JP2022150224A - Terminal unit, first terminal, and second terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a terminal unit, and a first terminal and a second terminal used in the terminal unit which can suppress plating abrasion caused by vibration and so forth at a contact portion between the first terminal and the second terminal.SOLUTION: A terminal unit 10 comprises a first terminal 12, a second terminal 14, and an elastic member 16. The first terminal 12 has a first-side facing surface 24 which faces the second terminal 14 in a first direction and is pressed to the second terminal 14 side. The second terminal 14 has a second-side facing surface 38 which faces the first terminal 12 in the first direction and is pressed to the first terminal 12 side. One of the first-side facing surface 24 and the second-side facing surface 38 has an engagement protrusion 40 which extends in an assembly direction of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14, and protrudes in the first direction. The other one of the first-side facing surface 24 and the second-side facing surface 38 has a first contact surface 28 and a second contact surface 30 which extend in the assembly direction, and which come into contact with the engagement protrusion 40 on both sides in a second direction perpendicular to both the assembly direction and the first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present disclosure relates to a terminal unit and a first terminal and a second terminal used in the terminal unit.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a terminal unit including a tab-shaped first terminal (male terminal) and a second terminal (female terminal) connected to the first terminal. The second terminal has a contact and a spring portion facing each other across the first terminal press-fitting gap. The first terminal press-fitted into the first terminal press-fitting gap of the second terminal is pressed against the contact by the spring portion.

JP-A-2002-63961

However, since a long electric wire is connected to the end of the second terminal, a rotational moment with the electric wire as the arm length around the contact portion of the first terminal and the second terminal may be generated due to vehicle vibration or the like. easily occur. As a result, in the structure of Patent Document 1, the plating on the surface of the contact portion between the first terminal and the second terminal may be worn away.

Therefore, a terminal unit and a first terminal and a second terminal used in the terminal unit are disclosed, which can suppress plating wear due to vibration or the like of a contact portion between the first terminal and the second terminal.

A terminal unit according to the present disclosure includes a flat first terminal, a second terminal connected to a wire end and assembled to and connected to the first terminal, and the first terminal and the second terminal assembled to each other. and an elastic member for urging the terminals to approach each other in a first direction, wherein the first terminal faces the second terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the second terminal. The second terminal has a side facing surface, and the second terminal has a second side facing surface that faces the first terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the first terminal, and the first side facing surface. and the second side facing surface has an engaging protrusion extending in the direction in which the first terminal and the second terminal are assembled and protruding in the first direction, and the first side facing surface and the The other of the second side facing surfaces is a first contact surface that extends in the assembly direction and contacts the engaging protrusion on both sides in a second direction orthogonal to both the assembly direction and the first direction. A terminal unit with two contact surfaces.
A first terminal of the present disclosure is a first terminal used in the terminal unit of the present disclosure.
A second terminal of the present disclosure is a second terminal used in the terminal unit of the present disclosure.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this indication, the terminal unit which can suppress the plating wear by vibration etc. of the contact part of a 1st terminal and a 2nd terminal, and the 1st terminal and the 2nd terminal which are used for the said terminal unit can be provided.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which a second terminal is connected to a first terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2 viewed from another direction. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which the second terminal is connected to the first terminal according to the second embodiment. 6 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 6 viewed from another direction. FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view according to the third embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. FIG. 9 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which the second terminal is connected to the first terminal according to the fourth embodiment. 10 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 9. FIG. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 10 viewed from another direction. 12 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG. 9. FIG. FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view according to a modification of the first embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 2. FIG. 14 is an overall perspective view showing a state in which a second terminal is connected to a first terminal according to a modification of the first embodiment; FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 14. FIG. FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 15 viewed from another direction. FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view according to a modification of the fourth embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 10. FIG.

<Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure>
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
The terminal unit of the present disclosure is
(1) A flat plate-shaped first terminal, a second terminal connected to an end of an electric wire and attached to and connected to the first terminal, and the first terminal and the second terminal assembled to each other are connected to each other. and an elastic member that biases in a first direction, the first terminal has a first side facing surface that faces the second terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the second terminal. the second terminal has a second side facing surface that faces the first terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the first terminal; One of the side facing surfaces has an engaging protrusion extending in the assembly direction of the first terminal and the second terminal and protruding in the first direction, the first side facing surface facing the second side. The other of the surfaces has a first contact surface and a second contact surface that contact the engaging protrusion on both sides in a second direction that extends in the assembly direction and is orthogonal to both the assembly direction and the first direction. terminal unit.

According to the present disclosure, in a terminal unit in which a second terminal connected to a wire end is attached to a flat plate-shaped first terminal, the first terminal and the second terminal are the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively. It has a first side facing surface and a second side facing surface that are pressed in a first direction to approach each other by an elastic member in an assembled state. One of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface is provided with an engaging projection extending in the direction in which the first terminal and the second terminal are assembled and projecting in the first direction. The other of the surface and the second side facing surface has a first contact surface and a second contact surface that contact the engaging protrusion on both sides in a second direction orthogonal to both the assembly direction and the first direction. there is As a result, even if the second terminal is to be rotationally displaced with respect to the first terminal due to a rotational moment applied from the electric wire connected to the second terminal due to vehicle vibration or the like, the engaging projection will be able to maintain the first contact surface and the second contact surface. contact prevents or suppresses the rotational displacement of the second terminal with respect to the first terminal. That is, the direction in which the second terminal is rotationally displaced with respect to the first terminal by the rotational moment applied from the electric wire connected to the second terminal due to vehicle vibration or the like is the assembly direction of the first terminal and the second terminal and the first direction. is a second direction orthogonal to both Therefore, the contact between the engaging protrusion and the first/second contact surfaces prevents or suppresses the rotational displacement of the second terminal with respect to the first terminal. As a result, it is possible to suppress plating abrasion of the contact portion between the first terminal and the second terminal due to vehicle vibration or the like. Any elastic member can be used, and the first terminal and the second terminal may be separate elastic members, or the first terminal and the second terminal may be integrally formed with an elastic member. A tongue piece or the like may be used.

(2) one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has a pair of the engaging projections arranged in parallel with a gap in the second direction, and the first side facing surface The other of the facing surface and the second-side facing surface has a contact protrusion that is fitted in the gap, extends in the assembly direction, and protrudes in the first direction, and the contact protrusion includes the It is preferable that the first contact surface and the second contact surface are configured by a pair of opposing surfaces facing the pair of engaging protrusions in the second direction. By simply providing a pair of engaging protrusions spaced apart from each other in the second direction and arranged in parallel, and a contacting protrusion fitted in the gap between the pair of engaging protrusions, both sides of the engaging protrusions in the second direction are provided. The first contact surface and the second contact surface can be brought into contact. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or suppress the rotational displacement of the second terminal with respect to the first terminal with a simple configuration, and advantageously suppress the abrasion of the plating of the contact portion between the first terminal and the second terminal due to vehicle vibration or the like. can. The abutting portion may be press-fitted between the pair of engaging projections, or may be fitted with a slight gap.

(3) One of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has at least one engaging protrusion, and the other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has the a pair of contact protrusions provided on both sides of the engagement protrusion in the second direction, extending in the assembly direction and protruding in the first direction; Preferably, the first contact surface and the second contact surface are formed by respective opposing surfaces facing the engaging protrusion in the second direction. A pair of abutting protrusions facing the engaging protrusion are provided on both sides of the engaging protrusion in the second direction. can be provided. Therefore, it is possible to separately provide contact protrusions that contact the engagement protrusions on one side and the other side in the second direction. As a result, it is possible to improve the durability of the contact protrusion. The number of engaging projections provided between the pair of contacting projections in the second direction may be one, or may be plural.

(4) The projection dimension of the engaging projection in the first direction is larger than the projection dimension of the contact projection in the first direction, and the first terminal and the second terminal are mutually connected by the elastic member. in a state of being urged in the first direction to approach the first side facing surface, the protruding end surface of each of the engaging projections provided on one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface protrudes from the first side facing surface and the other of the second side facing surfaces, and the projecting end surface of the contact protrusion provided on the other of the first side facing surfaces and the second side facing surfaces protrudes from the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface. It is preferable to face one of the two side facing surfaces with a gap therebetween. By making the projecting dimension of each engaging projection in the first direction larger than the projecting dimension of the contacting projection in the first direction, the engaging projection is used to form a contact that contacts the mating terminal. can do. As a result, it is possible to impart multiple functions to the engaging protrusions, and it is possible to suppress abrasion of the plating while achieving compactness of the terminal unit. The abutment projection, which has a projection dimension in the first direction smaller than that of the engagement projection, does not come into contact with the mating terminal, thereby avoiding a decrease in the contact pressure of the engagement projection functioning as a contact against the mating terminal. ing.

(5) At least one of the first terminal and the second terminal has a cover member made of synthetic resin covering an outer peripheral edge, and the cover member is provided with the first contact surface and the second contact surface. preferably. A synthetic resin cover member covering the first terminal and the second terminal can be used to provide a first contact surface and a second contact surface that contact the engaging protrusion. As a result, the first contact surface and the second contact surface can be provided using the cover member that has a tentacle prevention function, and a highly functional terminal unit can be provided with a small number of parts.

(6) It is preferable that at least one of the first contact surface and the second contact surface is provided with a crushing rib that is pressed against the engaging protrusion. By providing the first contact surface and the second contact surface on the synthetic resin cover member, it is possible to provide crushing ribs on the first contact surface and the second contact surface. Therefore, the influence of dimensional tolerance can be absorbed by the closing rib, and the contact of the first contact surface and the second contact surface with the engaging projection can be advantageously realized.

(7) A first terminal used in the terminal unit according to any one of (1) to (6) above. According to the first terminal of the present disclosure, since it is used in the terminal unit described in any one of (1) to (6) above, the effects that the terminal unit described in (1) to (6) above can enjoy. can have an effect as well. Therefore, it is possible to suppress separation of the second terminal from the contact of the first terminal and abrasion of the plating when the first terminal and the second terminal are fitted together.

(8) A second terminal used in the terminal unit according to any one of (1) to (6) above. According to the second terminal of the present disclosure, since it is used in the terminal unit described in any one of (1) to (6) above, the effects that the terminal unit described in (1) to (6) above can enjoy. can have an effect as well. Therefore, it is possible to suppress separation of the second terminal from the contact of the first terminal and abrasion of the plating when the first terminal and the second terminal are fitted together.

<Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure>
A specific example of the terminal unit of the present disclosure and the first terminal and the second terminal used in the terminal unit will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

<Embodiment 1>
A terminal unit 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. The terminal unit 10 includes first terminals 12 , second terminals 14 and elastic members 16 . The second terminal 14 is connected to the end of the electric wire 18 . The first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are electrically connected by attaching the second terminal 14 to the first terminal 12 and contacting each other. The elastic member 16 is attached so as to urge the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 assembled to each other in a first direction to approach each other. Although the terminal unit 10 can be arranged in any direction, the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, and the front-rear direction will be described below with reference to the vertical direction, the left-right direction, and the front-rear direction shown in the drawing. Further, with respect to a plurality of identical members, only some members are given reference numerals, and the reference numerals are omitted for other members.

<First terminal 12>
As shown in FIG. 2, the first terminal 12 is formed by bending a base end portion of a flat metal member into an L shape. As the metal constituting the metal member, a metal having low electric resistance such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. A base end portion 20 of the first terminal 12 is connected to an electric device such as an inverter (not shown). A tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 extends upward in a flat plate shape and is assembled to the second terminal 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). In Embodiment 1, the assembly direction of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 is the vertical direction. The first side facing surface 24 is pressed toward the second terminal 14 by the elastic member 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). The distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is urged by the elastic member 16 so as to face the second terminal 14 in the first direction in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 approach each other. It has a surface 24 (see FIG. 3).

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first side facing surface 24 of the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 extends in the vertical direction, which is the assembly direction of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 . The second terminals 14 have contact protrusions 26 protruding in a first direction in which they approach each other. The contact protrusion 26 has a vertically long rectangular shape, and is formed in the central portion of the front end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 in the plate width direction (front-rear direction). The contact protrusion 26 is fitted into a gap 42 between a pair of engagement protrusions 40, 40 provided on the second terminal 14, which will be described later, in a state where the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are assembled to each other. are combined. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, in the contact protrusion 26, the first contact surface is formed by a pair of opposing surfaces facing a pair of engagement protrusions 40, 40 described later on both sides in the second direction (front-rear direction). 28 and a second contact surface 30 are configured. Here, the second direction is perpendicular to both the vertical direction, which is the direction in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are assembled, and the first direction in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 approach each other. It refers to the direction (front-back direction). Also, the contact protrusion 26 is in contact with a pair of engagement protrusions 40 , 40 formed on the second terminal 14 at the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 . In addition, the contact includes a close state as well as a contact state.

<Second terminal 14>
The second terminal 14 is formed by pressing a flat metal flat plate into a predetermined shape. As the metal constituting the flat metal plate, a metal having low electric resistance such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. As shown in FIG. 2, the second terminal 14 extends in the front-rear direction, which is the longitudinal direction, and has a wire connecting portion 32 on the wide rear side. At the wire connection portion 32, the core wire 34 exposed at the end of the wire 18 is welded and electrically connected. A connection portion 36 that is connected to the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is provided on the front side of the second terminal 14 .

The connection portion 36 of the second terminal 14 is biased by the elastic member 16 when assembled to the first terminal 12, and thus the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 move toward each other in the first direction. It has a second side facing surface 38 facing one terminal 12 . The second side facing surface 38 is pressed toward the first terminal 12 by the elastic member 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 4).

As shown in FIG. 2 , the second-side facing surface 38 of the connecting portion 36 of the second terminal 14 extends in the vertical direction, which is the assembly direction of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 . The second terminal 14 has a pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 protruding in a first direction to approach each other. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the pair of engaging projections 40, 40 are arranged in parallel with a gap 42 in the second direction (front-rear direction). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4 , in a state where the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are assembled to each other, the gap 42 between the pair of engaging projections 40 provided on the second terminal 14 is filled with the gap 42 . , the contact protrusion 26 provided at the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is fitted. As a result, the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 are formed by a pair of opposing surfaces of the contact protrusion 26 that face the pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 on both sides in the second direction (front-rear direction). It is

As shown in FIG. 4, the projecting dimension a from the second side facing surface 38 in the first direction (horizontal direction) of the pair of engaging protrusions 40 provided on the second terminal 14: a The projection dimension from the first side facing surface 24 in the first direction of the 12 contact protrusions 26 is greater than b (a>b). In a state in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are biased by the elastic member 16 in the first direction to approach each other, the projecting end surface 44 of each engaging protrusion 40 provided on the second side facing surface 38 is , contact the first side facing surface 24 provided on the first terminal 12 . That is, the projecting end surface 44 of each engaging protrusion 40 of the second terminal 14 constitutes a contact point to the first terminal 12 . A protruding end surface 46 of the contact protrusion 26 provided on the first side facing surface 24 faces the second side facing surface 38 provided on the second terminal 14 with a gap 48 therebetween.

<Elastic member 16>
The elastic member 16 is composed of a clip-shaped spring made of a strip made of various metal materials that can be pressed or punched, such as spring steel, stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, or the like. ing. As shown in FIG. 2 , the elastic member 16 includes a connecting plate 50 in the form of a rectangular flat plate, and a rectangular plate projecting downward, which is one side of the connecting plate 50 in the plate thickness direction, from both side edges of the connecting plate 50 in the left-right direction. It has a pair of flat pressing pieces 52 , 52 . The pair of pressing pieces 52, 52 are formed such that the pressing piece 52 on the left side protrudes downward longer than the pressing piece 52 on the right side. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the pressing pieces 52 of the elastic member 16 is provided with a pressing portion 54 that extends over substantially the entire length in the front-rear direction and protrudes in a dome shape toward the opposing pressing piece 52 . ing. As a result, the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 can be stably pressed against the connection portion 36 of the second terminal 14 by the pair of pressing pieces 52 , 52 .

<How to assemble the terminal unit 10>
As shown in FIG. 2, first, the first terminal 12, the second terminal 14, and the elastic member 16 are prepared. Subsequently, the core wire 34 exposed at the end of the wire 18 fixed to the wire connection portion 32 of the second terminal 14 and the elastic member 16 are inserted into a connector housing (not shown) and held at a predetermined position. In this state, one of the pressing pieces 52 protruding downward from the elastic member 16 contacts the connecting portion 36 of the second terminal 14 from the left side, and the other pressing piece 52 contacts the connecting portion 36 of the second terminal 14 . It is arranged so as to be separated on the right side of the The connecting plate 50 of the elastic member 16 is placed on the connection portion 36 of the second terminal 14 . As a result, the first terminal accommodating portion 56, which is surrounded by the connecting portion 36 of the second terminal 14, the connecting plate 50 of the elastic member 16, and the pressing piece 52 protruding downwardly, is opened downward. It is configured.

Next, the first terminal 12 is arranged and fixed to the mounting portion of the device (not shown). Subsequently, the connector housing (not shown) and the mounting portion of the device are fitted together in the vertical direction, which is the assembly direction of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 . As a result, the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is inserted into the first terminal accommodating portion 56 from below, and the first side facing surface 24 of the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is aligned with the rectangular shape of the second terminal 14 . It is overlaid on the second side facing surface 38 of the connecting portion 36 having a flat plate shape. Further, the abutment projection 26 of the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is inserted and fitted into the gap 42 between the pair of engagement projections 40 of the connection portion 36 of the second terminal 14 . As a result, the pair of pressing pieces 52 , 52 of the elastic member 16 are spread apart, and the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 and the connecting portion 36 of the second terminal 14 are separated between the pair of pressing pieces 52 , 52 . is sandwiched. As a result, due to the elastic restoring force of the pair of pressing pieces 52, 52, the front end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 and the connection portion 36 of the second terminal 14 are moved in the left-right direction, which is the first direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the assembly direction. are biased into mutual contact with each other. The terminal unit 10 is completed by assembling the first terminal 12, the second terminal 14, and the elastic member 16 as described above.

According to the terminal unit 10 of the present disclosure having such a structure, the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are mutually assembled by the elastic member 16 in a predetermined assembly direction (vertical direction). is pressed in a first direction (horizontal direction) to approach . The first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 have a first side facing surface 24 and a second side facing surface 38 that are pressed toward each other in the first direction. The second side facing surface 38 is provided with a pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 that protrude in the first direction (horizontal direction) and extend in the assembly direction (vertical direction). The first side facing surface 24 is in contact with the pair of engaging projections 40 on both sides in a second direction (front-rear direction) perpendicular to both the assembly direction (up-down direction) and the first direction (left-right direction). A contact projection 26 extending in the assembly direction (vertical direction) is provided. The contact protrusion 26 is in contact with a pair of engagement protrusions 40 , 40 formed on the second terminal 14 at the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 . The second terminal 14 may be rotationally displaced with respect to the first terminal 12 due to a rotational moment applied from the electric wire 18 connected to the second terminal 14 due to vehicle vibration or the like. Even in such a case, the contact protrusion 26 of the first terminal 12 contacts the pair of engagement protrusions 40, 40 of the second terminal 14 at the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30. By doing so, the rotational displacement of the second terminal 14 with respect to the first terminal 12 can be prevented or suppressed. That is, the direction in which the second terminal 14 is rotationally displaced with respect to the first terminal 12 by the rotational moment applied from the electric wire 18 connected to the second terminal 14 due to vehicle vibration or the like is It is a second direction (front-rear direction) orthogonal to both the attachment direction and the first direction. Therefore, contact between the pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 of the second terminal 14 and the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 of the contact protrusion 26 of the first terminal 12 causes the first terminal 12 to Rotational displacement of the second terminal 14 is prevented or suppressed. Therefore, the contact protrusion fitted between the pair of engagement protrusions 40, 40 of the first terminal 12 suppresses the abrasion of the plating at the contact portion of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 due to vehicle vibration or the like. 26 to the second terminal 14, which is a simple configuration.

Also, the projecting dimension a of each engaging projection 40 in the first direction is larger than the projecting dimension b of the contact projection 26 in the first direction (a>b). This makes it possible to use the projecting end surface 44 of the engaging protrusion 40 of the second terminal 14 to form a contact that contacts the first terminal 12 . Therefore, while the terminal unit 10 can be made compact, plating abrasion can be suppressed. Moreover, the projecting dimension b of the contacting projection 26 in the first direction is smaller than the projecting dimension a of each engaging projection 40 in the first direction. Therefore, the contact protrusion 26 of the first terminal 12 does not contact the second terminal 14 . This advantageously avoids a decrease in the contact pressure of the engaging protrusion 40 of the second terminal 14 that functions as a contact.

According to the first terminal 12 of the present disclosure having such a structure, it is possible to similarly have the effects that the above-described terminal unit 10 can enjoy. Therefore, it is possible to suppress plating wear at the contact portion between the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14, thereby suppressing an increase in the contact resistance value. In addition, the second terminal 14 of the present disclosure having such a structure can similarly have the effects that the above-described terminal unit 10 can enjoy.

<Embodiment 2>
5 to 7 show the terminal unit 58 of Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. In the following description, members and portions that are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In the terminal unit 10 of Embodiment 1, the contact protrusion 26 is integrally formed with the first terminal 12 at the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when adding a cover member 60 made of synthetic resin and having insulating properties to cover the outer peripheral edge of the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 as a countermeasure against finger contact, the cover member 60 is used to contact the cover member 60. A contact protrusion 62 may be formed. More specifically, the cover member 60 includes a cover portion 64 that covers the outer peripheral edge portion of the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 and a prism-shaped abutment that extends downward from the center portion of the left surface of the cover portion 64 in the front-rear direction. and a contact protrusion 62 . A fitting protrusion 68 is provided on the right surface of the contact protrusion 62 to be fitted into a through hole 66 formed through the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 . In the second embodiment, the cover portion 64 of the cover member 60 is placed over the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 , and the fitting projection 68 of the contact protrusion 62 of the cover member 60 is fitted to the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 . is fitted in the through hole 66 of the As a result, the cover member 60 is attached to the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 . Note that the cover member 60 is provided to prevent the finger of an operator or the like from touching the distal end portion 22 of the first terminal 12 attached to the attachment portion of the device (not shown).

According to the terminal unit 58 of Embodiment 2 as described above, the cover member 60 that covers the outer peripheral edge portion of the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 is used to cover the first side facing surface of the tip portion 22 of the first terminal 12 . 24 may be provided with an abutment projection 62 . That is, the cover member 60 can be used to provide the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 that contact the engaging protrusion 40 of the second terminal 14 . Therefore, it is possible to provide a highly functional terminal unit that has both a finger contact prevention function and a rotational displacement prevention function with a small number of parts.

<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 8 shows a terminal unit 70 according to Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure. In the following description, members and portions that are substantially the same as those of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In the terminal units 10 and 58 of Embodiments 1 and 2, the first contact surfaces 28 and the second contact surfaces 30 of the contact protrusions 26 and 62 are formed of smooth surfaces, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 8, crushing ribs are provided on the first contact surface 74 and the second contact surface 76 of the contact projection 72 of the terminal unit 70 and are pressed against the pair of engagement projections 40, 40 of the first terminal 12. As shown in FIG. 78 may be provided. In this embodiment, the crushing ribs 78 are formed on both the first contact surface 74 and the second contact surface 76, but either one may be used, and the shape and number of the crushing ribs 78 may be arbitrary. is.

According to the terminal unit 70 of Embodiment 3 as described above, the first contact surface 74 and the second contact surface 76 of the contact protrusion 72 are pressed against the pair of engagement protrusions 40 , 40 of the first terminal 12 . A crushing rib 78 is provided. Accordingly, when the first contact surface 74 and the second contact surface 76 contact the pair of engaging projections 40 , 40 of the first terminal 12 , the crushing rib 78 can advantageously absorb the influence of dimensional tolerance. Therefore, the rotational displacement of the second terminal 14 with respect to the first terminal 12 can be advantageously prevented or suppressed. In the terminal unit 70 , a pair of projections 79 , 79 projecting upward are provided on the tip side of the first terminal 12 , and are fitted into recesses provided in the cover portion 64 of the cover member 60 . It has become so. Thereby, detachment of the cover member 60 from the first terminal 12 is more effectively prevented.

<Embodiment 4>
9 to 12 show a terminal unit 80 according to Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure. In the following description, members and portions that are substantially the same as those of Embodiments 1 to 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In the terminal units 10 , 58 , 70 of Embodiments 1 to 3 above, the abutting projections 26 , 62 , 72 are single contacting projections fitted between the pair of engaging projections 40 , 40 of the second terminal 14 . However, it is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 11, the contact protrusion 82 has a rectangular flat plate shape extending downward in the assembly direction (vertical direction) of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 from both sides of the cover portion 64 in the front-rear direction. There may be provided one pair. The pair of contact protrusions 82, 82 are connected to a connecting plate portion 83 extending in the front-rear direction at their protruding ends to form a U-shaped flat plate as a whole. As shown in FIG. 10 , in the terminal unit 80 , a pair of engaging protrusions 40 , 40 are provided on the second side facing surface 38 of the second terminal 14 . As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, on the first side facing surface 24 of the first terminal 12, on both sides sandwiching the pair of engaging projections 40, 40 in the second direction (front-rear direction), there is an assembly. A pair of contact protrusions 82, 82 are provided that extend in the attachment direction (vertical direction) and protrude in the first direction (horizontal direction). As shown in FIG. 12 , in the state in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are assembled, each contact surface faces the pair of engaging protrusions 40 and 40 in the second direction (front-rear direction). A first contact surface 28 and a second contact surface 30 are formed on each projection 82 .

As shown in FIG. 11, projections 84 protruding toward the second contact surface 30 and the first contact surface 28 are formed on the upper portions of the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 of the contact projection 82, respectively. formed. A cavity 86 that allows elastic deformation of the protrusion 84 is provided on the base end side of the protrusion 84 . The space 86 is a slit-shaped through hole that extends longer in the vertical direction than the projection 84, but is not limited to a through hole as long as it allows the elastic deformation of the projection 84, and does not penetrate. It may be grooved. As a result, in the assembled state of the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14, the projections 84 provided on the pair of contact projections 82, 82 are pressed by the pair of engagement projections 40, 40, thereby elastically deformed in the direction of separation. Due to the elastic restoring force, the pair of engaging projections 40, 40 is stably held between the pair of contacting projections 82, 82. As shown in FIG.

According to the terminal unit 80 of the fourth embodiment as described above, the first contact surface 28 and the second contact surface 30 can be provided on different contact protrusions 82 . In other words, the contact protrusions 82 that contact the engagement protrusions 40 on one side and the other side in the second direction (front-rear direction) can be made different. As a result, it is possible to improve the durability of the contact protrusion 82 that slides on the engagement protrusion 40 due to vehicle vibration or the like. Further, in the fourth embodiment, the cover member 60 has a connecting plate portion 83 that connects the projecting ends of the pair of contact protrusions 82 , 82 , and the connecting plate portion 83 is fitted into the through hole 66 of the first terminal 12 . A fitting protrusion 68 is provided. That is, in the cover member 60 , the fitting protrusion 68 can be provided below the contact protrusion 82 with respect to the cover portion 64 , so that the cover member 60 can be more stably held with respect to the first terminal 12 . can be done.

<Modification>
As described above, Embodiments 1 to 4 have been described in detail as specific examples of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited by these specific descriptions. Modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope that can achieve the purpose of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure. For example, the following modifications of the embodiment are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.
(1) In Embodiment 1, the contact protrusion 26 protrudes from the first side facing surface 24 and the engagement protrusion 40 protrudes from the second side facing surface 38. However, the present invention is not limited to this. . Like a terminal unit 88 that is a modification of Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure shown in FIG. 26 may protrude.

(2) In Embodiment 1, the engaging protrusion 40 extends in the vertical direction, which is the direction in which the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 are assembled, but is not limited to this. Like a terminal unit 90 that is a modified example of the first embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. May be extended. Thereby, the assembly direction of the 1st terminal 12 and the 2nd terminal 14 can be made into the straight front-back direction.

(3) Like a terminal unit 94 that is a modification of Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure shown in FIG. The assembly direction of 14 can be a straight front-back direction. In this case, each abutting protrusion 82 is moved by the opposing surfaces facing the pair of engaging protrusions 40 in the second direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to both the assembly direction and the first direction. , a first contact surface 28 and a second contact surface 30 are formed. Even in this case, the pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 also extends in the front-rear direction, which is the assembly direction, and satisfies the requirements of the present disclosure. Further, in the fourth embodiment and the modified example of the fourth embodiment, a pair of engaging protrusions 40, 40 are provided, but one engaging protrusion having the same size may be provided.

(4) In Embodiments 2 to 4, the cover member 60 is attached to the first terminal 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. The cover member 60 may be attached to the second terminal 14 . For example, when the second terminal 14 is exposed, the second terminal 14 may be provided with the cover member 60 and the contact protrusion 26 may be provided on the cover member 60 in the terminal unit 88 of the modified example shown in FIG.

(5) In the above embodiment, a clip-shaped spring was exemplified as the elastic member 16, but the elastic member 16 is not limited to this. If the elastic member 16 urges the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14 assembled to each other in the first direction to approach each other, the elastic member 16 may have a structure that exerts a biasing force using a coil spring or a rubber band. Arbitrary structures such as those based on can be adopted. In addition, the elastic member 16 does not need to be provided separately from the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14, and can be constituted by an elastic tongue or the like provided integrally with the first terminal 12 and the second terminal 14. good too. Therefore, it is also possible to apply the configuration of the present disclosure to a tab-shaped male terminal and a cylindrical female terminal.

10 Terminal Unit (Embodiment 1)
12 First terminal 14 Second terminal 16 Elastic member 18 Electric wire 20 Base end 22 Tip 24 First side facing surface 26 Contact projection 28 First contact surface 30 Second contact surface 32 Wire connection portion 34 Core wire 36 Connection portion 38 Second side facing surface 40 Engagement protrusion 42 Gap 44 Protruding end face 46 Protruding end face 48 Gap 50 Connecting plate 52 Pressing piece 54 Pressing portion 56 First terminal accommodating portion 58 Terminal unit (second embodiment)
60 cover member 62 contact projection 64 cover portion 66 through hole 68 fitting projection 70 terminal unit (third embodiment)
72 contact projection 74 first contact surface 76 second contact surface 78 crushing rib 79 projection 80 terminal unit (fourth embodiment)
82 contact protrusion 83 connecting plate portion 84 protrusion 86 space 88 terminal unit (modification of the first embodiment)
90 terminal unit (modification of embodiment 1)
92 engagement protrusion 94 terminal unit (modification of embodiment 4)

Claims (8)

a flat first terminal;
a second terminal connected to an end of an electric wire and attached to and connected to the first terminal;
an elastic member that biases the first terminal and the second terminal assembled to each other in a first direction to approach each other;
the first terminal has a first side facing surface that faces the second terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the second terminal;
the second terminal has a second side facing surface that faces the first terminal in the first direction and is pressed toward the first terminal;
one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has an engaging projection extending in an assembly direction of the first terminal and the second terminal and projecting in the first direction;
The other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface extends in the assembly direction and is attached to the engaging protrusion on both sides in a second direction orthogonal to both the assembly direction and the first direction. having a first contact surface and a second contact surface in contact;
terminal unit. one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has a pair of the engaging protrusions arranged in parallel with a gap in the second direction;
The other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has a contact protrusion that is fitted in the gap, extends in the assembly direction, and protrudes in the first direction,
2. The first contact surface and the second contact surface according to claim 1, wherein in the contact protrusion, a pair of opposing surfaces facing the pair of engagement protrusions in the second direction constitute the first contact surface and the second contact surface. terminal unit. one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface has at least one engaging protrusion;
The other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface is provided on both sides of the engaging protrusion in the second direction, extends in the assembly direction, and protrudes in the first direction. having a pair of abutting protrusions,
2 . The terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the first contact surface and the second contact surface are formed by the surfaces of the contact protrusions facing the engagement protrusion in the second direction. unit. the projection dimension of the engaging projection in the first direction is larger than the projection dimension of the contact projection in the first direction,
In a state in which the first terminal and the second terminal are urged in the first direction to approach each other by the elastic member, each terminal provided on one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface The protruding end surface of the engaging projection contacts the other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface, and the contact provided on the other of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface 4. The terminal unit according to claim 2, wherein the protruding end surface of the projection faces one of the first side facing surface and the second side facing surface with a gap therebetween. At least one of the first terminal and the second terminal has a synthetic resin cover member covering an outer peripheral edge, and the cover member is provided with the first contact surface and the second contact surface. The terminal unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The terminal unit according to claim 5, wherein at least one of said first contact surface and said second contact surface is provided with a crushing rib that is pressed against said engaging protrusion. A first terminal used in the terminal unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6. A second terminal used in the terminal unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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