JP5962994B2 - Terminal fitting and method of manufacturing terminal fitting - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal fitting and a method for manufacturing the terminal fitting .

  Conventionally, a terminal fitting formed of a dissimilar metal has a box-shaped main body portion into which a mating terminal fitting is inserted from the front, and an elastic contact piece provided in the main body portion and elastically contacting the mating terminal fitting. Are known. According to such a terminal fitting, for example, the elastic contact piece is formed of an expensive heat-resistant copper alloy or the like, thereby improving the durability of the terminal fitting, while the body portion is formed of an inexpensive brass or the like, The material cost of the metal fitting can be kept low.

  As a method of attaching the elastic contact piece to the main body, for example, a method described in the following patent document is known. That is, by cutting and raising a part of the side wall of the main body portion, a locking hole and a locking projection protruding inward from the upper edge of the locking hole are formed, and an elastic contact piece is formed in the locking hole. This is a method of engaging the projecting pieces projecting on both sides of the.

Japanese Patent No. 2988608

Here, when the locking protrusion is formed by cutting and raising as described above, the periphery of the area to be the locking protrusion is punched into a U-shape to form a slit portion, and then left uncut. It is common to bend the part.
However, in such a method, the hole formed by cutting and raising becomes larger by the amount of the slit portion, so that there is a concern that the strength around the hole in the terminal fitting is lowered.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a terminal fitting capable of fixing an elastic contact piece to a terminal fitting body while suppressing a decrease in strength of the terminal fitting. And

The terminal fitting of the present invention includes a main body portion having a terminal connection portion connected to a mating terminal fitting, and is formed separately from the main body portion and arranged in the terminal connecting portion, and is elastic to the mating terminal fitting. An elastic contact piece that comes into contact with each other, and a caulking piece that caulks the elastic contact piece, the main body has a bottom wall on which the elastic contact piece is placed, and the caulking piece is The elastic contact piece is continuous with the bottom wall and extends opposite to the bottom wall, and the elastic contact piece is disposed in a state of being sandwiched between the caulking piece and the bottom wall. Hole portions are provided at both ends in the width direction of the end position, and the main body portion has a through hole connected to the hole portion, and the through holes extend perpendicularly to the arrangement direction of the hole portions and face each other. Side wall of the crimping piece Among some of the portion of the tip side than the portion where the hole portion is provided it is arranged without a gap relative to the inner wall surface.

  According to the configuration as described above, the size of the punched hole formed by cutting and raising the caulking piece can be minimized, and the strength reduction of the terminal fitting can be avoided. In addition, since a gap is provided by a hole between the caulking piece and its peripheral region at the base end position of the caulking piece, that is, the place where the caulking piece is bent, the bending process can be easily performed. The radius of curvature of the part can be reduced. Thereby, in the terminal connection part, the width | variety of the space where an elastic contact piece is arrange | positioned can be ensured to the maximum, and the width | variety of an elastic contact piece can fully be ensured. As mentioned above, the terminal metal fitting which can fix an elastic contact piece to a terminal metal fitting body can be provided, suppressing the strength fall of a terminal metal fitting.

  Further, the main body portion is connected to an electric wire, and includes a wire connecting portion connected to the terminal connecting portion via a connecting portion, and the caulking piece is connected to the connecting portion side in the terminal connecting portion. It may be provided at the end of the.

  Here, since the connecting portion is generally a portion having a relatively low strength in the terminal fitting, there is a concern that the strength of the connecting portion may be reduced if a large hole is formed in the vicinity of the connecting portion. For this reason, when a caulking piece is formed in the vicinity of the connecting portion, the caulking piece having the above-described configuration can be suitably applied.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the terminal metal fitting which can fix an elastic contact piece with respect to a terminal metal fitting body can be provided, suppressing the strength fall of a terminal metal fitting.

Side view of terminal fitting of embodiment Partial enlarged side view showing the periphery of the caulking piece Partial flat section showing terminal connection Partial enlarged plan view showing the periphery of the crimping piece at the terminal connection Partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing the periphery of the caulking piece in the terminal connection portion Development of terminal connection Side view of terminal fitting manufactured by the conventional first method Development view of terminal connection in terminal fitting manufactured by conventional first method Side view of a terminal fitting manufactured by the conventional second method Development view of terminal connection in terminal fitting manufactured by conventional second method The partial expanded sectional view which shows the peripheral part of a crimping piece in the terminal metal fitting manufactured by the conventional 2nd method

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
The terminal fitting 1 in the present embodiment is a female terminal fitting connected to a male terminal fitting (mating terminal fitting) having a tab. The terminal fitting 1 includes a main body portion 10 into which a male terminal fitting is inserted from the front, and an elastic contact piece 50 that is formed separately from the main body portion 10 and elastically contacts the male terminal fitting. It is. Hereinafter, in each component, the front side in the connection direction with the male terminal fitting will be referred to as the front, the opposite side as the rear, and the upper side in FIG. 1 as the upper side and the lower side as the lower side.

  The main body 10 is formed into a shape elongated in the front-rear direction by punching a metal plate material made of a copper alloy such as copper or brass and then bending the metal plate. A terminal connection portion 20 into which a tab of a male terminal fitting is inserted is formed in a substantially first half region of the main body portion 10, and a wire crimping portion 40 (on the wire connection portion) to which the electric wire 60 is caulked is formed in a substantially second half region. Applicable) is formed.

  The terminal connecting portion 20 has a rectangular tube shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and a terminal insertion port 21 into which a male terminal fitting is inserted is provided at the front end. The terminal connection portion 20 is opposed to the bottom wall 22, a pair of side walls 23, 23 erected upward from both edges in the width direction of the bottom wall 22, and the bottom wall 22 across the upper ends of the pair of side walls 23, 23. The ceiling wall 24 is provided.

  The wire crimping portion 40 is coupled to the terminal connection portion 20 via a coupling portion 30 that extends rearward from the rear end of the bottom wall 22 in the terminal connection portion 20. The electric wire crimping portion 40 includes a bottom plate 41 extending rearward from the rear end of the connecting portion 30, and a pair of wire barrel portions 42 and an insulation barrel portion 43 protruding from both side edges of the bottom plate 41. . The wire barrel portion 42 and the insulation barrel portion 43 are caulked to the core wire 61 and the insulating coating 62 of the electric wire 60 placed on the bottom plate 41, and are bent and deformed so as to wrap around the core wire 61 and the insulating coating 62.

  An elastic contact piece 50 formed separately from the main body portion 10 is disposed inside the terminal connection portion 20. The elastic contact piece 50 is made of a heat-resistant copper alloy or the like, and has a plate shape elongated in the front-rear direction as a whole. The front end portion and the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50 are respectively a front fulcrum portion 51 and a rear fulcrum portion 52 that are in contact with the bottom wall 22 of the terminal connection portion 20, and the front fulcrum portion 51 and the rear fulcrum portion. An intermediate portion with 52 is a leaf spring portion 53. The leaf spring portion 53 is bent into a mountain shape in which the first half portion rises gently as it goes rearward, and the second half portion gradually falls as it goes rearward. The apex of the mountain is arranged at a position slightly closer to the front end than the center position in the front-rear direction of the elastic contact piece 50, and serves as a contact portion 54 that contacts the tab of the male terminal fitting.

  At both side edges of the elastic contact piece 50, locking pieces 55 are provided to protrude laterally at the side positions of the contact portion 54. On the other hand, a locking hole 25 is opened in the pair of side walls 23, 23 in the terminal connection portion 20, and the locking piece 55 enters the locking hole 25, thereby positioning the contact portion 54 in the front-rear direction. Has been made.

  The widths of the front fulcrum part 51 and the leaf spring part 53 are formed slightly smaller than the width of the inner surface of the bottom wall 22 in the terminal connection part 20. On the other hand, the width of the rear fulcrum part 52 is larger than the widths of the front fulcrum part 51 and the leaf spring part 53, and is substantially equal to the width of the inner side surface of the bottom wall 22 in the terminal connection part 20. In the rear fulcrum portion 52, trapezoidal notches 56 are provided at both side edges at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction. And the part pinched | interposed by a pair of notch parts 56 is made into the narrow part 57 narrower than another part.

  The rear fulcrum portion 52 of the elastic contact piece 50 is caulked to the main body portion 10 by the caulking piece 26 formed on the main body portion 10. The caulking piece 26 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the main body 10.

  A pair of caulking pieces 26 are provided at positions that align with the narrow portion 57 in a state where the elastic contact pieces 50 are arranged on the bottom wall 22 of the terminal connection portion 20. The caulking piece 26 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the bottom wall 22 and the side walls 23, 23 of the main body 10. The base end position of each caulking piece 26 is a position slightly inside the both side edges (sides in contact with the side walls 23, 23) of the bottom wall 22, and the tip position is the lower end (bottom wall 22 of the side walls 23, 23). The side is a little higher than the side that touches. Further, the width of the caulking piece 26 (the length in the direction along the front-rear direction of the terminal connecting portion 20) is substantially equal to the length in the front-rear direction of the narrow portion 57 of the elastic contact piece 50.

  In the terminal connection portion 20, a pair of proximal end side hole portions 27 (corresponding to the hole portions) are provided at both ends in the width direction (the direction along the front-rear direction of the main body portion 10) at the proximal end position of the caulking piece 26. It is formed by punching. The height position of the base end side hole portion 27 is a position slightly lower than the upper surface position of the narrow portion 57 in a state where the elastic contact piece 50 is disposed on the bottom wall 22 of the terminal connection portion 20. Further, in the pair of side walls 23, 23, a tip side hole portion 28 is formed by punching process immediately above a region to be the caulking piece 26. The width of the distal end side hole portion 28 is made larger than the width of the portion sandwiched between the proximal end side hole portions 27 of the caulking piece 26. Then, at the upper end edge of the base end side hole portion 27 to be a pair, a position closer to the outside than the end portion on the inner side (side facing the base end side hole portion 27 on the other side), and the tip end side hole portion 28 A caulking piece 26 is formed by vertically shearing a line connecting a position at a lower end edge and a position slightly inward from both ends.

  The pair of caulking pieces 26 are tilted toward the center, and the elastic contact piece 50 is sandwiched between the bottom wall 22 and caulked. The pair of caulking pieces 26 are arranged so as not to overlap each other with a slight gap between the tips. The caulking piece 26 is caulked to a narrow portion 57 having a narrower width than the other portions at the rear fulcrum portion 52 of the elastic contact piece 50, whereby the elastic contact piece 50 is removed in the front-rear direction. Stopped.

  The terminal fitting 1 is assembled as follows, for example.

  First, the main body piece 10E is formed by punching a metal plate material. At the time of this punching process, the base end side hole 27 and the front end side hole 28 are also simultaneously punched. At the same time, the elastic contact piece 50 is formed by punching and bending the metal plate material.

  Next, the terminal connecting portion 20 is formed by bending the main body piece 10E in a state where the elastic contact piece 50 is placed on the bottom wall 22. At this time, when the locking piece 55 enters the locking hole 25, the elastic contact piece 50 is locked in the terminal connection portion 20 in a positioned state.

  Next, a jig is applied to the portion that becomes the caulking piece 26 in the terminal connection portion 20 and pressed so as to be tilted inward. Then, at the upper end edge of the base end side hole portion 27 to be a pair, a position closer to the outside than the end portion on the inner side (side facing the base end side hole portion 27 on the other side) and the tip end side hole portion 28 A line connecting the position at the lower end edge and a position slightly inward from both ends is sheared so as to be torn vertically. As a result, the caulking piece 26 is cut and raised, and the elastic contact piece 50 is caulked by the caulking piece 26.

  Here, in order to form the caulking piece 26 by cutting and caulking the elastic contact piece 50, conventionally, the following methods have been considered.

  The first method is to leave one side of the region to be the caulking piece 102, perform the cutting process around the other three sides to form the slit portion 103, and then bend with the left side as the base end. This is a method of processing. A side view of the terminal connection portion 101 in the terminal fitting 100 manufactured by the first method is shown in FIG. 7, and a developed view is shown in FIG.

  However, in such a method, the punched hole 104 formed by cutting and raising becomes larger by the slit portion 103. For this reason, the distance between the hole 104 and the connecting portion 105 is shortened. Thereby, the strength of the connecting portion 105 is lowered, and there is a concern that the connecting portion 105 may be damaged when a large force is applied to the terminal fitting 100 for some reason. In particular, in the case of a small terminal fitting, this concern is increased.

  In order to avoid such a problem, as a second method, a method of bending the outer peripheral edge of the region to be the caulking piece 112 while being sheared by pressing or the like leaving one side which is the base end position is conceivable. A side view of the terminal connection portion 111 in the terminal fitting 110 manufactured by the second method is shown in FIG. 9, a development view is shown in FIG. 10, and a partial enlarged cross-sectional view is shown in FIG.

  However, in such a method, the shear length of the outer peripheral edge of the caulking piece 112 is not stable, and there is a possibility that cracks may occur beyond the planned base end position. In addition, since the bending process is performed in a state where the shearing surfaces of the caulking piece 112 and the outer region thereof are in contact with each other, precise bending is difficult and the radius of curvature of the bent portion is increased. For this reason, in the bottom wall 113 of the terminal connection part 111, the width | variety of the flat part pinched by a pair of crimping piece 112 becomes narrow, and the problem that the width | variety of the elastic contact piece 114 must be made narrow according to it arises. .

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the proximal end side hole portion 27 and the distal end side hole portion 28 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the proximal end position and the distal end position in the region to be the caulking piece 26, and the base edge 26 </ b> A of the caulking piece 26 has a base edge The portion from the end side hole portion 27 to the front end side hole portion 28 is cut off from the main body portion 10 while shearing.

  Thereby, the size of the hole 29 can be minimized. In addition, since a gap is provided by the proximal end side hole 27 between the caulking piece 26 and its outer region at the base end position of the caulking piece 26, the bending process of the caulking piece 26 is facilitated, and the curvature of the bent portion is increased. The radius can be reduced. Thereby, in the bottom wall 22 of the terminal connection part 20, the width | variety of the flat part pinched by a pair of crimping piece 26 can be ensured, and the width | variety of the elastic contact piece 50 can fully be ensured. From the above, the strength reduction of the terminal fitting 1 can be suppressed.

  As described above, the terminal fitting 1 of the present embodiment includes the main body portion 10 including the terminal connection portion 20 connected to the counterpart terminal fitting, and the elastic contact piece 50 formed separately from the main body portion. . The elastic contact piece 50 is disposed in the terminal connection portion 20 and elastically contacts the mating terminal fitting. The elastic contact piece 50 is caulked by a caulking piece 26 formed by cutting and raising a part of the main body 10. In the main body 10, proximal end side hole portions 27 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the proximal end position of the caulking piece 26, and portions other than the portion where the proximal end side hole portion 27 is formed on the side edge 26 </ b> A of the caulking piece 26 are It is separated from the main body 10 by shearing.

  According to the configuration as described above, the size of the punch hole 29 formed by cutting and raising the caulking piece 26 can be minimized, and a decrease in strength of the terminal fitting 1 can be avoided. In addition, the base end position of the caulking piece 26, that is, the place where the caulking piece 26 is bent, a gap is provided between the caulking piece 26 and the peripheral region by the base end side hole portion 27, so that bending is easy. The radius of curvature of the bent portion can be reduced. Thereby, in the terminal connection part 20, the width | variety of the flat part with which the elastic contact piece 50 is piled up can be ensured to the maximum, and the width | variety of the elastic contact piece 50 laminated | stacked here can fully be ensured. . As described above, it is possible to provide the terminal fitting 1 capable of fixing the elastic contact piece 50 to the main body portion 10 while suppressing the strength reduction of the terminal fitting 1.

  The terminal fitting 1 is connected to the electric wire 60 and includes an electric wire crimping portion 40 that is connected to the terminal connecting portion 20 via the connecting portion 30. A caulking piece 26 is provided at the end of the terminal connection portion 20 on the connection portion 30 side.

  Here, since the connection part 30 is a part with comparatively small intensity | strength in the terminal metal fitting 1 generally, when a big punching hole is formed in the vicinity of this connection part 30, there exists a concern about the strength fall of the connection part 30. FIG. For this reason, when the caulking piece 26 is formed in the vicinity of the connecting portion 30, the caulking piece 26 having the above-described configuration can be suitably applied.

<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) According to the above embodiment, the caulking piece 26 is provided with a pair on both sides of the elastic contact piece 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the caulking portion may be provided on only one of them. In this case, the caulking portion may be extended to the other side, and the terminal metal fitting may be caulked with one caulking portion over the entire width.

(2) According to the above embodiment, the proximal end side hole portion 27 and the distal end side hole portion 28 are provided at both ends in the width direction and the distal end position of the proximal end position in the region to be the caulking piece 26, and the side edge of the caulking piece 26 is provided. In 26A, the portion from the base end side hole portion 27 to the front end side hole portion 28 is cut off from the main body portion 10 while shearing, but the front end side hole portion is not provided and the entire edge of the outer peripheral edge of the caulking piece is formed. You may make it part from a main-body part, shearing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Terminal metal fitting 10 ... Main-body part 20 ... Terminal connection part 30 ... Connection part 40 ... Electric wire crimping part (electric wire connection part)
50 ... elastic contact piece 26 ... caulking piece 27 ... proximal end side hole (hole)
60 ... Electric wire

Claims (3)

A main body having a terminal connecting portion connected to the mating terminal fitting;
An elastic contact piece that is formed separately from the main body portion and is arranged in the terminal connection portion and elastically contacts the mating terminal fitting; and a caulking piece that caulks the elastic contact piece,
The main body has a bottom wall on which the elastic contact piece is placed, the caulking piece extends from the bottom wall and extends opposite to the bottom wall, and the elastic contact piece includes: It is arranged in a state sandwiched between the caulking piece and the bottom wall,
Holes are provided at both ends in the width direction of the base end position of the caulking piece in the main body part,
The main body has a hole that continues to the hole,
The punched hole has a pair of inner wall surfaces extending perpendicularly to the direction in which the holes are arranged and facing each other;
A terminal fitting in which a part of a portion of the side edge of the caulking piece, which is closer to the tip than a portion where the hole is provided, is arranged without a gap with respect to the inner wall surface . The main body portion is connected to an electric wire, and includes an electric wire connecting portion connected to the terminal connecting portion via a connecting portion,
2. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the caulking piece is provided at an end portion on the coupling portion side in the terminal connection portion. A main body having a terminal connecting portion connected to the mating terminal fitting;
An elastic contact piece that is formed separately from the main body portion and is arranged in the terminal connection portion, and elastically contacts the mating terminal fitting;
A method of manufacturing a terminal fitting comprising a caulking piece formed by cutting and raising a part of the main body portion and caulking the elastic contact piece,
Forming a main body having holes at both ends in the width direction of the portion to be the base end position of the caulking piece by punching a metal plate; and
And a step of forming the caulking piece by shearing a portion excluding the portion in which the hole portion is formed in a portion which is a side edge of the caulking piece in the main body portion.

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