JP6605979B2 - Female terminal and wire harness having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a female terminal used for, for example, connection of an automobile wire harness and a wire harness having the same.

  Generally, a connector used for connecting an automobile wire harness is composed of at least a pair of a male terminal and a female terminal, both of which are detachably connected to the tip for electrical connection with a mating terminal. For example, the rear end portion has a crimping portion for crimping and attaching to the tip portion including the exposed core wire (conductor) of the covered electric wire.

  The female terminal makes contact with the tab of the male terminal inserted into the connecting portion for a long period of time and uses the spring property of the elastic contact piece of the female terminal to ensure electrical connection. Contact pressure with the terminal tab is secured. And these types of terminals are becoming increasingly demanding for miniaturization as the number of poles provided in one connector increases. For example, the contact load of a spring by an elastic contact piece, the wire tensile strength, the terminal It is desirable to satisfy various required performances such as improving the basic performance of the terminal such as improving the strength of itself (particularly the neck) and reducing the tab insertion force of the male terminal.

  As a means for meeting such a demand, for example, a conductive metal plate made of copper alloy is punched into a predetermined shape, and then bent, for example, a connection portion is formed into a box shape (square tube shape), and a female die The method of manufacturing a terminal is mentioned.

  This type of female terminal is described in Patent Document 1, for example. The female terminal described in Patent Document 1 has a free end portion, which is one end of an elastic contact piece for electrical connection by inserting a tab of a male terminal, which is a mating terminal, before the insertion of the tab. Although it is in a state separated from the inner surface of the upper wall, when it is in an electrical connection state with a tab inserted, it is pressed against the inner surface of the connecting portion by the contact pressing force due to the insertion of the tab, thereby generating a contact load of the spring. It has such a configuration.

Japanese Patent No. 4514645

  However, in the configuration of the elastic contact piece of the female terminal described in Patent Document 1, there is a case where a sufficient contact load of the spring that can resist the contact pressing force of the inserted tab may not be obtained. In particular, in the case of a female terminal used for electrical connection with a male terminal having a small tab size (for example, about 0.5 mm), the spring contact load generated by the elastic contact piece often does not reach the required performance. If an external force such as pulling or squeezing is applied to the electric wire fixed by crimping to the terminal, there is a possibility that the stable contact state between the tab and the elastic contact piece may not be maintained. It is desirable to further increase the contact load of the spring.

  In addition, the female terminal described in Patent Document 1 is in an appropriate arrangement state in which the elastic contact piece constituting the connection portion can obtain a desired contact pressure with respect to the tab of the male terminal inserted at the time of electrical connection. As a result of this, the quality of the female terminal manufactured before the product shipment of the female terminal cannot be confirmed by a simple inspection method. There is also a problem that defective products cannot be sorted so as not to be mixed with product shipments.

  The purpose of the present invention is to increase the contact load of the spring by the elastic contact piece by optimizing the shape of the connection part. For example, at the time of quality inspection performed before product shipment, the elastic contact piece in the connection part An object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal in which the arrangement state can be easily checked and a wire harness having the female terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the gist of the present invention is as follows.
(1) A substantially rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion having a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top wall, and having a fitting opening into which a tab of a male terminal that is a mating terminal is inserted at the tip, A crimping part for crimping and fixing the core wire exposed part and the covering part, which constitutes the end part; and an intermediate coupling part that is located between the connection part and the crimping part and that couples the connection part and the crimping part. The connecting portion has an elastic contact piece that extends along the inner surface of the upper wall in the longitudinal direction from the front end side to the rear end side, and elastically contacts the inserted tab for electrical connection. The elastic contact piece has one end connected to the front end side of the upper wall and the other end located on the rear end side of the connecting portion and the inner surface of the upper wall. A free end configured to maintain a contact state, wherein the connecting portion includes the upper wall and the pair of side walls. The boundary position between at least one of the side walls, the female terminal to which the contact state of at least the free end of the resilient contact piece, characterized in that it further comprises a window hole visible from the outside of the connecting portion.

(2) The intermediate connecting portion is configured by an intermediate bottom wall and a pair of intermediate side walls, and has a reinforcing portion on one or both of the intermediate bottom wall and the pair of intermediate side walls, The female terminal according to (1).

(3) The elastic contact piece has a contact portion that is electrically connected in contact with the inserted tab between the connecting end portion and the free end portion, and the contact portion is formed on the bottom wall. The upper wall of the elastic contact piece is a convex portion that is convex toward the inner surface and is fitted into the concave surface of the contact portion at the inner surface position of the upper wall corresponding to the position of the convex portion. The female terminal according to (1) or (2), wherein the female terminal has a restricting convex portion that restricts an excessive displacement toward.

(4) The connecting portion has a bead portion protruding toward the contact portion on the inner surface of the bottom wall, and the bead portion includes a longitudinal position including a position facing the contact portion of the elastic contact piece. The female terminal according to the above (3), which extends in the direction and has a protruding height at both end portions in the longitudinal direction higher than the protruding height of the other portion of the bead portion.

(5) The contact portion has a substantially shuttle-shaped curved surface shape in which a spherical shape is extended along the extending direction of the elastic contact piece, and the elastic contact piece and the bead portion are formed of the contact portion. The shortest distance measured when the front end position in the longitudinal direction is located closer to the fitting entrance than the front end position in the longitudinal direction of the bead part, and the center position of the curved surface of the contact part is measured from the apex position of the both end parts in the longitudinal direction of the bead part. The female terminal according to (4), configured to be the same.

(6) The crimping portion is constituted by a core crimping portion and a coating crimping portion that individually crimps and fixes each of the core wire exposed portion and the coating portion, which constitutes the end portion of the coated electric wire, and the inner surface of the coated crimping portion. The female terminal according to any one of (1) to (5), further including a protruding locking portion extending in a protruding shape in a direction transverse to the extending direction of the covering portion.

(7) The connecting portion extends from the side wall and is a tongue-like engagement formed by being bent along the outer surface of the upper wall so as to engage with an engagement recess formed at an end of the upper wall. The female terminal according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the female terminal has a joint portion.

(8) A terminal with an electric wire formed by crimping a female terminal to the end of a covered electric wire, wherein the female terminal has a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and an upper wall, A substantially rectangular tube-shaped connection portion having a fitting opening into which a tab of a male terminal that is a mating terminal is inserted, and a crimping portion that constitutes an end portion of the covered electric wire and that crimps and fixes the exposed portion of the core wire and the covered portion And an intermediate connecting portion that is located between the connecting portion and the crimping portion, and connects the connecting portion and the crimping portion, and the connecting portion extends in the longitudinal direction from the front end side toward the rear end side. The elastic contact piece extends along the inner surface and elastically contacts the inserted tab for electrical connection. One end of the elastic contact piece is connected to the tip side of the upper wall. And the other end is located on the rear end side of the connecting portion and maintains a contact state with the inner surface of the upper wall. At least the free end portion of the elastic contact piece at a boundary position between the upper wall and at least one side wall of the pair of side walls. A contact hole that can be visually recognized from the outside of the connecting portion, and the crimping portion constitutes an end portion of the covered electric wire, and the core wire exposed portion and the covered portion are separately crimped and fixed. A wire crimping portion and a coating crimping portion, and an inner surface of the coating crimping portion has a projecting locking portion extending in a projecting manner in a direction transverse to the extending direction of the coating portion; In a state where the portion is crimped to the covered electric wire, the bottom portion, the pair of side portions rising from both ends of the bottom portion, and the ends of the pair of side portions extend in directions approaching each other. A pair of upper surface portions that are in butt contact with each other is configured in a substantially bowl shape. Is, cross-sectional dimensions of the bottom section, the wired terminal and greater than cross-sectional dimensions of the side surface portion and the upper surface portion.

(9) A wire harness having one or a plurality of covered electric wires, wherein the female terminal according to any one of the above (1) to (7) is provided at an end of the covered electric wire, or the above The wire harness which has a terminal with an electric wire as described in (8).

  According to the present invention, the connection portion having a substantially rectangular tube shape having a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top wall, and having a fitting inlet into which a tab of a male terminal that is a mating terminal is inserted, A crimping portion for crimping and fixing the core wire exposed portion of the coated electric wire and the coated electric wire portion; and an intermediate coupling portion that is located between the connection portion and the crimping portion and connects the connection portion and the crimping portion, An elastic contact piece extending along the inner surface of the upper wall in a longitudinal direction from the front end side to the rear end side of the connecting portion, and elastically contacting the inserted tab for electrical connection; The elastic contact piece is a connecting end portion whose one end portion is connected to the front end side of the upper wall, and the other end portion is located on the rear end side of the connecting portion and is in contact with the inner surface of the upper wall. A free end configured to maintain at least one of the upper wall and the pair of side walls By having a window hole in which the contact state of at least the free end portion of the elastic contact piece is visible from the outside of the connection portion at a boundary position with the side wall, the contact load of the spring by the elastic contact piece can be increased. For example, when quality inspection is performed before product shipment, the arrangement state of the elastic contact piece in the connection part can be easily confirmed from the outer surface side of the connection part by visual observation or a camera. The defective female terminal manufactured in the state can be sorted so as not to be mixed with the product shipment, and this is particularly the case when it is used for electrical connection with a male terminal having a small tab size. However, it has become possible to ship only non-defective female terminals (products) having elastic contact pieces that can ensure a sufficient contact load with the tabs of the male terminals.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a female terminal of one embodiment according to the present invention. 2A is a side view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an arrangement state of the elastic contact pieces in the connection portion surrounded by the rectangular frame in FIG. It is the enlarged view shown so that can be understood. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view in a state where side walls and the like are removed in order to explain the internal structure of the connection portion and the intermediate connection portion of the female terminal of FIG. 4 is a development view of the female terminal of FIG. FIGS. 5A to 5D are all enlarged to show the internal structure of the connecting portion of the female terminal of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5A is a front view, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5D is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the cover crimping portion. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing a state where the coated electric wire is crimped by the coated crimping portion of the female terminal, and FIG. 7A is horizontal at the positions of both side surfaces of the coated crimping portion. FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 7A.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a female terminal according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a typical female terminal according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from above, and FIG. 2 (a) is a side view of the female terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of the portion of the female terminal surrounded by the rectangular frame of FIG. 2A so that the arrangement state of the elastic contact pieces can be seen. FIG. FIG. 4 is a view showing the internal structure of the connecting portion and the intermediate connecting portion of the female terminal with the side walls removed, and FIG. 4 shows the punched plate material before forming the female terminal of FIG. 5 (a) to 5 (d) are all enlarged to show the internal structure of the connection portion of the female terminal shown in FIG.

  The illustrated female terminal 1 mainly includes a connecting portion 10, a crimping portion 50, and an intermediate connecting portion 70. In FIG. 1, a carrier portion 80 for continuous conveyance is shown in each process from the production of the strip-shaped plate material to the female terminal, but this carrier portion 80 is in the final product stage. Then, it is a part that is cut and does not exist.

  The connecting portion 10 has a bottom wall 12, a pair of side walls 14a, 14b, and an upper wall 16, and has a substantially rectangular tube shape as a whole. Further, the connection portion 10 is formed with a fitting inlet 18 into which a tab (not shown) of a male terminal as a mating terminal is inserted at the tip 10a.

  The crimping portion 50 includes two portions constituting an end portion of a covered electric wire (not shown), that is, a core wire exposed portion (not shown) exposed by peeling off the insulating coating of the covered electric wire, and this core wire exposure. For crimping and fixing the female terminal 1 to the end portion of the covered electric wire by crimping an end portion constituted by a covered portion (not shown) which is a part of the covered electric wire adjacent to the portion by caulking or the like. It is a part of.

  The intermediate connecting part 70 is located between the connecting part 10 and the crimping part 50 and is a part for connecting the connecting part 10 and the crimping part 50.

  In addition, the female terminal 1 of the present invention is preferably configured as an integrally molded product formed by at least punching and bending a processed plate material, but can be manufactured by other manufacturing methods. .

  The female terminal 1 shown in FIG. 1 uses a punched plate material 3 shown in FIG. 4 formed by punching a workpiece plate (not shown), and this punched plate material 3 is bent and processed to form irregularities. (Press processing) etc. are manufactured. As a method of forming the connection portion 10 of the female terminal 1 in a substantially cylindrical shape, for example, a plate work corresponding to the connection portion 10 of the punched plate material 3 shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, by engaging the two claw portions 46, 46 provided on one side wall 14 a with the two engagement holes 48 provided on the other side wall 14 b, The positioning for forming the skeleton of the connection portion 10 having a predetermined shape and the shape of the connection portion 10 are maintained. Note that the alternate long and short dash line shown in the punched plate member 3 in FIG. 4 indicates the bending position for the sake of convenience of explanation in order to facilitate understanding of the correspondence with the female terminal 1 shown in FIG. .

  In the present embodiment, the plate material made of a copper alloy is used as the plate material to be processed. However, the material of the plate material to be processed is not limited to the copper alloy. For example, an aluminum-based material is used as the plate material to be processed. May be. Examples of the plate thickness of the plate to be processed include 0.25 mm and 0.32 mm, but are not limited to the plate thickness.

  The connecting portion 10 extends along the inner surface of the upper wall 16 in the longitudinal direction L from the front end 10a side to the rear end 10b side, and is electrically connected to a tab (not shown) of the inserted male terminal. It has the elastic contact piece 20 which contacts elastically for connection.

  The elastic contact piece 20 is a connecting end portion whose one end portion 22 is connected to the front end 16 a side of the upper wall 16, and the other end portion 24 is located on the rear end 10 b side of the connecting portion 10 and of the upper wall 16. Although it is a free end portion configured to maintain a contact state with the inner surface and is formed in a cantilever shape as a whole, the free end portion 24 is always in contact with the inner surface of the upper wall 16. Therefore, the elastic contact piece 20 has the connecting end portion 22 and the free end portion 24 at the upper side during the interconnection operation from when the inserted tab contacts the elastic contact piece 20 until it is electrically connected. Since it has a so-called two-point support structure supported by the wall 16, it is possible to generate a sufficiently large spring contact load that can resist the contact pressing force of the inserted tab.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the connecting portion 10 is elastic at a boundary position between the upper wall 16 and at least one of the pair of side walls 14a and 14b. The contact state of at least the free end portion 24 of the contact piece 20 with the inner surface of the upper wall 16 has a window hole 26 that can be visually recognized from the outside of the connection portion 10. Accordingly, it is possible to easily perform inspection (confirmation) as to whether or not the elastic contact piece 20 is in a state of arrangement in which a desired contact pressure is obtained with respect to the tab of the male terminal inserted at the time of electrical connection. .

  The shape of the window hole 26 may be any shape as long as the contact state of at least the free end 24 of the elastic contact piece 20 can be visually recognized from the outside of the connection portion 10, and may be various shapes such as a circular shape and a polygonal shape in addition to a rectangular shape. In particular, a shape that is visible not only from the free end portion 24 of the elastic contact piece 20 but also from the outside of the connection portion 10 over the entire length of the elastic contact piece 20 up to the coupling end portion 22, for example, as shown in FIG. It is more preferable to use an elongated shape as shown in the connection part 10. By visually recognizing the state of both ends of the free end portion 24 and the connecting end portion 22 in this way, it is possible to estimate the state of the portion that cannot be visually recognized from the outside of the elastic contact piece 20 and to improve the inspection accuracy. .

  Although the window hole 26 is formed on at least one of the pair of side walls 14a and 14b, in FIG. 1, only one side wall 14a is shown, for example, the window hole 26 formed in the female terminal 1 is shown. May be formed on both of the side walls 14a and 14b. Further, the size of the window hole 26 is not particularly limited, but is preferably increased from the viewpoint of facilitating confirmation of the arrangement state of the elastic contact piece 20.

  As a method for forming the window hole 26, for example, in this embodiment, a part of the upper wall 16 and the elastic contact piece 20 are configured from the distal end side portion 30 except for the central portion 28 of one side wall 14 a. The rear end side portion 32 is bent and extended so as to constitute a part of the upper wall 16, and the front end side portion 30 (excluding the elastic contact piece 20) and the rear side. An extended portion 34 extending from the other side wall 14b is folded and overlapped on the end side portion 32 to form the upper wall 16, thereby forming a boundary position between the central portion 28 of the one side wall 14a and the upper wall 16. Although the case where the window hole 26 is formed is shown, it may be formed by punching a window hole at a predetermined position on the side walls 14a and 14b in the punching step of forming the punched plate material 3 from the processed plate material. I do not.

  In the present invention, by forming the window hole 26, the arrangement state (in particular, the contact state with the inner surface of the upper wall 16) of at least the free end portion 24 of the elastic contact piece 20 constituting the connection portion 10 can be visually or CCD camerad. For example, the elastic contact piece 20 visible from the window hole 26 can be seen from the inner surface of the upper wall 16 at the time of quality inspection performed before shipping the product of the female terminal 1, for example. If it is in a non-contact arrangement state, it is determined that the desired contact pressure cannot be obtained with respect to the tab of the male terminal inserted at the time of electrical connection. The defective products can be sorted so as not to be mixed with the product shipment. In particular, the female terminal 1 (for example, the connecting portion 10 has a height of 1.2 mm, a width of 1 mm, and a length of 5) used for electrical connection with a male terminal having a small tab dimension (for example, about 0.5 mm). .6 mm), the size of the window hole 26 that can be formed is reduced, so that the elastic contact piece positioned inside the connecting portion 10 by irradiating light from the outside of the connecting portion 10 at the time of quality inspection. Since it is assumed that the contact state of 20 must be inspected, the size of the window hole 26 is formed so that the entire elastic contact piece 20 can be seen, and both end portions 22 and 24 of the elastic contact piece 20 are formed. It is preferable to confirm that it has a two-point support structure.

  Further, when the female terminal 1 is configured as an integrally molded product using the punched plate member 3, the intermediate connecting portion 70 positioned between the connecting portion 10 and the crimping portion 50 includes an intermediate bottom wall 72 and a pair of intermediate side walls. 74a, 74b, and the use area of the punched plate member 3 is narrower than the use area of the punched plate member 3 constituting the connecting portion 10 and the crimping portion 50, as is apparent from FIGS. Compared with the part 10 and the crimping | compression-bonding part 50, a cross-sectional shape becomes thin. For this reason, the intermediate | middle connection part 70 was inferior in intensity | strength compared with the connection part 10 or the crimping | compression-bonding part 50, and there existed a tendency which is easy to deform | transform or fracture | rupture. This tendency is particularly remarkable in the case of a female terminal used for electrical connection with a male terminal having a small tab size.

  For this reason, when it is necessary to reinforce the intermediate connecting portion 70, the intermediate connecting portion 70 has the reinforcing portion 76 on one or both of the intermediate bottom wall 72 and the pair of intermediate side walls 74a and 74b. It is preferable. When the reinforcing portion 76 is provided on the pair of intermediate side walls 74a and 74b, as shown in FIG. 1, as an extended reinforcing portion that increases the side wall height of the portion on the connecting portion 10 side of the intermediate side walls 74a and 74b. However, it may be provided as an extended reinforcing portion (not shown) that increases the height of the side wall of the intermediate side walls 74a and 74b on the side of the crimping portion 50. Further, when the reinforcing portion 76 is provided on the intermediate bottom wall 72, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is provided as a protruding reinforcing portion extending in a protruding shape along the longitudinal direction L by a press working method or the like. be able to.

  Further, the elastic contact piece 20 has a contact portion 36 between the connecting end portion 22 and the free end portion 24 to be electrically connected in contact with the inserted tab, and the contact portion 36 is connected to the bottom wall 12. A convex portion that is convex toward the convex portion 36 is formed, and a portion of the concave portion 36c formed at the back surface position of the contact portion 36 is fitted to the inner surface position of the upper wall 16 corresponding to the position of the convex portion 36. It is preferable to have a restricting convex portion 38 that restricts excessive displacement toward the upper wall 16 of the elastic contact piece 20. As a result, it is possible to effectively suppress the elastic contact piece 20 from being plastically deformed and reducing the spring force or being damaged. The height dimension of the restriction recess 38 may be set larger than the depth dimension of the concave surface 36c of the contact portion 36, and can be appropriately determined according to the restriction position of the elastic contact piece 20.

  The connecting portion 10 has a bead portion 40 that protrudes toward the contact portion 36 on the inner surface of the bottom wall 12, and the bead portion 40 includes a longitudinal direction L including a position facing the contact portion 36 of the elastic contact piece 20. It is preferable that the projecting height He of the longitudinal end portions 40a and 40b is higher than the projecting height Hc of the other portion (for example, the central portion 40c) of the bead portion 40, and particularly the longitudinal end portions. The cross-sectional shape in the longitudinal direction of 40a, 40b is substantially M-shaped as shown in FIG. 5, and the contact part 36 of the elastic contact piece 20 and the bead part 40 are in electrical connection with the tab of the male terminal. Since both end portions 40a and 40b in the longitudinal direction can stably come into contact with the tab at three points, it is possible to effectively prevent the male terminal in an electrically connected state from rotating and becoming unstable contact. It is more suitable at the point which can do.

  Further, the female terminal 1 has a substantially shuttle type in which the contact portion 36 has a spherical shape extended along the extending direction L of the elastic contact piece 20 as shown in FIGS. It has a curved shape. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the contact portion 36 has a shape in which the width is reduced toward the insertion opening 18 to reduce the curvature radius of the tip, thereby reducing the contact area with the inserted tab. As a result, the tab insertion force can be reduced. Moreover, since the contact part 36 becomes the structure which the chamfering surface of the tab inserted by making a longitudinal direction dimension long, it can suppress that the insertion force of a tab becomes large. In addition, by narrowing the width of the protruding surface of the bead portion 40 (FIG. 5D), the contact area with the inserted tab is reduced, so that the tab insertion force can be further reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 5C, the elastic contact piece 20 and the bead portion 40 are such that the longitudinal tip position 36a of the contact portion 36 is located closer to the fitting inlet 18 than the longitudinal tip position 40a1 of the bead portion 40, and The curved surface center position C of the contact portion 36 has the same shortest distances Xa and Xb measured from the vertex positions Ea and Eb of the longitudinal end portions 40a and 40b of the bead portion 40, in other words, the curved surface center position C. In addition, when a triangle having apexes at the three vertex positions Ea and Eb is formed, the triangle is preferably configured to be an isosceles triangle. As a result, the sliding resistance (low frictional force) can be improved, and the tab of the male terminal can be inserted to the electrical connection position with a low insertion force, and the rotation of the male terminal in the electrical connection state is further suppressed. can do.

  The shape of the crimping portion 50 is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the core wire crimping portion 52 that constitutes the end portion of the covered electric wire and that separately crimps and fixes each of the exposed portion of the core wire and the covered portion. The case where it comprises with the covering crimping | compression-bonding part 54 is mentioned.

  In particular, in the case of the female terminal 1 used for electrical connection with a male terminal having a small tab size, an external force such as a large pulling force (pulling force) acts on the covered electric wire connected to the terminal 1. In some cases, sufficient tensile strength cannot be obtained. In such a case, the crimping part 50 is constituted by the core crimping part 52 and the coated crimping part 54, and the inner surface of the coated crimping part 54 crosses the extending direction of the covered part of the coated electric wire (preferably It is preferable to form a plurality of protruding locking portions 56 extending in a protruding manner on the inner surface in the direction of 90 degrees. Thereby, even if the covered electric wire is pulled, the tensile strength can be effectively improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the covering crimping portion 54 is chamfered so that the thickness decreases toward the tip at both ends, and the protruding locking portion 56 is formed in advance before crimping, It is preferable not to extend to both end positions of the covering crimping portion 54. As a result, the coated crimping portion 54 can be crimped so as to cover the entire circumference of the coated electric wire W, and it becomes difficult to produce excessively thick end portions during crimping, and a stable crimped state can be realized. The reason why it is preferable not to extend the protruding latching portion 56 to the both end positions of the coated crimping portion 54 is that if the protruding latching portion 56 is extended to the both end positions of the coated crimping portion 54, the terminal is pressed. This is because sometimes the shape of the end of the cover crimping portion 54 may be distorted or cracked.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the coated crimping portion 54 is crimped to the coated electric wire W, and a pair of rises from both ends of the bottom surface portion 54a and the bottom surface portion 54a. The side surface portion 54b and a pair of upper surface portions 54c, 54c that extend in a direction approaching each other from each of the pair of side surface portions 54b, 54b and have their tips abutting and contacting each other are configured in a substantially bowl shape, and the bottom surface portion 54a Is preferably larger than the cross-sectional dimensions of the side surface portion 54b and the upper surface portion 54c. The projecting engagement provided continuously from the bottom surface portion 54a and the side surface portion 54b by increasing the cross-sectional dimension Y1 of the bottom surface portion 54a and by arranging the side surface portion 54b to rise suddenly from the bottom surface portion 54a. The portion 56 can effectively bite into the covered electric wire W and can be locked, and as a result, the electric wire tensile strength can be effectively increased.

  In addition, FIG. 7A shows a case where two protruding locking portions 56 are formed. In this case, the protruding locking portions 56 are located close to both ends of the cover crimping portion 54, respectively. When the distance to 56 (the center position) is d1 and d2, respectively, and the distance between the two protruding locking portions (the center position) is d3, the distance d1 and the distance d2 may be equal. It is preferable because a uniform crimped state can be obtained on the covered electric wire, and in order to more effectively increase the tensile strength by the projecting locking portion 56, d3 is preferably not made too short but at least larger than d1 and d2. . Furthermore, it is preferable that the length is at least twice as long as d1 or d2. By adopting such a shape, the insulating coating layer is appropriately sandwiched between the two protruding locking portions 56, and it is possible to realize an improvement in tensile strength due to the anchor effect.

  In addition, it is preferable to perform pressure bonding so that the compression ratio of the coated pressure bonding portion 54 is 50% to 80%. This is because if the compression ratio exceeds 80%, sufficient tensile strength cannot be obtained, whereas if the compression ratio is less than 50%, the wire is cut off. The coating compression ratio of the coated crimping part 54 is an area ratio before and after the insulation coating layer I is crimped. The coated crimping part 54 after the crimping is cut out in a cross section, and the area of the insulating coating layer I is measured before the crimping. Is obtained by calculating the ratio of the same area or the ratio of the wire non-crimped wire.

  The resin material constituting the insulating coating layer I is polyvinyl chloride. In addition to this polyvinyl chloride, for example, halogen-based resins mainly composed of crosslinked polyvinyl chloride, chloroprene rubber, polyethylene, crosslinked Halogen-free resins mainly composed of polyethylene, ethylene propylene rubber, silicon rubber, polyester, etc. are used, and these may contain additives such as plasticizers and flame retardants.

  Further, the connecting portion 10 extends from the other side wall 14 b and is bent along the outer surface of the upper wall 16 so as to engage with an engaging recess 42 (FIG. 4) formed at the end of the upper wall 16. Thus, it is preferable to have a tongue-like engagement portion 44 for preventing the upper wall 16 from being lifted outward and for positioning and fixing the upper wall 16 at a predetermined position of the connection portion 10. Further, by making the width of the concave portion of the engaging concave portion 42 and the width of the protruding portion of the tongue-like engaging portion 44 substantially the same, the tongue-like engaging portion 44 is fitted into the engaging concave portion 42, and the fixing force is increased. The reliability can be ensured over a long period of time. This makes it possible to generate a sufficient spring contact load on the elastic contact piece 20 in an electrically connected state with the tab of the male terminal.

  In addition, the place mentioned above only showed the example of embodiment of this invention, and can change a various change in a claim. For example, the female terminal 1 of the present invention can be used as a terminal with an electric wire by crimping to the end of the covered electric wire W, or one or a plurality of covered electric wires, for example, a core wire (conductor portion) is a copper wire. It can also be used as a wire harness having a covered electric wire made of In the female terminal of the present invention, an aluminum wire or an aluminum alloy wire can also be used as the core wire of the covered electric wire.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the contact load of the spring by the elastic contact piece, and for example, at the time of quality inspection performed before product shipment, the arrangement state of the elastic contact piece in the connection portion is from the outer surface side of the connection portion, As a result of being easily confirmed visually or with a camera etc., it is possible to sort out defective products of the female terminal manufactured with an improper arrangement of the elastic contact pieces so as not to be mixed with the product shipment. Even if it is used for electrical connection with male terminals with small tab dimensions, only good female terminals (products) with elastic contact pieces that can secure sufficient contact load with the tabs of male terminals It became possible to ship.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Female terminal 3 Punching board | plate material 10 Connection part 10a The front-end | tip of a connection part 10b The rear end of a connection part 12 Bottom wall 14a One side wall 14b The other side wall 16 The upper wall 18 Inlet 20 Elastic contact piece 22 One end part (or connection end part) )
24 Other end (or free end)
26 Window hole 28 Central part of one side wall 30 Front end side part of one side wall 32 Rear end side part of one side wall 34 Extension part of the other side wall 36 Contact part (or convex part)
38 Restriction convex part 40 Bead part 40a, 40b The longitudinal direction both ends part of a bead part 42 Engagement recessed part 44 Tongue-like engagement part 46 Claw part 48 Engagement hole part 50 Crimp part 52 Core wire crimp part 54 Cover crimp part 56 Projection shape Locking portion 58 Serration 70 Intermediate connecting portion 72 Intermediate bottom wall 74a, 74b A pair of intermediate side walls 76 Reinforcing portion 80 Carrier portion W Covered wire M Core wire of coated wire I Insulation coating layer of coated wire

Claims (8)

A substantially rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion having a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top wall, and having a fitting inlet into which a tab of a male terminal as a mating terminal is inserted at the tip;
A crimping portion for crimping and fixing the exposed portion of the core wire and the covering portion, which constitutes the end of the coated wire;
An intermediate coupling part that is located between the connection part and the crimping part and couples the connection part and the crimping part;
The connecting portion has an elastic contact piece that extends along the inner surface of the upper wall in the longitudinal direction from the front end side toward the rear end side, and elastically contacts the inserted tab for electrical connection,
The elastic contact piece is
One end is a connecting end connected to the tip side of the upper wall,
The other end portion is a free end portion that is located on the rear end side of the connection portion and configured to maintain a contact state with the inner surface of the upper wall,
The elastic contact piece has a contact portion that is electrically connected in contact with the tab to be inserted between the connecting end portion and the free end portion,
The contact portion is a convex portion that is convex toward the bottom wall;
There is a restricting protrusion that fits into the concave surface of the contact portion and restricts excessive displacement of the elastic contact piece toward the upper wall at the inner surface position of the upper wall corresponding to the position of the convex portion. And
The contact portion has a curved surface shape obtained by extending a spherical shape along the extending direction of the elastic contact piece, and a shape with a reduced width toward the fitting entrance and a reduced curvature radius at the tip,
The connecting portion is visually recognized from the outside of the connecting portion at a boundary position between the upper wall and at least one of the pair of side walls, at least the free end portion of the elastic contact piece. A female terminal further comprising a window hole that can be formed. A substantially rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion having a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top wall, and having a fitting inlet into which a tab of a male terminal as a mating terminal is inserted at the tip;
  A crimping portion for crimping and fixing the exposed portion of the core wire and the covering portion, which constitutes the end of the coated wire;
  An intermediate connecting part that is located between the connecting part and the crimping part and connects the connecting part and the crimping part;
With
  The connecting portion has an elastic contact piece that extends along the inner surface of the upper wall in the longitudinal direction from the front end side toward the rear end side, and elastically contacts the inserted tab for electrical connection,
  The elastic contact piece is
  One end is a connecting end connected to the tip side of the upper wall,
  The other end portion is a free end portion that is located on the rear end side of the connection portion and configured to maintain a contact state with the inner surface of the upper wall,
  The connecting portion is a boundary position between the upper wall and at least one of the pair of side walls.
The window further includes a window hole in which the contact state of at least the free end portion of the elastic contact piece can be visually recognized from the outside of the connection portion,
The connecting portion includes a tongue-like engaging portion that extends from the side wall and is bent along the outer surface of the upper wall so as to engage with an engaging recess formed at an end of the upper wall. A female terminal characterized by comprising: Wherein the intermediate connecting portion is constituted by an intermediate side wall of the intermediate bottom wall and a pair of said intermediate bottom wall, of the intermediate side walls of said pair has a reinforcing portion at either or both, according to claim 1 or female terminal as described in 2. The connection part has a bead part protruding toward the contact part on the inner surface of the bottom wall,
The bead portion extends in the longitudinal direction including a position facing the contact portion of the elastic contact piece, and the projecting height of both end portions in the longitudinal direction is higher than the projecting height of the other portion of the bead portion. The female terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the female terminal is high. Before SL resilient contact piece and the bead portion, the longitudinal end position of the contact portion is positioned in the fitting hole side than the longitudinal leading end position of the bead portion, and a curved center position of the contact portion is the bead portion The female terminal according to claim 4, wherein the shortest distances measured from the vertex positions at both ends in the longitudinal direction are the same. The crimping part is composed of a core crimping part and a sheathing crimping part that individually crimps and fixes each of the core wire exposed part and the coating part, which constitutes the end of the coated electric wire,
The female die according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a protrusion-like locking portion that protrudes in a direction transverse to an extending direction of the covering portion on an inner surface of the covering pressure-bonding portion. Terminal. A terminal with an electric wire formed by crimping a female terminal to the end of a covered electric wire,
The female terminal is
A substantially rectangular tube-shaped connecting portion having a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a top wall, and having a fitting inlet into which a tab of a male terminal as a mating terminal is inserted at the tip;
A crimping portion for crimping and fixing the exposed portion of the core wire and the covering portion, which constitutes the end of the coated wire;
An intermediate coupling part that is located between the connection part and the crimping part and couples the connection part and the crimping part;
The connecting portion has an elastic contact piece that extends along the inner surface of the upper wall in a longitudinal direction from the front end side toward the rear end side, and elastically contacts the inserted tab for electrical connection,
The elastic contact piece is
One end is a connecting end connected to the tip side of the upper wall,
The other end portion is a free end portion that is located on the rear end side of the connection portion and configured to maintain a contact state with the inner surface of the upper wall,
The contact portion is visible at the boundary position between the upper wall and at least one of the pair of side walls, and the contact state of at least the free end portion of the elastic contact piece is visible from the outside of the connection portion. A window hole that can
The crimping part is composed of a core crimping part and a sheathing crimping part that individually crimps and fixes each of the core wire exposed part and the sheathing part, which constitutes the end of the coated electric wire,
On the inner surface of the covering crimping portion, there is a protruding locking portion extending in a protruding manner in a direction transverse to the extending direction of the covering portion,
In the state where the coated crimping portion is crimped to the coated electric wire, the bottom surface portion, the pair of side surface portions rising from both ends of the bottom surface portion, and the pair of side surface portions extend in directions approaching each other. With a pair of upper surface portions that are in contact with each other at the front ends, the cross-sectional dimension of the bottom surface portion is larger than the cross-sectional dimensions of the side surface portion and the upper surface portion. Terminal. A wire harness having one or more covered electric wires,
The wire harness which has the female terminal of any one of Claims 1-6 in the edge part of the said covered electric wire, or has the terminal with an electric wire of Claim 7 .

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