KR20210053031A - Terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a terminal, and a terminal part (10) and a hook part (20) are coupled to each other to form one terminal (T). The terminal part (10) includes: a barrel part (11) electrically and physically connected to a wire; a connection part (12) extending from the barrel part (11), and having a hollow rectangular pillar shape; and a contact part (13) extending from the connection part (12), and making contact with a counter terminal so as to be electrically connected to the counter terminal. The hook part (20) includes a lance (24) surrounding an outer surface of the connection part (12), and having a cantilever shape that is bent outward. In this case, the lance (24) includes a straight part (24a) so that a length of the lance (24) is relatively long. Therefore, a deformation amount at a point where deformation of the lance starts is reduced to prevent plastic deformation of the lance, so that maintenance strength of the lance is improved.

Description

Terminal {TERMINAL}

The present invention relates to a terminal, and more particularly, to a terminal having improved holding force inside a housing.

The terminal is made of a conductive metal material, is inserted into the housing of the connector, and is coupled to the terminal of the mating connector to perform electrical connection. Such a terminal includes a receptacle terminal and a tap terminal, respectively, used for two connectors that are coupled to each other, and the tab terminals are inserted into the coupling portion of the receptacle terminal and are coupled to each other to perform electrical connection.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a two-piece terminal, a conventional terminal T includes a terminal portion 1 and a hook portion 2. The terminal portion 1 is composed of a barrel portion 1a in contact with a wire, a connection portion 1b to which the hook portion 2 is coupled, and a contact portion 1c in contact with a counter terminal. A lance 2a is formed on the hook portion 2 coupled to the connection portion 1b. After the terminal T is inserted into the housing, the lance 2a is hung on a part of the housing so as not to be separated from the housing. The lance 2a is formed in a cantilever shape to have elasticity and extends outward.

However, the lance 2a as in the related art has a large amount of deformation at the point where the deformation starts in the process of inserting the terminal T into the housing, so plastic deformation occurs in the lance 2a, so that the lance 2a is at its original position. There was a problem that could not be restored.

Further, the force applied to the terminal T seated in the housing in the housing by the lance 2a is weakened, so that the holding force of the terminal T is also lowered.

An object of the present invention is to solve the conventional problems as described above, and to provide a terminal that prevents plastic deformation by reducing the amount of deformation of the lance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a terminal that improves holding power by increasing the amount of engagement between the housing and the lance.

According to the features of the present invention for achieving the above object, the present invention provides a barrel part electrically and physically connected to a wire, a connection part extending from the barrel part and formed in a hollow square column shape, and the A contact part extending from the connection part and electrically connected to the counter terminal, and a hook part surrounding the outer surface of the connection part and forming a cantilever-shaped lance bent outward, the lance is partially cut off the hook part. A straight portion having a predetermined length and a bent portion extending from the straight portion and bent outward of the hook portion to have a predetermined angle with the straight portion are formed.

At the front end of the bent portion, a portion of the tip of the bent portion is bent toward the hook portion to form a locking end.

The outer surface of the straight portion forms the same surface as the outer surface of the hook portion.

The straight portion and the bent portion form an obtuse angle with each other.

The locking end is formed in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the terminal.

An escape space is formed on a surface facing each other on the connection part so as to be concave inwardly of the connection part, and when the lance is elastically deformed, it moves toward the escape space.

A lance is formed on the hook portion at a position corresponding to the escape space.

The amount of concavity in the escape space is equal to or greater than the amount of elastic deformation of the lance.

In the terminal according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the present invention, a straight portion is formed in the lance, so that the length of the lance itself is lengthened. Accordingly, plastic deformation of the lance is prevented by reducing the amount of deformation at the point where the deformation of the lance starts, thereby improving the holding power of the lance.

In addition, when the lance is elastically deformed by forming an escape space at a position corresponding to the lance at the connection portion, there is an effect of additionally preventing the plastic deformation of the lance by minimizing a portion to which an external force is applied other than the deformation point.

According to the present invention, the locking end is maintained at an angle close to 90 degrees with respect to the seating surface of the housing. Therefore, even if a relatively large force acts in the direction in which the terminal is separated, there is an effect that the lance is more stably positioned on the seating surface.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional terminal.
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the terminal according to the present invention.
3 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is an enlarged top view showing the lance of the embodiment of the present invention.
5 to 7 are cross-sectional views showing a process in which a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention is inserted into a housing.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail through exemplary drawings. In adding reference numerals to elements of each drawing, it should be noted that the same elements are assigned the same numerals as possible, even if they are indicated on different drawings. In addition, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known configuration or function obstructs the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, in describing the constituent elements of the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. These terms are for distinguishing the constituent element from other constituent elements, and the nature, order, or order of the constituent element is not limited by the term. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, the component may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but another component between each component It should be understood that may be “connected”, “coupled” or “connected”.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention terminal will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a configuration of a terminal constituting a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The terminal constituting the embodiment of the present invention is entirely made of a conductive metal. In the present embodiment, the terminal is composed of two pieces, but the terminal is not limited thereto, and each terminal may be composed of one piece to constitute a terminal assembly. However, in this embodiment, a terminal having two pieces as shown in the drawings will be described.

2 and 3, a terminal T is shown. The terminal T includes a terminal portion 10 and a hook portion 20, and the terminal portion 10 includes a barrel portion 11, a connection portion 12, and a contact portion 13. The terminal T has the barrel part 11, the connection part 12, and the contact part 13 integrally formed, and the hook part 20 is formed separately and is coupled to the connection part 12.

A wire (not shown) is electrically and physically connected to the barrel part 11. To this end, the barrel part 11 is composed of a wire barrel (not shown) and an insulation barrel (not shown). The wire barrel is coupled to a core wire from which the sheath of the wire is stripped to electrically connect the wire and the terminal (T), and the insulation barrel is coupled to the covering surface of the wire to physically connect the wire and the terminal (T).

The connection part 12 extends from the barrel part 11. The connecting portion 12 has a connecting body 12a forming its outer shape. The connection body 12a has a hexahedral shape with an approximately empty inside. Specifically, the connection body (12a) is a hollow square column shape. A barrel part 11 is extended to one side of the connecting body 12a along the longitudinal direction of the terminal T, and the contact part 13 is extended to the other side.

The connecting body 12a has an escape space 12b formed on a surface facing each other. The escape space 12b is formed to be concave into the inner side of the connection body 12a. The escape space 12b is a space formed to prevent interference between the lance 24 and the connection part 12 when the lance 24 of the hook part 20 to be described later is elastically deformed. It is preferable that the amount of concavity in the escape space 12b is formed larger than the amount of deformation of the lance 24 to minimize an external force acting on the lance 24.

The contact part 13 extends from the connection part 12. The contact part 13 extends in the longitudinal direction of the terminal T. Depending on the shape of the contact part 13, it may be a tab terminal or a receptacle terminal. In this embodiment, the contact portion 13 is made of a plurality of elastic pieces (not shown in the drawing), and the plurality of elastic pieces are in pressure contact with the contact portion 13 of the counter terminal to be electrically connected to the counter terminal. The shape of the contact part 13 may be variously formed in consideration of the stability of coupling with the counter terminal, insertion force, or release force. In this embodiment, a pair of elastic pieces symmetrical to each other extend from the connection part 12, and the ends of each elastic piece are in contact with each other.

The hook part 20 is coupled to the connection part 12. The hook part 20 fixes the terminal T to the housing 30. The hook portion 20 has a hook body 21 to form an outer shape. The hook body 21 is formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the connection body 12a to surround the outer surface of the connection body 12a. In this embodiment, the hanger body 21 is a hollow square pillar shape.

The hanger body 21 has a receiving space 22 on the inside. When the terminal portion 10 and the hook portion 20 are coupled, the connection portion 12 is inserted into the receiving space 22 and fixed. A bent piece (not shown) is formed at the rear end of the hook body 21 and the terminal portion 10 and the hook portion 20 may be coupled to each other in a manner that is hung on the rear end of the connecting portion 12.

An exposed hole 23 is formed in the hanger body 21. The exposed hole 23 is formed at a position corresponding to the escape space 12b of the connection part 12. Accordingly, when the terminal part 10 and the hook part 20 are coupled, a part of the escape space 12b is exposed to the outside through the exposure hole 23 of the hook body 21.

On the hook body 21, a lance 24 is formed on a surface corresponding to the surface on which the escape space 12b of the connection body 12a is formed. The lance 24 is formed in a cantilever shape by partially cutting the hook body 21. The lance 24 is formed from one side of the hanger body 21 so that a free end extends toward the exposed hole 23. The lance 24 prevents the terminal T from being separated from the housing 30 by hooking its tip into the housing 30.

2 and 4, the lance 24 includes a straight portion 24a, a bent portion 24b, and a locking end 24c. The straight portion 24a, the bent portion 24b, and the locking end 24c are all part of a shape extending in the shape of a cantilevered beam of the lance 24.

The straight portion 24a is formed by cutting a portion of the hanger body 21 and has a predetermined length. As the straight portion 24a is formed, the length of the lance 24 itself increases, and elastic deformation at the fixed end of the lance 24 is minimized. This is because, as the length of the lance 24 becomes longer, the deformation distance of the free end of the lance 24 becomes relatively longer even though the deformation at the fixed end decreases. For example, of two sectors with the same angle but different radii lengths, it is the same as the longer arc of the sector with the longer radius. The straight portion 24a serves to increase the length of the radius of the fan shape.

The straight portion 24a does not protrude from the outer surface of the hanger body 21. The straight portion (24a) is cut from the hook body 21, but forms the same surface as the outer surface of the hook body (21). Therefore, when the terminal T is inserted into the housing 30, the straight portion 24a does not receive any external force.

The bent portion 24b extends from the tip of the straight portion 24a. The bent portion 24b is bent to the outside of the hook body 21 to have a predetermined angle with the straight portion 24a. When the terminal T is inserted into the housing 30, an external force is applied to the bent portion 24b. Accordingly, the bent portion 24b is preferably formed to be inclined 34 to form an obtuse angle with the straight portion 24a.

The locking end 24c is formed at the front end of the bent portion 24b. The locking end (24c) is formed by bending a part of the tip of the bent portion (24b) toward the hook body (21). When the locking end 24c is hooked on the housing 30 and receives a force toward the terminal T being separated, the terminal T serves to hold the terminal T so as not to be separated from the housing 30. Therefore, it is preferable that the locking end 24c is formed to be perpendicular to a surface on which the locking end 24c is hung.

A contact support arm 25 is formed at the front end of the hook body 21. The contact support arms 25 are formed in a number corresponding to the number of the contact portions 13 of the terminal portion 10. In this embodiment, a pair of the contact support arms 25 is formed to face each other. The contact support arm 25 surrounds the outer surface of the contact portion 13 and prevents the contact portion 13 from being opened more than necessary or the restoring force is weakened due to repeated deformation.

An inner bent end 26 is formed at the front end of the contact support arm 25. The inner bent end 26 is formed by bending the tip of the contact support arm 25 in a direction facing the contact support arm 25. The inner bending end 26 pressurizes the contact part 13 to increase the effect of the contact support arm 25 and prevents it from being separated from the terminal part 10 by being hung on the tip of the hook part 20. .

In the housing 30 into which the terminal (T) is inserted, an insertion space (31) into which the terminal (T) is inserted is formed on one side, and a coupling space (32) in which the terminal (T) and a counter terminal are coupled on the opposite side. Is formed. The insertion space 31 and the coupling space 32 are formed to communicate with each other, and a protrusion 33 protrudes between the insertion space 31 and the coupling space 32. The lance 24 of the terminal T is caught on the protrusion 33 to prevent the terminal T from being separated toward the insertion space 31.

The protrusion 33 is formed with an inclination 34 toward the direction moving from the insertion space 31 to the coupling space 32. The inclination 34 allows the elastic deformation of the lance 24 to be smoothly performed during the insertion of the terminal T.

A seating surface 35 is formed on the protrusion 33 on the opposite side of the slope 34. The seating surface 35 is formed toward the coupling space 32 and is perpendicular to the inner circumferential surface of the coupling space 32. The locking end 24c of the lance 24 is mounted on the mounting surface 35 to prevent the terminal T from being separated toward the insertion space 31.

Next, a description will be given of a process in which the terminal T constituting the preferred embodiment of the present invention is inserted into the housing 30.

Referring to FIG. 5, the terminal T is inserted into the insertion space 31 of the housing 30. When the terminal (T) passes through the insertion space (31) and moves to the coupling space (32), the lance (24) of the terminal (T) meets the slope (34) and follows the slope (34). It is gradually elastically deformed toward the hook body 21.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the lance 24 is positioned between the protrusions 33, a part of the lance 24 is deformed so as to be accommodated in the escape space 12b. Specifically, the front end and the bent portion 24b of the straight portion 24a of the lance 24 move to the escape space 12b. The locking end 24c may form the same surface as the surface formed by the outer surface of the locking body.

At this time, since the length of the lance 24 itself is lengthened by the straight portion 24a, the amount of deformation of the lance 24 is minimized. The lance 24 has the greatest deformation at the fixed end of the lance 24. Since the straight portion 24a increases the length of the lance 24 itself, the tip of the lance 24 Even if it is deformed by a certain amount, the deformation force generated at the fixed end is relatively reduced. Accordingly, plastic deformation is prevented by allowing deformation to occur only within the elastic section of the metal constituting the terminal T itself.

On the other hand, the escape space 12b is preferably concave deeper than the amount of deformation of the lance 24 so that no additional external force is applied to the lance 24.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the contact part 13 of the terminal T is located in the coupling space 32, the locking end 24c of the lance 24 is the protrusion 33 in the coupling space 32. ) Is seated on the seating surface (35). When the lance 24 passes through the protrusion 33, it exits from the escape space 12b by a restoring force and returns to its original shape. The locking end (24c) is seated on the seating surface (35), and the terminal (T) does not come out from the housing (30) even if an external force acts in a direction away from the insertion space (31).

At this time, it is preferable that the locking end 24c and the seating surface 35 are orthogonal to each other. When the locking end 24c is orthogonal to the seating surface 35, it is possible to have the greatest resistance against a force acting in a direction in which the terminal T is separated. This is because the direction in which the terminal T is separated and the mounting surface 35 on which the locking end 24c is seated are perpendicular to each other. That is, the locking end 24c may be formed parallel to the longitudinal direction of the terminal T.

In the above, even if all the constituent elements constituting the embodiment according to the present invention are described as being combined into one or operating in combination, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this embodiment. That is, within the scope of the object of the present invention, all the constituent elements may be selectively combined and operated in one or more. In addition, terms such as "include", "consist of" or "have" described above mean that the corresponding component may be present unless otherwise stated, excluding other components. It should not be construed as being able to further include other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise defined. Terms generally used, such as terms defined in the dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning of the context of the related technology, and are not interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain the technical idea, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

T: terminal 10: terminal
11: barrel part 12: connection part
12a: connecting body 12b: escape space
13: contact part 20: hook part
21: hanging body 22: accommodating space
23: exposed hole 24: lance
24a: straight portion 24b: bent portion
24c: locking end 25: contact support arm
26: inner bending end 30: housing
31: insertion space 32: combination space
33: protrusion 34: slope
35: seating surface

Claims (8)

A barrel part that is electrically and physically connected to the wire,
A connection part extending from the barrel part and formed in a hollow square column shape,
A contact part extending from the connection part and electrically connected by contacting with a counter terminal,
It wraps around the outer surface of the connecting portion, and includes a hook portion formed with a cantilever-shaped lance bent outward,
The lance is
A portion of the hook portion is cut to a straight portion having a predetermined length,
A terminal having a bent portion extending from the straight portion and bent outwardly of the hook portion to have a predetermined angle with the straight portion.
The terminal according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the tip of the bent portion is bent toward the hook portion to form a locking end at the tip of the bent portion.
The terminal of claim 2, wherein the outer surface of the straight portion forms the same surface as the outer surface of the hook portion.
4. The terminal of claim 3, wherein the straight portion and the bent portion form an obtuse angle with each other.
The terminal according to claim 4, wherein the locking end is formed in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the terminal.
The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an escape space is formed on a surface facing each other on the connection part so as to be recessed into the connection part so that the lance moves toward the escape space when the lance is elastically deformed.
The terminal according to claim 6, wherein a lance is formed on the hook part at a position corresponding to the escape space.
8. The terminal according to claim 7, wherein the amount of concavity in the escape space is equal to or greater than the amount of elastic deformation of the lance.

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