JPS6369996A - Method for plating electrical contact part of female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To plate only the plating requiring portion of the electrical contact part of each female terminal without causing defective plating on the contact surface brought into contact with a male terminal, by immersing the female terminal in a plating soln. and circulating the plating soln. in the electrical contact part. CONSTITUTION:The electrical contact parts 1a of female terminals 1 are immersed in a plating soln. 4 so that the open ends 2 of the parts 1a confront jet nozzles 3. While a pump 9 is worked to jet the plating soln. 4 into the parts 1a through the ends 2, electric current is supplied between an anode plate 11 and the terminals 1 to carry out plating. The outsides of the parts 1a may be partially masked with a masking member 5. Since only the plating requiring portions of the electrical contact parts 1a are plated, the amount of a plating metal used can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of plating metal on the electrical contacts of female terminals used for electrical connections to improve their properties.

(Prior Art) Generally, the electrical contact part of a female terminal is formed into a substantially cylindrical shape so that a mating male terminal having a bar-shaped or plate-shaped electrical contact part can be fitted into contact to establish an electrical connection, and the inner circumference of the electrical contact part is approximately cylindrical. Part or all of the surface is formed as a contact surface with a mating male terminal. Conventionally, the method of plating the contact surface of this electrical contact part with a metal different from the base material for the purpose of preventing corrosion or improving conductivity has been to plate the plate in the form of a plate before forming, then punch, Two methods are known: one method is to mold the female terminal by pressing or the like, and the other method is to immerse the molded female terminal in a plating solution to plate the electrical contact portion.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the former method, when the electrical contact part is press-formed from a plated plate, cracks may occur on the plated surface, and corrosion may occur from these cracks. This results in a decrease in the reliability of electrical contact, and since plate portions that are to be scrapped are also plated, there are problems such as the production of wasted plating portions.

In addition, in the latter method, since the internal space of the cylindrical electrical contact part is narrow, simply immersing the electrical contact part in the plating solution will cause the plating solution to adhere to the internal contact surface of the electrical contact part due to adhesion of air bubbles, etc. There are cases where the plating is not completely spread, resulting in poor plating or thick plating being applied to parts of the outer peripheral surface of the electrical contact that do not require much plating.

The present invention was made by focusing on the above-mentioned problems of the conventional plating method for the electrical contact portion of a female terminal. By completely distributing the plating solution to the inner surface of the electrical contact part, it is possible to eliminate plating defects on the contact surface of the electrical contact part with the mating male terminal, and to enable partial plating only to the necessary parts of the electrical contact part. The purpose is to provide a method.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

That is, in FIG. 1 showing a schematic explanatory diagram of an apparatus for implementing the present invention, the present invention is to place an electrical contact portion 1a of a female terminal 1 into a plating solution 4 such that its tip opening 2 faces a spray nozzle 3. A method in which plating is performed by dipping the female terminal 1 in the electric contact portion 1a and flowing the plating solution 4 from the tip opening 2 into the electric contact portion 1a through the injection nozzle 3, and a method in which a part of the outer periphery of the electric contact portion 1a of the female terminal 1 is covered with a masking member 5. After masking, plating is performed in the same manner as described above.

In this method, the female terminal 1 has a cylindrical electrical contact part 1as with an opening 2 at the front end and a wire connection part 1b formed in the rear part, as shown in FIG. 6a
A plurality of them (three in the illustrated example) are arranged in a row at right angles to the long guide 6 at regular intervals.
It is semi-continuously immersed in the plating solution 4 in the plating tank 7.

Note that 4a indicates the liquid level of the plating solution 4.

In this case, the front end opening 2 of the electrical contact portion 1a is connected to a plurality of (three in the illustrated example) injection nozzles 3 provided in a nozzle device 8 fixedly installed in the plating bath 7. It is done so that they are close and precisely facing each other.

The injection nozzle 3 provided in the nozzle device 8 is connected to the plating tank 7.
A supply pipe 10 is piped from the bottom of the pipe via a circulation pump 9.
The anode plate 11, which is immersed in the plating solution, and the female terminal 1, which serves as a cathode, are connected to a power source 12 via electric wires 13, respectively.

Plating is carried out by energizing between the anode plate 11 and the female terminal 1 while operating the pump 9 and spraying the plating solution from the opening 2 into the electrical contact portion la of the female terminal 1 from the injection nozzle 3. This is done by

Therefore, accurate positioning of the female terminal 1 with respect to the injection nozzle 3 and injection of plating solution from the injection nozzle 3 after the positioning and energization are carried out by controlling the sensor 14 that detects the feeding of the female terminal 1 via the combination coater control device 15. This can be done automatically by connecting the pump 9 and the power source 12.

Further, the positioning of the female terminal 1 on the injection nozzle 3 can be carried out by interlocking the operating mechanism with a detection means using a limit switch or other appropriate detection means.

Next, a method of masking a part of the outer periphery of the electrical contact portion of the female terminal 1 using the masking member 5 will be described. First, as shown in a perspective view in FIG. 3, the masking member 5 is inserted into the fitting recess 16 having an outer circumferential shape excluding the terminal board portion 1c of the portion where the masking of the electrical contact portion 1a is performed. It is composed of a plurality of fitting members 5a provided on the side surface according to the number and spacing, and a contact member 5b for the terminal board IC, and the fitting member 5 is operated by an operation mechanism (not shown).
A is a contact member 5b1' so that it can be fitted into and separated from the upper surface of the electrical contact part of the plurality of female terminals 1 immersed in the plating solution to the masked part of the electrical contact part 1a. It is attached to the circuit board IC side of the electrical contact section so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from it.

When plating is performed using this masking member 5 while masking a predetermined portion of the electrical contact portion 1a, Il
! ! The female terminal feeding sensor 1 detects that the tip opening 2 of the terminal 1 is positioned exactly opposite the upper part of the injection nozzle 3.
4 detects the detection signal, and then receiving this detection signal, the fitting member 5a
The control device 15 operates an operating mechanism (not shown) to connect the electric contact member 5b to the electric contact portion 1a as shown in FIG.
A predetermined part of the mask is sandwiched and masked. The masking area is indicated by the hatched area in FIG. Next, the plating solution is injected from the injection nozzle 3 of the nozzle device 8 in the same manner as described above, and electricity is applied while flowing the plating solution 4 inside the electrical contact portion 1a to perform the plating process. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the plated female terminal 1, with the shaded area showing the plated area. The contact surface with the mating male terminal on the inner surface of the electrical contact portion 1a is completely plated. After plating,
The masking member 5 is separated from the electrical contact part 1a, the plated female terminal is transferred to the outside of the plating bath, and at the same time the female terminal 1 to be plated is transferred and positioned at a predetermined position in the plating bath, and the same operation as described above is carried out. repeated.

All of the above operations such as terminal feeding, positioning, plating solution injection, and energization are automatically performed according to commands from the computer control device 15.

(Function) In the present invention, the injection of the plating solution into the electrical contact portion of the female terminal improves the flow of the plating solution into the narrow space within the electrical contact portion and prevents uneven plating on the contact surface with the mating male terminal. It has the effect of allowing the process to be carried out uniformly and completely without causing any damage. Furthermore, by masking and plating a part of the electrical contact part, it is possible to apply plating only to the necessary parts.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention is as described in detail above, the plating solution can be uniformly distributed by sufficiently distributing the plating solution to the contact surface with the mating male terminal, which is narrow in the electrical contact portion of the female terminal and has poor liquid circulation. It is possible to perform complete plating without causing corrosion or cracks, and since it is plated only on the necessary parts of electrical contact parts, it has the advantage of reducing the amount of metal to be plated. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an apparatus for implementing the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a female terminal, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a masking member used in the invention and its arrangement state, and Fig. 4 5 shows a perspective view of the female terminal masked with a masking member, and FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the female terminal partially plated according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Female terminal, 1a...Electrical contact part, 2...Opening part, 3...Spray nozzle, 4...Plating solution, 5...
Masking member, 7... Plating tank, 14... Sensor, 15... Control device. Patent applicant Yazaki Sogyo Co., Ltd. Figure 1

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Immerse the electrical contact portion of the female terminal in the plating solution so that its tip opening faces the injection nozzle, and flow the plating solution from the tip opening into the electrical contact portion through the injection nozzle. A method of plating a female terminal electrical contact portion, the method comprising plating the electrical contact portion of a female terminal. (2) Part of the outer periphery of the electrical contact part of the female terminal is masked with a masking member, and the tip opening of the electrical contact part is immersed in the plating solution so as to face the injection nozzle. 1. A method for plating a female terminal electrical contact portion, which comprises performing plating by flowing a plating solution into the electrical contact portion from the tip opening.