JP6301717B2 - Contact connection structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact connection structure that performs electrical connection between a first terminal and a second terminal.

  5 and 6 show a female terminal and a male terminal to which a conventional contact connection structure is applied (see Patent Document 1 as a similar technique). As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, the female terminal 51 includes a rectangular box portion 52 and an elastic bending portion 53 that is provided integrally with the box portion 52 and disposed in the box portion 52. Have. The elastic bending portion 53 is provided with an indent portion 54 that protrudes toward the bottom surface side. The indented portion 54 has a substantially spherical outer peripheral surface, and the center vertex is located at the lowest position.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 8, the male terminal 60 has a flat tab portion 61.

  In the above configuration, when the tab portion 61 of the male terminal 60 is inserted into the box portion 52 of the female terminal 51 in the position of FIG. 5, the elastic bending portion 53 is deformed and the insertion of the tab portion 61 is allowed. In the insertion process of the tab portion 61, the indent portion 54 of the elastic bending portion 53 slides on the contact surface of the tab portion 61, and at the terminal insertion completion position, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the indentation of the elastic bending portion 53 is performed. The surface of the part 54 and the tab part 61 contacts.

  In this conventional example, the indented portion 54 of the female terminal 51 and the contact surface of the tab portion 61 of the male terminal 60 are in electrical contact with each other using the bending return force of the elastic bending portion 53 as a contact load.

JP 2007-280825 A

  However, in the conventional structure, the indent portion 54 of the female terminal 51 has a substantially spherical shape, and contacts the tab portion 61 of the male terminal 60 at the apex portion. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, since the outer diameter of this single contact surface becomes the apparent contact surface diameter (diameter) D2, the apparent contact surface diameter D2 (hatched for clarity in FIG. 10). Is small.

  The apparent contact surface E2 is not actually in contact with the entire region because the entire region does not actually contact due to the influence of surface roughness or the like, but the surface that actually contacts within the apparent contact surface E2. (True contact surface) is responsible for electrical energization. Here, the current is more likely to flow when the true contact surface is located on the outer peripheral portion of the apparent contact surface diameter D2, but in the conventional example, the true contact surface has no regularity in the apparent contact surface E2 (randomly). )it can. As described above, in the conventional structure, the apparent contact surface diameter D2 is small, and since the true contact surface is not regular (randomly) in the apparent contact surface E2, there is a problem that the contact resistance is large. there were.

  Here, in order to reduce the contact resistance by increasing the apparent contact surface diameter, the bending return force (contact load) of the elastic bending portion 53 is increased or the contact portion (indent portion 54) is enlarged. However, the terminals 51 and 60 are enlarged or complicated.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a contact connection structure capable of reducing contact resistance without increasing the size of a terminal or making it as complex as possible.

The present invention provides a first contact portion provided on a first terminal and having an indented portion protruding thereon, and a second terminal connected to the first terminal, and a pair of protruding walls at spaced positions. A projecting second contact portion, and in the terminal insertion process, the indent portion of the first contact portion slides on the contact surface of the second contact portion, and at the terminal insertion completion position, the indent portion The contact connection structure is characterized in that both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the contact portion are in contact with the pair of protruding walls, and a central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion is in contact with the second contact portion.

  The height of the indented portion is H, the height of each protruding wall is h, the pitch between the centers of the pair of protruding walls is P, the radius of the indented portion is R, the radius of each protruding wall is r, It is preferable that H ≧ h and P = 2 (R + r) · sin θ are set, where θ is an angle formed by a line connecting the center O1 of the indent portion and the center O2 of the protruding wall and the perpendiculars V1 and V2. The pair of projecting walls are arranged at an interval in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the indent portion, and the terminal is completely inserted by sliding so that the central portion of the indent portion enters between the pair of projecting walls. Includes those that reach position.

  According to the present invention, a true contact surface is formed at a position corresponding to both side positions of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion, and the diameter on the circumference where the true contact point is arranged can be regarded as the apparent contact surface diameter. The apparent contact surface diameter is larger than the conventional one. In addition, since a true contact surface can be formed at a position corresponding to the central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion, the true contact surface can be increased more than before. As described above, the contact resistance can be reduced without increasing the size of the terminal or making it as complex as possible.

It is sectional drawing of the female terminal and male terminal which show one Embodiment of this invention before a terminal connection. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a cross-sectional view of a female terminal and a male terminal in a terminal connection state, (b) is a side view of a main part of a contact point, and (c) is a view of arrow A in (b). FIG. 4D is a diagram showing an apparent contact surface and a true contact surface. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a side view of an indented portion of a female terminal, and (b) is a view taken in the direction of arrow B in (a). 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a side view of the main part of the tab part, (b) is a plan view of the main part of the tab part, and (c) explains the dimensional relationship between the indent part and the pair of protruding walls. FIG. It is a sectional view of a female terminal and a male terminal before showing a conventional example and connecting a terminal. It is a sectional view of a female terminal and a male terminal in a terminal connected state, showing a conventional example. A prior art example is shown, (a) is a principal part side view of the contact part of a female terminal, (b) is C arrow directional view of (a). A prior art example is shown, the principal part side view of the contact part of a male terminal, (b) is a principal part top view of the contact part of a male terminal. It is a principal part side view of a contact connection part which shows a prior art example. It is a figure which shows a prior art example and shows an apparent contact surface.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention. The contact connection structure according to the present invention is applied between the female terminal as the first terminal and the male terminal as the second terminal. This will be described below.

  The female terminal 1 is disposed in a terminal accommodating chamber in a female connector housing (not shown). The female terminal 1 is formed by bending a conductive metal (for example, copper alloy) punched into a predetermined shape. A tin-plated layer (not shown) is formed on the outer surface of the female terminal 1 from the viewpoint of improving connection reliability in a high-temperature environment and improving corrosion resistance in a corrosive environment. The female terminal 1 includes a rectangular box part 2 having an opening in the front where the male terminal 10 is inserted, and an elastic bending part 3 that extends from the upper surface part of the box part 2 and is disposed in the box part 2. Have. The elastic bending portion 3 is provided with an indent portion 4 protruding toward the bottom surface side. The indented portion 4 has a substantially spherical outer peripheral surface, and the center vertex is located at the lowest position. The indent portion 4 can be shifted upward by the bending deformation of the bending deformation portion 3. In the female terminal 1, the elastic deflection portion 3 and the bottom surface portion 2 a of the box portion 2 form a first contact portion.

  The male terminal 10 is disposed in a terminal accommodating chamber in a male connector housing (not shown). The male terminal 10 is formed by bending a conductive metal (for example, copper alloy) punched into a predetermined shape. A tin-plated layer (not shown) is formed on the outer surface of the male terminal 10 from the viewpoint of improving connection reliability in a high temperature environment and improving corrosion resistance in a corrosive environment. The male terminal 10 has a flat tab portion 11. A pair of projecting walls 12 are provided on the upper surface of the tab portion 11. The pair of projecting walls 12 are arranged at an interval in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the indent portion 4. The center position of the pair of protruding walls 12 is the insertion position of the indent portion 4. Accordingly, the center portion of the indent portion 4 slides so as to enter between the pair of protruding walls 12 and reaches the terminal insertion completion position. The height of the pair of projecting walls 12 is at the terminal insertion completion position, both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 are in contact with the pair of projecting walls 12, and the center location (vertical location) of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 ) Is set to a height at which it contacts the contact surface of the tab portion 11. As for the male terminal 10, the tab part 11 forms the 2nd contact part.

  Next, the dimensional relationship between the indent portion 4 and the pair of protruding walls 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4C, when the height of the indent portion 4 is H and the height of each protruding wall 12 is h, H ≧ h. The pitch between the centers of the pair of protruding walls 12 is P, the radius of the indented portion 4 is R, the radius of each protruding wall 12 is r, the line connecting the center O1 of the indented portion 4 and the center O2 of the protruding wall 12 and the perpendicular V1, If the angle formed by V2 is θ, then P = 2 (R + r) · sin θ.

  In the above configuration, when the female connector housing (not shown) and the male connector housing (not shown) are mated, the tab portion 11 of the male terminal 10 is connected to the box portion 2 of the female terminal 1 in the mating process. Inserted. Then, first, the tip of the tab portion 11 comes into contact with the elastic bending portion 3, and when the insertion further proceeds from this contact portion, the elastic bending portion 3 is bent and deformed, and insertion of the tab portion 11 is allowed. In the insertion process (terminal insertion process) of the tab part 11, the indent part 4 of the elastic bending part 3 slides on the contact surface of the tab part 11. The pair of projecting walls 12 slide on both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4. At the terminal insertion completion position (connector mating completion position), as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 are in contact with the pair of projecting walls (12), and the indent The center location (vertex location) of the outer peripheral surface of the portion 4 contacts the contact surface of the tab portion 11.

  In this contact connection structure, at the terminal insertion completion position, the female terminal 1 and the male terminal 10 have a true contact surface A1 at positions corresponding to both side positions of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 as shown in FIG. Since the diameter on the circumference where the true contact surface A1 is arranged can be regarded as an apparent contact surface diameter D1 (shown in FIG. 2 (d)), the apparent contact surface diameter D1 is larger than that of the prior art. Is big. And the real contact surface A1 is made in the outer peripheral part of the apparent contact surface diameter D1. Moreover, since the true contact surface A2 can be formed at a position corresponding to the center location (vertex location) of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4, the true contact surfaces A1 and A2 can be increased more than before. Thus, the apparent contact surface diameter D1 is large and the true contact surfaces A1 and A2 can be increased. In particular, the true contact surface A1 can be surely formed on the outer peripheral portion of the apparent contact surface diameter D1 where the current easily flows. As described above, the contact resistance can be reduced without increasing the size of the terminal or making it as complex as possible.

  The height of the indented part 4 is H, the height of each protruding wall 12 is h, the pitch between the centers of the pair of protruding walls 12 is P, the radius of the indented part 4 is R, the radius of each protruding wall 12 is r, indented Assuming that the angle formed by the lines V1 and V2 connecting the center O1 of the portion 4 and the center O2 of the protruding wall 12 and the vertical lines V1 and V2 is θ, H ≧ h, P = 2 (R + r) · sin θ. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2B, 2C, and 4C, both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 are placed on the pair of projecting walls (12), and the center portion of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion 4 ( Since the apex portion) is surely in contact with the contact surface of the tab portion 11, the apparent contact surface diameter D1 is reliably increased as compared with the conventional case, and the true contact surfaces A1 and A2 can be reliably increased as compared with the conventional case.

  The pair of protruding walls 12 are arranged at intervals in a direction orthogonal to the sliding (insertion) direction of the indent portion 4, and slide so that the central portion of the indent portion 4 enters between the pair of protruding walls 12. The terminal insertion completion position is reached. Therefore, since the first indent portion 4 is slid without climbing over the second indent portion 12 as much as possible in the terminal insertion process and the terminal removal process, it is possible to prevent the terminal insertion force and the terminal removal force from increasing as much as possible. .

  In the embodiment and the modification, the outer peripheral surface of each indent portion 4 has a spherical shape, but the shape of the outer peripheral surface of each indent portion 4 is not limited. It may be a curved surface shape that has a vertex at the highest position and gradually decreases with a smooth curved surface toward the outer periphery, an elliptical spherical surface, a conical shape, or a pyramid shape.

1 Female terminal (1st terminal)
2a Bottom part (first contact part)
3 Elastic flexure (first contact)
4 Indentation 10 Male terminal (second terminal)
11 Tab part (second contact part)
12 Projection wall

Claims (3)

A first contact portion provided on the first terminal and having an indented portion protruding therefrom ;
A second contact portion provided on the second terminal connected to the first terminal, and having a pair of projecting walls projecting at spaced positions ;
The pin insertion process, the said indentation of the first contact portion slides the contact surface of the second contact portion, the terminal insertion completing position, both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion is a pair of the protruding wall The contact connection structure, wherein the center portion of the outer peripheral surface of the indent portion is in contact with the second contact portion. The contact connection structure according to claim 1,
The height of the indented portion is H, the height of each protruding wall is h, the pitch between the centers of the pair of protruding walls is P, the radius of the indented portion is R, the radius of each protruding wall is r, H ≧ h, P = 2 (R + r) · sin θ is set, where θ is an angle formed between a line connecting the center O1 of the indent portion and the center O2 of the protruding wall and the perpendiculars V1 and V2. Contact connection structure. The contact connection structure according to claim 1 or 2,
The pair of projecting walls are arranged at an interval in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the indent portion, and the terminal is completely inserted by sliding so that the central portion of the indent portion enters between the pair of projecting walls. Contact connection structure characterized by reaching position.

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