JP5673390B2 - Terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a terminal fitting in which a metal plate is bent into a box shape to form a main body is known. The following patent document 1 can be mentioned as an example of such a terminal metal fitting. The terminal fitting disclosed here has a main body at the front, and can be electrically connected to a mating terminal fitting. The main body includes a bottom plate, a pair of side plates that are continuous on both sides of the bottom plate, and a top plate that is continuous with each of the side plates. As described above, the conventional terminal fitting has been made to maintain the box shape of the main body by adopting a double structure in which both top and bottom plates are overlapped on the inside and outside.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-154541

  However, if the top plate has a double structure as described above, there is a problem that the yield is reduced and the size of the terminal fitting is restricted.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a terminal fitting capable of ensuring the strength of the main body while reducing the size.

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a terminal fitting bent by a metal plate, and is bent into a cylindrical shape so that both side edges of the metal plate are brought into contact with each other. A main body portion, a standing piece formed by bending so as to protrude outward from one side edge portion of the both side edge portions, and the other side edge portion of the both side edge portions. the standing piece is formed so as to engulf the outer and Ri Na and a crimping piece crimped the standing piece, said crimping pieces are folded in a substantially U-shape toward the outside inwardly in the form On the other hand, the upright piece is inserted to the depth where the end portion reaches the inner back portion of the folded portion of the caulking piece, and the corner portion located on the outer side of both corner portions constituting the folded portion of the caulking piece. Is a laser that exposes the end of the upright piece Window for contact is characterized by the place where the structure is open.

The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, the window portion is formed in a shape narrowed toward the back .

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, a stabilizer for preventing reverse insertion of the terminal fitting is formed by the standing piece and the caulking piece .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the upright piece is caulked while being caught by the caulking piece, the displacement of the upright piece is suppressed. By this, the shape maintenance function of a main body can be improved. Moreover, since the ceiling surface of the main body is formed of a single plate, it is possible to achieve a reduction in size due to a reduction in height as compared with a conventional double structure.
Moreover, since the caulking piece and the standing piece are laser-welded, the strength of the main body can be further increased together with the caulking. In addition, since the window for laser welding is set to the outer side of the inner and outer corners of the caulking piece, the spatter generated by laser welding only scatters to the outside of the main body, suppressing inward scattering. Therefore, adhesion to the upper surface of the main body can be effectively avoided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the window portion is wide at the entrance of the laser beam and narrows as it goes deeper. Therefore, the situation of melting the entrance portion of the window portion is alleviated, and the standing piece and the periphery of the window portion, which are the original irradiation region, can be reliably melted.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the stabilizer is configured using the structure for maintaining the shape of the main body (the structure in which the standing piece is caulked by the caulking piece), the terminal fitting is compared with the case where it is configured separately. The entire configuration can be simplified.

Side view of terminal fitting Same top view Same front view AA line sectional view of FIG. Expanded sectional view of the main part showing the relationship between the laser beam and the window Sectional drawing which shows the condition after welding with a crimping piece and a standing piece

<Embodiment 1>
A terminal fitting T (female terminal fitting) according to the present embodiment is formed by bending a single metal plate, and as shown in FIG. The barrel portion is arranged, and the main body portion 1 and the barrel portion 2 are connected by a connection portion 6. The upper edge of the connecting portion 6 is formed with an inclined surface 6A that is a downward gradient toward the rear. The barrel portion 2 includes a wire barrel 2A and an insulation barrel 2B. The wire barrel 2A is arranged on the front side and caulked a core portion of an electric wire (not shown), and the insulation barrel 2B caulked a covered portion of the electric wire.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 1 has a box shape (square tube shape) as a whole. The main body 1 includes a bottom plate 3, a pair of side plates 4 and 5 that are continuous to both side edges of the bottom plate 3, and one side plate (in FIG. 3, a left side plate, hereinafter referred to as a first side plate 4). The board 7 is generally configured.

  On the front edge of the bottom plate 3, a tongue piece 8 for connection with the male terminal fitting is extended and formed. The tongue piece 8 is folded back in a substantially U shape toward the back in the main body 1. As a result, the tongue piece 8 can be bent in the vertical direction. The tongue piece 8 has a gentle upward slope as it goes rearward from the above-described folded portion, and is formed with a downward slope after having the apex at substantially the center in the length direction. A contact 9 protrudes from the top surface of the tongue piece 8 and in front of the apex portion. Further, a pair of excessive deflection restricting pieces 10 project outwardly at positions on both side edges in the width direction of the tongue piece 8 and in front of the contact 9 described above.

  In the side plates 4 and 5, a pair of locking windows 11 are opened at positions corresponding to the above-described excessive deflection regulating piece 10. The distal end portions of the excessive deflection restricting pieces 10 enter the both locking windows 11, respectively, but do not protrude outward from the side plates 4 and 5. When the tongue piece 8 bends in a normal range with the connection with the male terminal fitting, the over-deflection restricting piece 10 does not come into contact with the lower edge of the engaging window 11. However, when the tongue piece 8 tends to be excessively bent and deformed, the lower edge abuts against the excessive bending restricting piece 10 so as to restrict the bending range of the tongue piece 8 within the elastic range.

  A top plate 7 is continuous with the upper edge of the first side plate 4 over the entire length. The top plate 7 is bent in a direction substantially perpendicular to the first side plate 4. A protrusion 12 projecting into the main body 1 is formed on the top plate 7, and a male terminal fitting (not shown) is sandwiched from above and below by the protrusion 12 and the contact 9 of the tongue piece 8. . The protrusion 12 is formed with a predetermined width dimension at the center of the top plate 7 in the width direction, and has a length range from the position in front of the contact 9 to the rear of the tongue piece 8 slightly rearward along the front-rear direction. Is formed.

  The side edge portion on the free end side of the top plate 7 is bent upward to form a standing piece 13 while leaving a predetermined length range of the rear end portion. Of the side edges of the top plate 7, the rear end portion that is not bent as the upright piece 13 extends horizontally as it is to form a mounting piece 14, and the other side plate (the right side plate in FIG. It is placed on the upper edge of the side plate 5). Note that the front end edge of the upright piece 13 is at a position slightly retracted from the front edge of the top plate 7.

  A length range (rear end portion) corresponding to the mounting piece 14 in the upper edge portion of the second side plate 5 is notched, and a step surface 15 on which the mounting piece 14 can be placed is formed. A region in front of the step surface 15 at the upper edge of the second side plate 5 is a caulking piece 16, and is formed so as to involve the entire upright piece 13. Thus, the structure in which the standing piece is wound by the caulking piece functions as a stabilizer for restricting the terminal fitting from being inserted into the connector housing in the reverse orientation. Note that an inclined surface 17 for avoiding interference when the terminal fitting T is inserted into the connector housing is formed at the front end of the caulking piece 16.

  The caulking piece 16 extends straight upward from the second side plate 5 and is folded back in a substantially U shape at the height position of the upper end of the upright piece 13. The lower end of the folded portion of the caulking piece 16 is in contact with the upper surface of the top plate. The caulking piece 16 caulks the upright piece 13 in a state of being in close contact with the inner side surface and the outer side surface of the upright piece 13 as well as the entire upper end surface with almost no gap. As a result, the upright piece 13 is held undisplaceable and the top plate 7 is also undisplaceable, so that the shape of the main body 1 is kept.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the connection state between the standing piece 13 and the caulking piece 16 is further reinforced by performing laser welding after the caulking. For this reason, a window portion 18 for allowing the laser beam L to enter the joint portion between the standing piece 13 and the caulking piece 16 is provided at the corner on the outer surface side of the folded portion of the caulking piece 16 for performing laser welding. There are two openings in the front and rear.

  In the present embodiment, both the window portions 18 are arranged within the length range in which the ridge portion 12 is provided, and although not shown in detail, in the length range in which the caulking pieces 16 are caulking the upright pieces 13. It is disposed at a site that is approximately the same distance from the front and rear ends.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, both window portions 18 are perforated obliquely downward and penetrate the caulking piece 16. Both window portions 18 are formed in a substantially pyramid shape (may be conical) that opens in a substantially rectangular shape on the entrance side (may be a circular hole) and becomes tapered toward the back. The opening on the far end side of the window portion 18 exposes a corner portion on the outer surface side of the upper edge of the upright piece 13, that is, the upper edge portion of the upright piece 13 and covers a range extending from the outer side surface to the upper end surface. It is supposed to let you.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the relationship with the incident light beam of the laser beam L irradiated coaxially with the window part 18 is demonstrated. The opening angle (α1) of the window 18 is set larger than the beam angle (α2) of the laser beam L (α1> α2). Further, the beam diameter (φ1) at the condensing point of the laser beam L is set to be larger than the opening width (W1) on the back end side of the window 18 and smaller than the opening width (W2) on the entrance side of the window 18. (W2> φ1> W1).

  Next, the effect of this embodiment comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated concretely. The terminal fitting T assembled in a predetermined shape as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is different from the conventional one in that the upright piece 13 is caulked by the caulking piece 16 while the top plate 7 has a single piece structure. 13. As a result, the top plate 7 is held indisplaceable. Therefore, for example, even if an external force in the push-down direction acts on the top plate 7, the original shape of the main body 1 can be maintained as it is. Further, since the caulking piece 16 has a triple structure with the upright piece 13 being wound inside, the strength of the caulking piece 16 itself is also increased.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the standing piece 13 and the caulking piece 16 are laser-welded after the assembly process of the terminal fitting T.

  In laser welding, a laser beam L is emitted from a laser device in a state in which both window portions 18 of the terminal fitting T are aligned with the axis. At this time, due to the relationship between the incident light beam of the laser beam L and the window portion 18, the opening edge of the laser beam L on the entrance side of the window portion 18 deviates from the irradiation region, and the depth position in the middle of the window portion 18. The deeper hole surface and the corner of the upright piece 13 are included in the irradiation region. The standing piece 13 and the caulking piece 16 are welded by melting and solidifying the irradiation region. In addition, in FIG. 6, the site | part D to which many dots were attached | subjected is a junction site | part (refer FIG. 6).

  Thus, since the standing piece 13 is welded to the caulking piece 16 at the corner portion, in addition to the joining strength provided by the caulking described above, the joining strength by welding is added, so the caulking piece 16 and the standing piece 13 are more Securely joined. Therefore, the shape maintaining function of the main body 1 is further enhanced. This also brings about the following effects. Conventionally, the strength of the main body 1 is ensured by making the ceiling wall of the terminal fitting T into a two-sheet structure. However, in this embodiment, since the ceiling wall only needs to have a single structure, the yield is improved. At the same time, the thickness reduction of one ceiling wall brings about the effect of reducing the height of the terminal fitting T.

  On the other hand, melt spatter is generated during the laser welding operation, and there is a concern that this may be scattered around and adhered to the terminal fitting T. As one of countermeasures, in this embodiment, the installation site of the window portion 18 is the outer surface side of the terminal fitting T, and the opening direction of the window portion 18 is directed obliquely upward with respect to the main body portion 1. If it does in this way, even if a spatter spouts from the window part 18 with laser welding, a spatter will scatter to the outward of the terminal metal fitting T, and adhesion to the terminal metal fitting T can be avoided as much as possible. However, contrary to the present embodiment, if the window portion 18 is set at a corner portion on the inner surface side of the caulking piece 16, the spatter may drop and adhere to the upper surface of the main body portion 1. Since the spatter adhering to such a part becomes a catch when the terminal fitting T is inserted into the connector housing after solidification, the spatter adhering to the main body 1 must be avoided.

  Furthermore, since the installation site of the window portion 18 is set to a corner portion of the folded portion of the caulking piece 16 and a tip portion of the standing piece 13, which is separated from the internal space of the main body 1, the standing piece 13 is melted by any chance. However, even if the process proceeds more than necessary, the spatter does not scatter inside the main body. Therefore, the situation where spatter adheres on the tongue piece 8 and adversely affects the electrical conduction state is also avoided.

<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 above embodiment, the main body 1 is formed in the shape of a rectangular tube, but it may be cylindrical.
(2) In the above-described embodiment, the window portions 18 are arranged at two places in the front and rear, but the position and the number of installations should not be limited at all.
(3) Although the stabilizer is formed by the caulking piece 16 and the upright piece 13 in the above embodiment, the stabilizer may be formed separately from these two pieces.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main-body part 4 ... 1st side plate 5 ... 2nd side plate 7 ... Top plate 13 ... Standing piece 16 ... Caulking piece 18 ... Window part T ... Terminal metal fitting L ... Laser beam

Claims (3)

A terminal fitting bent by a metal plate,
A main body formed in a cylindrical shape so that both side edges of the metal plate are abutted with each other;
An upright piece formed by bending so as to protrude outward from the one side edge part of the both side edge parts,
Wherein the other side edge of the side edge portions are formed so as to involve the standing pieces from the outside, and Ri Na and a crimping piece crimped the standing piece,
The caulking piece is formed by being folded back in a substantially U shape from the outside to the inside, while the upright piece is inserted to a depth reaching the inner back of the folded portion of the caulking piece, and A terminal fitting, wherein a window portion for laser welding exposing an end portion of the upright piece is opened at a corner portion located outside of both corner portions constituting the folded portion of the caulking piece .   The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the window is formed in a shape narrowed toward the back.   The terminal fitting according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a stabilizer that prevents reverse insertion of the terminal fitting is formed by the standing piece and the caulking piece.

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