JP5787918B2 - Crimp terminal and wire harness using crimp terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness for an automobile or the like and a crimp terminal used therefor.

  Conventionally, in the fields of automobiles, OA equipment, home appliances, and the like, wire harnesses in which conductive wires having excellent electric conductivity are used as power lines and signal lines are known. The wire harness includes a crimp terminal that is attached to an electric wire and used for connection to other devices. The electric wire has a covering portion coated with an insulator and an exposed portion of the conductor portion where the core wire is exposed from the tip of the covering portion, and the crimping terminal is crimped to each of the covering portion and the exposed portion, thereby providing conductivity. The wire harness is configured. From the viewpoint of weight reduction, an electric wire using aluminum as a core wire material is attracting attention. As the crimp terminal, copper having excellent electrical characteristics is often used.

  For example, when moisture adheres to a contact portion of different metals such as aluminum and copper, so-called galvanic corrosion may occur due to a difference in standard electrode potential. In particular, since the standard electrode potential difference between aluminum and copper is large, corrosion on the aluminum side, which is electrically base, proceeds. For this reason, the connection state between the core wire and the crimp terminal becomes unstable, and there is a risk that an increase in contact resistance or an increase in electrical resistance due to a decrease in the wire diameter, or a disconnection, leading to malfunction of an electrical component or a malfunction.

  Among such wire harnesses in contact with different types of metals, there is one in which a resin material is filled so as to cover a connection portion between an electric wire and a crimp terminal (Patent Document 1). By filling the resin material, moisture is prevented from adhering to the contact portion between the electric wire and the crimp terminal.

JP 2004-111058 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, since the resin material must be separately filled, the manufacturing process becomes complicated, and accordingly, the management in the manufacturing process becomes complicated. In addition, the cost of the entire wire harness increases due to the complexity of the process. Therefore, a water stop method that does not use a resin material is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can prevent moisture from adhering to a contact portion with an electric wire without using a resin material, and can simplify the manufacturing process. An object is to provide a simple crimp terminal and a wire harness using the crimp terminal.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention is a crimp terminal including a crimp portion in which an electric wire can be inserted in the longitudinal direction, and has a watertight cross-sectional hollow shape in the circumferential direction, and an opening into which the electric wire can be inserted. A longitudinal rear end portion forming an end, a front end portion opposed to the rear end portion, and a sheath positioned on the rear end portion and crimped to a sheath portion in which the core wire of the electric wire is coated with an insulator A crimping portion, a core wire crimping portion to be crimped to an exposed portion where the core wire is exposed from the longitudinal tip of the covering portion, and the front end portion side of the core wire crimping portion, and the hollow inner surfaces are watertight And a plurality of projecting ridges provided in the covering crimping portion and projecting radially inward and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction, and the projecting ridges located on the rear end side are , Compared to the ridges located on the front end side Te is a crimp terminal, wherein the large size in the radial direction.

  At least one of the ridges may be provided in an annular shape in the circumferential direction of the covering crimping part.

In at least any one of the protrusions, the radial dimension on the rear end side may be smaller than the radial dimension on the front end side.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the second invention is characterized in that an electric wire having a covering portion in which a conductive core wire is covered with an insulator and an exposed portion exposed from the tip of the covering portion, and the electric wire can be inserted in the longitudinal direction. A crimping terminal having a crimping part, wherein the crimping terminal has a watertight cross-sectional hollow shape in the circumferential direction, and has a front end part in the longitudinal direction and an opening end into which the electric wire can be inserted. The rear end portion of the longitudinal direction to be formed, the cover crimp portion positioned at the rear end portion and crimped to the covering portion, the core crimp portion crimped to the exposed portion, and the front end of the core crimp portion A sealing portion that is located on the portion side and in which the hollow inner surfaces are water-tight with each other, and a plurality of ridge portions that are provided on the covering crimping portion and project radially inward and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction , position the rear end Wherein convex portions which, as compared to the convex portion located at the front end portion, larger dimension protruding into the radially inward between the ridges in the radial direction is located in the rear end and separation dimension of a wire harness, characterized in that the spacing dimension between the convex portions is substantially equal in the radial direction is located in the front end portion.

  The core wire may be made of an aluminum material, and the core wire crimping portion may be made of a copper material.

  According to the present invention, the crimp terminal has the core crimping portion crimped to the exposed portion of the electric wire, the covering crimping portion is crimped to the covering portion, and further provided with a plurality of ridges on the covering crimping portion, and the rear end portion The protruding portion located on the side has a larger dimension protruding radially inward than the protruding portion located on the front end side. In the wire harness, the separation dimension between the protruding ridges in the radial direction located on the rear end side is substantially equal to the separation dimension between the protruding ridges in the radial direction located on the front end side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent moisture from entering from the rear end side without using a resin material, and to prevent moisture from adhering to the contact portion between the electric wire and the crimp terminal. Further, the manufacturing process can be simplified correspondingly, and the cost increase correspondingly can be suppressed.

  Since the protruding portion is provided in a ring shape in the circumferential direction of the covering portion, it can be kept watertight throughout the entire circumferential direction.

  Since the dimension in the radial direction on the front end part side is larger than the dimension in the radial direction on the rear end part side, the protrusions can be easily inserted into the wire and can be made difficult to come off.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent moisture from adhering to a contact portion with an electric wire without using a resin material, and to use the crimp terminal capable of simplifying the manufacturing process. A wire harness can be provided.

The disassembled perspective view of the wire harness in 1st Embodiment. II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of a cover crimp in FIG. 2. The perspective view of the wire harness after crimping | compression-bonding. VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the cover crimping portion of FIG. 5. Explanatory drawing of the crimping method of a wire harness. Explanatory drawing of the other crimping | compression-bonding method of a wire harness. The figure similar to FIG. 6 of the wire harness in 2nd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the wire harness 1 and shows a state before the crimping portion 22 is crimped. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. The wire harness 1 has a longitudinal direction X and a width direction Y orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X, and includes an electric wire 10 and a crimp terminal 20. The electric wire 10 includes a covering portion 12 in which a conductive core wire 16 is covered with an insulator 15 and an exposed portion 11 in which a part of the core wire 16 is exposed from the distal end in the longitudinal direction X of the covering portion 12. The core wire 16 is made of an aluminum-based material such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and more specifically, is formed by twisting a plurality of aluminum alloy wires or the like.

  The crimp terminal 20 extends in the longitudinal direction X, and is a crimp that allows insertion of a male connector (not shown) located at the front end 20A in the longitudinal direction X and a wire 10 located at the rear end 20B. Part 22. The box portion 21 includes an elastic contact piece 21A that comes into contact with the insertion tab of the male connector.

  The crimping part 22 includes a core crimping part 23 and a covering crimping part 24. The core wire crimping part 23 is located between the covering crimping part 24 and the box part 21. The cover crimping part 24 has a hollow cross section extending in the longitudinal direction X so that the electric wire 10 can be inserted from the rear end part 20B while opening to the rear end part 20B. The crimping terminal 20 is formed by punching a copper alloy strip such as brass whose surface is tin-plated into a flattened terminal shape (not shown), and then forming a box portion 21 of a hollow quadrangular prism body and a crimping portion 22 of a hollow cylindrical body. It is formed by bending into a three-dimensional terminal shape composed of Furthermore, between the box part 21 and the crimping | compression-bonding part 22, the sealing part 26 which made the hollow inner surface contact mutually watertight is provided. The sealing portion 26 is formed by extending in the width direction Y, bringing the inner surfaces of the crimping portion 22 into contact with each other, and watertightly joining. As such a joining method, for example, pressure bonding or laser welding can be used.

  The crimping part 22 is joined in a watertight manner by a joining part 29 extending in the longitudinal direction X. Specifically, the end portions of the copper alloy strip punched into the terminal shape can be butted together so as to form a hollow shape, and the joined portion 29 can be formed by welding such as laser welding.

  The covering crimping portion 24 is provided with a first protruding portion 25A located on the front end portion 20A side and a second protruding portion 25B located on the rear end portion 20B side. The first and second protrusions 25 </ b> A and 25 </ b> B protrude inward in the radial direction Z of the coated crimping part 24 and have a continuous ring shape in the circumferential direction of the crimping part 22. The first ridges 25A and the second ridges 25B are provided apart in the longitudinal direction X. Here, the radial direction Z shows only the vertical direction of the drawing for convenience of explanation, but has all directions orthogonal to the virtual axis 2 indicating the center line of the coated crimping portion 24.

  FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the cover crimping portion 24 of FIG. In this embodiment, the dimension L1 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the front end 20A side in the longitudinal direction X of the first ridge 25A and the dimension L2 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the rear end 20B side are approximately. equal. Similarly, the dimension L3 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the front end 20A side in the second ridge portion 25B is substantially equal to the dimension L4 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the rear end 20B side. Further, the dimensions L3 and L4 of the second ridge portion 25B are larger than the dimensions L1 and L2 of the first ridge portion 25A. In other words, the second ridge portion 25B protrudes more inward in the radial direction Z than the first ridge portion 25A.

  FIG. 4 shows the crimped crimping terminal 20 and the core crimping part 23 and the covering crimping part 24 are crimped after inserting the electric wire 10, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 4. The electric wire 10 is inserted so that the exposed portion 11 of the electric wire 10 is located in the core wire crimping portion 23 and the covering portion 12 is located in the covering crimping portion 24. The dimension of the crimping part 22 in the longitudinal direction X is larger than the dimension of the exposed part 11 in the longitudinal direction X. Therefore, when the electric wire 10 is inserted into the crimping part 22, the exposed part 11 and the covering part 12 are positioned facing the inner periphery of the crimping part 22.

By crimping the crimping part 22 with the exposed part 11 and the covering part 12 inserted into the crimping part 22, the core wire crimping part 23 and the core wire 16 of the exposed part 11 are crimped. The insulator 15 is crimped.
Since the covering crimping portion 24 is provided with the first and second projecting strip portions 25A and 25B, when the crimping portion 22 is caulked, the first and second projecting strip portions 25A and 25B are used to partly cover the covering portion 12. Is crimped with a stronger force than other parts.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the first and second protrusions 25A and 25B. The first and second protrusions 25 </ b> A and 25 </ b> B protrude inward in the radial direction Z so that a part thereof bites into the insulator 15 of the covering portion 12.

  FIG. 7 shows a method for crimping the crimp terminal 20 into which the electric wire 10 is inserted with the crimp tool 40. The crimping tool 40 includes an upper blade mold 41 and a lower blade mold 42. The upper blade mold 41 has a semi-cylindrical cavity extending in the longitudinal direction X, and has a large diameter portion 44 corresponding to the coated crimp portion 24 and a radius smaller than the large diameter portion 44 and corresponding to the core wire crimp portion 23. A small diameter portion 43 having Both the small diameter part 43 and the large diameter part 44 have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the crimping part 22 before caulking. The lower blade mold 42 has a semi-cylindrical cavity extending in the longitudinal direction X, and the radius of any part corresponding to the core wire crimping part 23 and the covering crimping part 24 is the same. The crimp portion 22 extending in the longitudinal direction X can be formed by meshing the upper blade mold 41 and the lower blade mold 42 with each other. The upper blade mold 41 is such that the portion having the small diameter portion 43 and the inclined portion 45 and the portion having the large diameter portion 44 are separable in the longitudinal direction X, but this may not be separable. . Similarly, the lower blade mold 42 is separable in the longitudinal direction X, but it may not be separable.

  When the electric wire 10 is inserted into the crimping tool 40 as described above, the exposed portion 11 is positioned at the small diameter portion 43, the tip portion of the covering portion 12 is positioned at the inclined portion 45, and the tip portion of the covering portion 12 is positioned at the large diameter portion 44. The part other than is located. By crimping the inserted electric wire 10 and the crimping terminal 20, the core wire crimping portion 23 is formed by the small diameter portion 43 and the inclined portion 45, and the covering crimping portion 24 is formed by the large diameter portion 44. By providing the inclined portion 45, the boundary between the exposed portion 11 and the covering portion 12 is securely crimped, and the insulator 15 of the covering portion 12 is not damaged.

  In the covering portion 12, as the insulator 15 covering the core wire 16, those usually used in the field of this technology such as elastic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene can be selected.

  By using the crimping tool 40 as described above, the core wire crimping portion 23 is strongly crimped compared to the coated crimping portion 24, and thus the crimp terminal 20 has a slightly larger diameter toward the rear end portion 20B. There is a tendency. Referring again to FIG. 6, the insulator 15 of the electric wire 10 extending from the rear end portion 20 </ b> B is not pressed by the crimp terminal 20, and therefore has a larger diameter than the pressed portion. Since the insulator 15 has elasticity, the covering portion 12 is inclined so that the diameter of the insulator 15 increases toward the rear end portion 20B. That is, it inclines so that the space | interval dimension from the virtual axis 2 may become large toward the drawing right direction. The electric wire 10 inclined in this way is pressed from the inside thereof, and the crimp terminal 20 is also inclined so that the diameter greatly increases toward the rear end portion 20B. In particular, in this embodiment, since the insulator 15 of the covering portion 12 is pressed toward the rear end portion 20B by providing the inclined portion 45 on the crimping tool 40, the diameter of the crimp terminal 20 toward the rear end portion 20B. Is easy to spread.

  However, in this embodiment, the dimensions L3 and L4 of the second ridges 25B are larger than the dimensions L1 and L2 of the first ridges 25A, whereby the diameter of the crimp terminal 20 toward the rear end 20B. In the wire harness 1 after crimping, the separation dimension D1 in the radial direction Z between the first ridges 25A and the separation dimension D2 in the radial direction Z between the second ridges 25B are substantially equal. Become. That is, the compression amount with respect to the covering portion 12 can be made substantially equal between the first ridge portion 25A and the second ridge portion 25B. Therefore, variations in the crimping force in the longitudinal direction X can be prevented. In this embodiment, the separation dimension D1 and the separation dimension D2 are substantially equal, but the separation dimension D2 in the second ridge portion 25B is set to be equal to or less than the separation dimension D1 in the first ridge portion 25A. In this case, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the crimping force at least on the rear end portion 20B side.

  According to this embodiment, the rear end 20B side of the crimping part 22 is sealed watertight by the covering crimping part 24 and the front end part is sealed watertight by the sealing part 26, so that moisture enters the crimping part 22. Can be suppressed. In this embodiment, in the wire harness 1, the core wire 16 of the electric wire 10 is made of an aluminum-based material, and the core wire crimping portion 23 of the crimp terminal 20 is made of a copper-based material. Therefore, in the core wire crimping portion 23, different metals contact each other and there is a possibility of electric corrosion due to moisture adhering to the contact portions of these different metals, but it is possible to prevent moisture from entering the crimping portion 22. Since it can, electric corrosion can be prevented. In addition, a separate resin material is not required for watertight closure. Therefore, the manufacturing process can be simplified as compared with the case of using a resin material, and the cost can be reduced accordingly. Further, according to this embodiment, even if a material normally used as the material of the insulator 15 is used, it is possible to reliably prevent moisture from entering the crimping portion 22.

  FIG. 8 shows another crimping method. In this method, the first protrusion 25A and the second protrusion 25B are not formed on the crimp terminal 20 in advance, but by forming a protrusion corresponding to the crimp tool, simultaneously with the crimping process, A first ridge portion 25 </ b> A and a second ridge portion 25 </ b> B are formed in the covering crimp portion 24.

  On the inner peripheral surface of the upper blade mold 41 of the crimping tool 40, a protrusion 46 and a protrusion 47 spaced apart in the longitudinal direction X of the protrusion 46 are provided in the large diameter portion 44. The protrusions 46 and 47 extend linearly in the circumferential direction. A protrusion 48 that faces the protrusion 46 and a protrusion 49 that faces the protrusion 47 are provided on the inner peripheral surface of the lower blade mold 42. These protrusions 48 and 49 also extend in the circumferential direction.

  By engaging the upper blade mold 41 and the lower blade mold 42, the core wire crimping portion 23 and the coating crimping portion 24, and the exposed portion 11 and the coating portion 12 are crimped. The first protrusion 25A is formed by 48, and the second protrusion 25B is formed by the protrusions 47 and 49. By making the inner diameter formed by the protrusion 47 and the protrusion 49 smaller than that formed by the protrusion 46 and the protrusion 48, the second protrusion having a larger dimension protruding in the radial direction Z than the first protrusion 25A. The strip 25B can be formed. That is, even when the diameter of the crimp terminal 20 increases toward the rear end portion 20B, the amount of compression with respect to the covering portion 12 can be made substantially equal between the first ridge portion 25A and the second ridge portion 25B. Variations in the crimping force in the direction X can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the first and second ridges 25A and 25B are formed in advance on the cover crimping part 24 before caulking, and the first and second ridges 25A and 25B are formed on the crimping tool 40. The method for forming the protrusions for forming the first and second ridges at the same time as the crimping process has been described. However, the crimping process may be followed by separate crimping. Although the cross-sectional shape of the 1st and 2nd protruding item | line parts 25A and 25B is made into the substantially rectangular shape, it is not restricted to this shape. For example, the cross-sectional shape may be a polygon such as a circle or a triangle.

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 9 shows the second embodiment and is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the first and second ridges 25A and 25B. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the second embodiment, in each of the first and second ridges 25A and 25B, the dimensions L2 and L4 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the rear end 20B side in the longitudinal direction X are the front end portions. It is smaller than the dimensions L1 and L3 projecting inward in the radial direction Z on the 20A side.

  Since the dimensions L2 and L4 on the rear end 20B side are reduced, when the electric wire 10 is inserted from the rear end 20B, there is little resistance and it can be easily inserted. In addition, since the dimensions L1 and L3 on the front end 20A side are increased, when the electric wire 10 moves in the direction in which the electric wire 10 is removed from the rear end 20B, the insulator 15 has the first protrusion 25A and the second protrusion 25B. The front end portion 20A side is caught and can be made difficult to come off.

  The dimension L3 on the front end portion 20A side in the longitudinal direction X of the second ridge portion 25B is larger than the dimension L1 on the front end portion 20A side of the first ridge portion 25A. Similarly, the dimension L4 on the rear end portion 20B side of the second ridge portion 25B is larger than the dimension L2 on the rear end portion 20B side of the first ridge portion 25A. Accordingly, the second ridge portion 25B projects larger inward in the radial direction Z than the first ridge portion 25A, and the covering portion 12 and the covering pressure-bonding portion 24 are pressure-bonded more strongly at the second protruding portion 25B.

  Also in this embodiment, the dimensions L3 and L4 of the second ridge portion 25B are larger than the dimensions L1 and L2 of the first ridge portion 25A, respectively, so that the diameter of the crimp terminal 20 toward the rear end portion 20B. In the wire harness 1 after crimping, the separation dimension D1 in the radial direction Z between the first ridges 25A and the separation dimension D2 in the radial direction Z between the second ridges 25B are substantially equal. Become. That is, the compression amount with respect to the covering portion 12 can be made substantially equal between the first ridge portion 25A and the second ridge portion 25B. Therefore, variations in the crimping force in the longitudinal direction X can be prevented. In this embodiment, the separation dimension D1 and the separation dimension D2 are substantially equal, but the separation dimension D2 in the second ridge portion 25B is set to be equal to or less than the separation dimension D1 in the first ridge portion 25A. In this case, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the crimping force at least on the rear end portion 20B side.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, two ridges are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be three or more. Further, the shape of the ridges in the first embodiment and the shape of the ridges in the second embodiment may be mixed, and the design can be changed as appropriate.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, the technical scope of this invention is not influenced by embodiment mentioned above. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. It is understood that it belongs.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wire harness 10 ... Electric wire 11 ... Exposed part 12 ... Covering part 15 ... Insulator 16 ... Core wire 20 ... Crimp terminal 20A ... Front end part 20B ... Rear end part 22 ... Crimp part 23 ... Core wire crimp part 24 ... Cover crimp part 25A ... 1st convex part 25B ... 2nd convex part 26 ... Sealing part X ... Longitudinal direction

Claims (5)

A crimping terminal including a crimping portion in which the electric wire can be inserted in the longitudinal direction,
It has a watertight cross-sectional hollow shape in the circumferential direction, is located at the front end portion in the longitudinal direction, the rear end portion in the longitudinal direction that forms an open end into which the electric wire can be inserted, and the electric wire located at the rear end portion A coated crimped portion that is crimped to a coated portion coated with an insulator, a core crimped portion that is crimped to an exposed portion where the core wire is exposed from the longitudinal tip of the coated portion, and a core crimped portion A sealing portion that is located on the front end side and in which the hollow-shaped inner surfaces are water-tight with each other, and a plurality of ridge portions that are provided in the covering crimping portion and project radially inward and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction; With
The crimp terminal according to claim 1, wherein the protruding line portion positioned on the rear end side has a larger dimension protruding inward in the radial direction than the protruding line portion positioned on the front end side.   2. The crimp terminal according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the protrusions is provided in an annular shape in a circumferential direction of the covering crimp portion. The at least one of the protrusions is characterized in that a dimension protruding inward in the radial direction on the rear end side is smaller than a dimension protruding inward in the radial direction on the front end side. The crimp terminal according to 1 or 2. An electric wire having a covering portion in which a conductive core wire is covered with an insulator and an exposed portion exposed from a tip of the covering portion;
A wire harness including a crimp terminal having a crimp part that can be inserted in the longitudinal direction of the electric wire,
The crimp terminal has a watertight cross-sectional hollow shape in the circumferential direction, and has a front end in the longitudinal direction, a rear end in the longitudinal direction that forms an open end into which the electric wire can be inserted, and a rear end. A sheath crimping portion that is positioned and crimped to the covering portion; a core wire crimping portion that is crimped to the exposed portion; and a front end portion side of the core wire crimping portion, and the hollow inner surfaces are watertight to each other. A plurality of ridges provided in the covering crimping portion and projecting inward in the radial direction and spaced apart in the longitudinal direction,
The projecting ridge portion located on the rear end side has a larger dimension projecting inward in the radial direction than the projecting ridge portion located on the front end side,
The spacing dimension between the protruding ridges in the radial direction located on the rear end side and the spacing dimension between the protruding ridges in the radial direction located on the front end side are substantially equal. Wire harness.   The wire harness according to claim 4, wherein the core wire is made of an aluminum-based material, and the core wire crimping portion is made of a copper-based material.

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