JP2020145127A - Female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a female terminal enabling a good contact state regardless of presence or absence of misalignment of a male terminal.SOLUTION: A pair of inwardly extending plates 13, which is folded back and extended from a pair of side plates 11 rising from a wiring substrate 20 in a direction of approaching each other, is integrally connected by a pair of connecting portions 16, 17 extending from a pair of contact points, so that, even when a male terminal is in contact in a state of being out of position, a pair of contact points of a female terminal 10 is displaced by following a position of the male terminal to keep the male terminal securely pinched, and a risk of plastic deformation is reduced by making the entire area from one side plate 11 to the other side plate 11 to be an integral elastic body through the connecting portions 16, 17.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a female terminal.

In general, in various electronic devices and the like, female terminals configured to be electrically connected by inserting male terminals are widely adopted. Conventionally, in such female terminals, various configurations for correcting the position of the male terminal have been proposed in the following patent documents and the like as countermeasures when the male terminal is inserted in a misaligned state.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-91767

However, in the conventional female terminal configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned patent documents and the like, it is difficult to correct the misalignment of the male terminal due to the tolerance at the time of assembly because complicated bending processing is required. In some cases. When the male terminals are misaligned in this way, a so-called one-sided contact state occurs in which the male terminals come into contact with only one of the pair of contact portions arranged opposite to each other. It is also possible that the current path in the system is reduced to only one side, causing heat generation, etc., or the member in contact with the male terminal is excessively displaced, causing plastic deformation.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a female terminal capable of achieving a good contact state regardless of the presence or absence of misalignment of the male terminal.

In the invention according to claim 1 in order to achieve the above object, the pair of side plates are installed on a wiring board and used, and the pair of side plates arranged so as to face each other and the pair of side plates approach each other. A pair of inward extension plate portions that are folded back in the direction and extend in a state of being close to each other and facing each other from the folded portion, and a pair of inward extension plate portions that are provided so as to face each other and are provided as mating terminals. It is provided with a pair of contact portions arranged so as to be in contact with the male terminal, and a pair of mounting portions provided at one end of each of the pair of side plate portions and connected to a conductive path on the wiring board. When the male terminal is inserted into a region where the pair of inward extending plate portions are close to each other, the pair of side plate portions or the inward extending plate portion are elastically displaced. By doing so, the female terminal is a female terminal in which the pair of contact portions comes into contact with the male terminal, and includes a connecting portion extending from the pair of contact portions and connecting the pair of contact portions to each other. The configuration is adopted.

According to the invention having such a configuration, even when the male terminal comes into contact with the pair of contact portions provided on the female terminal in a misaligned state, the pair of contact portions of the female terminal are formed. Since they are connected to each other via the connecting portion, the pair of contact portions of the female terminal follow and displace according to the position of the male terminal, whereby the state in which the male terminal is securely sandwiched is maintained. At the same time, when the pair of contact portions of the female terminal follow and displace according to the position of the male terminal, the pair of side plate portions or the pair of inward extension plate portions pass through the connecting portion. By forming an integral elastic body, the risk of plastic deformation is reduced.

At this time, as in the invention of claim 2, the connecting portion can be configured to extend in a direction close to the side plate portion from the contact portion.

Further, as in the invention according to claim 3, the pair of inward extending plate portions can be configured to extend from the side plate portions to the contact portions so as to form a curved surface. Is.

Further, as in the invention according to claim 4, a slit extending from the side plate portion toward the inward extending plate portion is provided in the region from the pair of side plate portions to each of the inward extending plate portions. It is possible to have a configured configuration.

Furthermore, as in the invention of claim 5, the connecting portion may be provided with a slit extending along the connecting portion.

Further, as in the invention according to claim 6, the wiring board is provided with a mounting hole through which the end portion of the mounting portion is inserted, and the wiring board is further contacted with the wiring board. It is desirable that the structure is provided with an overhanging portion in the plate width direction that defines the position with respect to the board.

If such a configuration is adopted, even if an unexpected load is applied in an undesired direction after the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal, the female is female due to the plate width direction overhang that contacts the wiring board. The misalignment of the mold terminals is prevented.

As described above, the female terminal according to the present invention is provided on the female terminal by integrally connecting a pair of inward extension plate portions by a connecting portion extending from the pair of contact portions. Even if the male terminal comes into contact with the contact part of the male terminal in a misaligned state, the pair of contact parts of the female terminal is displaced according to the position of the male terminal, thereby causing the male terminal to be displaced. It is provided with a configuration in which the risk of plastic deformation is reduced by forming a pair of side plate portions or a pair of inward extending plate portions into an integral elastic body via a connecting portion while maintaining a state in which the two plates are securely sandwiched. Therefore, a good contact state can be obtained regardless of the presence or absence of the displacement of the male terminal.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective explanatory view of a state in which a female terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a wiring board when viewed from above the front. It is an external perspective explanatory view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1 when viewed from the front upper side. It is an external perspective explanatory view of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when viewed from the lower front. It is a plane explanatory view of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. It is a front explanatory view of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. It is a side explanatory view of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 5. It is sectional drawing which follows the line VII-VII in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the line VIII-VIII in FIG. It is sectional drawing explanatory view along the IX-IX line in FIG. It is sectional drawing explanatory view along the X-ray line in FIG. It is a front explanatory view showing the dimensional relationship of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. It is an external perspective explanatory view when the mounting state of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 11 is seen from the front lower side. It is a front explanatory view of the mounting state of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 and 12. It is a side explanatory view of the mounting state of the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1, 12, and 13. It is an external perspective explanatory view when the state which the male terminal was fitted with the female terminal shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 was seen from the front upper side. It is a front explanatory view of the mating state with the male terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front explanatory view showing a state in which a male terminal in a misaligned state is fitted to a female terminal shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the female terminal according to the embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The female terminal 10 according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 14 is used in a mounted state soldered on the main surface of the wiring board 20, for example, for connecting a power supply circuit. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, the male terminal 30 having a flat plate shape is fitted from above.

The female terminal 10 has a pair of side plate portions 11 and 11 arranged so as to stand up from the wiring board 20. The pair of side plate portions 11, 11 are formed of flat plate-shaped members arranged so as to face each other, and the pair of mounting portions 12, 12 provided at the lower end portions of the side plate portions 11, 11 are formed. The female terminal 10 is mounted by being inserted into the pair of mounting holes 20a and 20a (see FIGS. 1 and 12) formed through the wiring board 20 described above.

In the following description, it is assumed that the wiring board 20 extends in the horizontal plane, and as shown in FIG. 1, the direction of moving away from the surface (main surface) of the wiring board 20 is ". While "upper" in the "height direction", the direction perpendicular to the surface (main surface) of the wiring board 20 from the "upper" position with respect to the wiring board 20 is defined as "lower" in the "height direction".

Further, the plate width direction of the side plate portion 11 which is the extending direction of each mounting hole 20a provided on the wiring board 20 is defined as the "terminal longitudinal direction", and the surface (main surface) of the wiring board 20 is "terminal longitudinal direction". The direction extending at right angles to is defined as the "terminal width direction". Then, the position of the center of the female terminal 10 in this "terminal width direction" is called the "terminal center position" (see FIG. 5).

The flat plate-shaped member constituting each side plate portion 11 of the female terminal 10 described above has a plate width dimension (“terminal longitudinal direction”” necessary for fitting the male terminal 30 with the electrode portion 30a (see FIG. 15). However, each mounting hole 20a provided in the wiring board 20 correspondingly has an opening slightly larger than each mounting portion 12 provided in the lower end portion of each side plate portion 11. It has a shape and extends in an elongated shape along the "longitudinal direction of the terminal".

For each mounting hole 20a of the wiring board 20, each mounting portion 12 of the female terminal 10 has a "terminal length" from both end edges in the plate width direction ("terminal length direction") of each mounting portion 12. Each of the plate width direction overhanging portions 12a is provided so as to project outward in the "direction" (left-right direction in FIG. 5). Further, at a position adjacent to the overhanging portion 12a in the plate width direction inward in the "terminal longitudinal direction", a part of each mounting portion 12 is projected inward toward the "terminal center position". Each of the plate thickness direction overhanging portions 12b is provided. The amount of protrusion of each of these plate thickness direction overhanging portions 12b inward is set to a dimension corresponding to the inner diameter of each of the mounting holes 20a described above.

Then, when each mounting portion 12 provided with such a plate width direction overhanging portion 12a and a plate thickness direction overhanging portion 12b is inserted into the mounting hole 20a of the wiring board 20, the plate thickness direction extending portion is stretched. The protruding portion 12b is press-fitted into the mounting hole 20a of the wiring board 20, and the protruding portion 12a in the plate width direction comes into contact with the surface (main surface) of the wiring board 20 from "above". As a result, the entire female terminal 10 is held in a state of being positioned in the "height direction". After that, the plate width direction overhanging portion 12a of each mounting portion 12 and its peripheral region are soldered to the conductive path on the wiring board 20, whereby the female terminal 10 is put into the mounting state.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in particular, the pair of side plate portions 11 and 11 described above extend in a state of standing up in a flat plate shape toward "upward", and each side plate portion thereof. From the upper end of 11, a pair of inward extending plate portions 13, 13 extend inwardly in a curved shape toward the "terminal center position". The curved extension portion of each of the inward extension plate portions 13 has a substantially semicircular shape (front shape) when viewed in the "terminal longitudinal direction", and the side plate portions 11, 11 It extends "downward" after being folded back toward each other from the upper end of the.

That is, the curved folded portions forming the upper end portions of the pair of inward extending plate portions 13, 13 extend in a direction approaching each other from both sides in the "terminal width direction" with the "terminal center position" in between. After being present, they extend substantially parallel to the "downward" in a state of being close to each other and facing each other. Then, the electrode portion 30a (see FIGS. 15 and 16) of the male terminal 30 having a flat plate shape is inserted into the region extending in close parallel to the "terminal width direction" so as to face each other. An insertion passage 14 is formed.

The insertion passage 14 is provided in a state of opening toward "upward", and the electrode portion 30a (see FIGS. 15 to 17) of the male terminal 30 having a flat plate shape is provided with respect to the insertion passage 14. , It is designed to be inserted from "above".

Further, in the above-mentioned insertion passage 14, the pair of inward extending plate portions 13, 13 forming the insertion passage 14 are in close proximity to each other in a facing region in the "terminal width direction". A pair of contact portions 15, 15 are provided. Each of the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 is arranged so as to be in contact with the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 inserted in the insertion passage 14 described above in the "terminal width direction".

At this time, in the region from each side plate portion 11 to the inward extension plate portion 13, a slit extending from each side plate portion 11 toward the inward extension plate portion 13 at a substantially central position in the “terminal longitudinal direction”. S1 is provided in a state of extending in an elongated shape, and the slit S1 allows good elasticity of each side plate portion 11 and the inward extending plate portion 13 to be obtained. That is, when the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 is inserted into the insertion passage 14 as described above, the pair of side plate portions 11, 11 or the inward extending plate portions 13, 13 are moved in the "terminal width direction". By elastically displacing, the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 are brought into pressure contact with the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30.

Further, at the lower end portions of the pair of inward extending plate portions 13 and 13 described above, a pair of terminal portions 16 and 16 extending diagonally "downward" from the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 are provided. There is. Each of these terminal portions 16 constitutes a part of the "connecting portion" in the present invention, and extends in a state of extending outward from the contact portion 15 described above in the "terminal width direction". After extending from the insertion passage 14 in a flat plate shape in the direction close to the side plate portion 11, it is curved in the "terminal width direction", that is, in the direction away from the side plate portion 11 toward the "terminal center position". It is folded back to.

The curved inwardly folded portion of the pair of terminal portions 16, 16 has a substantially arcuate shape (front shape) when viewed in the "terminal longitudinal direction", and the pair of terminal portions 16, 16 The lowermost end portion (tip portion) having a substantially arc shape in the above extends substantially horizontally in a state of facing each other toward the "terminal center position". In this way, the horizontally opposed portions of the pair of terminal portions 16 and 16 provided at the lowermost ends of the pair of inward extension plate portions 13 and 13 face each other in the "terminal width direction". The pair of terminal portions 16 and 16 that face each other horizontally are integrally connected by a connecting portion 17 at both ends made of a plate-like member that forms a flat plate and extends substantially horizontally. ing. The both-end connecting portion 17 also constitutes the "connecting portion" in the present invention together with the terminal portion 16 described above, and the pair of terminal portions 16 and the both-end connecting portion 17 are described in the claims. Corresponds to.

The both-end connecting portion 17 that forms a part of the "connecting portion" constitutes a wall portion that closes the lowermost end of the above-mentioned insertion passage 14, and is inserted into the inside of the insertion passage 14 from "above". The lower end edge of the electrode portion 30a of the flat plate-shaped male terminal 30 is arranged so as to face the wall surface of the both end connecting portions 17 from "above".

Here, as particularly shown in FIG. 11, the dimension A between the outermost ends of the pair of terminal portions 16 and 16 in the "terminal width direction" is the pair of inward extension plate portions 13. , 13 is formed to be slightly larger than the dimension B between the vertices of the upper end curved surface (A> B). If such a configuration is adopted, the terminal portions 16 and 16 have good elasticity, and the inward extending plate portions 13 and 13 and the side plate portions 11 are satisfactorily displaced. Further, even when the male terminal 30 is inserted in an inclined state, the lower end edge of the electrode portion 30a does not interfere with the terminal portion 16.

Further, in the region from each terminal portion 16 forming the above-mentioned "connecting portion" to both end connecting portions 17, at a substantially central position in the "terminal longitudinal direction", from each terminal portion 16 to both end connecting portions 17. A slit extending toward the direction, that is, a slit S2 extending along the connecting portion is provided, and the slit S2 can provide good elasticity of each terminal portion 16 and both end connecting portions 17 constituting the "connecting portion". It has become like.

In the present embodiment having such a configuration, first, as shown in FIG. 16, the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 is inserted in a normal state in which the position shift does not occur in the “terminal width direction”. When inserted into the passage 14, the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 contacts the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 provided on the female terminal 10 with equal pressure, so-called both. It becomes a hit state and a good conduction state is obtained.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, for example, when the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 is inserted into the insertion passage 14 in a state of being displaced in the “terminal width direction”, the “terminal width” thereof. The male terminal 30 that is misaligned in the "direction" tends to be in a so-called one-sided contact state in which it contacts only one of the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 provided on the female terminal 10. However, in the present embodiment, the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 of the female terminal 10 are integrally connected via the terminal portion 16 and the both end connecting portions 17 constituting the "connecting portion". Therefore, the contact portions 15 and 15 of the female terminal 10 are displaced following the displacement of the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30, and as a result, the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 in the female terminal 10 are displaced. 15 is maintained in a state in which the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30 is securely sandwiched.

Further, as described above, when the pair of contact portions 15 and 15 of the female terminal 10 follow and displace in accordance with the position of the electrode portion 30a of the male terminal 30, the terminals constituting the connecting portion. Since the male terminal 30 is followed by the portion 16 and the both end connecting portions 17 in a state where the entire portion from one side plate portion 11 to the other side plate portion 11 is an elastic body, the risk of plastic deformation is reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, a plate width direction overhanging portion 12a is provided so as to project outward in the "terminal longitudinal direction" from both end edges in the plate width direction of each mounting portion 12, and the plate width direction overhanging portion is provided. Since the configuration in which the 12a is brought into contact with the surface of the wiring board 20 is adopted, after the male terminal 30 is inserted into the female terminal 10, an unexpected load is applied in an undesired "terminal longitudinal direction". Even in this case, the female terminal 10 is prevented from being displaced by the plate width direction overhanging portion 12a.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. Needless to say.

For example, each mounting portion 12 in the above-described embodiment is configured to be inserted into the mounting hole 20a of the wiring board 20, but the mounting portion 12 is aligned with the main surface of the wiring board 20. It is also possible to use a so-called SMT (surface mount) type that is bent and connected on the main surface.

As described above, this embodiment can be widely applied to a wide variety of female terminals used in various electric devices.

10 Female terminal 11 Side plate part 12 Mounting part 12a Plate width direction overhang part 12b Plate thickness direction overhang part 13 Inward extension plate part 14 Insertion passage 15 Contact part 16 Terminal part (connecting part)
17 Both ends connection (connection)
S1 Slit S2 Slit 20 Wiring board 20a Mounting hole 30 Male terminal 30a Electrode

In the invention according to claim 1 in order to achieve the above object, one end is installed on a wiring board and used, and a pair of side plate portions arranged so as to face each other and the pair of side plate portions. A pair of inward extending plate portions that are folded back from the other end portion of the above and extend in a state of being close to each other and facing each other from the folded portion, and the pair of inward extending plate portions facing each other. provided in a state, a pair of contact portions that are contactable disposed male terminal is mating terminals provided at the one end of each of the pair of side plate portions, are connected to the conductive path on the circuit board When the male terminal is inserted into a region provided with a pair of mounting portions and the pair of inward extending plate portions are close to each other, the pair of side plate portions or the inward extending plate portion is provided. A female terminal in which the pair of contact portions comes into contact with the male terminal due to the elastic displacement of the protruding plate portion, which extends from the pair of contact portions and extends between the pair of contact portions. A configuration having a connecting portion for connecting the above is adopted.

Claims (6)

A pair of side plates that are installed and used on a wiring board and are arranged so as to face each other.
A pair of inward extending plate portions that are folded back from the pair of side plate portions in a direction approaching each other and extend in a state of being close to each other and facing each other from the folded portion.
A pair of contact portions provided on the pair of inward extension plate portions facing each other and arranged so as to be in contact with a male terminal which is a mating terminal.
A pair of mounting portions provided at one end of each of the pair of side plate portions and connected to a conductive path on the wiring board.
With
When the male terminal is inserted into a region where the pair of inward extending plate portions are close to each other, the pair of side plate portions or the inward extending plate portion are elastically displaced. Therefore, it is a female terminal in which the pair of contact portions come into contact with the male terminal.
A female terminal including a connecting portion extending from the pair of contact portions and connecting the pair of contact portions to each other. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion extends in a direction approaching the side plate portion from the contact portion. The female terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of inward extending plate portions extend from the side plate portions to the contact portions so as to form a curved surface. Claims 1 to 1, wherein a slit extending from the side plate portion toward the inward extending plate portion is provided in a region extending from the pair of side plate portions to each of the inward extending plate portions. The female terminal according to any one of 3. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connecting portion is provided with a slit extending along the connecting portion. The wiring board is provided with a mounting hole through which the end of the mounting portion is inserted, and further.
The female according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the mounting portion is provided with a plate width direction overhang portion that defines a position with respect to the wiring board by coming into contact with the wiring board. Mold terminal.

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