JP2016173898A - Connector, and female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector capable of preventing generation of noise when a female terminal is inserted in a housing, without increasing a cost.SOLUTION: A connector 3 is equipped with a female terminal 1 caulking and crimping an electric wire 13; and a housing 2 which has an insertion hole 21 into which the female terminal 1 is inserted, and holds the inserted female terminal 1. The female terminal 1 has a fitting portion 11 which is a part fitted with the insertion hole 21, on a tip end side in an inserting direction D into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. On a side surface of the fitting portion 11, at least a pair of elastic stoppers 15 are provided at positions symmetrical to the center of the female terminal 1. A width dimension Z of the female terminal 1 at the positions where the pair of elastic stoppers 15 are provided, is larger than a frontage width dimension Y of the insertion hole 21 into which the female terminal 1 is inserted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector and a female terminal, and more particularly to a connector composed of a housing and a female terminal in which abnormal noise is prevented, and a female terminal constituting the connector.

  The connector for electrical connection is configured by fitting a female terminal into a housing. The female terminal is not press-fitted into the housing, but a clearance (fitting gap) is provided in the horizontal direction between the housing and the female terminal so that the female terminal can be inserted into and removed from the housing. (See FIG. 5).

  However, a connector used for in-vehicle use has a problem that abnormal noise is generated in a gap formed by the clearance due to vibration of the vehicle generated during traveling. The abnormal noise is generated because the electric wire connected to the female terminal in the housing vibrates up and down and left and right due to the vibration of the vehicle, and the female terminal hits the inner wall of the housing. Due to the occurrence of such abnormal noise, there is a drawback that the comfort in the vehicle is significantly impaired.

  As a method to prevent the generation of abnormal noise, it is conceivable to eliminate the clearance between the housing and the female terminal. However, if the clearance between the housing and the female terminal is small, the workability (assembleability) of inserting and removing the female terminal, etc. Work worse.

  As a method for improving such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for preventing abnormal noise by fixing a housing and a female terminal with a cylindrical elastic body (connector cap). However, in such a method, there is a problem that the number of parts is increased by using the cylindrical elastic body, leading to an increase in cost.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-87478

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and a connector and a connector that can prevent the generation of abnormal noise when a female terminal is inserted into a housing without increasing the cost. It aims at providing the female terminal which comprises.

  The inventors of the present invention have made extensive studies in order to solve the above-described problems. As a result, in the female terminal that constitutes the connector, a part of the portion that fits with the housing on the distal end side in the insertion direction to the housing is pulled out to form an elastic stopper having an elastic force. The inventors have found that the generation of abnormal noise can be suppressed by being fixed to the housing, and the present invention has been completed. That is, the present invention provides the following.

  (1) A first invention according to the present invention includes a female terminal obtained by crimping an electric wire, and a housing that has an insertion hole into which the female terminal is inserted and holds the inserted female terminal. The female terminal has a fitting portion that fits into the insertion hole on the distal end side in the insertion direction of the housing into the insertion hole, and at least a pair of elastic stoppers are provided on the side surface of the fitting portion. The width dimension of the female terminal at the position where the pair of elastic stoppers is provided is the width of the insertion hole into which the female terminal is inserted. It is a connector characterized by being larger than the dimension.

  (2) A second invention according to the present invention is the connector according to the first invention, wherein the elastic stopper has an inclined surface that is gradually inclined toward an insertion direction into the housing.

  (3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the elastic stopper has a trapezoidal shape in a sectional view of a female terminal including a pair of the elastic stoppers. It is.

  (4) According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the elastic stopper has an engaging claw shape in a sectional view of a female terminal including a pair of the elastic stoppers. Connector.

  (5) According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the fitting portion of the female terminal and the elastic stopper are formed from a single piece of metal. It is a connector characterized by this.

  (6) A sixth invention according to the present invention is the connector according to any one of the first to fifth inventions, wherein the connector is for vehicle use.

  (7) A seventh invention according to the present invention is a female terminal which is inserted into an insertion hole provided in a housing to constitute a connector, and constitutes a distal end side in the insertion direction of the housing into the insertion hole. A fitting portion that fits into the insertion hole, and a crimping portion to which the electric wire is crimped and crimped, and at least a pair of elastic stoppers are provided on a side surface of the fitting portion with respect to the center of the female terminal. Female terminals respectively provided at symmetrical positions.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the generation of abnormal noise when the female terminal is inserted into the housing without increasing the cost.

It is the figure which showed the aspect of the female terminal which comprises a connector. It is the figure which showed the other shape aspect of the female terminal which comprises a connector. It is sectional drawing of the housing which comprises a connector. It is sectional drawing which showed the state in which the female terminal was inserted in the insertion hole of the housing. It is sectional drawing which shows the relationship between the conventional housing and a female terminal.

  Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention.

  The connector according to the present embodiment includes a female terminal obtained by crimping an electric wire and a housing that has an insertion hole into which the female terminal is inserted and holds the female terminal.

(Female terminal)
FIG. 1 is a view showing an aspect (hereinafter also referred to as “first embodiment”) of a female terminal constituting the connector according to the present embodiment. 1A is a front view of the female terminal 1, FIG. 1B is a side view of the female terminal 1, and FIG. 1C is a view of the distal end portion of the female terminal 1 as viewed from the insertion direction. is there.

  The female terminal 1 is a terminal that is electrically connected to the electric wire 13, is inserted and held in a housing 2 described later, and is electrically connected to a male terminal (not shown). The female terminal 1 is also called a female terminal. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 1 includes a box-shaped fitting portion 11 and a crimping portion 12.

  The box-shaped fitting portion 11 constitutes a distal end side when being inserted into an insertion hole (insertion portion) 21 provided in the housing 2 described later, and the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2 so that the housing 2 is inserted. It becomes the part which fits. Thus, in the box-shaped fitting part 11, the female terminal 1 is fitted and held with the housing 2, and a connector (female connector) is comprised. This box-shaped fitting part 11 is produced by a continuous press process, for example.

  The connector is represented by “connector 3” configured by inserting the female terminal 1 into the housing 2 as shown in FIG. When a male terminal (not shown) is inserted into the connector 3 from a direction facing the female terminal 1, the male terminal comes into contact with the distal end portion 11 a of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 of the female terminal 1. The male terminal and the female terminal 1 are electrically connected.

  The crimping | compression-bonding part 12 is the site | part which crimped and crimped the electric wire 13 for making it connect electrically. In addition, the site | part shown with the code | symbol 13a in FIG. 1 shows the electric wire 13 coat | covered with the covering rubber.

  Here, the present embodiment is characterized in that the box-shaped fitting portion 11 of the female terminal 1 is provided with an elastic stopper 15 having an elastic force. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the elastic stopper 15 is provided as a pair on the side wall portion 11b of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B). The pair of elastic stoppers 15 is provided in pairs, one at a position symmetrical to the center of the female terminal 1 (see FIG. 1C).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 (A) and 1 (C), the elastic stopper 15 has a shape that extends outward by cutting the side wall surface of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 and extending the portion thereof, It is configured to exhibit a spring-like elastic action. By providing the elastic stopper 15 on the side wall portion 11 b of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 in this manner, the elastic stopper 15 is placed on the side wall of the insertion hole 21 when the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. It arrange | positions so that it may contact elastically and the side wall of the insertion hole 21 may be stretched. As a result, the female terminal 1 is fixed in the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional female terminal 50, the inner wall of the insertion hole 61 of the housing 60 and the inserted female terminal 50 can be inserted into the housing 60 and removed from the housing 60. Clearances (fitting gaps) C are provided in the left-right and up-down directions, and are fitted and held in this state. However, when vibration is generated in such a connector 70, the female terminal 50 collides with the inner wall of the insertion hole 61 of the housing 60 due to the gap formed by the clearance C, and abnormal noise is generated.

  On the other hand, in the female terminal 1 according to the present embodiment, the elastic stopper 15 that shows elasticity is provided in the box-shaped fitting portion 11 that is fitted on the inner wall of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. When the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21, the elastic stopper 15 is fixed while being in contact with the inner wall of the insertion hole 21. For this reason, even when vibration occurs in the connector 3, it is possible to effectively prevent the generation of noise due to the female terminal 1 hitting the inner wall of the insertion hole 21. Moreover, since the elastic stopper 15 is elastically in contact with the insertion hole 21, the insertion into the insertion hole 21 and the extraction from the insertion hole 21 can be easily performed.

  The shape of the elastic stopper 15 is not particularly limited as long as it has an elastic action that can stretch the side wall of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2, but is a sectional view of the female terminal including the pair of elastic stoppers 15 (or FIG. It is preferable that the shape has an inclined surface 15a that is gradually inclined in the insertion direction into the housing 2 in a front view as shown in FIG. Such a shape having the inclined surface 15a facilitates insertion into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2 and improves operability.

  More specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the female terminal including the pair of elastic stoppers 15 has a trapezoidal shape in a sectional view. Since the shape of the elastic stopper 15 is such a trapezoidal shape, the operation is facilitated even when the female terminal 1 is removed from the housing 2.

  As described above, such an elastic stopper 15 can be formed by cutting the side wall surface of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 and extending the portion, and one piece constituting the box-shaped fitting portion 11. It can be formed from any metal. For this reason, it is not necessary to prepare a separate member and the number of parts is not increased.

  Further, the number of the elastic stoppers 15 is not particularly limited as long as at least one pair of the elastic stoppers 15 is provided in the box-shaped fitting portion 11 at positions symmetrical with respect to the center of the female terminal 1, that is, two on the side wall portion 11b. Good. Moreover, you may make it provide one each, ie, two pairs of elastic stoppers 15, in the four directions of the side wall part 11b of the box-shaped fitting part 11. FIG. Here, for example, it is possible to provide the elastic stopper 15 only at one place on the side wall portion 11b. However, since the insertion position of the female terminal 1 into the housing 2 is decentered, misalignment occurs, causing the poor insertion. It is easy to become.

  However, if the number of the elastic stoppers 15 is too large, the processing becomes complicated, and the resistance when the female terminal 1 is attached to the housing 2 increases. Therefore, the number of the elastic stoppers 15 is preferably two or more in total, one pair at the left and right symmetrical positions of the side wall portion 11b, and four or less in total, one on each side of the side wall portion 11b. preferable.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing an aspect (hereinafter, also referred to as “second embodiment”) of the female terminal 1 having an elastic stopper of another shape. 2A is a front view of the female terminal 1, FIG. 2B is a side view of the female terminal 1, and FIG. 2C is a view of the distal end portion of the female terminal 1 seen from the insertion direction. For convenience, the elastic stopper of another shape in the second embodiment is referred to as “elastic stopper 15 ′”, and the other components similar to those of the female terminal 1 in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed description will be omitted.

  In the female terminal 1 of the aspect shown in FIG. 2, an engagement claw-shaped elastic stopper 15 ′ is provided on the side wall portion 11 b of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 at a position symmetrical to the center of the female terminal 1. Yes. This engaging claw-shaped elastic stopper 15 ′ is formed by cutting a side wall surface, and an end portion 15 ′ e is formed.

  Even in the female terminal 1 having such an engaging claw-shaped elastic stopper 15 ′, the elastic stopper 15 ′ contacts the side wall of the insertion hole 21 when the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. Thus, the female terminal 1 is fixed in the housing 2. Further, in the female terminal 1 having the elastic stopper 15 ′, the end 15 ′ e of the elastic stopper 15 ′ is caught on the side wall of the insertion hole 21 when inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. An effect of preventing the female terminal 1 from coming out of the housing 2 is also achieved.

(housing)
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a housing constituting the connector according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 also shows the female terminal 1 (before insertion) inserted into the housing 2.

  The housing 2 is a member in which the female terminal 1 is inserted and holds the female terminal 1. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 2 is provided with an insertion hole 21 for inserting and holding the female terminal 1 therein. The housing 2 shown in FIG. 3 (and FIG. 4) includes two insertion holes 21A and 21B so that the two female terminals 1 can be inserted.

  The insertion hole 21 is provided in the housing 2 over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2, and the female terminal 1 is inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow D in FIG. 3 from the end 2 a of the housing 2. The The insertion hole 21 is narrowed stepwise from the insertion port toward the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 when the end 2a of the housing 2 is used as the insertion port. As a result, the female terminal 1 can be easily inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2, and the female terminal 1 can be fixed at a narrowed portion.

  Here, according to “X”, “Y”, and “Z” of FIG. 3 (and FIG. 4), the width of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2 (opening width dimension) and the width of the female terminal 1 at the box-shaped fitting portion 11. The relationship with dimensions is shown. As described above, the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 provided in the housing 2. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening width dimension “Y” of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2 is set. On the other hand, the width dimension “X” at the tip of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 of the female terminal 1 is smaller (X <Y), while the elasticity provided on the side wall portion 11 b of the box-shaped fitting portion 11. The relationship that the width dimension “Z” including the stopper 15 is larger (Z> Y) is established.

  In the female terminal 1 and the housing 2 having such a dimensional relationship, when the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2, the elastic stopper 15 provided in the box-shaped fitting portion 11 of the female terminal 1 is The insertion is made while hitting the inner wall of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2, and the female terminal 1 in the insertion hole 21 is inserted to a position where it is permanently locked. Since the elastic stopper 15 has a spring structure and elastically contacts the inner wall of the insertion hole 21 as described above, the elastic stopper 15 contracts even if the relationship “frontage width dimension Y <width dimension Z” is satisfied. The inner wall of the insertion hole 21 is stretched and fixed.

  The size of the width dimension Z of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 including the elastic stopper 15 is not particularly limited, but is about 0.05 to 0.30 mm with respect to the opening width dimension Y of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. Larger is preferred. When the width dimension Z is less than +0.05 mm with respect to the opening width dimension Y, sufficient tension may not be obtained in consideration of the tolerance of the opening width dimension Y of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. On the other hand, when the width dimension Z is larger than +0.30 mm with respect to the frontage width dimension Y, insertion of the female terminal 1 itself becomes difficult, and operability may be deteriorated.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the female terminal 1 is inserted into the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. As shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the insertion of the female terminal 1 into the insertion hole 21 is completed, the elastic stopper 15 provided on the side wall portion 11 b of the box-shaped fitting portion 11 of the female terminal 1 is caused by its elastic force. The inner wall of the insertion hole 21 is stretched to eliminate the clearance between the female terminal 1 and the inner wall of the insertion hole 21 of the housing 2. Thereby, even when the external force of the connector 3 is applied and vibration occurs, since the female terminal 1 is fixed inside the insertion hole 21, it is possible to prevent the generation of noise due to contact with the inner wall of the insertion hole 21. Can do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Female terminal 2 Housing 11 (Box shape) Fitting part 12 Crimp part 13 Electric wire 15 Elastic stopper 15a (An elastic stopper) inclined surface 21,21A, 21B Insertion hole

Claims (7)

A female terminal with crimped and crimped wires,
A housing having an insertion hole into which the female terminal is inserted, and holding the inserted female terminal;
The female terminal has a fitting portion serving as a portion to be fitted with the insertion hole on the distal end side in the insertion direction to the insertion hole of the housing,
At least a pair of elastic stoppers are provided on the side surfaces of the fitting portions at positions symmetrical to the center of the female terminal, and the width of the female terminal at the position where the pair of elastic stoppers are provided. The connector is characterized in that the dimension is larger than the width dimension of the insertion hole into which the female terminal is inserted.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic stopper has an inclined surface that is gradually inclined toward an insertion direction into the housing.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic stopper has a trapezoidal shape in a cross-sectional view of a female terminal including a pair of the elastic stoppers.   The connector according to claim 1, wherein the elastic stopper has an engaging claw shape in a cross-sectional view of a female terminal including a pair of the elastic stoppers.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the fitting portion of the female terminal and the elastic stopper are formed of a single piece of metal.   The connector according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the connector is for vehicle use. A female terminal that is inserted into an insertion hole provided inside the housing and constitutes a connector,
A distal end side in the insertion direction into the insertion hole of the housing, and a fitting portion that fits into the insertion hole;
A crimping portion where the electric wire is crimped and crimped,
The female terminal is characterized in that at least a pair of elastic stoppers are provided on the side surfaces of the fitting portion at positions symmetrical to the center of the female terminal.

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