WO2017082016A1

WO2017082016A1 - Terminal metal fitting and connector

Info

Publication number: WO2017082016A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/081213
Authority: WO
Inventors: 伸行秋庭; 恭平井田
Original assignee: 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所; 住友電装株式会社; 住友電気工業株式会社
Priority date: 2015-11-11
Filing date: 2016-10-21
Publication date: 2017-05-18
Also published as: JP2017091835A

Abstract

The present invention is provided with: a case 20 provided with an open section 31 through which a mating contact 93 enters; an electric contact member 50 that faces the open section 31 inside the case 20, is arranged to be inclined with respect to an entry axis L of the mating contact 93, and contacts the mating contact 93; and a diagonal winding coil 60 which is arranged between the electric contact member 50 and a receiving surface 41A facing the electric contact member 50 such that the axis of the coil goes along the receiving surface 41A, and in which an outer peripheral section 61 is in contact with the receiving surface 41A and the electric contact member 50.

Description

Terminal fittings, connectors

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a terminal fitting and a connector using the terminal fitting.

For example, when an electrical connection is made in an automobile or the like, a method is known in which an electrical connection is made by abutting and contacting an opposing contact. In such a method, if foreign matter adheres between the contacts, conduction failure occurs, which is not preferable. For this reason, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-274290 (the following Patent Document 1), foreign matters between the contacts are removed by sliding the two contacts at the time of abutment.

Specifically, in the power feeding device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-274290 (the following Patent Document 1), an end plate opposed to the inside of the case and a coil spring sandwiched and compressed between the end plates are provided on the female side junction. Is provided. The end plate exposed to the outside is provided with a leaf spring member having elasticity. The leaf spring member is provided with an inclined free end portion that is easily elastically deformed by being bent after extending outward from the end plate, and has a male contact point and a female contact point (free end portion). ), The two contacts slide with each other to remove foreign matter between the contacts.

JP 2002-274290 A

However, the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-274290 (Patent Document 1) cannot be used for large current applications. This is because, in the case of a large current application, the leaf spring member has an increased plate thickness and increased rigidity, so that the bent portion cannot be deformed, so that the free end portion cannot be elastically deformed freely. Therefore, when the free end comes into contact with the male contact, it cannot be elastically deformed and cannot slide, and foreign matter cannot be excluded.

The terminal fitting disclosed in the present specification has a case provided with an opening into which the mating contact enters, and faces the opening in the case, and is inclined with respect to the entering axis of the mating contact. Between the electrical contact member in contact with the counterpart contact and the electrical contact member and a receiving surface facing the electrical contact member, the axis of the electrical contact member being arranged along the receiving surface, An oblique winding coil is provided in contact with the receiving surface and the electrical contact member.

In such a configuration, the electrical contact member takes an inclined posture in the case. Then, when the counterpart contact enters from the initial state through the opening of the case, the counterpart contact hits the electric contact member so that the oblique winding coil is crushed from the side between the receiving surface and the electric contact member. Deform. As a result, the electric contact member rotates about one end side as an axis and moves backward so as to escape from the counterpart contact while changing the degree of inclination from the original inclination posture. For this reason, a shift movement phenomenon occurs such that the electrical contact member is rubbed at the contact portion with the counterpart contact, and even if there is a foreign object between them, the foreign object is scraped off. Thus, even if the electrical contact member itself is not elastically deformed, a phenomenon of shifting movement occurs with the counterpart contact, so that the thickness of the electrical contact member can be increased according to the current value.

The embodiment of the terminal fitting disclosed in this specification may have the following configuration.
The case contains an intermediate terminal having a terminal portion for connecting to an external circuit and the receiving surface, the oblique winding coil has conductivity, and the intermediate terminal includes the It is good also as a structure provided with the mountain-shaped part which made the mountain-shaped shape along the shape of the said outer peripheral part of a diagonal winding coil.

In such a configuration, the connection to the external circuit is made by the intermediate terminal. For this reason, the connection structure with the external circuit does not hinder the electrical contact member from rotating. Moreover, since the diagonally wound coil has conductivity, it is not necessary to prepare another member for electrical connection between the intermediate terminal and the electrical contact member. Furthermore, since the adhesiveness between the intermediate terminal and the oblique winding coil is improved by providing the mountain-shaped portion, the oblique winding coil is easily positioned by the intermediate terminal.

Further, the following configuration may be adopted as an embodiment of the connector using the terminal fitting disclosed in the present specification.
A connector provided with a connector housing capable of accommodating a terminal fitting, wherein one end of the electrical contact member is a bent piece bent in the direction of the mating contact,
The connector housing may be provided with a movement restricting portion that restricts the bent piece from moving in the longitudinal direction of the electric contact member.

In such a configuration, the movement restricting portion of the connector housing restricts the movement of the electrical contact member in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the electrical contact member is restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction during the rotating operation. It becomes easy to perform dynamic movement.

According to the terminal fitting disclosed in this specification, foreign matter between the mating contacts can be removed even when the current value increases and the plate thickness increases.

Sectional drawing which showed the state which abutted the other party contact in embodiment against the electric contact member Sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. Sectional drawing which showed the state which made the connector and the other party connector fit completely from the state of FIG.

<Embodiment>
Embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.
The connector 10 of this embodiment is fitted with the mating connector 90. In the following description, the upper side in FIG. 1 is referred to as the upper side, and the lower side in FIG. 1 (the mating connector 90 side) is referred to as the lower side. Moreover, let the left side in FIG. 1 (side from which the terminal part 43 is pulled out) be a front side, and let the right side in FIG. 1 be a rear side.

The connector 10 of this embodiment includes a terminal fitting 11 and a connector housing 80 as shown in FIG. The terminal fitting 11 includes a case 20, an intermediate terminal 40, an electrical contact member 50, and an oblique winding coil 60. The terminal fitting 11 is accommodated in the connector housing 80 to form the connector 10.

The case 20 is formed by pressing a metal plate material such as SUS material. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case 20 has a pair of left and right walls extending downward from both sides of the ceiling wall 21 and the ceiling wall 21. The side wall 23 includes a plurality of

support portions

25 and 27 that extend inward from the lower edge of the side wall 23 so as to face the ceiling wall 21. A portion between the plurality of support portions 25 and facing the ceiling wall 21 is a case opening 31 (an example of an “opening”) into which the mating terminal 91 can enter.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the side wall 23 is provided with a first opening 33. The first opening 33 is provided at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the side wall 23 and opens downward from the upper part of the side wall 23. The side wall 23 is provided with a pair of second openings 35 that communicate with the case opening 31 and open upward. The second opening 35 is provided at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the side wall 23 and is located between the

support portions

25 and 27. The upper end edge of the second opening 35 is substantially parallel to the ceiling wall 21 and the intermediate terminal 40 and is substantially perpendicular to the approach axis L of the counterpart contact 93. The position of the upper end edge of the second opening 35 abuts on the second overhanging portion 55 of the electrical contact member 50 when the electrical contact member 50 is positioned on the uppermost side.

The plurality of

support parts

25, 27 are a pair of left and right one end side support parts 25 arranged on the front end side of the electric contact member 50 and a pair of left and right other end side support parts arranged on the rear end side of the electric contact member 50. 27. The distance between the one end side support part 25 and the ceiling wall 21 is smaller than the distance between the other end side support part 27 and the ceiling wall 21. Moreover, the inner surface of the one end side support part 25 and the inner surface of the other end side support part 27 are arrange | positioned so that the same plane may be made. That is, the inner surface of the one end side support portion 25 and the inner surface of the other end side support portion 27 are arranged so as to form an inclined surface with respect to the approach axis L of the counterpart contact 93 described later.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the intermediate terminal 40 is formed by pressing a metal plate material such as a copper alloy, and is sandwiched between the ceiling wall 21 and the diagonally wound coil 60. The intermediate terminal 40 includes a receiving portion 41 that comes into contact with the oblique winding coil 60 and a terminal portion 43 that rises upward in an arrangement orthogonal to the receiving portion 41 (ceiling wall 21). The terminal portion 43 is provided with a bolt hole 43A and a locking hole 43B.

The contact surface (lower surface) of the receiving portion 41 with the oblique winding coil 60 is a receiving surface 41A. Of the receiving portion 41, the portion where the diagonally wound coil 60 is disposed is a chevron 45 struck out upward. The chevron portion 45 has a shape that follows the shape of the outer peripheral portion 61 of the oblique winding coil 60. Specifically, in the cross section perpendicular to the axis of the oblique winding coil 60, the mountain-shaped portion 45 has a gentle triangular shape that follows the ellipse of the outer peripheral portion 61. Further, the length of the angled portion 45 in the front-rear direction is slightly longer than the length of the oblique winding coil 60 in the axial direction. Specifically, in order to be able to cope with the positional displacement when the oblique winding coil 60 is collapsed by being compressed in the direction perpendicular to the axis, the amount of the displacement by the compression is larger than the dimension in the front-rear direction of the oblique winding coil 60. The dimension of the mold part 45 in the front-rear direction is longer.

Further, a pair of first overhang portions 47 are provided on both side edges of the receiving portion 41, and the first overhang portions 47 are arranged in the first opening 33. The dimension in the front-rear direction of the pair of first overhang portions 47 is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the dimension in the front-rear direction of the first opening 33. For this reason, the first overhanging portion 47 abuts against the front and rear opening edges of the first opening 33, thereby suppressing the movement of the intermediate terminal 40 in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, since the first opening 33 opens downward from the upper part of the side wall 23, the downward movement of the intermediate terminal 40 is allowed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electrical contact member 50 is obtained by pressing a metal plate material such as a copper alloy, and will be described later between the inner surfaces of the

support portions

25 and 27 and the oblique winding coil 60. It is held in a non-vertical inclined posture with respect to the approach axis L of the counterpart contact 93. The plate thickness of the electric contact member 50 is set by the electric capacity required for the terminal fitting 11.

The electric contact member 50 has a flat plate-like pressing portion 51 that faces the receiving portion 41 of the intermediate terminal 40 and a bent piece 53 that is bent downward in an arrangement orthogonal to the pressing portion 51. Although most of the electrical contact member 50 is housed inside the case 20, the bent piece 53 and the second overhanging portion 55 described later are disposed outside the case 20. The pressing portion 51 is sandwiched between the

support portions

25 and 27 and the oblique winding coil 60, and the lower surface side of the pressing portion 51 is exposed to the outside of the case 20 by the case opening 31 of the case 20. The lower surface side of the pressing portion 51 is a contact portion 57 with a counterpart terminal 91 described later.

Further, a pair of second overhang portions 55 are provided on both side edges of the pressing portion 51, and the second overhang portions 55 are arranged in the second opening 35. The dimension in the front-rear direction of the pair of second projecting portions 55 is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the dimension in the front-rear direction at the upper end edge of the second opening 35. Therefore, the movement of the electric contact member 50 in the front-rear direction is suppressed by the second projecting portion 55 coming into contact with the front and rear opening edges of the second opening 35. On the other hand, since the second opening 35 communicates with the case opening 31 and opens upward, the electric contact member 50 is allowed to move upward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the oblique winding coil 60 has conductivity, and unlike the general coil spring, the winding surface of each coil constituting the spring is in the axial direction of the spring (winding). It is a spring wound so as to be inclined with respect to (direction). When a load is applied to the outer peripheral portion 61 of the slant winding coil 60, the winding surface of each coil falls to a state in which the coil winding surface is further inclined with respect to the coil axis. The dimension in the direction perpendicular to the direction is reduced and compressed. The oblique winding coil 60 has a non-linear region in which the spring load does not change much even if the amount of displacement (the amount of displacement of the spring height) is changed.

The oblique winding coil 60 is arranged between the electric contact member 50 and the receiving surface 41A facing the electric contact member 50 so that the axis thereof is along the receiving surface 41A. At this time, the diagonally wound coil 60 is compressed in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction to the extent that it can be used in the non-linear region even before the counterpart contact 93 is abutted, and the intermediate terminal 40 and the electric contact member 50 An outer peripheral portion 61 is sandwiched between the two. Further, the oblique winding coil 60 has an elliptical shape when viewed from the winding direction, and the oblique winding coil 60 is arranged so that the major axis of the elliptical shape is in the width direction. The diagonally wound coil 60 is disposed at a position where the mountain-shaped portion 45 of the intermediate terminal 40 is provided, and the diagonally-shaped coil 45 and the outer peripheral portion 61 of the diagonally wound coil 60 are in surface contact with each other. The winding coil 60 is difficult to be displaced.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector housing 80 is constituted by combining an upper split body 80U and a lower split body 80L made of a synthetic resin and divided into upper and lower parts.
The upper split body 80U of the connector housing 80 is provided with a lead-out portion 81 for leading the terminal portion 43 to the outside of the connector housing 80. A lance 83 is provided inside the derivation unit 81. The lance 83 is fitted and locked in the locking hole 43 </ b> B of the terminal portion 43, thereby suppressing the intermediate terminal 40 from falling into the connector housing 80.

A housing opening 85 that allows entry of the mating terminal 91 is provided in the lower split body 80L of the connector housing 80. The housing opening 85 is provided at substantially the same position as the case opening 31 of the terminal fitting 11 accommodated, and allows the electric contact member 50 to be exposed to the lower side so that the fitting portion 99 described later can enter. It is said.

Further, a movement restricting portion 87 is provided on the lower split body 80L of the connector housing 80. The movement restricting portion 87 is provided on the front side of the housing opening portion 85 and is located below the derivation portion 81. The movement restricting portion 87 is formed by thickening the front wall of the lower split body 80L. The rear surface position of the movement restricting portion 87 is located slightly in front of the front surface of the bending piece 53 of the electric contact member 50. The distance between the movement restricting portion 87 and the bending piece 53 is such that the bending piece 53 does not come into contact with the rotating operation of the electric contact member 50. As a result, the terminal fitting 11 is restricted from moving forward in the connector housing 80.

The mating connector 90 includes a mating terminal 91 and a mating housing 97 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The mating terminal 91 is formed of a conductive metal, and is formed in a substantially L shape by bending a plate-like member extending in the vertical direction forward at a substantially right angle. One end of the mating terminal 91 that faces the electrical contact member 50 is a mating contact 93. And the spherical part 95 is formed in the upper surface of the other party contact 93 by knocking out from the lower surface side.

The mating terminal 91 is held in the mating housing 97 by insert molding. The mating contact 93 is held by the fitting portion 99. As the fitting portion 99 enters the housing opening 85, the connector 10 and the mating connector 90 are fitted.

The connector 10 and the terminal metal fitting 11 of this embodiment are the above structures, Then, the effect | action is demonstrated.
In the state before the counterpart terminal 91 is pressed against the electrical contact member 50, the electrical contact member 50 is pressed against the case opening 31 side of the case 20 by the oblique winding coil 60, as shown in FIG. 1. 20 (both support portions 25 and 27). The electric contact member 50 is held in an inclined state that is non-perpendicular to the approach axis L of the counterpart contact 93.

In this state, since the electrical contact member 50 is arranged in an inclined state, the dimension between the intermediate terminal 40 and the intermediate terminal 40 increases toward the rear. However, since the spring load of the diagonally wound coil 60 is almost constant regardless of the height dimension, the electrical contact member 50 is urged toward the counterpart contact 93 by the substantially same spring load on the front side and the rear side. Therefore, there is no possibility that the electric contact member 50 moves up and down unintentionally. Further, the intermediate terminal 40 and the electrical contact member 50 are electrically connected to each other via the oblique winding coil 60 by contacting the oblique winding coil 60 at multiple points.

Further, the forward movement of the bent piece 53 of the electrical contact member 50 is restricted by the movement restricting portion 87 of the connector housing 80. Further, the rearward movement of the rear end of the electrical contact member 50 is restricted by the rear wall of the connector housing 80. Thus, the electrical contact member 50 is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction with respect to the connector housing 80. On the other hand, the electric contact member 50 is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction in the case 20 by the second projecting portion 55 (see FIG. 2) coming into contact with the front and rear hole edges of the second opening 35. Yes. Further, since the intermediate terminal 40 is also held by the lead-out portion 81, the movement with respect to the connector housing 80 is restricted. Therefore, the movement of the terminal fitting 11 in the front-rear direction within the connector housing 80 is restricted as a whole.

When the connector 10 and the mating connector 90 are relatively close to each other, the connector 10 and the mating connector 90 are completely fitted as shown in FIG. In this state, the electrical contact member 50 is sandwiched by the biasing force of the diagonal winding coil 60 and the pressing force of the counterpart contact 93. Thus, in the fitted state, the electrical contact member 50 is pressed against the counterpart contact 93 side by the diagonally wound coil 60, whereby the electrical contact member 50 and the counterpart contact 93 are electrically connected.

In the state before fitting, since the rear end of the electrical contact member 50 is supported in an inclined state, a rotational force acts on the electrical contact member 50 when the counterpart contact 93 abuts against the electrical contact member 50. Thus, it tries to rotate around the front end side while being in contact with the counterpart contact 93. As the counterpart contact 93 enters the case 20, the electrical contact member 50 translates upward (inside the case 20) by the counterpart contact 93 and rotates around the rear end side of the electrical contact member 50. Move. Then, the electrical contact member 50 moves while rotating to a position where the biasing force of the oblique winding coil 60 and the pressing force of the counterpart contact 93 are balanced.

In this way, while the electric contact member 50 and the counterpart contact 93 are moved from the first contact state (the state shown in FIG. 1) to the fitted state (the state shown in FIG. 3), the electric contact member 50 is moved to the front end side. It moves upward while rotating about the axis. At this time, the point of contact between the electrical contact member 50 and the counterpart contact 93 (spherical portion 95) is displaced by rubbing, so that there is a foreign object between the electrical contact member 50 and the counterpart contact 93. However, the foreign matter is scraped off and removed from the contact portion.

Further, since the electrical contact member 50 moves while rotating, the height dimension between the electrical contact member 50 and the intermediate terminal 40 changes, so that the diagonally sandwiched between the electrical contact member 50 and the intermediate terminal 40. There is a concern that the spring load of the wound coil 60 may change. However, the slant winding coil 60 has a characteristic that the spring load does not change so much due to the displacement (deflection rate) of the dimension of the coil, and even if the height dimension of the slant winding coil 60 changes, the intermediate terminal 40 and There is almost no change in the spring load on the electrical contact member 50. Therefore, even if the electrical contact member 50 is pressed by the counterpart contact 93 and rotates and moves, there is almost no change in the contact resistance between the intermediate terminal 40 and the electrical contact member 50.

In the fitted state, the electrical contact member 50 is held in a state perpendicular to the entry axis L of the counterpart contact 93 and is pressed against the counterpart contact 93 by the biasing force of the oblique winding coil 60 to be electrically connected. Is done. In this state, it is conceivable that the relative distance between the counterpart contact 93 and the terminal fitting 11 changes due to vibration or the like. If the relative distance between the electrical contact member 50 and the counterpart contact 93 is changed due to vibration or the like, the pressing force from the counterpart contact 93 is changed, so that the electrical contact member 50 and the intermediate terminal 40 are not connected. , And the height dimension of the oblique winding coil 60 is changed. Even in this case, since the spring load of the diagonally wound coil 60 does not change much depending on the height, the spring load between the electric contact member 50 and the intermediate terminal 40 does not change. For this reason, even if the electrical contact member 50 moves relatively due to vibration or the like, the influence on the contact resistance caused by the movement of the electrical contact member 50 can be suppressed.

As described above, in the terminal fitting 11 of the present embodiment, the electrical contact member 50 is inclined in the case 20. Then, when the mating contact 93 enters the case opening 31 through the case opening 31 of the case 20 from the initial state, the mating contact 93 hits the electric contact member 50 and the oblique winding coil 60 is in electrical contact with the receiving surface 41A of the intermediate terminal 40. It deform | transforms so that it may be crushed from the side between the members 50. FIG. As a result, the electric contact member 50 rotates about the one end side as an axis and moves backward so as to escape from the counterpart contact 93 while changing the inclination degree from the initial inclination posture. For this reason, a displacement movement phenomenon occurs such that the electrical contact member 50 is rubbed at the contact portion with the counterpart contact 93, and even if a foreign object exists between the two, the foreign object is scraped off. In this way, even if the electrical contact member 50 itself does not elastically deform, a shift movement phenomenon occurs with the counterpart contact 93, so that the thickness of the electrical contact member 50 is increased according to the current value. Can do.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in the present specification is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings, and includes, for example, the following various aspects.
(1) Although the intermediate terminal 40 is used in the above embodiment, the intermediate terminal 40 may not be used by directly connecting the electrical contact member 50 and the external circuit with an electric wire or the like. When the intermediate terminal 40 is not used, the ceiling wall 21 of the case 20 is used as a receiving surface, and the oblique winding coil does not have to be conductive.

(2) In the above embodiment, the chevron 45 is provided in the intermediate terminal 40, but the chevron may be omitted and the receiving part may be a flat plate.

(3) In the above embodiment, the bending piece 53 is provided in the electrical contact member 50, but the bending piece 53 may not be provided.

(4) In the above embodiment, the movement restricting portion 87 is provided so as to make the inner wall of the connector housing 80 thick. However, if the movement of the bending piece 53 can be restricted, it may be formed by a rib or the like.

(5) In the above embodiment, the movement of the electric contact member 50 in the front-rear direction is restricted by the second overhanging portion 55 coming into contact with the hole edge of the second opening 35. 55 and the second opening 35 may not be provided.

(6) In the above embodiment, the diagonally wound coil 60 is compressed so as to be in the non-linear region even before the mating contact 93 is abutted, but is compressed so as to be in the non-linear region after fitting. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Terminal metal fitting 20 ... Case 21 ... Ceiling wall 31 ... Case opening part (opening part)
40 ... intermediate terminal 41 ... receiving part 41A ... receiving surface 43 ... terminal part 45 ... mountain-shaped part 50 ... electrical contact member 51 ... pressing part 53 ... bent piece 57 ... contact part 60 ... diagonal winding coil 61 ... outer peripheral part 80 ... connector Housing 81 ... Deriving portion 85 ... Housing opening 87 ... Movement restricting portion 90 ... Mating connector 91 ... Mating terminal 93 ... Mating contact L ... Entry axis

Claims

A case provided with an opening through which the counterpart contact enters,
An electrical contact member that faces the opening in the case and is inclined with respect to the entry axis of the counterpart contact, and contacts the counterpart contact;
An oblique winding coil, the axis of which is arranged between the electric contact member and the receiving surface facing the electric contact member so that the axis thereof is along the receiving surface, and the outer peripheral portion is in contact with the receiving surface and the electric contact member. Provided terminal fittings.
The case contains an intermediate terminal having a terminal portion for connecting to an external circuit and the receiving surface,
The oblique winding coil has conductivity,
The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate terminal is provided with a mountain-shaped portion having a mountain shape along the shape of the outer peripheral portion of the oblique winding coil.
A connector comprising a connector housing capable of accommodating the terminal fitting according to claim 1 or 2,
One end of the electrical contact member is a bent piece bent in the direction of the mating contact,
The connector housing is provided with a movement restricting portion for restricting the bending piece from moving in the longitudinal direction of the electric contact member.