JP2016058174A - Terminal fitting and connector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a press-fitting piece from falling down insides.SOLUTION: A terminal fitting 36 is a short-circuiting terminal 30 that is accommodated in an accommodation chamber 53 provided in a connector housing 50 and comprises: a tabular terminal body 31 including a pair of elastic contact pieces 32; and a pair of press-fitting pieces 36 extending from both side edges of the terminal body 31 for holding the terminal body 31 within the accommodation chamber by press-fitting extending ends into an upper inner wall 53A of the accommodation chamber. The pair of press-fitting pieces 36 extend while being inclined towards an outer side that is opposite to a side of the terminal body 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The technique disclosed by this specification is related with a terminal metal fitting and a connector.

For example, a connector described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-93506 (Patent Document 1 below) is known as a connector including a short-circuit terminal that short-circuits a plurality of terminals.
This connector is provided with a pair of elastic contact pieces that are elastically displaceable at the front end, and a short-circuit terminal provided with a pair of press-fitting pieces that extend straight upward on both side edges;
And a female housing having a storage chamber for storing the short-circuit terminal therein.

  When the short-circuit terminal is accommodated in the accommodation chamber, the short-circuit terminal is inserted into the accommodation chamber while the press-fitting pieces are press-fitted into the upper and lower inner walls at both side edges of the accommodation chamber, so that the short-circuit terminal is prevented from falling into the accommodation chamber. Is supposed to be retained.

JP 2002-93506 A

By the way, according to the short-circuit terminal, in the process of press-fitting the press-fitting pieces into the upper and lower wall surfaces of the accommodation chamber, the upper end of the press-fitting piece is pressed by the upper wall of the accommodation chamber, and the press-fitting piece is on the main body side. There is a possibility that a so-called press-fit piece that is deformed inwardly will fall. When the press-fit piece falls inward, the press-fit piece comes into contact with the elastic contact piece and damages the elastic contact piece. Because there is a possibility of being attached, the countermeasure was desired.
In this specification, the technique which prevents the inward fall of a press-fit piece is disclosed.

The technology disclosed in the present specification is a terminal fitting housed in a housing chamber provided in a connector housing, and a plate-like terminal body provided with an elastic contact piece, and the terminal body along the housing direction. A press-fitting piece that extends from a side edge that extends and press-fits the extension end into an opposing inner wall facing the terminal main body in the storage chamber, thereby preventing the terminal main body from falling into the storage chamber. The piece is characterized in that it is inclined and extended toward the outside which is the opposite side to the terminal body side.
According to the terminal fitting having such a configuration, the inner part at the extended end of the press-fitting piece is press-fitted into the opposing inner wall. That is, since the press-fitting piece is press-fitted so that the press-fitting piece is pressed outward by the opposing inner wall, it is possible to reliably prevent the press-fitting piece from falling inward toward the terminal body. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the elastic contact piece from being damaged by the press-fitting piece and the terminal from rattling in the accommodation chamber.

Further, the technology disclosed in the present specification is a connector including the terminal fitting and the connector housing, and a side wall extending along a side edge of the terminal body in the housing chamber is formed on the press-fitting piece. It is characterized in that it is formed so as to be inclined to the opposite side to the terminal body side.
According to the connector having such a configuration, since the side wall of the storage chamber is inclined along the press-fitting piece, the press-fitting piece of the terminal fitting is supported from the outside by the side wall of the storage chamber when the terminal fitting is stored in the storage chamber. You can guide while. This prevents the press-fit piece from falling inward toward the terminal body side, thereby preventing the elastic contact piece from being damaged or causing the terminal fitting to rattle, while smoothing the fitting work of the terminal fitting. Can be implemented.

As an aspect of the technology disclosed by this specification, the following configurations are preferable.
The terminal fitting is a short terminal for short-circuiting connector terminals accommodated in a pair of cavities provided adjacent to the accommodation chamber in the connector housing, and the elastic contact piece corresponds to the connector terminal. The press-fitting pieces may be provided on both side edges of the terminal body so as to be arranged on both sides of the pair of elastic contact pieces in the arrangement direction.
According to such a configuration, the press-fitting pieces can be reliably press-fitted into the opposed inner walls on both sides of the pair of elastic contact pieces. That is, since it is possible to prevent the short terminal from rattling at positions on both sides of the storage chamber, it is possible to prevent the connection reliability between the connector terminal and the short terminal from being lowered.

  According to the technique disclosed in the present specification, it is possible to prevent the press-fitting piece from falling down.

Perspective view of short terminal Front view of short terminal Sectional view of the main part of the housing chamber FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part showing a state before housing the short terminal in the housing, corresponding to a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 3. Cross-sectional view of the main part showing a state in which the short terminal is accommodated in the housing FIG. 6 is a main part cross-sectional view showing a state in which a short terminal is accommodated in a housing, and a cross-sectional view corresponding to a cross section taken along line BB in FIG.

<Embodiment>
Embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.
The connector of the present embodiment is a female connector 10, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of female terminals (an example of a “connector terminal”) 20 and a plurality of female terminals 20 are adjacent to each other. A short terminal (an example of a “terminal fitting”) 30 that short-circuits the female terminal 20 and a connector housing (hereinafter referred to as “housing”) 50 that accommodates the female terminal 20 and the short terminal 30 are configured. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the housing 50 has a plurality of cavities 51 formed to be aligned vertically and horizontally, and each cavity 51 is open in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the female terminal 20 is accommodated from behind in each cavity 51, and the female terminal 20 is supported by a cantilevered lance 52 provided on the upper wall of the cavity 51. The cavity 51 is held in a retaining state.

Under the pair of cavities 51 adjacent to the left and right, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, an accommodation chamber 53 for accommodating the short terminal 30 is provided.
The storage chamber 53 is provided in a form that communicates vertically with the pair of cavities 51 through a communication hole 54 that is opened in common on the lower surfaces of the pair of cavities 51. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the storage chamber 53 is formed in a concave shape having a back wall recessed backward from the front surface of the housing 50 along the cavity 51, and is short-circuited from the front end opening of the storage chamber 53. The terminal 30 can be accommodated.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the upper inner wall (an example of “opposing inner wall”) 53 </ b> A and the lower inner wall 53 </ b> B of the storage chamber 53 are horizontal walls that are vertically opposed to each other. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the substantially central part in the front-rear direction in both side portions is formed in an inclined shape projecting downward as the upper inner wall 53 </ b> A goes rearward. For this reason, the rear portion of the storage chamber 53 in the left and right side portions is set to have a smaller vertical dimension than the front portion of the storage chamber 53 in the left and right direction portions.

  The short terminal 30 is formed by processing a metal plate excellent in conductivity by a method such as pressing. The short terminal 30 has a substantially rectangular plate-shaped terminal body 31 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, and the terminal body 31 is located under the storage chamber 53 as shown in FIG. The short terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 53 so as to contact the side inner wall 53B. That is, when the short terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 53, the terminal main body 31 and the upper inner wall 53A of the accommodating chamber 53 face each other vertically.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of elastic contact pieces 32 that are folded back in a cantilevered manner toward the front are formed on the rear end edge of the terminal main body 31 side by side. Each elastic contact piece 32 has a shape that is longer in the front-rear direction than the terminal main body 31, and is formed so as to be elastically displaceable up and down with the folded portion as a base end portion. The front end portion of each elastic contact piece 32 is bent in a mountain shape upward, and the peak portion of the mountain shape is a contact portion 33 that contacts the bottom of the female terminal 20. When the short terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 53, each contact portion 33 enters the cavity 51 through the communication hole 54 as shown in FIG. 5, and the female terminal 20 accommodated in the cavity 51. It comes in contact with the bottom. Accordingly, the female terminals 20 in the pair of cavities 51 adjacent to the left and right disposed above the storage chamber 53 are short-circuited by the short terminal 30.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of excessive deflection preventing portions 34 are provided on the front end edge of the terminal body 31 side by side in the left-right direction. Each excessive bending prevention part 34 is arranged below the elastic contact piece 32 in a form extending upward from the front edge of the terminal body 31, and the elastic contact piece 32 displaced downward is provided in the excessive bending prevention part 34. The elastic contact piece 32 is prevented from being plastically deformed by the contact.
Between the pair of excessive deflection preventing portions 34 at the front end edge of the terminal body 31, a plate-like projecting portion 35 extending straight forward is provided.
The front end surface of the protruding portion 35 has a vertically standing shape, and the short terminal 30 can be accommodated in the accommodating chamber 53 by pressing the front end surface of the protruding portion 35 backward with a jig or the like. It has become.

  In the terminal body 31 of the short terminal 30, when the short terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodating chamber 53, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, on both left and right edges extending along the insertion direction of the short terminal 30. In addition, a pair of press-fitting pieces 36 that are press-fitted into the left and right side edges of the storage chamber 53 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 are arranged on both sides in the arrangement direction of the pair of elastic contact pieces 32 before and after being extended away from each other toward the upper side from the side edge of the terminal body 31. It is formed in a long substantially rectangular plate shape. In other words, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 have a shape that is inclined so that the upper end portion opens toward the outer side opposite to the terminal body 31. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, each press-fitting piece 36 has an upper end surface 36 </ b> A that is an “extension” end face of the press-fitting piece 36 with the inclination of the press-fitting piece 36. An inner corner portion 36 </ b> B that faces diagonally upward and outward and is located inside the press-fit piece 36 is arranged at the uppermost end of the press-fit piece 36.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, each press-fitting piece 36 has a long shape extending from the front end of the terminal main body 31 to the rear of the terminal main body 31, and only the central portion in the front-rear direction is the terminal. By being connected to the main body 31, the front and rear ends of each press-fitting piece 36 are free ends.
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the upper end portion of the rear portion of each press-fitting piece 36 is a rear press-fit portion 37, and is positioned obliquely upward and outward at a position slightly forward of the rear end of the rear press-fit portion 37. The press-fitting protrusions 38 each having a substantially triangular shape in a side view projecting toward each other are provided so as to project. The surface on the rear side of the apex portion of each press-fitting protrusion 38 is configured to be inclined more gently than the front surface.
A front-side press-fit portion 39 is provided at the upper end portion of the front portion of each press-fitting piece 36 so that its rear surface is inclined upward, and a position slightly behind the front end of the front-side press-fit portion 39 has a lower side. A concave portion 39A that is slightly recessed toward the surface is formed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the side walls 53 </ b> C on both the left and right sides of the storage chamber 53 are inclined toward the outside so as to be separated from each other toward the top along the press-fit piece 36 of the short terminal 30. Is formed. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the storage chamber 53 is an inverted trapezoid whose upper part is wider than the lower part, and the communication hole 54 is provided in the substantially central portion of the upper inner wall 53A in the inverted trapezoidal storage chamber 53 in the left-right direction. . That is, when the short terminal 30 is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 53, the press-fitting pieces 36 of the short terminal 30 are guided while being supported from the outside by the side walls 53 </ b> C of the accommodation chamber 53, and the short terminal 30 is guided to the left and right sides of the accommodation chamber 53. It can be guided to a normal position in the center of the direction.

  Further, the height dimension of both side edges in the left-right direction at the front part in the storage chamber 53 is compared with the height dimension of the part provided with the front press-fitting part 39 in the press-fitting piece 36 as shown in FIGS. The height dimension of both side edges in the left-right direction at the rear portion in the storage chamber 53 is set slightly smaller than the height dimension of the portion where the rear press-fit portion 37 is provided. ing. Therefore, when the short terminal 30 is inserted into the storage chamber 53 from the front, when the short terminal 30 is inserted into the storage chamber 53 by about 2/3, the front press-fit portion 39 is formed on the upper inner wall 53A in the front portion of the storage chamber 53. On the other hand, press-fitting is started, and the rear-side press-fitting portion 37 starts press-fitting to the upper inner wall 53A in the rear portion of the storage chamber 53.

  In this press-fitting process, as shown in FIG. 5, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 are both inclined outward, and the inner corners 36 </ b> B of the front press-fitting part 39 and the rear press-fitting part 37 are arranged at the uppermost end. Therefore, the inner corner portion 36B positioned above the height position of the outer outer corner portion 36C is press-fitted into the upper inner wall 53A.

Then, when the short terminal 30 is inserted to the proper position of the storage chamber 53 and the short terminal 30 is completely stored in the storage chamber 53, as shown in FIG. The part up to the front is pressed into the front part of the upper inner wall 53A, and the part up to the front of the press-fitting projection 38 in the rear press-in part 37 is pressed into the rear part of the upper inner wall 53A.
That is, the press-fitting protrusion 38 and the upper inner wall 53A, and the recess 39A and the upper inner wall 53A of the front-side press-fitting portion 39 are engaged with each other in the front-rear direction. The short terminal 30 is firmly fixed, and is held in a state in which the short terminal 30 is prevented from coming off in the housing chamber 53.

The present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the procedure for housing the short terminal 30 in the housing chamber 53 of the housing 50 will be described, and the housing process of the short terminal 30 and the operation and effect after housing will be described. explain.
First, as shown in FIG. 4, the short terminal 30 is disposed in front of the housing chamber 53 of the housing 50, and a not-shown jig is pressed against the protruding portion 35 of the short terminal 30 to press the protruding portion 35 from the front. Thus, the short terminal 30 is inserted into the accommodation chamber 53.

  Here, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 of the short terminals 30 are arranged along the left and right side walls 53 </ b> C of the storage chamber 53 so that the press-fit pieces 36 are inserted into the storage chamber 53. The short terminal 30 is guided to a proper position in the storage chamber 53 without being displaced in the left-right direction. Accordingly, for example, it is possible to prevent the short terminal 30 from being displaced and accommodated in the left and right directions as compared with the case in which the left and right side walls of the accommodation chamber are vertically cut.

  When about half of the short terminal 30 is inserted into the storage chamber 53, the portion of the elastic contact piece 32 bent into a mountain shape enters the communication hole 54. When the short terminal 30 is inserted into the storage chamber 53 by about 2/3, the front press-fitting portion 39 starts to be pressed into the upper inner wall 53A in the front portion of the storage chamber 53, and the upper side in the rear portion of the storage chamber 53 is started. The press-fitting of the rear press-fitting portion 37 is started with respect to the inner wall 53A.

  If the short terminal 30 is further inserted into the accommodation chamber 53 and the short terminal 30 is completely accommodated in the accommodation chamber 53 as shown in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. The portion is press-fitted into the upper inner wall 53A, and the portion slightly forward of the press-fitting protrusion 38 of the rear press-fit portion 37 is press-fitted into the upper inner wall 53A. As a result, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 are firmly fixed to the housing 50 at the left and right positions of the pair of elastic contact pieces 32, and the short terminal 30 is held in a state in which the short terminal 30 is prevented from being detached in the accommodation chamber 53.

  By the way, for example, when both the press-fitting pieces are formed in a form rising straight from both side edges of the terminal body, the upper end portion of the press-fitting piece is placed in the housing chamber in the process of press-fitting the short terminal into the housing chamber. There is a concern that the so-called press-fit piece may fall down, that is, pressed by the upper inner wall and deformed toward the inside, which is the main body side.

  However, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, both the press-fit pieces 36 extend obliquely upward and outward from both side edges of the terminal body 31, and the front-side press-fit portion 39 and the rear-side pressure of the press-fit piece 36. The inner corner portion 36 </ b> B in the insertion portion 37 is configured to be press-fitted into the upper inner wall 53 </ b> A of the storage chamber 53. That is, when the short terminal 30 is press-fitted and accommodated in the accommodation chamber 53, the press-fitting piece 36 is pressed into the upper inner wall 53A so as to be pressed outward by the upper inner wall 53A of the accommodation chamber 53. It is possible to reliably prevent the press-fitting piece 36 from falling down. As a result, the elastic contact piece 32 is damaged due to the press-fitting piece 36 falling inward, or the front press-fitting part 39 and the rear press-fitting part with respect to the upper inner wall 53A due to the press-fitting piece 36 falling down. It is possible to prevent 37 from being normally press-fitted.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the press-fitting pieces 36 are press-fitted into the upper inner wall 53A on both sides of the pair of elastic contact pieces 32. Compared with the case where the piece is provided, rattling between the female terminal 20 and the short terminal 30 can be suppressed. Thereby, it can prevent that the connection reliability of the female terminal 20 and the short terminal 30 falls.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in the process of inserting the short terminal 30 into the accommodation chamber 53, the left and right side walls 53 </ b> C of the accommodation chamber 53 support both the press-fit pieces 36 from the outside. Therefore, for example, compared to the case of the storage chamber having a substantially rectangular cross section in which only the upper end portion, which is the extending end of the press-fitting piece, is supported by the both side walls, the storage terminal is more smoothly and stably stored in the storage chamber. 53 can be accommodated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pair of press-fitting pieces 36 extend obliquely upward and outward from both side edges of the terminal body 31, and the side walls 53 </ b> C of the storage chamber 53 are inclined accordingly. Therefore, the short terminal 30 can be accommodated in the accommodation chamber 53 in a smooth and stable state while preventing the press-fitting piece 36 from falling down.
Thereby, it can prevent that the connection reliability of the elastic contact piece 32 and the female terminal 20 falls, and can short-circuit the female terminals 20 accommodated in the adjacent cavity 51 reliably.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in the present specification is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings, and includes, for example, the following various aspects.
(1) In the said embodiment, it was set as the structure by which the pair of elastic contact piece 32 was formed in the terminal main body 31. FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more elastic locking pieces may be formed in the terminal body.
(2) In the above embodiment, the press-fitting pieces 36 are configured to extend obliquely upward and outward from both side edges of the terminal body 31. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the press-fitting piece may be configured to extend obliquely downward and outward.

(3) In the above embodiment, the front press-fit portion 39 and the rear press-fit portion 37 are configured at the front portion and the rear portion of the press-fit piece 36. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the press-fitting part may be configured at the center part in the front-rear direction of the press-fitting piece, or may be configured only at either the front part or the rear part.
(4) In the said embodiment, the short terminal 30 which short-circuits the female terminal 20 was shown as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the technique disclosed in this specification may be applied to a female terminal or a male terminal.

10: Connector 20: Female terminal (connector terminal)
30: Short terminal (terminal fitting)
31: Terminal body 32: Elastic contact piece 36: Press-fit piece 50: Connector housing 51: Cavity 53: Accommodating chamber 53A: Upper inner wall (opposing inner wall)
53C: Side wall

Claims (3)

A terminal fitting housed in a housing chamber provided in the connector housing,
A plate-like terminal body provided with elastic contact pieces;
The terminal main body is extended from a side edge extending in the accommodation direction, and the extension end is press-fitted into an opposing inner wall facing the terminal main body in the accommodation chamber to prevent the terminal main body from coming into the accommodation chamber. With press-fitting pieces,
The press-fitting piece is a terminal fitting that is inclined and extended toward an outer side that is opposite to the terminal body side. A connector comprising the terminal fitting according to claim 1 and the connector housing,
In the housing chamber, the side wall extending along the side edge of the terminal main body is formed so as to be inclined to the opposite side of the terminal main body side along the press-fitting piece. The terminal fitting is a short terminal for short-circuiting connector terminals housed in a pair of cavities provided adjacent to the housing chamber in the connector housing,
The elastic contact pieces are provided side by side so as to correspond to the connector terminals,
The connector according to claim 2, wherein the press-fitting pieces are provided on both side edges of the terminal body so as to be arranged on both sides of the pair of elastic contact pieces in the arrangement direction.

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