JP2016136542A - Female terminal structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female terminal structure capable of improving contact stability by increasing a terminal contact pressure and smoothly performing followup displacement to a male terminal in coupling.SOLUTION: A female terminal structure of a female terminal 49 comprises: an electric connection part 11 that receives a male terminal 15 from a distal end opening 13; a spring piece 17 that is provided inside of the electric connection part 11 and faces one surface 27 of the male terminal 15; a spring-side contact part 39 provided in the spring piece 17 and including a flat contact surface part 41 in contact with the one surface 27 of the male terminal 15; a cylinder-side front contact part 43 provided inside of the electric connection part 11 oppositely to the spring piece 17 and of which the substantially semi-spherical protrusive distal end is in point-contact with another surface 45 of the male terminal 15 closer to the distal end opening 13 than the spring-side contact part 39; and a cylinder-side rear contact part 51 which is provided inside of the electric connection part 11 oppositely to the spring piece 17 and of which a protrusive distal end including a cylinder body bus part 53 extending in a direction of male terminal insertion is in line-contact with the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15 closer to a rear end than the spring-side contact part 39.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal structure.

  Generally, connection terminals are used for electric wires for electrically connecting various electrical devices and various switches. The connection terminals are mainly divided into female terminals and male terminals. The female terminal includes a spring piece that generates a contact load inward of the cylindrical electrical connection portion, and receives the male terminal in the electrical connection portion to perform electrical connection. The male terminal enters the electrical connection portion of the female terminal and makes electrical connection with the female terminal. Male terminals are mainly classified into tab type, round pin type, square pin type, and the like, and the square pin type is mainly used for PCB soldered to a conductor provided on a printed wiring board.

In such a connection structure between the female terminal and the male terminal, it is desired that the female terminal and the male terminal come into contact stably and reliably without causing an electrical contact failure.
As shown in FIG. 9, a conventional female terminal 501 has a spring piece 505 and a spring-side contact portion 507 on one inner side of a cylindrical electrical connection portion 503, and a cylinder-side front contact portion 509 on the opposite side. And two contact points of the cylinder side rear contact portion 511 (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In such a female terminal 501, electrical connection is performed by sandwiching the male terminal 513 between the spring side contact portion 507, the cylinder side front contact portion 509, and the cylinder side rear contact portion 511.
And each contact location is made into the state of a point contact by making the contact part formed so that both the cylinder side front contact part 509 and the cylinder side back contact part 511, and the male terminal 513 may become a cylinder bus-line part. Yes.
That is, the tube-side front contact portion 509 and the tube-side rear contact portion 511 formed to be bent in a substantially curved shape include a tube busbar portion extending in the terminal width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 9) perpendicular to the male terminal insertion direction. The contact portion of the male terminal 513 having a curved drum-shaped contact surface having a cross-sectional shape bulging outward has a cylindrical busbar portion extending in the male terminal insertion direction.

JP 2002-63961 A

By the way, there is a case where it is desired to make a difference in contact characteristics between a large terminal that conducts a large current and a small terminal that conducts a weak current. That is, there is a case where it is desired to obtain a terminal contact pressure more reliably with a small terminal while a large terminal is desired to ensure a large terminal contact area.
However, in the connection structure between the conventional female terminal 501 and the male terminal 513 described above, the cylinder side front contact portion 509 and the cylinder side rear contact portion 511 and the male terminal 513 are both formed as the cylindrical busbar portion. By making the contact portions orthogonal, each contact point is in a point contact state, so that the terminal contact pressure may be reduced.

That is, if the cylinder-side front contact portion 509 and the cylinder-side rear contact portion 511 of the female terminal 501 have a cylindrical busbar portion, microscopic observation is caused by the relative displacement of both terminals during connection (the inclination of the axis of both terminals). Specifically, line contact occurs at each contact point with the male terminal 513, and the terminal contact pressure at one contact point decreases.
Further, for example, when the male terminal 513 is fixed to a substrate or the like for PCB, the displacement of both connection terminals at the time of coupling must be absorbed only on the female terminal 501 side. At this time, if the cylinder side front contact portion 509 and the cylinder side rear contact portion 511 of the female terminal 501 have a cylindrical busbar portion extending in the terminal width direction orthogonal to the male terminal insertion direction, the male terminal 513 is a terminal. When the female terminal 501 is tilted in the width direction, the follow-up displacement cannot be performed smoothly, and the terminal insertion force increases and the contact stability may decrease.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and an object thereof is to provide a female terminal structure capable of increasing the terminal contact pressure and smoothly performing follow-up displacement with respect to the male terminal at the time of coupling to improve contact stability. There is to do.

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A cylindrical electrical connecting portion that receives a male terminal from a tip opening, a spring piece that is provided inside the electrical connecting portion and faces one surface of the male terminal, and provided on the spring piece A spring-side contact portion that contacts one surface of the male terminal, and a substantially hemispherical surface on the tip opening side of the spring-side contact portion that is provided inward of the electrical connection portion and opposed to the spring piece. A cylindrical front contact portion where the protruding tip of the shape is in point contact with the other surface of the male terminal, and a rear end that is provided inward of the electrical connection portion so as to face the spring piece and is more than the spring side contact portion A projecting tip having a cylindrical busbar portion extending in the male terminal insertion direction on the side, and a cylinder side rear contact portion in line contact with the other surface of the male terminal, wherein the spring side contact portion is one of the male terminals In a state in which the posture of the male terminal is stabilized by contacting the surface of the A female terminal structure comprising a flat contact surface portion for pressing the other surface of the male terminal against the pair of tube-side front contact portions and the tube-side rear contact portion projecting from each other.

According to the female terminal structure configured as described in (1) above, when the male terminal enters the front end opening of the female terminal and contacts the spring piece, the spring piece is deformed while following the posture of the male terminal, and the spring side One surface of the male terminal is pressed through the contact portion. The other surface of the pressed male terminal is pressed against the cylinder-side front contact portion and the cylinder-side rear contact portion that are provided on the opposite side of the spring piece with the male terminal in between. The male terminal pressed against the tube-side front contact portion is always in point contact with the substantially hemispherical protruding tip of the tube-side front contact portion. In addition, the cylinder side rear contact portion that collides when the front end of the male terminal is inserted obliquely has a cylindrical busbar portion where the contact location extends in the male terminal insertion direction, so the contact location with the obliquely inserted male terminal is Line contact parallel to the male terminal insertion direction.
Thereby, a pressure concentrates on one point in a cylinder side front contact part, and the terminal contact pressure of terminals improves. In addition, even if the terminals are displaced relative to each other, the hemispherical protruding tip at the cylinder-side front contact portion reliably makes point contact with the other surface of the male terminal, so that the follow-up displacement with respect to the male terminal during connection is smooth. Can be performed, and contact stability is improved. Furthermore, by improving the terminal contact pressure and reducing the terminal contact area, the removal performance of the oxide film on the contact surface is improved, and stable contact reliability is obtained. Furthermore, the cylinder side rear contact portion having the cylindrical busbar portion extending in the male terminal insertion direction can secure a large strength against a collision when the tip of the male terminal is inserted obliquely and can prevent the male terminal from bumping.

  Further, the spring piece can be in line contact or surface contact with one surface of the male terminal by the flat contact surface portion, and the other end of the male terminal can be connected to the tube side front contact portion and the tube side rear contact portion in a state where the posture of the male terminal is stabilized. The surface can be pressed. That is, since the pressing posture of the male terminal does not become unstable, stable contact reliability can be obtained.

  According to the female terminal structure according to the present invention, the terminal contact pressure can be increased, and the follow-up displacement with respect to the male terminal at the time of coupling can be smoothly performed to improve the contact stability.

  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. .

It is a whole perspective view of a female terminal which has a female terminal structure concerning a reference example of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in alignment with the male terminal insertion direction of the female terminal shown in FIG. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view at the time of a male terminal being inserted in the female terminal shown in FIG. (A) is BB sectional drawing of FIG. 4, (b) is CC sectional drawing of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in alignment with the male terminal insertion direction of the female terminal which has the terminal structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is DD sectional drawing of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view when a male terminal is inserted in the female terminal shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in alignment with the male terminal insertion direction of the female terminal which has the conventional female terminal structure.

Hereinafter, reference examples and embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a female terminal structure according to a reference example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The female terminal structure according to the present reference example is preferably used for the female terminal 19 that is electrically connected to the male terminal 15 (see FIG. 4) inserted from the distal end opening 13 of the rectangular cylindrical electrical connecting portion 11. it can. In this reference example, the male terminal 15 is a square pin type, but it may be a round pin type, a tab type, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 19 of the present reference example is formed by subjecting the same development material made of a conductive metal plate to a tapping process, a bending process, and the like, thereby forming each part of the illustrated example. In the present specification, the female terminal 19 will be described with the insertion side of the male terminal 15 as the front and the opposite side as the rear.
In the female terminal 19, a conductor crimping portion 21 and an insulating coating crimping portion 23 are connected to the rear of the electrical connection portion 11. The conductor crimping portion 21 caulps and fixes a conductor from which a coating is removed from a coated wire (not shown). The insulation coating crimping portion 23 fixes the coated electric wire by crimping from above the coating.

  The electrical connection portion 11 has a front end opening 13 that receives the male terminal 15 at the front end. As shown in FIG. 2, a cantilever-like spring piece 17 is provided on the inner side of the electrical connecting portion 11 and has a base end connected to the bottom wall 25 and extending rearward. The spring piece 17 is bent substantially in a U-shape so that the tip portion becomes a free end and faces one surface 27 of the male terminal 15 inserted into the electrical connection portion 11. The spring piece 17 presses the male terminal 15 inserted from the tip opening portion 13 toward the top wall 29 which is one inner wall surface of the electrical connecting portion 11 (see FIG. 4).

  Side walls 31 are erected on both sides of the bottom wall 25, one side wall 31 continues to the top wall 29, and the other side wall 31 continues to the top plate 33 that covers the top wall 29 from above. A standing piece 35 is formed on one side wall 31. When the female terminal 19 is inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing (not shown), the upright piece 35 is inserted and guided by engaging with the guide groove.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the spring piece 17 is provided with a spring-side contact portion 39, and the spring-side contact portion 39 contacts one surface 27 of the male terminal 15. In the present reference example, the spring side contact portion 39 has a flat contact surface portion 41 that makes line contact or surface contact with one surface 27 of the male terminal 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cylinder side front contact portion 43 is formed on the top wall 29 inside the electrical connection portion 11. The cylinder-side front contact portion 43 is provided to face the spring piece 17 and is disposed closer to the tip opening 13 than the spring-side contact portion 39. The cylindrical front contact portion 43 has a substantially hemispherical protruding tip that makes point contact with the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15.

  In addition, a cylinder side rear contact portion 47 is formed on the top wall 29 inside the electrical connection portion 11. The cylinder-side rear contact portion 47 is provided to face the spring piece 17 and is arranged on the rear end side with respect to the spring-side contact portion 39. The tube-side rear contact portion 47 also has a substantially hemispherical protruding tip that makes point contact with the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15. The substantially hemispherical protruding tip in the present invention is not limited to a perfect hemispherical shape, but includes a semi-elliptical spherical shape, a substantially conical shape of the tip R, and the like.

Next, the operation of the female terminal 19 having the female terminal structure according to this reference example will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the male terminal 15 enters the tip opening 13 of the female terminal 19 and abuts against the spring piece 17, the spring piece 17 is deformed while following the posture of the male terminal 15, and spring-side contact is made. One surface (lower surface in the figure) 27 of the male terminal 15 is pressed through the portion 39.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pressed male terminal 15 is inward of the electrical connection portion 11, and the cylinder-side front contact portion 43 provided on the opposite side of the spring piece 17 with the male terminal 15 interposed therebetween. The other surface (upper surface in the figure) 45 is pressed against the cylinder side rear contact portion 47.
The male terminal 15 pressed against the tube side front contact portion 43 and the tube side rear contact portion 47 is in contact with the substantially hemispherical protruding tips of the tube side front contact portion 43 and the tube side rear contact portion 47. Will always make point contact at one point.

Thereby, a pressure concentrates on one point and the terminal contact pressure of the male terminal 15, the cylinder side front contact part 43, and the cylinder side rear contact part 47 improves.
In addition, even if the male terminal 15 and the female terminal 19 are relatively displaced at the time of coupling, the substantially hemispherical protruding tips of the cylinder side front contact portion 43 and the cylinder side rear contact portion 47 are securely connected to the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15. Therefore, the female terminal 19 can smoothly follow and displace the male terminal 15 at the time of coupling, and contact stability is improved.

Furthermore, by improving the terminal contact pressure and reducing the terminal contact area, the removal performance of the oxide film on the contact surface is improved, and stable contact reliability is obtained.
Further, since the flat contact surface portion 41 is provided on the spring side contact portion 39 of the spring piece 17, the spring piece 17 can be brought into line contact or surface contact with the one surface 27 of the male terminal 15 by the flat contact surface portion 41, as shown in FIG. ), The other surface 45 of the male terminal 15 can be pressed against the tube-side front contact portion 43 and the tube-side rear contact portion 47 in a state in which the posture of the male terminal 15 is stabilized. That is, since the pressing posture of the male terminal 15 does not become unstable, stable contact reliability can be obtained.

Next, the female terminal structure according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The female terminal 49 having the female terminal structure according to the present embodiment is the same as the female terminal 19 except that the tube side rear contact portion 47 of the female terminal 19 of the reference example is changed to the tube side rear contact portion 51. Therefore, the same components as those of the female terminal 19 are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the female terminal 49 having the female terminal structure according to the present embodiment is provided on the top wall 29 so as to face the spring piece 17 inward of the electrical connecting portion 11, and on the spring side. A substantially hemispherical projecting tip on the tip opening 13 side of the contact portion 39 is point-contacted with the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15, and a spring piece 17 inward of the electrical connection portion 11. A cylinder which is provided on the top wall 29 so as to oppose and has a projecting tip having a cylindrical busbar part 53 extending in the male terminal insertion direction on the rear end side with respect to the spring side contact part 39 and in line contact with the other surface 45 of the male terminal 15. A side rear contact portion 51.

  Therefore, according to the female terminal 49 having the female terminal structure according to the present embodiment, the male terminal 15 pressed against the cylinder side front contact portion 43 is opposed to the substantially hemispherical protruding tip of the cylinder side front contact portion 43. The contact point always makes point contact at one point. Moreover, in the cylinder side rear contact part 51 which collides when the front-end | tip of the male terminal 15 is diagonally inserted upward with respect to the inside of the electrical connection part 11, the cylindrical bus-line part 53 where a contact location extends in the insertion direction of the male terminal 15 is carried out. Therefore, the contact portion with the male terminal 15 inserted obliquely becomes a line contact parallel to the male terminal insertion direction.

  Thereby, the female terminal 49 having the female terminal structure according to the present embodiment has a cylindrical busbar portion that extends in the male terminal insertion direction in addition to substantially the same effects as the female terminal 19 having the female terminal structure according to the reference example. The cylinder-side rear contact portion 51 having 53 can secure a large strength against a collision when the tip of the male terminal 15 is obliquely inserted upward with respect to the inside of the electrical connection portion 11 and can prevent the male terminal 15 from bumping. It has the effect of. Furthermore, the female terminal 49 can obtain stable contact reliability by a combination of point contact at the cylinder side front contact portion 43 and line contact at the cylinder side rear contact portion 51.

Therefore, according to the female terminals 19 and 49 having the female terminal structure according to each of the reference examples and the embodiments described above, the terminal contact pressure is increased, and the follow-up displacement with respect to the male terminal 15 at the time of coupling is smoothly performed to improve the contact stability. Can be improved.
Note that the female terminal structure of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately modified and improved. 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 11 ... Electrical connection part 13 ... End opening part 15 ... Male terminal 17 ... Spring piece 19 ... Female terminal 27 ... One surface 39 ... Spring side contact part 41 ... Flat contact surface part 43 ... Tube side front contact part 45 ... Other surface 47 ... Cylinder side rear contact part

Claims (1)

A cylindrical electrical connection that receives the male terminal from the tip opening;
A spring piece provided inward of the electrical connection portion and facing one surface of the male terminal;
A spring-side contact portion provided on the spring piece and in contact with one surface of the male terminal;
A tube provided on the inner side of the electrical connection portion so as to be opposed to the spring piece, and having a substantially hemispherical protruding tip on the other end surface of the male terminal on the tip opening side of the spring side contact portion. Side front contact,
A projecting tip having a cylindrical busbar portion provided inward of the electrical connection portion and facing the spring piece and extending in the male terminal insertion direction on the rear end side with respect to the spring side contact portion is the other end of the male terminal. A cylinder-side rear contact portion that makes line contact with the surface, and the spring-side contact portion is in contact with one surface of the male terminal to stabilize the posture of the male terminal in the male terminal insertion direction. A female terminal structure having a flat contact surface portion for pressing the other surface of the male terminal against a pair of the cylinder-side front contact portion and the tube-side rear contact portion projecting along the tube.

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