JP7256469B2 - female terminal - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a female terminal having a cylindrical connecting portion electrically connected to a columnar connecting portion of a male terminal.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an electrical connection structure using male and female terminals, in which a male terminal having a substantially columnar connecting portion called a pin terminal or the like and a female terminal having a substantially cylindrical cylindrical connecting portion called a sleeve terminal or the like are used. used. A structure for maintaining the contact state between the male and female terminals is employed inside the cylindrical connecting portion of the female terminal. For example, in the female terminal disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-24901 (Patent Document 1), an elastic contact piece is provided inside the cylindrical connecting portion, the elastic contact piece being folded backward from the tip opening. Due to the elastic restoring force of the elastic contact piece, the end portion of the elastic contact piece is pressed against the columnar connection portion of the male terminal, and the male terminal and the female terminal are held in contact to achieve electrical connection. there is

JP 2016-24901 A

By the way, in the female terminal of such a conventional structure, the male terminal and the female terminal are held in contact by pressing the end of the elastic contact piece against the columnar connection portion of the male terminal. . Therefore, the degree of freedom in setting the pressure contact force of the elastic contact piece to the male terminal side is small, and it is sometimes difficult to bring the male and female terminals into contact with each other with a required level of contact pressure. Furthermore, since the end portion of the elastic contact piece is pressed against the male terminal, there is an inherent problem that it is difficult to stably secure a large contact area between the male terminal and the female terminal.

Therefore, a novel structure is provided in which the pressure contact force between the male terminal having a columnar connection portion and the female terminal having a tubular connection portion can be set with a large degree of freedom, and a large contact area between the male and female terminals can be stably secured. The purpose is to provide a female terminal for

A female terminal of the present disclosure includes a first peripheral wall portion and a second peripheral wall portion that are arranged to face each other, a cylindrical connection portion electrically connected to a columnar connection portion of a male terminal, and the first peripheral wall. and at least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has an inner surface with an arcuate cross-section, and the inner surface has an arc-shaped cross section. and an arc-shaped protrusion that is provided and extends in the circumferential direction of the inner surface and protrudes radially inward, wherein the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion resist the biasing force of the biasing means. Both the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion have inner surfaces with arcuate cross-sections, and the inner surface of one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has a , the arc-shaped protrusion is provided, and a linear contact portion that protrudes radially inward while extending in the axial direction of the inner surface of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion. are female terminals provided at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction .

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a female terminal that has a large degree of freedom in setting the pressure contact force of the cylindrical connection portion of the female terminal with respect to the columnar connection portion of the male terminal, and that can stably secure a large contact area. .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a female terminal according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the female terminal fitting shown in FIG. 4, showing a state before the pair of overlapping plate portions are urged by the urging means. FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a female terminal according to a second embodiment; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the female terminal fitting shown in FIG. 8, showing a state before the pair of overlapping plate portions are urged by the urging means. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a third embodiment; FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the female terminal fitting shown in FIG. 12, showing a state before the pair of overlapping plate portions are urged by the urging means; FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a fourth embodiment; FIG. 15 is a plan view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 15. FIG.

<Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure>
First, the embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
The female terminal of the present disclosure is
(1) a tubular connecting portion including a first peripheral wall portion and a second peripheral wall portion arranged to face each other and conductively connected to the columnar connecting portion of the male terminal; At least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has a biasing means for biasing the two peripheral wall portions in a direction toward each other, and at least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has an inner surface having an arcuate cross section. and an arcuate projection projecting radially inward while extending in the circumferential direction of the inner surface, wherein the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are displaced apart from each other against the biasing force of the biasing means. Both the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion have inner surfaces having an arc-shaped cross section, and the inner surface of one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has the arc-shaped A protrusion is provided, and a linear contact portion extending in the axial direction of the inner surface and protruding radially inward is formed on the inner surface of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion in the circumferential direction. female terminals provided at a plurality of locations spaced apart from each other .

According to the female terminal of the present disclosure, the cylindrical connecting portion conductively connected to the columnar connecting portion of the male terminal includes the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion arranged to face each other. The first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are urged toward each other by the urging means, so that they can be displaced apart from each other against the urging force. Therefore, when the columnar connection portion of the male terminal is press-fitted into the cylindrical connection portion of the female terminal, the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are displaced away from each other against the biasing force of the biasing means. , press-fitting of the columnar connection portion into the tubular connection portion is permitted. After the columnar connecting portion of the male terminal is press-fitted, the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion of the tubular connecting portion of the female terminal are maintained in a state of being biased toward each other by the biasing force of the biasing means. . Therefore, the pressure contact state between the male and female terminals can be stably maintained. In particular, the pressing force of the cylindrical connection portion of the female terminal against the columnar connection portion of the male terminal can be arbitrarily set by adjusting the biasing means that biases the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion in the approaching direction. Therefore, the pressing force between the male and female terminals can be set with a large degree of freedom.

In addition, at least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has an inner surface having an arcuate cross section, and the inner surface has arcuate projections extending in the circumferential direction of the inner surface and protruding radially inward. department is provided. Therefore, the arc-shaped protrusion can be pressed against a wide range of the outer peripheral surface of the columnar connection portion of the male terminal that is press-fitted into the tubular connection portion of the female terminal, and the contact area between the male and female terminals can be widened. can be secured stably. In particular, when the male terminal has a cylindrical connecting portion, a wider and more stable contact area can be secured. Further, since the inner surface of at least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion is provided with the arc-shaped protrusion extending in the circumferential direction of the inner surface and protruding radially inward, the tube of the receptacle is provided. During the operation of inserting the columnar connecting portion of the male terminal into the connecting portion, an insertion force peak is generated by the arcuate protrusion. As a result, when the male terminal is inserted further beyond the arcuate projection, the operator can feel that the peak of the insertion force has passed and the insertion completion position has been reached. It is possible to detect that is properly fitted. Further, in this aspect, one of the inner surfaces of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion is provided with the arc-shaped protrusion, and the shaft protruding from the inner surface of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion is provided. The linear contact portions extending in the direction are in line contact with and press-contacted with the columnar connection portions of the male terminal at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Thereby, even when swinging motion is transmitted from the electric wire to the male terminal, the swinging displacement of the male terminal can be prevented by contacting the male terminal with the plurality of linear contact portions. Therefore, the first peripheral wall and the second peripheral wall are pressed against a wide range of the outer peripheral surface of the columnar connection portion of the male terminal with a high contact pressure by the arc-shaped protrusion of one of the first peripheral wall and the second peripheral wall. The male terminal can be prevented from being oscillatingly displaced by the plurality of linear contact portions on the other side of the portion, and both an increase in contact area with the male terminal and stable holding of the male terminal can be achieved. In addition, a plurality of linear contact portions may be provided on the inner surface of one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion in a region axially separated from the arc-shaped protrusion. The other inner surface of the two peripheral wall portions may be provided with an arcuate protrusion in a region axially separated from the plurality of linear contact portions.

( 2) Preferably, the curvature of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion is smaller than the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the columnar connection portion of the male terminal. Since the curvature of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion is smaller than the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the columnar connection portion of the male terminal, the plurality of linear contact portions can be reliably connected to the columnar connection portion of the male terminal. This is because the male terminal can be brought into contact with the male terminal, and a more stable effect of preventing the male terminal from swinging displacement can be obtained by the linear contact portion.

( 3 ) It is preferable that the arc-shaped protrusion extends in the circumferential direction for a circumferential length of 2/3 or more of the circumferential length of the inner surface. This is because the cylindrical connecting portion of the female terminal can be stably brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the columnar connecting portion of the male terminal over a sufficiently wide contact area.

( 4 ) It is preferable that a side surface of the arc-shaped protrusion facing the male terminal insertion opening side of the tubular connecting portion has an arc-shaped cross section. A rapid increase in insertion resistance of the cylindrical contact portion of the male terminal into the cylindrical connection portion of the female terminal can be suppressed, and the ease of insertion can be improved. In addition, preferably, both side surfaces of the arcuate protrusion are arcuate in cross section. This is because the directionality of the cylindrical connecting portion of the female terminal can be eliminated.

( 5 ) A pair of mutually-opposing first peripheral wall portions of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are connected to a pair of overlapping plate portions that are spaced apart from each other and protrude outward. The urging means urges the pair of overlapping plate portions in a direction to overlap each other, thereby urging the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion to approach each other. preferable. The stacking plate portions are protruded from the peripheral end portions of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion, respectively, and it is only necessary to urge them in the direction in which they overlap each other. can be ensured. As a result, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in selecting the urging means.

( 6 ) The tubular connection part is provided on one end side, and the female terminal fitting is provided with a wire connection part on the other end side, and the biasing means is held by the female terminal fitting. preferable. Since the tubular connection portion and the wire connection portion are provided integrally with the female terminal fitting, the number of components of the female terminal can be reduced. Furthermore, since the biasing means is also held by the female terminal fitting, it is possible to stably provide a pressure contact force between the male and female terminals while improving the handling of the female terminal.

<Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure>
Specific examples of the female terminal of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is indicated by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the scope of the claims.

<Embodiment 1>
Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. 1 to 6 show a female terminal 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The female terminal 10 has a female terminal fitting 16 including a first peripheral wall portion 12 and a second peripheral wall portion 14 which are arranged to face each other. Through the inner surfaces 18 of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14, the female terminal fitting 16 has a cylindrical connecting portion 24 electrically connected to the cylindrical connecting portion 22 of the male terminal 20 having a substantially cylindrical pin shape. is formed. In the following description, the Z direction is the upward direction, the Y direction is the width direction, and the X direction is the length direction. Further, with respect to a plurality of identical members, only some members are given reference numerals, and the reference numerals are omitted for other members.

<First peripheral wall portion 12 and second peripheral wall portion 14>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the female terminal fitting 16 is formed by pressing a strip-shaped flat metal plate 26 into a predetermined shape. As the metal forming the metal flat plate 26, a metal having a low electric resistance such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, etc. can be appropriately selected. In the present embodiment, the belt-like flat metal plate 26 is folded in two at one end 28 in the longitudinal direction toward the other end 30 (left side in FIG. 4). With the one end portion 28 folded over the other end portion 30, the lengthwise intermediate portions of the overlapped surfaces are curved in a direction separating from each other, thereby forming a substantially cylindrical connecting portion 24. is formed. The cylindrical connecting portion 24 is open on both sides in the width direction and has a maximum inner diameter dimension r smaller than the maximum outer diameter dimension t of the male terminal 20 . That is, the cylindrical connection portion 24 is configured so that the male terminal 20 is press-fitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, a recess 32 having a rectangular cross-sectional shape in plan view or bottom view is formed in the central portion in the width direction of the outer surface of each of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14. is provided. Due to the recesses 32, the inner surfaces 18 of both the first and second peripheral wall portions 12, 14 are radially arcuate in cross-section (see FIG. 4) and widthwise cross-section (see FIG. 6). An arcuate protrusion 34 is formed to protrude inward. That is, both the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 have an inner surface 18 having an arcuate cross-section, and the inner surface 18 has an inner surface 18 extending radially inward while extending in the circumferential direction of the inner surface 18 . A protruding arcuate protrusion 34 is provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the arcuate protrusion 34 extends in the circumferential direction with a circumferential length L1 that is two-thirds or more of the total circumferential length L of the inner surface 18 . Note that in this embodiment, L1/L is approximately 4/5. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, both side surfaces 36, 36 of the arcuate protrusion 34 facing the male terminal insertion opening side of the tubular connecting portion 24 are arcuate in cross section. Therefore, regardless of whether the male terminal insertion opening of the cylindrical connection portion 24 is set on either the left or right side, the change in insertion resistance can be made the same, and the directivity of the female terminal 10 can be reduced. In FIG. 6, the male terminal insertion port side is the left side, but the male terminal 20 can also be inserted from the right side.

A cylindrical connection portion 24 is formed by the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 that are arranged to face each other. As a result, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the pair of first peripheral end portions 38, 38 facing each other of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 are spaced apart from each other outward (FIG. 5). A pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b protruding toward the center and left are connected to each other. A pair of second peripheral end portions 42, 42 are provided at other locations in the circumferential direction of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14, which face the pair of first peripheral end portions 38, 38 in the radial direction. is formed. The pair of second peripheral end portions 42, 42 has a pair of extending plate portions 44, which are connected to the pair of second peripheral end portions 42, 42 and protrude outward (to the right in FIG. 5). 44 are provided. A wire connecting portion 46 is formed by overlapping the pair of extension plate portions 44, 44 with each other.

<Case 48>
A case 48 is attached to the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b (see FIG. 1, for example). The case 48 is made of various metal materials, such as brass, copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, etc., which can be press worked or stamped. The case 48 is assembled to the female terminal fitting 16 so that the accommodation space 50 is disposed above one of the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b of the female terminal fitting 16. . More specifically, in the assembled state, the case 48 has an opposing wall 52 in the shape of a substantially rectangular flat plate that faces one of the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b through the accommodation space 50. there is Further, the case 48 has a pair of substantially rectangular flat plate-like wall portions 54, 54 extending downward from both longitudinal side edges of the opposing wall 52, and the opposing wall 52 and the pair of wall portions extend downward. 54, 54 form a receiving space 50. As shown in FIG. Further, the case 48 has engagement frames 56 that protrude downward in a U-shape and engage with the lower surface of the overlapping plate portion 40b on both sides in the width direction of the extending end portions of the pair of wall portions 54, 54. is provided. Engagement projections 60 protrude inward in the width direction in an L-shape and engage with engagement recesses 58 formed on both sides in the width direction of the overlapping plate portion 40b. is provided. Furthermore, rectangular plate-like coil spring holding walls 62 projecting toward the opposing wall portion 54 are provided on both side edge portions of the extending ends of the pair of wall portions 54 (see, for example, FIG. 1). ).

The case 48 holds one of the pair of stacked plate portions 40a and 40b in a state in which a metal coil spring 64, which is a spring member that constitutes a biasing means, is housed in the housing space 50. held above (see, eg, FIG. 1). That is, the case 48 is placed above one of the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b of the female terminal fitting 16 while the coil spring 64 is arranged in the housing space 50 of the case 48. are arranged as follows. Next, the engaging projections 60 of the case 48 are bent inward in the width direction so as to engage with the engaging recesses 58 provided on the side edges of the overlapping plate portion 40b. As a result, the extended ends of the pair of wall portions 54, 54 of the case 48 are placed on one of the pair of stacked plate portions 40a, 40b, and the pair of stacked plate portions 40a is placed on the stacked plate portion 40a. , 40b is fixed to the other overlapping plate portion 40b. That is, the coil spring 64 accommodated in the case 48 is indirectly held by the female terminal fitting 16 . In this state, the coil spring 64 is held in a compressed state between one of the pair of stacked plate portions 40a and 40b and the opposing wall 52 of the case 48. As shown in FIG. The coil spring 64 held in this compressed state urges the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b toward each other (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4). That is, the coil spring 64, which is a biasing means, biases the pair of stacking plate portions 40a and 40b in a direction to overlap each other, so that the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 approach each other. Separation displacement against the biasing force of the coil spring 64 is possible.

<Electric wire connecting portion 46>
On the other hand, the pair of extending plate portions 44, 44 are fixed and integrated with each other using any known means such as resistance welding. The pair of extending plate portions 44 , 44 are superimposed on each other to form a wire connection portion 46 . By doing so, the efficiency of workability can be improved. As a result, the core wire 68 of the electric wire 66 is electrically connected to the female terminal fitting 16 at the wire connecting portion 46 .

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. According to this embodiment, the inner surfaces 18 of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 allow the female terminal fitting 16 to be conductively connected to the cylindrical connecting portion 22 of the male terminal 20 having a substantially cylindrical pin shape. A cylindrical connecting portion 24 is formed. Moreover, the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 are urged toward each other by the coil spring 64, which is an urging means, so that they can be displaced apart against the urging force of the coil spring 64. . That is, when the columnar connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 is press-fitted into the cylindrical connection portion 24 of the female terminal 10 , the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 are pushed against the biasing force of the coil spring 64 . The male terminals 20 are allowed to be press-fitted into the female terminals 10 by being displaced apart from each other. Further, after the press-fitting, the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 constituting the cylindrical connecting portion 24 of the female terminal 10 are maintained in a state of being mutually biased toward each other by the biasing force of the coil spring 64 . be. Therefore, the press-contact state between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 20 can be stably maintained. Since the pressure contact force between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 20 can be arbitrarily set by adjusting the coil spring 64 that urges the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 in the approaching direction, The pressing force between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 20 can be set with a large degree of freedom.

Both the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 have an inner surface 18 having an arcuate cross section. A protruding arcuate protrusion 34 is provided. Therefore, the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 press-fitted between the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 constituting the tubular connection portion 24 of the female terminal 10 can be extended over a wide range and with high contact. It can be brought into pressure contact with the arcuate protrusion 34 by pressure. As a result, a wide contact area between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 20 can be secured stably. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the arcuate protrusion 34 extends in the circumferential direction with a circumferential length L1 that is approximately 4/5 of the total circumferential length L of the inner surface 18 . Therefore, the inner surface 18 of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the inner surface 18 of the second peripheral wall portion 14 can be stably brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 with a sufficiently wide contact area.

Furthermore, the side surface 36 of the arcuate protrusion 34 facing the male terminal insertion opening side of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14 constituting the cylindrical connecting portion 24 of the female terminal 10 is formed into an arcuate cross section. there is As a result, since the maximum inner diameter r of the cylindrical connecting portion 24 into which the cylindrical connecting portion 22 of the male terminal 20 is inserted is gradually reduced in the direction of insertion, the conventional cylindrical connecting portion A rapid rise in the insertion resistance when press-fitting into the small-diameter cylindrical connection portion can be suppressed, and the ease of insertion can be improved. In this embodiment, both side surfaces 36, 36 of the arcuate protrusion 34 facing the male terminal insertion opening side of the tubular connecting portion 24 are formed in an arcuate cross section, so that the female terminal 10 can be connected in a tubular manner. The insertion directionality in the width direction of the portion 24 can be eliminated. Further, since the arc-shaped protrusions 34, 34 are provided, as shown in FIG. The operator first inserts the cylindrical connecting portion 22 of the male terminal 20 between the arcuate protrusions 34, 34, and feels the peak of the insertion force. After that, by further pushing the columnar connecting portion 22 beyond the arcuate protrusions 34, 34 and further into the back (on the right side in FIG. 6), it is possible to feel that the peak of the insertion force has passed and the insertion completion position has been reached. A further advantage is that it is possible to detect that the male terminal 20 and the female terminal 10 have been properly fitted.

In addition, a pair of flat plate-like stacking plate portions 40a and 40b project outward from a pair of mutually opposed first peripheral end portions 38 and 38 of the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14, respectively. , are urged in a direction to overlap each other. At this time, since the coil spring 64, which is the biasing means, is mounted on the pair of plate-like overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b, the portion to which the coil spring 64 is mounted is stably secured. , and the degree of freedom in selecting the coil spring 64 can be improved.

<Other embodiments>
The technology described in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described by the above description and drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the technology described in this specification.

(1) In the first embodiment, the coil spring 64 accommodated in the case 48 as the biasing means has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The biasing means may be constituted by a clip 72, like the female terminal 70 of the second embodiment of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. Specifically, the clip 72 is formed using various metal materials that can be pressed or punched, such as strips of spring steel, stainless steel, brass, phosphor bronze, beryllium copper, or the like. The clip 72 has a rectangular plate-like connecting plate portion 74 and a pair of rectangular plate-like clamping plate portions 76 projecting from both side edges of the connecting plate portion 74 in directions approaching each other. The protruding end portions of the pair of holding plate portions 76, 76 are slightly bent in the direction of separation from each other. A gap between the protruding ends of the pair of clamping plate portions 76 , 76 closest to each other serves as an insertion port 78 . A lock hole 80 having a rectangular cross-section is formed through the pair of clamping plate portions 76, 76 in the substantially central portion of the insertion port 78 in the plate thickness direction.

At the central portion of the pair of stacked plate portions 40a and 40b, lock claws 82 having a substantially triangular cross-sectional shape protrude outward from the upper surface of the stacked plate portion 40a and the lower surface of the stacked plate portion 40b, respectively. It is Furthermore, at the leading end (left side in FIG. 8) of the stacking plate portion 40a in the protruding direction, both widthwise end portions thereof are bent upward, opposite to the stacking direction, to form a pair of substantially rectangular flat plates. are provided with protective walls 84,84. In addition, at the leading end (left side in FIG. 8) of the stacking plate portion 40b in the projecting direction, both widthwise end portions thereof are bent downward in the direction opposite to the stacking direction to form a similar substantially rectangular flat plate shape. A pair of protective walls 84, 84 are provided. In addition, the extending end portions of the pair of extending plate portions 44 , 44 are connected to the wire connection portion 86 . At the wire connection portion 86, the core wire 68 of the wire 66 is conductively connected using a known crimping technique.

A clip 72 is press-fitted from an insertion opening 78 into the tip (left side in FIG. 8) of the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b of the female terminal fitting 16 in the projecting direction. At this time, the pair of clamping plate portions 76, 76 are elastically deformed in the direction of separating them from each other, so that the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a, 40b get over the lock claws 82 provided thereon. Thereafter, the pair of clamping plate portions 76, 76 are elastically restored, so that the lock claw 82 is lock-fitted into the lock hole 80 provided in the pair of clamping plate portions 76, 76, and the clip 72 is secured to the female terminal fitting 16. is inextricably held in Compared to the first embodiment, the clip 72 can be held by the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b of the female terminal fitting 16 by a simple structure in which the lock claw 82 is lock-fitted into the lock hole 80. can be done. As a result, the structure of the clip 72, which is the biasing means, can be simplified, and the size of the female terminal 10 can be reduced. As a result, the tip portions of the pair of stacking plate portions 40 a and 40 b in the protruding direction are held between the pair of holding plate portions 76 and 76 of the clip 72 . Also, the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b are urged to overlap each other between the pair of holding plate portions 76 and 76 due to the elastic restoring force of the pair of holding plate portions 76 and 76. As shown in FIG. Further, both sides in the width direction of the pair of holding plate portions 76, 76 of the clip 72 are protected by the pair of protective wall portions 84, 84. As shown in FIG. Moreover, the pair of protective wall portions 84, 84 can also function as a guide when attaching the clip 72 to the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a, 40b.

(2) In Embodiments 1 and 2, the coil spring 64 and clip 72, which are biasing means, are attached to the front end side (for example, the left end side in FIGS. 4 and 8) of the female terminal fitting 16 in the longitudinal direction. Although the wire connection portions 46 and 86 are provided on the base end side in the length direction (for example, the right end side in FIGS. 4 and 8), the present invention is not limited to this. Like the female terminal 88 of Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the female terminal fitting 90 has a first peripheral wall portion 92 and a second peripheral wall portion 94 on the tip side, which is one end side in the length direction. A cylindrical connecting portion 96 made of the inner surface 18 is provided, and a coil spring 64 and a clip 72 as biasing means are attached to the central portion in the length direction, and the other end side in the length direction is the base end portion side. A wire connecting portion 46 may be provided in the . In the third embodiment, similarly to the first and second embodiments, the tubular connection portion 96 and the wire connection portion 46 are integrally provided on the female terminal fitting 90, thereby reducing the number of components of the female terminal 88. be able to. In addition, since the coil spring 64, which is the biasing means, is also held by the female terminal fitting 90, the pressure contact force between the female terminal 88 and the male terminal 20 can be stably provided while improving the handling of the female terminal 88. can do. In addition, as in the third embodiment, only one of the first peripheral wall portion 92 and the second peripheral wall portion 94 has the arcuate inner surface 18, and only the first peripheral wall portion 92 is provided with the arcuate projection 34. may have been Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the female terminal fitting 90 has a pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b that are connected to the pair of first peripheral end portions 38 and 38 and protrude outward (to the right in FIG. 12 ). A coil spring 64 housed in a case 48 is arranged and held on the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b. A pair of extending plate portions 100, 100 further extending outward (to the right in FIG. 12) from projecting end portions of the pair of overlapping plate portions 40a, 40b are further included. , 100 are overlapped with each other, and when the core wire 68 of the electric wire 66 is welded to the electric wire connecting portion 46, for example, the pair of extending plate portions 100, 100 are also fixed to each other and integrated. Moreover, the female terminal fitting 90 is provided with a pair of second peripheral end portions 98, 98 extending over the entire length in the axial direction at another location in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical connection portion 24. Both of the two circumferential ends 98, 98 are free ends. As a result, when the male terminal 20 is press-fitted into the cylindrical connecting portion 24, the pair of second peripheral end portions 98, 98 are displaced in the direction of separation, and the cylindrical connecting portion 24 is elastically deformed in the radially expanding direction. Since the male terminal 20 is allowed to be press-fitted into the cylindrical connecting portion 24, the insertion force of the male terminal 20 into the cylindrical connecting portion 24 can be advantageously reduced.

(3) In Embodiments 1 and 2, the arcuate protrusions 34 are provided on the inner surfaces 18 of both the first peripheral wall portion 12 and the second peripheral wall portion 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. Like the female terminal 102 of Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure shown in FIGS. An arc-shaped projection 34 is provided on the inner surface 18 of the second peripheral wall portion 14, and extends in the axial direction of the inner surface 106 (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. The linear contact portions 108 protruding inward may be provided at a plurality of locations (two locations in the fourth embodiment) spaced apart in the circumferential direction. Here, the curvature of the inner surface 106 of the first peripheral wall portion 104 is made smaller than the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical connecting portion 22 of the male terminal 20 . As a result, the two linear contact portions 108 can be reliably brought into contact with the columnar connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 . As described above, since the linear contact portion 108 is in line contact with the cylindrical connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 at two locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction, the male terminal 20 is oscillated from an electric wire (not shown). Even when the force is transmitted, the displacement of the male terminal 20 due to the swing motion can be prevented by the contact of the male terminal 20 with the two linear contact portions 108 . Therefore, while the arc-shaped protrusion 34 of the second peripheral wall 14 is in contact with a wide range of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 with a high contact pressure, the two linear protrusions of the first peripheral wall 104 are pressed against each other. Displacement of the male terminal 20 due to rocking can be prevented by the contact portion 108 . As a result, both an increase in contact area with the male terminal 20 and stable holding of the male terminal 20 can be achieved.

In addition, in the fourth embodiment, the arcuate protrusion 34 is provided on the inner surface 18 of the second peripheral wall portion 14 , but in addition to the arcuate protrusion 34 , a plurality of arcuate protrusions 34 are provided in a region separated from the arcuate protrusion 34 in the axial direction. linear contact portion 108 may be provided. Further, in the fourth embodiment, two linear contact portions 108 are provided on the inner surface 106 of the first peripheral wall portion 104, but three or more linear contact portions 108 may be provided, or linear contact portions 108 may be provided. In addition to the contact portion 108 , an arcuate protrusion 34 may be provided in a region axially separated from the linear contact portion 108 . In addition, the curvature of the inner surface 106 of the first peripheral wall portion 104 is necessarily greater than the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical connection portion 22 of the male terminal 20 as long as the contact of the linear contact portion 108 with the cylindrical connection portion 22 is ensured. need not be reduced. A plurality of linear contact portions 108 spaced apart in the circumferential direction may be provided by forming the first peripheral wall portion 104 to have a polygonal cross-sectional inner surface.

(4) In Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4 , the circumferential positions of the first peripheral wall portions 12, 92 , and 104 were radially opposed positions to the second peripheral wall portions 14 and 94. is not limited to It can be arbitrarily set according to conditions such as the arrangement area of the female terminal. For example, the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are provided at positions separated by 90° in the circumferential direction, and the overlapping plate portions 40a and 40b and the extension plate portion 44 are configured to protrude in the orthogonal direction to each other. good too.

(5) In Embodiments 1, 2 , 3 and 4 , the electric wire 66 fixed to the electric wire connecting portions 46 and 86 extends in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the cylindrical connecting portions 24 and 96. It may be fixed to the wire connection portions 46 and 86 so that the wire 66 extends in the axial direction of the shaped connection portions 24 and 96 .

(6) In Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4 , an example in which the connection portion of the male terminal 20 is the cylindrical connection portion 22 was shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. Even if the cross-sectional shape of the columnar connection part of the male terminal to be inserted is elliptical, polygonal, or rectangular, the contact area between the male and female terminals can be stably secured, and the high degree of freedom in setting the pressure contact force can be enjoyed. .

(7) In Embodiments 1, 2, 3, and 4 , the arc-shaped projection 34 facing the male terminal insertion port side of the cylindrical connecting portion 24 , 96 has an arc-shaped cross section. Although both side surfaces 36, 36 of are also arcuate in cross section, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, only one side surface 36 of the arcuate protrusion 34, which serves as the male terminal insertion side, may be arcuate in cross section. Alternatively, only the side surfaces 36, 36 may be arcuate in cross section, and the projecting upper surface portion may be formed of, for example, a flat surface.

10 female terminal (embodiment 1)
12 First peripheral wall portion 14 Second peripheral wall portion 16 Female terminal fitting 18 Inner surface 20 Male terminal 22 Columnar connecting portion 24 Cylindrical connecting portion 26 Metal flat plate 28 One end 30 The other end 32 Recess 34 Arc-shaped protrusion 36 Side surface 38 First peripheral end portions 40a, b Stacked plate portion 42 Second peripheral end portion 44 Extension plate portion 46 Wire connecting portion 48 Case 50 Housing space 52 Opposing wall 54 Wall portion 56 Engagement frame 58 Engagement concave portion 60 Engagement Projection 62 Coil spring holding wall 64 Coil spring (biasing means)
66 electric wire 68 core wire 70 female terminal (embodiment 2)
72 clip (biasing means)
74 Connecting plate portion 76 Clamping plate portion 78 Insertion port 80 Lock hole 82 Lock claw 84 Protective wall portion 86 Wire connection portion 88 Female terminal (third embodiment)
90 Female terminal fitting 92 First peripheral wall portion 94 Second peripheral wall portion 96 Cylindrical connecting portion 98 Second peripheral end portion 100 Extension plate portion 102 Female terminal (fourth embodiment)
104 first peripheral wall portion 106 inner surface 108 linear contact portion

Claims (6)

a cylindrical connection portion including a first peripheral wall portion and a second peripheral wall portion arranged to face each other and electrically connected to the columnar connection portion of the male terminal;
biasing means for biasing the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion in a direction toward each other;
At least one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion has an inner surface having an arcuate cross-section, and an arcuate protrusion provided on the inner surface and protruding radially inward while extending in the circumferential direction of the inner surface. including the part and
The first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion are capable of being separated and displaced against the biasing force of the biasing means ,
Both the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion have inner surfaces with arcuate cross-sections,
The arc-shaped protrusion is provided on the inner surface of one of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion,
On the inner surface of the other of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion, linear contact portions extending in the axial direction of the inner surface and protruding radially inward are provided at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the circumferential direction. female terminal. 2. The female terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the curvature of the other of said first peripheral wall portion and said second peripheral wall portion is smaller than the curvature of the outer peripheral surface of said columnar connection portion of said male terminal. 3. The female terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate projection extends in the circumferential direction for a circumferential length of 2/3 or more of the circumferential length of the inner surface. 4. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a side surface of said arcuate projection facing the male terminal insertion opening side of said cylindrical connecting portion has an arcuate cross-section. A pair of overlapping plate portions that are spaced apart from each other and protrude outward are respectively connected to a pair of mutually opposing first peripheral end portions of the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion,
2. The urging means urges the pair of overlapping plate portions in a direction to overlap each other, thereby urging the first peripheral wall portion and the second peripheral wall portion to approach each other. 5. The female terminal according to any one of claims 4 to 4. 1 to 3, wherein the tubular connection part is provided on one end side and includes a female terminal fitting provided with a wire connection part on the other end side, and the female terminal fitting holds the biasing means. Item 6. The female terminal according to any one of items 5 .

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