JPH01107481A - Terminal structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a loss of contact holding power by a melt loss following unavoidable generation of spark by forming a main contact protruding portion in each contact segment of a negative form terminal part and an auxiliary contact protruding portion on the initial inserting side thereof. CONSTITUTION:A main contact protruding part 3, 3 is raised in a position receding from initial insert side end part 2c, 2c to the terminal base 2a side, and also an auxiliary contact protruding portion 4, 4 is raised in a position shifted to the initial insert side end part 2c apart from the main contact protruding portion 3. Thus, the spark unavoidably generated by insert and pull out in the electrified state is always produced in the auxiliary contact protruding portion 4, 4, with no spark generation in the main contact protruding portion 3, 3. Hence, the loss of the contact holding power by a melt loss following spark generation can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a terminal structure comprising, for example, a male terminal member in a plug of a cord with a plug, and a female terminal member in a connector, an outlet, or the like.

(Prior art and its problems) Conventionally, in this type of terminal, a female terminal member has a plurality of female terminal members spaced apart from and facing each other from the terminal base and formed to extend from a male terminal member whose tip is formed into a tapered shape. It has contact pieces, and by inserting the male terminal member between the plurality of contact pieces, a predetermined electrical connection is achieved.

A slightly rectangular convex portion is formed on the inner surface of each contact piece of the female terminal member, and the distance between the convex surfaces of these convex portions is made smaller than the outer width of the male terminal member. , and when the male terminal member is inserted between the respective protrusions, the protrusions are pushed outward based on the dimensional relationship,
The convex surface and the outer surface of the male terminal member are held in contact with each other under a predetermined pressure by the elastic repulsion force based on the resulting deformation of each contact piece.

By the way, this type of terminal is required to have a predetermined contact holding force after conducting an opening/closing test by 3000 insertions and removals and 1000 insertions and removals under energized state.

However, when electrical and mechanical contact with the male terminal member is maintained by pressing the convex portion as described above, if an attempt is made to pull out or insert the male terminal member in the energized state, the At the moment when the tip of the male terminal member and the convex part move apart or approach each other, sparks are generated and the convex part is melted, and this occurs every time the male terminal member is inserted and pulled out repeatedly, and eventually However, there was a problem in that the necessary contact holding force for the male terminal member at the convex portion was lost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the problems of the prior art described above, the present invention aims to provide a terminal of this type that is improved so as not to lose its contact holding force due to melting damage caused by the inevitable generation of sparks.

Means and operation for solving problem C] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a male terminal member 1, and a male terminal member 1 that is inserted into the male terminal member 1 and brought into contact with the male terminal member 1, as shown in the attached drawings. A female terminal member 2 having a plurality of contact pieces 2b, 2b extending apart from and facing each other from a terminal base 2a to be held.
In the terminal structure consisting of the plurality of contact pieces 2b.

On the inner surface of each of the contacts 2b, a main contact convex portion 3.3 is formed at a position retreated toward the terminal base 2a from the insertion start side ends 2C, 2C of the contact pieces 2b, 2b. An auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4 is formed at a position near the insertion start side end portions 2c, 2c and spaced apart from the main contact convex portion 3.3.

With the above configuration, when the male terminal member 1 is to be inserted into the female terminal member 2, first the insertion start end of the male terminal member 1 is inserted into the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.
4 to come into contact with the convex portion 4.4, and from that state further insert the male terminal member l into the main contact convex portion 3.3.
In the state in which the main contact convex parts 3, 3 are pushed outward, that is, each contact piece 2b, 2b is elastically deformed outward, and the elastic repulsive force based on the elastic deformation causes the main contact convex parts 3, 3 to be pushed outward. The contact surfaces 3a, 3a of the convex portions 3.3 press into contact with the outer surface of the male terminal member 1, thereby maintaining a predetermined contact.

On the other hand, if you release the plug-in contact holding state as described above,
When attempting to pull out the male terminal member 1, the male terminal member 1 is first pulled out from the main contact convex portion 3.3, and the contact state of the convex portion with the contact surfaces 3a, 3a is released. ,
In this state, the contact state with the auxiliary contacted convex portions 4, 4 is maintained, and by further pulling out from this state, the contact surface 4at 4a of the auxiliary contacted convex portion 4.4 is brought into contact with the male terminal member 1. The state is released.

Therefore, when the male terminal member 1 is inserted or removed, it contacts the auxiliary contacted protrusion 4.4 immediately before contacting the main contacted protrusion 3.3, and is in a non-contact state with the main contacted protrusion. Since the non-contact state with the auxiliary non-contact convex part 4.4 cannot be obtained until after the auxiliary non-contact convex part 4.4 has been Therefore, no sparks are generated at the non-contacted convex portion 3.3.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A more detailed explanation will be given below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred example of the terminal structure according to the present invention. In this example, the male terminal member l has a blade-like shape, and the female terminal member 2 has a blade-like plug holder.

The male terminal member 1 has a tapered, tapered insertion start side end 1a, and main contact surfaces 1b, Ib are formed on both sides behind the end 1a.

One of the female terminal members 2 has a pair of contact pieces 2b, 2b extending from a rod-shaped terminal base 2a as temporary sticks and facing each other at a distance.
, 2b, insert the male terminal member l into the tip end 1
Corresponding to point a, insertion start side end portions 2C, 2C are formed with outwardly tapered slopes.

And, each inner surface 2 of each of these contact pieces 2b, 2b
d, the main contact convex portion 3.3 is formed in a raised position at a position retreated toward the terminal base 2a side from the insertion start side ends 2C, 2C, and the insertion start side ends 2C, 2C
An auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4 is formed in a raised manner so as to be spaced apart from the main contact convex portion 3.3 at a closer position.

Each of the main contact convex parts 3, 3 is raised symmetrically with respect to the inner surface 2d of the piece as a deformed trapezoid having a wider base than the auxiliary contact convex part 4, which will be described later.
Tapered inclined contact surfaces 3a, 3a that are open to the sides are formed. The raised height of the convex portion 3 for setting the surface 3a is smallest near the terminal base 2a side and largest near the insertion start side end 2c side, and between both contact pieces 3.3, The mutually opposing separation width of the minimum bulky portion surfaces is made slightly smaller than the width between both side surfaces that sets the contact surface 1b of the male terminal member 1, so that a predetermined contact holding force as described later can be obtained. .

On the other hand, each of the auxiliary contacted convex portions 4.4 is raised symmetrically to each other in a trapezoidal shape with a narrower base than the main contacted convex portion 3, and the contacted surface of the main contacted convex portion 3 is symmetrically raised. Contact surfaces 4a, 4a are formed which are smaller in both width and length than 3a. The raised height of the convex portion 4 that sets the surface 4a is smaller than the maximum raised height of the main contacted convex portion 3 with respect to the contacted surface 3a (and is equal to or smaller than the minimum raised height with respect to the same surface 3a). contact surface 1b of the male terminal member 1, which will be described later.

This allows for easy contact with 1b.

As will be described later, between the main contact convex portion 3 and the auxiliary contact convex portion 4, the contact starting end 1a of the male terminal member l is
A separation width is set so that the main contact protrusion 3.3 is not contacted in the process of passing between the auxiliary contact protrusions 4.4 while making contact with each other, and the separation width is such that the male terminal member 1 When the contact starting end 1a is pulled out, the contact starting end 1a can contact the contact surface 4a of the auxiliary contact convex part 4 before passing through the maximum raised bulky part of the contact surface 3a of the main contact convex part 3 and finishing the contact. It is set taking into consideration.

FIGS. 2(a), 2(b), and 2(c) show how the terminal constructed as described above is inserted.

In the example of (A), while the male terminal member 1 is passing through the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4 of the female terminal member 2, the insertion start end 1a of the former is inserted into the convex portion 4.4. After passing through, the rear contact surfaces 1b, 1b contact the contact surface 4a of the convex portion 4.4.
, 4a.

Before such a process occurs, first, the insertion start end 1a of the male terminal member l begins to engage with the front shoulder portion of the contact surface 4a of the convex portion 4.4, and from that state, the male terminal member 1 is further inserted. By proceeding with the insertion of the mold terminal member l, the end portion 1
The front shoulder portion of the convex portion 4 slides along the tapered surface of the contact piece 2.2, thereby elastically deforming the front side of the contact piece 2.2 outward so that the insertion start ends 2c, 2c open outward. Ru. The elastic repulsive force due to the elastic deformation is caused by the contact surfaces 1b, 1b on the rear side being the contact surfaces 4a, 4a of the convex portions 4, 4.
In the process of passing through, a light contact pressure is generated between these surfaces, thereby maintaining electrical contact between the convex portion 4 and the male terminal member 1 until the next step.

In such a situation, the male terminal member 1
, 3 before contact. Therefore, if insertion is performed in a energized state, sparks will be generated at the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4 as the male terminal member l approaches.

The example in (b) shows a situation where the insertion start end 1a of the male terminal member l which has gone through the insertion process in (a) is now correctly intervening between the main contact convex parts 3, 3. . In this process, until the insertion start end 1a comes into contact with the main contact convex part 3, the contact of the contact surface 1b with the contact surface 4a of the auxiliary contact convex part 4 is read as w1, The main contact convex portion 3 and the male terminal member 1 are prevented from coming into contact with each other when the contact convex portion 4 is released from contact with the male terminal member 1.

In this way, the insertion starting end 1 of the male terminal member 1
A is brought into contact with the front shoulder portion of the contact surface 3a of the convex portions 3, 3 which is the bulkiest portion, and by further inserting the male terminal member l, the end The front shoulder portion of the convex portion 3 slides along the Taber cane surface of the portion 1a, thereby inserting the starting end portion 2c,
The front side of the contact piece 2.2 is elastically deformed outward so that the contact piece 2.2 opens further outward from the above-mentioned state.

(C) shows the insertion completed state after such a process, that is, the insertion start end 1a of the male terminal member 1 has been moved to the rear of the main contact convex part 3, and the main part of the member 1 has been moved to the rear of the main contact convex part 3. 3.3, thereby contact surface 1b
, lb is in contact with the contact surfaces 3a, 3a of the convex portion 3.3. Under this state of completion of insertion, the male terminal member 1 has completed passing between the main contact convex portions 3.3, so that the contact surfaces 3a, 3a of the convex portions 3.3 are connected to the male terminal member 1. The convex portion 3. The entire contact surfaces 3a, 3a of 3 strongly press against the contact surfaces 1b, 1b of the member 1, thereby generating a predetermined contact holding force of the female terminal member 2 against the male terminal member l. There is.

In this state, the auxiliary contacted convex portion 4, which is formed protuberantly on the front side of the convex portion 3, that is, on the front end side of the piece 2, is a contacted surface 4a lower than the maximum raised bulky portion of the main contacted convex portion. Due to the large outward deformation, the contact surface 4a becomes a male terminal member! are separated from the contact surfaces 1b and lb and are in a non-contact state.

This is to maximize the pressure contact force between the main contact convex portion 3.3 and the male terminal member l.

Note that the female terminal member 2 is removed by pulling out the male terminal member 1.
The release of contact with the male terminal member is achieved by passing through each of the above steps in the reverse order, but as shown in (c), the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4, which has been brought into a non-contact state, 1, the contact surfaces 1b and lb become the contact surface 3.
a, 3a and the insertion start end 1a is the protrusion 3,
In the process of sliding backward while contacting the contact piece 2, based on the return of the shape inward due to the elastic repulsion force of the contact piece 2゜2, (
As shown in b), it comes into contact with the contact surfaces lb, lb of the male terminal member l. Therefore, before the male terminal member l leaves the main contact convex portion 3.3, contact with the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.4 is achieved.

Then, as shown in (A), the male terminal member 1 released from contact with the main contact convex portion 3゜3 is connected to the auxiliary contact convex portion 4.
．． The contact release with 4 is considered as the final contact release with the female terminal member, and the terminal member is separated.

Therefore, if the male terminal member 1 is pulled out during energization, sparks will be generated forcibly at the auxiliary contacted convex portion 4.4, and sparks will be generated at the main contacted convex portion 3.3. It becomes something you don't do.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the terminal structure of the present invention, each contact piece of the female terminal member has a main contact convex portion and an auxiliary contact convex portion formed on the insertion start side. , the sparks generated by insertion and removal of the male terminal member in the energized state are forcibly generated at the auxiliary contact convex part, and are prevented from occurring at the main contact convex part, thereby preventing the unavoidable occurrence of sparks. The conventional problem of loss of contact holding force due to melting damage associated with this process has been eliminated, and we have been able to provide an excellent terminal that can achieve a stable and specified contact holding force over a long period of time. The effects are truly great.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one embodiment of the terminal structure according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2(A), (B), and (C) are explanatory views showing the insertion process in the same terminal structure. 1: Male terminal member, 1a: Insertion start end, lb: Contact surface, 2: Female terminal member, 2a: I-child base, 2b: Contact piece, 2c: Insertion start side end, 3: Main cover contact protrusion,
3a: Contact surface, 4: Auxiliary contact convex portion, 4a: Contact surface. Figure 1

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A female type having a male terminal member 1 and a plurality of contact pieces 2b, 2b extending from the terminal base 2a while being separated from each other and facing each other so as to keep the male terminal member 1 in contact with each other when inserted. a terminal member 2, and a plurality of contact pieces 2
Main contact convex portions 3, 3 are formed on the inner surfaces of each of the pieces 2b, 2b in a raised position at a position that is set back toward the terminal base 2a side from the insertion start side ends 2c, 2c of the pieces 2b, 2b. At the same time, an auxiliary contacted protrusion 4 is provided at a position near the insertion start side ends 2c, 2c, and is spaced apart from the main contacted protrusions 3, 3.
, 4 are formed in a raised manner. (2) The main contact convex portions 3, 3 have the highest protruding bulk at the portions of the male terminal member 1 closer to the insertion start side ends 2c, 2c, and extend from these portions to the terminal base 2a.
The terminal structure according to claim 1, having tapered contact surfaces 3a, 3a that are opened toward the terminal base 2a by gradually decreasing the size toward the terminal base 2a. (3) The auxiliary contacted convex portions 4, 4 are made smaller in height than the maximum raised height of the main contacted convex portions 3, 3, so that the auxiliary contacted convex portions 4, 4 are made smaller than the contacted surface of the main contacted convex portions. 2. The terminal structure according to claim 1, wherein the contact surfaces 4a, 4a have low contact surfaces.