JPH0226352B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a relay terminal that electrically connects three or more male terminals to each other.

"Prior Art" Conventionally, as a relay terminal for connecting male terminals each having a flat male contact portion, a structure shown in FIG. 10 is known. In this figure, 1,
Reference numerals 2 and 3 designate male terminals (tab terminals), the tips of which form flat male contact portions 1a, 2a, and 3a, respectively. On the other hand, 5 is a relay terminal, and this relay terminal 5 is composed of female contact parts 5a and 5b that fit with the male contact parts 1a to 3a, and a connecting part R that connects these female contact parts 5a and 5b. It is housed in the housing H. And male terminal 1
~3 male contact parts 1a to 3a are female contact parts 5a, 5b
By inserting the male terminals 1 to 3 into each other, the male terminals 1 to 3 are electrically connected to each other.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" By the way, in electrical connections between terminals, the greater the contact pressure, the better the contact performance. It is known that contact reliability is higher. Now, considering the contact relationship between the conventional relay terminal 5 and the three male terminals 1, 2, and 3 shown in FIG. 10, regarding the male terminals 1 and 2, the male contact portions 1a and 2a , female contact parts 5a and 5b
The respective end edges 5a ₁ , 5a ₂ and 5b ₁ , 5b ₂ abut each other and are in line contact, so that sufficient contact pressure can be obtained. However, regarding the male terminal 3, the male contact portions 3a are in surface contact on both sides, and sufficient contact pressure cannot be obtained. Therefore, the structure of the conventional relay terminal 4 described above has a problem in that sufficient contact reliability cannot be obtained when connecting three or more male terminals.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a relay terminal that can provide sufficient contact reliability even when three or more male terminals are electrically connected to each other. .

"Means for Solving the Problem" The invention described in claim 1 of the present application includes a substrate portion having a width dimension larger than the male contact portion to be connected, and both side edges of the substrate portion on one side. By curving it toward the side of the surface, an interference fit is formed between the male contact portion and one surface of the substrate portion.
At least three female contact portions each having a curved portion formed with a curved portion are arranged in series, and at least a portion of the female contact portions adjacent to each other among the plurality of female contact portions arranged in series are arranged between the respective substrate portions. The substrate portions are bent through a connecting portion that connects them to each other, so that the substrate portions are stacked back-to-back with each other.

Further, the invention as set forth in claim 2 provides that, in at least one substrate section of at least three female contact sections arranged in series, the substrate section of the female contact section and the other female contact sections are arranged in series. By bending the connection part between the board part and the board part by the same angle of less than 90 degrees to one side and the other side of the board part, It is arranged so that it is placed in .

Furthermore, the invention recited in claim 3 provides for at least one substrate portion of at least three female contact portions provided with connection directions with the male contact portions being parallel to each other. By bending the connection portions between the substrate portions of the other female contact portions in opposite directions within the plane by the same angle of less than 90 degrees, the connection portions can be arranged parallel to the substrate portions of the other female contact portions. This is what I did.

"Operation" According to the above configuration, by inserting the male contact part into the curved part with a predetermined interval between each board part, the curved part is elastically deformed and the contact part is inserted between the board part and the curved part. The male contact part can be inserted in a line contact state. In addition, since each female contact part is electrically connected to each other via the connecting part, it is possible to reliably connect the male contact part that is in line contact with each female contact part. Sufficient contact reliability can be obtained even when the above male terminals are electrically connected to each other.

"Embodiments" Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing the structure of a relay terminal 6 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In these figures, the relay terminal 6 has three female contact parts 6a, 6b, 6c that fit into the male contact parts 1a, 2a, 3a of the three male terminals 1, 2, 3, respectively, and A connecting portion that connects each of the female contact portions 6a, 6b, and 6c.
It is composed of R ₁ and R ₂ and is housed in a housing (not shown). The relay terminal 6 having such a configuration has a connecting portion R ₂ as shown in FIG.
is manufactured by bending the connecting portion _R2 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow from the unfolded state, so that the substrate portions of the female contact portions 6b and 6c that are adjacent to each other are placed back to back to each other. They overlap in parallel.

And the male contact portion 1 of each male terminal 1, 2, 3
By inserting a, 2a, and 3a into the female contact portions 6a, 6b, and 6c, respectively, the male terminals 1 to 3 are electrically connected to each other. In this case, the three female contact parts 6a, 6b, and 6c of one relay terminal 6 fit into the three male contact parts 1a, 2a, and 3a, respectively, so that the three female contact parts 6a, Each end edge 6a ₁ , 6a ₂ , 6b ₁ , 6b ₂ , 6c ₁ , 6c ₂ of 6b, 6c abuts each male contact portion 1a, 2a, 3a by line contact. Therefore, sufficient contact reliability can be obtained when electrically connecting the three male terminals 1, 2, and 3.

Next, the relay terminal 7 according to the second embodiment of the present invention
This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

In these figures, the relay terminal 7 is connected to each male contact portion 1a, 2a,
3a, 4a, and four female contact portions 7a that fit with each other.
7b, 7c, 7d and these four female contact parts 7
Connecting parts connecting a, 7b, 7c, and 7d respectively
It is composed of R ₁ , R ₂ , and R ₃ . The relay terminal 7 having such a configuration is manufactured by bending the connecting portion R ₂ by 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow from the state in which the connecting portion R ₂ is unfolded as shown in Fig. 4 A and B. As a result, the female contact portions 7a and 7d and 7b and 7c are placed back to back and overlapped in parallel. As a result, the four male terminals 1,
By inserting male contact parts 1a, 2a, 3a, 4a of 2, 3, 4, respectively, each female contact part 7a, 7
b, 7c, 7d and each male contact portion 1a, 2a, 3a,
4a are all in contact with each other by line contact. Therefore, sufficient contact reliability can be obtained when electrically connecting the four male terminals 1, 2, 3, and 4.

In the first and second embodiments described above, a step of bending the connecting portion _R2 is required in order to obtain sufficient contact reliability, but the cost required for bending the connecting portion _R2 is small. , therefore, the increase in manufacturing costs is kept to a minimum.

Next, a case where the relay terminal 6 according to the first embodiment described above is applied to a junction box for an automobile will be described.

Here, a conventional automobile junction box is constructed as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C.
That is, 10 is a wiring box, and this wiring box 10
Inside, a plurality of bus bars 11 constituting a necessary circuit are housed in a state where they are alternately stacked with a plurality of insulating plates 12. The tab portion 11a at the end of each bus bar 11 is inserted into one female contact portion 5a of the relay terminal 5 (see FIG. 10), and the other female contact portion 5b of this relay terminal 5 is inserted into the As shown in FIG. 5C, the male contact portion 13a of the connector 13
is inserted. In such a conventional automobile junction box, since the conventional relay terminal 5 is used, when a plurality of tab portions 11a (male contact portions) are inserted, surface contact is made. The problem of lack of contact reliability is unavoidable.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the relay terminal 6 according to the first embodiment described above is applied to a junction box for an automobile, each tab portion 11a is connected to each female contact portion 6a to 6c in a line contact state. Can be done.

Next, a modification of the first embodiment described above,
The relay terminal 16 applied to a junction box for an automobile will be explained with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In these figures, the relay terminal 6 shown in FIG.
The difference is that each tab portion 1 of the two bus bars 11
The length dimension L ₂ of the connecting part R ₂ is set according to the dimension L ₁ between 1a, and the four points of this connecting part R ₂ are
It is located at the point where P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , and P ₄ are bent. In this case, points P ₁ and P ₄ are bent 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 7B, and points P ₂ and P ₃
is bent 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure. As a result, even when the tab portions 11a of the two bus bars 11 are not adjacent to each other, the above-described through hole function can be provided, and the four points P ₁ , P _{2 , P3} , _P4
Since the clearance C is formed by bending the bus bar 11b, it is possible to prevent a short circuit by providing a sufficient distance between the bus bar 11b and the bus bar 11b disposed on the uppermost layer. Therefore, it is possible to arrange bus bars that are routed so as to cross each other in the same layer, and the number of layers can be reduced.

Next, as a modification similar to the above-mentioned modification, the modifications shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B can be considered. In these figures, the female contact portion 16c is provided on the opposite side from the other female contact portions 16a, 16b, and the three points _P1 , _P2 , _P3 of the connecting portion _R2 are bent. In this case, point P ₁ is bent 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 8B, and points P ₂ and P ₃ are bent 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure.

Furthermore, in the modified examples shown in FIG. 7A and _FIG .
A configuration in which points P ₁ and P ₂ are each bent by 90 degrees is also conceivable. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The two points P ₁ and P ₂ of R ₂ can be bent to opposite sides at an angle of less than 90 degrees to bring out multiple male terminals to different planes, or as shown in FIG. Even if the two points P ₁ and P ₂ of the connecting part R ₂ are bent in opposite directions at an angle of less than 90 degrees in the same plane as the plate surface, and the two points P 1 and P 2 of the connecting part R 2 are routed in the same plane as shown in FIG. good.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, the inventions described in the claims of this application each have the following effects.

In the invention described in claim 1, curved portions are provided on both sides of the substrate portion, with a gap formed between the curved portion and one surface of the substrate portion to provide an interference fit to the male contact portion. By inserting the male contact portion so as to overlap with the substrate portion, the male contact portion receives the elastic force from the curved portion and can make line contact with the curved portion, thereby reducing the gap between the male and female contact portions. Contact surface pressure can be increased. Further, since at least three female contact parts are arranged in series and at least a part of the female contact parts adjacent to each other are bent through the connection part between these base parts and stacked on each other back to back, By inserting the male contact parts into the superimposed female contact parts,
The male and female contact portions can be connected to each other in a line contact state, and therefore sufficient contact reliability can be obtained even when used for branch connection.
Furthermore, since the female contact portion has the above-described shape, it can be manufactured by a simple process of punching a conductor plate into a predetermined shape and bending it, and therefore can be manufactured at low cost. It has the effect of being able to do it.

In addition, the invention as set forth in claim 2 or 3 provides a method for creating a minute gap between the substrate and the substrate by curving both side edges of the substrate toward one side.
Since the curved portion is formed with a curved portion, as in the invention described in item 1, not only can the male and female connection portions be brought into line contact to increase the contact surface pressure, but also the contact surface pressure can be increased. Since the connecting portion between the parts is bent in the plane direction of the board part or at two places within the plane including the board part, by appropriately selecting the bending angle or the bending direction, the above-mentioned While maintaining the effect of increasing the contact surface pressure with a simple structure, it is possible to adapt the direction in which the male contact portion is drawn out as required.

Therefore, when the relay terminals of the above inventions are applied to a junction box for an automobile, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in routing wires within the junction box, and increase the number of layers within the junction box. Therefore, short circuits of the bus bar can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1A and 2B are a front view and a side view showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention; FIGS. 2A and 2B are a front view and a side view for explaining the manufacturing process of the same embodiment; Figures A and B are the second figures of this invention.
A front view and a side view showing the configuration of the embodiment, FIGS. 4A and 4B are a front view and a side view for explaining the manufacturing process of the embodiment, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are a conventional automobile junction box. 5C is a partial sectional view of the same junction box, FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the structure when the first embodiment is applied to the same junction box, and FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing the structure of the same junction box. A front view showing the configuration when a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a junction box, FIG. 7B is a front view for explaining the manufacturing process of the modification, and FIG. First invention
FIG. 8B is a front view showing the configuration of another modification of the embodiment; FIG. 8B is a front view for explaining the manufacturing process of the modification; FIG. 9 is a front view of another modification of the first embodiment of the invention A front view showing the structure. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional relay terminal. FIG. 11 is a front view showing the structure of a conventional relay terminal.
Front view showing the configuration of another modified example of the embodiment, No. 12
The figure is a plan view showing the configuration of another modification of the first embodiment of the invention. 1, 2, 3, 4...Male terminal, 1a, 2a, 3
a, 4a...male contact part, 6, 7, 16, 17...
Relay terminals, 6a-6c, 7a-7d, 16a-1
6c... Female contact part, 6a ₁ , 6a ₂ , 6b ₁ , 6b ₂ , 6
c ₁ , 6c ₂ ... edge, R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ ... connection part.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A relay terminal for electrically connecting male terminals having flat male contact portions, comprising: a substrate portion having a width larger than that of the male contact portions to be connected; By curving both side edges toward one surface, an interference fit is formed between the male contact portion and one surface of the substrate portion.
at least three female contact parts are arranged in series, and at least some of the female contact parts adjacent to each other among the plurality of female contact parts arranged in series are arranged in series. A relay terminal characterized in that the board parts are stacked back to back by being bent through a connecting part that connects the board parts to each other. 2. In a relay terminal that electrically connects male terminals having flat male contact parts, a board part having a width larger than the male contact part to be connected, and a board part with both side edges of the board part connected to one side. By curving it toward the surface, an interference fit is formed between the male contact portion and one surface of the substrate portion.
at least three female contact portions are arranged in series, and at least one of the female contact portions has a curved portion formed with a curved portion. By bending the connecting part between the base plate part of the contact part and the base part of the other female contact part to one side and the other side of the base part by the same angle of less than 90 degrees, A relay terminal characterized in that it is arranged in a plane different from a plane containing a substrate part of a contact part. 3. In a relay terminal that electrically connects male terminals having flat male contact portions, a substrate portion having a width larger than the male contact portion to be connected, and a substrate portion with both side edges of the substrate portion connected to one side. By curving it toward the surface, an interference fit is formed between the male contact portion and one surface of the substrate portion.
at least three female contact portions are provided with their connection directions to the male contact portions being parallel to each other, and at least one substrate portion of these female contact portions is provided. By bending the connecting portion between the substrate portion of the female contact portion and the substrate portion of the other female contact portion in opposite directions within the plane by the same angle of less than 90 degrees, the other female contact portion is bent. A relay terminal characterized in that the relay terminal is arranged parallel to the substrate part of the part.