JP2018010761A - Terminal manufacturing method, connector manufacturing method, terminal manufacturing apparatus, and connector manufacturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To precisely determine the position of partial plating in a terminal, while enhancing manufacturing efficiency.SOLUTION: A terminal manufacturing apparatus 1 for manufacturing, from a wire 2, a terminal 4 used for a connector 3 comprises: a shape forming part 11 which forms a shape of the terminal 4 on the wire 2; a base plating part 13 which entirely plates a portion, of the wire 2, corresponding to the terminal 4 with nickel; a partial plating part 14 which determines, based on the shape of the terminal 4 formed on the wire 2 by the shape forming part 11, a portion corresponding to an end of the terminal 4 in an extension direction of the wire 2, thereby plating only the determined portion with gold; and a cutting part 17 which cuts the wire 2 thus plated, thereby separating the portion corresponding to the terminal 4 from the wire 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal manufacturing method and a terminal manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a connector terminal, and a connector manufacturing method and a connector manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a connector.

  The terminal of the connector is attached to the connector housing or the like. For example, one end of the connector is a contact portion that contacts the terminal of the mating connector, and the other end is a mounting portion that is soldered to the board.

  The connector terminals are prepared by plating the entire surface of a wire made of a copper alloy such as phosphor bronze or brass with nickel, and then preparing a gold-plated wire that is further plated with gold. It can manufacture by cutting for every length.

  However, in this manufacturing method, the intermediate portion between the contact portion and the mounting portion is also plated with gold in the terminal. Since gold is expensive, it is desirable to reduce the amount of gold used. In addition, it is not necessary to particularly increase the electrical conductivity or solderability of the surface at the intermediate portion of the terminal, and it is desirable that this portion forms a nickel barrier that prevents the progress of solder when the terminal is soldered to the substrate. . Therefore, it is better not to plate the middle part of the terminal with gold and to expose the underlying nickel.

  On the other hand, the following Patent Document 1 describes the following terminal manufacturing method. First, a metal wire made of brass is prepared as a terminal material. Then, the entire surface of the metal wire is plated with nickel, and further, in the metal wire, a plurality of regions set at predetermined intervals in the extending direction are partially plated with gold. Next, the metal wire is cut into predetermined lengths so that the gold-plated portions are located at the positions corresponding to the end portions of the terminals. Next, the tip portions at both ends of the metal wire cut to a predetermined length are subjected to point processing by press working. According to this method, the contact portion and the mounting portion are plated with gold, and the terminal where nickel is exposed in the intermediate portion can be manufactured from the metal wire.

JP 2010-135193 A

  However, in the manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, the entire surface of a bare metal wire having no irregularities on the peripheral surface is plated with nickel, and a plurality of gaps are set at predetermined intervals in the extending direction of the metal wire. The area is plated with gold to produce a wire assembly. Thereafter, the wire aggregate is cut and subjected to a sharpening process to manufacture a terminal. In such a manufacturing method, since there is no unevenness on the peripheral surface of the metal wire at the stage of manufacturing the wire aggregate, it is not easy to accurately position the region to be partially plated with gold in the metal wire. For this reason, there exists a possibility that a gold plating part may shift in position in the manufactured terminal.

  Further, when a connector having a plurality of terminals each having a different length is manufactured, a terminal having a different length must be manufactured. In the manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, if the length of the terminal changes, the position of the region plated with gold in the metal wire changes. For this reason, in the case of manufacturing a connector having a plurality of terminals having different lengths by the manufacturing method described in Patent Document 1, the position of the gold plating region is determined according to the number of the plurality of terminals having different lengths. It is necessary to manufacture a plurality of wire assemblies having different values. As a result, the production efficiency may be deteriorated, such as difficulty in small-scale production.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal manufacturing method capable of determining the position of partial plating in a terminal with high accuracy and increasing the manufacturing efficiency. A terminal manufacturing apparatus, a connector manufacturing method, and a connector manufacturing apparatus are provided.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a terminal manufacturing method of the present invention is a terminal manufacturing method for manufacturing a connector terminal from a wire, and a shape forming step for forming the shape of the terminal on the wire, and the shape formation Based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire in the step, identify the portion corresponding to the end of the terminal in the extending direction of the wire, and plating the identified portion with a first plating material, A plating step in which a portion corresponding to an intermediate portion of the terminal is not plated with the first plating material, and a cutting step in which the portion corresponding to the terminal is separated from the wire by cutting the wire plated in the plating step; It is characterized by having.

  According to the terminal manufacturing method of the present invention, since the portion to be plated is specified based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire, the position of partial plating on the terminal can be determined with high accuracy. Further, by changing the shape of the terminal formed on the wire according to the length of the terminal to be manufactured, the portion to be plated with the first plating material can be changed at any time in the plating step. Therefore, a plurality of terminals having different lengths can be manufactured from a single wire, and the manufacturing efficiency can be increased.

  Moreover, in the terminal manufacturing method of the present invention described above, the plating step includes an underplating step of plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material, and an end portion of the terminal in the wire. It is preferable to include a partial plating step in which a portion corresponding to 1 is plated with the first plating material and a portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal is not plated with the first plating material.

  According to this aspect, in the base plated terminal, the position of partial plating with the first plating material can be determined with high accuracy. Moreover, the terminal by which the whole was base-plated and the edge part was partially plated can be manufactured efficiently.

  Moreover, in the terminal manufacturing method of the present invention described above, the plating step includes a base plating step of plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material, and one end portion of the terminal in the wire. The portion corresponding to the first plating material is plated with the first plating material, the portion corresponding to the other end portion of the terminal is plated with the third plating material, and the portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal is the first plating material. It is good also as a structure provided with the partial plating process which does not plate with this plating material or the said 3rd plating material.

  According to this aspect, in the base plated terminal, the position partially plated with the first plating material and the position partially plated with the third plating material can be determined with high accuracy. Moreover, the terminal by which the whole was base-plated and both ends were partially plated with different plating materials can be manufactured efficiently.

  In the terminal manufacturing method of the present invention described above, in the shape forming step, a shape of a chamfered portion of a tip portion of the terminal or a shape of a stopper portion for stopping the terminal on an outer portion of the connector is formed on the wire. It is preferable.

  According to this aspect, based on the shape of the chamfered portion or stop portion of the terminal formed on the wire, the portion to be plated on the wire can be easily and accurately specified.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the connector manufacturing method of the present invention includes each step of the above-described terminal manufacturing method of the present invention, and an attachment step of attaching the terminal separated from the wire in the cutting step to an outer portion of the connector. It is characterized by having.

  According to the connector manufacturing method of the present invention, the position of partial plating in the terminal of the connector can be determined with high accuracy. In addition, a connector having a plurality of terminals having different lengths can be efficiently manufactured.

  In order to solve the above problems, a terminal manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is a terminal manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a connector terminal from a wire, and a shape forming unit that forms the shape of the terminal on the wire, and the shape formation Based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire by the portion, identify the portion corresponding to the end of the terminal in the direction of elongation of the wire, and plate the identified portion with the first plating material, A plating portion that does not plate the portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal with the first plating material, and a cutting portion that cuts the wire plated by the plating portion and separates the portion corresponding to the terminal from the wire. It is characterized by having.

  According to the terminal manufacturing apparatus of this invention, since the part to plate based on the shape of the terminal formed in the wire is specified, the position of the partial plating in a terminal can be determined with high precision. Moreover, the part plated with the 1st plating material can be changed at any time by making the shape of the terminal formed in a wire differ according to the length of the terminal which should be manufactured. Therefore, a plurality of terminals having different lengths can be manufactured from a single wire, and the manufacturing efficiency can be increased.

  Moreover, in the terminal manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the plating section includes a base plating section for plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material, and an end portion of the terminal in the wire. It is preferable that a portion corresponding to 1 is plated with the first plating material, and a portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal is provided with a partial plating portion that is not plated with the first plating material.

  Moreover, in the terminal manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the plating section includes a base plating section for plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material, and one end portion of the terminal in the wire. The portion corresponding to the first plating material is plated with the first plating material, the portion corresponding to the other end portion of the terminal is plated with the third plating material, and the portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal is the first plating material. It is good also as a structure provided with the partial plating part which does not plate with this plating material or the said 3rd plating material.

  Moreover, in the terminal manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the shape forming portion forms a shape of a chamfered portion at a tip end portion of the terminal or a shape of a stopper portion for stopping the terminal at an outer portion of the connector on the wire. It is preferable.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a connector manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes each part of the above-described terminal manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention and a terminal mounting portion that attaches the terminal separated from the wire by the cutting portion to an outer portion of the connector. It is characterized by having.

  According to the connector manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, the position of partial plating in the terminal of the connector can be determined with high accuracy. In addition, a connector having a plurality of terminals having different lengths can be efficiently manufactured.

  According to the present invention, the position of partial plating in the terminal can be determined with high accuracy, and the manufacturing efficiency can be increased.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the connector manufacturing apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the plating part in the connector apparatus in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the terminal manufactured by the connector manufacturing apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the wire used with the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape formation process in the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the foundation | substrate plating process in the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the partial plating process in the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the cutting process in the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment process in the connector manufacturing method of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which manufactured the several terminal from which length differs with the connector manufacturing apparatus of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the terminal manufactured by the connector manufacturing apparatus of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the connector manufacturing method of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a connector manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the plating part of the connector device. FIG. 3 shows the terminals of the connector manufactured by the connector device.

  In FIG. 1, the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention manufactures a terminal 4 for a connector 3 from a wire 2 and attaches the manufactured terminal 4 to a housing 5 (outer portion) of the connector 3. Thus, it is an apparatus for manufacturing the connector 3.

  The connector 3 taken up as an example in the present embodiment is configured by fixing a plurality of terminals 4 to a housing 5. In FIG. 1, one end side of the connector 3 facing upward is connected to the mating connector. The other end side of the connector 3 facing downward in FIG. 1 is attached to a substrate and connected to a circuit formed on the substrate.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 4 is formed in a rod shape having a predetermined length with a square cross section. The terminal 4 is formed of a metal material, for example, a copper alloy such as phosphor bronze or brass. The entire portion of the terminal 4 excluding the front end surface 4D is plated with, for example, nickel (second plating material), and the portion excluding the front end surface 4D in both end portions 4A and 4B of the terminal 4 is, for example, It is further plated with gold (first plating material). The metal material which is a base material is exposed at the front end surface 4D. In the terminal 4, the end 4 </ b> A on the side in contact with the terminal of the mating connector is thicker than the end 4 </ b> B on the side soldered to the substrate. Further, nickel is exposed in the intermediate portion 4C of the terminal 4, and this portion functions as a nickel barrier that stops the progress of solder when the terminal 4 is soldered to the substrate. In the terminal 4 in FIG. 3, the narrow hatched portion is a gold-plated portion, and the wide hatched portion is a nickel-plated portion. The same applies to FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and FIG.

  Further, a chamfered portion 6 is formed at the tip of each end portion 4A, 4B of the terminal 4 by chamfering the portion. By providing the chamfered portion 6, it is possible to smoothly contact the terminal of the mating connector at the end portion 4A, and it is possible to increase the soldered area at the terminal 4B. Further, dowels 7 projecting outward are formed on two side surfaces facing each other in the intermediate portion 4 </ b> C of the terminal 4. Each dowel 7 is a part for fixing the terminal 4 to the housing 5 of the connector 3.

  The connector manufacturing apparatus 1 manufactures the terminal 4 having such a configuration from the wire 2. The wire 2 is a rectangular wire made of a long copper alloy or the like that can form a plurality of terminals 4 by cutting the wire 2 every predetermined length. The wire 2 is a bare wire. 1 in FIG. 1 is a wire aggregate in which the wire 2 is wound around a reel.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a shape forming part 11, a plating part 12, a cutting part 17, a terminal attaching part 18, and a sending part 19.

  The shape forming portion 11 has a configuration in which the shape of the terminal 4 is formed on the wire 2 by performing metal processing such as cutting, crushing, and doweling on a predetermined portion in the peripheral portion of the wire 2. . With the shape forming portion 11, the shape of the chamfered portion 6 of the terminal 4 and the shape of the dowel 7 can be formed on the wire 2.

  The plating part 12 has a configuration for electroplating the wire 2 based on the shape of the terminal 4 formed on the wire 2 by the shape forming part 11. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the plating unit 12 includes a base plating unit 13, a partial plating unit 14, an imaging unit 15, and a control unit 16. The base plating part 13 plating the whole part corresponding to the terminal 4 in the wire 2 with nickel. The partial plating part 14 plating only the part corresponding to each end part 4A, 4B of the terminal 4 in the extending direction of the wire 2 with gold. The imaging unit 15 includes a camera. The imaging unit 15 images a portion corresponding to the terminal 4 in the wire 2. The control unit 16 includes, for example, a microcomputer. The control unit 16 performs image recognition processing on the image obtained by the imaging of the imaging unit 15, identifies the portions corresponding to the end portions 4 </ b> A and 4 </ b> B of the terminal 4 in the wire 2, and selects only the identified portions. The partial plating part 14 is controlled to be plated with gold.

  The cutting part 17 has the structure which cut | disconnects the wire 2 by twisting in the surroundings direction of the axis, for example, and isolate | separates the part corresponding to the terminal 4 in the wire 2 from the wire 2.

  The terminal attachment portion 18 has a configuration in which the terminal 4 separated from the wire 2 by the cutting portion 17 is attached to the housing 5 of the connector 3. The terminal mounting portion 18 includes, for example, an automatic assembly device that inserts the terminal 4 into the housing 5.

  The delivery unit 19 is configured to deliver the wire 2 wound around the wire assembly 8 and sequentially supply the wire 2 to the shape forming unit 11, the plating unit 12, and the cutting unit 17. The delivery unit 19 includes, for example, a pair of rollers for delivering the wire 2 and a motor for rotating these rollers. In addition, as a structure of the sending-out part 19, not only the structure provided with the roller and the motor but various well-known structures are employable. Moreover, although the delivery part 19 is provided only in one place in FIG. 1, the delivery part 19 may be provided in several places in the path | route which sends the wire 2, and those arrangement | positioning can be set suitably.

  4 to 9 show a connector manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the case where the said connector manufacturing method is performed with the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 mentioned above is described. First, as shown in FIG. 4, the wire aggregate 8 is set in the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 (preparation process). For example, the end portion of the wire 2 wound around the wire assembly 8 is disposed between the rollers of the feeding portion 19 and is sandwiched between the rollers. As a result, the feeding unit 19 controls the driving and stopping of the motor to control the rotation and stopping of the roller, whereby the wire 2 can be sent out at a predetermined timing.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the terminal 4, specifically, the chamfered portion 6 and the dowel 7 are formed on the end side of the wire 2 by the shape forming portion 11 (shape forming step). The chamfered portion 6 can be formed by cutting or crushing. The dowel 7 can be formed by crushing. In addition, the position where the chamfered portion 6 and the dowel 7 are formed in the wire 2 can be determined based on the position of the end of the wire 2 and the amount of wire 2 fed by the feed portion 19. In addition, after one or more chamfered portions 6 or dowels 7 are formed on the wire 2, a new formation is made based on the position of the already formed chamfered portions 6 or dowels 7 and the feed amount of the wire 2 by the feed portion 19. The position of the chamfer 6 or the dowel 7 to be performed can be determined. In addition, after forming two or more chamfered portions 6 and dowels 7 on the wire 2, for example, by newly correcting the feed amount of the wire 2 based on the distance between the chamfered portions 6 or the dowels 7, etc. The position of the chamfered portion 6 or dowel 7 to be formed can be determined with high accuracy. After the shape forming step, a plurality of shapes corresponding to the terminals 4 are continuously formed on the end side of the wire 2 along the extending direction of the wire 2. Hereinafter, the portion corresponding to the terminal 4 in the wire 2 is referred to as a terminal corresponding portion 9.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the entire terminal corresponding part 9 formed on the wire 2 is plated with nickel by the base plating part 13 (base plating process). As a plating method in the base plating step, for example, a method in which a plating tank storing a nickel plating solution is provided in the base plating part 13 and the terminal corresponding part 9 is passed through the plating tank can be employed. Alternatively, a method may be employed in which a brush plating device or a plating spraying device is provided in the base plating unit 13 and a nickel plating solution is applied to or sprayed on the terminal corresponding part 9 by the brush plating device or the plating spraying device. .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the end portions 9A and 9B of the terminal corresponding portion 9 formed on the wire 2 are plated with gold by the partial plating portion 14 (partial plating step). The intermediate portion 9C of the terminal corresponding portion 9 is not subjected to gold plating and maintains a state where nickel is exposed. As a plating method in the partial plating step, for example, a brush plating device or a plating spraying device is provided in the partial plating unit 14, and a nickel plating solution is applied to or sprayed on the terminal corresponding part 9 by the brush plating device or the plating spraying device. Can be adopted.

  Further, in the partial plating step, the terminal corresponding portion 9 of the wire 2 is imaged by the imaging portion 15, and based on the image obtained thereby, a characteristic portion in the shape of the terminal corresponding portion 9 formed in the shape forming step Specifically, the position of the chamfer 6 or the dowel 7 is recognized. Then, based on the recognized position of the chamfered portion 6 or the dowel 7, the positions of the end portions 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B of the terminal corresponding portion 9 are specified, and the control portion 16 controls the partial plating portion 14 to control the end portions 9 </ b> A, 9B is plated with gold.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the wire rod 2 plated in the plating step is cut by the cutting portion 17, and the terminal corresponding portion 9 (terminal 4) is separated from the wire rod 2 (cutting step). Specifically, in the two terminal corresponding portions 9 connected to each other located on the most end side in the wire 2, the end portions 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B facing each other are firmly gripped, and of these two terminal corresponding portions 9, One terminal corresponding portion 9 located on the most end side of the wire 2 is twisted. Thereby, the connected terminal corresponding | compatible parts 9 can be cut | disconnected in the position of the thinnest part between the chamfering part 6 of the edge part 9A, and the chamfering part 6 of the edge part 9B. In addition, the metal material which is a base material is exposed at the tip end surface 4D of the part where the terminal corresponding part 9 is cut off.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9, the terminal 4 separated from the wire 2 in the cutting step is attached to the housing 5 of the connector 3 by the terminal attaching portion 18 (attachment step). Specifically, the terminal 4 is inserted into the housing 5 by the automatic assembly device included in the terminal mounting portion 18, and the dowels 7 formed on the terminals 4 are locked recesses formed on the inner surface side of the housing 5. Engage with. Thereby, the connector 3 is completed.

  As explained above, according to the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 or the connector manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the terminal 4, that is, the chamfered portion 6 and the dowel 7 is formed on the wire 2, and the shape of the terminal 4 is formed. Therefore, the position or region of the gold plating portion in the terminal 4 can be determined with high accuracy. That is, the dowel 7 formed on the wire 2 protrudes from the other part of the wire 2. Further, the chamfered portion 6 formed in the wire 2 is depressed more than other portions of the wire 2. Therefore, based on the captured image of such a characteristic shape formed on the wire 2, the portion to be plated with gold, that is, the end portions 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B of the terminal corresponding portion 9 can be specified with high accuracy.

  Moreover, according to the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 or the connector manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the present invention, the portion to be plated with gold is specified based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire 2, so that the single wire 2 Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manufacture a plurality of terminals each having a different length. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, in the single wire 2, the positions (intervals) at which the chamfered portions 6 and the dowels 7 are formed are different for each of the terminal corresponding portions 21, 22, and 23. Then, based on the position of the chamfered portion 6 or the like, the end portions of the terminal corresponding portions 21, 22, and 23 are specified, and only the specified end portions are plated with gold. Thereby, in the extending | stretching direction of the wire 2, although the position (space | interval between edge parts) of the edge part of each terminal corresponding | compatible part 21,22,23 differs, it can specify the position of each edge part with high precision. And only each end can be plated with gold. By separating the terminal-corresponding portions 21, 22, and 23 formed in this manner, a plurality of terminals having different lengths, each of which is gold-plated only at each end, can be efficiently manufactured from a single wire 2. can do.

  Moreover, according to the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 or the connector manufacturing method of the first embodiment of the present invention, instead of manufacturing a terminal by pressing a metal plate, a terminal is manufactured by cutting a metal wire. Material loss can be reduced, terminal length can be easily changed, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11 shows the terminals of the connector manufactured by the connector manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows a plurality of terminal corresponding portions 32 formed on the end side of the wire 2 in the connector manufacturing method of the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the terminal 31 of the connector manufactured by the connector manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is plated with gold at the end 31A on the side in contact with the terminal of the mating connector, and soldered to the substrate. The end 31B on the side to be attached is plated with tin (third plating material). Nickel is exposed in the intermediate portion 31C of the terminal 31. Moreover, the metal material which is a base material is exposed in each front end surface 31D of the end portions 31A and 31B. In the terminal 31 in FIG. 11, the narrow hatched portion is a gold-plated portion, and the narrow thick hatched portion is a tin-plated portion. The part with wide hatching is the part where the nickel plating is exposed. The same applies to FIG.

  Moreover, the partial plating part of the connector manufacturing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment plating only the one end part 32A of the terminal corresponding | compatible part 32 with gold | metal | money in the wire 2, and only plating the other end part 32B of the terminal corresponding | compatible part 32 with tin. It has the composition to do. The rest is the same as the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. In the partial plating step of the connector manufacturing method of the second embodiment, only one end portion 32A of the terminal corresponding portion 32 is plated with gold in the wire 2 and only the other end portion 32B of the terminal corresponding portion 32 is plated with tin. To do. The remaining part is the same as the connector manufacturing method of the first embodiment.

  The same effects as the connector manufacturing apparatus or the connector manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention can also be obtained by the connector manufacturing apparatus or the connector manufacturing method according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In addition, the material of the terminals 4 and 31, that is, the wire 2 is not limited to a copper alloy, and other metal materials can be used. Also, the plating material is not limited to nickel, gold, and tin. Moreover, the wire 2 is not restricted to a square wire. For example, a circular wire having a circular cross section may be used. Further, the shape of the terminals 4 and 31 is not limited. Specifically, the number of dowels is not limited. Moreover, what is necessary is just to form either a chamfer or a dowel in a shape formation process. Further, a hole or a concave bending deformation portion may be formed in the terminal, and a portion to be partially plated may be specified based on these shapes. Further, the terminal may be bent before the manufactured terminal is inserted into the housing of the connector.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the wire 2 that is a bare wire is used as the material for manufacturing the terminal 4 or 31 is taken as an example, but as the material, for example, the whole is pre-plated with nickel or the like in advance. An underplated wire may be used. In this case, the base plating step can be omitted.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the housing 5 is taken as an example of the outer portion of the connector 3 and the terminal 4 or 31 is attached to the housing 5 has been described. However, the outer portion of the connector 3 to which the terminal 4 or 31 is attached is Not only the housing 5 but also other members constituting the outline of the connector 3, such as a cover, a support plate, a wall plate, etc., may be used.

  Moreover, in each embodiment mentioned above, the terminal corresponding | compatible part 9 is imaged with the imaging part 15 as a method of specifying edge part 9A, 9B which should be plated with gold in the terminal corresponding | compatible part 9 based on the chamfering part 6 or the dowel 7. Although the method has been described as an example, other methods can be adopted. For example, a method of detecting the position of the chamfered portion 6 or the dowel 7 by using an optical sensor or the like, or, for example, a position detection pin is provided in the middle of or near the path of the wire 2 and contact between the pin and the dowel 7 is detected. It is also possible to adopt a method using a mechanical structure such as recognizing the position of the dowel 7 or the like.

  Moreover, in the connector manufacturing apparatus 1 of each embodiment mentioned above, the shape formation part 11, the plating part 12, the cutting | disconnection part 17, and the sending-out part 19 are the specific examples of the terminal manufacturing apparatus of this invention. In the connector manufacturing method of the first or second embodiment described above, the shape forming step, the base plating step, the partial plating step, and the cutting step are specific examples of the terminal manufacturing method of the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist or concept of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and a terminal manufacturing method, a connector manufacturing method, and a terminal manufacturing that involve such a change. The apparatus and the connector manufacturing apparatus are also included in the technical idea of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connector manufacturing apparatus 2 Wire material 3 Connector 4, 31 Terminal 4A, 4B, 31A, 31B End part 4C, 31C Intermediate part 4D, 31D End surface 5 Housing (outer part)
6 Chamfer 7 Dowel (stop)
8 Wire material assembly 9, 21, 22, 23, 32 Terminal corresponding portion 9A, 9B End portion 9C Intermediate portion 11 Shape forming portion 12 Plating portion 13 Base plating portion 14 Partial plating portion 15 Imaging portion 16 Control portion 17 Cutting portion 18 Terminal Mounting part

Claims (10)

A terminal manufacturing method for manufacturing a connector terminal from a wire,
A shape forming step of forming the shape of the terminal on the wire;
Based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire in the shape forming step, a portion corresponding to the end of the terminal in the extending direction of the wire is specified, and the specified portion is plated with the first plating material. And a plating step in which the portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal is not plated with the first plating material,
A terminal manufacturing method comprising: a cutting step of cutting the wire rod plated in the plating step to separate a portion corresponding to the terminal from the wire rod. The plating step includes
A base plating step of plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material;
A portion of the wire corresponding to an end of the terminal is plated with the first plating material, and a portion corresponding to an intermediate portion of the terminal is not plated with the first plating material. The terminal manufacturing method according to claim 1. The plating step includes
A base plating step of plating the entire portion of the wire corresponding to the terminal with a second plating material;
A portion of the wire corresponding to one end of the terminal is plated with the first plating material, and a portion corresponding to the other end of the terminal is plated with the third plating material, and an intermediate portion of the terminal 2. The terminal manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising: a partial plating step in which a portion corresponding to 1 is not plated with the first plating material or the third plating material.   4. The shape forming step includes forming a shape of a chamfered portion at a tip end portion of the terminal or a shape of a stopper portion for stopping the terminal at an outer portion of a connector on the wire. The terminal manufacturing method of crab. Each process of the terminal manufacturing method in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4,
And a mounting step of attaching the terminal separated from the wire in the cutting step to an outer portion of the connector. A terminal manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a connector terminal from a wire,
A shape forming portion for forming the shape of the terminal on the wire;
Based on the shape of the terminal formed on the wire by the shape forming portion, the portion corresponding to the end of the terminal in the extending direction of the wire is specified, and the specified portion is plated with the first plating material. And a plating portion that does not plate the portion corresponding to the intermediate portion of the terminal with the first plating material,
A terminal manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a cutting portion that cuts the wire rod plated by the plating portion and separates a portion corresponding to the terminal from the wire rod. The plating part is
A base plating portion for plating the entire portion corresponding to the terminal in the wire with a second plating material;
A portion corresponding to an end portion of the terminal in the wire is plated with the first plating material, and a portion corresponding to an intermediate portion of the terminal is provided with a partial plating portion that is not plated with the first plating material. The terminal manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6. The plating part is
A base plating portion for plating the entire portion corresponding to the terminal in the wire with a second plating material;
A portion of the wire corresponding to one end of the terminal is plated with the first plating material, and a portion corresponding to the other end of the terminal is plated with the third plating material, and an intermediate portion of the terminal The terminal manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a partial plating portion that does not plate a portion corresponding to the first plating material or the third plating material.   9. The shape forming part according to claim 6, wherein a shape of a chamfered part at a tip part of the terminal or a shape of a stopper part for stopping the terminal at an outer shell part of the connector is formed on the wire. The terminal manufacturing apparatus of crab. Each part of the terminal manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9,
A connector manufacturing apparatus comprising: a terminal attachment portion that attaches the terminal separated from the wire by the cutting portion to an outer portion of a connector.

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