JP5158203B2 - Terminal fitting, electric wire with terminal fitting, and manufacturing method of electric wire with terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting provided with a crimping portion for crimping and fixing a terminal end of a core wire in a covered electric wire with a core wire covered with a sheath behind a main body portion, an electric wire with a terminal fitting, and a method of manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal fitting. .

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a terminal fitting described in Patent Document 1 below is known as a terminal fitting for a wire harness of an automobile. The terminal fitting has a main body portion connected to the counterpart conductor, and a crimping portion for crimping and fixing the end of the core wire in the covered electric wire is provided behind the main body portion. Here, when an insulating oxide film is formed on the surface of the core wire at the time of crimping, the connection is made with the oxide film interposed between the core wire and the crimping portion, so that there is a problem that the contact resistance increases. . In view of this, it is considered to reduce the contact resistance by crimping the crimping part with as high a compression ratio as possible to remove the oxide film and increase the contact area with the internal conductor.
JP-A-10-125362

  However, when crimping is performed at a high compression rate as described above, the crimped portion extends in the front-rear direction due to the crimping operation. For this reason, the dimension of the terminal metal in the front-rear direction is longer than that before crimping.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at controlling that the full length of a terminal metal fitting becomes long.

The present invention includes a main body portion that is electrically connected to a counterpart conductor, and a crimping portion that is provided behind the main body portion and that crimps and fixes the end of the core wire in a covered electric wire in which the core wire is covered with a coating; An elongation absorbing portion that is provided at a position adjacent to the crimping portion and absorbs the elongation of the crimping portion, and the elongation absorbing portion receives the elongation of the crimping portion due to the crimping operation of the crimping portion. It is characterized by a configuration comprising a deformed portion that is plastically deformed so as to reduce the dimension in the front-rear direction .

According to such a configuration, for example, when the crimping portion is crimped, the elongation of the crimping portion is stretched and the absorbing portion absorbs, so that the total length of the terminal fitting can be restricted. In addition, when the crimping part is crimped, it is plastically deformed so that the crimping part extends in the front-rear direction. At that time, the deformed portion undergoes plastic deformation so as to reduce the dimension in the front-rear direction in response to the elongation of the crimped portion, and the stretched portion of the crimped portion can be absorbed by the deformed portion.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention .

The crimping part has a bottom wall that extends in the front-rear direction continuously with the main body part, and a pair of caulking pieces rises from both side edges of the bottom wall, and the stretch absorption part is provided on the bottom wall. It is good also as a structure.
According to such a configuration, for example, the crimping portion extends in the front-rear direction through the bottom wall in accordance with the crimping operation, but this elongation can be absorbed by the stretch absorbing portion provided on the bottom wall.

The deformation part may be configured to be respectively provided on the bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending in the front-rear direction continuously with the both caulking pieces.
According to such a configuration, for example, although the crimping portion extends in the front-rear direction via the bottom wall and both side walls in accordance with the crimping operation, this elongation is absorbed by the stretch absorbing portion provided on the bottom wall and both side walls. be able to.

A pair of elongation absorbing portions may be provided on both the front and rear sides of the crimping portion.
According to such a configuration, since the extension of the crimping part can be absorbed by the pair of extension absorbing parts, it is possible to cope with a larger extension.

Moreover, this invention is good also as an electric wire with a terminal metal fitting by which one of the said terminal metal fittings is crimped | bonded to the terminal of the core wire in the covered electric wire by which a core wire is covered with a coating | cover.
At that time, the core wire may be made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy.
The present invention is also a method of manufacturing an electric wire with terminal fittings, wherein one of the above terminal fittings is crimped to a terminal end of a core wire in a covered electric wire in which the core wire is covered with a covering, and the terminal end of the core wire is disposed in the crimping portion. Then, after fixing the terminal fitting in a state where movement in the front-rear direction is restricted, the crimping part is crimped to the end of the core wire, so that the extension absorbing part is received in the front-rear direction due to the extension of the crimping part resulting from this crimping operation. Plastic deformation may be performed so as to reduce the size of the.

  According to this invention, it can control that the full length of a terminal metal fitting becomes long.

The perspective view of the terminal metal fitting in Embodiment 1. The top view which showed the state before crimping | bonding a wire barrel part in Embodiment 1. FIG. AA line sectional view of FIG. The top view which showed the state after crimping the core wire of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. The figure which showed the state before the crimping | compression-bonding by the crimping machine in Embodiment 1. The figure which showed the state after the crimping | compression-bonding by the crimping machine in Embodiment 1. The figure which showed the state before crimping by the crimping machine in Embodiment 2. The figure which showed the state after the crimping | compression-bonding by the crimping machine in Embodiment 2. The side view which showed the terminal metal fitting by which the rubber stopper was crimped | bonded in Embodiment 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 11, 12 ... Terminal metal fitting 20 ... Main-body part 30 ... Crimp part 31 ... Wire barrel part 31A ... Caulking piece 33 ... Bottom wall 34 ... Side wall 35 ... Deformation part 35A ... 1st bending part 35B ... 2nd bending part 40 ... Covered wire 42 ... Core wire 43 ... Covered

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal fitting 10 in the present embodiment includes a main body portion 20 having a rectangular tube shape and a crimping portion 30 formed at the rear of the main body portion 20. The crimping portion 30 crimps the end of the covered electric wire 40. In the present embodiment, the female terminal fitting having the main body portion 20 is illustrated as the terminal fitting 10, but according to the present invention, a male terminal fitting having a tab shape may be used.

The covered electric wire 40 is an aluminum electric wire, and has a configuration in which a core wire 42 made of a plurality of metal wires 41 is covered with a covering 43 made of an insulating synthetic resin. The covered electric wire 40 of this embodiment is a bundle of 11 metal strands 41, and the total cross-sectional area of the bundle of these metal strands 41 is 0.75 mm ² . The metal element wire 41 can use any metal such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. In addition, the metal strand 41 of this embodiment is comprised with the aluminum alloy.

  The main body 20 is formed by bending the bottom part 22, the pair of side parts 23 rising from both side edges of the bottom part 22, and the two side parts 23 by bending each other from the upper edge of one side part 23 toward the upper edge of the other side part 23. The ceiling part 24 formed in heavy is provided.

  An elastic contact piece 21 that can be elastically displaced is formed inside the main body portion 20 by folding back from the front edge of the bottom surface portion 22 of the main body portion 20. A mating conductor (not shown) in the form of a tab can be inserted between the opposing surface (the lower surface of the ceiling portion 24) facing the elastic contact piece 21 and the elastic contact piece 21 inside the main body 20. ing.

  The distance between the elastic contact piece 21 in the natural state and the opposing surface is set to be smaller than the plate thickness of the counterpart conductor. For this reason, when the counterpart conductor is inserted between the opposing surfaces while bending the elastic contact piece 21, the counterpart conductor and the elastic contact piece 21 are elastically contacted and electrically connected.

  The crimping portion 30 includes a wire barrel portion 31 having a substantially U shape and an insulation barrel portion 32 having a substantially U shape disposed behind the wire barrel portion 31. The wire barrel portion 31 and the insulation barrel portion 32 have bottom walls 33 that extend in the front-rear direction (the axial direction of the core wire 42) continuously with the bottom surface portion 22 of the main body portion 20, and face each other from both side edges of the bottom wall 33. A pair of caulking pieces 31 </ b> A and 32 </ b> A that stand up in a state is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the wire barrel part 31 arrange | positions the terminal of the core wire 42 along the front-back direction on the bottom wall 33, and caulks the terminal of the core wire 42 with the both crimping pieces 31A as shown in FIG. Thus, the core wire 42 can be crimped. FIG. 5 is a view showing a cross section of the wire barrel portion 31 in a crimped state, and the core wire 42 and the wire barrel portion 31 are in contact with each other at the interface between both the caulking pieces 31 </ b> A and the bottom wall 33. Are electrically connected.

  The insulation barrel portion 32 is capable of crimping the coating 43 and the core wire 42 by arranging a portion of the coating 43 on the bottom wall 33 and caulking the portion of the coating 43 with both caulking pieces 32A.

  Here, an insulating coating (for example, aluminum hydroxide or aluminum oxide) is formed on the surface of the core wire 42 by reacting with water or oxygen in the air. And if both 42 and 31 are connected with the film interposed between the core wire 42 and the wire barrel portion 31, there is a problem that the contact resistance increases. Therefore, by crimping the wire barrel portion 31 at a higher compressibility than when using a core wire made of a copper alloy, the coating is removed and the contact area with the internal conductor (aluminum alloy layer) is increased, and the contact resistance is increased. I try to lower it.

  However, when the compression rate of the wire barrel part 31 is increased, the cross-sectional area of the wire barrel part 31 is reduced by that amount, and the wire barrel part 31 extends in the front-rear direction accordingly. When the wire barrel portion 31 extends in the front-rear direction, the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 also becomes longer in the front-rear direction. If the total length of the terminal fitting 10 is increased, when the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the connector cavity, the insulation barrel portion 32 jumps out of the cavity and leaks.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the connecting portion that connects the rear end of the main body portion 20 and the wire barrel portion 31 is provided with a deforming portion 35 as an elongation absorbing portion that absorbs the elongation of the wire barrel portion 31. The connecting portion includes a bottom wall 33 and a pair of side walls 34 rising from both side edges of the bottom wall 33. Both side walls 34 connect both side surface portions 23 and both caulking pieces 31 </ b> A and extend in the front-rear direction.

  The deformable portion 35 includes a first bent portion 35A formed by bending the bottom wall 33 upward and a pair of second bent portions 35B formed by bending both side walls 34 inward. Each bending part 35A, 35B is divided and provided as shown in FIG. Thereby, each bending part 35A, 35B deforms plastically so that the dimension of the front-back direction may be shrunk in response to the extension of the wire barrel part 31 resulting from the crimping | compression-bonding operation | movement of the wire barrel part 31. FIG. Accordingly, not only the first bent portion 35A but also the second bent portion 35B can absorb the elongation of the wire barrel portion 31.

  The arrangement of the bent portions 35A and 35B is set so as not to interfere with each other when the bent portions 35A and 35B contract in the front-rear direction as the wire barrel portion 31 extends. Therefore, the deforming portion 35 can be plastically deformed in a direction in which the bent portions 35A and 35B contract in the front-rear direction, absorb the elongation of the wire barrel portion 31, and keep the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 constant.

  Next, the main part of the crimping machine 50 that crimps the wire barrel part 31 and the insulation barrel part 32 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 6 or FIG. The wire barrel portion 31 and the insulation barrel portion 32 are placed on the anvil 51, as shown in FIG. Above the anvil 51, the 1st crimper 52 corresponding to the wire barrel part 31 and the 2nd crimper 52B corresponding to the insulation barrel part 32 are arrange | positioned. Both crimpers 52A and 52B can be moved up and down by driving means (not shown). A front wall 53 that can contact the front end of the main body 20 and a rear wall 54 that can contact the rear end of the bottom wall 33 are provided on both front and rear sides of the terminal fitting 10.

  The rear wall 54 is integrally provided with a slide cutter 55 that is connected to the terminal fitting 10 and cuts the carrier C that conveys the terminal fitting 10. The slide cutter 55 is supported so as to be movable up and down along the end surface of the anvil 51. On the end surface of the slide cutter 55 on the anvil 51 side, the carrier C of the terminal fitting 10 placed on the anvil 51 in a state where the slide cutter 55 is positioned at the upper stop position (position of the slide cutter 55 in FIG. 6). Is formed, and a recess 56 is formed to hold the same. The carrier C introduced into the recess 56 is cut by shearing by lowering the slide cutter 55.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. First, the covering 43 is peeled off at the end of the covered electric wire 40 to expose the core wire 42. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the end of the core wire 42 is disposed on the bottom wall 33 of the wire barrel portion 31, the end of the covering 43 is disposed on the bottom wall 33 of the insulation barrel portion 32, and the slide cutter 55. The carrier C is cut by lowering. In this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the front end portion of the main body portion 20 is fixed in contact with the front wall 53, and the rear end portion of the insulation barrel portion 32 is fixed in contact with the rear wall 54. . Therefore, the terminal fitting 10 is fixed in a state where movement in the front-rear direction is restricted between the front wall 53 and the rear wall 54.

  Subsequently, both the crimpers 52A and 52B are lowered toward the anvil 51, and the caulking piece 31A of the wire barrel part 31 is crimped to the core wire 42, and the caulking piece 32A of the insulation barrel part 32 is crimped to the core wire 42 together with the covering 43. . In this embodiment, since the compression rate of the wire barrel part 31 is set high, the wire barrel part 31 is extended in the front-back direction. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the extension of the wire barrel portion 31 is absorbed by the bending portions 35 </ b> A and 35 </ b> B contracting in the front-rear direction, so that the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 is kept constant. Thus, the electric wire with terminal fitting is completed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the wire barrel portion 31 is crimped at a high compression rate, the wire barrel portion 31 extends in the front-rear direction, but each of the bent portions 35A and 35B accompanies the extension of the wire barrel portion 31. It is possible to absorb the elongation of the wire barrel portion 31 caused by the crimping operation by the bending portions 35A and 35B. Therefore, when the wire barrel part 31 is crimped | bonded, it can control that the dimension of the front-back direction of the terminal metal fitting 10 becomes long.

  Moreover, since the deformation | transformation part 35 was comprised by 35 A of 1st bending parts, and a pair of 2nd bending parts 35B, extension of the wire barrel part 31 can be absorbed with each bending part 35A, 35B. Therefore, it can absorb stably rather than absorbing the extension of the wire barrel part 31 only by the 1st bending part 35A.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. The terminal fitting 11 of this embodiment is provided with a pair of deformed portions 35 as the stretch absorbing portion in the first embodiment on both front and rear sides of the wire barrel portion 31. Since other overlapping structures, functions, and effects are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. If it does in this way, since extension of wire barrel part 31 can be absorbed in two places before and behind, it can respond also to expansion larger than the case of Embodiment 1. Accordingly, it is possible to cope with a crimping operation with higher compression, and a higher contact load can be obtained.

<Embodiment 3>
FIG. 10 shows Embodiment 3 of the present invention. In the first and second embodiments, the non-waterproof terminal fitting is illustrated, but the terminal fitting 12 in the third embodiment is an example of a waterproof terminal fitting to which a waterproof rubber plug 60 is crimped. The rubber plug 60 is fitted on the outer periphery of the covering 43 and is crimped to the electric wire 40 by caulking the caulking piece 32 </ b> A of the insulation barrel portion 32. In the case of such a terminal fitting 12 with the rubber plug 60, the extension absorbing portion prevents the rubber plug 60 from protruding backward from the cavity when the terminal fitting 12 extending in the front-rear direction by pressure bonding is inserted into the cavity. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the waterproof performance from being deteriorated.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the present embodiment, the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 is made constant when the deformable portion 35 is crimped. However, according to the present invention, it is not always necessary to keep the entire length of the terminal fitting 10 constant. The elongation of the wire barrel portion 31 may be absorbed to the extent that it does not deviate from the standard.
(2) Although the present embodiment illustrates the case where the core wire 42 is crimped by the pair of caulking pieces 31A, according to the present invention, the present invention is also applicable to the case where the core wire 42 is crimped by a closed barrel.
(3) Although the bent portions 35A and 35B are illustrated as the deformable portion 35 in the present embodiment, according to the present invention, the deformable portion 35 may be formed thin or bellows-shaped. . Further, the stretch absorbing part may be constituted by a hole formed so as to penetrate to a position adjacent to the wire barrel part 31.
(4) Although the bent portions 35A and 35B are provided on the bottom wall 33 and the side walls 34 in the present embodiment, only the first bent portion 35A provided on the bottom wall 33 may be provided according to the present invention.
(5) Although the bent portions 35A and 35B are divided and provided in the present embodiment, according to the present invention, the bent portions 35A and 35B may be integrally provided in an arc shape.
(6) Although the present embodiment describes the case where the deformation portion 35 absorbs the elongation of the wire barrel portion 31 accompanying the crimping operation, according to the present invention, the elongation of the insulation barrel portion 32 due to the crimping operation is increased. It is good also as an elongation absorption part to absorb.

Claims (7)

A main body electrically connected to the mating conductor;
A crimping part that is provided behind the main body part and crimps and fixes the end of the core wire in a covered electric wire in which the core wire is covered with a coating;
An elongation absorbing portion that is provided at a position adjacent to the crimping portion and absorbs the elongation of the crimping portion, and the stretch absorbing portion is subjected to the elongation of the crimping portion due to the crimping operation of the crimping portion. A terminal fitting comprising a deforming portion that is plastically deformed so as to reduce a dimension in a direction . The crimping part has a bottom wall extending in the front-rear direction continuously with the main body part, and a pair of caulking pieces rise from both side edges of the bottom wall,
The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the stretch absorbing portion is provided on the bottom wall . 3. The terminal fitting according to claim 2, wherein the stretch absorbing portion is provided on each of the bottom wall and a pair of side walls extending in the front-rear direction continuously to the both caulking pieces . 4. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the extension absorbing portions are provided on both front and rear sides of the crimping portion . 5. The electric wire with a terminal metal fitting by which the terminal metal fitting as described in any one of Claim 1 thru | or 4 is crimped | bonded to the terminal of the said core wire in the covered electric wire in which the said core wire is covered with coating | cover. The said core wire consists of aluminum or aluminum alloy, The electric wire with a terminal metal fitting of Claim 5 characterized by the above-mentioned. A method for producing an electric wire with a terminal fitting, wherein the terminal fitting according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is crimped to a terminal of the core wire in a covered electric wire in which the core wire is covered with a coating.
  Due to this crimping operation, the terminal of the core wire is disposed in the crimping portion, and the terminal fitting is fixed in a state where movement in the front-rear direction is restricted, and then the crimping portion is crimped to the terminal of the core wire. A method of manufacturing an electric wire with terminal fitting, wherein the elongation absorbing portion undergoes plastic deformation so as to reduce the dimension in the front-rear direction in response to elongation of the crimping portion.

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