JPH10214648A - Terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To absorb misalignment in the width direction of an indicating instrument and a printed circuit. SOLUTION: A male type external connection terminal 6 is fixed so as to protrude from the lower end of an indicating instrument 2 by fitting the male type external connection terminal 6 into the female type internal connection terminal 5 inserted into the terminal fitting portion 16 of the indicating instrument 2. Two circuit side plate-like contact pieces are thrust to a printed circuit 9 by elastic force so as to electrically connect the female type external connection terminal 7 to the printed circuit 9 by inserting the female type external connection terminal 7 into the fitting hole 19 of a printed circuit board 3. Even if misalignment in the width direction of the indicating instrument 2 and the printed circuit 9 occurs, when the male type external connection terminal 7 fixed to the indicating instrument 2 is inserted into between one pair of terminal side female type contact pieces 40 of the female type external connection terminal 7, one pair of elastic deformation portion 50 is elastically deformed so that the misalignment in the width direction of the indicating instrument 2 and the printed circuit 9 can be absorbed. Therefore, no distortion is applied to the indicating instrument 2, and the operation performance deterioration of the indicating instrument 2 can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal device for electrically connecting devices or circuits to each other, and more particularly to a vehicle speedometer, an engine tachometer, a fuel remaining meter, a cooling water temperature meter, and the like. The present invention relates to a terminal device for electrically connecting an instrument and a circuit for driving the instrument.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a vehicle instrument system 100
Is an indicating instrument 103 fastened and fixed to a back surface of an instrument panel 101 by a fixing screw 102 as shown in FIG.
And the printed wiring board 10 in contact with the indicating instrument 103.
4 and a meter case 106 for fastening the instrument panel 101 and the printed wiring board 104 with fixing screws 105.
And a printed circuit 107 formed on the back surface of the meter case 106 for driving the indicating instrument 103. The indicating instrument 103 includes a pointer shaft 109 for rotatably supporting the pointer 108, a coil bobbin 111 around which a pair of cross coils 110 are wound, and a housing (shield case) 112 for accommodating these. .

The vehicle instrument device 100 includes a round pin-shaped male terminal 1 soldered to a printed wiring board 113.
14 is connected by inserting it into a female terminal (not shown) on the indicating instrument 103 side, and the press terminal 115 fixed to the printed wiring board 104 and the printed circuit 107 on the meter case 106 side are tightened by the screw 116. By fixing the indicator 103 and the printed circuit 10
7 is electrically connected.

[0004]

However, in the conventional vehicle instrument device 100, the dimensional variation in the thickness direction of the indicating instrument 103 and the thermal expansion between the instrument panel 101 or the printed wiring board 104 and the meter case 106 are caused. Even if there is a misalignment in the width direction between the indicating instrument 103 and the printed circuit 107 due to a dimensional change in the width direction of the indicating instrument 103 due to a difference in coefficient, there is no portion that absorbs the misalignment in the width direction. Due to the misalignment, the indicating instrument 103 is deformed and distortion is applied to the indicating instrument 103 itself, so that the hands 108 change excessively or the hands 108 do not move. Further, the electrical connection between the indicating instrument 103 and the printed circuit 107 becomes unstable, and the indicating instrument 103
However, there has been a problem that the operating performance of the device is deteriorated.

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-152438 discloses the following vehicle instrument device. In this vehicle instrument device, a male terminal mounted on a holding flange integrally formed with a coil bobbin of an indicating instrument is inserted into a female terminal mounted in a hole of a printed wiring board on which a printed circuit is formed. Thus, the indicating instrument and the printed circuit are electrically connected. The male terminal is held by a leaf spring portion, and the elastic deformation of the leaf spring portion holds the male terminal swingably with respect to the holding flange. The center misalignment in the width direction is absorbed.

However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-152438 discloses
In the instrument device for a vehicle disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H11-260, a male terminal protruding to the side of the indicating instrument is held so as to be swingable with respect to a holding flange, and a female terminal is fixed to a printed wiring board. But the male terminal is not fixed to the indicating instrument. For this reason, when the male terminal is inserted into the female terminal to establish conduction between the indicating instrument and the printed circuit, the male terminal fluctuates, and it is difficult to attach the male terminal to the female terminal. ing. In the case of a cross-coil type indicator, at least four male terminals and four female terminals are required, and in the case of the above structure, these terminals cannot be assembled simultaneously.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to absorb the misalignment between a first electric component and a second electric component while fixing both the male terminal and the female terminal. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a terminal device that can easily assemble a male terminal and a female terminal.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a male terminal fixed to a first electric component is inserted into a female terminal fixed to a second electric component. ,
The outer periphery of the male terminal contacts the terminal-side contact of the female terminal.
At this time, even if the first electrical component and the second electrical component are misaligned in the width direction for some reason, the elastic portion of the female terminal has a width substantially perpendicular to the thickness direction of the second electrical component. By elastically deforming in the direction, misalignment in the width direction can be absorbed. Further, since the male terminal is fixed to the first electric component and the female terminal is fixed to the second electric component, the male terminal does not swing when the male terminal is assembled to the female terminal, and the male terminal does not swing. The mold terminal is easily assembled to the female terminal.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the male terminal fixed to the device is inserted into the female terminal fixed by being inserted into the hole of the printed wiring board, thereby providing the male terminal. Is in contact with the terminal side contact of the female terminal. At this time, even if a misalignment of the device and the circuit in the width direction occurs for some reason, the elastic portion of the female terminal is elastically deformed in the width direction substantially orthogonal to the thickness direction of the printed wiring board. , The misalignment in the width direction can be absorbed. Also, since the male terminal is fixed to the device and the female terminal is fixed to the printed wiring board, the male terminal does not swing when the male terminal is assembled to the female terminal, and the male terminal is connected to the female terminal. Easy to assemble to mold terminals.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the circuit-side contact of the female terminal is connected to the circuit by pressing the insertion pressing portion of the female terminal into the hole of the printed wiring board. Contact. Thus, the electrical and mechanical connection between the female terminal and the circuit is made with one touch. Then, by inserting the male terminal into the female terminal, the outer periphery of the male terminal comes into contact with the terminal-side contact of the female terminal. Thus, the electrical and mechanical connection between the female terminal and the male terminal is performed with one touch. Also, since the female terminal is locked to the printed wiring board by providing the locking portion on the female terminal,
The printed wiring board can be prevented from dropping out of the hole.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the two circuit-side contacts extending from both ends of the insertion pressing portion of the base portion of the female terminal are provided with three contacts.
By making the contact or more, even if the hole shape of the printed wiring board is a round hole or a square hole, the female terminal can be stably held in the hole of the printed wiring board. Stable conduction can be obtained.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 show an instrument system for a vehicle equipped with a terminal device.

The vehicle instrument device 1 of the present embodiment includes one or more indicating instruments 2 attached to the back of an instrument panel (a dial) of an instrument panel disposed on the front side of the vehicle interior of the vehicle. A printed wiring board 3 attached to a meter case accommodating the indicating instrument 2 between the instrument panel and the instrument panel; and a terminal device 4 for electrically connecting the indicating instrument 2 to the printed wiring board 3. .

Next, the indicating instrument 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the indicating instrument 2. The indicating instrument 2 is a first electric component of the present invention,
Equipment that composes a vehicle analog meter such as a vehicle speedometer (speedometer), engine tachometer (tachometer), fuel remaining meter (fuel meter), cooling water temperature meter, or clock with the design displayed on the instrument panel. It is.

The indicating instrument 2 is fixed in a cylindrical container-shaped shield case (housing) 11 and has a pointer shaft 12 with a pointer (not shown) attached to the tip thereof.
And a coil bobbin 13 that rotatably accommodates the movable magnet.
And a pair of cross coils 8 which are wound around the coil bobbin 13 at both end surfaces so as to be orthogonal to each other, and generate a driving torque for the movable magnet integrated with the pointer shaft 12. These cross coils 8 constitute a first conductive portion of a device such as a meter and internal components of the device such as a meter.

The coil bobbin 13 is made of, for example, an electrically insulating resin such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). And one end of the coil bobbin 13 (the upper end in the figure)
At the outer peripheral side of the mounting leg 14, a mounting leg portion 14 is fastened and fixed to a back surface (a lower end surface in the figure) of the instrument panel by a fastener such as a fixing screw.
Are integrally formed so that a plurality of (four in this example) project outward. The coil bobbin 13 has a plurality of through holes 15 (4 in this example) penetrating in the thickness direction of the indicating instrument 2 so that one end face (the upper end face in the figure) and the other end face (the lower end face in the drawing) communicate with each other. ) Is provided. In addition, on the bottom part of the shield case 11,
Fitting hole 1 into which the other end (lower end in the figure) of terminal mounting portion 16 fits
7 are formed.

The printed wiring board 3 is a second electric component of the present invention, and is disposed so as to overlap the indicating instrument 2 with a predetermined gap (for example, 6 mm to 7 mm) from the back surface of the indicating instrument 2. A circuit board in which the printed circuit 9 is formed in a predetermined pattern on the inner wall surface and the back surface (one surface) of the mounting hole 19 as a terminal mounting portion. In addition, the opening shape of the mounting hole 19 is free, such as rectangular, oval, elliptical, or circular. The printed wiring board 3 has a plurality of mounting portions (not shown) for fastening and fixing the meter case to the meter case with fasteners such as fixing screws.

The printed circuit 9 constitutes external components of a device such as a second conductive portion of a circuit board and a meter. The printed circuit 9 is a circuit in which a printed component, which is formed by printing a resistor, a capacitor, a coil, and the like by using a printing method, is connected to a printed wiring. In this example, the driving circuit for rotating and driving the pointer shaft 12 of the indicating instrument 2 is used. Make up the circuit. Alternatively, the meter case itself may be used as a printed wiring board by forming the printed circuit 9 on the meter case itself.

The terminal device 4 includes a female internal connection terminal 5 electrically connected to the crossing coil 8 of the indicating instrument 2 and a male external connection terminal electrically connected to the female internal connection terminal 5 and the printed circuit 9. It comprises a connection terminal 6 and a female external connection terminal 7 for electrically connecting the male external connection terminal 6 and the printed circuit 9, and a plurality of terminals (four in this example) are used.

The female internal connection terminal 5 is a plate terminal (female terminal) formed by folding a flat conductive member (eg, copper alloy) into a predetermined shape. The female internal connection terminal 5 is connected to the terminal mounting portion 1 of the coil bobbin 13 of the indicating instrument 2.
6, a circuit-side female contact 21 inserted into the through hole 15 formed in the instrument 6, an instrument-side plate-like connecting portion 22 protruding upward from the upper end surface of the coil bobbin 13, and a circuit-side female contact 21
And a connecting portion 23 connecting the instrument-side plate-shaped connecting portion 22 and the like. Note that the instrument-side plate-like connecting portion 22 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the terminal wire of the cross coil 8 is electrically and mechanically connected using connection means such as soldering. In addition, the circuit-side female contact 21 contacts the outer periphery of the male external connection terminal 6 with elastic force.

The male external connection terminal 6 is a male terminal of the present invention, and is a female contact 21 on the circuit side of the female internal connection terminal 5.
The instrument side male contact 24 which is inserted into and contacts the circuit side female contact 21, the circuit side male contact 25 which is inserted into the female external connection terminal 7 and contacts the female external connection terminal 7 , And a round pin terminal (male terminal) including a connecting portion 26 for connecting the instrument-side male contact 24 and the circuit-side male contact 25.

The male contact 25 on the circuit side has a larger outer diameter than the male contact 24 on the instrument side. Also, on the outer periphery of the connecting portion 26, the terminal attaching portion 1 of the coil bobbin 13 is provided.
A flange-shaped portion (locking portion) 29 which is locked to the annular portion 27 formed on the inner circumference of the inner ring 6 is formed. This collar 29 is
In order to make the amount of protrusion of the circuit-side male contact 25 from the lower end surface of the indicating instrument 2 constant, the male external connection terminal 6 functions as a stopper for preventing the male external connection terminal 6 from being excessively inserted into the indicating instrument 2.

Next, the female external connection terminal 7 is shown in FIGS.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Here, FIGS. 4, 5A to 5C, 6A and 6B are views showing the female external connection terminal 7. FIG. The female external connection terminal 7 is a female terminal of the present invention, and is a plate terminal (female terminal) formed by folding a flat conductive member (for example, a copper alloy) into a predetermined shape. The female external connection terminal 7 includes a base portion 30 fixed to the printed wiring board 3,
It comprises a pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 provided inside the base portion 30 and a pair of elastically deforming portions 50 connecting the base portion 30 and the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40. I have.

The base portion 30 is a substantially rectangular insertion pressing portion 3 located at the lowermost position in the figure among the female external connection terminals 7.
1 and mounting holes 19 from both sides of the insertion pressing portion 31.
And two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32 extending along the inner wall surface of the circuit board. The insertion pressing portion 31 is a portion to be touched when an operator presses the female external connection terminal 7 upward from the lower side in the figure to the upper side in the figure to insert the female external connection terminal 7 into the mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3. The printed wiring board 3 covers the end of the male contact 25 on the circuit side of the external connection terminal 6.
Are disposed so as to be substantially parallel to the surface direction of the.

The two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32 connect the protrusion 34 used as a circuit-side contact portion and the insertion pressurizing portion 31, and connect the protrusion 34 to the printed circuit 9 with elasticity. Each has a flat spring portion 35 having an inverted U-shaped cross section for making contact. Near the distal end (the lower end in the figure) of the flat spring portion 35, a hook portion 36 bent approximately 90 ° from the distal end, and a substantially triangular flange portion 37 projecting laterally from both sides of the flat spring portion 35 are provided. Have.

When the worker inserts the female external connection terminal 7 into the mounting hole 19, the hook 36 is caught on one surface (the lower end surface in the figure) of the printed wiring board 3 and is located on one side (the lower side) of the position. It functions as a stopper for restricting intrusion into the upper side (in the figure). The flange portion 37 is a locking portion of the present invention, and is provided on one surface (upper surface in the drawing) of the printed wiring board 3 when the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted into the female external connection terminal 7. It is caught and acts as a retainer that restricts entry into the other side (the lower side in the figure) from that position. Further, two hook-shaped portions 38 for preventing the plate spring portion 35 from being excessively bent, and a contact 40 near the insertion pressing portion 31 of the plate spring portion 35.
Is formed with a claw-shaped portion 39 for preventing buckling.

The pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 is the terminal-side contact of the present invention, and is a portion of the male external connection terminal 6 which contacts the outer periphery of the male external connection terminal 6 and has a U-shaped terminal with elastic force. A flat spring portion 42 having an inverted V-shaped cross section for bringing the side contact portion 41 into contact with the outer periphery of the male external connection terminal 6 is provided. Near the base portion 30 of the flat spring portion 42, an arm-shaped portion 43 bent in a substantially U-shape so as to embrace the other terminal-side female contact 40 has one end in the width direction of the flat spring portion 42. Is formed so as to protrude from the side. When the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted between the two terminal-side contact portions 41, the arm-shaped portion 43 of the one flat spring portion 42
A contact pressure of the terminal-side contact portion 41 of the other terminal-side female contact 40 (contact pressure to the male external connection terminal 6) by contacting the outer wall surface of the second terminal 2 with a sufficient value. It is.

The pair of elastically deformable parts 50 are elastic parts of the present invention, and are composed of two leg-length parts 51 having a plate width narrower than that of the terminal-side female contact 40, and a thickness direction of the indicating instrument 2. A portion that elastically deforms in all directions including a thickness direction of the printed wiring board 3 and a width direction substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the male external connection terminal 6 to make the terminal-side female contact 40 freely deformable. is there.
Further, the pair of elastically deforming portions 50 extend upward from the four sides of the substantially rectangular insertion pressing portion 31 while bending upward from the two sides that do not project the two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32. The base portion 30 and the terminal side female contact 40 are extended.
This is the part that connects

The female external connection terminal 7 has two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32 extending from two opposing sides (short sides) of the insertion pressing portion 31, and the remaining portion of the insertion pressing portion 31. The pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 is extended from the two sides (long sides). That is, the circuit-side plate-like contact 32 and the terminal-side female contact 40 are disposed at positions shifted from each other by approximately 90 °.

[Assembling Method of First Embodiment] Next, a brief description will be given of an assembling method of the terminal device 4 of the vehicle instrument device 1 of the present embodiment with reference to FIGS.

First, the indicating instrument 2 is assembled, and the female internal connection terminal 5 is inserted into each terminal mounting portion 16 of the coil bobbin 13 from the upper side in the figure, and the female internal connection terminal 5 is connected to the instrument side plate-like connecting portion 22. After bending about 90 ° with respect to the connecting portion 23, the terminal wire of the cross coil 8 is connected to the tip of the instrument-side plate-like connecting portion 22 using a connecting means such as soldering.

Then, the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted into each terminal mounting portion 16 of the coil bobbin 13 from the lower side in the figure to make contact with the circuit-side female contact 21 of the female internal connection terminal 5. At this time, the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted by inserting the male external connection terminal 6 until the flange portion 29 of the male external connection terminal 6 comes into contact with the illustrated lower end surface of the annular portion 27 formed on the inner periphery of the terminal mounting portion 16. The amount of protrusion of the male external connection terminal 6 from the illustrated lower end surface of the indicating instrument 2 becomes constant.

Next, the printed circuit 9 is formed in a predetermined pattern on the inner wall surface of each mounting hole 19 and in each mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3 by a known printing method. insert. At this time, the inverted U-shaped portion of the flat plate spring portion 35 of the pair of circuit-side plate-shaped contacts 32 and the inverted U-shaped portion of the flat plate spring portion 42 of the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 are placed first, and Toward one side in the thickness direction, that is, the back surface of the printed wiring board 3 (the lower end surface in the figure)
The female external connection terminal 7 is pushed into the mounting hole 19 while pressing the insertion pressing portion 31 from the top toward the surface (the upper end surface in the figure).

The female external connection terminal 7 is connected to the female external connection terminal 7 until the hook 36 provided at the tip of the flat spring portion 35 contacts the back surface (printed circuit 9) of the printed wiring board 3. When pushed in, the substantially triangular flange 37 protrudes upward in the drawing of the printed wiring board 3, and the illustrated lower end of the flange 37 is hooked on the surface of the printed wiring board 3. Alternatively, the lower end of the flange portion 37 is disposed so as to face the surface of the printed wiring board 3 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.1 mm to 1 mm). As a result, the projections 34 of the two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32 are pressed against the printed circuit 9 formed on the inner wall surface of the mounting hole 19 by the elastic force of the flat plate spring 35, so that the female external connection terminals 7 are formed. Is the printed wiring board 3
Is firmly fixed in the mounting hole 19.

Then, the indicating instrument 2 to which the male external connection terminal 6 is fixed is mounted on the printed wiring board 3. At this time,
With the male contact 25 on the circuit side of the male external connection terminal 6 at the head, the male external connection terminal 6 is female from the front surface of the printed wiring board 3 to the back surface (the other side in the thickness direction of the indicating instrument 2). Press into the mold external connection terminal 7. When the female external connection terminal 7 is pressurized from above in the figure, the lower end of the flange portion 37 shown in the figure is hooked on the surface of the printed wiring board 3.
9 does not fall downward in the figure.

When the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted into the female external connection terminal 7, the pair of terminal-side female contacts 4
The gap between the 0 terminal side contact portions 41 is expanded by the circuit side male contact 25, and the terminal side contact portion 41 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the circuit side male contact 25 by the elastic force of the flat plate spring portion 42. As a result, each terminal line of the pair of cross coils 8 of the indicating instrument 2 can be electrically connected to the printed circuit 9.

Next, the mounting portion of the printed wiring board 3 is fastened and fixed to the meter case using a fixing screw, and further, each mounting leg 14 provided with the coil bobbin 13 of the indicating instrument 2.
Is fixed to the back surface of the instrument panel using a fixing screw, and then the instrument panel is tightened and fixed to the meter case using the fixing screw, whereby the vehicle instrument device 1 is assembled. At this time, if a dimensional variation in the thickness direction of the indicating instrument 2 (manufacturing error of the coil bobbin 13) or a dimensional change in the width direction of the indicating instrument 2 due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the instrument panel and the meter case occurs. There is a possibility that the male external connection terminal 6 is offset from the center of the female external connection terminal 7 in the width direction, and the pair of elastically deformable portions 50 is bent. That is, indicating instrument 2
Misalignment in the width direction occurs between the display instrument 3 and the printed circuit board 3 (printed circuit 9), but the misalignment in the width direction is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the pair of elastic deformation portions 50.
Is not distorted.

[Effects of the First Embodiment] As described above, the terminal device 4 of the vehicle instrument device 1 is, for example,
Of the indicating instrument 2 and the printed wiring board 3 (printed circuit 9) due to dimensional variations in the thickness direction and the width direction of the measuring instrument 2 and a dimensional change in the width direction of the indicating instrument 2 due to a difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the instrument panel and the meter case. It is conceivable that the center misalignment in the width direction may occur. In such a case, when the male external connection terminal 6 is inserted between the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 of the female external connection terminal 7, the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 deflects in the misalignment direction. It bends in the state of having done. The bending of the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 is caused by the two leg portions 5 connecting the insertion pressing portion 31 and the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40.
1 (elastic deformation part 50) is absorbed by a pair of elastic deformation parts 50 by elastic deformation.

Therefore, the core displacement in the width direction is absorbed by the pair of elastic deformation portions 50 without increasing the size of one of the male external connection terminal 6 and the female external connection terminal 7. be able to. As a result, no distortion is applied to the indicating instrument 2, so that the pointer and the pointer shaft 12 do not change excessively, and the pointer and the pointer shaft 12 do not move. Further, since the electrical connection between the pair of cross coils 8 of the indicating instrument 2 and the printed circuit 9 can be sufficiently ensured, the operation performance of the indicating instrument 2 is not reduced.

Then, by simply inserting the female external connection terminal 7 into the mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3, the electrical and mechanical connection between the female external connection terminal 7 and the printed circuit 9 is performed with one touch. be able to. Also, by inserting the male external connection terminal 6 into the female external connection terminal 7,
Electrical and mechanical connection between the female external connection terminal 7 and the male external connection terminal 6 can be made with one touch.

Further, the male external connection terminal 6 is connected to the indicating instrument 2.
And the female external connection terminal 7 is fixed to the printed wiring board 3, so that the male external connection terminal 6 can be easily connected to the female external connection terminal 7 without swinging the male external connection terminal 6. Can be assembled. Thus, the indicating instrument 2
Connection operation for electrically and mechanically connecting the printed circuit 9 and the printed circuit 9 is facilitated.

When the male external connection terminal 6 is attached by projecting the flange portions 37 on both sides of the two circuit-side plate-like contacts 32 of the female external connection terminal 7, the female external connection terminal 7 is provided. Is pressed downward in the figure, the illustrated lower end of the flange 37 is locked to the surface of the printed wiring board 3. As a result, the female external connection terminal 7 does not fall out of the mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3 and does not displace in the thickness direction of the printed wiring board 3.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which female external connection terminals are shown.

In this embodiment, the pair of elastically deformable portions 50 of the female external connection terminal 7 are formed by flat spring portions 52. The flat spring portion 52 has a U-shaped cross section in order to increase the plate length of the portion that is elastically deformed. For this reason, even if a misalignment in the width direction between the indicating instrument 2 and the printed wiring board 3 occurs, the flat spring portion 52 of the female external connection terminal 7 is elastically deformed, thereby absorbing the misalignment in the width direction. be able to.

Third Embodiment FIGS. 8 to 10 show a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show a vehicle instrument device provided with a terminal device.

Printed wiring board (circuit board) 3 of this embodiment
Has a flexible printed circuit (FP) in which a conductor circuit pattern is formed on a flexible thin insulating film.
C) 60 is fixed. The flexible printed circuit 60 constitutes a drive circuit for rotating the pointer shaft 12 of the indicating instrument 2. The mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3 has a cross shape (cross hole) as shown by a solid line in FIG.

The female external connection terminal 7 of this embodiment is
It has two circuit-side plate-like contacts (circuit-side contacts) 61, 62 extending from both sides of the insertion pressurizing portion 31 along the inner wall surface of the mounting hole 19, respectively. One of the circuit-side plate-like contacts 61 is formed with two projections (contacts) 63 and 64 used as circuit-side contacts, and the other circuit-side plate-like contact 62 is used as a circuit-side contact. 1 to do
A plurality of protrusions (contact points) 65 are formed. These protrusions 63 to 65 contact the flexible printed circuit 60 bent from one surface of the printed wiring board 3 toward the inner wall surface of the mounting hole 19. Further, the broken line in FIG. 9 is connected to another adjacent female external connection terminal 7 formed on the female external connection terminal 7 in manufacturing the female external connection terminal 7 continuously in a large amount. The connecting piece 68. And the projections 63 to 65
Are preferably arranged so as to form an isosceles triangle as shown in FIG.

Further, the pair of terminal-side female contacts 40 of the present embodiment extend inward from the middle of the two circuit-side plate-like contacts 61 and 62 extending from both sides of the insertion pressing portion 31. It has a flat spring portion 42 having an inverted V-shaped cross section. Then, the flat spring portion 42 is moved from the protrusion 66 in contact with the outer periphery of the male external connection terminal 6 to the front end 67
Are bent into a substantially U-shape.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the circuit-side contact portion of the female external connection terminal 7 has three contacts (three protrusions 63 to 65). Regardless of whether the mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3 is a cross hole, a round hole or a square hole, the female external connection terminal 7 can be inserted vertically into the mounting hole 19,
Thus, stable conduction between the two circuit-side plate-shaped contacts 61 and 62 and the flexible printed circuit 60 can be obtained.

In this embodiment, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) is mounted on the printed wiring board (circuit board) 3.
Although the example in which 60 is provided is shown, the female external connection terminal 7 of the present example is inserted into a laminated wiring board (RPC) in which the mounting hole 19 is a round hole and the inner surface is a through hole. However, the same effect as above can be obtained.

[Modification] In this embodiment, a pair of elastically deformable portions (elastic portions) 50 are constituted by two leg portions 51 or a U-shaped flat spring portion 52. The thickness of the elastic portion may be reduced, the length of the elastic portion may be increased, or the width of the elastic portion may be reduced so that the elastic portion is more easily deformed.

In this embodiment, the base portion 30 of the female external connection terminal 7 is resiliently attached to the mounting hole 1 of the printed wiring board 3.
9, the base portion 30 of the female external connection terminal 7.
May be fixed in the mounting hole 19 of the printed wiring board 3 using connection means such as soldering. Further, the female external connection terminal 7 may be integrated with the printed circuit 9.

In this embodiment, the indicator 2 is used as the first electric component, and the printed wiring board 3 is used as the second electric component, but the printed wiring board 3 is used as the first electric component.
The indicating instrument 2 may be used as the second electric component. Also,
As the first electric component or the second electric component, not only the indicating instrument 2 but also a device such as a heating element, a light emitting element, a motor or a generator may be used.

In this embodiment, a male external connection terminal (male terminal) is projected from below the shield case 11 in the figure.
6 was fixed to the indicating instrument (equipment) 2, but the coil bobbin 1
The male terminal may be fixed to the device so that the holding flange protrudes from the side of 3 (outside the shield case 11) and protrudes toward the circuit side from the holding flange. In this case, the device and the circuit can be brought into contact with each other and assembled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front sectional view showing a vehicle instrument device provided with a terminal device (first embodiment).

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a vehicle instrument device including a terminal device (first embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the indicating instrument (first embodiment).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a female external connection terminal (first
Example).

FIG. 5A is a top view showing a female external connection terminal;
(B) is a front view showing the female external connection terminal, and (c) is a bottom view showing the female external connection terminal (first embodiment).

FIG. 6A is a side view showing a female external connection terminal;
(B) is a front view showing a circuit-side plate contact of the female external connection terminal (first embodiment).

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a female external connection terminal (second embodiment).
Example).

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a front cross-sectional view showing a vehicle instrument device including a terminal device (third embodiment).

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 8 (third embodiment).

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement pattern of protrusions (third embodiment).

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional vehicle instrument device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle instrument device 2 Indicator (1st electric component) 3 Printed wiring board (2nd electric component) 4 Terminal device 5 Female internal connection terminal 6 Male external connection terminal (male terminal) 7 Female external connection terminal (Female terminal) 8 A pair of crossed coils 9 Printed circuit 12 Pointer shaft 13 Coil bobbin 19 Mounting hole 30 Base part 31 Insertion pressing part 32 Circuit-side plate contact (circuit-side contact) 38 Hook-shaped part (locking part) 40) Terminal-side female contact (terminal-side contact) 50 Elastic deformation part (elastic part) 60 Flexible printed circuit 61 Circuit-side plate-like contact (circuit-side contact) 62 Circuit-side plate-like contact (circuit-side contact) 63 Projection (contact) 64 Projection (contact) 65 Projection (contact)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first electric component such as a device or a circuit, a second electric component laminated and arranged with a predetermined gap in a thickness direction of the first electric component, and a first electric component fixed to the first electric component. A male terminal protruding from the first electric component to the second electric component side; and a female terminal fixed to the second electric component and fitted around the male terminal. By inserting the male terminal into the female terminal,
A terminal device for electrically connecting the first electric component and the second electric component, wherein the female terminal is a base portion attached to the second electric component, and the male terminal has elastic force. A terminal-side contact that contacts the outer periphery of the terminal, and connects the base portion and the terminal-side contact, and is elastically deformable in a width direction substantially orthogonal to a thickness direction of the second electric component. A terminal device having an elastic portion. 2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrical component is a device that electrically and mechanically connects the male terminal, and the second electrical component is located near a hole, A printed circuit board on which a circuit for driving the device is formed, wherein the female terminal is electrically connected to the circuit by being inserted into a hole of the printed circuit board; apparatus. 3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein said base portion is an insertion pressing portion for inserting said female terminal into a hole of said printed wiring board, and said insertion pressing portion is A terminal device having a circuit-side contact that is extended and contacts the circuit with elasticity, and a locking portion that is locked to the printed wiring board. 4. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said base portion is an insertion pressing portion for inserting said female terminal into a hole of said printed wiring board, and said insertion pressing portion. A terminal device, comprising two circuit-side contacts extending from both ends of the device and having three or more contacts that contact the circuit with elasticity.