JP2017010702A - Female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a male terminal and a female terminal from being slightly slid in relative to each other.SOLUTION: A female terminal 20 comprises: a terminal connection part 21 into which a male terminal 62 is inserted; and an elastic contact piece 25 which is provided within the terminal connection part 21 and holds the male terminal 62 with an elastic force between the elastic contact piece and an inner surface of the terminal connection part 21. Within the terminal connection part 21, a reception part 27 is provided for elastically receiving the male terminal 62 from a front side in an insertion direction D of the male terminal 62 in the case where a force is applied to the male terminal 62 inserted into the terminal connection part 21 at least from a rear side in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The technique disclosed by this specification is related with a female terminal.

  Conventionally, the thing of patent document 1 is known as a female terminal. The female terminal has an elastic contact piece that can be bent and deformed in the connecting portion. When the male tab of the male terminal is inserted into the connecting portion, the male tab and the elastic contact piece are in elastic contact with each other, whereby the male terminal and the female terminal are electrically connected.

JP-A-8-330009

  For example, when the female terminal is used in a place where vibration occurs, such as a vehicle, the vibration is transmitted to the male terminal and the female terminal. There is a risk of wear of the part.

  In this specification, the technique which suppresses that a male terminal and a female terminal slide relatively finely is disclosed.

  The technology disclosed in this specification is a female terminal, and is provided in a terminal connection portion into which a male terminal is inserted, and the inner surface of the terminal connection portion. An elastic contact piece sandwiched with an elastic force, and a force is applied in the terminal connection portion from at least the rear in the insertion direction of the male terminal with respect to the male terminal inserted into the terminal connection portion. In this case, a receiving portion that elastically receives the male terminal from the front in the insertion direction of the male terminal is provided.

  According to the technique disclosed in this specification, when a force is applied to the male terminal from the rear in the insertion direction of the male terminal due to vibration, the male terminal is moved by the receiving portion from the front in the insertion direction of the male terminal. It can be received. Accordingly, when a force is applied to at least the male terminal from the rear in the insertion direction of the male terminal, the relative sliding of the male terminal and the female terminal is suppressed.

  As embodiments of the present invention, the following embodiments are preferable.

  In a state where the male terminal is inserted into the terminal connection portion, it is preferable that the receiving portion abuts against the male terminal from the front in the insertion direction of the male terminal.

  According to the above aspect, when a force is applied to the male terminal from the rear in the insertion direction of the male terminal, the male terminal and the female terminal are reliably prevented from sliding slightly. Can do.

  The receiving part is preferably formed integrally with the elastic contact piece.

  According to said aspect, compared with the case where a receiving part is formed in a different part from an elastic contact piece, the process of a receiving part is easy.

  According to the technique disclosed by this specification, it can suppress that a male terminal and a female terminal slide relatively finely.

Sectional drawing which shows the state before inserting the female terminal which concerns on Embodiment 1 in a female housing Sectional drawing which shows the state before the fitting of a female connector and a male connector Sectional drawing which shows the state after the fitting of a female connector and a male connector Partially cutaway sectional view showing the receiving part of the female terminal Partially cutaway sectional view showing a receiving part of a female terminal according to Embodiment 2

<Embodiment 1>
The first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The female terminal 20 according to the present embodiment is accommodated in the female connector 10. In the present embodiment, the waterproof female connector 10 fitted to the male connector 60 is illustrated. In the following description, the vertical direction is based on the vertical direction in FIG. The front-rear direction is based on the left-right direction in FIG. For the female connector 10, the fitting direction of the female connector 10 (left side in FIG. 2) is assumed to be the front, and for the male connector 60, the fitting direction of the male connector 60 (right side in FIG. 2) is assumed to be the front.

(Male connector 60)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the male connector 60 is formed integrally with a device (not shown), and includes a male housing 61 made of synthetic resin and a pair of male terminals 62 held by the male housing 61. Configured. The male housing 61 is formed in a hood shape that opens forward, and a lock projection 63 that protrudes upward is formed on the upper surface of the male housing 61. Each male terminal 62 has a flat plate shape and is held side by side in a vertically protruding manner from the back wall of the male housing 61. The male terminal 62 can be appropriately selected from any metal such as copper or copper alloy as required. On the surface of the male terminal 62, a plating layer made of a metal appropriately selected from arbitrary metals such as tin and nickel may be formed.

(Female connector 10)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the female connector 10 includes a pair of female terminals 20 connected to the terminal of the electric wire W, a rubber plug 30 that is externally fitted to the electric wire W and fixed together with the female terminals 20, A synthetic resin female housing 40 that houses a rubber plug 30 together with a pair of female terminals 20 is provided.

  The female housing 40 is configured such that a hood portion 42 is formed around the front half portion of the terminal accommodating portion 41 that accommodates the female terminal 20, and the male connector 60 is interposed between the terminal accommodating portion 41 and the hood portion 42. The male housing 61 can be fitted. An annular rubber ring R is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41 in the hood portion 42. When the male housing 61 and the female housing 40 are fitted, the rubber ring R is used as shown in FIG. The space between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41 and the inner peripheral surface of the male housing 61 is sealed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an elastically displaceable lock arm 43 is formed on the upper surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41. When the male housing 61 and the female housing 40 are fitted, the lock arm 43 The locking projection 63 of the male housing 61 is locked in the front-rear direction so that the female housing 40 and the male housing 61 are held in a fitted state.

  In the terminal accommodating part 41, a pair of cavities 44 for accommodating the rubber plug 30 together with the female terminal 20 from the rear are formed side by side. The rear part of each cavity 44 from the substantially central part in the front-rear direction is a diameter-enlarged cavity 45 that is slightly larger in diameter than the front part of the cavity 44, and the rear end of the female terminal 20 is located at the rear part of the enlarged-diameter cavity 45. The part and the rubber plug 30 are accommodated.

  Further, a lance 46 that is cantilevered forward is formed on the bottom surface 44 </ b> A of the cavity 44, and this lance 46 is elastic toward the bending space S provided below the lance 46. Displaceable. When the female terminal 20 is inserted into the cavity 44, the lance 46 is elastically displaced toward the bending space S by being pressed by the female terminal 20 from the rear, and the female terminal 20 reaches the normal position of the cavity 44. Then, by elastically returning, it fits into a locking hole 21A of the female terminal 20 to be described later, and the female terminal 20 is prevented from coming off into the female housing 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front retainer 47 can be attached to the front end portion of the terminal accommodating portion 41. The front retainer 47 includes an elastic blocking piece 48 that enters the bending space S from the front, and a retaining portion 49 that is disposed in front of the rubber ring R. When the front retainer 47 is attached to the terminal accommodating portion 41, the elastic blocking piece 48 enters the bending space S from the front to prevent the elastic displacement of the lance 46 downward, and the retaining portion 49 is the terminal accommodating portion. The rubber ring R attached to 41 is retained from the front.

(Female terminal 20)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, each female terminal 20 is formed by pressing a metal plate having excellent conductivity. As a metal which comprises the female terminal 20, arbitrary metals, such as copper and a copper alloy, can be selected suitably as needed. A plated layer may be formed on the surface of the female terminal 20. As a metal constituting the plating layer, any metal such as tin or nickel can be appropriately selected as necessary.

  The female terminal 20 has a configuration in which an electric wire connecting portion 22 connected to the electric wire W is provided behind the terminal connecting portion 21 having a rectangular tube shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an elastic contact piece 25 is formed in the terminal connection portion 21 and is folded back from the lower edge of the front end of the terminal connection portion 21. The elastic contact piece 25 has a shape folded back from the front end portion of the bottom wall of the terminal connection portion 21 and has a substantially mountain shape when viewed from the side. A contact portion 26 that bulges slightly upward is formed at the top of the elastic contact piece 25 having a mountain shape.

  When the female housing 40 and the male housing 61 are fitted, the male terminal 62 of the male connector 60 is inserted into the terminal connection portion 21 through the front end opening of the terminal accommodating portion 41, and the contact of the elastic contact piece 25 with respect to the male terminal 62. The part 26 comes into elastic contact. Then, the male terminal 62 is clamped between the contact portion 26 of the elastic contact piece 25 and the ceiling wall of the terminal connection portion 21 by being biased upward by the elastic force of the elastic contact piece 25. As a result, the female terminal 20 and the male terminal 62 are electrically connected.

  A locking hole 21 </ b> A into which the lance 46 is fitted from below is formed in the bottom wall of the terminal connection portion 21 so as to penetrate the bottom wall.

  The electric wire W has a structure in which the outer periphery of the core wire W1 is covered with an insulating coating W2. The electric wire connecting portion 22 includes a wire barrel 23 and an insulation barrel 24 provided behind the wire barrel 23. The wire barrel 23 is crimped and crimped to the core wire W1 exposed by peeling off the insulating coating W2 at the end of the electric wire W. The insulation barrel 24 fixes the rubber plug 30 to the end of the electric wire W by being wound around the rubber plug 30 fitted around the end of the insulating coating W2 of the electric wire W and crimped.

(Rubber stopper 30)
The rubber plug 30 is made of a material such as oil-impregnated silicon, and has a cylindrical rubber plug main body 31 that is long in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIGS. The rubber plug main body 31 can be fitted into the enlarged diameter cavity 45 in the terminal accommodating portion 41 from the rear, and the insulating coating W2 of the electric wire W is inserted into the rubber plug main body 31 in the front-rear direction.

  A cylindrical terminal crimping portion 32 to which the insulation barrel 24 of the female terminal 20 is crimped is continuously provided in front of the rubber plug body 31, and the insulation barrel 24 is crimped as shown in FIG. The outer diameter dimension of the terminal crimping portion 32 in the state is set smaller than the outer diameter dimension of the rubber plug main body 31. A flange 33 is provided around the front end edge of the terminal crimping portion 32 to prevent the insulation barrel 24 crimped to the terminal crimping portion 32 from coming off.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer peripheral lip 34 that elastically adheres to the inner peripheral wall 45 </ b> A of the diameter-enlarging cavity 45 of the terminal accommodating portion 41 is provided on the outer peripheral surface at the substantially central portion in the front-back direction of the rubber plug body 31. Is provided in a protruding manner. The outer peripheral lip 34 has a mountain shape in cross section and is formed in an annular shape over the entire periphery, and is formed in a double manner with a gap in the front and rear direction. When the rubber plug 30 is fitted into the enlarged diameter cavity 45, the apex portion of each outer peripheral lip 34 is crushed and adhered by the inner peripheral wall 45 A of the enlarged diameter cavity 45, and the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire W and the enlarged diameter cavity 45. The inner peripheral wall 45A is sealed by the rubber plug 30.

  The rear end portion of the rubber plug main body 31 is a large diameter portion 35 that closely fits to the rear end portion of the diameter-enlarging cavity 45. The large-diameter portion 35 is closely fitted to the enlarged-diameter cavity 45 at the rear of the outer peripheral lip 34, so that when the electric wire W led out from the rubber plug 30 is bent, the enlarged-diameter cavity 45 A gap is prevented from being formed between the inner peripheral wall 45A and the outer peripheral lip 34.

(Receiving part 27)
As shown in FIG. 4, a receiving portion 27 that is folded back obliquely forward is formed integrally with the elastic contact piece 25 at the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 25. The tip of the receiving portion 27 is further folded back obliquely upward. As a result, the receiving portion 27 is formed with a contact portion 28 protruding forward. The receiving portion 27 is elastically deformable along the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62.

  In a state where the male terminal 62 is inserted into the terminal connection portion 21 from the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62, the male terminal 62 is vibrated from the rear side (left side in FIG. 4) of the male terminal 62 by vibration or the like. When a force is applied to the male terminal 62, the front end portion of the male terminal 62 is received by the receiving portion 27 from the front in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62 (rightward in FIG. 4).

  In a state where the male terminal 62 is inserted into the terminal connection portion 21 and no force is applied to the male terminal 62 from the rear in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62, The portion 27 may be in contact with or separated from the portion 27. FIG. 4 shows a state where the male terminal 62 and the receiving portion 27 are in contact with each other. The contact portion 28 of the receiving portion 27 is in contact with the male terminal 62 from the front in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62.

  As described above, the receiving portion 27 is elastically deformable. As a result, the receiving portion 27 elastically contacts the male terminal 62, so that the receiving portion 27 urges the male terminal 62 rearward (leftward in FIG. 4) in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62. It has become. As a result, when a force is applied to the male terminal 62 from the rear in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62 (left side in FIG. 4), the male terminal 62 moves forward (in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62 ( The movement to the right in FIG. 4 is suppressed.

(Operation and effect of the embodiment)
The present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, the assembly procedure of the female connector 10 will be briefly described, and the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the rubber plug 30 is passed through the electric wire W first. Next, the insulation coating W2 is peeled off at the end of the electric wire W to expose the core wire W1, the wire barrel 23 in the electric wire connection portion 22 of the female terminal 20 is crimped and crimped to the core wire W1, and the insulation barrel 24 is connected to the rubber plug. It crimps and crimps | bonds to the 30 terminal crimping part 32. FIG. Thereby, the female terminal 20 and the rubber plug 30 are fixed to the end of the electric wire W side by side.

When the female terminal 20 and the rubber plug 30 are fixed to the end of the electric wire W, the female terminal 20 and the rubber plug 30 are inserted into the cavity 44 of the female housing 40 from the rear.
When the female terminal 20 reaches the proper position of the cavity 44, the lance 46 is fitted into the locking hole 21A in the terminal connecting portion 21 of the female terminal 20 and is prevented from coming off, as shown in FIG. Subsequently, by attaching the front retainer 47 to the terminal accommodating portion 41 from the front, the elastic blocking piece 48 prevents the elastic displacement of the lance 46 and prevents the rubber ring R fitted on the terminal accommodating portion 41 from coming off. It is prevented from coming off from the front by the portion 49.

Further, as the female terminal 20 is inserted to the proper position, the rubber plug 30 is fitted into the enlarged diameter cavity 45.
Here, each outer peripheral lip 34 is crushed by the inner peripheral wall 45 </ b> A of the diameter-enlarging cavity 45 so as to be in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire W and the inner peripheral wall of the diameter-enlarging cavity 45. Seal between 45A. Further, the large-diameter portion 35 of the rubber plug 30 is closely fitted to the diameter-enlarged cavity 45, so that, for example, when the electric wire W led out from the rubber plug 30 is bent, the diameter-enlarged cavity 45. The gap between the inner peripheral wall 45A and the outer peripheral lip 34 is prevented from being generated. The female connector 10 is completed as described above.

  Next, when the female connector 10 is fitted to the male connector 60, the female connector 10 is disposed so as to face the male connector 60 and the female connector 10 with respect to the male connector 60, as shown in FIG. 2. Mate. When both the connectors 10 and 60 reach the mating positions properly, the male terminal 62 of the male connector 60 passes through the front end opening of the terminal accommodating portion 41 of the female housing 40 as shown in FIG. The female terminal 20 and the male terminal 62 are electrically connected. At this time, the receiving portion 27 of the female terminal 20 comes into elastic contact with the male terminal 62 from the front in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62. Further, the rubber ring R seals between the outer peripheral surface of the terminal accommodating portion 41 and the inner peripheral surface of the male housing 61, and the lock projection 63 of the male connector 60 and the lock arm 43 of the female connector 10 are engaged in the front-rear direction. By stopping, both the connectors 10 and 60 are held in the fitted state.

  In a state where both connectors 10 and 60 are fitted, for example, when vibration from the electric wire W is transmitted to both connectors 10 and 60, according to the present embodiment, the male terminal 62 is connected to the male terminal 62 by the receiving portion 27. Since it is elastically received from the front in the insertion direction D, when a force is applied to at least the male terminal 62 from the rear in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62, the male terminal 62 and the female terminal 20 are Relatively slight sliding is suppressed. As a result, wear at the connecting portion between the female terminal 20 and the male terminal 62 can be suppressed. Specifically, wear at the contact portion between the male terminal 62 and the contact portion 26 and at the contact portion between the male terminal 62 and the ceiling wall of the terminal connection portion 21 is suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the relative sliding of the male terminal 62 and the female terminal 20 is suppressed without increasing the elastic modulus of the elastic contact piece 25. As a result, it is possible to suppress wear at the connection portion between the male terminal 62 and the female terminal 20 without increasing the insertion resistance between the male terminal 62 and the female terminal 20.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the receiving portion 27 is in contact with the male terminal 62 from the front in the insertion direction of the male terminal 62 in a state where the male terminal 62 is inserted into the terminal connection portion 21. . Thereby, when a force is applied to the male terminal 62 from the rear in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62, the male terminal 62 and the female terminal 20 are reliably prevented from sliding slightly. be able to.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the receiving portion 27 is formed integrally with the elastic contact piece 25. Thereby, compared with the case where the receiving part 27 is formed in a different part from the elastic contact piece 25, the process of the receiving part 27 is easy. In the present embodiment, the receiving portion 27 can be formed by a simple method of bending the front end portion of the elastic contact piece 25 in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The receiving portion 70 according to the second embodiment is formed by cutting and raising a part of the side wall of the terminal connection portion 21 at a substantially right angle inside the terminal connection portion 21.

  Since the configuration other than the above is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  According to the present embodiment, when a force is applied to the male terminal 62 from the rear in the insertion direction D of the male terminal 62, the force is received by the receiving portion 70 and then the terminal connection portion 21. It is transmitted to the side wall. Since the terminal connection portion 21 has a cylindrical configuration, the strength is relatively high. For this reason, since the force applied to the male terminal 62 can be received reliably, it can suppress reliably that the male terminal 62 slides finely.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the above description and drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope.

  (1) In the present embodiment, the receiving portions 27 and 70 are formed integrally with the terminal connecting portion 21, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the receiving portion is a separate member from the terminal connecting portion 21. It is good also as a structure assembled | attached to the terminal connection part 21. FIG.

  (2) In the second embodiment, the receiving part 70 is formed by cutting and raising one side wall of the terminal connection part 21. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each of the two side walls of the terminal connection part 21 is cut and raised. May be formed. Further, the receiving part 70 may be formed by cutting and raising the ceiling wall of the terminal connection part 21, or may be formed by cutting and raising the bottom wall of the terminal connection part 21.

  (3) In the present embodiment, the male terminal 62 is connected to the device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the male terminal 62 may be connected to the end of the electric wire.

10: Male terminal 20: Female terminal 21: Terminal connection part 25: Elastic contact piece 27, 70: Receiving part D: Insertion direction

Claims (3)

A terminal connection where a male terminal is inserted;
An elastic contact piece provided in the terminal connection portion and holding the male terminal with an elastic force between an inner surface of the terminal connection portion, and
In the terminal connection portion, when a force is applied at least from the rear in the insertion direction of the male terminal to the male terminal inserted in the terminal connection portion, the front of the male terminal is inserted from the front. A female terminal provided with a receiving portion that elastically receives the male terminal.   2. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion contacts the male terminal from the front in the insertion direction of the male terminal in a state where the male terminal is inserted into the terminal connecting portion.   The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion is formed integrally with the elastic contact piece.

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