posture with the tip facing downward with respect to the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal Sectional drawing which showed the state after the male terminal was inserted in the square cylinder part after the state of FIG. Partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing the state before the male terminal is inserted in an oblique posture with the tip facing upward with respect to the rectangular tube portion of the female terminal Sectional drawing which showed the state after the male terminal was inserted in the square cylinder part after the state of FIG. The expanded sectional view which expanded and showed the square cylinder part of the female terminal in FIG. The expanded sectional view which expanded and showed the square cylinder part of the female terminal in Embodiment 2. The expanded sectional view which expanded and showed the square cylinder part of the female terminal in Embodiment 3. Sectional drawing which showed the state after a male terminal was inserted in the diagonal attitude | position with the front-end | tip facing down with respect to the square tube part of the conventional female terminal

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 10 in the present embodiment includes a rectangular tube portion 20 that opens in the front-rear direction and forms a rectangular tube shape, and a barrel portion 30 that is formed behind the rectangular tube portion 20. It is configured. The barrel portion 30 includes a wire barrel portion 31 that crimps a core wire (not shown) that is exposed by peeling a coating (not shown) at a terminal portion of an electric wire (not shown), and a coating. It consists of an insulation barrel portion 32 that is crimped and crimped. Both the barrel parts 31 and 32 are provided with a pair of barrel pieces that rise in an opposed state from both side edges of the bottom wall 33 that continues from the bottom surface part 21 of the rectangular tube part 20 to the rear. On the other hand, the male terminal 40 has a tab shape and can be inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20 from the front end opening.

  The rectangular tube portion 20 includes a bottom surface portion 21, a pair of side surface portions 22 that stand up from both side edges of the bottom surface portion 21, and a pair of upper and lower top surface portions that are provided at positions facing the bottom surface portion 21 and are stacked in two layers. 23. A lance locking portion 23 </ b> A is knocked upward on the upper top surface portion 23 of both the top surface portions 23. The front surface of the lance locking portion 23A protrudes upward at a substantially right angle to the upper surface of the upper top surface portion 23. For this reason, a lance (not shown) formed on the inner wall of a cavity (not shown) that accommodates the female terminal 10 is locked to the front surface of the lance locking portion 23A, so that the female terminal 10 comes out of the cavity. It is held in a stopped state.

  An opening 21D is provided in the bottom surface portion 21, and a pair of stabilizers 21C are extended downward in opposite states on both side edges of the opening 21D. On the other hand, a guide groove (not shown) into which the stabilizer 21C enters is formed in the cavity inner wall so as to extend in the front-rear direction. For this reason, when the female terminal 10 is inserted into the cavity, both stabilizers 21C move along both guide grooves, and the insertion operation of the female terminal 10 into the cavity is guided.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 7, an elastic contact piece 24 formed by folding back from the front edge 21 </ b> A of the bottom surface portion 21 is accommodated inside the rectangular tube portion 20. The elastic contact piece 24 has a length that extends over substantially the entire length of the rectangular tube portion 20 and extends in the front-rear direction. The elastic contact piece 24 has a contact portion 24A that protrudes upward in an embossed shape, and has a triangular shape with the contact portion 24A as a vertex (upper end). The upper surface of the contact portion 24A is subjected to a plating process such as gold plating.

  A pair of front and rear inclined surfaces 24B that form a downward slope toward the bottom surface portion 21 are formed on both front and rear sides of the contact portion 24A in the elastic contact piece 24. The inclined surface 24B connected to the rear side of the contact portion 24A is longer than the inclined surface 24B connected to the front side. The rear end of the inclined surface 24B connected to the rear side of the contact portion 24A is in contact with a seat surface 21B formed by knocking the bottom surface portion 21 upward. That is, the elastic contact piece 24 is supported at two points, that is, a base end portion (front end portion) and a free end portion (rear end portion). For this reason, when the male terminal 10 is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20, the contact portion 24A elastically contacts the male terminal 10, and at this time, sufficient contact pressure to the male terminal 10 can be secured. it can.

  A pair of front and rear excessive deflection regulating pieces 22 </ b> A are formed below the elastic contact piece 24 in the side surface portion 22. The front excessive deflection restricting piece 22A is disposed near the middle between the front edge 21A of the bottom surface portion 21 and the opening 21D. On the other hand, the rear excessive deflection regulating piece 22A is disposed below the contact portion 24A and slightly above the front excessive deflection regulating piece 22A.

  The lower surface of the lower top surface portion 23 (the surface of the inner wall of the rectangular tube portion 20 that faces the elastic contact piece 24 in the vertical direction, hereinafter referred to as “top surface”) 25 has a receiving portion for the contact portion 24A. 25A is formed. The top surface 25 has an inverted triangular shape with the receiving portion 25A as a vertex (lower end). That is, the top surface 25 includes a receiving portion 25A, a front inclined surface 25B that is continuous with the front side of the receiving portion 25A, and a rear inclined surface 25C that is continuous with the rear side. The inclination angles of both inclined surfaces 25B and 25C are substantially the same. Preferably, an inclination angle of both inclined surfaces 25B and 25C with respect to a horizontal plane (a plane extending in the front-rear direction) is 3 °. Further, the length of the rear inclined surface 25C in the front-rear direction is shorter than that of the front inclined surface 25B.

  The front inclined surface 25B is formed in a range from the receiving portion 25A to the front end opening of the rectangular tube portion 20, and is a flat inclined surface that goes upward as it goes to the front side. On the other hand, the rear inclined surface 25C is formed between the receiving portion 25A and a substantially central portion between the receiving portion 25A and the rear end opening of the rectangular tube portion 20. A surface that continues to the rear side of the rear inclined surface 25B in the top surface 25 is a horizontal surface 25D. Further, the rear inclined surface 25C is a flat inclined surface that goes upward as it goes to the rear side.

  Now, the receiving portion 25A is formed within a region R1 where the contact portion 24A is located in the front-rear direction. In particular, in the present embodiment, the contact portion 24A is formed in an embossed shape by knocking out, whereas the receiving portion 25A is formed as an arc surface formed by bending the top surface 25. Further, the receiving portion 25A is provided closer to the top surface 25 than the extended inclined surface F1 when the front inclined surface 25B extends rearward along the plane direction. This means that a step projecting toward the contact portion 24A is not formed between the receiving portion 25A and the front inclined surface 25B.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. First, the case where the male terminal 40 is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20 in a normal posture will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 1 and 2. The male terminal 40 enters the inside through the front end opening of the rectangular tube portion 20, and breaks between the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A while flexing the elastic contact piece 24 downward, and elastically enters between them. It is pinched. At this time, since the receiving portion 25A makes point contact with the male terminal 40, the contact pressure with respect to the male terminal 40 can be increased. Further, since the elastic contact piece 24 is supported at two points, that is, a base end portion and a free end portion, a sufficient contact pressure can be applied to the male terminal 40 via the contact portion 24A. Thereby, the male terminal 40 and the female terminal 10 are connected so as to be conductive.

  Next, a case where the male terminal 40 is obliquely inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20 in a downward posture with the tip of the male terminal 40 facing downward will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the drawing, the case where the male terminal 40 is tilted by 2 ° in the clockwise direction with respect to the horizontal plane is illustrated. When the male terminal 40 is obliquely inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20, the male terminal 40 assumes a posture along the front inclined surface 25B. Here, since the receiving portion 25A is formed closer to the top surface 25 than the extended inclined surface F1, the male terminal 40 can be smoothly inserted between the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A.

  Further, although the male terminal 40 is in a downward posture, interference with the front inclined surface 25B is avoided, so that the rectangular tube portion is slidably contacted with the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A as in the normal posture. 20 is inserted inside. That is, excessive bending of the elastic contact piece 24 can be restricted, and the frictional force generated between the male terminal 40 and the contact portion 24A and the frictional force generated between the male terminal 40 and the receiving portion 25A are not increased. The insertion force of the male terminal 40 can be reduced.

  Thereafter, the tip of the male terminal 40 enters along the inclined surface 24 </ b> B on the rear side of the elastic contact piece 24. During this time, since the male terminal 40 does not interfere with the front inclined surface 25B of the top surface 25 and the inclined surface 24B on the rear side of the elastic contact piece 24, excessive bending downward of the elastic contact piece 24 is also restricted. A low insertion force of 40 can be achieved.

  Next, a case where the male terminal 40 is inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20 in an upward posture with the tip of the male terminal 40 facing upward will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In the drawing, the case where the male terminal 40 is tilted 2 ° counterclockwise with respect to the horizontal plane is illustrated. When the male terminal 40 is obliquely inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20, the male terminal 40 assumes a posture along the front inclined surface 24 </ b> B of the elastic contact piece 24.

  When the male terminal 40 is further inserted, the elastic contact piece 24 is bent downward so that the male terminal 40 is split between the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A. Subsequently, when the male terminal 40 is inserted, the male terminal 40 comes into a posture along the rear inclined surface 25C of the top surface 25 while the male terminal 40 is in sliding contact with the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A. During this time, since the male terminal 40 does not interfere with the front inclined surface 24B of the elastic contact piece 24 and the rear inclined surface 25C of the top surface 25, excessive bending downward of the elastic contact piece 24 is restricted. The insertion force can be reduced.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the pair of inclined surfaces 25B and 25C are formed on both front and rear sides of the receiving portion 25A, and the receiving portion 25A is formed within the region R1 where the contact portion 24A is located in the front and rear direction. Interference between the male terminal 40 and the inclined surfaces 25B and 25C can be avoided. As a result, excessive bending of the elastic contact piece 24 can be restricted and the insertion force of the male terminal 40 can be reduced. Further, since the receiving portion 25A is formed on the top surface 25 side with respect to the extended inclined surface F1, when the male terminal 40 is inserted obliquely in a downward posture, the male terminal 40 is smoothly interposed between the contact portion 24A and the receiving portion 25A. Can be inserted into.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing of FIG. The female terminal 50 according to the present embodiment is a modification of the configuration of the receiving portion 25A of the female terminal 10 according to the first embodiment, and other common configurations, functions, and effects are duplicated, and thus description thereof is omitted. To do. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

  The receiving portion 51A of the top surface 51 in the present embodiment has a planar shape. The region R2 where the receiving portion 51A is located in the front-rear direction is formed within the range of the region R1 where the contact portion 24A is located. The length in the front-rear direction of the region R2 is set to be twice or less the plate thickness of the top surface portion 23. According to such a configuration, when the male terminal 40 is obliquely inserted into the rectangular tube portion 20, the male terminal 40 and the receiving portion 51A are not slidably in contact with each other, so that a lower insertion force can be achieved. Further, when the male terminal 40 is in a normal posture, the contact area between the male terminal 40 and the receiving portion 51A can be earned.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawing of FIG. The female terminal 60 of the present embodiment is obtained by changing the configuration of the top surface 25 and the elastic contact piece 24 of the female terminal 10 of the first embodiment, and other common configurations, functions, and effects are duplicated. The description is omitted. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment.

  The top surface 61 in the present embodiment includes a first front slope 61A, a second front slope 61B, a receiving portion 61C, a first rear slope 61D, a second rear slope 61E, and a horizontal plane 61F in order from the front side. The front inclined surface referred to in the present invention includes a first front inclined surface 61A and a second front inclined surface, and the rear inclined surface referred to in the present invention includes a first rear inclined surface 61D and a second rear inclined surface 61E.

  The first front slope 61A is steeper than the second front slope 61B, and the second rear slope 61E is steeper than the first rear slope 61D. Further, the inclination angle of the first front slope 61A and the inclination angle of the second rear slope 61E are substantially the same, and the inclination angle of the second front slope 61B and the inclination angle of the first rear slope 61D are substantially the same. Yes. Thus, since the inclined surfaces are constituted by the plurality of inclined surfaces 61A, 61B, 61D, 61E, the obliquely inserted male terminal 40 can be easily guided to the normal posture by the inclined surfaces 61A, 61B, 61D, 61E.

  Further, the receiving portion 61C is disposed in front of the receiving portion 25A of the first embodiment, and the contact portion 62A of the elastic contact piece 62 positioned below the receiving portion 61C is also more than the contact portion 24A of the first embodiment. Is also placed forward. For this reason, the male terminal 40 can be clamped between the contact part 62A and the receiving part 61C at the initial insertion of the male terminal 40. Furthermore, unlike the contact portion 24A of the first embodiment, the contact portion 62A of the elastic contact piece 62 is formed by bending, so that it does not have to be knocked out.

<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 receiving portion is formed in an arc shape or a planar shape in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the shape of the receiving portion is not limited thereto, and may be, for example, a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape.
(2) Although the receiving portion is provided on the top surface side of the extended inclined surface in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the receiving portion may protrude to the contact portion side of the extended inclined surface.

(3) Although the free end portion of the elastic contact piece is in contact with the seat surface in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the free end portion of the elastic contact piece may be non-contact with the seat surface.
(4) Although the elastic contact piece is folded back from the front edge of the bottom surface portion in the above embodiment, for example, the elastic contact piece may be formed by folding forward from the rear edge of the top surface. .
(5) In the above embodiment, the elastic contact piece having a substantially triangular shape in cross section with the contact portion as the apex is formed. However, according to the present invention, the elastic contact piece having a substantially arc shape in cross section with the contact portion as the apex may be used. Good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,50,60 ... Female terminal 20 ... Square tube part 24, 62 ... Elastic contact piece 24A, 62A ... Contact part 25, 51, 61 ... Top surface 25A, 51A, 61C ... Receiving part 25B ... Front side inclined surface 25C ... Rear Side inclined surface 40 ... Male terminal 61A, 61B ... Front side inclined surface 61D, 61E ... Rear side inclined surface F1 ... Extended inclined surface R1, R2 ... A region where the contact portion is located in the front-rear direction

Claims (6)

A female terminal connected to a tab-shaped male terminal,
A rectangular tube portion that opens in the front-rear direction and into which the male terminal is inserted;
An elastic contact piece provided inside the rectangular tube portion so as to be able to bend and having a contact portion as a vertex;
A receiving portion that is provided on a top surface of the inner wall of the rectangular tube portion that faces the elastic contact piece, and elastically holds the male terminal between the contact portion;
A front inclined surface connected to the front side of the receiving portion on the top surface;
And a rear inclined surface connected to the rear side,
The female terminal is characterized in that the receiving part is formed in a range of a region where the contact part is located in the front-rear direction.   The said receiving part is provided in the said top surface side rather than the extended inclined surface at the time of extending the said front side inclined surface which makes | forms planar shape back along the plane direction, The top surface side is characterized by the above-mentioned. Female terminal as described.   The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion has an arc shape.   The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion has a planar shape.   The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the inclined surface includes a plurality of inclined surfaces.   The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a free end portion of the elastic contact piece is in contact with a seating surface provided on an inner wall of the rectangular tube portion.

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