JP2013187083A - Female terminal, female connector, and manufacturing method of female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female terminal being connected with a male terminal so that the male terminal is inserted thereinto smoothly.SOLUTION: A female terminal 20 includes a crimp part 21, and a fastening part 23. The crimp part 21 is connected with the conductor of a wire 2. The fastening part 23 is connected electrically with the crimp part 21, connected with a male terminal so that the male terminal is inserted thereinto, and has a part 23b thinner than other part on the side closer to the crimp part 21 than the contact part with the male terminal.

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a female terminal connected to the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a female connector having a structure in which a female terminal is connected to an end portion of an electric wire constituting a wire harness or the like and the female terminal is accommodated in a housing is known. A female terminal and a male terminal can be electrically connected by fitting a male connector containing a male terminal to the female connector. This type of female connector and male connector are disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

  Further, as the shape of the female terminal, for example, one constituted by two metal members is known. The two metal members are arranged so as to be slightly smaller than the male terminal. Then, by inserting the male terminal into the female terminal, these metal members are elastically deformed to sandwich the male terminal. As described above, the female terminal and the male terminal are electrically connected.

JP-A-8-213092

  However, in the configuration in which the male terminal is held by two metal members, it is necessary to elastically deform the metal member of the female terminal when the male terminal is inserted, so a large force is required to insert the male terminal. This is necessary, and the burden on the assembly worker may increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main purpose is a female terminal connected to the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal, and the male terminal can be inserted smoothly. Is to provide.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, means for solving the problems and the effects thereof will be described.

  According to the 1st viewpoint of this invention, the female terminal of the following structures is provided. That is, this female terminal includes a crimping portion and a sandwiching portion. The said crimping | compression-bonding part is connected with the conductor of an electric wire. The sandwiching portion is electrically connected to the crimping portion, and is connected to the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal, and on the crimping portion side than the contact point with the male terminal, from other portions. Also have a thin portion with a small thickness.

  Thereby, since the elastic force of a clamping part falls by the influence of a thin part, the force which a clamping part clamps a male terminal can be reduced. Therefore, the male terminal can be smoothly attached to the female terminal. Moreover, since the force which pinches | interposes a male terminal can be reduced without lengthening a female terminal and making a contact location with a male terminal into the front end side (side far from a crimping | compression-bonding part), a compact female terminal is realizable.

  The female terminal preferably has the following configuration. That is, the sandwiching portion is manufactured from a metal plate material. The thin portion is formed by compressing the plate material in the thickness direction of the plate material.

  Thereby, since a thin part can be formed, without scraping the surface of a board | plate material, when plating is given to the board | plate material, a thin part can be formed, without removing the said plating.

  In the female terminal, it is preferable that the pinching portion is constituted by a plurality of elongated members arranged in a comb shape.

  Thereby, compared with the structure which uses a flat-shaped pinching part instead of a comb-tooth shape, since the elastic force of a pinching part can be made low, the attachment property of a male terminal can be improved further. Further, when a flat sandwiching portion is used, it is conceivable that the contact area between the sandwiching portion and the male terminal is reduced due to distortion or protrusion of the flat plate, and the contact resistance is increased. In this regard, the above configuration can prevent an increase in contact resistance because the contact area with the male terminal can be secured by another member even when one member is distorted.

  In the female terminal, it is preferable that the pinching portion includes a pair of members disposed so as to face each other with the male terminal interposed therebetween, and the pair of members can be elastically deformed in a direction away from each other.

  Thereby, even if it is a case where the insertion position of a male terminal has shifted | deviated, since the member arrange | positioned in a pair is elastically deformed so that the said shift | offset | difference may be absorbed, the attachment property of a male terminal can be improved. . In addition, even when vibration or the like is transmitted after the sandwiching portion is connected to the male terminal, a gap is not formed between the sandwiching portion and the male terminal, so that arc discharge can be prevented from occurring.

  According to the 2nd viewpoint of this invention, the female connector provided with the said female terminal and a housing is provided. The housing can be fitted with a housing of a male connector including the male terminal, and holds the female terminal.

  Thereby, the female connector which has the effect of this invention is realizable.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, a crimping portion connected to a conductor of an electric wire, a sandwiching portion electrically connected to the crimping portion, and sandwiching the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal; A method of manufacturing a female terminal is provided. That is, in this manufacturing method, the sandwiching portion is formed by a process including a compression process and a bending process. In the compression step, the plate member is compressed in the thickness direction of the plate member to form a thin portion having a thinner thickness than other portions. In the bending step, the member on which the thin portion is formed is bent.

  Thereby, since the elastic force of a clamping part falls by the influence of a thin part, the force which a clamping part clamps a male terminal can be reduced. Therefore, the male terminal can be smoothly attached to the female terminal. Moreover, since the force which pinches | interposes a male terminal can be reduced without lengthening a female terminal and making a contact location with a male terminal into the front end side (side far from a crimping | compression-bonding part), a compact female terminal is realizable.

The perspective view of a female connector. The side view of a female connector. The disassembled perspective view of a female connector. The perspective view of a male connector. The side view of a male connector. The exploded perspective view of a male connector. The perspective view of a female terminal. The side view of a female terminal. Explanatory drawing which shows the manufacturing process of the clamping part of a female terminal. The perspective view which shows the other example of a female terminal and a cover part.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The connector of this embodiment is composed of a female connector 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and a male connector 30 shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. The connector is configured such that the opening side of the female connector 10 (lower left side in FIG. 1) and the opening side of the male connector 30 (lower left side in FIG. 4) are fitted.

  First, the female connector 10 will be described. FIGS. 1 to 3 are a perspective view, a side view, and an exploded perspective view of the female connector 10. In the following description, in the description of the female connector 10, the side mated with the male connector 30 (lower left side in FIGS. 1 and 3) is referred to as the assembly side, and the opposite side (upper right side in FIGS. 1 and 3). ) Is referred to as the proximal side.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the female connector 10 includes an outer housing 11, a shield cover 12, a female retainer 13, a housing waterproof seal 14, an inner housing 15, a cover portion 16, a wire waterproof seal 17, and an electric wire. A cover 18, a connecting lever 19, and a female terminal 20 are provided.

  The female terminal 20 is electrically connected to the electric wire 2 and is electrically connected to a male terminal 40 (details will be described later) held by the male connector 30. Moreover, the female connector 10 of this embodiment is comprised so that the two female terminals 20 can be hold | maintained. As shown in FIG. 3, each female terminal 20 includes a crimping portion 21, a mounting plate 22, and a sandwiching portion 23.

  The crimp portion 21 is crimped to the conductor portion of the electric wire 2. The mounting plate 22 is disposed on one side of the female terminal 20 (lower side in FIG. 3). A mounting hole (not shown) is formed in the mounting plate 22, and the female terminal 20 is mounted on the inner housing 15 using the mounting hole. The sandwiching portion 23 is configured by a plurality of rib-shaped members arranged in a comb-teeth shape. The sandwiching portion 23 is connected to the male terminal 40 so as to sandwich the male terminal 40.

  The cover portion 16 is a member that covers a part of the female terminal 20. Specifically, the cover portion 16 is attached to the female terminal 20 so as to cover the attachment plate 22 and the sandwiching portion 23. Thereby, the pinching portion 23 can be protected from the finger or the like of the operator who assembles the female connector 10. The female terminal 20 is attached to the inner housing 15 with the cover portion 16 attached.

  The inner housing 15 is formed with an insertion hole 15 a for inserting the female terminal 20 with the cover portion 16. Since the female connector 10 of the present embodiment is configured to hold two female terminals 20, the inner housing 15 has two insertion holes 15a. By inserting the female terminal 20 with the cover portion 16 into the insertion hole 15a, the mounting hole of the mounting plate 22 and the mounting protrusion (not shown) formed on the inner housing 15 are fitted. . In this way, the female terminal 20 can be attached to the inner housing 15. At this time, a part of the female terminal 20 (specifically, the cover portion 16 and the sandwiching portion 23) is located in the accommodating portion 15b formed on the assembly side of the inner housing 15.

  The electric wire waterproof seal 17 is a ring-shaped member made of silicon, rubber (including silicon rubber), or the like. The electric wire waterproof seal 17 is attached to the proximal end side of the insertion hole 15 a by the electric wire cover 18 after the female terminal 20 is attached to the inner housing 15. Thereby, it can prevent that the water which propagates the electric wire 2 permeates in the female connector 10. FIG.

  The housing waterproof seal 14 is a frame-shaped member made of silicon, rubber (including silicon rubber), or the like. The housing waterproof seal 14 is sandwiched between the inner housing 15 and the inner housing 35 on the male connector 30 side (details will be described later) when the female connector 10 and the male connector 30 are fitted together. And the male connector 30 can be waterproofed.

  The female retainer 13 is attached to the inner housing 15 so as to cover the accommodating portion 15 b of the inner housing 15. Therefore, the female retainer 13 is disposed so as to cover the female terminal 20.

  The shield cover 12 is a metal cylindrical member. The shield cover 12 is disposed inside the outer housing 11 so as to cover the female retainer 13 and the accommodating portion 15b. Thereby, it can prevent that the noise radiated | emitted from the electric wire 2 and the female terminal 20 leaks outside (it can shield).

  The outer housing 11 is attached to the inner housing 15 so as to cover the shield cover 12. Further, the outer housing 11 is formed with a male connector guide portion 11a and a lever mounting portion 11b.

  The male connector guide portion 11a is configured to be insertable into a member on the male connector 30 side (a female connector guide portion 31a of an outer housing 31 described later). Thereby, the female connector 10 and the male connector 30 can be fitted in the correct direction. A connecting lever 19 is attached to the lever attaching portion 11b. The configuration of the connecting lever 19 will be described later.

  Next, the male connector 30 will be described. 4 to 6 are a perspective view, a side view, and an exploded perspective view of the male connector 30. FIG. In the following description, in the description of the male connector 30, the side fitted to the female connector 10 (the lower left side in FIGS. 4 and 6) is referred to as the assembly side, and the opposite side (the upper right side in FIGS. 4 and 6). ) Is referred to as the proximal side.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and the like, the male connector 30 includes an outer housing 31, a shield cover 32, a male retainer 33, an inner housing 35, an electric wire waterproof seal 37, an electric wire cover 38, and a male terminal 40. .

  The male terminal 40 is electrically connected to the electric wire 4 and is electrically connected to the female terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the male terminal 40 includes a crimping portion 41 and a terminal portion 43.

  The crimp portion 41 is crimped to the conductor portion of the electric wire 4. The terminal portion 43 is a metal flat plate that is electrically connected to the crimping portion 41. The male terminal 40 is connected to the female terminal 20 such that the terminal portion 43 is sandwiched between the sandwiching portions 23 of the female terminal 20. The terminal portion 43 is formed with an attachment hole, and the male terminal 40 is attached to the inner housing 35 using the attachment hole.

  The inner housing 35 is formed with an insertion hole 35 a for inserting the male terminal 40 and a holding portion 35 b for holding the male terminal 40. An operator who assembles the male connector 30 inserts the male terminal 40 into the insertion hole 35a, and fits the mounting hole of the male terminal 40 with the protrusion formed on the holding portion 35b. 40 can be attached to the inner housing 35.

  The electric wire waterproof seal 37 is a ring-shaped member made of silicon, rubber (including silicon rubber), or the like. The electric wire waterproof seal 37 is attached to the proximal end side of the insertion hole 35a by the electric wire cover 38 after the male terminal 40 is attached to the inner housing 35. Thereby, it can prevent that the water which propagates the electric wire 4 permeates into the male connector 30.

  The male retainer 33 is attached so as to cover the holding portion 35 b of the inner housing 35. Therefore, the male retainer 33 is disposed so as to cover the male terminal 40.

  The shield cover 32 is a metal cylindrical member. The shield cover 32 is disposed so as to cover the assembly side of the inner housing 35. Thereby, it can prevent that the noise radiated | emitted from the electric wire 4 and the male terminal 40 leaks outside (it can shield).

  The outer housing 31 is attached to the inner housing 35 so as to cover the shield cover 32. The outer housing 31 is formed with a female connector guide portion 31a and a lever mounting portion 31b. As described above, the female connector guide portion 31a is configured such that the male connector guide portion 11a can be inserted. The lever mounting portion 31b is configured so that the connecting lever 19 can be attached and detached.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and the like, the connecting lever 19 is formed with a mounting portion 19a and a guide portion 19b in which a guide groove is formed. The connecting lever 19 is rotatably attached to the outer housing 11 by inserting the lever attaching portion 11b into the attaching portion 19a. The connecting lever 19 is attached to the outer housing 31 by inserting the lever attaching portion 31b into the guide portion 19b. With this configuration, by rotating the connecting lever 19 around the mounting portion 19a, the lever mounting portion 31b moves along the guide portion 19b, so that the outer housing 31 (and thus the male connector 30) is brought closer to the female connector 10. Or it can be moved in the direction of separation. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the operating force required for the operator. Therefore, since the male connector 30 and the female connector 10 can be strongly fitted, the waterproof waterproof seal 14 can be strongly compressed to exert a waterproof effect.

  Next, the detailed shape and manufacturing method of the female terminal 20 (especially the clamping part 23) are demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the female terminal 20. FIG. 8 is a side view of the female terminal 20. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a manufacturing process of the pinching portion 23 of the female terminal 20.

  The sandwiching portion 23 is composed of a plurality of elongated members (hereinafter referred to as rib members) arranged vertically so as to sandwich the terminal portion 43 of the male terminal 40. The rib members arranged on the upper and lower sides are bent so as to be slightly bent in a direction approaching each other (see FIG. 8). As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rib member is formed with a joining portion 23 a and a thin portion 23 b, respectively.

  The joint portion 23a is a portion to be brought into contact with the terminal portion 43 of the male terminal 40, and has a spherical shape. As shown in FIG. 8, the thin portion 23b is thinner than other portions of the rib member. Moreover, the thin part 23b is formed in the crimping | compression-bonding part 21 side (base end side) rather than the junction part 23a.

  The interval (tab gap) between the joint portions 23 a of the rib members arranged above and below is configured to be smaller than the thickness of the terminal portion 43. And when the terminal part 43 inserted contacts a rib member, the rib member arrange | positioned up and down is elastically deformed in the direction which mutually leaves | separates. Thereby, the terminal part 43 of the male terminal 40 and the pinching part 23 of the female terminal 20 can be connected.

  In the present embodiment, the thin portion 23 b is formed in the pinching portion 23, and thereby the elastic force exerted on the terminal portion 43 by the pinching portion 23 is reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, the male terminal 40 can be easily connected to the female terminal 20 (with a weak force and smoothly).

  In order to reduce the elastic force exerted on the terminal portion 43 by the sandwiching portion 23, for example, a method of lengthening the rib member (increasing the length in the left-right direction in FIG. 8) is conceivable. However, in this case, since the length of the female terminal 20 is increased, the size of the female connector 10 is increased. In this respect, in this embodiment, since it is not necessary to lengthen the rib member, the elastic force can be reduced without increasing the size of the female terminal 20.

  Moreover, this embodiment is a structure which can deform | transform both the rib members arrange | positioned up and down. Here, if one of the members sandwiching the terminal portion 43 is deformable and the other cannot be deformed (when the position is fixed), the following problem occurs. That is, for example, when vibration or the like is transmitted to the terminal portion 43 from the outside after the male terminal 40 is connected, the terminal portion 43 is momentarily separated from the non-deformable member (a gap is generated), and as a result, arc discharge is generated. May occur. In this respect, the configuration of the present embodiment is such that the rib members arranged on the upper and lower sides can both be deformed, so that even when vibration or the like is transmitted from the outside to the terminal portion 43, the movement of the terminal portion 43 follows. The movement of the upper and lower rib members can prevent the generation of a gap (that is, the generation of an arc current).

  Furthermore, since the pinching portion 23 of the present embodiment is configured in a comb shape, the elastic force of the pinching portion can be reduced as compared with a configuration using a flat plate-like pinching portion. Therefore, the mountability of the male terminal 40 can be further improved. In addition, when a flat sandwiching portion is used, the contact area between the sandwiching portion and the male terminal 40 may be reduced due to distortion or protrusion of the flat plate, and the contact resistance may be increased. In this respect, in the present embodiment, even when one rib member is distorted or the like, the contact area with the male terminal 40 can be ensured by the other rib member, so that an increase in contact resistance can be prevented.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the pinching part 23 of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  The sandwiching portion 23 of the present embodiment is manufactured from a metal plate material 50. First, the plate member 50 is punched out so that the rectangular parallelepiped grooves 51 are formed at equal intervals in the plate member 50 (see FIG. 9A). Thereby, the elongate member (rib material) of the state connected to the board | plate material 50 is formed side by side.

  Next, an arbitrary region of the rib material is compressed in the plate thickness direction of the plate material 50 to form the thin portion 23b, and the joint portion 23a is formed in the vicinity of the end portion of the rib material (FIG. 9B). reference). As shown in FIG. 9B, as a result of this compression, the rib material is crushed in the thickness direction, and as a result, swells in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the rib material and along the surface of the plate material). In addition, since the both ends of the longitudinal direction of rib material are connected to the board | plate material 50, even if the process to compress is performed, rib material hardly extends in a longitudinal direction.

  Next, the swelled portion and the portion connected to the plate member 50 in the vicinity of the joint portion 23a are cut out (see FIG. 9C). And the process which curves the vicinity of the junction part 23a is performed (refer FIG.9 (d)). Finally, the position of the rib material and the like are finely adjusted so as to satisfy the tab gap defined in advance. As described above, one side (upper side or lower side) of the clip portion 23 can be manufactured.

  And the other side of the clamping part 23 is manufactured by the same method, and the clamping part 23 can be formed by connecting so that the joining parts 23a face each other.

  As described above, the female terminal 20 of the present embodiment includes the crimping part 21 and the sandwiching part 23. The crimp portion 21 is connected to the conductor of the electric wire 2. The sandwiching portion 23 is electrically connected to the crimping portion 21, is connected to the male terminal 40 so as to sandwich the male terminal 40, and is located on the crimping portion 21 side from the contact point with the male terminal 40. The thin portion 23b is thinner than the portion.

  Thereby, since the elastic force of the clamping part 23 falls under the influence of the thin part 23b, the force by which the clamping part 23 clamps the male terminal 40 can be reduced. Therefore, the male terminal 40 can be smoothly attached to the female terminal 20. Moreover, since the force which pinches | interposes the male terminal 40 can be reduced, without lengthening a rib member, the compact female terminal 20 is realizable.

  Further, the sandwiching portion 23 of the female terminal 20 of the present embodiment is manufactured from a metal plate material. The thin portion 23b is formed by compressing the plate material in the thickness direction of the plate material.

  Thereby, since the thin part 23b can be formed without shaving the surface of a board | plate material, when plating is given to the board | plate material, the thin part 23b can be formed, without removing the said plating.

  Further, the sandwiching portion 23 of the female terminal 20 of the present embodiment is configured by a plurality of rib members arranged in a comb-teeth shape.

  Thereby, compared with the case where a flat clamping part is used, while the attachment property of the male terminal 40 can be improved further, the increase in contact resistance can be prevented.

  In addition, the pinching portion 23 of the female terminal 20 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of pairs of rib members arranged so as to face each other with the male terminal 40 interposed therebetween, and the rib members forming each pair are separated from each other. Can be elastically deformed.

  Thereby, even if it is a case where the insertion position of the male terminal 40 has shifted | deviated, since the member arrange | positioned in a pair elastically deforms so that the said shift | offset | difference may be absorbed, the attachment property of the male terminal 40 can be improved. . In addition, after the sandwiching portion 23 is connected to the male terminal 40, even if vibration or the like is transmitted, there is no gap between the sandwiching portion 23 and the male terminal 40, thereby preventing arc discharge. Can do.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the above configuration can be modified as follows, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the connector having two female terminals and male terminals has been described. However, the number of terminals is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate according to the circuit configuration and the like.

  Moreover, the shape of the member which comprises a female connector and a male connector is arbitrary, and can be changed into a suitable shape. For example, the cover part 16 and the female terminal 20 may be modified as shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the positions of the sandwiching portion 23 and the mounting plate 22 are reversed so that the mounting plate 22 is located on the same side as the open side of the crimping portion 21. Along with this, the position of the insertion opening formed in the cover portion 16 for insertion of the terminal portion 43 is slightly changed.

  The method of manufacturing the pinching portion 23 described above is an example, and the pinching portion 23 is manufactured by partially deleting the above steps, adding other steps, or using a completely different manufacturing method. Also good. For example, in the above description, the processing for removing the swelled portion as a result of compression is performed, but this processing may be omitted.

  Although the example which applies the connector of this invention to the structure which connects electric wires above was demonstrated, the connector of this invention is applicable also to the structure which connects an electric wire and an auxiliary machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Female connector 20 Female terminal 21 Crimp part 22 Mounting plate 23 Clamp part 23a Joint part 23b Thin part 30 Male connector 40 Male terminal

Claims (6)

A crimping part connected to the conductor of the wire;
A thin wall that is electrically connected to the crimping part, is connected to the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal, and is thinner on the crimping part side than the contact part with the male terminal. A sandwiching portion having a portion;
A female terminal comprising: The female terminal according to claim 1,
The sandwiching portion is manufactured from a metal plate material,
The thin portion is formed by compressing the plate member in the thickness direction of the plate member. The female terminal according to claim 1 or 2,
The said pinching part is comprised with the several elongate member arrange | positioned at a comb-tooth shape, The female terminal characterized by the above-mentioned. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said pinching part contains a pair of member arrange | positioned so that it may oppose on both sides of the said male terminal, The said pair of member can be elastically deformed in the direction away from each other, The female terminal characterized by the above-mentioned. A female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A housing that can be fitted with a housing of a male connector including the male terminal, and holds the female terminal;
A female connector comprising: A female terminal comprising a crimping portion connected to a conductor of an electric wire and a pinching portion electrically connected to the crimping portion and connected to the male terminal so as to sandwich the male terminal is manufactured from a metal plate material. A way to
The sandwiching portion is
A compression step of compressing the plate material in the thickness direction of the plate material to form a thin-walled portion having a smaller thickness than other portions;
A bending step of bending the member in which the thin portion is formed;
A method of manufacturing a female terminal, characterized by being formed by a process including:

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