JP2009259490A - Terminal metal fitting - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the incorrect deformation of a spring member resulting from the abutment of a male tab while avoiding an increase in the length of the spring member. <P>SOLUTION: The spring member 30 is formed in a longitudinally symmetrical shape with a front side inclined portion 32F and a rear side inclined portion 32R extending from a contact portion 31. In the process that the male tab M is inserted into an angular cylinder portion 11, the male tab M abuts on the front side inclined portion 32F and slides on the front side inclined portion 32F while giving elastic deflection to the spring member 30. A supporting plate 14 has a bank raising portion 19 formed to be protruded to the side of a receiving plate 16 for supporting the front side inclined portion 32F at its front end. Thus, the front end of the front side inclined portion 32F is situated to float from the supporting plate 14, and so the front side inclined portion 32F is gently sloped without increasing the longitudinal size of the front side inclined portion 32F. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting.

  In Patent Document 1, a terminal body having a rectangular tube portion for inserting a male tab from the front and a spring member that is a separate component from the terminal body and can be elastically bent are accommodated in the rectangular tube portion. The terminal fitting comprised by assembling is disclosed. The rectangular tube portion includes a support plate and a receiving plate that faces the support plate.

  The spring member is composed of a contact portion formed at the center in the front-rear direction, a front inclined portion extending forward from the contact portion, and a rear inclined portion extending rearward from the contact portion, and the front inclined portion The front end portion and the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion are supported by the support plate. The spring member has a symmetric shape in the front-rear direction, so that it is not necessary to consider the front-rear direction of the spring member when assembling the spring member to the rectangular tube portion, so that an improvement in productivity can be expected.

In the process of inserting the male tab into the rectangular tube portion, first, the male tab contacts the front inclined portion and slides on the front inclined portion while elastically bending the spring member. In this state, the male tab is elastically sandwiched between the contact portion and the receiving plate.
JP 2008-4342 A

  In the terminal fitting of the form as described above, when the slope of the front slope portion is tight, the male tab inserted from the front pushes the front slope portion backward without sliding on the front slope portion, and the spring member is moved. There is a risk of unauthorized deformation. As a means for preventing unauthorized deformation of the spring member due to the butting of the male tab, as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the spring member 1 is changed so that the front inclined portion 2F is made more than the rear inclined portion 2R. It is conceivable to extend forward so as to be longer, and to make the gradient of the front inclined portion 2F gentler than that of the rear inclined portion 2R.

  However, if the gradients of the front inclined portion 2F and the rear inclined portion 2R are made different, the spring member 1 becomes asymmetrical in the front-rear direction, and the front-rear direction of the spring member 1 is taken into consideration when assembling the spring member 1 to the rectangular tube portion 3. Therefore, there is a concern about the decrease in productivity. Accordingly, in order to achieve both the avoidance of the male tab 4 against the front inclined portion 2F and the avoidance of lowering the productivity, the rear inclined portion 2R extends rearward as well as the front inclined portion 2F. Can be made to have the same angle as that of the front inclined portion 2F, but in this case, the longitudinal dimension of the spring member 1 becomes remarkably large, and as a result, the entire terminal fitting becomes long.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and can prevent unauthorized deformation of the spring member due to the end of the male tab while avoiding the lengthening of the spring member. With the goal.

  As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a terminal body having a rectangular tube part for inserting a male tab from the front, and the terminal body is a separate part, wherein the corner An elastically bendable spring member assembled so as to be accommodated in the tube portion, the square tube portion including a support plate and a receiving plate facing the support plate, A symmetric shape composed of a contact portion formed at a central portion in a direction, a front inclined portion extending forward from the contact portion, and a rear inclined portion extending rearward from the contact portion. The front end portion of the front inclined portion and the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion are supported by the support plate, and in the process of inserting the male tab into the rectangular tube portion, the male tab However, the spring member is elastically bent by coming into contact with the front inclined portion. When the male tab slides on the front inclined portion and the male tab reaches a normal insertion position, the male tab is elastically sandwiched between the contact portion and the backing plate. The terminal fitting is characterized in that the support plate has a protruding shape toward the receiving plate and is provided with a raised portion that supports the front end portion of the front inclined portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion is supported in a state in which movement in the front-rear direction is restricted with respect to the support plate. The contact surface with the front inclined portion in the portion extends in the front-rear direction, and is characterized in that it has a flat shape that allows the front inclined portion to slide in the front-rear direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a contact area of the front end portion of the front inclined portion with the contact surface has a planar shape substantially parallel to the contact surface. It has the characteristics.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the raised portion has the contact surface as an upper side and extends obliquely from the contact surface and continues to the support plate. It is characterized by a trapezoidal shape having a pair of front and rear hypotenuses.

<Invention of Claim 1>
Since the front end portion of the front inclined portion is lifted from the support plate, the gradient of the front inclined portion becomes gentle without increasing the front-rear dimension of the front inclined portion. Thereby, the unauthorized deformation | transformation of the spring member resulting from the contact | abutting of a male tab can be prevented, maintaining the symmetrical shape of a spring member.

<Invention of Claim 2>
In the process in which the male tab cuts between the contact portion and the backing plate and the spring member is elastically bent, the front end of the front inclined portion slides on the contact surface, thereby preventing unauthorized deformation of the spring member. Is done.

<Invention of Claim 3>
Since the abutting surface and the front end portion of the front inclined portion face each other over a wide area, the front end portion of the front inclined portion is stably supported by the raised portion.

<Invention of Claim 4>
Since the raised portion has a trapezoidal shape, there is no possibility that the raised portion will be deformed even if it is pushed from the front by a male tab. Thereby, a front side inclination part can be supported stably.

<Embodiment 1>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The terminal fitting T of this embodiment is a female terminal configured by assembling a terminal body 10 that is elongated in the front-rear direction and a spring member 30 that is a separate component from the terminal body 10. A substantially front half portion of the terminal body 10 is a rectangular tube portion 11. Moreover, the substantially second half part of the terminal body 10 is a well-known wire connecting portion 13 having an open barrel shape for connecting the wire 12 so as to be conductive by crimping.

  The male tab M to which the terminal fitting T is to be connected has a well-known shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction and has a rectangular cross-sectional shape, and is located in front of the rectangular tube portion 11 (left in FIGS. 1 and 2). To be inserted. Moreover, the front-end | tip part (right side edge part in FIG.1 and FIG.2) in the insertion direction of the male tab M has comprised the taper shape which becomes thin gradually toward the front end side.

  The rectangular tube portion 11 includes a support plate 14 that is elongated in the front-rear direction, a pair of side plates 15 that are elongated in the front-rear direction and rise substantially perpendicularly from the left and right edges of the support plate 14, and are elongated in the front-rear direction. A receiving plate 16 is provided so as to extend from the upper end edge (rising end edge) at a substantially right angle and to be opposed to the support plate 14. The receiving plate 16 is formed with a receiving portion 17 that bulges downward (on the support plate 14 side) by punching or cutting. The lower surface of the receiving portion 17 has a planar shape substantially parallel to the support plate 14.

  A support portion 18 is formed on the support plate 14 by cutting and raising the rear end portion of the rectangular tube portion 11 upward. The support portion 18 includes a plate-like rising portion 18a that rises at a right angle from the support plate 14 and a plate-like presser portion 18b that extends from the upper end of the rising portion 18a to the front at a substantially right angle. Eggplant. An interval in the vertical direction between the lower surface of the pressing portion 18 b and the upper surface of the support plate 14 is set to be approximately the same as the plate thickness of the spring member 30.

  A raised portion 19 is formed in the support plate 14 at a position near the front end of the rectangular tube portion 11 by hammering or cutting. The raised portion 19 includes a contact portion 20 having a flat plate shape parallel to the support plate 14, a front oblique side portion 21 </ b> F extending obliquely forward from the front end of the contact portion 20 and continuing to the support plate 14, and the contact portion 20. The rear oblique side portion 21 </ b> R extends obliquely rearward from the front end and continues to the support plate 14. The upper surface of the contact portion 20 is a contact surface 22 arranged at a position higher than the upper surface of the support plate 14 (position close to the receiving plate 16). A planar shape extending in a direction parallel to the insertion direction of the male tab M with respect to the portion 11 is formed. The raised portion 19 is from the side (a direction perpendicular to both the insertion direction of the male tab M with respect to the rectangular tube portion 11 and the direction in which the male tab M is sandwiched between the spring member 30 and the receiving plate 16). When viewed, it forms an isosceles trapezoidal symmetrical shape with the contact surface 22 as the upper side.

  The spring member 30 is long in the front-rear direction as a whole, and is formed by bending a square-shaped metal plate having an integral width from the front end to the rear end. The spring member 30 has a flat contact portion 31, a plate-like front inclined portion 32 </ b> F extending obliquely forward from the front end edge of the contact portion 31, and an oblique rearward extension from the rear end edge of the contact portion 31. It is comprised from the plate-shaped rear side inclination part 32R. The spring member 30 has a symmetrical shape in a state where the spring member 30 is not elastically bent. By making the spring member 30 symmetrical in the front-rear direction, it is not necessary to consider the front-rear direction of the spring member 30 when assembling the spring member 30 to the rectangular tube portion 11, so that an improvement in productivity can be expected.

  The contact region with the contact surface 22 at the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F is a front contact portion 33F that is substantially parallel to the contact portion 31 when the spring member 30 is not elastically bent. The front contact portion 33F is in contact with the contact surface 22 of the raised portion 19 in a conductive manner. On the other hand, the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion 32R serves as a rear contact portion 33R that is substantially parallel to the contact portion 31 when the spring member 30 is not elastically bent. The rear contact portion 33R comes into contact with the support portion 18 so as to be conductive.

  The spring member 30 is assembled to the terminal body 10 in a state of being accommodated in the rectangular tube portion 11. In the assembled state, the rear contact portion 33R is locked with respect to the support portion 18 from the front, and the presser portion 18b is caulked and deformed so as to bite into the upper surface of the rear contact portion 33R. Is supported with respect to the support portion 18 in a fixed state in which relative displacement is restricted in any of the front and rear, left and right, and top and bottom directions. In a state where the assembled spring member 30 is not elastically bent, the contact portion 31 is substantially parallel to the support plate 14 and the support portion 18, and the contact portion 31 and the receiving portion 17 are vertically moved (the rectangular tube portion 11). The dimension (interval) in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the male tab M is set to a dimension smaller than the thickness dimension of the male tab M.

  Similarly, in a state where the assembled spring member 30 is not elastically bent, the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F places the front contact portion 33F substantially parallel to the contact surface 22 of the raised portion 19 from above. It is supported in the state. Since the position of the contact surface 22 is higher than the rear contact portion 33R in the vertical direction, the inclination angle of the front inclined portion 32F with respect to the support plate 14 is the inclination angle of the rear inclined portion 32R with respect to the support plate 14. Is smaller than The inclination angle with respect to the support plate 14 is the same as the inclination angle with respect to the insertion direction of the male tab M with respect to the rectangular tube portion 11.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
In the process of inserting the male tab M into the rectangular tube portion 11, as shown in FIG. 1, the distal end portion of the male tab M abuts on the front inclined portion 32F. At this time, when the inclination of the front inclined portion 32F is tight (the inclination angle of the front inclined portion 32F is large with respect to the insertion direction of the male tab M), the male tab M inserted from the front smoothly slides on the front inclined portion 32F. There is a concern that the front inclined portion 32F is pushed rearward without moving and the spring member 30 is illegally deformed.

  In that respect, in the present embodiment, the support plate 14 is formed to protrude toward the receiving plate 16 so as to float from the support plate 14, and is provided with a raised portion 19 that supports the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F. The front end portion of the inclined portion 32F is lifted from the support plate 14. In this way, the inclination angle (gradient) of the front side inclined portion 32F can be made moderate without increasing the length of the front side inclined portion 32F. As a result, the situation in which the spring member 30 is improperly deformed due to the male tab M abutting against the front inclined portion 32F is avoided.

  Then, when the insertion of the male tab M proceeds, the male tab M interrupts between the receiving portion 17 and the contact portion 31 while sliding the tip portion on the front inclined portion 32F. Accordingly, the spring member 30 is elastically bent while being displaced in a direction in which the contact portion 31 approaches the support plate 14 (a direction away from the receiving plate 16). Further, along with the elastic deflection of the spring member 30, the front contact portion 33 </ b> F of the front inclined portion 32 </ b> F slides forward on the contact surface 22 of the raised portion 19.

  When the male tab M reaches the normal insertion position, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the male tab M and the lower surface of the receiving portion 17 are connected in a surface contact state so as to be conductive, and the lower surface of the male tab M and the contact point The lower surface of the part 31 is connected so as to be conductive in a substantially surface contact state. In this state, the front contact portion 33 </ b> F maintains the state of being placed on the contact surface 22.

  In the present embodiment, the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F is placed on the raised portion 19 formed on the support plate 14 as a means for reducing the gradient of the front inclined portion 32F. There is no need to increase the longitudinal dimension. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unauthorized deformation of the spring member 30 due to the abutment of the male tab M, while maintaining the symmetrical shape of the spring member 30.

  Further, since the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion 32R is supported in a state in which the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted with respect to the support plate 14, in view of this, the contact with the front inclined portion 32F in the raised portion 19 is achieved. The contact surface 22 extends in the front-rear direction, and has a planar shape that allows the front-side inclined portion 32F to slide in the front-rear direction. Thereby, in the process in which the male tab M is interrupted between the contact portion 31 and the receiving plate 16 and the spring member 30 is elastically bent, the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F may slide on the contact surface 22. As a result, unauthorized deformation of the spring member 30 is prevented.

  In addition, a contact area of the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F with respect to the contact surface 22 is a plane substantially parallel to the contact surface 22, and the front end portion of the contact surface 22 and the front inclined portion 32F has a wide area. Since they face each other, the front end portion of the front inclined portion 32F can be stably supported by the raised portion 19.

  Further, the raised portion 19 has a contact surface 22 as an upper side, and has a trapezoidal shape having a pair of front and rear oblique sides 21F and 21R extending obliquely from the contact surface 22 and continuing to the support plate 14, so that the rigidity is high. Even if it is pushed by the male tab M from the front, there is no risk of deformation. Thereby, the front side inclination part 32F can be supported stably.

<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) In the above embodiment, the rear inclined portion is supported in a state in which front-rear movement is restricted with respect to the support plate, and the front inclined portion is slid in the front-rear direction on the contact surface. The inclined portion may be supported by the raised portion in a state where front-rear movement is restricted, and the rear inclined portion may be slidable in the front-rear direction on the support plate.
(2) In the above embodiment, a flat contact surface for sliding the front inclined portion in the front-rear direction is formed on the raised portion, but the contact portion of the raised portion with the front inclined portion is arcuate, The front inclined portion may be brought into contact in a point contact or line contact state, such as a spherical shape or a triangular shape.
(3) In the above embodiment, the contact area of the front inclined portion with the contact surface at the front end is a flat plate substantially parallel to the contact surface. The contact area may be an arc shape, a spherical shape, a triangular shape, or the like, and contact with the contact surface in a point contact or line contact state.
(4) In the above embodiment, the male tab is brought into surface contact with the contact portion as a flat plate extending in the front-rear direction. However, the contact portion has an arc shape, a spherical shape, a mountain shape, etc. You may make it line-contact.

Sectional drawing showing the state which the male tab inserted in the square cylinder part in Embodiment 1 contact | abutted to the front side inclination part. Sectional drawing showing the state where the normally inserted male tab is elastically sandwiched between the spring member and the backing plate Cross section of terminal body Side view of spring member Cross section of conventional example

Explanation of symbols

M ... Male tab T ... Terminal metal fitting 10 ... Terminal body 11 ... Square tube part 14 ... Support plate 16 ... Supporting plate 19 ... Raised part 21F ... Front side oblique side part 21R ... Rear side oblique side part 22 ... Contact surface 30 ... Spring member 31 ... Contact part 32F ... Front side slope part 32R ... Rear side slope part

Claims (4)

A terminal body having a rectangular tube part for inserting a male tab from the front;
The terminal body is a separate part, and comprises an elastically bendable spring member assembled so as to be housed in the rectangular tube part,
The square tube portion includes a support plate and a receiving plate facing the support plate,
The spring member is composed of a contact portion formed at the center in the front-rear direction, a front inclined portion extending forward from the contact portion, and a rear inclined portion extending rearward from the contact portion. It is a shape that is symmetric in the front-rear direction, and the front end portion of the front inclined portion and the rear end portion of the rear inclined portion are supported by the support plate,
In the process in which the male tab is inserted into the rectangular tube portion, the male tab contacts the front inclined portion and slides on the front inclined portion while elastically bending the spring member,
In the state where the male tab has reached the normal insertion position, the male tab is elastically sandwiched between the contact portion and the receiving plate.
A terminal fitting, wherein the support plate is provided with a raised portion that protrudes toward the receiving plate and supports a front end portion of the front inclined portion. The rear end portion of the rear inclined portion is supported in a state in which movement in the front-rear direction is restricted with respect to the support plate,
A contact surface of the raised portion with the front inclined portion extends in the front-rear direction, and has a planar shape that allows the front inclined portion to slide in the front-rear direction. The terminal fitting according to claim 1.   The terminal fitting according to claim 2, wherein a contact area of the front inclined portion with the contact surface at the front end portion has a planar shape substantially parallel to the contact surface.   The raised portion has a trapezoidal shape having a pair of front and rear oblique sides extending obliquely from the contact surface and continuing to the support plate, with the contact surface as an upper side. The terminal metal fitting according to claim 2 or claim 3.

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