JP2022086674A - Wire with terminal and manufacturing method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a wire with a terminal having a rounded and crimped conductor crimping portion and excellent waterproof performance and electrical connection reliability and a manufacturing method for the same.SOLUTION: A wire with a terminal has a flat-shaped coated wire having a conductor portion consisting of a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the conductor portion, and a crimp terminal to which an exposed conductor portion, where the conductor portion is exposed from the insulating coating, is roundly crimped and connected. A notch is provided on the crimp terminal side end of the insulating coating.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an electric wire with a terminal and a method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal.

Vehicles such as automobiles are rapidly becoming more electrified, such as hybrid automobiles and electric vehicles, and more multifunctional or highly functional, such as autonomous driving systems and connected cars. Therefore, the wire harness used for such a vehicle needs to be able to cope with a complicated arrangement route and have high heat dissipation. As a wire harness corresponding to this purpose, a thin strip-shaped flat electric wire in which a plurality of strands are arranged in parallel may be used.

A crimp terminal is crimp-connected to one end of such a flat electric wire. When the exposed conductor and the coated part covered with the insulating coating are rolled and crimped, a gap may be created between the insulating coating and the wire on the upper side of the insulating coating crimped by the insulation barrel piece. The upper side of the excess insulation coating may protrude from the insulation barrel. In such a case, there was a risk of affecting the waterproof treatment and accommodation in the connector.

On the other hand, there has been proposed a terminal fitting that can be securely crimped by making the distance between the wire barrel pieces longer than the length of the exposed conductor portion of the flat wire and making the distance between the insulation barrel pieces longer than the width of the insulating coating. (See, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-14283

In Patent Document 1, although the exposed conductor portion and the coated portion covered with the insulating coating can be accommodated in the crimp terminal without bending in advance, it is necessary to make the crimp terminal suitable for the shape of the flat electric wire. Will be. In addition, it is difficult to roll and crimp a flat wire barrel and insulation barrel only by pressing from two directions, and it is difficult to completely prevent the occurrence of wrinkles in the insulating coating when rolled. Is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal-attached electric wire having a rolled and crimped conductor crimping portion and having excellent waterproof performance and electrical connection reliability, and a method for manufacturing the same.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the above object, the electric wire with a terminal according to the present invention has a flat shape having a conductor portion composed of a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the conductor portion. A covered electric wire and a crimp terminal in which the conductor portion is exposed from the insulating coating and the conductor exposed portion is rolled and crimped are provided, and a notch is provided at an end portion of the insulating coating on the crimp terminal side. do.

Further, the electric wire with a terminal according to one aspect of the present invention is the above-mentioned invention.
The notch shape of the insulating coating is characterized by being triangular, trapezoidal, spindle-shaped, or slit-shaped.

Further, in the above-mentioned invention, the electric wire with a terminal according to one aspect of the present invention is a conductor parallel type in which the plurality of strands are arranged in parallel, or a flat stranded wire twisted in a circumferential shape. It is characterized by that.

Further, in the above-mentioned invention, the electric wire with a terminal according to one aspect of the present invention has a wire barrel in which the exposed conductor portion is rolled and crimped and connected, and an insulation barrel in which the insulating coating is rolled and crimped and connected. It is characterized by being an open barrel type terminal having and.

Further, in the above-mentioned invention, the electric wire with a terminal according to one aspect of the present invention has a U-shaped or V-shaped wire barrel.

Further, the electric wire with a terminal according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, at least a part of the exposed conductor portion is joined with the plurality of strands.

Further, in the method for manufacturing a terminal-attached electric wire according to one aspect of the present invention, one end of a flat coated electric wire having a conductor portion composed of a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the conductor portion. The insulating coating is cut off to form an exposed conductor portion that exposes the conductor portion, and a notch is formed at the end portion of the insulating coating so that the exposed conductor portion is formed into a crimp terminal shape for crimp connection. It is characterized in that it is bent along the line and accommodated in the crimp terminal, and the conductor exposed portion accommodated is rolled by the crimp terminal and crimped and connected.

According to the method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal and an electric wire with a terminal according to the present invention, even when the flat coated electric wire is crimp-connected by a general crimp terminal such as a circular exposed portion of the conductor, the waterproof performance and It is possible to provide an electric wire with a terminal having excellent electrical connection reliability.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a crimp terminal and a covered electric wire in an electric wire with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the conductor exposed portion of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in a state where the exposed conductor portion of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention is bent. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the conductor crimping portion of the electric wire with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the end portion of the insulating coating of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the end portion of the insulating coating in a state where the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention is bent. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the coated crimping portion of the electric wire with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a top view of the covered electric wire according to the first modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4B is a top view of the covered electric wire according to the second modification of the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the covered electric wire in the crimped portion of the electric wire with a terminal before crimping according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings of the following embodiments, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

(First Embodiment)
(Crimping terminal and covered wire)
Before explaining the electric wire 1 with a terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention, a schematic configuration of a crimp terminal and a covered electric wire will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the flat coated electric wire 10 has a conductor 11 and an insulating coating 12. The conductor 11 is a conductor parallel type flat conductor portion in which a plurality of strands 111 extending in the longitudinal direction X are arranged side by side and the respective strands 111 are arranged in parallel in two layers. The insulating coating 12 is an insulating covering portion formed on the outer periphery of the flat conductor 11. The flat coated electric wire 10 has a conductor exposed portion 112 in which the insulating coating 12 on the outer periphery of the conductor 11 is removed at the tip portion and the conductor 11 having a predetermined length is exposed. In the following description, in the longitudinal direction X, the front side of the covered electric wire 10 is the conductor end side which is the tip side, and the rear side is the covering side which is the base end side.

The conductor 11 is composed of a plurality of strands 111, and is made of, for example, high-purity aluminum (Al) or an aluminum alloy (Al alloy), but is not necessarily limited to these materials. In the present embodiment, the covered electric wire 10 is an electric wire having a cross section of, for example, 3.5 mm ² (3.5 sq) or more and 90 mm ² (90 sq) or less, for example, 20 sq. The cross-sectional area of the covered electric wire 10 is the total cross-sectional area of each strand 111, that is, the total cross-sectional area. The insulating coating 12 is made of an insulating resin such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene or a non-halogen material. Additives such as a plasticizer may be added to the resin constituting the insulating coating 12.

The crimp terminal 20 before the crimp connection is an open barrel type terminal. The crimp terminal 20 is formed by processing a plate material made of a copper alloy such as brass whose surface is tin-plated (Sn-plated). The crimp terminal 20 is sequentially connected from the front of the longitudinal direction X on the distal end side toward the rear on the proximal end side, the terminal connection portion (not shown), the transition portion 22, the wire barrel 23, and the insulation barrel. Has 24. The conductor crimping portion is a portion where the conductor exposed portion 112 is rolled by the wire barrel 23 and crimped and connected, and the coated crimping portion is a portion where the conductor 11 coated by the insulating coating 12 is rolled and crimped and connected by the insulation barrel 24. This is the part.

The terminal connection portion (not shown) has, for example, a connection structure of female crimp terminals and a connection structure of sleeve-shaped terminals (hereinafter referred to as sleeve terminals). The connection structure is not limited to this, and may be a connection structure having another shape such as a male crimp terminal or a round crimp terminal. The transition portion 22 is a portion that connects the terminal connection portion and the wire barrel 23.

The wire barrel 23 has a cross section in the YZ plane that is U-shaped with an opening on the upper side in the height direction Z and a bottom portion located on the lower side, and has a shape extending in the longitudinal direction X. Similarly, the insulation barrel 24 has a U-shape having a cross section in the YZ plane that is open on the upper side in the height direction Z and has a bottom portion located on the lower side, and has a shape extending in the longitudinal direction X. .. The wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24 are connected on the lower side. In the present embodiment, the wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24 are both U-shaped, but V-shaped or the like can also be preferably used. In the present specification, the upper side and the lower side in the height direction Z are oriented for convenience in order to explain the relative positional relationship between the components. A plurality of serrations 23b are formed on the surface 23a of the wire barrel 23. The number of serrations 23b in the present embodiment is three, but the number is not limited to three.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the conductor exposed portion of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in a state where the exposed conductor portion of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention is bent. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the conductor crimping portion of the electric wire 1 with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the end portion of the insulating coating of the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the vicinity of the end portion of the insulating coating in a state where the coated electric wire according to the first embodiment of the present invention is bent. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the coated crimping portion of the electric wire 1 with a terminal according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, the covered electric wire 10 according to the first embodiment is a parallel electric wire which is a kind of flat electric wire in which 13 conductors 11 are arranged side by side in two layers. The covered electric wire 10 may be a wire 111 arranged in parallel in one layer. Alternatively, it may be a flat stranded wire obtained by twisting the strands 111 in one direction and in a circumferential shape and forming a desired substantially rectangular cross section by compression molding.

The strand 111 is made of, for example, an uncoated single core wire. The size of the coated wire 10 is appropriately set according to the required current value.

As shown in FIG. 1, the insulating coating 12 has a notch 12a at the end on the side connected to the crimp terminal 20. The notch 12a has a triangular shape with the end side of the insulating coating 12 as the base. By providing the notch 12a at the end of the insulating coating 12, when the conductor exposed portion 112 is rolled and crimped by the wire barrel 23, the end side of the insulating coating 12 crimped by the insulation barrel 24 is the conductor exposed portion 112. It becomes easy to deform according to the deformation of, and the occurrence of wrinkles of the insulating coating 12 and the gap between the insulating coating 12 and the conductor 11 are less likely to occur. In the present embodiment, the notch 12a has a triangular shape, but is not limited to this, and covered electric wires 10A and 10B having a trapezoidal or spindle-shaped notch 12a as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are also suitable. Can be used. Alternatively, a linear notch parallel to the extending direction of the covered electric wire may be provided as, for example, a slit-shaped narrow notch 12a.

(Manufacturing method of electric wire with terminal)
Next, a method of manufacturing a terminal-attached electric wire for connecting the coated electric wire 10 and the crimp terminal 20 according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the case of manufacturing the electric wire 1 with a terminal according to the first embodiment, first, the insulating coating 12 at one end of the flat coated electric wire 10 is cut off to form the conductor exposed portion 112 in which the conductor 11 is exposed. .. Next, a notch 12a is formed at the end of the insulating coating 12. Next, the coated electric wire 10 and the crimp terminal 20 are overlapped so that the conductor exposed portion 112 is housed in the bottom of the wire barrel 23 and a part of the tip end side of the insulating coating 12 is housed in the bottom of the insulation barrel 24. match.

As shown by the arrows in FIGS. 2B and 3B, the width r1 of the conductor exposed portion 112 of the coated electric wire 10 is larger than the width of the opening of the wire barrel 23 and the width r4 of the insulating coating 12 is larger than the width of the insulation barrel 24. It is preferable that the exposed conductor portion 112 and the insulating coating 12 are bent along the bottom shapes of the wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24, and then housed in the bottom portions of the wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24, respectively. Alternatively, at least a part of the exposed conductor portion 112 may be bonded by ultrasonic bonding so that the cross-sectional shape is rounded. When a part of the conductor exposed portion 112 is ultrasonically bonded, the front side or the rear side of the conductor exposed portion 112 may be ultrasonically bonded. By ultrasonically bonding a part of the conductor exposed portion 112, the conductor exposed portion 112 can be easily accommodated in the wire barrel 23, and the continuity between the strands 111 can be ensured.

Next, a crimping step is performed in which pressure is applied to the outer periphery of the crimping terminal 20 to crimp and connect the crimping terminal 20 to the conductor exposed portion 112 and a part of the insulating coating 12. As a result, the crimp terminal 20 is rolled so that the wire barrel 23 is crimped, its surface 23a comes into contact with the conductor exposed portion 112 to wrap the conductor 11, and the insulation barrel 24 wraps a part of the insulating coating 12. Is crimped and connected. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3C, the wire barrel 23 is contacted and crimped along the outer periphery of the conductor 11, and the insulation barrel 24 is contacted and crimped along the outer periphery of the insulating coating 12. This completes the electric wire 1 with terminals.

As shown in FIG. 2C, in the conductor crimping portion to which the conductor exposed portion 112 is crimp-connected by the wire barrel 23, for example, the ratio of the width r2 in the Y direction and the height r3 in the Z direction of the cross section is 0. As shown in FIG. 3C, the coated crimping portion to which the insulating coating 12 is crimp-connected by the insulation barrel 24 is, for example, a width r5 in the Y direction and a height r6 in the Z direction of the cross section. The ratio with is about 0.7 to 2.0. By providing the notch 12a in the insulating coating 12, the conductor crimping portion and the covering crimping portion are rounded to facilitate crimping. In this specification, for convenience, the cross-sectional shape is specified by the lengths of the conductor crimping portion and the covering crimping portion in the Y direction and the Z direction, but the cross-sectional shape is not limited to this, and the width of the cross-sectional shape in the Y direction. The ratio of the height in the Z direction to the height in the Z direction may be about 0.7 to 2.0.

In the present embodiment, the crimp terminal 20 having a U-shaped wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24 is crimp-connected to the flat coated electric wire 10. When the flat coated electric wire 10 is crimped with a U-shaped or V-shaped crimp terminal, wrinkles are more likely to occur on the upper side of the insulating coating 12 that is not in contact with the insulation barrel 24, and the insulating coating 12 and the wire 111 There may be a gap between the two, or the upper side of the extra insulating coating 12 may protrude and be deformed. In the present embodiment, by providing a notch 12a at the end of the insulating coating 12, when the insulating coating 12 is bent along the bottom surface shape of the insulation barrel 24, and the outer periphery of the insulating coating 12 is formed by the insulation barrel 24. When rolling and crimping, the presence of the notch 12a makes it easier to bend the insulating coating 12, and also makes it easier to roll along the shape of the insulation barrel 24. As a result, wrinkles are less likely to occur in the insulating coating 12, and the insulating coating 12 and the conductor 11 can be crimped by the insulation barrel 24 in a state of being in close contact with each other, that is, without creating a gap. Further, since the insulating coating 12 is easily deformed by the notch 12a, when the insulation barrel 24 is rolled and crimped, an excessive force is not applied to the conductor 11, the risk of disconnection is reduced, and the connection reliability is improved. be able to.

According to the first embodiment described above, since the coated electric wire 10 has a notch 12a at the end of the insulating coating 12, it becomes easy to form a coated crimping portion having a substantially round cross-sectional shape, and waterproof treatment or treatment is performed. It can be easily accommodated in the connector.

Regarding the wire barrel 23 and the insulation barrel 24 in the first embodiment, both are shown as examples of open barrels having a U-shape, a V-shape, etc., but one is an open barrel and the other is a tubular shape. An example of a closed barrel such as is also applicable.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a method of manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal made of a tube terminal according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a method of manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the crimp terminal 20D made of a closed barrel type tube terminal has a tubular connection portion 30. The tubular connection portion 30 includes a coating crimping range 30a, a conductor crimping range 30b, and a sealing portion 30c. The coated crimping range 30a is a range that covers the insulating coating 12 of the coated electric wire 10. The conductor crimping range 30b is a range connected to the conductor 11 exposed from the coated electric wire 10. The sealing portion 30c is a portion on the one end side where the front side of the conductor crimping range 30b is crushed and sealed. The tubular connection portion 30 is formed in the shape of a rear view tube by rolling the barrel constituent pieces 32 and welding the opposing ends of the barrel constituent pieces 32 against each other. In the second embodiment, the presence of the sealing portion 30c is arbitrary, and for example, the front side of the conductor crimping range 30b may be open.

First, by removing the insulating coating 12 at the tip of the coated electric wire 10, the conductor exposed portion 112 is exposed at the tip of the conductor 11, and a notch 12a is formed at the end of the insulating coating 12. Next, the conductor exposed portion 112 and the insulating coating 12 are bent along the internal shapes of the conductor crimping range 30b and the covering crimping range 30a, and the coated electric wire 10 is inserted into the conductor crimping range 30b and the covering crimping range 30a. The coated electric wire 10 is inserted so that the central axis of the coated electric wire 10 is parallel to the longitudinal direction X of the tubular connecting portion 30. At this time, the conductor is inserted so that the position of the tip of the exposed conductor portion 112 along the longitudinal direction X is behind the sealing portion 30c in the tubular connecting portion 30. When the front side of the conductor crimping range 30b is inserted into the open crimp terminal 20D, the position of the tip of the conductor exposed portion 112 along the longitudinal direction X is near the front end of the conductor crimping range 30b in the tubular connection portion 30. It should be inserted so that it becomes.

Next, a pressure is applied to the outer periphery of the crimp terminal 20D, and the crimp terminal 20D is rolled into the exposed conductor portion 112 and a part of the insulating coating 12 to perform a crimp connection. As a result, the crimp terminal 20D is crimped to the conductor crimping range 30b and the covering crimping range 30a of the tubular connection portion 30. That is, the inner surface of the conductor crimping range 30b comes into contact with the conductor exposed portion 112 to wrap the conductor 11, and the covering crimping range 30a is crimped and connected so as to wrap a part of the insulating coating 12. From the above, the electric wire 1D with a terminal is completed.

According to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it becomes easy to form a coated crimping portion having a substantially round cross-sectional shape, and it becomes easy to perform waterproof treatment and to accommodate the connector in the connector.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications based on the technical idea of the present invention are possible. The present invention also includes a configuration in which the above-mentioned components are appropriately combined. Further, further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, the broader aspect of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the numerical values and materials given in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and different numerical values and materials may be used as needed, and the present invention is a part of the disclosure of the present invention according to the present embodiment. It is not limited by the description and drawings.

1,1D Wire with terminal 10, 10A, 10B Coated wire 11 Conductor 12 Insulation coating 12a Notch 20, 20D Crimping terminal 22 Transition part 23 Wire barrel 23a Surface 23b Serration 24 Insulation barrel 30 Tubular connection part 30a Coated crimping range 30b Conductor Crimping range 30c Sealing part 32 Barrel component piece

Claims (7)

A flat coated electric wire having a conductor portion composed of a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the conductor portion, and
The conductor portion is provided with a crimp terminal for crimping and connecting the exposed conductor portion exposed from the insulating coating.
An electric wire with a terminal, characterized in that a notch is provided at the end of the insulating coating on the crimp terminal side. The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1, wherein the notch shape of the insulating coating is triangular, trapezoidal, spindle-shaped, or slit-shaped. The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conductor portion is a conductor parallel type in which the plurality of strands are arranged in parallel, or a flat stranded wire twisted in a circumferential shape. The crimp terminal is an open barrel type terminal having a wire barrel in which the exposed conductor portion is rolled and crimped and connected, and an insulation barrel in which the insulating coating is rolled and crimped and connected. The electric wire with a terminal according to any one of 3 to 3. The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 4, wherein the shape of the wire barrel is U-shaped or V-shaped. The electric wire with a terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein at least a part of the exposed conductor portion is joined to the plurality of strands. The conductor portion is exposed by cutting off the insulation coating at one end of a flat coated electric wire having a conductor portion composed of a plurality of strands and an insulating coating covering the conductor portion. Along with forming a portion, a notch is formed at the end of the insulating coating.
The exposed conductor portion is bent along the shape of the crimp terminal to be crimped and accommodated in the crimp terminal.
A method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal, which comprises rolling the housed exposed conductor portion with the crimp terminal and making a crimp connection.

Images