JPH0745321A - Terminal for connector and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form, at a low cost, a terminal of a single part item of a small- sized metal thin plate made of a relatively inexpensive material having large allowable maximum flexibility and high durability in and a method manufacturing the connector terminal. CONSTITUTION:A connector terminal is made of a single metal thin plate and provided with a supporter 2 for supporting a counterpart terminal and a spring 3' at the front part of a base board 4 while an electric wire connecting portion at the rear part thereof. A thickness t2 of the spring 3' is thinner than a thickness t1 of other portions. Only the spring is rolled in processes consisting of punching, pressing and the like so as to be made thinner than the other portions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a connector terminal used for connecting an automobile wire harness and a method for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows the structure of an example of a connector terminal according to the prior art. At the front part of the terminal 1, there is a receiving portion 2 and a spring portion 3 for the mating terminal. The receiving portion 2 is formed by bending the substrate 4 and the free edges of the side walls 5 on both sides thereof on the substrate 4 and superposing them. The spring part 3 is formed by folding back the inside of the receiving part 2 integrally with the base plate 4 at the front end of the receiving part 2.

At the rear of the terminal 1, there are a conductor crimping piece 8 which is means for electrically connecting to the electric wire by crimping, soldering, etc., and an insulator crimping piece 9 for mechanically gripping the electric wire from above the insulation coating. , The electric wire connecting portion 7 is formed by both of them. The terminal having such a structure is manufactured, for example, by progressive feeding of a press machine (not shown) as shown in FIG. In progressive feeding, multi-steps consisting of punching and press forming are incorporated into a pair of upper and lower press dies (not shown),
The base material 10 made of a thin metal plate is sequentially fed between the molds for each stroke, and the molded product is discharged at the end of the process. That is, the base material 10 is processed into the terminal 1 having the shape shown in FIG. 8 simply by passing the base material 10 through one press machine.

When the size of the terminal is reduced in accordance with the demand for miniaturization of the connector in the market, the maximum allowable bending of the spring portion is reduced, and particularly when it is used for an automobile, there is a serious problem that durability such as earthquake resistance is deteriorated. In order to express this problem mathematically, in FIG. 10, the spring portion 3 is considered as a cantilever beam with concentrated load, L is the beam length, t is the plate thickness,
If W is the width of the spring portion 3, F is the contact load of the terminal 1, E is the Young's modulus of the spring material, D is the maximum deflection, and S is the maximum stress,
Well-known formulas (1) and (2) relating to material mechanics are applied, and from these two formulas, another formula (3) expressing the maximum deflection D is obtained.
Is guided.

D = 12FL ³ / 3EWt ³ (1) S = 6FL / Wt ² (2) D = 2SL ² / 3Et (3) Here, as a measure against the above problem, the maximum allowable deflection D of the spring portion 3 is increased. The following policy is derived from the relationship of Expression (3).

1) The shape is set so that the size L can be made as large as possible with respect to the size of the entire terminal. 2) Select a material with a large maximum allowable stress S as the spring material. 3) The plate thickness t of the spring portion is made small. It should be noted that the use of a material having a small Young's modulus E is against the original purpose of the spring portion, and therefore cannot be adopted.

As a method of increasing the effective length L of the spring in the above policy, it has been conventionally practiced to manufacture the spring portion 3 into a coil spring shape 15 as shown in FIG. However, in this method, the structure of the spring portion is complicated, a high technology is required to stabilize the accuracy of the shape and dimension, and the manufacturing cost is high. Further, since the spring portion has a bent portion 16 with a large radius, There was a defect that the spring was easily deformed by twisting by a jig.

On the other hand, with regard to the method of selecting a material having a large allowable maximum stress S, such a material is generally expensive, and if the whole terminal is made of such a material, the manufacturing cost becomes high. In addition, if the entire terminal is made of a material having a small plate thickness t, there is a serious drawback that the locking strength for preventing the terminal from coming out backward is lowered.

Therefore, conventionally, a method in which the material or the plate thickness of only the spring portion 3 is changed from that of the other portions of the terminal to manufacture it in a separate step, and the final step is incorporated in the receiving portion 2 as shown in FIG. Was being done. However, in manufacturing such a two-part terminal, a press machine and a press die are required for each of the pressing process of the spring portion 3 and the pressing process of the other parts as shown in FIG. 12, and an assembling machine is also required. However, there is a drawback that the equipment cost is high and the yield is reduced due to a defective setting of the spring portion.

On the other hand, in the structure shown in FIG. 14, the connector terminal c is locked by the flexible locking piece d in the terminal accommodating chamber b of the connector housing a to prevent rearward removal.
The connector terminal c comprises a receiving portion e and an electric wire connecting portion f,
The locking projection d ₁ of the cantilevered flexible locking piece d is engaged with the locking portion e ₁ formed by the rear shoulder of the receiving portion e.

[0011] As shown enlarged in FIG. 15, since the locking portion e ₁ is formed with an edge e ₁ 'in the fracture surface of the sheet metal, the locking portion e ₁ for locking projection d ₁
The locking margin p (the distance from the edge e ₁ ′, which is the base-side contact end of the locking portion e _{1 to} the locking projection d ₁ to the end of the locking projection d ₁ ) can be made large. Thus, it is possible to greatly utilize the projection allowance q of the flexible locking piece d (the distance from the base to the end of the locking projection d ₁ ).
There is a drawback that the locking projection d ₁ is damaged by the sharp end formed on ₁ '.

FIG. 16 shows a locking portion e of the terminal c.₂The bending plate part
Non-edged by arc corner e₂′ Is formed
However, in this case, due to non-edging, the flexible locking piece d
Damage can be avoided, but arcuate corner e₂Due to ′
Stop protrusion d₁Locking part e against ₂Locking margin p'of is small
Shown in phantom to ensure sufficient locking
The locking protrusion d₁To increase the projection allowance q ′.
Need to be made. However, the increase in protrusion cost
There is a drawback that the entire ging becomes enlarged.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned points, and as a measure against a problem that occurs in a part of the terminal such as the spring portion and the engaging portion, the terminal having an integral structure is provided. The problem is solved by locally thinning only the spring portion, the locking portion, etc.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, in the connector terminal of the present invention, in a terminal integrally formed by bending a thin metal plate, it is possible to abut against a mating terminal or a connector housing. It is characterized in that the functional portion is locally configured as a thin plate portion, and is formed from a single metal thin plate, and is provided with a receiving portion for the mating terminal and a spring portion at the front portion of the substrate, and a wire connection at the rear portion. In the connector terminal including the connector portion, the plate thickness of the spring portion is thinner than the material thickness of the other portions, and the locking protrusion of the flexible locking piece provided in the connector housing is provided. The locking portion of the connector terminal that comes into contact with is formed by the end of the folded laminated plate portion of the rolled thin plate portion, and further, the folded thin plate portion is folded by the rolled thin plate portion at the front end of the wall forming the receiving portion. Return Characterized by non-edge provided polymerization plate portion.

In order to achieve the above object, in the method of manufacturing a connector terminal of the present invention, a part of a terminal material punched out from a thin metal plate in a developed state is rolled to form a rolled thin plate portion, and the rolled thin plate portion is formed. The terminal material is bent to form a terminal, and the rolled thin plate portion is processed to form a specific function portion that comes into contact with a mating terminal or a connector housing, and the mating terminal is provided at the front of the board. In a method for manufacturing a connector terminal, which is provided with a receiving portion and a spring portion for, and is formed by a process such as punching from a single thin metal plate and pressing, etc., only the spring portion is rolled in the forming process to reduce the plate thickness. It is characterized in that it is thinner than other portions, and further, a part of the terminal metal material blank punched in an expanded state from a metal thin plate is rolled to form a rolled thin plate part and the rolled thin plate part is folded back. Forming a plate portion, characterized in that non-edge the end of the polymerization plate portion with the terminal fitting material of said expanded state by bending process to form a terminal fitting.

[0016]

The specific function portion formed by the thin plate portion can maintain a large allowable maximum deflection as the spring portion, and can be bent as a non-edge portion in a small range as the locking portion.

[0017]

1 is a perspective view of a main part of a connector terminal according to the present invention, in which the same reference numerals are used for the same components as in the prior art and the description thereof is omitted. At the front part of the board 4 in the terminal 1, there is a receiving portion 2 and a spring portion 3'for the mating terminal, and the spring portion 3'is formed by folding back from the substrate 4 into the receiving portion 2 integrally at the front end of the receiving portion 2. Has been done.

The thickness t ₂ of the spring portion 3 'is thinner than the thickness t ₁ of the other parts of the terminal 1, thereby without causing a reduction in the strength of the other portion of the terminal 1, the spring unit 3 The maximum allowable deflection of ′ can be kept large. The tip of the spring is folded back by tight bending to prevent deformation of the spring due to twisting.

Although FIG. 1 shows a structure in which the protrusion 11 formed by cutting and raising from the substrate 4 prevents the settling due to excessive bending of the spring portion 3 ', the protrusion 11 may be omitted. . FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of progressive working of a press according to the present invention for manufacturing a terminal having such a structural feature.

A base material 10 made of a thin metal plate is provided with an arrow 12 for each stroke between a pair of upper and lower press dies (not shown).
In the direction of, and is sent out as a terminal molded into a predetermined shape through a multi-step process arranged in a mold,
In the present invention, a rolling step 13 is incorporated in the die to roll only the spring portion 3'of the terminal to make the plate thickness thinner than the other portions so as to make a rolling thin plate.

The rolling step 13 is shown in FIG.
When the press 17 is carried out by using the hammer 17 which is virtually shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 and an anvil (not shown) which is provided in a portion of the other mold facing the hammer 17,
The gap between the hammer 17 and the anvil is arranged so that only the spring portion 3'shown by the diagonal lines in the drawing is rolled and thinned to a predetermined plate thickness.

Since the outer shape of the spring portion 3'expands from the width W ₁ in the blanking step by rolling, in order to maintain the finished size accurately, the trimming step 14 of the outer shape of the spring portion 3'is performed after the rolling step 13. It is desirable to provide (width W ₂ ). The following method was used to realize such a terminal structure. That is, the terminals are formed from a single metal thin plate by progressive feeding of a press machine such as punching and pressing, but only the spring part is rolled on the die of progressive feeding to make the material thickness thinner than other parts. Incorporate the rolling process and rolling equipment to be used.

The terminal constructed by the above means can increase the maximum allowable deflection of the spring portion even in the case of a small terminal, and therefore the durability is improved when used in an environment with large vibration. Further, since there is no bent portion with a large radius at the tip of the spring, there is no danger of the spring being deformed by prying by a jig or the like.

Further, the terminal structure is made of one thin metal plate,
The one-piece structure is formed by punching and pressing, and the drawbacks such as increase in equipment cost and decrease in yield due to the division of the above steps are eliminated. Since a step for rolling only the spring part to make the material thickness thinner than other parts was incorporated into the press die for progressive feeding, the reduction in plate thickness is applied to other parts of the terminal, resulting in a decrease in strength, etc. It is possible to simplify the process peculiar to the one-part structure of molding a terminal from a single metal thin plate, save the equipment cost, and maintain a high yield without the drawbacks of 1.

In FIG. 3, A is a connector housing made of synthetic resin, and B is a terminal fitting. A terminal housing chamber 21 is formed in the connector housing A so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction.
A stopper 22 is provided at the front end of the terminal accommodating chamber 21, and a cantilevered flexible locking piece 23 is provided at the intermediate portion. A locking protrusion 24 having a protrusion allowance q is formed at the free end of the flexible locking piece 23.

The terminal fitting B includes a receiving portion B ₁ and an electric wire connecting portion B.
₂ and the electric wire is connected to the electric wire connecting portion B ₂ in advance. In the receiving portion B ₁ , the bottom plate portion 25 has both side plate portions 26,
Overlapping top plate portions 27 and 27 ′ are continuously provided via 26, and a folded elastic contact piece 28 is formed at the tip of the bottom plate portion 25. In the terminal fitting material B ″ punched out from the thin metal plate in the expanded state, a rolled thin plate portion 29 is formed at the rear end of the outer top plate portion 27 so as to project rearward from the inner top plate portion 27 ′ (see FIG. A), FIG. 5A), and then the rolled thin plate portion 2
9 is folded back to form a non-edged engaging portion 29a at the rear end of the overlapping plate portion 29 '(FIGS. 4B and 5).
(B)) From this state, the terminal fitting B of FIG. 3 is formed by bending.

As described above, the locking portion 29 of the terminal fitting B is
Since a is formed by folding back the rolled thin plate portion 29 and can reduce the diameter of the arc-shaped corner portion, the locking margin p ″ of the non-edged locking portion 29a that abuts on the locking projection 24 is changed to the conventional edge. The locking allowance p (see FIG. 15) for the locked portion can be configured to be substantially the same.

In FIG. 6, a waterproof connector housing A ', a mat-like waterproof plug S, a waterproof plug pressing cover C and a waterproof connector terminal B'are shown, and are fitted into the open chamber 30 at the rear end of the connector housing A'. A plurality of sealing insertion holes 32 corresponding to the terminal accommodating chamber 31 are formed in the waterproof plug S to be fitted, and the waterproof plug S is fitted into the open chamber 30 in advance and fixed by the waterproof plug pressing cover C, In this state, the terminal B ′ connected to the electric wire is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 31 through the insertion hole 32 through the through hole 38 of the waterproof plug pressing cover C and locked.

While the terminal B'expands the seal insertion hole 32,
When passing, the receiving portion B of the terminal B ' ₁′ Front edge
Part (not shown) damages the insertion hole 32 and seals
The spring portion 33 is provided because it may reduce the performance.
Except for the substrate 34, the side walls 35 and the upper wall 36 have the above-mentioned front end portions.
In the same manner (see FIG. 4), the rolled thin plate portion 37 is formed, and then this
By folding it back and providing the overlapping plate portion 37 ',
The tip portion 37a is made into a hollow shape without increasing the size of the terminal.
Then, it is formed compactly.

[0030]

The connector terminal according to the present invention has a large allowable maximum deflection of the spring portion even when the dimensions are small, and therefore has good durability when used in an environment with large vibration, and the spring tip. Since there is no bent part with a large radius in the part, there is no risk of the spring being deformed by twisting by a jig or the like, and the reliability of the electrical connection is high and the technical value is great.

Further, since the connector terminal according to the present invention is provided with a folded and overlapped portion formed by a rolled thin plate portion on a part of the terminal to make it non-edge-shaped, the terminal of the connector housing can be formed without increasing the size of the terminal. It is possible to obtain a terminal that does not damage the locking portion or a terminal that does not damage the seal hole of the waterproof plug.

In the method of the present invention, the plate is constructed by incorporating the step of rolling only the spring portion to make the material thickness thinner than the other portions in the press die of the multi-step progressive processing for manufacturing the connector terminal. It is possible to manufacture a terminal with a one-piece structure from a metal thin plate made of a relatively inexpensive material without the drawbacks such as a reduction in thickness affecting the entire terminal and a decrease in strength. It is possible to obtain great effects in terms of cost, such as saving the cost and maintaining a high yield.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a connector terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a progressive processing step of manufacturing a terminal according to the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another structure of the present invention.

4 (A) and (B) are developed views of the terminal fitting.

5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 4A, FIG.
4 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 4 (B).

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a waterproof connector.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of still another structure of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional terminal.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a progressive processing step of conventional terminal manufacturing.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part showing a conventional terminal.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main part showing another example of a conventional spring part structure.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a manufacturing process of a conventional two-component terminal.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the structure of a conventional two-component terminal.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional terminal locking structure.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a main part of the above.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional example of another locking structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 terminal 2 nest 3 'spring portion 4 substrate 7 wire connecting portion 10 matrix A, A' connector housing B, B 'terminal fitting B _1, B _1' nest B "terminal fitting material 21 terminal accommodating chambers 23 Flexible locking piece 24 Locking protrusion 29,37 Rolled thin plate part 29a Locking part 29 ', 37' Overlapping plate part 35,36 Wall 37a Non-edged tip part

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A terminal integrally formed by bending from a thin metal plate, wherein a specific function portion that comes into contact with a mating terminal or a connector housing is locally formed as a thin plate portion. . 2. A connector terminal, which is formed of one thin metal plate, has a receiving portion for receiving a mating terminal and a spring portion in the front portion of the substrate, and has a wire connecting portion in the rear portion, wherein the plate thickness of the spring portion is large. Is formed thinner than the material thickness of other portions, the connector terminal. 3. The connector terminal according to claim 2, wherein the tip of the spring is bent in close contact. 4. The locking portion of the connector terminal, which abuts on the locking projection of the flexible locking piece provided on the connector housing, is constituted by the folded end of the overlapping plate portion provided on the rolled thin plate portion. Characteristic connector terminal. 5. A terminal for a connector, characterized in that a folded overlapped plate portion made of a rolled thin plate portion is provided at a front end of a wall constituting the receiving portion so as to be non-edged. 6. A rolled thin plate part is formed by rolling a part of a terminal material punched out from a metal plate material in a developed state, and bent the terminal material in the developed state to form a terminal and the rolled thin plate part. A method of manufacturing a terminal for a connector, characterized by forming a specific function portion that abuts against a mating terminal or a connector housing. 7. A method of manufacturing a connector terminal, comprising a receiving portion for receiving a mating terminal and a spring portion at a front portion of a board, and molding the sheet by punching from one sheet of metal, press working, or the like. A method for manufacturing a connector terminal, characterized in that only the spring portion is rolled inside to make the plate thickness thinner than other portions. 8. A terminal metal fitting which is punched out from a thin metal plate in an expanded state to form a rolled thin plate portion by rolling a part of the terminal metal material, and the rolled thin plate portion is folded back to form a superposed plate portion. A method for manufacturing a terminal for a connector, comprising bending a material to form a terminal fitting and making an end portion of the overlapping plate portion non-edged.