JP2014060101A - Material for connector terminal, connector terminal, and production method of material for connector terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a material for connector terminal having a plurality of layers composed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, that can be produced easily while eliminating deviation of alloy composition ratio from an ideal value, and deviation of the alloy composition ratio between the layer surface and the layer interior, and to provide a connector terminal using such a material, and a production method of such a material.SOLUTION: A material for connector terminal is formed as a planar clad material where at least two kinds of metal layer, composed of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy, are bonded. A pure aluminum layer having a purity of 99 mass% or higher is formed while being exposed to a surface where a contact is formed, and an aluminum alloy layer having a high mechanical strength is preferably formed by being bonded to the pure aluminum layer.

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector terminal material, a connector terminal formed using the same, and a method for manufacturing the connector terminal material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a connector terminal material made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, a connector terminal, and a connector terminal. Regarding the method.

  Aluminum and aluminum alloys are lighter than other metal types and have a relatively large amount of resources, so they are used as materials for connector terminals used in automobile wiring. The However, a chemically and physically stable and very hard oxide film is formed thick on the surfaces of aluminum and aluminum alloys, so that it is difficult to perform electrolytic plating on the surfaces. Therefore, in order to provide required characteristics such as electrical characteristics on the surface of the contact portion that is in electrical contact with other conductive members, a coating layer made of another kind of metal is formed on the surface of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Can't be done easily.

  As a method of forming a layer made of another metal on the surface of aluminum or aluminum alloy, after removing the oxide film by degreasing and pickling treatment, after performing zinc chemical plating (zincate treatment), A method of forming a layer made of a desired metal on the surface by electrolytic plating is known. Further, in Patent Document 1, a gas phase such as a sputtering method includes a layer containing aluminum, niobium, chromium or titanium as a main component and a layer containing palladium as a main component on the surface of a substrate made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The surface of the aluminum or aluminum alloy is modified by the method.

JP 2010-131884 A

  There are various types of aluminum alloys, and various properties are imparted to aluminum by adding various elements to aluminum. Therefore, it is expected that a material having these characteristics can be formed by combining a plurality of materials selected from pure aluminum and various aluminum alloys. However, as described above, since it is difficult to form a layer made of other metal species on the surface of aluminum and aluminum alloy, a material having a plurality of layers selected from pure aluminum and other aluminum alloys is formed. You can't simply do it.

  As described above, as a method of combining a plurality of materials selected from pure aluminum and an aluminum alloy, as described above, the surface of the first material that has been degreased and pickled is subjected to zincate treatment, and then the A method of forming a plating layer of two materials is conceivable. However, this process is very complicated, and when the first material is an aluminum alloy, part of the component elements forming the alloy remains at a high concentration on the outermost surface in the degreasing and pickling processes. Or may elute excessively. Then, the chemical composition of the outermost surface of the first layer may deviate from the chemical composition inside the layer, and the physical properties of the outermost surface may change from those of the original aluminum alloy that forms the first layer. Also, when the second material is an aluminum alloy, it is usually difficult to adjust the constituent element ratio with high accuracy so as to match the ideal composition ratio of the desired alloy in the layer formed by plating. It is.

  Alternatively, as in the method of Patent Document 1, it is also possible to combine a plurality of materials selected from pure aluminum and an aluminum alloy by forming the second material on the surface of the first material by a vapor phase method. It is done. However, it is necessary to use a vacuum apparatus for the vapor phase method, which is low in production efficiency and high cost.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is a connector terminal material having a plurality of layers made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, which is easily manufactured and has a deviation from an ideal value of the alloy composition ratio, and the layer surface and the layer interior. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector terminal material having no deviation in the alloy composition ratio, and to provide a connector terminal using such a material and a method for producing such a material.

  In order to solve the above problems, the gist of a connector terminal material according to the present invention is a plate-like clad material obtained by joining at least two metal layers made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy.

  Here, it is preferable that a pure aluminum layer having a purity of 99% by mass or more is formed by exposing the connector terminal to the surface where the contact portion that contacts with the other conductive member is formed.

  Furthermore, a layer made of any one of 2000 series aluminum alloy, 3000 series aluminum alloy, and 6000 series aluminum alloy may be bonded to the pure aluminum layer.

  The thickness of the pure aluminum layer may be 1% or less of the total thickness of the connector terminal material.

  And it is preferable that the thickness of the said pure aluminum layer exists in the range of 0.5-5 micrometers.

  Moreover, it is good in content of the silicon atom in a pure aluminum layer being 0.5 mass% or less.

  The gist of the connector terminal according to the present invention is that the connector terminal is manufactured using the connector terminal material.

  The gist of the method for manufacturing a connector terminal material according to the present invention is to join at least two kinds of metal materials made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy in a layered manner by a cladding method.

  According to the connector terminal material according to the invention, the layers made of aluminum or aluminum alloy are joined by the clad method in which rolling is a main process, and therefore, chemical treatment of the surface and use of a vacuum apparatus are necessary for joining. It is easy to manufacture. Furthermore, since the alloy material having a defined composition is joined in layers by rolling, unlike the case where the alloy layer is formed by plating or the like, there is no deviation from the ideal alloy composition. Further, since the surface of each layer is not subjected to chemical treatment, the alloy composition on the surface does not deviate from the composition inside the layer.

  Here, when a pure aluminum layer having a purity of 99% by mass or more is formed by exposing the connector terminal to a surface where a contact portion that contacts with another conductive member is formed, pure aluminum is different from an aluminum alloy. Even if the degreasing and pickling treatments are performed, a situation in which metals other than aluminum are not unevenly distributed on the surface does not occur, and there is no problem that the adhesion of the plating layer due to the unevenly distributed metal on the surface does not occur. It is easy to form another metal such as a tin layer on the surface after washing and zincate treatment. By forming a layer made of tin or the like at the contact portion, the electrical contact characteristics at the contact portion can be improved.

  Furthermore, when a layer made of any one of 2000 series aluminum alloy, 3000 series aluminum alloy, and 6000 series aluminum alloy is bonded to the pure aluminum layer, these alloys have very high mechanical strength. By compounding with a pure aluminum layer having relatively low mechanical strength, a terminal material having both high mechanical strength and the advantage that the outermost surface is a pure aluminum layer can be obtained.

  Further, when the thickness of the pure aluminum layer is 1% or less of the total thickness of the connector terminal material, the ratio of pure aluminum having relatively low mechanical strength to the total thickness is suppressed to a low level. Therefore, the use of pure aluminum avoids the decrease in the mechanical strength of the terminal material.

  And if the thickness of the said pure aluminum layer exists in the range of 0.5-5 micrometers, even if it degreases and pickles on the outermost surface, a pure aluminum layer of sufficient thickness remains, and also by a cladding method Can be easily formed. Further, the pure aluminum layer is not too thick and the mechanical strength of the entire terminal material is not too low.

  Further, when the content of silicon atoms in the pure aluminum layer is 0.5% by mass or less, when degreasing and pickling are performed, silicon atoms that obstruct the adhesion of the plating layer are unevenly distributed on the outermost surface. Since this hardly occurs, a layer made of another metal such as tin can be formed on the outermost surface of the terminal material without passing through the step of removing the silicon oxide using hydrofluoric acid or the like.

  The connector terminal is made of the material as described above, and is made of a material in which two or more different types selected from pure aluminum and aluminum alloy are combined, so that it becomes a connector terminal having these characteristics. In particular, when made of a terminal material in which a pure aluminum layer is laminated on the surface of a high-strength aluminum alloy, the high strength of the aluminum alloy and the ease of forming a metal layer such as tin on the pure aluminum surface. A connector terminal having both can be obtained.

  According to the method for manufacturing a connector terminal material, a plate-like clad material obtained by joining at least two metal layers made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy is easily and easily deviated from an ideal value of the composition of the alloy layer. It can be formed without causing a composition shift between the layer surface and the inside of the layer.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the connector terminal material of 2 layers structure concerning this invention, (a) is sectional drawing (b), It is a perspective view. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the material for connector terminals of the 3 layer structure concerning this invention, (a) is sectional drawing (b), It is a perspective view.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector terminal material 10 according to the present invention is formed by laminating a plurality of metal layers, and each layer is formed as a clad material laminated by a clad method. Each layer is made of one kind selected from pure aluminum and an aluminum alloy (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as an aluminum-based material). The number of constituent layers can be any number as long as it is two or more. When it consists of two layers like FIG. 1, the 1st layer 1 and the 2nd layer 2 consist of aluminum type materials from which a chemical composition mutually differs. In the case of three or more layers as shown in FIG. 2, the chemical composition of the other layers may be the same as long as the chemical composition of the adjacent layers is different from each other. That is, in the case of the three-layer configuration of FIG. 2, the compositions of the first layer 1, the second layer 2, and the third layer 3 may all be different, or the compositions of the first layer 1 and the third layer 3 are the same. The second layer 2 may have a composition different from them.

  The clad material is obtained by laminating dissimilar metals and bonding the dissimilar metal layers by performing processes such as rolling and heat treatment. Since the metal layers can be joined regardless of the combination of the types of metal layers, the connector terminal material in which they are joined in layers can be obtained as the clad material, regardless of which aluminum-based material is selected. Thereby, the connector terminal material which has the characteristic of arbitrary some aluminum-type material can be obtained.

  Since the clad material is formed by rolling a material having a predetermined composition, even when forming an aluminum alloy layer, the metal layer is formed after dissolving or sublimating the formed material, such as plating or vacuum deposition. Unlike the method of forming the layer, there is no element that changes the alloy composition in the layer forming step. In addition, a thick oxide film is formed on the outermost surface of the aluminum-based material. However, in the clad material forming process, the oxide film is torn in the rolling process and the exposed metal layers are joined together. As in the case of forming a dissimilar metal layer on the material by the electrolytic plating method, the pretreatment of removing the oxide film or performing the zincate treatment is basically unnecessary. Therefore, the connector terminal material can be easily manufactured, and the composition of the surface of each layer is not changed by the pretreatment process. For example, if the alloy layer is degreased and pickled, a part of the alloy component is not etched and is unevenly distributed on the outermost surface at a high concentration in the aluminum oxide etching process, or excessively eluted. Will occur.

  A thin plate-like aluminum-based material composed of a general single layer is often manufactured through thinning by a rolling process. When manufacturing a clad material having a plurality of layers, a plurality of materials may be stacked and rolled, so that the number of steps hardly increases compared to the case of forming a thin plate material consisting of a single layer. Even when three or more layers are laminated as shown in FIG. 2, if the materials of each layer are laminated and rolled at once, the number of steps does not increase according to the number of layers. The thickness of each layer can be defined by adjusting the amount of material to be laminated before rolling.

  The specific composition and thickness of each layer of the connector terminal material 10 can be arbitrarily determined in consideration of the role required for each layer. For example, a case where the relatively thick second layer 2 is formed from a high-strength aluminum alloy and the thin first layer 1 is formed from pure aluminum can be exemplified. According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a connector terminal material that achieves both the high strength of the aluminum alloy and the convenience of the plating process provided by pure aluminum. Details will be described below.

  In a connector terminal, it is common to form a layer made of tin on the outermost surface for the purpose of improving contact characteristics at a contact portion that is in electrical contact with another conductive member such as a counterpart connector terminal. This is because tin has a low resistivity and is very soft, and the oxide layer formed on the outermost surface is easily destroyed. Since the surface of the aluminum-based material is thickly covered with a chemically and physically stable hard oxide film, when a tin layer is formed on the surface of the aluminum-based material by a general electrolytic plating method, it is oxidized. After removing the coating to some extent by degreasing and pickling with an alkaline solution, a zincate treatment is required, and a nickel layer and a tin layer are sequentially formed by electrolytic plating to improve the adhesion of the tin layer to the aluminum surface. It becomes.

  If the aluminum alloy or its oxide is exposed on the outermost surface of the connector terminal material, in this degreasing and pickling process, some of the elements that form the alloy remain unetched and remain on the outermost surface. There is a possibility of uneven distribution. Then, there exists a possibility that the unevenly distributed element may reduce the adhesiveness to the aluminum-type material of a nickel layer and / or a tin layer. However, if the outermost surface is formed of pure aluminum, such a situation does not occur even when degreasing and pickling are performed.

  In other words, as described above, if the first layer 1 of the connector terminal material 10 is formed of pure aluminum and the contact portion of the connector terminal is formed on this surface, the steps such as degreasing and pickling are performed. By forming a tin layer on the outermost surface, good contact characteristics can be realized. If only such advantages of pure aluminum are utilized, the entire terminal material may be formed of pure aluminum. However, pure aluminum is inferior in mechanical strength as compared with various aluminum alloys, and the terminal. Mechanical strength sufficient as a material for use is not achieved. However, if a thin pure aluminum layer is formed on the surface of the thick aluminum alloy layer in the connector terminal material 10, the above advantages of the pure aluminum layer and the strength of the aluminum alloy can be compatible.

  The pure aluminum preferably has an aluminum purity of 99% (mass%; the same shall apply hereinafter) or more, more preferably 99.5% or more. Then, the uneven distribution of metals other than aluminum as described above is effectively avoided during degreasing and pickling. Moreover, silicon is mentioned as a main additive element which reduces the adhesiveness of the plating layer formed on it by uneven distribution at the time of degreasing and pickling. When silicon is unevenly distributed on the outermost surface, a very stable oxide is formed, which needs to be removed using hydrofluoric acid that is harmful and difficult to handle and dispose of. desirable. Specifically, the content is desirably set to 0.5% or less.

  Instead of pure aluminum, it is also possible to use an aluminum alloy with a very small content of additive elements. Specifically, a 1000 series aluminum alloy can be mentioned. Among them, an A1050 alloy having an aluminum concentration of 99.5% mentioned above as the particularly preferable aluminum purity can be given as a representative example.

  As an aluminum alloy which is combined with a pure aluminum layer and imparts mechanical strength to the connector terminal material 10, from the viewpoint of having particularly high mechanical strength among various aluminum alloys, 2000 series (Al-Cu series), Examples thereof include aluminum alloys of 3000 series (Al-Mn series) and 6000 series (Al-Mg-Si series). In particular, from the viewpoint of balance between workability and mechanical strength, the 3000 type or 6000 type is preferable as the male terminal material, and the 2000 type or 6000 type is preferable as the female terminal material.

  When there is only one contact portion of the connector terminal, or when a plurality of contact portions are formed only on one side of the thin plate material, the connector terminal material 10 has a two-layer configuration shown in FIG. The thin first layer 1 may be formed of pure aluminum and the thick second layer 2 may be formed of an aluminum alloy. On the other hand, when a plurality of contact portions are formed in the same connector terminal, such as a contact point with the counterpart terminal and a contact point with the electric wire conductor, if they are formed on both surfaces of the thin plate material, FIG. As described above, the connector terminal material 10 has a three-layer structure, and the first layer 1 and the third layer 3 made of thin pure aluminum may be formed on both surfaces of the thick second layer 2 made of an aluminum alloy.

  What is necessary is just to select the thickness of each layer which comprises the material 10 for connector terminals so that the function of each layer may fully be exhibited, and the function of another layer is not inhibited. Specifically, as described above, when the pure aluminum layer and the aluminum alloy layer are joined, the thickness of the pure aluminum layer may be 0.1 μm or more. This is because etching is generally performed to a depth of about 0.1 μm in the degreasing and pickling processes of the aluminum-based material. However, considering the thickness of a layer that can be generally formed by the cladding method, it is realistic to set the thickness to 0.5 μm or more. On the other hand, if the pure aluminum layer is too thick, because of its low mechanical strength, the high mechanical strength imparted by the aluminum alloy will be impaired. It is preferable to make it 1% or less. Since the thickness of a general terminal material is 0.2 to 0.5 mm (mostly 0.25 mm or 0.3 mm), the thickness of the pure aluminum layer is preferably 5 μm or less. Here, when there are a plurality of pure aluminum layers as in the case where the first layer 1 and the third layer 3 having the three-layer structure in FIG. It is preferably 1% or less of the thickness. That is, when the total thickness is 0.2 mm and the pure aluminum layer is one layer, the thickness is preferably 2 μm or less, and when two pure aluminum layers having the same thickness are formed. The thickness of each pure aluminum layer is preferably 1 μm or less.

  In addition to the case of joining a thin pure aluminum layer and a thick layer of an aluminum alloy selected from 2000 series, 3000 series, and 6000 series as described above, as an example of a preferable laminated structure, a thin 3000 series alloy layer and a thick 2000 series alloy are used. The structure which joins a layer can be mentioned. The 3000 series alloy layer has a relatively small content of additive elements and is superior in mechanical strength to pure aluminum, while the 2000 series aluminum alloy is extremely excellent in mechanical strength. By combining these, it is possible to obtain a connector terminal material that has a very high mechanical strength and also has a possibility that a plating layer having high adhesion can be formed on the surface.

  The connector terminal according to the present invention is formed from the connector terminal material according to the present invention as described above. Either a male terminal or a female terminal may be used, and an arbitrary shape can be taken. The terminal shape may be formed by punching the connector terminal material as described above into a developed shape of the connector terminal, bending it, and the like. When punching out the unfolded shape, it is necessary to pay attention to the direction of the surface of the connector terminal material.For example, when using a connector terminal material in which a thin pure aluminum layer is formed on one side of a thick alloy layer, the contact portion Must be formed on the surface of the pure aluminum layer.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 1st layer 2 2nd layer 3 3rd layer 10 Connector terminal material

Claims (8)

  A connector terminal material made of a plate-like clad material obtained by joining at least two metal layers made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy.   2. The connector terminal according to claim 1, wherein a pure aluminum layer having a purity of 99% by mass or more is formed by exposing the connector terminal to a surface on which a contact portion that contacts another conductive member is formed. material.   The connector terminal material according to claim 2, wherein a layer made of any one of a 2000 series aluminum alloy, a 3000 series aluminum alloy, and a 6000 series aluminum alloy is joined to the pure aluminum layer.   The thickness of the said pure aluminum layer is 1% or less of the thickness of the said whole material for connector terminals, The connector terminal material of Claim 2 or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The thickness of the said pure aluminum layer exists in the range of 0.5-5 micrometers, The material for connector terminals of Claim 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   6. The connector terminal material according to claim 2, wherein a content of silicon atoms in the pure aluminum layer is 0.5 mass% or less.   The connector terminal manufactured using the material for connector terminals as described in any one of Claims 1-7. A method for producing a connector terminal material, wherein at least two kinds of metal materials made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy are joined in layers by a cladding method.

Images