JP2011129271A - Terminal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide terminal fittings with fine workability, which ensures a sufficient contact pressure between terminals, thereby improving connection reliability. <P>SOLUTION: In a process of inserting a tab 62 into a female-side body 11, the outer surface of the front end side of the tab 62 comes into contact with a second contact 25, and consequently a spring piece 18 bends with its extended base end as a fulcrum. As the tab 62 is further inserted, the second contact 25 slides on the outer surface of the tab 62. When the tab 62 is completely inserted in the female-side body 11, the second contact 25 fits into a recess 68, and consequently the spring piece 18 elastically returns to its original position. This brings a first contact 23 into contact with a slide surface 29 where the second contact 25 has slid on the outer surface of tab 62. Thereby, both terminals 10 and 60 are connected together. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional terminal fitting. This is composed of a pair of male and female terminals that can be connected to each other, the male terminal having a tab-shaped male terminal body, and the female terminal having a cylindrical insertion portion. A hole is formed through the male terminal body. A first contact portion is formed at the distal end portion of the male terminal body, and a second contact portion is formed behind the distal end portion of the male terminal fitting. The male terminal main body has a stepped shape in the height direction so that the first contact portion is arranged higher than the second contact portion.

  A spring member extending along the insertion direction of the tab is formed in the insertion portion so as to be deflectable. A first convex portion is formed on the extending distal end side of the spring member, and a second convex portion is formed on the extending proximal end side of the spring member. The spring member has a stepped shape in the height direction so that the first convex portion is disposed higher than the second convex portion.

  When the male terminal body is inserted into the insertion portion, the first contact portion comes into contact with the first convex portion, and the spring member is bent and deformed with its extended base end as a fulcrum. When the male terminal body is further inserted deeply, the first contact portion is fitted into the hole, and the spring member is elastically restored accordingly, the second contact portion comes into contact with the second convex portion, and both terminals are connected to each other. Connection is to be taken. According to such a configuration, since the contact position between the first contact portion and the first convex portion is located away from the fulcrum of the bending operation of the spring member, the terminal insertion force can be reduced, Property is improved. On the other hand, since the contact position between the second contact portion and the second convex portion is close to the fulcrum of the bending operation of the spring member, the contact pressure between both terminals can be sufficiently secured.

JP-A-5-29037

  By the way, according to the conventional terminal fitting, the male terminal body does not contact the second convex portion until the second contact portion comes into contact with the second convex portion. For this reason, if an oxide film, dust, or the like is deposited on the second convex portion, the connection state between the second contact portion and the second convex portion becomes unstable after the connection between the two terminals, and the connection reliability There was a possibility that the property might be impaired.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and has an object to improve connection reliability while ensuring good workability and sufficiently ensuring contact pressure between terminals.

  As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is directed to a female terminal having a male terminal having a tab, a main body portion into which the tab is inserted, and a spring piece formed in the main body portion so as to be deflectable. And a recess formed on the outer surface of the tab, and the spring piece extends in a direction opposite to the insertion direction of the tab into the main body, and the extension base end side of the tab is And has a second contact with the tab on the extended tip side, and the outer surface on the tip side of the tab is connected to the second contact in the process of inserting the tab into the main body. As a result of the contact, the spring piece is bent and deformed with its extended base end as a fulcrum, and as the tab insertion operation further proceeds, the second contact slides on the sliding surface on the outer surface of the tab. And the tabs are When inserted, the second contact is fitted into the recess, and the spring piece is elastically displaced in the return direction accordingly, and the first contact abuts against the sliding surface of the tab, so that both ends It is characterized in that the connections between the children are taken.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a spring operation piece is formed on the extending tip side of the spring piece so as to branch in the width direction. It is characterized in that the second contact is formed in the part.

  The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the concave portion is bottomed.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the position where the tab contacts the second contact and deflects and deforms the spring piece is on the extended tip side of the spring piece, away from the bending fulcrum of the spring piece, the contact resistance between the tab and the spring piece is reduced. it can. Accordingly, the insertion force of the tab into the main body can be reduced, and the workability is improved.

  In addition, since the position where the tab contacts the first contact and connects the two terminals is close to the fulcrum fulcrum of the spring piece, on the extended base end side of the spring piece, the contact between the tab and the spring piece. Large pressure can be secured.

  Further, in the tab insertion process, the second contact slides on the sliding surface of the tab, so that the oxide film or the like formed on the sliding surface of the tab is peeled off, and then the tab is properly inserted. Then, since the first contact is brought into contact with the sliding surface of the tab from which the oxide film or the like has been peeled off, the connection reliability between both terminals is improved.

<Invention of Claim 2>
Since the spring operation piece is formed by branching in the width direction on the extending tip side of the spring piece and the second contact point is formed on the extending tip part of the spring operation piece, the second contact point is made to correspond to the shape of the recess. It is possible to increase the degree of freedom in forming the recess.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the recess has a bottom, the strength of the tab can be ensured.

In the terminal metal fitting which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, it is an expanded sectional view which shows the state in the middle of connecting both male and female terminals. It is an expanded sectional view showing the state where both terminals are normally connected. It is sectional drawing of a female terminal. It is sectional drawing of a male terminal. It is an enlarged bottom view of the tab of a male terminal. In the terminal metal fitting which concerns on Embodiment 2, it is an expanded sectional view which shows the state in the middle of connecting both male and female terminals. It is an expanded sectional view showing the state where both terminals are normally connected.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The terminal fitting according to the first embodiment includes a pair of male and female terminals 10 and 60 that can be connected to each other, and both are integrally formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like. The male terminal 60 is accommodated in a male connector (not shown), and the male terminal 60 is accommodated in a female connector (not shown). When both connectors are fitted to each other, both terminals 10 and 60 are electrically connected accordingly.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the male terminal 60 includes a male main body 61, a tab 62 that protrudes forward from the front end of the male main body 61, and a male barrel 63 that continues to the rear of the male main body 61. Is provided. The male-side main body 61 has a substantially rectangular tube shape, and a stabilizer 66 that guides insertion of the male terminal 60 into the male-side connector is formed on one side wall so as to protrude upward. The male-side barrel portion 63 includes an open barrel-like wire barrel portion 64 that is caulked and connected to a terminal core wire of an electric wire (not shown), and an open barrel shape that is located behind the wire barrel portion 64 and caulked to the end coating of the electric wire. Insulation barrel portion 65.

  The tab 62 is flat in the width direction and elongated in the front-rear direction. A tapered lead-in portion 67 is formed on the tip end side of the tab 62 by being cut out over the entire circumference. Further, a bottomed concave portion 68 is formed on the lower surface of the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the tab 62. As shown in FIG. 5, the recess 68 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. Then, the tip of the spring operation piece 24 (second contact 25) to be described later enters and escapes into the recess 68 when the terminals 10 and 60 are normally connected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the female terminal 10 includes a female-side main body 11 and a female-side barrel 12 that continues to the rear of the female-side main body 11. The female barrel portion 12 includes a wire barrel portion 13 and an insulation barrel portion 14 as with the male barrel portion 63.

  The female main body 11 has a substantially rectangular tube shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and a tab 62 is inserted into the inside thereof from the front. The female main body 11 includes a bottom wall 15, a ceiling wall 16, and a pair of left and right side walls 17, and a flexible spring piece 18 is formed on the bottom wall 15. The spring piece 18 has a gate-shaped notch in the middle part of the bottom wall 15 and raises the inner part of the notch into the female main body 11 so as to protrude forward in a cantilevered manner. Yes. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the spring piece 18 has a tapered base-end-side slope portion 21 that extends upward from the extended base end toward the front, and extends downward from the top toward the front. And a tapered tip-side inclined surface portion 22. A substantially dome-shaped first contact 23 is formed on the top of the spring piece 18 by knocking upward.

  Further, a spring operation piece 24 is formed on the extending tip side of the spring piece 18 so as to branch in the width direction between the spring piece 18 and the tip side inclined surface portion 22. The spring operation piece 24 has a tapered shape extending upward from a position slightly ahead of the first contact 23 in the spring piece 18 toward the front. The extended tip of the spring operation piece 24 is a second contact 25 along the width direction, and is disposed above the first contact 23. On the ceiling wall 16, a receiving portion 26 is formed by knocking downward at a position opposite to the first contact 23. The lower surface of the receiving portion 26 is a flat receiving surface 27 along the front-rear direction. A gap slightly smaller than the thickness of the tab 62 is provided between the receiving surface 27 of the receiving portion 26 and the first contact 23 when the spring piece 18 is in a natural state.

The above is the structure of the terminal fitting according to the first embodiment. Next, the connection operation of both terminals 10 and 60 will be described.
As both connectors (not shown) are fitted, the tab 62 is inserted into the female main body 11 from the front. When the distal end portion of the tab 62 is inserted into the female-side main body portion 11, the second contact 25 comes into contact with the lower surface of the guiding portion 67 of the tab 62, and accordingly, the spring piece 18 uses the extended base end as a fulcrum. It is bent and deformed downward. When the tab 62 is further inserted deeply, as shown in FIG. 1, the second contact 25 slides on the lower surface of the tab 62, and the second contact 25 slides on the lower surface of the tab 62 as a trace. A surface 29 is formed. Here, even if foreign matter such as an oxide film or dust is deposited on the lower surface of the tab 62, the foreign matter is removed from the lower surface of the tab 62 by the wiping action of the second contact 25, and the sliding surface 29 is renewed. Is done.

  When the tab 62 is inserted into the female main body 11 at a normal depth, the second contact 25 is fitted into the recess 68 from below as shown in FIG. Then, the first contact 23 comes into contact with the sliding surface 29 of the tab 62 from below. As a result, the tab 62 is elastically sandwiched between the receiving surface 27 of the receiving portion 26 and the first contact 23, so that the terminals 10 and 60 are electrically connected to each other.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the extended tip of the spring piece 18 is located at a position where the tab 62 comes into contact with the second contact 25 to bend and deform the spring piece 18 away from the bending fulcrum of the spring piece 18. Therefore, the contact resistance between the tab 62 and the spring piece 18 can be reduced. Therefore, the insertion force of the tab 62 into the female-side main body 11 can be reduced, and workability is improved.

  Further, since the tab 62 is in contact with the first contact 23 and the terminals 10 and 60 are connected to each other, the tab 62 is close to the bending fulcrum of the spring piece 18 and on the extended proximal end side of the spring piece 18. And a large contact pressure between the spring pieces 18 can be secured.

  Further, in the insertion process of the tab 62, the second contact 25 slides on the sliding surface 29 of the tab 62, so that foreign matters such as an oxide film formed on the sliding surface 29 of the tab 62 are peeled off. Thereafter, when the tab 62 is properly inserted, the first contact 23 comes into contact with the sliding surface 29 of the tab 62 from which the oxide film or the like has been peeled off, and the connection is established. Sexuality is enhanced.

  Moreover, since the spring operation piece 24 is formed to branch in the width direction on the extending tip side of the spring piece 18 and the second contact point 25 is formed on the extending tip of the spring operation piece 24, for example, the recess 68 is formed. Even if there is a situation such as a narrow opening width, the second contact point 25 can be made to correspond to it, and the degree of freedom in forming the recess 68 is increased. Further, since the recess 68 has a bottom, the strength of the tab 62 can be ensured.

<Embodiment 2>
The terminal metal fitting which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention is shown in FIG.6 and FIG.7. In the second embodiment, the form of the spring operation piece 34 is different from that of the first embodiment. Others are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  The spring operation piece 34 has a tapered rear operation piece 35 extending upwardly from a position slightly ahead of the first contact 23 in the spring piece 18 and a taper extending downwardly from the top thereof. And a front operation piece 36 having a shape. Here, the second contact 33 is configured by the top of the spring operation piece 34 and the upper end of the front operation piece 36.

  In the process of inserting the tab 62 into the female main body 11, the guiding portion 67 of the tab 62 slides on the second contact 33, and the spring piece 18 is bent and deformed downward with its extended base end as a fulcrum. . When the tab 62 is properly inserted into the female-side main body 11, the second contact 33 is fitted into the recess 68 from below, and the spring piece 18 is deformed by returning to the elastic return direction, and the first contact 23 is moved to the tab. 62 abuts against the sliding surface 29 from below, so that the terminals 10 and 60 are connected to each other.

  According to the second embodiment, since the front operation piece 36 is inclined forward and downward along the insertion direction of the tab 62, the front operation piece 36 invites the tab 62 to the contact position. .

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The recess may have a form penetrating the tab in the thickness direction.
(2) The recess may have a form in which one side edge of the tab is notched.
(3) The spring operation piece and the second contact may be formed over the entire width of the spring piece.

10 ... female terminal 11 ... main body (female side main body)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 18 ... Spring piece 23 ... 1st contact 24 ... Spring operation piece 25, 33 ... 2nd contact 29 ... Sliding surface 60 ... Male terminal 62 ... Tab 68 ... Recessed part

Claims (3)

A male terminal having a tab;
The main body portion into which the tab is inserted, and a female terminal having a spring piece formed to be able to bend in the main body portion,
A recess is formed on the outer surface of the tab,
The spring piece extends in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of the tab into the main body, has a first contact with the tab on the extended proximal end side, and the tab on the extended distal end side. The second contact point is
In the process of inserting the tab into the main body, the outer surface on the tip side of the tab comes into contact with the second contact, whereby the spring piece is bent and deformed with the extended base end as a fulcrum, and further the insertion of the tab As the operation proceeds, the second contact slides on the sliding surface on the outer surface of the tab, and when the tab is properly inserted into the main body, the second contact fits into the recess. Accordingly, the spring piece is elastically displaced in the return direction, and the first contact contacts the sliding surface of the tab, so that the terminals are connected to each other.   The spring operation piece is branched and formed in the width direction on the extending tip side of the spring piece, and the second contact is formed at the extending tip portion of the spring operation piece. Terminal fittings.   The terminal fitting according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recess is bottomed.

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