JP2016081561A - Female terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

A female terminal is provided that can be miniaturized while maintaining good electrical capacity. A square tubular portion formed by bending a plate-like member into a square tubular shape, and a shape extending from at least one side wall of the square tubular portion and being folded back by a folding portion, and inside the square tubular portion. A female terminal integrally provided with an elastic contact piece 20 that is in elastic contact with a mating terminal. The thin portion 24 is formed to be thinner than the plate thicknesses of the base end side and the tip end side of the elastic contact piece 20 arranged with the folded portion 22 interposed therebetween. The plate thickness is made thinner than the proximal end side and the distal end side by the provided stepped portion 25 or inclined portion. [Selection drawing] Fig. 4

Description

  The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a female terminal.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a female terminal of a connector used in an electric vehicle or the like, a structure in which an elastic contact piece is provided inside a rectangular tube-shaped member and elastically contacted with a male terminal inserted therein is known. Such a female terminal can be formed by, for example, pressing a plate-shaped member having a uniform thickness with a uniform thickness, and the elastic contact piece is folded back into a U shape on the tip side. Gives elasticity.

  When the male terminal is inserted into the square tube portion of such a female terminal, the elastic contact piece is elastically deformed by the male terminal, whereby an elastic force acts, so that the elastic contact piece between the male terminal and the female terminal elastic contact piece. A predetermined contact pressure can be obtained.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 04-147580

  By the way, when it is going to reduce in size about the female terminal of the above-mentioned form, the magnitude | size is dependent on the magnitude | size of the folding | turning part of an elastic contact piece. That is, when the plate-shaped member constituting the female terminal is thick, the folded portion is enlarged to increase the size of the entire terminal. When the plate thickness is reduced, the folded portion is reduced and the entire terminal is reduced in size. Can be Therefore, it is desirable that the plate thickness is thinner from the viewpoint of miniaturization.

  However, on the other hand, in order to reduce the electrical resistance of the terminal, it is preferable that the plate thickness is thick, and there has been a conflicting demand between miniaturization of the terminal and retention of electric capacity.

  The technology disclosed in the present specification has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a female terminal that can be miniaturized while maintaining a good electric capacity of the female terminal. And

  The female terminal made in order to solve the above-mentioned problem is a rectangular tube formed by bending a plate-like member into a rectangular tube shape, and a form extending from at least one side wall of the rectangular tube portion and folded back by the folded portion. And an elastic contact piece that is elastically contacted with the mating terminal inside the rectangular tube portion, and is a female terminal that is integrally provided, and is a region that forms a folded portion of the elastic contact piece Is a thin-walled portion formed thinner than the plate thickness on the base end side and the distal end side of the elastic contact piece arranged with the folded-back portion interposed therebetween, and the thin-walled portion is inside the folded-back portion The plate thickness is made thinner than the base end side and the tip end side by the step portion or the inclined portion provided in the base plate.

  According to the above configuration, the elastic contact piece is set so that the thickness of the folded portion of the elastic contact piece is thinner than the thickness of the proximal end side and the distal end side disposed with the folded portion interposed therebetween. The folded portion can be formed smaller compared to the configuration having a large overall plate thickness, and thus the entire terminal can be reduced in size. In addition, since the thickness of the portion other than the folded portion is thicker than that of the folded portion, the electrical resistance during energization can be reduced, and the electric capacity can be kept good.

  Further, since the thin portion is formed by providing a stepped portion or an inclined portion inside the folded portion, the stepped portion or the inclined portion is compared with a configuration in which the stepped portion or the inclined portion is formed outside the folded portion. Therefore, the female terminal can be further reduced in size.

  The female terminal may have the following configuration.

  A plurality of elastic contact pieces may be provided so as to extend from a plurality of side walls of the rectangular tube portion, and the folded portions of the plurality of elastic contact pieces may be arranged at different positions in the fitting direction with the counterpart terminal.

  In this way, when it is configured to have a plurality of elastic contact pieces, compared to a configuration in which only one elastic contact piece is provided, the size of the folded portion more easily affects the size of the female terminal. The configuration in which the thin portion is provided in the folded portion effectively works for further downsizing. Further, by arranging the folded portions of the plurality of elastic contact pieces at different positions in the fitting direction with the counterpart terminal, the plurality of elastic contact pieces can contact the counterpart terminal at different positions in the length direction. Therefore, the mating with the counterpart terminal is suppressed. Furthermore, the fitting resistance when mating with the mating terminal can be reduced.

  Moreover, it is good also as a structure which forms a thin part by hammering out. In the case of such a configuration, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the configuration in which the female terminal is manufactured using a deformed material in which the thin portion is formed in advance. In particular, when the folded portions of the plurality of elastic contact pieces, that is, the thin-walled portions are arranged at different positions in the fitting direction with the mating terminal, it is more effective for cost reduction.

  The elastic contact piece extends from the front end edge of the side wall of the rectangular tube portion in the fitting direction with the mating terminal and is folded back toward the rear side by the folded portion. An extended portion that extends along the extending direction of the elastic contact piece is provided adjacent to the base end of the elastic contact piece, and the extended portion may extend to the front side of the folded portion.

  With such a configuration, the rigidity of the base end of the elastic contact piece is increased by the expansion portion. Therefore, when the mating terminal is inserted, the base end of the elastic contact piece may be pressed by the mating terminal and deformed. Is prevented. In addition, since the extended portion extends forward from the folded portion, even when a mating terminal or device is abutted from the front side of the female terminal, the folded portion having a thin wall thickness is protected by the expanded portion. The Therefore, deformation of the elastic contact piece can be prevented.

  According to the technique described in the present specification, it is possible to obtain a female terminal that is smaller than the conventional one while maintaining a good electric capacity.

The perspective view of the female terminal of one Embodiment Similarly front view of female terminal Side view of female terminal AA main part expanded sectional view of FIG. Similarly, development of female terminal Front view of conventional female terminal BB main part expanded sectional view of FIG. Exploded view of female terminal when using deformed material

  Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

  The female terminal 10 according to the present embodiment is used for a power supply line or the like of an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like, and a male terminal (not shown) on the other side of a round bar is fitted inside, and the outer peripheral surface of the male terminal. It is the multi-contact type female terminal 10 for large currents which makes the some elastic contact piece 20 contact with respect to. In the following description, the connection direction with the counterpart terminal (left side in FIG. 3) is the front, the upper side in FIG. 2 is the upper side, and the lower side is the lower side.

  The female terminal 10 is formed by bending a metal plate excellent in conductivity such as a copper alloy punched into a predetermined developed shape as shown in FIG. 5 with a press molding machine. As shown, a wire connection portion 11 connected to a wire (not shown) and a main body portion 13 connected to a connection portion of a male terminal (not shown) are connected to each other through a connecting portion 12 in the front-rear direction.

  The main body 13 includes a rectangular tube portion 15 having a substantially octagonal cylindrical shape, and eight elastic members that are integrally extended toward the front from the front edge of the rectangular tube portion 15 and folded inward. The contact piece 20 is provided.

  The rectangular tube portion 15 is formed into a substantially octagonal cylinder shape by bending the above-described metal plate into a substantially octagonal cross section, and the edges in the bending direction are locked by the locking portion 16 to prevent the opening. Has been. The locking portion 16 has a square-shaped locking piece 17 extending from one end side in the bending direction of the rectangular tube portion 15 and a locking portion formed by cutting and raising so as to protrude to the outer surface of the other end side. It is comprised from the convex part 18. FIG. After the rectangular tube portion 15 is bent into an octagonal cylindrical shape, the rectangular tube portion 15 is opened by being slightly bent and externally fitted to the engaging convex portion 18 protruding outward so as to cover the engaging piece 17 from the outside. It is configured to be stopped.

  Hereinafter, each of the eight side walls of the substantially octagonal rectangular tube portion 15 will be described as 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 15F, 15G, and 15H in order from the side wall on which the locking piece 17 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the rectangular tube portion 15 is composed of two types of side walls having different lengths in the front-rear direction. Specifically, the side walls 15A, 15C, 15E, and 15G are first side walls 151, and the side walls 15B, 15D, 15F, and 15H are second side walls 152 that are longer in the front-rear direction than the first side wall 151. The first sidewall 151 and the second sidewall 152 have the same width (the vertical dimension in FIG. 5). The rectangular tube portion 15 is formed in a substantially comb shape in the unfolded state by alternately arranging the first side wall 151 and the second side wall 152 with their rear end positions aligned on the same straight line. .

  In the unfolded state shown in FIG. 5, the eight elastic contact pieces 20 are formed to extend from the front end edges (left side) of the side walls 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> H of the rectangular tube portion 15 toward the front side. The width dimension of the elastic contact piece 20 is about ½ of the width dimension of the first side wall 151 and the second side wall 152, and extends from the center in the width direction of each of the side walls 15A to 15H.

  The eight elastic contact pieces 20 have the same length and width in the front-rear direction. That is, the first elastic contact piece 201 extended from the first side wall 151 (side walls 15A, 15C, 15E, 15G) is the second side extended from the second side wall 152 (side walls 15B, 15D, 15F, 15H). The elastic contact piece 202 is disposed so as to be shifted rearward.

  Among the front end edges of the rectangular tube portion 15, between the base ends of the elastic contact pieces 20 (the first elastic contact piece 201 and the second elastic contact piece 202) adjacent to each other in the unfolded state shown in FIG. Extended portions 28 (total of seven) extending toward the left side are provided. The front end edges of these seven extended portions 28 are all arranged on the same line.

  More specifically, the length of the slit 29 provided between one extension portion 28 and the adjacent elastic contact piece 20 is different on both sides of the extension portion 28, and the first side wall 151 side is located on the first side wall 151 side. The length of the 1 slit 291 is longer than the length of the 2nd slit 292 located in the 2nd side wall 152 side. Thus, since the lengths of the slits 29 are different, the first elastic contact piece 201 and the second elastic contact piece 202 are arranged at different positions in the front-rear direction.

  In addition, the extended part 28 is not provided in the front end edge of the both-sides edge of the bending direction of the square cylinder part 15 in the expansion | deployment state. Instead, on one side, the locking piece 17 is formed to extend forward from the rectangular tube portion 15 (side wall 15A), so that the locking piece 17 has the same function as the expansion portion 28 in the assembled state. It has come to be presented. The front end edge of the locking piece 17 is arranged on the rear side of the front end edge of the extended portion 28. Further, the width dimension of the locking piece 17 is set to be larger than the width dimension of the extended portion 28.

  The plate thicknesses of the extension portion 28 and the locking piece 17 are equal to the plate thicknesses of the side walls 15A to 15H.

  The rectangular tube portion 15 is bent along the front-rear direction in these extended portions 28 (dotted line in FIG. 5) to form a substantially octagonal tube shape (see FIG. 2).

  The eight elastic contact pieces 20 extended from the side walls 15A to 15H of the rectangular tube portion 15 are folded back toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion 15 at their extended proximal ends (see FIG. 4). Of the elastic contact piece 20, a portion bent by folding is referred to as a folded portion 22, and a tip side from the folded portion 22 is referred to as a tip portion 23.

  In the present embodiment, the region of the elastic contact piece 20 that forms the folded portion 22 includes the side walls 15A to 15H (an example of the proximal end side) and the distal end portion 23 (on the distal end side) located on the extended proximal end side. The thin portion 24 is formed thinner than the example) (shaded portion in FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 4, the thin portion 24 includes a first step portion 25 </ b> A provided between the side walls 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> H and the folded portion 22, and the folded portion 22 and the distal end portion 23 on the inner side in the folding direction. The second step portion 25B provided therebetween has a thin plate thickness. In addition, the plate | board thickness of the front-end | tip part 23 is made equivalent to the plate | board thickness of side wall 15A-15H.

  Due to the first step portion 25A and the second step portion 25B, the distance L1 between the opposite end portions of the folded portion 22 is the shortest distance L2 between the opposite side walls 15A to 15H and the tip portion 23. More distant. On the other hand, the outer surface of the folded portion 22 is a curved surface that is flush with the outer surfaces of the side walls 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> H and the outer surface of the distal end portion 23. The thin portion 24 is formed at a predetermined position by punching out a smooth metal plate before press forming.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the elastic contact piece 20 is folded back toward the inside of the rectangular tube portion 15 by the folded-back portion 22, and then extends obliquely inward toward the distal end side (rear side). It is made into the shape bent so that it might extend toward the outer side, and the part bulged most inside is made into the contact part 26 which makes a point contact with a male terminal.

  In the present embodiment, the lengths and bent shapes of the eight elastic contact pieces 20 are all the same. That is, the folded portion 221 (thin wall portion 241) of the first elastic contact piece 201 and the folded portion 222 (thin wall portion 242) of the second elastic contact piece 202 are arranged so as to be shifted in the front-rear direction (FIGS. 3 and 3). 5). Similarly, the 1st contact part 261 of the 1st elastic contact piece 201 and the 2nd contact part 262 of the 2nd elastic contact piece 202 are arrange | positioned and shifted | deviated in the front-back direction (not shown).

  In addition, the folded portion 221 (thin wall portion 241) of the first elastic contact piece 201 is set so as to be disposed at a position away from the front end of the expansion portion 28 on the rear side, and the second elastic contact piece 202 has a The folded portion 222 (thin wall portion 242) is set to be positioned slightly rearward from the front end of the extended portion 28 (see FIGS. 3 and 5). In other words, the extended portion 28 extends to the front side of the folded portions 221 and 222.

  Furthermore, the dimension is set so that the front-end | tip (rear side edge part) of each elastic contact piece 20 may be located ahead of the rear end of the square cylinder part 15. FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, from the rear end edge of the side walls 15C, 15D, 15E, the connecting portion 12 extends rearward, and from the rear end edge of the connecting portion 12, A flat wire connecting portion 11 is formed extending rearward. An electric wire (not shown) is welded to the electric wire connecting portion 11.

  The female terminal 10 of this embodiment is the said structure, Next, the manufacturing method of the female terminal 10 is demonstrated.

  First, the thin portion 24 is formed by punching out a predetermined position of the metal plate, and is punched into a predetermined shape shown in FIG. 5, and the portions corresponding to the thin portion 24 and the contact portion 26 are bent (pressed). Thus, the elastic contact piece 20 having a predetermined shape is formed. Then, while bending the connecting portion 12, it is bent along the front-rear direction at a position corresponding to the extended portion 28 to form the square tube portion 15, and against the locking convex portion 18 formed on one end side in the bending direction. Then, the latching piece 17 is latched so as to be covered while being bent from the outside and is prevented from opening. Thereby, the female terminal 10 of the predetermined shape shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

  Next, the effect of the female terminal 10 of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  According to the female terminal 10 having the above-described configuration, the plate thickness of the folded portion 22 of the elastic contact piece 20 is made thinner than the plate thicknesses of the side walls 15A to 15H and the distal end portion 23 arranged with the folded portion 22 interposed therebetween. Since it is set (becomes thin-walled portion 24), the folded portion 22 can be formed smaller than the configuration in which the plate thickness of the entire elastic contact piece 20 is thick, and thus the entire female terminal 10 can be made compact. Can be

  More specifically, in the female terminal 10 of the present embodiment, the plate thickness of the entire elastic contact piece 120 is the plate thickness of the square tube portion 115 (side wall), as in the conventional female terminal 110 shown in FIGS. And the curvature R of the folded portion 22 of the elastic contact piece 20 (value defined by 1 / r when the radius of curvature is r) is larger than before and after the folded portion 22. Both the length in the direction and the height in the vertical direction can be made smaller than those of the conventional folded portion 122 (see FIG. 4). For this reason, the female terminal 10 can be reduced in size both in the length direction and in the height direction (see FIGS. 2 and 6).

  In addition, in the female terminal 10 of the present embodiment, since the thickness of the portion other than the folded portion 22 is thicker than that of the folded portion 22, the electrical resistance during energization can be reduced and the electrical capacity is good. Can be kept in.

  Further, since the thin portion 24 is formed by providing the step portion 25 inside the folded portion 22, the step portion 25 is formed on the outside as compared with the configuration in which the step portion 25 is formed outside the folded portion 22. There is no overhang. In addition, the female terminal 10 can be further downsized.

  Moreover, since it is set as the structure by which the some elastic contact piece 20 and those folding | turning parts 22 are distribute | arranged in a different position in the front-back direction, in the length direction, ie, the position from which a fitting direction differs, with respect to the other party terminal. It comes into contact, and the mating with the counterpart terminal is suppressed. Furthermore, the fitting resistance when mating with the mating terminal can be reduced.

  Further, in this way, the plurality of elastic contact pieces 20 are arranged at different positions in the front-rear direction, and the folded portion 22, that is, the thin-walled part 24 is arranged at different positions in the front-rear direction, while hitting the thin-walled part 24. Since it is formed by the drawing process, it is possible to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost and to form the female terminal 10 having desired performance as compared with the configuration in which the female terminal 10 is manufactured using a deformed material.

  More specifically, as described above, the female terminals 10 in which the plurality of elastic contact pieces 20 and the folded portions 22 formed by the thin-walled portions 24 are arranged at different positions in the front-rear direction are provided in the front-rear direction. 8, the thin-walled portion 224 (shaded portion) in the unfolded state is arranged in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 8) and the width direction (see FIG. 8). 8 in the vertical direction), and as a result, in the female terminal after assembly, the elastic force of each of the plurality of elastic contact pieces 220 is different or the strength of the extended portion 228 cannot be obtained. Occurs. Also, the profile material is expensive to manufacture.

  On the other hand, as in the present embodiment, the above-described problem can be solved by forming the thin portion 24 by hammering.

  The elastic contact piece 20 extends forward from the front end edges of the side walls 15 </ b> A to 15 </ b> H of the rectangular tube portion 15 and is folded back toward the rear side by the folded portion 22. Since the expansion portion 28 is provided adjacent to the expansion portion 28, the rigidity is increased by the expansion portion 28, and when the mating terminal is inserted, the base end of the elastic contact piece 20 is pressed by the mating terminal and deformed. Is prevented.

Furthermore, since the extended portion 28 extends to the front side of the folded portion 22, even when a mating terminal or device is abutted from the front side of the female terminal 10, the expanded portion 28 has a thin plate thickness. The portion 22 is protected, and deformation of the elastic contact piece 20 can be prevented.
<Other embodiments>
The technology described in the present specification is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to the above description and the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope.

  (1) In the above embodiment, an example of the female terminal 10 in which a round bar-shaped male terminal is fitted inside is shown, but a female terminal into which a flat tab-shaped male terminal is fitted is also included in the technical scope.

  (2) Although the thin portion 24 is formed by the step portion 25 in the above embodiment, it can also be formed by an inclined portion.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the thin portion 24 (the folded portion 22) is provided at a position adjacent to the side walls 15A to 15H in the elastic contact piece 20, but slightly from the side walls 15A to 15H in the elastic contact piece 20. It is good also as a structure provided in a distant position (closer to the tip than in the above embodiment).

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the rectangular tube portion 15 has a substantially octagonal cylindrical shape has been described, but the rectangular tube portion 15 can have an arbitrary polygonal cylindrical shape. Moreover, although the elastic contact piece 20 was set as the structure extended from all the several side walls 15A-15H of the square cylinder part 15, it is good also as a structure extended only from the selected some side wall. Further, a configuration in which a single elastic contact piece extends from one side wall is also included in the technical scope.

  (5) In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the plurality of elastic contact pieces 20 are arranged at two locations in the front-rear direction is shown, but the configuration may be arranged at three or more locations in the front-rear direction. Further, the lengths and shapes of the plurality of elastic contact pieces 20 may not all be the same.

  (6) Although the elastic contact piece 20 is configured to extend from the front end edge of the rectangular tube portion 15 in the above embodiment, the elastic contact piece 20 may be configured to extend from the rear end edge and bend back toward the front.

  (7) In the above embodiment, the extended portion 28 provided adjacent to the base end of one elastic contact piece 20 is also used as the extended portion 28 of the adjacent elastic contact piece 20, and the elastic contact pieces 20 adjacent to each other are used. However, a configuration in which two elastic contact pieces 20 are provided between the elastic contact pieces 20 adjacent to each other may be provided.

  (8) Moreover, the expansion part 28 does not necessarily need to be provided and can also be abbreviate | omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Female terminal 15 ... Square cylinder part 15A-15H ... Side wall (base end side)
20 ... elastic contact piece 22 ... folded portion 23 ... tip (tip side)
24 ... Thin part 25 ... Step part 28 ... Expansion part

Claims (4)

A rectangular tube portion formed by bending a plate-like member into a rectangular tube shape;
An elastic contact piece that extends from at least one side wall of the rectangular tube portion and is folded back by a folded portion and is elastically contacted with a mating terminal inside the rectangular tube portion is integrally formed. A female terminal provided in
Of the elastic contact piece, the region forming the folded portion is formed so that the plate thickness is thinner than the plate thickness on the proximal end side and the distal end side of the elastic contact piece arranged with the folded portion interposed therebetween. It is considered to be a thin part,
The thin-walled portion is a female terminal whose plate thickness is made thinner than the proximal end side and the distal end side by a stepped portion or an inclined portion provided inside the folded portion. A plurality of the elastic contact pieces are provided extending from a plurality of side walls of the rectangular tube portion, and the folded portions of the plurality of elastic contact pieces are arranged at different positions in the fitting direction with the mating terminal. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the female terminal is provided. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the thin portion is formed by hammering. The elastic contact piece extends from the front end edge in the fitting direction with the counterpart terminal of the side wall of the rectangular tube portion and is folded back toward the rear side by the folded portion,
The square tube portion is provided with an extended portion extending along the extending direction of the elastic contact piece adjacent to the base end of the elastic contact piece,
The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the extension portion extends to the front side of the folded portion.

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