JPH10189092A - Connecting structure for metal fitting of terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal metal piece connecting structure which can connect a terminal metal fitting to be connected easily and certainly by omitting the soldering works. SOLUTION: This connecting structure is to connect a first terminal metal fitting 61 of a terminal table with a second terminal metal fitting 31 mounted on an insulative member (end member) near a terminal table 54. The first terminal metal piece 61 has a channel-shaped part 62, and a lock hole (stopper part) 67 is provided in one 64 of the opposingly situated pinch plates 64 and 65 of the channel-shaped part 62. The second terminal metal piece 31 has an insertion part 33 inserted into the part 62 to generate tight attachment with the inner surface of the channel-shaped part. The insertion part 33 is formed in a double structure by folding back the foremost part of the second terminal metal fitting 31, and a lock projection (detention part) 42 is provided on the base board part 40 of the insertion part 33 overlapped on a leaf spring part 41 folded back. Thereby the insertion part 33 is fitted in the part 62 in such a way as involving elastical deformation of the leaf spring part 41, and the insertion part 33 is hindered from slipping off by engagement of the lock projection 42 with the lock hole 67.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of connecting terminal fittings provided for electrically connecting a main body of an electromagnetic device and an external lead wire in an electromagnetic device such as a discharge lamp ballast. To a terminal fitting connection structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the structure of a conventional discharge lamp ballast having a terminal fitting connection structure.
The case denoted by reference numeral 1 has end members 4 made of an insulating member attached to both ends of a cylindrical body formed by a case bottom plate 2 and a case main body 3. The ballast main body 5 is housed in the case 1 and the main body 5 is embedded therein and filled with a filler 6 such as an epoxy resin.

In this discharge lamp ballast, a ballast body 5 is provided.
At both ends in the longitudinal direction, there are provided terminal blocks 7 integrally formed with the coil bobbin 5a, and both terminal blocks 7 have a plurality of first terminal fittings 8 juxtaposed in the width direction of the ballast body 5. Installed. These first terminal fittings 8 are connected to the terminal block 7.
And protrudes in the direction of the end member 4 disposed near the end. The coil 5b wound around the coil bobbin 5a is connected to the first terminal fitting 8.

[0004] A plurality of second terminal fittings 9 arranged in the width direction of the case 1 are attached to each of the end members 4 in correspondence with the first terminal fittings 8, and these project in the direction of the terminal block 7. Have been. As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, each second
The protruding end of the terminal fitting 9 has a bifurcated shape, and a groove of the bifurcated part of the selected second terminal fitting 9 is shown in FIG.
The leg 10a of the capacitor 10 arranged on the inner surface of the end member 4 located at the right side in the center 0 is sandwiched and soldered.

[0005] Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the first flat plate-shaped terminal 8 and the second flat plate-shaped terminal 9 are joined together with their leading ends overlapped as shown in FIG. You are connected by: FIG.
0 (B) and 11 in FIG. 11 indicate solder. The portion of the second terminal fitting 9 embedded so as to be embedded in the end member 4 forms an electric wire connection end which forms a self-locking structure (not shown). An external lead wire inserted in the thickness direction is connected to the external lead wire. Therefore, the external lead wire and each coil 5b of the ballast body 5 are superimposed on each other, and their portions are electrically connected via the first and second terminal fittings 8, 9 connected by the solder 11. Is what it is.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned conventional terminal fitting connection structure, the first and second terminal fittings 8 and 9 to be connected are soldered, so that the workability of the connection is poor. At the same time, there is a problem that soldering failure is likely to occur due to variations in position at the time of soldering and skill of an operator in the case of manual soldering, and connection reliability tends to be low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a terminal fitting connection structure capable of easily and reliably connecting terminal fittings to be connected without soldering.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a terminal for connecting a first terminal fitting attached to a terminal block to a second terminal fitting attached to an insulating member arranged near the terminal block. The fitting connection structure is assumed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the first terminal fitting protruding in the direction of the insulating member has a U-shaped portion having the insulating member side opened. A stopper portion is provided on at least one of the opposed sandwiching plate portions of the U-shaped portion, and the second terminal fitting protruding in the terminal block direction is inserted inside the U-shaped portion to form the U-shaped portion. The insertion portion has a double structure by folding the tip of the second terminal fitting, and the folded plate portion forms a resiliently deformable name spring plate portion, In addition, a locking portion is provided in the U-shaped portion to be engaged with the stopper portion.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the second terminal fitting is relatively moved by the first terminal fitting and the second terminal fitting.
The insertion part of the terminal fitting is inserted inside the U-shaped part of the first terminal fitting while elastically deforming the spring plate portion. When the insertion depth reaches a predetermined insertion depth, the locking portion of the insertion portion is engaged with the stopper portion of the U-shaped portion by the elastic force of the spring plate portion, and carelessness from the U-shaped portion of the insertion portion is made. In addition to preventing the pull-out, the insertion portion is closely contacted with the inner surface of one of the sandwiching plate portions of the U-shaped portion, and performs the main electrical connection between the two terminal fittings. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, both terminal fittings can be directly connected without requiring soldering.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and FIG.
Is a discharge lamp ballast as an electromagnetic device, and its case 2
A ballast main body 23 as an electromagnetic device main body is accommodated in the main body 2, and the main body 23 is embedded therein and filled with a highly heat conductive and electrically insulating filler 24 such as an epoxy resin.

The case 22 is provided at both ends of a cylindrical metal case cylindrical body comprising a case bottom plate 25 having a mounting hole 25a for a lighting fixture body (not shown) and a case body 26 combined therewith. End member 2 for closing this opening
7 and 28 are attached respectively.

The left and right end members 27 and 28 are formed of a synthetic resin, and are used as insulating members arranged near a terminal block described later. One end member, for example, FIG.
In addition, an injection hole (not shown) is provided in the right end member 28 for injecting the filling material 24 in FIG. 2, and such an injection hole is provided in the other end member 27 as shown in FIG. Not.

As shown in FIG. 1, the end members 27 and 28 have a plurality of terminal mounting holes 29 arranged in the width direction of the case 22 and a lead wire insertion hole 30 which communicates with the mounting holes 29 individually. It is open. Each terminal mounting hole 29 is opened toward the inside of the case 22, and the lead wire insertion hole 30 is opened toward the outside of the case 22. The terminal portion of an external lead wire (not shown) is inserted into the lead wire insertion hole 30, and the core wire (single wire) of the external lead wire is inserted into the terminal mounting hole 29 by the insertion.

An end member-side terminal fitting 31 as a second terminal fitting is attached to each of the end members 27 and 28, and these project from the inner surfaces of the end members 27 and 28 toward the ballast body 23. Each of the terminal fittings 31 is formed by bending a single metal conductive plate having spring properties, and has a self-locking type lead wire connecting portion at one end serving as a base end as shown in FIGS. 32, and an insertion portion 33 is provided at the other end, which is the tip.
Are formed.

More specifically, the lead wire connecting portion 32
4, an end plate portion 36 bent at a right angle from the plate portion 35, and a bent end portion of the end plate portion 36 and folded back so as to lightly contact the end portion with the recess 34. The end plate 36 is provided with an elastically deformable resilient locking plate 37 having a substantially R-shape together with the end plate 36. The corner formed by the lead wire sandwiching plate 35 and the end plate 36 has A core wire through hole 38 is formed over both of them.

This lead wire connection part 32 is
9 is press-fitted from the inside of the end members 27 and 28, whereby the end plate portion 36 abuts on the rear end face of the terminal mounting hole 29 and the core wire through hole 38 is inserted into the lead wire insertion hole 3.
0. Therefore, the core wire of the external lead wire inserted into the lead wire insertion hole 30 pushes and opens the spring lock plate portion 37 through the core wire through hole 38, and the distal end of the spring lock plate portion 37 and the lead wire. It passes between the pinching plate portions 35 and is elastically pinched between them, and a portion corresponding to the front end has a recess 3.
4 and the external lead wire is mechanically and electrically connected to the lead wire connection portion 32.

The insertion portion 33 is provided with the groove 3 provided in the terminal fitting 31.
1a, a small round portion 3 at the tip end side which is bifurcated
9 is provided and folded to form a double structure. This double structure consists of a substrate part 40 and a folded spring leaf part 4.
It consists of 1. The folded spring plate portion 41 is the substrate portion 4
It has a portion that is obliquely bent so as to gradually move away from zero, and this portion can be elastically deformed. A locking projection 42 is formed on the substrate portion 40 as a first locking portion protruding to the opposite side of the spring plate portion 41. In addition, 4
1a indicates a second locking portion formed by the tip of the spring plate portion 41.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ballast main body 23 in which the terminal fittings 31 having such a configuration are disposed between the end members 27 and 28 respectively mounted on the inside thereof is constituted by combining a plurality of coils 52 with an iron core 51 as shown in FIG. A terminal block 54 is integrally formed with each of the pair of synthetic resin bobbins 53 holding the respective coils 52. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the terminal blocks 54 is provided with a terminal mounting hole 55 arranged in the width direction of the ballast body 23, in other words, in the width direction of the case 22. It is open on the 28 side.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 and the like, an introduction slope 55a for facilitating insertion of a first terminal fitting, which will be described later, is provided on the opening side of the bottom of the terminal mounting hole 55, for example. Further, a groove 6 described later is formed on the bottom surface of the terminal mounting hole 55.
6 are provided with ribs 56 to be fitted.

A bobbin-side terminal fitting 61 as a first terminal fitting is attached to each of the terminal blocks 54, and these are projected in the direction of the end member 27 or 28. Each terminal fitting 61
Is formed by bending a single metal conductive plate having spring properties, has a U-shaped portion 62 as shown in FIGS. Have. An end of the coil 52 is entangled with the coil connection piece 63 and soldered.

The U-shaped portion 62 is provided with the opposing sandwich plate portions 6.
4 and 65, and a groove 66 which is cut out from the portion connecting the plate portions 64 and 65 to the sandwiching plate portion 65 and sandwiches the rib 56. A taper 62a is provided. The groove 66 is fitted into the rib 56, and the taper 62a is
5 for easy insertion.

Further, one of the two plate portions 64 and 65, for example, the sandwiching plate portion 64 is provided with a locking hole 67 as a first stopper portion to be engaged with the locking projection 42. . In addition, the sandwiching plate portion 65 is provided with an oblique introduction surface 65a overlapping the introduction inclined surface 55a,
A convex portion 68 is provided as a second stopper portion formed by raising the bent portion of the surface 65a.

The first terminal fitting 61 having such a configuration is similar to that of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the U-shaped portions 62 are press-fitted into the terminal mounting holes 55 so as to project from the terminal block 54.

In the assembled state, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), the ballast body 23 has its coil bobbin 53
The upper and lower peripheral edges are in contact with the upper and lower inner surfaces of the case 22 to be positioned in the vertical direction, and the end members 27 and 28 are fitted inside the ends of the case 22, and the peripheral surfaces thereof are It is positioned in the vertical and horizontal directions by contacting the surface.

The terminal fitting 61 fixed to the terminal block 54 and the terminal fitting 31 fixed to the end members 27 and 28 are electrically and mechanically connected as described below without requiring soldering.

That is, in order to connect the two terminal fittings 31 and 61, they may be relatively approached to each other in a positioning state. For example, the two terminal fittings 31 and 61 may be connected to both ends of the case 22 in which the ballast body 23 is positioned and accommodated. By fitting the end members 27 and 28, respectively. Then, the insertion portion 33 of the terminal fitting 31 of the end members 27 and 28 is inserted into the U-shaped portion 62 of the terminal fitting 61 of the ballast main body 23 with the elastic deformation of the spring plate portion 41. When the insertion portion 33 reaches a predetermined insertion depth, the locking projection 42 of the insertion portion 33 is engaged with the locking hole 67 of the U-shaped portion 62 by the elastic force of the spring plate portion 41. Thereby, the careless removal of the insertion portion 33 from the U-shaped portion 62 is reliably prevented. At the same time, in the first embodiment, the spring plate portion 41
The leading end 41a is caught by the convex portion 68 of the sandwiching plate portion 65, so that the pull-out is reliably prevented by this locking means, and the connection state of the two terminal fittings 31, 61 can be more reliably maintained.

In such a connection state, the spring plate portion 41 is in a bent state, and the elastic force of the spring plate portion 41 causes the board portion 40 of the insertion portion 33 to move between the sandwich plate portions 64 and 65 of the U-shaped portion 62. The sandwiching plate portion 6 having the locking hole 67 therein
4, so that both terminal fittings 31,
The main electrical connection between 61 can be taken.

That is, according to the above-described assembling procedure, both terminal fittings 31 and 61 can be directly connected easily without the need for soldering, which is troublesome and has low connection reliability. Since the substrate portion 40 is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the U-shaped portion 62, both terminal fittings 3
1, 61 can be reliably electrically connected without a connection failure. In addition, the locking projection 42 and the locking hole 67 which form locking means are provided.
And the terminal fittings 31 and 61 are prevented from being disassembled, so that the connection can be reliably maintained.

Although the first embodiment is constructed as described above, in the present invention, the convex portions 68 of the U-shaped portion 62 are formed.
May be omitted. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the connection of the terminal fittings of the discharge lamp ballast, but can be generally applied to connection between terminal fittings that require electrical connection.

[0031]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above and has the following effects.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the first terminal fitting and the second terminal fitting can be easily directly connected to each other without the need for soldering by the relative approach operation. Then, by the elastic force of the folded spring plate portion of the insertion portion of the second terminal fitting, the substrate portion of this insertion portion is brought into close contact with the inner surface of the U-shaped portion of the first terminal fitting to make electrical connection. There is no failure in connection and connection can be made reliably. In addition, the engagement between the locking portion of the insertion portion and the stopper portion of the U-shaped portion prevents disassembly of the two connected terminal fittings, so that the connection between the first and second terminal fittings can be reliably maintained. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view of a discharge lamp ballast having a terminal fitting connection structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention, with a part cut away. FIG. 2B is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of a discharge lamp ballast provided with the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the entire discharge lamp ballast including the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a ballast main body included in the discharge lamp ballast provided with the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a plan view showing a configuration of a second terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment. (B)
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a second terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a plan view showing a configuration of a first terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment. (B)
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of a first terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connection structure according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a first terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connecting structure according to the first embodiment and a terminal mounting hole of a terminal block to which the first terminal fitting is attached.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state in which the first terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connecting structure according to the first embodiment is attached to the terminal attaching hole of the terminal block.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a state where the first terminal fitting used in the terminal fitting connecting structure according to the first embodiment is attached to the terminal attaching hole of the terminal block.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary exploded perspective view showing a terminal fitting connection structure and a terminal mounting hole for the first terminal fitting according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 10A is a plan view, partially cut away, showing the configuration of a discharge lamp ballast having a terminal fitting connection structure according to a conventional example.
(B) is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of a discharge lamp ballast provided with a terminal fitting connection structure according to a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view showing a terminal fitting connection structure according to a conventional example.

FIG. 12A is a plan view showing a configuration of an end member to which a second terminal fitting of a terminal fitting connection structure according to a conventional example is attached.
(B) is a side view showing a configuration of an end member to which a second terminal fitting of a terminal fitting connection structure according to a conventional example is attached.

[Description of Signs] 27, 28: End member (insulating member), 29: Terminal mounting hole, 31: End plate side terminal metal (second terminal metal), 33: Insertion part, 40: Substrate part, 41: Spring plate 41a: tip of spring plate portion (second locking portion), 42: locking projection (first locking portion), 54: terminal block, 55: terminal mounting hole, 61: bobbin-side terminal fitting (first (1 terminal fitting), 64, 65: sandwiching plate portion, 67: locking hole (first stopper portion), 68: convex portion (second stopper portion).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A terminal fitting connection structure for connecting a first terminal fitting attached to a terminal block to a second terminal fitting attached to an insulating member arranged near the terminal block, wherein the insulating member The first terminal fitting protruding in the direction has a U-shaped portion whose insulating member side is open, and a stopper portion is provided on at least one of opposed sandwiching plate portions of the U-shaped portion. The second terminal fitting protruding in the terminal block direction has an insertion portion that is inserted inside the U-shaped portion and closely adheres to the U-shaped portion, and the insertion portion includes a tip end of the second terminal fitting. The portion is folded to form a double structure, the folded plate portion forms an elastically deformable spring plate portion, and a locking portion is provided at the U-shaped portion to be engaged with the stopper portion. A terminal fitting connection structure, characterized in that: