JPH06104021A - Crimping terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure good thermal crimping property and to ensure large fixing force. CONSTITUTION:A crimped part 11 to be crimped on an electric wire by being pressurized from the outer surface while a conductive wire rod is surrounded, is provided, and a pair of electrodes are brought into pressure contact with the outer surface of the crimped part 11, and at least the wire rods are thermally crimped by electrifying the electrodes. At least one of each part, at which the crimped part 11 is abutted on the pair of electrodes, is formed thinner compared with the other parts, in this crimping terminal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a crimp terminal which is crimped to the tip of an electric wire or a branch connection portion and thermocompression-bonded to an electric wire using an electrode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional crimping terminal, for example, there is one shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (see JP-A-4-95372 for substantially the same one). This is, for example, a crimp terminal 1 on a branch wire (electric wire) 2 of the wire harness W.
It shows the case of joining. This crimp terminal 1
Is obtained by press-molding a metal plate having a certain thickness, and has a caulking portion 3 surrounding the conductor portion 2a of the electric wire 2 at the base end, and the caulking portion 3 shown in FIG. The conductors 2a of the electric wire 2 are crimped by being pressed from the outer surfaces by the tools 8 and 9.

Further, this crimp terminal is shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 9, and FIG.
As shown in 0, the center of the swaged portion 3 is sandwiched between the electrodes 4 and 5,
By energizing the electrodes 4 and 5 while applying pressure with the electrodes 4 and 5, the conductor portions 2a and the caulking portion 3 are thermocompression bonded. The inside of the two-dot chain line portion 6 of FIG. 7 is the thermocompression bonding portion 7 (see FIG. 10). This thermocompression bonding uses the crimp terminal 1 and the electric wire 2.
This is carried out in order to provide long-term stability of electrical characteristics by providing the unity of the above.

The thermocompression bonding is performed only between the conductor portions 2a, and the conductor portion 2a and the caulking portion 3 may be caulked only.

[0005]

By the way, the quality of the thermocompression bonding portion depends on the pressure between the electric wires and between the electric wires and the terminals, which are applied during the thermocompression bonding. Therefore, it is preferable that the thickness of the caulking portion 3 be small, because the pressure can be effectively applied to necessary portions. This is also preferable for extending the life of the electrode itself, since it also reduces the pressure applied by the electrode.

However, if the thickness of the entire caulking portion 3 is reduced, there is a possibility that a conflicting problem that the fixing force due to caulking is weakened may occur.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a crimp terminal that can secure a good thermocompression bonding property as well as a large fixing force.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a crimping portion which is crimped to an electric wire by being pressed from the outer surface in a state where a conductive wire is surrounded, and a pair of crimping portions are provided on the outer surface of the crimping portion. In a crimp terminal in which at least the wire rods are thermocompression-bonded to each other by pressing the electrodes under pressure and applying an electric current between the electrodes, at least one of the portions in which the caulking portion abuts on both electrodes is provided more than other portions. It is characterized by being formed thin.

[0009]

According to the crimp terminal having the above-mentioned structure, since the portion for contacting the electrodes at the time of thermocompression bonding is formed thin, even when the same pressing force is applied from the outside, compared to the case of thick wall,
The pressure effectively acts on the site necessary for thermocompression bonding. Further, since the distance between the electrodes is reduced due to the reduced thickness, current easily flows and the amount of heat generation increases. Therefore, good thermocompression bonding is achieved by pressure and heat. on the other hand,
Since the parts other than the electrode abutting part are not thin, the fixing force by caulking does not weaken.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a caulking portion 11 of a crimp terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, with electric wires omitted. The shape itself of the crimp terminal 10 is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 7.

The caulking portion 11 is a metal plate whose cross section is substantially B.
It is press-formed into a V-shaped cylinder.
As shown in FIG. 3, the distal end of the electric wire 2 is crimped inside to surround the conductor portion 2a of the electric wire 2 which is a conductive wire. The caulking portion 11 having the shape shown in FIG. 1 may be formed before the caulking of the conductor portion 2a of the electric wire 2.

The caulking portion 11 has a gently curved bottom wall portion 11A, side wall portions 11B rising from both side ends of the bottom wall portion 11A, and both side wall portions 11B continuously and smoothly curved inward. Each tip has an upper wall portion 11C in a shape in which it is turned toward the center portion in the width direction of the bottom wall portion 11A and is in contact with each other.

A thin portion 12 is formed in the portion of the upper wall portion 11C that comes into contact with the electrode 4 (see FIG. 2). Also, the bottom wall 1
The electrode 5 is placed at a position where it contacts the electrode 5 of 1A (see FIG. 2).
Through-hole 1 into which a cylindrical protrusion 5a (see FIG. 2) protruding from
3 is provided. The height of the cylindrical protrusion 5a is formed to be equal to or slightly larger than the wall thickness of the bottom wall portion 11A of the crimp portion 11, and the tip directly contacts the electric wire 2 inserted in the crimp portion 11 during thermocompression bonding. It is like this.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the caulking portion 11 is pressed and heated by the pair of electrodes 4 and 5 to be thermocompression bonded. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pair of electrodes 4 and 5 at the time of thermocompression bonding are in contact with the thin portion 12 of the caulking portion 11 and substantially the center of the bottom wall portion 11A, respectively. The contact surface on the side of the electrodes 4 and 5 has a shape that matches the outer surface shape of the thin wall portion 12 of the wire surrounding portion 11 and the bottom wall portion 11A.

Next, the joining of the crimp terminal 10 will be described.

In joining, the conductor portion 2a of the electric wire 2 is first crimped to the crimp portion 11 by a pressing tool (not shown).
In this case, the caulking portion 11 is strongly mechanically coupled to the conductor portion 2a of the electric wire 2 due to the presence of the thick portion other than the thin portion 12.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the caulking portion 11 is disposed between the upper and lower electrodes 4 and 5, the upper electrode 4 is brought into contact with the thin portion 12 of the upper wall portion 11C, and the circle of the lower electrode 5 is formed. The columnar protrusion 5a is inserted into the through hole 13 of the bottom wall portion 11A. In this state, electricity is applied between the electrodes 4 and 5 while pressing the caulking portion 11 from above and below with the electrodes 4 and 5.

Then, the current flowing between the electrodes 4 and 5 causes the electrodes 4 and 5 to generate heat, and the heat is transmitted to the caulking portion 11 and the electric wire 2 inside the caulking portion 11, and due to the heat and pressure, the electric wire 2 is generated.
The conductor portions 2a and the conductor portion 2a and the caulking portion 11 are thermocompression bonded.

At the time of this thermocompression bonding, the upper electrode 4 has the thin portion 1
Since the lower electrode 5 directly applies pressure to the electric wire 2 via 2, the pressure can be effectively applied to the portion required for thermocompression bonding, unlike the case of pressurizing the thick portion. Further, since the electrodes 4 and 5 are thin or the distance between the electrodes 4 and 5 is reduced due to the direct contact of the electrode 5 with the conductor portion 2a, the current easily flows and the heat generation amount of the electrodes 4 and 5 increases. Therefore, good thermocompression bonding is achieved with a large pressure and heat.

In the above embodiment, the caulking portion 11
Although the thin wall portion 12 is formed in the upper wall portion 11C and the through hole 13 is formed in the bottom wall portion 11A, the through hole 13 is formed in the upper wall portion 11C, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Alternatively, the thin wall portion 12 may be formed on the bottom wall portion 11A. In this example, the through hole 13 is formed in the shape of the contact surface of the upper electrode 4.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the through hole 13 is formed in the portion where one of the electrodes abuts is shown.
It is also possible to form both of them without forming the through holes 13.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the pressure can be effectively applied to the necessary portion during the thermocompression bonding, good thermocompression bonding can be achieved without increasing the applied pressure. Also, since it is not necessary to increase the pressing force,
The life of the electrode will not be extremely shortened. Further, since the thickness of the wire surrounding portion other than the thermocompression bonding portion is not thin, the fixing force due to caulking is not weakened, and as a result, both electrical and mechanical performance can be satisfied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a crimp portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view during the thermocompression bonding work according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view during thermocompression bonding work of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a wire harness according to a conventional example.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a connection structure of a thermocompression bonding terminal and an electric wire according to a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a pressing operation of a thermocompression bonding terminal according to a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of thermocompression bonding work of a thermocompression bonding terminal according to a conventional example.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of a thermocompression bonding terminal according to a conventional example during a thermocompression bonding operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Electric wire 2a Conductor part (conductive wire material) 4,5 Electrodes for thermocompression bonding 10 Crimping terminal 11 Crimping part 12 Thin part 13 Through hole

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A caulking portion which is crimped to an electric wire by being pressed from the outer surface in a state of enclosing a conductive wire, and a pair of electrodes are press-contacted to the outer surface of the caulking portion, and the electrode is concerned. In a crimp terminal in which at least the wire rods are thermocompression-bonded to each other by energizing the at least one wire, at least one of the portions where the caulking portion contacts the electrodes is formed to be thinner than other portions. Crimp terminal to be used.