KR101032255B1 - Female contact and electrical connector using the female contact - Google Patents

Abstract

In the female terminal and the electrical connector using the same, at the time of joining, there is no fear that the engagement seams of the metal plates forming the respective fitting portions will not open outwards, thereby ensuring the reliability of the electrical connection.

A rectangular fitting portion 2 formed by bending a metal plate, a contact elastic member 18 disposed in the fitting portion 2, and a wire connecting portion 4 continuous to the fitting portion 2 are provided. In the female terminal 1 in which the contact elastic member 18 is in contact with the male terminal 40 on the mating side inserted into (2) to make an electrical connection with the male terminal 40, the metal plate forming the fitting portion 2. The ends of the are joined so as not to be spaced apart from each other in the plane along the displacement direction of the contact elastic member 18 of the fitting portion (2).

Fitting part, contact elastic member, male terminal, electric wire connection part

Description

FEMALE CONTACT AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR USING THE FEMALE CONTACT}

1 shows a female terminal of one embodiment of the present invention, (a) shows a plan view, (b) shows a right side view, and (c) shows a bottom view, respectively;

Figure 2 shows the female terminal of Figure 1, (a) is a left side view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a rear view;

3 is a cross sectional view along line III-III of FIG. 1 (a);

4 shows an electrical connector of the present invention, (a) shows a plan view, (b) shows a front view, respectively, and female terminals are omitted in the drawing;

Fig. 5 shows the electrical connector of Fig. 4, (a) is a rear view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a sectional view along the line Vc-Vc of Fig. 5 (a), respectively, wherein the female terminal is shown in Figs. Omitted;

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the electrical connector and the mating electrical connector of the present invention are in the mating state;

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the electrical connector and the mating electrical connector of the present invention are completely fitted.

Description of the Related Art

1: Female terminal

2: fitting part

2d, 2c: one side

4: wire connection

8: Notch shape of dovetail joint groove (complementary coupling part)

10: dovetail (complementary joint)

18: contact elastic member (contact piece)

100: electrical connector

101: insulated housing

106: terminal receiving hole

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-208196 (FIG. 3)

The present invention relates to an electrical connector using a female terminal and a female terminal, and more particularly to an electrical connector using a female terminal and a female terminal having a rectangular fitting portion formed by bending a metal plate.

As a shape of the female terminal used for an electrical connector, it is known to have a square fitting part and a contact piece arrange | positioned in the said fitting part, a contact elastic member (for example, refer patent document 1). The female terminal has two convex parts arranged along the insertion direction of the terminal on the inner surface of the upper wall of the contact part (fitting part) and at the same time, it has a contact piece which is cut inward from the bottom wall of the fitting part toward the two convex parts. When the male terminal on the opposite side is inserted into the female terminal, the contact portion of the male terminal is inserted to press and spread the contact piece between the two convex portions and the contact piece described above so as to be electrically connected.

In the above prior art, the convex portion and the contact piece in the fitting portion of the female terminal are biased in a direction away from each other by insertion of the male terminal. In other words, the force is applied to the fitting portion in a direction away from each other with respect to the upper wall and the bottom wall by insertion of the male terminal. For this reason, generally the fitting part formed by bending a metal plate and simply overlapping the edge part of a metal plate generate | occur | produces the force which spaces up and down by insertion of a male terminal, and it may deform | transform so that a fitting part may open. When the fitting portion deforms, the contact pressure between the male terminal and the female terminal is not properly maintained, and the reliability of the electrical connection is lowered. In particular, when a female terminal is used for an electrical connector for inertial lock, such a problem is likely to occur because a large contact pressure is generated instantaneously when fitting the contacts. In addition, when the electric wire connected to the female terminal in the connector is pulled, the fitting portion of the female terminal can be deformed under stress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an electrical connector using a highly reliable female terminal and a female terminal of an electrical connection in which the engagement seams of the metal plate forming each cylindrical fitting portion at the time of fitting are not open to the outside. For the purpose of

The female terminal of the present invention comprises a rectangular fitting portion formed by bending a metal plate, a contact elastic member disposed in the fitting portion, and a wire connecting portion continuous to the fitting portion, the contact being connected to the male terminal on the opposite side inserted into the fitting portion. A female terminal in which an elastic member contacts and makes electrical connection with a male terminal, characterized in that the ends of the metal plate forming the fitting portion are coupled so as not to be spaced apart from each other in the plane along the displacement direction of the contact elastic member of the fitting portion. .

It is preferable that the ends of the metal plate have complementary joining portions that are fitted and joined with difficulty in separating from each other. This complementary coupling is configurable with cuts in the shape of dovetail and dovetail grooves.

The electrical connector of the present invention using the female terminal comprises an insulating housing having a terminal accommodating hole, and the female terminal according to claim 1 or 2 is arranged in the terminal accommodating hole.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiment of the female terminal 1 which shows an example of this invention is described in detail with reference to an accompanying drawing.

1 and 2 show a female terminal 1, FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 1 (b) is a right side view, FIG. 1 (c) is a bottom view, FIG. 2 (a) is a left side view, Fig. 2B is a front view and Fig. 2C is a back view, respectively. A description with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is as follows.

The female terminal 1 is formed by punching and bending a piece of metal plate. The female terminal 1 has a fitting part 2 located in the front part and a wire connecting part 4 located in the rear part through the transient part 3. The wire connecting portion 4 is a conductor barrel 4a that is crimped to the core wire 32 of the electric wire 30 (FIGS. 6 and 7) and an insulator barrel 4b that is crimped to the outer shell 30a of the electric wire 30. It consists of. Since this wire connection part 4 is a conventionally well-known structure, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Here, the front and rear portions of the female terminal 1 are referred to as the front portion and the opposite side is the rear portion at which the male terminal 40 (FIGS. 6 and 7) on the opposite side is inserted.

The fitting part 2 has the bottom wall 2a, the side walls 2b, 2c, 2d, and the upper wall 2e, 2f which are set up at right angles to the bottom wall 2a on both sides of the bottom wall 2a. In addition, the bottom wall 2a, the side wall 2b-2d, and the upper wall 2e, 2f are called for convenience of description here based on a front view or a right side view. The upper wall 2e and the upper wall 2f are spaced apart from each other along the insertion direction D of the female terminal 1 (Fig. 1 (b)). A rectangular opening 6 is formed between the upper walls 2e and 2f. In the front part of the side wall 2b, the upper wall 2e and the side wall 2d formed in connection with this upper wall 2e are integrally formed so that it may bend toward the side wall 2c. The side wall 2c and the side wall 2d are formed to mutually combine. That is, dovetail groove-shaped cutouts (complementary coupling portions) 8 (Fig. 2) are formed at the end of the side wall 2c and the end of the side wall 2d, and at the end of the side wall 2d. A dovetail (complementary engagement portion) 10 having a shape complementary to the dovetail shape groove 8 is formed and fitted to each other. By this fitting structure, the side wall 2c and the side wall 2d have a structure which is hard to fall to the up-down direction, ie, the bottom wall 92a side and the top wall 2e side. In addition, the side wall 2c and the side wall 2d are called the side wall of one surface side. The complementary coupling portion is not limited to the dovetail 10 or dovetail joint groove cut 8, but may be a complementary shape of a curved shape.

On the other hand, the rear portion of the side wall 2c has a narrow inner upper wall [2g] bent on the upper edge 12 of the side wall 2d; 1 (b) and 2 (c)] are formed. The wide upper wall 2f is formed so as to be bent on the inner upper wall 2g at the rear portion of the side wall 2b. The upper wall 2f has a rectangular cutout 14 near the upper edge 12 of the side wall 2b; 1 (a)] is formed so that the tip of the inner upper wall 2g does not interfere with the bent portion of the upper wall 2f.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the contact structure with the male terminal 40 of the mating side in the fitting part 2 is demonstrated. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1A. In the front part of the bottom wall 2a, the rectangular convex part 16 (FIG. 1 (c), FIG. 3) is formed in the fitting part 2 by punching. Moreover, the tongue-like contact piece (contact elastic member) 18 which extends the inside of the fitting part 2 forward is formed integrally in 2 g of said inner upper walls. The contact piece 18 extends near the convex part 16 to face the convex part 16. In addition, the tip portion 18a of the contact piece 18 is spaced apart from the convex part 16 while bending toward the upper wall 2e. To extend. This tip portion 18a functions as a guide surface of the male terminal 40 to be inserted. As for the contact piece 18, the site | part which approached the convex part 16 most becomes the contact point 18b. That is, the male terminal 40 is inserted into the gap G (FIG. 3) between this contact 18b and the convex part 16, and is electrically connected with the female terminal 1. As shown in FIG.

Next, an electrical connector (flag connector) (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) 100 using the female terminal 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 4 and 5 show the connector 100, FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 4 (b) is a front view, FIG. 5 (a) is a rear view, and FIG. 5 (b) is a side view, FIG. 5. (c) shows sectional drawing along the Vc-Vc line of FIG. 5 (a), respectively. 4 and 5, the female terminal 1 is omitted. The connector 100 is substantially rectangular in shape and has a housing (insulation housing 101) formed of an insulating synthetic resin. The housing 101 is formed with one row of four terminal receiving holes 106 penetrating from the fitting surface 102 of the housing 101 to the rear surface 104. At the tip of each terminal receiving hole 106, a guide hole 132 into which the male terminal 40 is inserted is formed. Ribs 110 extending from the fitting surface 102 to the rear surface 104 protrude upward from both ends of the upper surface 108 of the housing 101.

On both ends of the rear end of the upper surface 108, protrusions 112 are formed above and laterally of the housing 101 in succession to the rib 110. In the upper surface 108, a latch arm 114 having a fixed end 114a on the fitting surface 102 side is formed in the middle of the ribs 110 and 110 spaced apart from each other. The free end 114b of the latch arm 114 is spaced apart from the upper surface 108 and is configured to bend elastically with respect to the upper surface 108. The free end 114b of the latch arm 114 is provided with an upwardly raised finger engaging protrusion 116, and a pair of engaging protrusions 118 between the fixed end 114a and the free end 114b. 118 is formed upward. The engaging projections 118 are formed to be spaced apart from each other in the orthogonal direction with the insertion direction 120 at the same position in the insertion direction 120 (Fig. 4 (a)) of the connector 100. The tip 118a of each engaging projection 118 is formed in the plane of steep slope.

The latch arm 114 is protected by the rib 110 and the convex part 112 mentioned above. That is, it prevents external components such as electric wires from entering between the latch arm 114 and the upper surface 108 and accidentally deforming or breaking the latch arm 114. As shown in FIG. 5C, the locking arms 126 are formed in the openings 124 formed in the bottom wall 122 of the connector 100 corresponding to each terminal receiving hole 106. The engagement arm 126 extends forward from the rear end side of the opening 124 and has a projection 126a protruding into the terminal receiving hole 106 at the front end thereof. The female terminal 1 is locked into the terminal accommodating hole 106 by the projection 126a. In addition, another convex portion 128 protruding outward is formed in the rear portion of the connector 100 from the bottom wall 122 to the side wall 130 of the connector 100.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the connector 100 accommodating the female terminal 1 fits with an electrical connector (head connector) (hereinafter simply referred to as a connector) 200 on the opposite side. Explain. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connector 100 and the connector 200 are in the middle of fitting, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the connector 100 and the connector 200 are completely fitted.

6 and 7, when the female terminal 1 is accommodated in the terminal receiving hole 106, the projection 126a of the engagement arm 126 is engaged into the opening 6 of the female terminal 1. The female terminal 1 is latched in the terminal accommodating hole 106. At this time, the gap G between the contact piece 18 of the female terminal 1 and the outlet portion 16 is positionally coupled to the guide hole 132 of the connector 100.

The mating connector 200 is disposed on the board (PCB) 250 in this embodiment. The connector 200 has an insulating housing 202, and has a bottom wall 204 positioned on the substrate 250, and a fitting recess 206 that opens upward from the bottom wall 204. The male terminal 40 corresponding to the female terminal 1 is planted in the bottom wall 204, and these male terminals 40 are inserted into and fixed to the through-hole 250a of the substrate 250. In addition, the side wall 208 is formed with a coupler 210 communicating with the fitting recess 206. The coupler 210 is formed at a position corresponding to the engaging protrusion 118 of the connector 100 inserted into the fitting recess 206.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the connector 100 is inserted into the fitting recess 206 of the connector 200, the tip 118a of the coupling protrusion 118 directly contacts the upper surface 212 of the connector 200. do. Since the tip 118a is inclined at a sharp angle, the connector 100 cannot be pushed into the connector 200 with a small insertion force. Therefore, when the connector 100 is pushed with a considerable force in the position shown in Fig. 6, the latch arm 114 is indicated by the arrow 134 (Fig. 6) by the inclined surface of the tip 118a of the engaging projection 118. As described above, the upper surface 108 of the housing 101 is displaced. And, when the outer surface 118b of the engaging projection 118 is bent inward than the inner edge of the upper surface 212 of the connector 200, the connector 100 at once into the fitting recess 206. It is pushed in and reaches the position shown in FIG.

When the connector 100 is in the position shown in FIG. 6, the tip portion 40a of the male terminal 40 is located in the guide hole 132 of the connector 100.

In this way, the maximum insertion force is required when the coupling protrusion 118 pushes the connector 100 into the fitting recess 206 at a position in direct contact with the upper surface 212 of the connector 200. Then, when the direct contact relationship between the engaging projection 118 and the upper surface 212 is released, the connector 100 is reliably pushed to the complete fitting position without stopping during the fitting. The connector 100 of this kind is called a connector of the so-called inertial lock type, and is configured to avoid a half-fitting state.

Therefore, when the inertial lock connector is structurally fitted, the connector 100 is inserted into the connector 200 at a high speed, so that a large contact pressure is generated instantaneously against the contact piece 18 and the convex portion 16. This contact pressure moves the contact piece 18 along one surface (the surface along the displacement direction of the contact piece), that is, the side walls 2d and 2c, and acts to separate the side wall 2d and the side wall 2c from each other. However, since the side walls 2d and 2c are coupled in the relationship between the dovetail 10 and the dovetail shape cutout 8 as described above, the deformation is reliably prevented, and the reliability of the electrical connection is not impaired. Further, even when the electric wire 30 connected to the female terminal 1 in the connector 100 is pulled, the fitting portion 2 of the female terminal 1 is prevented from being deformed.

In the fully fitted position, the male terminal 40 enters the gap G between the convex portion 16 and the contact piece 18 and is electrically connected to the female terminal 1. In addition, at the position where the engaging projection 118 coincides with the engaging sphere 210, the latch arm 114 is elastically returned so that the engaging projection 118 is coupled to the engaging sphere 210 to prevent the connectors from being pulled out. Done.

The female terminal of the present invention is coupled so that the ends of the metal plate forming each cylindrical fitting portion are not spaced apart from each other in the plane along the displacement direction of the contact elastic member of the fitting portion. That is, since the metal plates forming the angular fitting portions of the female terminal into which the male terminal is inserted at the time of fitting are combined so as not to be spaced apart from each other, the female terminal having high reliability of electrical connection without fear of opening the engagement seam and using the same An electrical connector can be obtained.

When the end portions of the metal plates have complementary coupling portions that are inserted into and coupled with each other so as to be difficult to separate from each other, the ends can be effectively joined only by the shape of the end portions that are combined with each other.

Claims (3)

The contact elastic member is provided with a rectangular fitting portion formed by bending a metal plate, a contact elastic member disposed in the fitting portion, and a wire connecting portion continuous to the fitting portion, the male terminal of the mating member inserted into the fitting portion. In the female terminal which contacts and makes electrical connection with the male terminal, End portions of the metal plate forming the fitting portion are coupled so as not to be spaced apart from each other in a plane along the displacement direction of the contact elastic member of the fitting portion, including a complementary coupling portion that is inserted and coupled to be difficult to separate from each other, The complementary coupling portion is formed on the side wall of the front portion of the fitting portion in a shape complementary to the dovetail groove shape cutout formed in the side wall of the front portion of the fitting portion, and the dovetail coupling groove shape cutoff shape is formed Female terminal including dovetail that is fitted to each other. delete An electrical connector comprising an insulated housing having a terminal accommodation hole, wherein the female terminal according to claim 1 is arranged in the terminal accommodation hole.

Images