JP2014123447A - Terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a fixing structure for an elastic contact piece without complicating its configuration.SOLUTION: A terminal fitting 10 composed of a metal plate includes a cylindrical main body 21, and an elastic contact piece 50 separate from the main body 21 capable of elastically contacting a counter male tab 100. In a bottom wall 25 facing a lance 72 while being disposed in a cavity 71 of a connector housing 70, a fixing part 34 for engaging a rear end of the elastic contact piece 50 and caulking the elastic contact piece 50 is formed by being folded. The elastic contact piece 50 can undergo bending deformation using the rear end fixed to the fixing part 34 as a fulcrum. A locking surface 41 to be locked by the lance 72 is formed on a folded surface of the fixing part 34.

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting.

  A conventional terminal fitting is disclosed in Patent Document 1. This is made of a metal plate, and includes a cylindrical main body having both front and rear ends opened. A flexible elastic contact piece is formed in the main body. The elastic contact piece is integrally connected to the front end of the base wall of the main body portion and extends from the front end while being bent in a mountain shape backward. A mating male tab is inserted into the main body from the front, and the inserted male tab is in elastic contact with the elastic contact piece, whereby both terminal fittings are electrically connected.

  The terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing and is elastically prevented by a lance formed on the inner wall of the cavity during normal insertion. A lance hole is formed in the base wall of the main body portion so that the terminal fitting is locked to the lance when a locking projection formed on the lance enters the lance hole.

JP 2007-280729 A

  By the way, the main body part and the elastic contact piece are separated from each other for the purpose of improving the spring property of the elastic contact piece or increasing the yield by reducing the die-cutting area from the metal plate at the time of manufacture. There is. In this case, a fixing structure for holding the elastic contact piece is required in the main body. However, when such a fixing structure is newly provided separately from the lance hole or the like, there is a situation that the configuration becomes complicated.

  Further, in the case of the above conventional terminal fitting, the lance locking projection is locked to the front edge of the lance hole, and the front edge of the lance hole has a shear / fracture surface caused by punching of the lance hole. For this reason, there is a circumstance that it is not possible to secure a sufficient locking allowance with the lance. On the other hand, it is possible to raise the locking piece from the front end of the lance hole, and to secure a sufficient locking allowance with the locking projection by the locking piece. However, when doing so, there is a problem that the configuration becomes more and more complicated and the workability deteriorates.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to realize a structure for fixing an elastic contact piece without complicating the configuration.

  The present invention is made of a metal plate material, a cylindrical main body part into which a mating male tab can be inserted from the front, and is separated from the main body part and accommodated in the main body part. And a resilient contact piece that is elastically contactable, and is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing, and is a terminal fitting that is resiliently prevented from being removed by a lance formed on the inner wall of the cavity. A fixing portion for fixing the elastic contact piece by locking a rear end portion of the elastic contact piece is formed on the base wall facing the lance in the inserted state, and the elastic contact piece is It is possible to bend and deform with the rear end portion fixed to the fixing portion as a fulcrum, and a locking surface to be locked to the lance is formed on a bending surface of the fixing portion. Have

  The fixed part bent on the base wall serves as a fixing structure for the elastic contact piece and constitutes a fulcrum for the bending operation, and also serves as a locking structure for the lance. Simplified. In addition, since a locking surface that is locked to the lance is formed on the bending surface of the fixed portion, a large allowance for locking to the lance can be secured, and the bending surface that is not a fracture surface can be used. Damage is also prevented. Therefore, according to the present invention, the elastic contact piece fixing structure can be stably realized without complicating the configuration.

It is sectional drawing of the terminal metal fitting which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is a side view of a terminal metal fitting. It is a bottom view of a terminal metal fitting. It is a top view of a terminal metal fitting. It is a front view of a terminal metal fitting. It is sectional drawing showing the state in which the terminal metal fitting was normally inserted in the cavity of the connector housing.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown below.
The fixing portion is formed by cutting and raising the base wall, and a punching hole is formed in the base wall along with the cutting and raising, and a locking projection formed on the lance enters the punching hole. It is possible. Accordingly, it is not necessary to separately provide a lance hole into which the locking projection of the lance enters the base wall of the main body, and the configuration can be further simplified.

The locking surface of the fixed portion faces and can contact a locking protrusion locked to the lance. Thereby, the latching state of the fixing part with respect to the lance is stabilized.
A concave portion or a through hole is formed in the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece, and the portion of the fixed portion located on the base end side from the front end portion is connected to the opposite surface of the base wall. It is sandwiched in the plate thickness direction, and the distal end portion of the fixed portion enters the recessed portion or the through hole and is locked. Accordingly, the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece is firmly fixed to the base wall, and the fixed state is reliably maintained.

<Example 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The terminal fitting 10 of the first embodiment is formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like, and is accommodated in the connector housing 70 as shown in FIG. In the following description, with respect to the front-rear direction, the left side of each figure excluding FIG. 5 is the front, and the up-down direction is based on each figure.

  The terminal fitting 10 is accommodated in the connector housing 70 as shown in FIG. A cavity 71 is formed in the connector housing 70 so as to extend in the front-rear direction, and the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 71. Further, a bendable lance 72 projects from the inner wall of the cavity 71. At the front end portion of the lance 72, a locking projection 73 is formed protruding upward. The terminal fitting 10 that has been normally inserted into the cavity 71 is locked to the locking protrusion 73 of the lance 72 and is prevented from coming off into the cavity 71.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal fitting 10 includes a terminal main body 20 and an elastic contact piece 50 that is separate from the terminal main body 20. The terminal main body 20 includes a rectangular tube-shaped main body portion 21 whose front and rear ends are open, an open barrel-shaped wire barrel 22 positioned behind the main body portion 21, and an open barrel-shaped insulation positioned rearward of the wire barrel 22. The barrel 23 and the connecting portion 24 positioned between the wire barrel 22 and the main body 21 are integrally formed. The terminal body 20 has a bottom wall 25 (corresponding to the base wall of the present invention) extending over the entire length in the front-rear direction, a body portion 21 is provided at the front portion of the bottom wall 25, and the rear portion of the bottom wall 25 Are provided with a wire barrel 22 and an insulation barrel 23. When the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 71, the bottom wall 25 is arranged at a position facing the lance 72.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the wire barrel 22 is crimped to the core wire 92 exposed by removing the coating 91 at the terminal portion of the electric wire 90, and the insulation barrel 23 is crimped to the coating 91 at the terminal portion of the electric wire 90.

  The connecting portion 24 has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has a pair of connecting side walls 26 rising from both ends in the width direction of the bottom wall 25 as shown in FIG. The rear end of the connecting side wall 26 is integrally connected to the wire barrel 22, and the front end of the connecting side wall 26 is integrally connected to the main body 21 (a main body side wall 27 described later in detail).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body portion 21 is bent from the pair of main body side walls 27 rising from both ends in the width direction of the front portion of the bottom wall 25, and the upper end of one of the main body side walls 27. And a ceiling wall 28 spanning the upper end of the main body side wall 27.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a receiving portion 29 is formed in the main body portion 21 by knocking out at the center portion in the width direction of the ceiling wall 28. A drooping wall 31 is formed at the rear end of the ceiling wall 28 by bending downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of lateral holes 32 are formed through the lower portions of the main body side walls 27. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a bottom hole 33 is formed in the bottom wall 25 so as to penetrate through a center portion in the width direction of the rear end portion of the main body portion 21. Further, a substantially U-shaped notch is formed in the bottom wall 25 at the front portion of the connecting portion 24, and a piece on the inner side of the notch is bent to form a fixing portion 34 as shown in FIG. At the same time, as the fixing portion 34 is formed, a punch hole 35 is formed. As shown in FIG. 6, when the terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted into the cavity 71, the locking projection 73 of the lance 72 enters the hole 35 and can be locked to the fixing portion 34. The structure of the fixing portion 34 will be described in detail later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a recess 36 is formed at the front end of the bottom wall 25, and the rear end of the recess 36 is disposed at a position where the rear end of each of the main body side walls 27 and the ceiling wall 28 is retracted rearward. ing.
The elastic contact piece 50 is in the form of a strip extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the elastic contact piece 50 is inserted into the main body portion 21 and faces the receiving portion 29, and is arranged so as to be able to bend and deform within the main body portion 21. Has been. Specifically, the elastic contact piece 50 includes a top portion 51 located close to the receiving portion 29, a first piece portion 52 that extends obliquely downward from the top portion 51 toward the front, and a diagonally downward direction from the top portion 51 to the rear. The second piece 53 extends. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of restricting pieces 54 are formed to protrude at both ends in the width direction near the top portion 51 of the elastic contact piece 50. When the elastic contact piece 50 is inserted into the main body portion 21, both restriction pieces 54 enter the corresponding horizontal holes 32, and the elastic contact pieces 50 can be confirmed through the horizontal holes 32.

  The front end of the first piece 52 is slidable on the upper surface of the bottom wall 25 in a state where the elastic contact piece 50 is inserted into the main body 21. When the elastic contact piece 50 is in a natural state, the front end of the first piece portion 52 is positioned so as to face the recess 36. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a through hole 55 is formed in the center in the width direction of the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53. The through hole 55 is disposed at a position communicating with the bottom hole 33 in a state where the elastic contact piece 50 is inserted into the main body portion 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing portion 34 formed by bending the bottom wall 25 has the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 as the bottom wall in a state where the elastic contact piece 50 is inserted into the main body portion 21. It has a role to fix to 25. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the fixing portion 34 is bent up at a substantially right angle from the upper end of the rising portion 37 that rises substantially vertically along the rear end of the second piece portion 53 and from the upper end of the rising portion 37 to the front. A pressing portion 38 (corresponding to “a portion located on the proximal side of the distal end portion in the fixing portion”) of the present invention, and the front end of the pressing portion 38. The latching portion 39 (corresponding to the tip portion of the present invention) is narrower than the pressing portion 38 that is bent obliquely forward from the central portion in the width direction and enters the through hole 55.

  The rear surface of the upright portion 37 is a plate surface (corresponding to the bending surface of the present invention) facing rearward when the fixing portion 34 is bent, and constitutes the front surface of the punching hole 35. As shown in FIG. In the state where 10 is inserted into the cavity 71, the locking surface 41 faces the locking projection 73 of the lance 72 so as to be substantially surface-contactable. The locking surface 41 is disposed at substantially the same position as the rear surface of the hanging wall 31 in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pressing portion 38 is disposed in a state where the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 is sandwiched in the thickness direction between the pressing portion 38 and the facing surface 42 on the upper surface of the bottom wall 25. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the latching portion 39 is in close contact with the upper end of the rear edge of the through-hole 55 in the state of entering the through-hole 55, thereby pressing the pressing portion 38 against the second piece portion 53. While maintaining the state, it plays a role of firmly caulking and fixing the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 to the bottom wall 25. The distal end portion of the latching portion 39 has a shape that gradually decreases in thickness toward the distal end, and is positioned so as to face the bottom hole 33.

The structure of the terminal fitting 10 of the present embodiment is as described above, and then the operation of the terminal fitting 10 will be described.
The terminal fitting 10 is inserted from the rear into the cavity 71 of the connector housing 70 while being connected to the terminal portion of the electric wire 90. As shown in FIG. 6, when the terminal fitting 10 is properly inserted into the cavity 71, the locking projection 73 of the lance 72 enters the punching hole 35, and the locking projection 41 on the locking surface 41 of the fixing portion 34. The portion 73 is arranged to face the terminal fitting 10 so that the terminal fitting 10 is prevented from coming off into the cavity 71.

  Subsequently, the mating male tab 100 is inserted into the main body portion 21 from the front along with the fitting operation of the connector housing 70 to the mating connector housing (not shown). When the male tab 100 slides on the upper surface of the elastic contact piece 50 during the insertion process, the elastic contact piece 50 is bent and deformed with the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 fixed to the fixing portion 34 as a fulcrum. The front end of the first piece 52 slides on the bottom wall 25 and is displaced forward, and the top 51 is slightly submerged. Thereafter, when the male tab 100 is properly inserted into the cavity 71, the male tab 100 is elastically sandwiched between the top 51 and the receiving portion 29 of the elastic contact piece 50, and the terminal fitting 10 is electrically connected to the normal state. Will be.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the fixing portion 34 formed by bending on the bottom wall 25 becomes a fixing structure of the elastic contact piece 50 and constitutes a fulcrum of the bending operation of the elastic contact piece 50, Since it also serves as a locking structure for the lance 72, the configuration of the terminal fitting 10 is simplified compared to the case where the fixing portion 34 functions exclusively as a fixing structure. In addition, since a locking surface 41 that is locked to the lance 72 is formed on the plate surface outside the bend in the fixing portion 34, a large locking allowance for the lance 72 can be secured, and a shear / fracture surface can be secured. Damage to the lance 72 is also prevented by the plate surface that is not (corresponding to the “bending surface” of the present invention). Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the fixing structure of the elastic contact piece 50 can be stably realized without complicating the configuration.

  Further, since the locking projection 73 of the lance 72 enters the locking hole 35 formed in the bottom wall 25 as the fixing portion 34 is cut and raised, and the locking can be locked, a dedicated lance hole is provided separately. There is no need, and the configuration is simplified.

  In addition, since the locking surface 41 of the fixing portion 34 faces the locking protrusion 73 of the lance 72 and can contact, the locking state of the fixing portion 34 with respect to the lance 72 is stabilized. Further, a through hole 55 is formed in the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 of the elastic contact piece 50, and the pressing portion 38 of the fixing portion 34 uses the rear end portion of the second piece portion 53 as the opposing surface 42 of the bottom wall 25. Since the hooking portion 39 of the fixing portion 34 enters the through hole 55 and is locked, the fixing state of the elastic contact piece 50 with respect to the bottom wall 25 is reliably maintained. The

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following aspects are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) Instead of the through hole, the elastic contact piece may be formed with a bottomed recessed portion into which the latching portion of the fixed portion enters and can be locked.
(2) A bottom hole may not be formed in the bottom wall of the main body portion, and a closed form may be used.
(3) The fixing portion may be bent at the rear end of the ceiling wall of the main body, and the elastic contact piece may be fixed to the ceiling wall. In this case, since the locking projection of the lance enters between the main body and the wire barrel, it is not necessary to form a hole.

10 ... Terminal fitting 25 ... Bottom wall (base wall)
34 ... Fixing part 35 ... Punching hole 38 ... Presser part 39 ... Hanging part (tip part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 41 ... Locking surface 42 ... Opposite surface 50 ... Elastic contact piece 55 ... Through-hole 70 ... Connector housing 71 ... Cavity 72 ... Lance 73 ... Locking protrusion 90 ... Electric wire 100 ... Male tab

Claims (4)

Made of metal plate material,
A cylindrical main body part into which the male tab on the other side can be inserted from the front,
An elastic contact piece that is separate from the main body and is housed in the main body and elastically contactable with the male tab;
A terminal fitting that is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing and is elastically retained by a lance formed on the inner wall of the cavity,
The base wall facing the lance in a state of being inserted into the cavity is formed by bending a fixing portion for locking the elastic contact piece by locking a rear end portion of the elastic contact piece,
The elastic contact piece can be bent and deformed with the rear end portion fixed to the fixed portion as a fulcrum, and
A terminal fitting, wherein a locking surface to be locked to the lance is formed on a bent surface of the fixing portion.   The fixing portion is formed by cutting and raising the base wall, and a punching hole is formed in the base wall along with the cutting and raising, and a locking projection formed on the lance enters the punching hole. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the terminal fitting is possible.   3. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the locking surface of the fixing portion faces and can contact a locking protrusion locked to the lance.   A concave portion or a through hole is formed in the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece, and the portion of the fixed portion located on the base end side from the front end portion is connected to the opposite surface of the base wall. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is sandwiched in the thickness direction, and the distal end portion of the fixing portion enters and is locked into the recess or the through hole. The terminal fitting described.

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