JP5757429B2 - Terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting.

  The female terminal fitting described in Patent Document 1 has a rectangular tube portion that can contact the tab portion of the male terminal fitting. The square tube portion is formed on the bottom plate, a pair of side plates raised from both side edges of the bottom plate, a ceiling plate that is bent and formed at the upper edge of one side plate, and extends toward the other side plate, and the upper edge of the other side plate. It consists of a pressing part that is bent and presses the ceiling panel from the top to prevent the ceiling panel from opening.

  However, in this configuration, since the pressing portion is superimposed on the ceiling plate and protrudes upward from the ceiling plate, it is not preferable for reducing the height of the terminal fitting. As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to form a recessed area in the ceiling plate and to superimpose a pressing part on this recessed portion.

JP 2009-48831 A

  However, even if the above measures are taken, there are problems to be solved as follows. That is, when the recessed area of the ceiling plate is formed by press working, generally, the peripheral edge in the recessed area becomes a gentle arc surface (R surface). Therefore, the pressing portion must be disposed inside the recessed area while avoiding the peripheral edge portion that is the R surface. Then, a gap is generated between the peripheral edge of the recessed area and the edge of the pressing portion.

  On the other hand, in the process in which the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing, the lance formed in the cavity slides in contact with the outer surface of the square tube portion. For this reason, if the gap described above is positioned on the sliding contact path, the lance may drop in the gap and be caught by the edge of the holding portion. As a result, the smooth insertion of the terminal fittings is hindered. Concerned about coming.

  This invention is completed based on the above situations, Comprising: It aims at providing the terminal metal fitting which can be smoothly inserted in a cavity.

As a means for achieving the above object, the terminal fitting of the present invention has a rectangular tube portion into which the mating terminal fitting can enter, and when the terminal fitting is housed in the cavity of the connector housing, the lance formed in the cavity. Is a terminal fitting that comes back to the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion in a bent state and then comes back and locks to the rear edge of the rectangular tube portion,
The square tube is
The bottom plate,
A pair of side plates erected at substantially right angles from both side edges of the bottom plate;
It is formed with a ceiling plate that is bent and extended from the rising edge of one side plate substantially in parallel with the bottom plate, and the extended edge portion is in contact with and supported by a receiving portion formed on the other side plate. ,
On the outer surface of the ceiling board, in order to form a contact portion for the mating terminal fitting, a struck region that is struck toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion is formed as a recess,
At the rising edge of the other side plate, a pressing portion is formed extending from this edge so as to be bent substantially parallel to the bottom plate and overlaid on the outer surface of the ceiling plate in the knockout region, thereby preventing the ceiling plate from opening. ,
Furthermore, the lance is on a sliding contact path where the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion is slidably contacted, and the gap between the edge of the pressing portion and the peripheral edge of the hammering region is formed between the outer surface of the ceiling plate and the outer surface of the pressing portion. It is characterized in that a bridge portion formed so as to be substantially continuous along the sliding contact path is arranged.

  According to the present invention, when the rectangular tube portion is configured, the ceiling plate is prevented from being opened by the pressing portion entering the inner portion of the hitting region and contacting the outer surface of the hitting region. At this time, a gap is held between the pressing portion and the periphery of the hitting area. On the other hand, in the process in which the terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing, the lance slides in contact with the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion. During this time, since the bridge portion is formed in the gap between the lance sliding contact path and the peripheral edge of the hitting area and the edge of the pressing portion, the gap is filled, so the lance is bridged between the bridge portion. Thereby, it can move, without being caught between a ceiling board and a holding | suppressing part. For this reason, a terminal metal fitting can be inserted smoothly.

Plan view of terminal fitting Same side view AA line sectional view of FIG. Front view of terminal fitting Same development Sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle of inserting a terminal metal fitting into a cavity Sectional view showing the terminal fitting inserted

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.
(1) In the terminal fitting of the present invention, the depth of the knock-out region is set to be substantially equal to the thickness of the wall surface constituting the rectangular tube portion, the outer surface of the bridge portion is formed flat, and the bridge It is preferable that the height of the outer surface of the portion is set to be substantially equal to the height of the outer surface of the ceiling plate and the outer surface of the pressing portion.

According to this configuration, since the lance is not substantially displaced in the vertical direction while passing through the outer surface of the square tube portion, the terminal fitting can be inserted more smoothly. Moreover, since the outer surface of the pressing part is aligned with the height of the outer surface of the ceiling plate and does not protrude outward, it contributes to a reduction in the overall height of the terminal fitting.
(2) In the knock-out area, an R surface formed at a peripheral edge portion and a flat surface formed inside the R surface and in contact with the pressing portion are formed, and the bridge portion is formed on the R surface. It is good also as a structure formed by knocking out the site | part corresponding to the said sliding contact path | route toward the outward of the said square cylinder part.

According to this configuration, the bridge portion can be easily formed by knocking a part of the R surface outward.
(3) A pair of the bridge portions may be arranged at portions that sandwich the pressing portion in the extending direction of the sliding contact path.

  According to this configuration, the pair of gaps positioned on the sliding contact path of the lance can be filled with the bridge portions, respectively, so that it is possible to reliably avoid catching in the sliding contact process of the lance. Moreover, the effect which controls that a holding | suppressing part shifts | deviates to the sliding contact direction of a lance by both bridge | bridging parts is also acquired.

<Example 1>
1 to 7 show Embodiment 1 of the present invention. First, before describing the terminal fitting T according to the first embodiment, the connector housing 1 (female connector housing) in which the terminal fitting T is accommodated will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a cavity 2 is formed in the upper and lower stages in the connector housing 1. Each cavity 2 is formed to penetrate in the front-rear direction, the terminal fitting T can be inserted from the rear, and the mating terminal fitting 27 can enter from the front. In each cavity 2, a lance 3 is formed that can bend in a direction (vertical direction in the figure) perpendicular to the insertion direction of the terminal fitting T. In the process of inserting the terminal fitting T, the lance 3 is in sliding contact with the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion 4 of the terminal fitting T, which will be described later, while being bent and deformed. When the terminal fitting T is inserted into the cavity 2 to a normal depth, the lance 3 returns after passing through the rectangular tube portion 4, and the locking projection 3 </ b> A is locked to the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 4. The metal fitting T is prevented from coming off. A lock arm 5 is formed on the upper surface of the connector housing 1 for locking with a mating connector (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal fitting T according to the first embodiment is formed by punching a metal flat plate into a predetermined shape. Although not shown in detail, the expanded terminal fittings T are connected to the carrier 6 in a chained manner in the longitudinal direction. The unfolded terminal fitting T is separated from the carrier 6 after being bent and knocked out to form a terminal fitting T having a desired shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a rectangular tube portion 4 penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed in the front portion of the terminal fitting T, and a wire barrel 7 that is crimped to the wire core wire and an insulation that is crimped to the wire coating are formed in the rear portion. The formation barrel 8 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the rectangular tube portion 4 includes a bottom plate 9, a first side plate 10 (one side plate), a second side plate 11 (the other side plate), a ceiling plate 12, and a pressing portion 20. Yes. As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of groove portions 13 are cut into the front edge of the bottom plate 9 in the width direction, and contact with the lower surface of the mating terminal 27 (tab of the male terminal fitting: see FIG. 3) between them. The tongue piece 14 is formed to extend forward. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the tongue piece 14 is folded back toward the rear in the rectangular tube portion 4. The folded portion is curved in an arc shape, and the tongue piece 14 can be bent and deformed in the height direction using the folded portion as a fulcrum. On the upper surface of the tongue piece 14, a tongue piece side contact portion 15 is formed by hammering.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 and the like, an auxiliary spring piece 16 is provided by cutting and raising substantially at the center of the bottom plate 9 and can be bent in the vertical direction. The auxiliary spring piece 16 extends forward, and its tip always contacts the tip of the tongue piece 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a pair of openings 28 are formed at the boundary between the bottom plate 9 and the first and second side plates 10 and 11. In the bottom plate 9, a pair of excessive deflection preventing portions 30 project from a portion between the openings 28 and the punched hole 29 for raising the auxiliary spring piece 16 as shown in FIGS. ing. Both excessive deflection preventing portions 30 play a role of restricting excessive deflection deformation of the tongue piece 14, and are formed by bending in a crank shape toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the two excessive deflection preventing portions 30 are disposed below the expanded portion 14 </ b> A that is expanded in the width direction at the distal end portion of the tongue piece 14. The two excessive deflection preventing portions 30 do not come into contact with the lower surface of the expansion portion 14A when the tongue pieces are bent and deformed in a normal range (when the tongue piece 14 is bent and deformed by the entry of the mating terminal in a normal state). However, when the tongue piece 14 bends beyond this, it is in contact with the lower surface of the expanded portion 14A to restrict the bending.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first side plate 10 rises at a substantially right angle from the illustrated left edge of the bottom plate 9, and the second side plate 11 rises at a substantially right angle from the illustrated right edge. In the first side plate 10, a stabilizer 17 for preventing reverse insertion is formed at the center in the height direction and the longitudinal direction so as to protrude outward in the width direction.

  From the upper end edge (rising end edge) of the first side plate 10, the ceiling plate 12 extends substantially parallel to the bottom plate 9 toward the second side plate 11 side. As shown in FIG. 5, a total of three projecting pieces 18 </ b> A to 18 </ b> C project outward in the width direction at both the longitudinal front and rear end portions and the central portion of the extending edge of the ceiling plate 12. A pair of front and rear abutting the upper and lower ends of the second side plate 11 so that the projecting pieces 18A and 18C located at the front and rear ends of the projecting pieces 18A to 18C of the ceiling plate 12 are overlapped from above. Receiving portions 19A and 19C are formed. At the upper end edge of the second side plate 11, a pressing portion 20 for preventing the ceiling plate 12 from opening is formed between the receiving portions 19A and 19C.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the pressing portion 20 is formed between the recessed grooves 23 formed to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction, and is formed so as to protrude outward in the width direction from the both receiving portions 19 </ b> A and 19 </ b> C. The pressing portion 20 is bent at a substantially right angle from the upper end edge (rising end edge) of the second side plate 11 and comes into contact with the flat surface 25 of the hitting region P described later so as to be overlapped from above. A window hole 21 that is long in the front-rear direction is opened at the center part in the front-rear direction, which is a boundary portion between the holding part 20 and the second side plate 11. Of the projecting pieces 18 </ b> A to 18 </ b> C of the ceiling plate 12, the projecting piece 18 </ b> B located at the center in the longitudinal direction is inserted into the window hole 21 and serves as a receiving part 19 </ b> B. Here, they are brought into contact with each other so as to be overlapped from above. As shown in FIG. 2, the receiving portion 19B located at the center in the longitudinal direction is lower than the other receiving portions 19A and 19C located on the front and rear sides of the receiving portion 19B by an amount corresponding to the plate thickness. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ceiling plate 12 has a ceiling plate side contact portion 22 for the mating terminal 27. The ceiling plate side contact portion 22 can contact with the tongue piece side contact portion 15 in a state where the mating terminal 27 is sandwiched.

  The ceiling plate side contact portion 22 is formed by knocking out a predetermined region (region indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. 5) of the ceiling plate 12 toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion 4. This region (striking region P) is formed by press working, and as shown in FIG. 5, extends in the range between the two projecting pieces 18A and 18C located at both front and rear ends in the front-rear direction, and in the ceiling in the width direction. It extends over a wide range from the extended edge of the plate 12 to the vicinity of the upper edge of the first side plate 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the peripheral portion (part along the imaginary line in FIG. 5) in the knockout region P is an R surface 24, and the inner side of the R surface 24 is a flat surface 25. The R surface 24 is formed on the peripheral edge portion excluding the extending end edge side of the ceiling plate 12 and has a cross-sectional shape that curves inward in an arc shape. The flat surface 25 is formed in a horizontal plane substantially parallel to the bottom plate 9, and the pressing portion 20 can contact almost the entire flat surface 25. Therefore, a gap corresponding to the width of the R surface 24 is retained between the end edge of the pressing portion 20 and the peripheral edge (opening edge) of the hammering region P.

  Further, the depth of the knockout region P is set to be approximately equal to the thickness of each wall surface constituting the rectangular tube portion 4. Therefore, when the flat surface 25 is pressed by the pressing portion 20, the upper surface of the pressing portion 20 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the ceiling plate 12.

  In FIG. 1, a line indicated by L is a slidable contact in which the center portion in the width direction of the lance 3 (the locking projection 3 </ b> A) slidably contacts the upper surface of the rectangular tube portion 4 in the process of inserting the terminal fitting T into the cavity 2. The route is shown. In this embodiment, the sliding contact path L is set to pass through the substantially central portion in the width direction of the rectangular tube portion 4.

  On the R surface 24 located on the sliding contact path L, bridge portions 26A and 26B are formed in pairs in the front-rear direction. Both bridge portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B are formed by being knocked out in the direction opposite to the strike-out direction of the strike-out region P, that is, toward the outside of the rectangular tube portion 4. The bridge portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B are formed with a front-rear width so as to fill a gap between the peripheral edge (opening edge) of the ceiling plate 12 and the edge of the pressing portion 20 and to be substantially continuous with the upper surface of the ceiling plate 12 and the pressing portion 20. Has been. Further, the upper surface is formed in a substantially square shape and substantially in a horizontal plane, and is formed so as to be substantially flush with both the upper surfaces of the ceiling plate 12 and the pressing portion 20. In the present embodiment, the bridge portions 26A and 26B are formed on the ceiling plate 12 after the knock-out area P is formed, that is, after the entire range of the R surface 24 is formed, the portion where the bridge portion 26 is to be formed is on the opposite side. It is made to form through a process of knocking out.

  Subsequently, the function and effect of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. When the terminal fitting T is inserted into the cavity of the connector housing 1, the terminal fitting T is inserted into the cavity 2 from the rear with the ceiling plate 12 facing downward. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the lance 3 comes into contact with the outer surface of the square tube portion 4 of the terminal fitting T on the ceiling plate 12 side and bends and deforms downward.

  When the insertion of the terminal fitting T proceeds in this state, the locking projection 3A of the lance 3 passes on the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion 4 from the front end toward the rear end along the sliding contact path L shown in FIG. . During this time, the locking projection 3A of the lance 3 first comes into sliding contact with the front end portion of the ceiling plate 12, and then passes over the bridge portion 26A on the front side and reaches the pressing portion 20. And after passing over the holding | suppressing part 20 as it is, it passes over the bridge | bridging part 26B of the rear part side, and transfers to the ceiling board 12. FIG. Thus, when passing through the rectangular tube portion 4, the lance 3 is elastically restored and the locking projection 3 </ b> A is locked to the rear end of the rectangular tube portion 4.

  As described above, the bridge portions 26A and 26B are formed so as to fill the gap between the pressing portion 20 and the ceiling plate 12 so that the upper surfaces of the ceiling plate 12 and the pressing portion 20 are substantially continuous. Thus, the locking projection 3A does not fall into the gap between the ceiling plate 12 and the pressing portion 20 and is not caught and can move smoothly along the sliding contact path L. Further, in this embodiment, the bridge portions 26A and 26B are continuous with the pressing portion 20 and the ceiling plate 12, so that the amount of bending of the lance 3 is substantially constant during the insertion. Therefore, since the insertion resistance hardly changes, the terminal fitting T can be inserted more smoothly.

  Furthermore, the bridge portions 26A and 26B can be easily formed by knocking out part of the R surface 24 in the hammering region P to the opposite side. Furthermore, since the bridge portions 26A and 26B are disposed at positions where the pressing portion 20 is sandwiched from the front and rear, it is possible to avoid the situation where the pressing portion 20 moves in the front-rear direction.

  By the way, if the striking area P is made narrower in the width direction than in this embodiment and the sliding contact path L is removed from the striking area, the lance 3 will not be caught in the first place. However, in such a method, as the hitting area P is narrowed, the pressing portion 20 itself is also narrowed, and as a result, the function of preventing the ceiling plate 12 from opening is lowered. In this respect, according to the present embodiment, the lance 3 can be prevented from being caught even if the squeezing region P is set so large that the sliding contact path L passes through the struck region P. An effect that the function of preventing the opening of the plate 12 can be enhanced is also obtained.

<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 upper surface of the pressing portion 20 and the upper surface of the ceiling plate 12 are formed to be substantially flush with each other, but the pressing depth of the protruding region P is set to be equal to or greater than the plate thickness, and the pressing portion 20 May be made lower than the upper surface of the ceiling panel 12. In that case, it is desirable to form the inclined surfaces such that the upper surfaces of the bridge portions 26 </ b> A and 26 </ b> B smoothly continue from the upper surface of the ceiling plate 12 to the upper surface of the pressing portion 20.
(2) In the above embodiment, the bridge portions 26A and 26B are formed by knocking out in the reverse direction after forming the knockout region P. However, the knockout region P is formed except for the bridge portions 26A and 26B. It is also possible. In this way, the knocking-out process can be completed once.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Connector housing 2 ... Cavity 3 ... Lance 4 ... Square tube part 9 ... Bottom plate 10 ... 1st side plate 11 ... 2nd side plate 12 ... Ceiling board 20 ... Holding part 24 ... R surface 26A, 26B ... Bridge part T ... Terminal metal fittings L ... Sliding contact path P ... Striking area

Claims (4)

When the mating terminal fitting has a square tube portion into which the mating terminal fitting can enter and is housed in the cavity of the connector housing, the lance formed in the cavity is returned after sliding in contact with the outer surface of the square tube portion. A terminal fitting to be engaged with the rear end edge of the rectangular tube portion,
The rectangular tube portion is
The bottom plate,
A pair of side plates erected at substantially right angles from both side edges of the bottom plate;
A ceiling plate that is bent and extended from a rising edge of one of the side plates substantially in parallel with the bottom plate, and the extended edge of which is in contact with and supported by a receiving portion formed on the other side plate. Formed,
On the outer surface of the ceiling plate, in order to form a contact portion with respect to the mating terminal metal fitting, a struck region that is struck toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion is formed as a recess,
On the rising edge of the other side plate, a pressing member that is bent from the edge substantially parallel to the bottom plate and overlaps the outer surface of the ceiling plate in the knock-out area to prevent the ceiling plate from opening. The part is extended,
Further, the lance is on a sliding contact path in which the outer surface of the rectangular tube portion is slidably contacted, and a gap between an end edge of the pressing portion and a peripheral edge of the hitting region is provided between the outer surface of the ceiling plate and the A terminal fitting comprising a bridge portion formed so as to be substantially continuous with an outer surface of a pressing portion along the sliding contact path.   The depth of the knock-out area is set to be approximately equal to the thickness of the wall surface constituting the rectangular tube portion, the outer surface of the bridge portion is formed flat, and the height of the outer surface of the bridge portion is the ceiling plate The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the terminal fitting is set to be substantially equal to the height of the outer surface and the height of the outer surface of the pressing portion. In the knock-out area, an R surface formed at a peripheral edge portion and a flat surface formed inside the R surface and in contact with the pressing portion are formed.
The said bridge | bridging part is formed by knocking out the site | part corresponding to the said sliding contact path | route in the said R surface toward the outward of the said square cylinder part, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Terminal fitting.   The terminal fitting according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a pair of the bridge portions are arranged at portions that sandwich the pressing portion in the extending direction of the sliding contact path.

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