JP5522459B2 - Female terminals and connectors - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal and a connector.

  Conventionally, as a connection terminal for large current, for example, a terminal connection structure described in Patent Document 1 below is known. This terminal connection structure has a structure in which a pair of terminals having the same shape are assembled to each other, and this terminal has a substrate portion made of an elongated flat plate. On one side edge of the substrate portion, a spring piece portion having a folded shape is formed. The board part of the mating terminal is sandwiched between the board part and the spring piece part. Further, a hole is formed through the substantially central portion of the spring piece portion, and a projecting piece that fits into the hole is provided on the substrate portion of the mating terminal. By fitting the projecting piece into the hole, both terminals are held in a retaining state.

JP-A-8-83654

  However, if the electric wire is pulled strongly and both terminals are pulled or both terminals are squeezed, the spring piece part cannot withstand pulling or squeezing and deforms in the opening direction. As a result, the projecting piece is removed from the hole, and the connection state of both terminals is released.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal and a connector that are resistant to pulling and twisting of electric wires.

The present invention is a female terminal connected to a male terminal having a tab shape, and is provided so as to be able to be fitted with the male terminal, and is configured to extend in a direction crossing the fitting direction with the male terminal. There is still contact pressure on the male terminal at the time before the main body, the pair of contact pieces provided on both sides sandwiching the male terminal and the terminal body fitted with the male terminal are fitted to the main body. When not applied and attached to a terminal body with a male terminal fitted, both contact pieces are pushed in the direction approaching each other, and both contact pieces are clamped to make both contact pieces elastic with respect to the male terminals. And a retaining member is provided on one of the contact pieces by bending it so as to face the side edge of the male terminal. The male terminal is formed by the contact piece and the retaining piece. It is characterized by a configuration surrounded by three sides.

According to such a configuration, for example, when an electric wire connected to the terminal main body is pulled, it is possible to prevent the male terminal from coming off from both contact pieces by the retaining piece being caught on the side edge of the male terminal. Further, for example, when the female terminal is squeezed with respect to the male terminal, the male terminal is surrounded by the contact pieces and the retaining piece from three sides, so that the male terminal can be prevented from coming off the female terminal. Furthermore, since both the contact pieces are sandwiched by the spring member, when the contact pieces are distorted by creep, the spring member can absorb the distortion and can provide sufficient contact pressure to the male terminal. . In addition, when both contact pieces are arranged on both sides of the male terminal with both terminals fitted, the contact pressure is not yet applied to the male terminal, and no large frictional force is generated. Both terminals can be fitted with a combined operating force.

The following configuration is preferable as an embodiment of the present invention.
A facing piece is provided at the tip edge of the retaining piece by further folding it so as to face one of the contact pieces, and the male terminal is surrounded from three sides by one of the contact pieces, the retaining piece, and the facing piece. It may be configured as described above.
According to such a configuration, since the retaining piece and the opposing piece can be integrally formed, a structure that is strong against pulling and twisting of the electric wire can be obtained.

A female terminal connected to a male terminal having a tab shape, provided so as to be matable with the male terminal, and extending in a direction crossing the fitting direction with the male terminal, and a terminal A pair of contact pieces disposed on both sides of the male terminal, and a spring member that elastically contacts the contact pieces with the male terminal by sandwiching the contact pieces. One of the contact pieces is provided with a retaining piece by bending it facing the side edge of the male terminal, and the other end of the retaining piece is provided with a facing piece by further folding it against one of the contact pieces. The male terminals are surrounded from three sides by one of the contact pieces, the retaining piece, and the opposing piece, and the opposing pieces are provided in a pair so as to be aligned in the fitting direction with the male terminal. Moreover, it is good also as a structure by which the insertion piece inserted between both opposing pieces is provided.
According to such a configuration, since both the opposing pieces and the insertion pieces are locked in the fitting direction with the male terminal, it is possible to make the structure stronger against pulling or twisting of the electric wire.

Further, the present invention is a connector in which a plurality of female terminals connected to a tab-shaped male terminal are incorporated, and includes a plurality of female terminals, and a housing to which a plurality of female terminals are mounted, By attaching a cover on which a plurality of spring members are mounted to the housing, both contact pieces of a plurality of female terminals are sandwiched together by a plurality of spring members, and the female terminals are male terminals. And a pair of contact pieces disposed on both sides of the male terminal, the terminal main body being configured to extend in a direction intersecting the fitting direction with the same male terminal. And a spring member that elastically contacts both contact pieces to the male terminal by sandwiching both contact pieces, and bends one side of both contact pieces opposite the side edge of the male terminal. A retaining piece is provided, and the male terminal is separated from both contact pieces. It may be configured surrounded on three sides by the strip.

  According to such a configuration, for example, by fitting the connector to a terminal block in which a plurality of male terminals are incorporated and attaching the cover to the housing, the plurality of male terminals and the plurality of female terminals are collectively Can be connected. Here, when fitting the connector to the terminal block, since the contact pressure with respect to the male terminal of both contact pieces is not applied, the fitting operation force can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a female terminal and a connector that are strong against pulling and twisting of electric wires.

The perspective view which showed the state which assembled | attached the cover in Embodiment 1, a connector, and a terminal block. 1 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. Top view of connector Rear view of cover Bottom view of cover Plan view of terminal block with male terminals The perspective view which shows the terminal connection structure of a male terminal and a female terminal Side view of the terminal connection structure of Fig. 7 as viewed from the side AA line sectional view of FIG. BB sectional view of FIG. The side view which looked at the terminal connection structure in Embodiment 2 from the side CC sectional view of FIG. DD sectional view of FIG.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 10 in this embodiment can be fitted to the terminal block 30 from above. Further, the cover 50 can be fitted to the connector 10 from above. A plurality of electric wires W are drawn out to the side of the connector 10.

  The terminal block 30 is accommodated in a device side case (not shown) such as a motor case or an inverter case. The terminal block 30 is insert-molded with a male terminal 31 having a tab shape, and in this embodiment, a three-pole male terminal 31 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, the male terminals 31 are arranged side by side in the same posture, and the first male terminal 31 and the third male terminal 31 are arranged to face each other. The male terminals 31 are offset with respect to the arrangement direction of the first and third male terminals 31. The respective male terminals 31 are arranged so that their contact surfaces face each other, and the adjacent male terminals 31 can be arranged closer to each other, which contributes to the miniaturization of the terminal block 30 and the connector 10.

  The cover 50 is made of synthetic resin. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover 50 includes a top plate 51 having a substantially square plate shape, and a plurality of spring mounting portions 52 formed to protrude from the lower surface of the top plate 51. It is prepared for. The top plate 51 is provided with an attachment hole to which a bolt 53 can be attached. The bolt 53 is attached to the attachment hole. The spring mounting portion 52 is configured to open downward and rearward, and a spring member 60 is mounted inside the spring mounting portion 52.

  The connector 10 has a metal housing 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 11 includes a fitting cylinder portion 12 that has a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape and penetrates in the vertical direction, and a flange portion 13 that is formed behind the fitting cylinder portion 12. It is configured. A fastening portion 14 having a fastening hole 14 </ b> A capable of fastening the bolt 53 is provided inside the fitting cylinder portion 12. The fastening portion 14 has a form that projects from the inner wall of the fitting cylinder portion 12 to the inside.

  A communication hole that allows the inside of the fitting cylinder portion 12 to communicate rearward is provided in the housing 11. A terminal accommodating portion 15 in which a plurality of female terminals 20 are accommodated is attached to the communication hole. One end side of the terminal accommodating portion 15 protrudes inside the fitting cylinder portion 12, and the other end side of the terminal accommodating portion 15 protrudes rearward of the housing 11 along the direction in which the electric wire W is drawn. In the present embodiment, the three-pole female terminal 20 is accommodated in the terminal accommodating portion 15. Only the portion of the female terminal 20 that fits with the male terminal 31 protrudes forward from the terminal accommodating portion 15 inside the fitting cylindrical portion 12.

  Next, the terminal connection structure of the male terminal 31 and the female terminal 20 will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. First, the configuration of the female terminal 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the female terminal 20 includes a terminal main body 21 connected to the male terminal 31, and a wire connecting portion 22 connected to the rear of the terminal main body 21. The terminal body 21 is configured to extend in a direction (front-rear direction) intersecting with a fitting direction (vertical direction) with the male terminal 31. The wire connection part 22 has a pair of barrel pieces 22A, and crimps and crimps the core wire exposed at the terminal part of the wire W by both barrel pieces 22A.

  The terminal main body 21 includes a first contact piece 21A disposed on the back side in the figure in FIG. 7 and a second contact piece 21B disposed on the near side in the figure. Both contact pieces 21A and 21B are arranged in an opposed state. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of contact protrusions 23 are knocked out on the opposing surfaces of the contact pieces 21A and 21B. Specifically, two contact protrusions 23 are disposed on the first contact piece 21A, and one contact protrusion 23 is disposed on the second contact piece 21B. These contact protrusions 23 can be brought into contact with the male terminal 31.

  A pair of pressing pieces 24 are provided on both upper and lower side edges of the first contact piece 21A. Both pressing pieces 24 are cantilevered from the first contact piece 21A to the second contact piece 21B side, and the upper holding piece 24 is close to the upper side edge of the second contact piece 21B, The lower pressing piece 24 is close to the lower side edge of the second contact piece 21B. Thereby, it is controlled that the 2nd contact piece 21B moves to an up-down direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the holding piece 24 is disposed close to the rear side edge of the male terminal 31, so that when the electric wire W is pushed forward, the female terminal 20 moves forward. It is possible to regulate movement.

  A pair of opening restricting pieces 25 are provided behind the pressing pieces 24. The upper opening restricting piece 25 extends from the upper side edge of the first contact piece 21A toward the second contact piece 21B and is bent downward so that the bent portion is on the back side of the second contact piece 21B. It is formed so as to go around (the front side in the figure). On the other hand, the lower opening restricting piece 25 extends from the lower side edge of the second contact piece 21B toward the first contact piece 21A and is bent upward so that the bent portion becomes the first contact piece. It is formed so as to wrap around the back side (the back side in the figure) of 21A. Thereby, both the contact pieces 21A and 21B are restricted from moving in the opening direction.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the spring member 60 has a pair of elastic pieces 61 arranged in an opposed state. The base ends of both elastic pieces 61 are connected by an operation unit 62. For this reason, the spring member 60 has a substantially gate shape as a whole. The interval between both elastic pieces 61 is set to be smaller than the width dimension of the terminal body 21. For this reason, after fitting the terminal main body 21 with respect to the male terminal 31 from above, when the spring member 60 is mounted on the terminal main body 21 from above, as shown in FIG. A contact pressure with respect to the male terminal 31 is applied. Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the contact protrusions 23 of both contact pieces 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B elastically contact with the male terminal 31 by the spring force of the spring member 60, so that both terminals 20 and 31 can be conducted. Connected. Even when both contact pieces 21A and 21B are plastically deformed by creep, the contact pressure can always be applied by the spring member 60, so that the connection state of both terminals 20 and 31 can be maintained.

  Now, a retaining piece 26 is provided at the front end of the terminal body 21. As shown in FIG. 8, the retaining piece 26 is disposed so as to face the front side edge of the male terminal 31 in proximity to the male terminal 31 when the male terminal 31 is fitted to the terminal body 21. Further, the retaining piece 26 is formed by being bent toward the second contact piece 21B at the front edge of the first contact piece 21A. That is, the retaining piece 26 and the first contact piece 21A are integrally formed. Further, a pair of opposed pieces 27 are provided at the front end edge of the retaining piece 26 so as to be arranged in the vertical direction. Both opposing pieces 27 are arranged to face the first contact piece 21 </ b> A, and are formed by being bent backward at the leading edge of the retaining piece 26. On the other hand, an insertion piece 28 inserted between the opposing pieces 27 is formed on the front edge of the second contact piece 21B so as to protrude forward.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the front end portion of the first contact piece 21A has a pair of upper and lower substantially U-shaped hook portions including the first contact piece 21A, the retaining piece 26, and the opposing piece 27, and the first contact piece 21A. It consists of a substantially U-shaped hooking portion comprising a contact piece 21A, a retaining piece 26, and a second contact piece 21B. Since these hooking portions are arranged so as to surround the male terminal 31 from three sides, when the electric wire W is pulled backward, each hooking portion is hooked on the side edge portion of the male terminal 31, and the female terminal 20. Can be prevented from coming off from the male terminal 31. Similarly, when the female terminal 20 is squeezed with respect to the male terminal 31, each hooking part surrounds the male terminal 31 from three directions, so that squeezing is restricted. Furthermore, since the opposing pieces 27 are disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the insertion piece 28, it is possible to restrict the contact pieces 21A and 21B from being displaced in the vertical direction by pulling or prying the electric wire.

  The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described subsequently. First, a method for connecting both terminals 20 and 31 will be described. First, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the terminal body 21 is fitted to the male terminal 31 from above, and both contact pieces 21 </ b> A and 21 </ b> B are disposed on both sides of the male terminal 31. At this time, since the contact pressure is not yet applied to the male terminal 31 and a large frictional force is not generated, both the terminals 20 and 31 can be fitted with a small fitting operation force. Next, the spring member 60 is attached to both terminals 20 and 31 from above along the arrow direction of FIG. Then, both the contact pieces 21A and 21B are pushed in the direction approaching each other by the both elastic pieces 61 of the spring member 60, and the contact protrusions 23 of the both contact pieces 21A and 21B elastically contact the male terminal 31. Thus, both terminals 20 and 31 are connected so as to be conductive.

  Although the above connection method is a method of connecting both terminals 20 and 31 individually, in practice, the plurality of male terminals 31 are fixed to the terminal block 30 and the plurality of female terminals 20 are incorporated into the connector 10. Therefore, by fitting the connector 10 to the terminal block 30, the terminals 20 and 31 are fitted together. Similarly, since the contact pressure is not yet applied to each female terminal 20, the terminals 20 and 31 can be fitted together with a small fitting operation force. Next, the cover 50 is attached to the connector 10. This operation is performed by tightening the bolt 53 into the fastening hole 14A. Therefore, the spring members 60 can be attached to the female terminals 20 and 31 in a lump without placing a heavy work burden on the operator. Thereby, each terminal 20 and 31 is connected collectively so that conduction | electrical_connection is possible.

  Here, since the front end portion of the terminal body 21 is disposed so as to surround the male terminal 31 from three sides, when the electric wire W is pulled rearward, the retaining piece 26 comes into contact with the front side edge of the male terminal 31, and the female The terminal 20 does not move behind the male terminal 31 and leave. Further, even when the terminals 20 and 31 are twisted, the terminals 20 and 31 can be prevented from being deformed and the connected state of the terminals 20 and 31 can be maintained. Further, when the female terminal 20 is pushed forward, both pressing pieces 24 come into contact with the rear side edge of the male terminal 31, and the female terminal 20 does not move forward.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the retaining piece 26 is provided on the front edge of the first contact piece 21A, the male terminal 31 can be surrounded from three sides, and both the terminals 20 and 31 against the pulling or twisting of the electric wire W. The connection state of can be maintained. Further, since the opposing piece 27 is provided at the tip edge of the retaining piece 26, the male terminal 31 can be surrounded from only three sides by only the first contact piece 21A, and a structure that is strong against pulling or twisting of the electric wire W can be obtained. . Furthermore, since the insertion piece 28 is inserted between the pair of upper and lower opposed pieces 27, it is possible to restrict the deformation of the contact pieces 21A and 21B by being twisted in the vertical direction. In addition to these, both the terminals 20 and 31 can be fitted together by fitting the connector 10 to the terminal block 30, and each spring member 60 is attached to each female terminal 20 by tightening with the bolt 53. It is possible to apply the contact pressure to both terminals 20 and 31 collectively.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a spring member 60 is attached to both terminals 20, 31 from the front along the arrow direction in FIG. Since these are redundant, the description thereof is omitted. The same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the spring member 60 is configured to sandwich both terminals 20 and 31 from both the left and right sides, whereby both terminals 20 and 31 are in elastic contact. At this time, as shown in FIG. 13, the tip of the male terminal 31 protrudes slightly above the upper edges of the contact pieces 21A and 21B, but is not in contact with both elastic pieces 61. That is, even if the spring member 60 is pushed in until the operating portion 62 of the spring member 60 comes into contact with the retaining piece 26, the tip of the male terminal 31 is not damaged by the spring member 60.

<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) Although the plurality of male terminals are fixed to the terminal block in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the plurality of male terminals may be incorporated in the connector. That is, both terminals may be connected by fitting connectors together and attaching a cover.

(2) Although the female terminal having the facing piece is used in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, the facing piece is not necessarily provided. In this case, the retaining pieces may be formed on the front edges of the both contact pieces, and the both retaining pieces may be stacked.
(3) Although the female terminal having the insertion piece is used in the above embodiment, according to the present invention, it is not always necessary to provide the insertion piece. Therefore, you may comprise a pair of opposing piece by one opposing piece.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Housing 20 ... Female terminal 21 ... Terminal main body 21A ... 1st contact piece 21B ... 2nd contact piece 26 ... Stopping piece 27 ... Opposing piece 28 ... Insertion piece 31 ... Male terminal 50 ... Cover 60 ... Spring member

Claims (4)

A female terminal connected to a tab-shaped male terminal,
A terminal main body provided so as to be fitted with the male terminal, and extending in a direction crossing a fitting direction with the male terminal;
A pair of contact pieces provided on the terminal body and disposed on both sides of the male terminal;
Before the male terminal is attached to the fitted terminal body, contact pressure is not yet applied to the male terminal, and when the male terminal is attached to the fitted terminal body, both A spring member that is pressed in a direction in which the contact pieces approach each other and sandwiches the both contact pieces to elastically contact the both contact pieces to the male terminal;
One of the contact pieces is provided with a retaining piece by being bent facing the side edge of the male terminal, and the male terminal is surrounded by the two contact pieces and the retaining piece from three sides. A female terminal characterized by that.   An opposing piece is provided at the front end edge of the retaining piece by further bending one of the both contacting pieces, and the male terminal includes one of the contacting pieces, the retaining piece, and the opposing piece. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal is surrounded by three sides. A female terminal connected to a tab-shaped male terminal,
A terminal main body provided so as to be fitted with the male terminal, and extending in a direction crossing a fitting direction with the male terminal;
A pair of contact pieces provided on the terminal body and disposed on both sides of the male terminal;
A spring member that elastically contacts the two contact pieces to the male terminal by sandwiching the two contact pieces;
One of the two contact pieces is provided with a retaining piece by bending it facing the side edge of the male terminal, and the other end of the retaining piece is opposed to one end of the both contact pieces by further folding. A piece is provided, and the male terminal is surrounded from three sides by one of the contact pieces, the retaining piece and the opposing piece,
The opposing pieces are provided in a pair so as to be aligned in the fitting direction with the male terminal, and the other of the contact pieces is provided with an insertion piece inserted between the opposing pieces. Female terminal. A connector in which a plurality of female terminals connected to a tab-shaped male terminal are incorporated,
A plurality of female terminals,
A housing to which the plurality of female terminals are mounted;
By mounting a cover on which a plurality of the spring members are mounted on the housing, the both contact pieces of the female terminals of the plurality of poles are sandwiched together by the plurality of spring members ,
The female terminal is
A terminal main body provided so as to be fitted with the male terminal, and extending in a direction crossing a fitting direction with the male terminal;
A pair of contact pieces provided on the terminal body and disposed on both sides of the male terminal;
A spring member that elastically contacts the two contact pieces to the male terminal by sandwiching the two contact pieces;
One of the contact pieces is provided with a retaining piece by being bent facing the side edge of the male terminal, and the male terminal is surrounded by the two contact pieces and the retaining piece from three sides. A connector characterized by that.

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