JP5065976B2 - Female terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal fitting inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber of a connector housing.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of a conventional female terminal fitting described in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal fitting.

  As shown in FIG. 8, this terminal fitting T200 has a rectangular tube-shaped box part 210 into which a male terminal is inserted at the front end. The box part 210 has a bottom wall 211, an upper wall 213, and left and right side walls 212. An elastic contact spring 220 is provided on the upper surface side of the bottom wall 211 to hold the male terminal with the upper wall 213 when the male terminal has been inserted.

  The elastic contact spring 220 is formed by bending a strip-shaped spring piece 220A extending at the front end of the bottom wall 211 so as to be folded upward at the base end portion 221, and a spring piece 220A extending rearward in the length direction. The middle part of the spring is bent in a U-shape so as to bulge toward the upper wall 213, and the tip (rear end) of the spring piece 220A is slidably contacted with the upper surface of the bottom wall 211. .

As shown in FIG. 9, the terminal fitting T200 is manufactured by cutting a single metal plate into a predetermined shape, press-molding it, and bending it.
JP 2003-59565 A

  By the way, in the conventional terminal fitting T200, the elastic contact spring 220 is configured by bending the strip plate-like spring piece 220A extending to the front end of the bottom wall 211 so as to be folded upward, so that one sheet When taking the material from the metal plate, both side portions of the spring piece 220A indicated by D in FIG. 9 are wasted and there is a problem that the yield of the material is poor. Further, since the spring piece 220A is largely bent, a height is required for opening and closing the mold, and the rotation speed of the press cannot be increased, resulting in poor production efficiency.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention eliminates the waste of material collection and can improve the yield, and eliminates a large bending portion, thereby increasing the rotation speed of the press and improving the productivity. An object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal fitting that can achieve the above.

  The invention of claim 1 has a rectangular tube-shaped box part composed of a bottom wall, an upper wall and both side walls at the front part, an electric wire connecting part at the rear part, and further on the bottom wall of the box part. And an elastic contact spring that holds the male terminal between the upper wall when the mating male terminal is inserted, and is produced by press-molding a single metal plate. In the female terminal fitting inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing, a T-shaped opening having a horizontally wide portion at the rear end and a vertically narrow portion at the front portion is formed on the bottom wall. By cutting and raising the inner piece of the letter-shaped opening, it has a horizontally long plate portion at the rear end and a vertically long plate portion at the front portion, and the front end of the vertically long plate portion is connected to the bottom wall. A spring piece is formed, and an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the vertically long plate portion of the T-shaped spring piece is directed toward the upper wall. Jo the curving, the Horizontal plate portion of the spring piece, by engaging the side edges of the narrow portion of the opening, is characterized by being configured the resilient contact springs.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the female terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein a boundary portion between the vertically long plate portion and the horizontally long plate portion is bent in a letter shape toward the upper wall side, and the horizontally long plate The lower surface side when the both ends of the portion are cut and raised is brought into contact with both side edges of the narrow portion of the opening.

  A third aspect of the invention is the female terminal fitting according to the first aspect of the invention, in which a rear end portion of the vertically long plate portion is bent downward in a U-shape to cut both ends of the horizontally long plate portion. The upper surface side at the time of raising is placed on both side edges of the narrow portion of the opening.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the front portion includes a rectangular tube-shaped box portion including a bottom wall, an upper wall, and both side walls, a rear portion includes an electric wire connection portion, and further on the bottom wall of the box portion. And an elastic contact spring that holds the male terminal between the upper wall when the mating male terminal is inserted, and is produced by press-molding a single metal plate. In the female terminal fitting inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber of the housing, a T-shaped opening having a horizontally wide portion at the rear end and a vertically narrow portion at the front portion is formed on the bottom wall. By cutting and raising the inner piece of the letter-shaped opening, it has a horizontally long plate portion at the rear end and a vertically long plate portion at the front portion, and the front end of the vertically long plate portion is connected to the bottom wall. A spring piece is formed, and an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the vertically long plate portion of the T-shaped spring piece is directed toward the upper wall. The horizontally long plate portion of the spring piece is drawn out to the lower surface side of the bottom wall 11 through the opening, and the rear end portion of the vertically long plate portion is bent in a direction parallel to the lower surface of the bottom wall 11. Thus, the laterally long plate portion can be pressed against the bottom wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the elastic contact spring is configured by curving the spring piece cut and raised from the bottom wall constituting the box portion, there is no waste of material as in the conventional case. The yield of the material can be improved. In addition, since the elastic contact spring is configured, since there is no portion to be bent so as to be folded back, the rotational speed of the press machine can be increased and the productivity can be improved. In addition, since one end of the spring piece in the longitudinal direction is connected to the bottom wall and the other end of the spring piece in the longitudinal direction is engaged with the bottom wall, the elastic contact spring can be a double-supported spring structure and is strong. Spring characteristics can be imparted. Further, although the T-shaped opening opens in the bottom wall, the horizontally long plate portion at the rear end of the spring piece is engaged with the narrow portion of the opening, so that the possibility of damaging the elastic contact spring from the outside can be reduced. .

  According to the invention of claim 2, the boundary between the vertically long plate portion and the horizontally long plate portion of the spring piece is bent in a letter shape toward the upper wall side, and the lower surface side of both ends of the horizontally long plate portion is the width of the opening of the bottom wall. Since it is only in contact with both side edges of the narrow portion, both ends of the horizontally long plate portion can be smoothly slid along the top surface of the bottom wall as the elastic contact spring bends. Thus, stable spring performance can be provided.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by curving the rear end portion of the vertically long plate portion of the spring piece downwardly in a U shape, the upper surface side when the both ends of the horizontally long plate portion are raised and raised is the opening of the bottom wall. Since it is placed on both side edges of the narrow portion, the bending performance of the U-shaped curved portion can be added to the overall spring characteristics of the elastic contact spring, and flexible spring characteristics can be realized.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the elastic contact spring is formed by curving the spring piece cut and raised from the bottom wall constituting the box portion, the material is wasted as in the prior art. Therefore, the yield of the material can be improved. In addition, since the elastic contact spring is configured, since there is no portion to be bent so as to be folded back, the rotational speed of the press machine can be increased and the productivity can be improved. In addition, since one end in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece is connected to the bottom wall and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece is received by the bottom wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing, when it is incorporated into the connector housing, The elastic contact spring can have a double-supported spring structure, and can have strong spring characteristics. Further, the horizontally long plate portion of the spring piece pulled out from the bottom wall presses and contacts the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber, thereby functioning to prevent rattling of the terminal fitting in a state of being incorporated in the connector housing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the female terminal fitting of the first embodiment, FIG. 1 (a) is an external perspective view, FIG. 1 (b) is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the box part, and FIG. 1 (c) is a perspective view seen from below, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing, and the male terminal of the mating connector is fitted, and FIG. FIG.

  The terminal fitting T1 is a female terminal fitting that is manufactured by press-molding a single metal plate and is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the connector housing 1, and includes a bottom wall 11 and an upper wall 13 at the front. And a box-shaped box portion 10 composed of both side walls 12 and a wire connecting portion 14 for connecting a terminal of the wire W at the rear. Furthermore, an elastic contact spring 20 is provided on the bottom wall 11 of the box portion 10 to hold the male terminal 8 between the upper wall 13 when the male terminal 8 of the mating connector 7 has been inserted.

  The bottom wall 11 is formed with a T-shaped opening 30 having a horizontally wide portion 32 at the rear end and a vertically narrow portion 31 at the front, and an inner piece of the T-shaped opening 30 is cut. As a result, a T-shaped spring piece 20A having a horizontally long plate portion 23 at the rear end and a vertically long plate portion 22 at the front portion and the front end 21 of the vertically long plate portion 22 connected to the bottom wall 11 is formed. Has been. Then, an intermediate portion in the length direction of the vertically long plate portion 22 of the T-shaped spring piece 20A is curved in a convex shape toward the upper wall 13, and the horizontally long plate portion 23 of the spring piece 20A is narrowed in the width of the opening 30. The elastic contact spring 20 is configured by engaging both side edges of the portion 31.

  In this case, the boundary portion 24 between the vertically long plate portion 22 and the horizontally long plate portion 23 of the spring piece 20A is bent in a letter shape toward the upper wall 13 side, and the lower surface side when the both ends of the horizontally long plate portion 23 are cut and raised, It is made to contact | abut to the both-sides edge of the narrow part 31 of the opening 30. FIG.

  In the case of this terminal fitting T1, since the elastic contact spring 20 is configured by curving the spring piece 20A cut and raised from the bottom wall 11 constituting the box portion 10, the spring piece 220A is attached to the bottom wall as in the prior art. 11 does not need to be extended to the front end, so that no material is wasted and the yield of the material can be improved. In addition, since the elastic contact spring 20 is not largely bent so as to be folded back, the rotation speed of the press can be increased, and productivity can be improved.

  Further, since one end (front end 21) in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 20A is connected to the bottom wall 11 and the other end (horizontal long plate portion 23) in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 20A is engaged with the bottom wall 11, it is elastic. The contact spring 20 can have a double-supported spring structure, and can have strong spring characteristics. Moreover, although the T-shaped opening 30 opens in the bottom wall 11, the horizontally long plate portion 23 at the rear end of the spring piece 20 </ b> A is engaged with the narrow portion 31 of the opening 30. The possibility of damaging 20 can be reduced.

  Further, in the terminal fitting T1 of the present embodiment, the boundary portion 24 between the vertically long plate portion 22 and the horizontally long plate portion 23 of the spring piece 20A is bent in a letter shape toward the upper wall side, and the lower surfaces of both ends of the horizontally long plate portion 23 Since the side is merely brought into contact with both side edges of the narrow portion 31 of the opening 30 of the bottom wall 11, both ends of the horizontally long plate portion 23 are smoothly moved to the bottom wall as the elastic contact spring 20 bends. 11 can be slid along the upper surface of 11, thereby providing a stable spring performance.

Second Embodiment
4A and 4B are diagrams showing the configuration of the female terminal fitting according to the second embodiment, in which FIG. 4A is an external perspective view, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the box portion through. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing and the male terminal of the mating connector is fitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the box part 110 of the terminal fitting T <b> 2 is formed by bending the rear end part 25 of the above-described spring piece 20 </ b> A in a U-shape downwardly to form a horizontally long board. The elastic contact spring 120 is configured by placing the upper surface side when the both ends of the portion 23 are raised and raised on both side edges of the narrow portion 31 of the opening 30. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  When configured in this manner, the bending performance of the U-shaped curved portion can be added to the overall spring characteristics of the elastic contact spring 120, so that flexible spring characteristics can be realized.

<Third Embodiment>
6A and 6B are diagrams showing the configuration of the female terminal fitting according to the third embodiment, in which FIG. 6A is an external perspective view, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the box portion through. 6 (c) is a perspective view seen from below, FIG. 7 (a) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in the middle of inserting the terminal fitting into the connector housing and fitting the male terminal of the mating connector. 7 (b) is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the fitting has been completed.

  In the box portion 130 of the terminal fitting T3 of this embodiment, an intermediate portion in the length direction of the vertically long plate portion 22 of the T-shaped spring piece 20A formed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above is formed on the upper wall 13. The laterally long plate portion 23 of the spring piece 20A is pulled out to the lower surface side of the bottom wall 11 through the opening 30, and the rear end portion 25 of the longitudinally long plate portion 22 is parallel to the lower surface of the bottom wall 11. The laterally long plate portion 23 can be pressed and contacted with the bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber 4 of the connector housing 1 by being bent to the side.

  According to this terminal fitting T3, since the elastic contact spring 140 is configured by curving the spring piece 20A cut and raised from the bottom wall 11 constituting the box portion 130, material is wasted as in the prior art. The yield of the material can be improved. In addition, since the elastic contact spring 140 is not greatly bent so as to be folded back, the rotational speed of the press machine can be increased and productivity can be improved.

  Further, one end (front end 21) in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 20A is connected to the bottom wall 11, and the other end (laterally long plate portion 23) in the longitudinal direction of the spring piece 20A is shown as M part in FIG. Since it is received by the bottom wall of the terminal housing chamber 4 of the connector housing 1, the elastic contact spring 140 can have a double-supported spring structure when it is assembled into the connector housing 1, and has strong spring characteristics. Can do. Further, the laterally long plate portion 23 of the spring piece 20 </ b> A pulled out from the bottom wall 11 presses and contacts the bottom wall 11 of the terminal accommodating chamber 4, thereby suppressing rattling of the terminal fitting T <b> 3 in a state where it is incorporated in the connector housing 1. Will work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the structure of the female terminal metal fitting of 1st Embodiment of this invention, (a) is an external appearance perspective view, (b) is a perspective view which sees through the structure inside a box part, (c) is bottom. It is the perspective view seen from. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which inserted the terminal metal fitting in the connector housing and fitted the male terminal of the other party connector. It is an expanded view of the terminal fitting. It is a figure which shows the structure of the female terminal metal fitting of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is an external appearance perspective view, (b) is a perspective view which sees through and shows the structure inside a box part. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which inserted the terminal metal fitting in the connector housing and fitted the male terminal of the other party connector. It is a figure which shows the structure of the female terminal metal fitting of 3rd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is an external appearance perspective view, (b) is a perspective view which sees through the structure inside a box part, (c) is bottom It is the perspective view seen from. Sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle at the time of inserting the terminal metal fitting in a connector housing and fitting the male terminal of a mating connector, (b) is sectional drawing which shows the state which completed fitting. It is a perspective view of the principal part of the conventional female terminal metal fitting. It is an expansion | deployment perspective view of the terminal metal fitting.

Explanation of symbols

T1, T2, T3 Female terminal fitting 1 Connector housing 4 Terminal accommodating chamber 8 Male terminal 10, 110, 130 Box part 11 Bottom wall 12 Side wall 13 Upper wall 14 Electric wire connection part 20, 120, 140 Elastic contact spring 20A Spring piece 21 Front end 22 Vertically long plate portion 23 Horizontally long plate portion 24 Boundary portion 25 Rear end portion 30 Opening 31 Vertically narrow width portion 32 Horizontally wide width portion

Claims (4)

It has a square cylindrical box part consisting of a bottom wall, an upper wall, and both side walls at the front part, an electric wire connection part at the rear part, and a mating male terminal is inserted on the bottom wall of the box part. It has an elastic contact spring that sandwiches the male terminal with the upper wall when it has been made, and is produced by press-molding a single metal plate and inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing In the female terminal fitting
A T-shaped opening having a horizontally wide portion at the rear end and a vertically narrow portion at the front portion is formed in the bottom wall, and an inner piece of the T-shaped opening is cut up to form a rear end. A T-shaped spring piece having a horizontally long plate portion and having a vertically long plate portion at a front portion, and a front end of the vertically long plate portion being connected to the bottom wall, is a vertically long plate of the T-shaped spring piece. The elastic contact is achieved by curving the middle part in the length direction of the part in a convex shape toward the upper wall and engaging the laterally long plate part of the spring piece with both side edges of the narrow part of the opening. A female terminal fitting that features a spring. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1,
The boundary between the vertically long plate portion and the horizontally long plate portion is bent in a letter shape toward the upper wall side, and the lower surface side when the both ends of the horizontally long plate portion are cut and raised is the both side edges of the narrow portion of the opening A female terminal fitting characterized by being brought into contact with the connector. The female terminal fitting according to claim 1,
By curving the rear end portion of the vertically long plate portion downward in a U-shape, the upper surface side when the both ends of the horizontally long plate portion are cut and raised is placed on both side edges of the narrow portion of the opening. Features female terminal fittings. It has a square cylindrical box part consisting of a bottom wall, an upper wall, and both side walls at the front part, an electric wire connection part at the rear part, and a mating male terminal is inserted on the bottom wall of the box part. It has an elastic contact spring that sandwiches the male terminal with the upper wall when it has been made, and is produced by press-molding a single metal plate and inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing In the female terminal fitting
A T-shaped opening having a horizontally wide portion at the rear end and a vertically narrow portion at the front portion is formed in the bottom wall, and an inner piece of the T-shaped opening is cut up to form a rear end. A T-shaped spring piece having a horizontally long plate portion and having a vertically long plate portion at a front portion, and a front end of the vertically long plate portion being connected to the bottom wall, is a vertically long plate of the T-shaped spring piece. An intermediate portion in the length direction of the portion is curved in a convex shape toward the upper wall, and the horizontally long plate portion of the spring piece is pulled out to the lower surface side of the bottom wall 11 through the opening, A female terminal fitting characterized in that the laterally long plate portion can be pressed into contact with the bottom wall of the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing by bending the rear end portion in a direction parallel to the lower surface of the bottom wall 11.

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