JP2020140916A - Connection terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a connection terminal capable of suppressing a square cylinder-shaped connection part from deforming even if external force directed into a cylinder from an outer surface side operates on a wall provided with a coupling part of the square cylinder-shaped connection part consisting of a connection part for an opposite connection terminal.SOLUTION: A connection terminal has: a projection piece coupling part 16 which projects in a piece shape while made thinner than a peripheral wall 11 of a square cylinder-shaped connection part 10, where a connection part of an opposite connection terminal is connected in a cylinder, so as to form a stage which is a step lower on a side of an outer surface 11A on which an end face 11aa to the other end part 11b of one end part 11a as a coupling part of the peripheral wall 11 are superposed; a lower-side engagement part 15 which connects with a tip of the projection piece coupling part 16 and has an engagement projection part 17 convex to the side of the outer surface 11A; and an upper-side engagement part 18 which has a recessed groove part 19, as a part where the projection piece coupling part 16 is fitted, formed inward from an end surface on an inner surface 11B of the other end part 11b, and an engagement hole part 20 connecting with an inside end part of the recessed groove 19 and engaging the engagement projection part 17, and is engaged from above the lower-side engagement part 15.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a connection terminal having a square tubular connection portion in which the connection portion of the mating connection terminal is connected in a cylinder.

Conventionally, the female connection terminal connected to the connection portion of the male mating connection terminal has a square tubular connecting portion in which the connecting portion of the mating connection terminal is connected in a cylinder.

For example, in Patent Document 1, even when the side plate is pressed outward when the connecting portion of the mating terminal is inserted into the square tubular connecting portion, the connecting portion of the top plate is not separated. A connection terminal provided with a locking portion for locking the connecting portion is described.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, the connection terminal 100 described in Patent Document 1 has a locking portion 120 with respect to a force acting in a direction B1 orthogonal to the insertion direction of the mating terminal. It is possible to prevent the connection part from being separated.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-326415

However, the connection terminal 100 described in Patent Document 1 is subjected to an external force when the connection terminal 100 is handled by transportation or the like in order to connect the connection terminal 100 and an electric wire (not shown), for example, in a wire harness manufacturing process. If this happens, as shown in FIG. 6, an external force in the direction B2 from the outer surface side of the top plate 111 provided with the connecting portion toward the inside of the cylinder may act, and the square tubular connecting portion 110 may be deformed. (See FIG. 6 (b)).

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an external force acting from the outer surface side toward the inner side of the cylinder acts on a wall provided with a connecting portion of a square tubular connecting portion which is a connecting portion with a mating connection terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connection terminal capable of suppressing deformation of the square tubular connection portion even in such a case.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the connection terminal according to the present invention is a one end portion of the peripheral wall of the square tubular connection portion to which the connection portion of the mating connection terminal is connected in a cylinder. A protruding piece connecting portion that is thinner than the peripheral wall and protrudes in a piece shape so that the step is lowered by one step on the outer surface side where the other end is overlapped from the end face, and the tip of the protruding piece connecting portion. A lower engaging portion having an engaging convex portion that is connected to the outer surface side and is convex to the outer surface side, and a portion into which the protruding piece connecting portion is fitted, and is directed from the end surface to the inside of the other end portion. It has a concave groove portion formed in the above portion and an engaging hole portion which is connected to the inner end portion of the concave groove portion and engages with the engaging convex portion, and is engaged from above the lower engaging portion. It is characterized by having an upper engaging portion.

Further, in the connection terminal according to the present invention, in the above invention, the engaging convex portion is connected to the protruding piece connecting portion by expanding the dimension in the width direction as compared with the protruding piece connecting portion. It is characterized by that.

The connection terminal according to the present invention is described by engaging the engaging convex portion with the engaging hole portion while the square tubular connecting portion fits the concave groove portion from above the protruding piece connecting portion. One end and the other end of the peripheral wall are connected.
Therefore, the connection terminal according to the present invention is prevented from being deformed in the front-rear and left-right directions at the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion by fitting the engaging convex portion and the engaging hole portion. Can be done.
Moreover, in the connection terminal according to the present invention, the connecting portion is fitted between the end surface of the one end portion and the end surface of the other end portion, and the protruding piece connecting portion is fitted into the concave groove portion from the inner surface side of the other end portion. It is designed to bridge in a state.
Therefore, in the connection terminal according to the present invention, when an external force from the outer surface 11A side toward the inside of the cylinder acts on the wall provided with the connecting portion of the peripheral wall, the peripheral wall is pushed toward the inside of the cylinder by the external force. It is possible to suppress the deformation due to the protruding piece connecting portion.
Therefore, the connection terminal according to the present invention is a case where an external force from the outer surface side toward the inside of the cylinder acts on the wall provided with the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion which is the connecting portion with the mating connection terminal. However, it is possible to prevent the square tubular connection portion from being deformed.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connection terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, (a) is a top view of the connection terminal, (b) is a front view of the connection terminal, and (c) is an enlarged view of the periphery of the connecting portion of the square tubular connection portion shown in (a). It is a figure. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2B, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion shown in FIG. 2A. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the development view of the connection terminal as viewed from the inner surface side, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the upper engaging portion shown in FIG. 4A. 5A and 5B are perspective views of the development view of the connection terminal as viewed from the outer surface side, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the lower engaging portion shown in FIG. 5A. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a problem of the prior art.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the connection terminals according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connection terminal 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a top view of the connection terminal 1, FIG. 2B is a front view of the connection terminal 1, and FIG. 2C is a periphery of the connection portion of the square tubular connection portion 10 shown in FIG. Is an enlarged view of. 3A is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2B, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion 10 shown in FIG. 2A. 4A and 4B are perspective views of the development view of the connection terminal 1 as viewed from the inner surface 11B side, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the upper engaging portion 18 shown in FIG. 4A. 5A is a perspective view of the developed view of the connection terminal 1 as viewed from the outer surface 11A side, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the periphery of the lower engaging portion 15 shown in FIG. 5A.
The connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a female terminal attached to the terminal portion of the electric wire.
For convenience of explanation, the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1 is defined as the up / down / front / back / left / right direction.

The connection terminal 1 is formed by pressing a conductive plate-shaped member made of copper or aluminum, and is not connected to a square tubular connection portion 10 to which a male mating connection terminal (not shown) is connected in a cylinder. It has an electric wire connecting portion 30 to which the illustrated electric wire is connected.

The square tubular connection portion 10 has a bottom wall 12, a pair of side walls 13, 13 and a top wall 14 as peripheral walls 11, and these four walls 12, 13, 13, 14 form a square tubular shape. are doing.

The square tubular connecting portion 10 has two walls in which a pair of side walls 13 and 13 are bent from both side ends of the bottom wall 12 and raised, and the side walls 13 and 13 are bent so as to face the bottom wall 12. Is the top wall 14.

The top wall 14 forms a wall facing the bottom wall 12 by connecting the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b bent from the side walls 13 and 13 at the ends of each other.

The first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b are engaged with the lower engaging portion 15 provided on the first top wall 14a side and the upper engaging portion 18 provided on the second top wall 14b. It is designed to be connected by doing.

The lower engaging portion 15 has a protruding piece connecting portion 16 and an engaging convex portion 17.
As shown in FIG. 5, the protruding piece connecting portion 16 is lowered by one step on the outer surface 11A side on which the other end portion 11b is overlapped from the end surface 11aa of the one end portion 11a which is the connecting portion of the peripheral wall 11 of the square tubular connecting portion 10. It is thinner than the peripheral wall 11 so as to be a step, and is projected in a piece shape.

More specifically, the protruding piece connecting portion 16 is formed from the end surface 11aa of the end portion (one end portion 11a) of the first top wall 14a which is the connecting portion between the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b. The inner surface 11B of the wall 14a is flush with the inner surface, and the outer surface is formed thinner than the first top wall 14a so that an outer surface one step lower than the outer surface 11A of the first top wall 14a is formed.

The engaging convex portion 17 is a portion that is connected to the tip of the projecting piece connecting portion 16 and is convex toward the outer surface side.
More specifically, the engaging convex portion 17 has both side surfaces 17a and 17a parallel to the end surface 11aa of the first top wall 14a, and the inner surface is flush with the inner surface of the projecting piece connecting portion 16. It is formed as a portion that is connected to the tip of the connecting portion 16 and is convex toward the outer surface side by aligning the outer surface with the outer surface 11A of the first top wall 14a.
In this embodiment, the engaging convex portion 17 has an elliptical shape in which both end faces 17a and 17a parallel to the end faces 11aa of the first top wall 14a are connected to both end faces 17b and 17b in an arc shape.

Further, the engaging convex portion 17 has a larger dimension in the width direction than the protruding piece connecting portion 16, and is connected to the protruding piece connecting portion 16.
As described above, the engaging convex portion 17 has a larger dimension in the width direction than the protruding piece connecting portion 16, so that the engagement margin with the engaging hole portion 20 is expanded.

In this embodiment, the lower engaging portions 15 are provided at two positions spaced apart along the end surface 11aa of the first top wall 14a.

The upper engaging portion 18 is a portion to be engaged from the upper side of the lower engaging portion 15, and has a concave groove portion 19 and an engaging hole portion 20.
The concave groove portion 19 is a portion into which the projecting piece connecting portion 16 is fitted, and as shown in FIG. 4, the concave groove portion 19 is inside the inner surface 11B of the other end portion 11b which is the connecting portion of the peripheral wall 11 of the square tubular connecting portion 10 from the end surface 11bb. It is formed toward.

In the concave groove portion 19, the width, length, and depth of the groove are set according to the width, the protruding length, and the thickness of the protruding piece connecting portion 16 so that the protruding piece connecting portion 16 is fitted. ing.

The engaging hole portion 20 is a portion that is connected to the inner end portion of the concave groove portion 19 and engages with the engaging convex portion 17.

More specifically, the engaging hole portion 20 is arranged at a position inside by the length of the concave groove portion 19 from the end surface 11bb of the second top wall 14b, and is formed in an outer shape corresponding to the engaging convex portion 17. It is a through hole.
In this embodiment, the engaging hole portion 20 is an elliptical hole corresponding to the outer shape of the engaging convex portion 17.

In this embodiment, the upper engaging portions 18 are provided at two locations spaced apart along the end surface 11bb of the second top wall 14b, corresponding to the lower engaging portions 15 provided at the two locations. Has been done.

The bottom wall 12 is provided with an elastic contact piece 12a connected to the mating connection terminal by elastically pressing the mating connection terminal inserted into the cylinder of the square tubular connecting portion 10 toward the top wall 14 side. ing.
The elastic contact piece 12a has a portion extending forward from the bottom wall 12 (see FIGS. 4 (a) and 5 (a)), and a front opening 10a of a square tubular connecting portion 10 serving as an insertion port for a mating connection terminal. By folding back into the cylinder, it is formed in a cantilever shape with the bent portion as the base end.

The electric wire connecting portion 30 is a bottom wall 31 on which the terminal portion of the electric wire is placed at a portion where the bottom wall 12 of the square tubular connecting portion 10 extends rearward.
In the electric wire connecting portion 30, the front side of the bottom wall 31 is the conductor crimping portion 32 for crimping the exposed conductor portion of the electric wire, and the rear side of the bottom wall 31 is the covering crimping portion 33 for crimping the covering portion. A pair of crimping pieces 32a and 33a are provided on the conductor crimping portion 32 and the covering crimping portion 33, respectively.

Such a connection terminal 1 connects the connecting portion of the peripheral wall 11 of the square tubular connecting portion 10 by engaging the lower engaging portion 15 and the upper engaging portion 18.

More specifically, in the connection terminal 1, the square tubular connecting portion 10 engages the engaging convex portion 17 with the engaging hole portion 20 while fitting the concave groove portion 19 from above the protruding piece connecting portion 16. The first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b are connected by.

Therefore, in the connection terminal 1, the engaging convex portion 17 has the engaging hole portion 20 along the side surface 17a which is the edge surface of the engaging convex portion 17 and the end surface 17b along the hole inner edge surface 20a of the engaging hole portion 20. Since the engaging convex portion 17 and the engaging hole portion 20 are engaged with each other by being fitted into, the deformation of the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion 10 in the front-rear and left-right directions is prevented. There is.

In this embodiment, since the engaging convex portion 17 has a larger width direction than the protruding piece connecting portion 16 and is connected to the protruding piece connecting portion 16, the edge surface of the engaging convex portion 17 is connected. The side surface 17a and the end surface 17b and the hole inner edge surface 20a of the engaging hole portion 20 are widely secured.

Further, in the connection terminal 1, the connecting portion between the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b has a protruding piece connecting portion 16 between the end surface 11aa of the first top wall 14a and the end surface 11bb of the second top wall 14b. A bridge is provided so as to be fitted into the concave groove portion 19 from the inner surface 11B side of the second top wall 14b.
Therefore, when an external force is applied to the wall provided with the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion 10, that is, the top wall 14 from the outer surface 11A side toward the inside of the cylinder, the connecting terminal 1 has the protruding piece connecting portion 16. Is designed to prevent the ends of the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b from being pushed toward the inside of the cylinder by an external force and deformed.

Next, the procedure for assembling the square tubular connection portion 10 of the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
In the assembling procedure of the square tubular connecting portion 10 described here, various parts of the unfolded conductive plate-shaped member processed into a predetermined shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are bent by a manufacturing apparatus. This is the procedure for assembling the square tubular connecting portion 10.

First, the manufacturing apparatus forms a pair of side walls 13 and 13 by bending and raising the pair of walls from both side ends of the bottom wall 12.

Next, the manufacturing apparatus forms an elastic contact piece 12a by folding back the portion extending forward from the bottom wall 12 into the cylinder from the front opening 10a of the square tubular connection portion 10 serving as the insertion port of the mating connection terminal. To.
The elastic contact piece 12a may be formed before forming the pair of side walls 13, 13.

Finally, the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b formed by bending the side walls 13 and 13 toward the bottom wall 12 by the manufacturing apparatus are engaged with the lower engaging portion 15 on the upper side. It is connected by engaging with the portion 18, and the assembly of the square tubular connecting portion 10 is completed.

When connecting the first top wall 14a and the second top wall 14b, the upper engaging portion 18 is engaged from the upper side of the lower engaging portion 15. More specifically, the concave groove portion 19 provided at the end of the second top wall 14b and the engagement with the protruding piece connecting portion 16 and the engaging convex portion 17 provided on the first top wall 14a side facing from above. The lower engaging portion 15 and the upper engaging portion 18 are engaged with each other by arranging the holes 20 and fitting them together.

In the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the square tubular connecting portion 10 engages the engaging convex portion 17 with the engaging hole portion 20 while fitting the concave groove portion 19 from above the protruding piece connecting portion 16. As a result, one end 11a and the other end 11b of the peripheral wall 11 are connected.
Therefore, the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is deformed in the front-rear and left-right directions at the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion 10 due to the fitting of the engaging convex portion 17 and the engaging hole portion 20. Can be suppressed.
Moreover, in the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion is between the end surface 11aa of the one end portion 11a and the end surface 11bb of the other end portion 11b, and the protruding piece connecting portion 16 is from the inner surface 11B side of the other end portion 11b. It is designed to bridge in a state of being fitted in the concave groove portion 19.
Therefore, in the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when an external force from the outer surface 11A side toward the inside of the cylinder acts on the wall provided with the connecting portion of the peripheral wall 11, the peripheral wall 11 is moved inward by the external force. It can be suppressed by the projecting piece connecting portion 16 that it is pushed toward and deformed.
Therefore, in the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, an external force from the outer surface side toward the inner side of the cylinder acts on the wall provided with the connecting portion of the square tubular connecting portion 10 which is the connecting portion with the mating connection terminal. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the square tubular connecting portion 10 from being deformed.

Further, in the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the engaging convex portion 17 is connected to the projecting piece connecting portion 16 with the dimension in the width direction enlarged as compared with the protruding piece connecting portion 16. It is possible to secure a wide engagement margin between the side surface 17a which is the edge surface of the engaging convex portion 17 and the end surface 17b and the hole inner edge surface 20a of the engaging hole portion 20.
Therefore, the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention can more effectively suppress the deformation of the square tubular connection portion 10.

In the connection terminal 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the lower engaging portion 15 and the upper engaging portion 18 are provided at two locations, respectively, but the lower engaging portion 15 and the upper engaging portion are provided. 18 may be provided at at least one place.

The invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the above-mentioned examples of the invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples of the invention and does not deviate from the gist thereof. Can be changed in various ways.

1 Connection terminal 10 Square tubular connection part 10a Front opening 11 Peripheral wall 11A Outer surface 11B Inner surface 11a One end 11aa End surface 11b End end 11bb End surface 12 Bottom wall (peripheral wall)
12a Elastic contact piece 13 Side wall (peripheral wall)
14 Top wall (surrounding wall)
14a First top wall (peripheral wall)
14b Second top wall (surrounding wall)
15 Lower engaging part 16 Projecting piece connecting part 17 Engaging convex part 17a Side surface (edge surface)
17b End face (edge face)
18 Upper engagement part 19 Concave groove part 20 Engagement hole part 20a Hole inner edge surface 30 Wire connection part 31 Bottom wall 32 Conductor tightening part 33 Coating crimping part 32a, 33a Crying piece

Claims (2)

The peripheral wall is one step lower on the outer surface side where the other end is overlapped from the end surface of one end that is the connecting portion of the peripheral wall of the square tubular connection portion where the connection portion of the mating connection terminal is connected in the cylinder. A lower engagement portion having a protruding piece connecting portion that is thinner than the above and is projected in a piece shape, and an engaging convex portion that is connected to the tip of the protruding piece connecting portion and is convex toward the outer surface side. With the joint part
It is a portion into which the protruding piece connecting portion is fitted, and is connected to the concave groove portion formed on the inner surface of the other end portion from the end face to the inside and the inner end portion of the concave groove portion, and engages with the engaging convex portion. An upper engaging portion that has an engaging hole to be fitted and is engaged from above the lower engaging portion.
A connection terminal characterized by having. The engaging protrusion is
The connection terminal according to claim 1, wherein the dimension in the width direction is enlarged as compared with the protruding piece connecting portion and is connected to the protruding piece connecting portion.

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