JP2014053205A - Female terminal and connector using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase contact pressure with respect to a male tab terminal.SOLUTION: A free end side of a leaf spring 20 inside a box part 11 of a female terminal 10 is extended forward while being curved downward in convex and bent diagonally backward-upward in a dog leg shape at a front end 22c of a curved part 22. A tip side of a bent part 23, as a protrusion piece, protrudes upward from a through hole 42 of an upper wall 11a of the box part. The protrusion piece is constituted as an engaging piece which is engaged with an engaging protrusion 54 when the box part is inserted into a terminal housing chamber 51. The bent part 23 bent in a dog leg shape is constituted as a compression spring part which is pressed and compressed by a male tab terminal and presses the male tab terminal toward a tab reception part with the compression reaction force when the male tab terminal is inserted and a tip 24a of the engaging piece is engaged with a corner part on a bottom front side of the engaging protrusion.

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal having a rectangular tube-shaped box portion into which a male tab terminal is inserted, and a connector in which the female terminal is housed and fixed in a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing.

  As a female terminal for a connector, a rectangular tube-like box part into which a male tab terminal is inserted is provided at the front part, and a leaf spring for sandwiching the male tab terminal with contact pressure is formed inside the box part. There is something.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional female terminal described in Patent Document 1 and a connector housing for accommodating the female terminal and constituting a connector.
The female terminal 110 has a box portion 111 having a rectangular tube shape at the front portion, and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 151 of the connector housing 150 from the rear, thereby being fixed inside the terminal accommodating chamber 151. ing.

  A leaf spring 120 integrally formed on the upper wall 111 a of the box portion 111 is provided as a cantilever spring inside the box portion 111, and the lower wall 111 b of the box portion 111 is opposed to the leaf spring 120. The tab receiving portion 130 is provided so that a male tab terminal (not shown) can be sandwiched between the leaf spring 120. In this case, the leaf spring 120 is formed with a curved portion 122 that protrudes downward, and a first contact Sa that presses and contacts the male tab terminal is provided at the lowermost end portion thereof. Further, the tab receiving portion 130 is provided with a second contact Sb and a third contact Sc that are in press contact with the male tab terminal so as to be positioned on the front side and the rear side of the first contact Sa. In addition, between the 2nd contact Sb and the 3rd contact Sc by the side of the tab receiving part 130 may be the plane of the same height as both contact Sb and Sc as shown in figure, or both contact Sb, Sc You may be dented from the height.

  Further, the lower surface of the lower wall 111b of the box portion 111 has flexibility formed on the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 151 when the female terminal 110 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 151 of the connector housing 150 from the rear. By engaging with the beak 154 a of the lance 154, a locking projection 140 is provided to prevent the female terminal 110 from being pulled backward.

  When the female terminal 110 is incorporated into the connector housing 150 to form a connector, the female terminal 110 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 151 from the rear with the box portion 111 facing the front side. Then, the locking protrusion 140 provided on the lower surface of the box portion 111 pushes down the flexible lance 154 provided on the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 151. Further, when the female terminal 110 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 151 until the locking projection 140 passes through the lance 154, the lance 154 returns from the bending, and the beak 154a of the lance 154 engages with the locking projection 140, The female terminal 110 is fixed inside the terminal accommodating chamber 151 to complete the connector.

  When this connector is mated with the mating connector, the male tab terminal of the mating connector is inserted into the box portion 111 of the female terminal 110, and the contact Sa on the leaf spring 120 side and the tab receiving portion 130 side are bent while the leaf spring 120 is bent. By entering between the contacts Sb, Sc, the contacts Sa, Sb, Sc and the male tab terminal come into strong contact with each other, whereby the male tab terminal and the female terminal 110 are electrically connected.

  By the way, since the leaf spring 120 in this case is a cantilever spring, the elastic reaction force is weak, and therefore, there is a problem that the contact pressure with the male tab terminal becomes low, and the contact reliability is likely to be lowered.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes a female terminal in which a leaf spring provided inside a box portion is a double-end support type spring.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a female terminal described in Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG.

  The female terminal 210 has a tab receiving portion 230 formed on the lower surface of the upper wall 211a of the box portion 211 and a leaf spring 220 disposed on the upper side of the lower wall 211b. The leaf spring 220 is connected to the front end of the lower wall 211b, and first bends backwards in a U-shape, and then extends backward from the front end 222a to the rear end 222b to form a curved portion 222 that curves upwardly. After bending downward at the position of the rear end 222b of the curved portion 222, making a U-turn forward again through the bent portion 223, the tip is at the lower position corresponding to the middle portion in the front-rear direction of the curved portion 222 It has a bent shape bent in an L shape, and is provided in a state where the lower surface of the L-shaped bent portion 224 at the tip is in contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 211b. In this way, the leaf spring 220 is configured as a double-end support type spring by bringing the distal end side (L-shaped bent portion 224) of the leaf spring 120 into contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 211b.

  In this case, the first contact Sa with respect to the male tab terminal 270 is provided at the apex of the curved portion 222 of the leaf spring 220, and the second contact Sb and the second contact Sb on the front side and the rear side of the first contact Sa on the lower surface of the tab receiving portion 230 are provided. Three contact points Sc are provided.

  When the male tab terminal 270 is inserted into the box portion 211 of the female terminal 210, the male tab terminal 270 is pressed against the first contact Sa of the curved portion 222 of the leaf spring 220, so that the leaf spring 220 is bent downward. At that time, since the front end side of the leaf spring 220 is in contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 211b of the box portion 211, the leaf spring 220 bends in a state where the both ends are supported (or a state close thereto), and a strong elastic reaction force Will be exerted on the male tab terminal 270. Therefore, the male tab terminal 270 can be sandwiched between the leaf spring 220 and the tab receiving portion 230 while exerting a strong contact pressure, and contact reliability can be improved.

JP 2004-22303 A JP 2002-246094 A

  Incidentally, both the female terminal 110 shown in FIG. 5 and the female terminal 210 shown in FIG. 6 are provided with a flexible lance for preventing the female terminal from coming out when inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from the rear. Therefore, there is a problem that the structure of the connector housing is complicated by that amount.

  Further, when the female terminals 110 and 220 are inserted into the connector housing, the means for pressing the female terminal is only a flexible lance.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the front end side of the plate spring 220 formed in a cantilever shape is brought into contact with the inner wall of the box portion 211 (in the example of FIG. 6, the upper wall of the lower wall 211 b). If the spring is a double-supported spring, the spring stiffness of the leaf spring 220 can be increased, but the bending allowance of the leaf spring 220 may be reduced. As a result, for example, the thickness of the male tab terminal 270 The elastic reaction force of the leaf spring 220 is greatly changed due to a slight difference between them, and there is a problem that it is difficult to maintain the quality stability of the contact pressure.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to increase the contact pressure with respect to the male tab terminal, improve the contact reliability, and provide a flexible lance on the connector housing side. In addition, it is possible to suppress the looseness of the terminal when it is assembled in the connector housing, and further, the bending allowance of the leaf spring can be set large, and the quality stability of the contact pressure is increased. An object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal that can be maintained and a connector in which the female terminal is housed and fixed in a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the female terminal according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (3).
(1) The front portion has a cylindrical box portion that secures the insertion space for the male tab terminal between the upper wall and the lower wall, and the terminal is accommodated by being inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from the rear. When the male tab terminal is inserted from the front into the box portion in this state, the tab spring is provided between the leaf spring provided on the upper wall and the tab receiving portion provided on the lower wall. A female terminal electrically connected to the male tab terminal by sandwiching the male tab terminal,
The leaf spring has a rear end fixed to the upper wall and a free end extending forward, and when the male tab terminal is inserted, the male tab terminal is pushed by the male tab terminal and bends upward so that the male tab terminal is directed downward. Formed as a cantilever spring to press,
The free end side of the leaf spring is bent forward and obliquely upward at the front end of the curved portion curved downward and convexly curved in order to be curved downward and convex to contact the inserted male tab terminal. Part is formed,
The front end side of the bent portion extending obliquely upward to the rear protrudes from the through hole formed in the upper wall to the upper side of the box portion, and the protruding pieces project the box portion into the terminal housing of the connector housing. When inserted into the chamber, it is a locking piece that engages with a locking projection protruding from the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and prevents the terminal from coming out backward,
When the male tab terminal is inserted, the bent portion is pressed by the male tab terminal by engaging the tip of the locking piece with the corner wall that intersects the ceiling wall on the base front side of the locking projection on the connector housing side. It is configured as a compression spring portion that compresses and presses the male tab terminal toward the tab receiving portion by its compression reaction force,
about.
(2) In the female terminal configured as described in (1) above,
A first contact that is in press contact with the male tab terminal is provided at the lowermost end of the curved portion of the leaf spring,
A second contact and a third contact that contact the male tab terminal are provided on the front side and the rear side of the first contact on the upper surface of the tab receiving portion,
The tip of the locking piece is disposed immediately above the first contact,
about.
(3) In the female terminal configured as described in (1) or (2) above,
The leaf spring is inserted into the male tab terminal at at least one of the base portion of the curved portion and the position on the upper wall facing the base portion, which is spaced forward from the rear end of the leaf spring fixed to the upper wall. A fulcrum convex portion serving as a fulcrum of the bending deformation of the leaf spring is provided by pressing each other when bending upward.
about.

According to the female terminal having the configuration of (1) above, when the box part of the female terminal is inserted from the rear into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing, the free end side of the leaf spring protruding above the box part is locked. A leaf | plate spring bends downward by a piece contacting the latching protrusion provided in the ceiling wall of the terminal storage chamber. When the female terminal is further inserted, the plate spring is bent, so that the locking piece gets over the locking projection, and after it gets over, the locking piece is engaged with the front side of the locking projection by returning from the bending of the plate spring. As a result, the female terminal is housed and fixed in the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing in a state of being prevented from coming out backward.
When the male tab terminal is inserted into the box portion from the front in this state, the male tab terminal enters between the curved portion of the leaf spring and the tab receiving portion and deflects the leaf spring upward. Then, the tip of the locking piece on the free end side of the leaf spring engages with the corner portion that intersects the ceiling wall on the front side of the locking projection on the connector housing side, so that the dog-shaped bent portion of the leaf spring is It becomes a compression spring and is compressed between the male tab terminal and the ceiling wall of the connector housing. At this time, the cantilevered plate spring is in a both-sided state and generates a large elastic reaction force.
Therefore, a combined force of a bending reaction force generated by bending the leaf spring upward and a compression reaction force generated by compressing the dogleg-shaped bent portion is applied downward to the male tab terminal. The male tab terminal is sandwiched between the leaf spring and the tab receiving portion with a strong contact pressure, and stable contact reliability can be ensured between the female terminal and the male tab terminal.
In addition, the compression reaction force generated at the bent portion of the dog-shaped shape presses the entire female terminal downward, so that rattling between the connector housing and the female terminal is suppressed, and the contact between the female terminal and the male tab terminal is suppressed. The wear of the part can be reduced.
Further, since the female terminal is engaged with the connector housing by using the bending of the leaf spring provided on the female terminal to prevent the female terminal from coming out backward, a flexible lance is formed on the connector housing. This eliminates the necessity, and it becomes possible to facilitate the resin molding by simplifying the shape of the connector housing.
Furthermore, the tip of the dog-leg bent part (the tip of the locking piece) is not received by the upper wall of the box part, but protrudes from the through-hole formed in the upper wall and is more than the upper wall of the box part. Since it is received by the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing on the upper side, the tip of the bent portion (tip of the locking piece) is received on the upper wall of the box portion (for example, similar to the example of FIG. 6) As compared with the above, it is possible to secure a large allowance for the bent portion of the dogleg shape. Therefore, for example, the change in contact pressure with respect to the male tab terminal due to the plate spring due to the thickness error of the male tab terminal can be suppressed to a small extent, and the quality stability of the contact pressure can be improved as much as the bending allowance of the flat spring increases. .
According to the female terminal configured as described in (2) above, the first contact on the leaf spring side is disposed between the second contact and the third contact provided in the tab receiving portion. It can be pinched stably. In addition, since the tip of the locking piece that hits the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing is located immediately above the first contact, the compression reaction force generated in the dogleg-shaped bent portion is directed toward the first contact. It can work effectively. Therefore, the contact pressure of the leaf spring with respect to the male tab terminal can be increased more stably.
According to the female terminal configured as described in (3) above, since the fulcrum when the leaf spring is deformed can be provided at a position in front of the rear end (fixed end) of the leaf spring, the free end side of the leaf spring is bent. The spring rigidity on the free end side can be increased as much as the distance from the fulcrum when deforming to the force point (the position that receives the force for elastic deformation by hitting the male tab terminal) is shortened, and the contact pressure against the male tab terminal can be increased. Can be increased.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector according to the present invention is characterized by the following (4).
(4) Insert the female terminal box portion of any one of the above (1) to (3) into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from behind, and use the bending of the leaf spring of the female terminal. The female terminal is engaged by engaging a locking protrusion provided on the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing with a locking piece on the free end side of the leaf spring protruding from the upper wall of the box portion. It was housed and fixed in the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing.

  According to the connector having the configuration of the above (4), by using the female terminal, the male tab terminal can be sandwiched between the leaf spring and the tab receiving portion with a strong contact pressure when the male tab terminal is inserted. It is possible to ensure stable contact reliability between the female terminal and the male tab terminal. In addition, since the female terminal can be pressed against the connector housing by the biasing force of the leaf spring, play between the connector housing and the female terminal can be suppressed, and wear of the contact portion between the female terminal and the male tab terminal can be reduced. Can be achieved. In addition, the connector housing and the female terminal can be engaged by utilizing the bending of the leaf spring provided on the female terminal to prevent the female terminal from coming out backward, so a flexible lance is attached to the connector housing. It is not necessary to form the resin housing, and the resin molding can be facilitated by simplifying the shape of the connector housing.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the contact pressure with respect to a male tab terminal can be raised and contact reliability can be improved. Further, rattling between the connector housing and the female terminal can be suppressed, and wear of the contact portion between the female terminal and the male tab terminal can be reduced. Further, it is not necessary to provide a flexible lance on the connector housing side, and the resin molding can be facilitated by simplifying the shape of the connector housing. Moreover, the bending allowance of the leaf spring can be set large, and the quality stability of the contact pressure can be kept high.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a female terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the female terminal box, and FIG. 2B is a case where the male tab terminal is inserted into the female terminal box before being housed in the connector housing. It is a sectional side view which shows the state of bending of the leaf | plate spring. FIG. 3A is a side sectional view showing a state in the middle of inserting the female terminal into the connector housing, and FIG. 3B is a side sectional view showing the state after the insertion. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a male terminal is inserted into a box portion of a female terminal housed and fixed in a connector housing. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a conventional example. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing another conventional example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 is an external perspective view of the female terminal of the embodiment, FIG. 2A is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the box portion of the female terminal, and FIG. 2B is a box of the female terminal before being accommodated in the connector housing. FIG. 3A is a side sectional view showing a state of bending of the leaf spring when the male tab terminal is inserted into the portion, FIG. 3A is a side sectional view showing a state in the middle of inserting the female terminal into the connector housing, FIG. ) Is a side sectional view showing a state after insertion, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a male terminal is inserted into a box portion of a female terminal accommodated and fixed in a connector housing.

  In this specification, the “upper” side and the “lower” side are defined as directions for convenience as shown in FIG. 1, but the upper side of the box part may be lower or side depending on the posture when the female terminal is used. Of course, it does not matter if the lower side of the box is facing up or sideways.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 10 has a rectangular tube-shaped box portion including an upper wall 11a, a lower wall 11b, and left and right side walls 11c and 11d at the front, and a conductor of the electric wire at the rear side. A conductor crimping portion 12 for crimping to a wire, and a covering crimping portion 13 for crimping a portion with a wire coating on the rear side. Connecting portions 14 and 15 are connected between the box portion 11 and the conductor crimping portion 12 and between the conductor crimping portion 12 and the covering crimping portion 13, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the female terminal 10 secures an insertion space for the male tab terminal 70 between the upper wall 11a and the lower wall 11b of the box portion 11, and FIG. 3 (a) and FIG. As shown in FIG. 5B, the connector housing 50 is fixed inside the terminal housing chamber 51 by being inserted into the terminal housing chamber 51 from behind. In this state, when the male tab terminal 70 is inserted into the box portion 11 from the front as shown in FIG. 4, the leaf spring 20 provided on the upper wall 11a and the tab receiving portion 30 provided on the lower wall 11b. The male tab terminal 70 is sandwiched between the male tab terminal 70 and the male tab terminal 70 so as to be electrically connected.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the leaf spring 20 basically has a rear end (fixed end) 20a fixed to the upper wall 11a, a free end extending forward, and a male tab terminal 70. Is inserted as a cantilever spring that is pushed by the male tab terminal 70 and bends upward and presses the male tab terminal 70 downward by its reaction force.

  As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the portion that begins to extend forward from the rear end 20a that is a fixed end is configured as a first bending portion 21 that is slightly curved in a reverse shape. The rear end (base portion) 22a of the second bending portion 22 is connected to the front end 21a of the first bending portion 21 while being convexly curved upward. The leaf spring 20 is bent upward as the male tab terminal 70 is inserted at a position on the upper wall 11 a facing the curved portion connecting the front end 21 a of the first curved portion 21 and the rear end 22 a of the second curved portion 22. When the bending portion connecting the front end 21a of the first bending portion 21 and the rear end 22a of the second bending portion 22 is pressed, the fulcrum convex portion 41 serving as a fulcrum for bending deformation of the leaf spring 20 protrudes downward. It is installed.

  The second bending portion 22 extends forward while being curved downward and convex in order to contact the inserted male tab terminal 70, and the lower end of the lowermost end portion 22 b of the second bending portion 22 is connected to the male tab terminal 70. A first contact Sa is provided in press contact with the upper surface 72 of the first contact Sa. The leaf spring 20 is bent in a dogleg shape obliquely upward and rearward at the front end 22c of the second curved portion 22 that is convexly curved downward, and is obliquely rearward of the bent portion 23 bent in the dogleg shape. The tip side that extends upward protrudes as a projecting piece from the through hole 42 formed in the upper wall 11a of the box portion 11 to the upper side of the box portion 11.

  Then, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the protruding piece has the box portion 11 directed toward the terminal accommodating chamber 51 of the connector housing 50 from the rear to the front, and the arrow A in FIG. When the connector is inserted as described above, the engagement piece 24 engages with the engagement protrusion 54 protruding from the ceiling wall 52 of the terminal housing chamber 51 of the connector housing 50 to prevent the female terminal 10 from coming out backward. It is configured as.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the bent portion 23 bent in the shape of a dog has a tip 24 a of the locking piece 24 on the front side of the locking projection 54 on the connector housing 50 side when the male tab terminal 70 is inserted. By being engaged with a corner that intersects the ceiling wall 52, it is configured as a compression spring portion that is pressed and compressed by the male tab terminal 70 and presses the male tab terminal 70 toward the tab receiving portion 30 by its compression reaction force. Here, the front end 24a of the locking piece 24 is disposed immediately above the first contact Sa.

  Further, on the upper surface of the tab receiving portion 30 facing the leaf spring 20, there are provided curved portions 31, 32 which are located on the front side and the rear side of the first contact Sa and are convex upward. A second contact Sb and a third contact Sc that contact the lower surface 71 of the male tab terminal 70 are provided at the uppermost end of 32.

  On the other hand, the connector housing 50 has a front wall 56 having an insertion hole 57 for the male tab terminal 70 in front of the terminal accommodating chamber 51, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b). The insertion hole 57 is provided to correspond to the male tab terminal insertion position of the female terminal 10 accommodated and fixed in the terminal accommodating chamber 51. The terminal accommodating chamber 51 is defined between the ceiling wall 52 and the bottom wall 53, and a locking projection 54 for locking the female terminal 10 is provided on the ceiling wall 52. The locking projection 54 has a trapezoidal cross section or a triangular cross section, and the rear side surface 54a is configured as a guide surface that is inclined so that the locking piece 24 is easily bent while sliding, and the front side surface after passing through the beak 54b. 54 c is configured as a locking surface perpendicular to the insertion direction of the female terminal 10. The front end 24 a of the locking piece 24 formed at the free end of the leaf spring 20 is adapted to engage with the corner where the front side surface 54 c of the locking projection 54 and the ceiling wall 52 intersect. Note that the locking protrusion 54 is not limited to the one in which the front side surface 54 c is a surface perpendicular to the insertion direction of the female terminal 10. The locking protrusion 54 may be any structure that can lock the front end 24a of the locking piece 24 to the front side surface 54c.

  When the female terminal 10 is accommodated in the connector housing 50, as shown in FIG. 3A, the box portion 11 of the female terminal 10 is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 51 as indicated by an arrow A from the rear. Then, the locking piece 24 on the free end side of the leaf spring 20 protruding above the box portion 11 hits the rear side surface 54 a of the locking projection 54 provided on the ceiling wall 52 of the terminal accommodating chamber 51, so that the leaf spring 20. Gradually bends downward as shown by arrow B. When the female terminal 10 is further inserted, the leaf spring 20 bends so that the locking piece 24 gets over the beak 54 b of the locking projection 54, and after getting over the beak 54 b, the locking piece 24 comes from the bending of the plate spring 20. By returning, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), it engages with the corner on the front side of the locking projection 54. As a result, the female terminal 10 is housed and fixed in the terminal housing chamber 51 of the connector housing 50 in a state of being prevented from coming off rearward.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 4, when the male tab terminal 70 is inserted into the box portion 11 from the front, the male tab terminal 70 enters between the second bending portion 22 of the leaf spring 20 and the tab receiving portion 30, and the plate The spring 20 is bent upward. Then, the distal end 24a of the locking piece 24 on the free end side of the leaf spring 20 is engaged with the corner portion that intersects the ceiling wall 52 on the front side of the locking projection 54 on the connector housing 50 side. The square-shaped bent portion 23 becomes a compression spring and is compressed between the male tab terminal 70 and the ceiling wall 52 of the connector housing 50 for compression. At this time, the cantilevered leaf spring 20 is in a both-sided state, and generates a large elastic reaction force.

  Therefore, the bending reaction force generated when the leaf spring 20 is bent upward from the position H0 to the position H1 from the ceiling wall 52 of the terminal accommodating chamber 51 [this bending reaction force is as shown in FIG. This corresponds to the bending reaction force of the cantilevered leaf spring 20 when the female terminal 10 is inserted into the box portion 11 without being accommodated in the connector housing]. A combined force with the compression reaction force generated by the compression is applied downward to the male tab terminal 70, and the male tab terminal 70 is sandwiched between the leaf spring 20 and the tab receiving portion 30 with a strong contact pressure. The first contact point to the third contact points Sa, Sb, Sc strongly contact the male tab terminal 70, so that stable contact reliability is ensured between the female terminal 10 and the male tab terminal 70.

  Further, since the compression reaction force generated in the dog-shaped bent portion 23 presses the entire female terminal 10 downward as a force indicated by an arrow C in the figure, the rattling between the connector housing 50 and the female terminal 10 occurs. Therefore, the wear of the contact portion between the female terminal 10 and the male tab terminal 70 can be reduced.

  Further, since the female terminal 10 is engaged with the locking projection 54 of the connector housing 50 by utilizing the bending of the leaf spring 20 provided on the female terminal 10, the female terminal 10 is prevented from coming out backward, so that the connector housing It is not necessary to form a flexible lance in 50, and it becomes possible to facilitate resin molding by simplifying the shape of the connector housing 50.

  Furthermore, the tip of the dog-shaped bent portion 23 (tip 24a of the locking piece 24) is not received by the upper wall 11a of the box portion 11, but protrudes outward from the through hole 42 formed in the upper wall 11a. Since it is received by the ceiling wall 52 of the terminal accommodating chamber 51 of the connector housing 50 above the upper wall 11a of the box part 11, the tip of the bent part 23 (the locking piece 24 of the locking piece 24) Compared with the case where the tip 24a is received (for example, similar to the example of FIG. 6), the bending allowance of the dog-shaped bent portion 23 can be ensured. For this reason, for example, a change in contact pressure with respect to the male tab terminal 70 by the plate spring 20 due to a thickness error of the male tab terminal 70 can be suppressed to the extent that the bending allowance of the flat spring 20 is increased, thereby improving the quality stability of the contact pressure. It becomes possible to make it.

  Further, when the female terminal 10 of the embodiment is used, since the first contact Sa on the leaf spring 20 side is disposed between the second contact Sb and the third contact Sc provided in the tab receiving portion 30, the male tab terminal 70 can be stably held by three contact points. Further, since the distal end 24a of the locking piece 24 that is in contact with the ceiling wall 52 of the terminal accommodating chamber 51 of the connector housing 50 is located immediately above the first contact Sa, the compression reaction force generated in the dogleg-shaped bent portion 23. Can be effectively acted toward the first contact Sa, so that the contact pressure of the leaf spring 20 against the male tab terminal 70 can be increased more stably.

  Further, when the female terminal 10 of the embodiment is used, a fulcrum when the leaf spring 20 is deformed can be provided at a position in front of the rear end (fixed end) 20a of the leaf spring 20, so that the leaf spring 20 The spring rigidity on the free end side can be increased by the amount that the distance from the fulcrum when the free end side is bent and deformed to the force point (contact Sa that receives the force for elastic deformation by hitting the male tab terminal 70) is shortened, The contact pressure with respect to the male tab terminal 70 can be increased.

  When the female terminal 10 is removed from the assembled connector, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, after the male tab terminal 70 is pulled out, it is engaged with the locking projection 54 on the connector housing 50 side. Since the locking piece 24 of the leaf spring 20 is visible from the release hole 60 of the connector housing 50, a thin tool is inserted into the release hole 60 from the front, and the female terminal 10 is moved while forcibly pushing the locking piece 24 downward. By moving backward, the female terminal 10 can be easily pulled out from the connector housing 50.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. can be made as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, dimensions, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Female terminal 11 Box part 11a Upper wall 11b Lower wall 20 Leaf spring 20a Rear end 22 2nd bending part 22a Rear end (base part of bending part)
22c front end 23 bent portion 24 locking piece 24a tip 30 tab receiving portion 41 fulcrum convex portion 42 through hole 50 connector housing 51 terminal accommodating chamber 52 ceiling wall 54 locking projection 70 male tab terminal Sa first contact Sb second contact Sc third contact

Claims (4)

The front portion has a cylindrical box portion that secures an insertion space for the male tab terminal between the upper wall and the lower wall, and is inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from the rear so that the interior of the terminal housing chamber When the male tab terminal is inserted into the box portion from the front in this state, the male tab terminal is interposed between the leaf spring provided on the upper wall and the tab receiving portion provided on the lower wall. A female terminal electrically connected to the male tab terminal by sandwiching,
The leaf spring has a rear end fixed to the upper wall and a free end extending forward, and when the male tab terminal is inserted, the male tab terminal is pushed by the male tab terminal and bends upward so that the male tab terminal is directed downward. Formed as a cantilever spring to press,
The free end side of the leaf spring is bent forward and obliquely upward at the front end of the curved portion curved downward and convexly curved in order to be curved downward and convex to contact the inserted male tab terminal. Part is formed,
The front end side of the bent portion extending obliquely upward to the rear protrudes from the through hole formed in the upper wall to the upper side of the box portion, and the protruding pieces project the box portion into the terminal housing of the connector housing. When inserted into the chamber, it is a locking piece that engages with a locking projection protruding from the ceiling wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing and prevents the terminal from coming out backward,
When the male tab terminal is inserted, the bent portion is pressed by the male tab terminal by engaging the tip of the locking piece with the corner wall that intersects the ceiling wall on the base front side of the locking projection on the connector housing side. It is configured as a compression spring portion that compresses and presses the male tab terminal toward the tab receiving portion by its compression reaction force,
A female terminal characterized by that. A first contact that is in press contact with the male tab terminal is provided at the lowermost end of the curved portion of the leaf spring,
A second contact and a third contact that contact the male tab terminal are provided on the front side and the rear side of the first contact on the upper surface of the tab receiving portion,
The tip of the locking piece is disposed immediately above the first contact,
The female terminal according to claim 1. The leaf spring is inserted into the male tab terminal at at least one of the base portion of the curved portion and the position on the upper wall facing the base portion, which is spaced forward from the rear end of the leaf spring fixed to the upper wall. A fulcrum convex portion serving as a fulcrum for bending deformation of the leaf spring is provided by pressing each other when bending upward.
The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal is provided.   The box portion of the female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing from the rear, and the bending of the leaf spring of the female terminal is used to The female terminal is connected to the terminal of the connector housing by engaging the locking protrusion provided on the ceiling wall of the terminal accommodating chamber with the locking piece on the free end side of the leaf spring protruding from the upper wall of the box portion. A connector characterized by being housed and fixed in a housing room.

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