JP7404176B2 - wire with terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electric wire with a terminal, in which a terminal fitting is connected to the end of a covered electric wire.

A wire harness installed in an automobile includes a plurality of electric wires, a terminal fitting connected to the terminal of each electric wire, a connector housing housing the terminal fitting, and the like. Further, as described above, an electric wire with a terminal fitting connected to the end thereof is referred to as an "electric wire with a terminal" in this specification.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a terminal-equipped electric wire constituting the wire harness. This electric wire 501 with a terminal includes a covered electric wire 502 and a terminal fitting 503. The terminal fitting 503 is obtained by performing press working or the like on a metal plate, and includes a core wire crimping part 531, a covering crimping part 532, a terminal connecting part (not shown) (a part that fits with a mating terminal), have.

At the end of the covered electric wire 502, the covering 522 is removed to expose the core wire 521, the exposed part of the core wire 521 is crimped by the core wire crimping part 531, and the part covered with the covering 522 is crimped. It is crimped by a crimping part 532.

Further, in the electric wire 501 with a terminal, the terminal fitting 503 and the core wire 521 are made of different metals, and if moisture enters the contact portion between the core wire 521 and the core wire crimping part 531, electrolytic corrosion will be promoted. For this reason, the exposed portion of the core wire 521 is covered with anticorrosive resin 504 to prevent moisture from entering (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-204582

The conventional electric wire 501 with a terminal has a problem in that when the covered electric wire 502 is bent near the terminal fitting 503, a gap is likely to be formed between the covered electric wire 502 and the covered crimping portion 532. This gap is not preferable because it becomes a path for moisture to enter the contact portion between the core wire 521 and the core wire crimping portion 531.

In addition to the above-mentioned corrosion problem, if a gap is created between the insulated wire 502 and the insulated crimping portion 532, the tensile force applied to the insulated wire 502 acts on the connection between the core wire 521 and the core crimped portion 531. This is not desirable because it affects connection reliability.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it difficult to form a gap between the covered wire and the covered crimped portion of the terminal fitting.

The electric wire with a terminal of the present invention includes a covered electric wire and a terminal fitting, the end portion of the covered electric wire has a coating removed to expose a core wire, and the terminal fitting has an exposed portion of the core wire. a core wire connection part that is connected to a core wire connection part, and a covering crimping part that crimps a part of the covered electric wire covered with the covering, and the covering crimping part has a bottom part along the covering and both ends of the bottom part. and a pair of crimping pieces extending in a direction intersecting the covered wire, and a rib extending from the tip of one crimping piece to the middle of the other crimping piece on the inner surface of the covering crimping part. is formed, and when the terminal fitting is connected to the covered wire, the outer surface of the one crimping piece overlaps the inner surface of the other crimping piece, and the rib extends around the entire circumference of the covered wire. and the rib is not present in the overlapping portion of the other crimping piece with the one crimping piece, and at least the exposed portion of the core wire is covered with an anticorrosive resin. shall be.

According to the present invention, it is possible to make it difficult to form a gap between the covered wire and the covered crimping part.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an electric wire with a terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electric wire with a terminal shown in FIG. 1 in a state before the terminal is crimped. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3 (the covered wire is not shown). FIG. 2 is a developed view of the terminal fitting shown in FIG. 1; 6 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. 5. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 2 (covered wires are not shown). It is a sectional view of the electric wire with a terminal concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the terminal-equipped electric wire of FIG. 10 in a state before the terminal is crimped. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. 11 (the covered wire is not shown). 11 is a developed view of the terminal fitting of FIG. 10. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line HH in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line II in FIG. 13. FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line JJ in FIG. 10. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line KK in FIG. 10 (the covered wire is not shown). FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional electric wire with a terminal.

(First embodiment)
The "electric wire with terminal" according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

The electric wire 1 with a terminal shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 constitutes a wire harness installed in an automobile. This electric wire 1 with a terminal includes a covered electric wire 2 and a terminal fitting 3.

The covered electric wire 2 is an electric wire having a round cross section, in which a conductive core wire 21 is covered with a coating 22 made of an insulating resin. In the present invention, the core wire 21 may be a conductor made of any material, but in this example, an aluminum alloy is used as the material for the core wire 21. At the end of the covered electric wire 2, the covering 22 is removed and the core wire 21 is exposed.

The terminal fitting 3 is obtained by subjecting a metal plate to press working or the like. In the present invention, the terminal fitting 3 may be made of a metal plate made of any material, but in this example, a copper alloy is used as the material of the terminal fitting 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal fitting 3 includes a terminal connecting portion 30, a core wire crimping portion (corresponding to the core wire connecting portion) 31, a covering crimping portion 32, and a connecting portion between the terminal connecting portion 30 and the bottom portion 31c of the core wire crimping portion 31. It integrally includes a connecting portion 33 and a connecting portion 34 that connects the bottom portion 31c of the core wire crimping portion 31 and the bottom portion 32c of the covering crimping portion 32. That is, in the terminal fitting 3, the terminal connecting part 30, the connecting part 33, the core wire crimping part 31, the connecting part 34, and the covering crimping part 32 are arranged in this order.

In addition, in the terminal fitting 3, the terminal connecting part 30 side in the arrangement direction of the terminal connecting part 30, the connecting part 33, the core wire crimping part 31, the connecting part 34, and the covering crimping part 32 is defined as the front side, and the covering crimping part 32 side is defined as the front side. is defined as the rear side.

The terminal connecting portion 30 is a portion that fits into a mating terminal (not shown), and in this example, is formed into a square tube shape and has a spring contact portion inside.

The core wire crimping portion 31 is a portion that crimps the exposed portion of the core wire 21. The core wire crimping portion 31 has a strip shape extending in a direction intersecting the covered wire 2 in the unfolded state shown in FIG. 5 (before bending), and has a U-shaped cross section in the pre-crimping state shown in FIG. ing. The core wire crimping part 31 has a bottom part 31c continuous to the connecting part 33, and a pair of crimping pieces 31a and 31b extending from both ends of the bottom part 31c in a direction intersecting the covered electric wire 2. Serrations consisting of a plurality of ribs 35 and recesses 36 are formed on the inner surface of the core wire crimping section 31 .

The core wire crimping section 31 crimps the core wire 21 placed on the bottom portion 31c so as to hold it in a pair of crimping pieces 31a and 31b. The proper position of the core wire crimping part 31 with respect to the covered wire 2 is a position where the front end of the core wire 21 is on the front side of the front ends of the crimping pieces 31a and 31b, that is, on the connecting part 33, as shown in FIG.

The covering crimping part 32 is a part that crimps the portion of the covered wire 2 covered with the covering 22. The covered crimping portion 32 has a strip shape extending in a direction intersecting the covered wire 2 in the unfolded state shown in FIG. 5 (before bending), and has a U-shaped cross section in the pre-crimped state shown in FIG. ing. The covered crimping part 32 has a bottom part 32c continuous to the connecting part 34, and a pair of crimping pieces 32a and 32b extending from both ends of the bottom part 32c in a direction intersecting the covered electric wire 2.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, chamfered portions 38a and 38b are formed at the tips of the pair of crimping pieces 32a and 32b. In addition, in FIG. 4, illustration of the covered electric wire 2 is omitted. The chamfered portions 38a, 38b are formed from the tips of the caulking pieces 32a, 32b to the outer surfaces thereof. The length of the chamfer 38b formed on one of the crimping pieces 32b is longer than the length of the chamfer 38a formed on the other crimping piece 32a. As a result, the tip of one crimping piece 32b is thinner than the tip of the other crimping piece 32a.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, two ribs 37 extending in a direction intersecting the covered electric wire 2 are formed on the inner surface (contact surface with the core wire 21) of the covering crimping portion 32. These two ribs 37 are lined up in the longitudinal direction of the covered electric wire 2. Each rib 37 extends at a constant height from the tip of one crimping piece 32b to the middle of the other crimping piece 32a.

The sheathing crimping part 32 crimps the sheath 22 portion of the sheathed wire 2 placed on the bottom part 32c with a pair of crimp pieces 32a and 32b, and also crimp one side as shown in FIGS. It is crimped so that the inner surface of the other crimping piece 32a overlaps the outer surface of the piece 32b. In addition, in FIG. 9, illustration of the covered electric wire 2 is omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the proper position of the sheath crimping portion 32 relative to the sheathed wire 2 is a position where the front end of the sheath 22 is in front of the front ends of the crimping pieces 32a, 32b, that is, on the connecting portion 34.

When the sheathing crimping portion 32 has crimped the sheathed wire 2 in this manner, the ribs 37 are biting into the sheathing 22 and are along the entire circumference of the sheathed wire 2, with both ends of the ribs 37 in contact with each other. Furthermore, no rib 37 is present in the overlapping portion of the other (outer) crimping piece 32a with the one (inner) crimping piece 32b. That is, the length of the rib 37 is set to be equal to the total circumferential length of the covered electric wire 2.

The reason why ribs 37 are not formed in the overlapping portion of the other (outer) crimping piece 32a is to reduce the step that occurs at the tip of the crimping piece 32b on the inner surface of the covering crimping portion 32 shown in FIG. If the step is large, a gap is likely to be formed between the covered wire 2 and the sheathing crimping portion 32, or the sheathing 22 may be damaged by the edge of the step. Further, in this example, in order to further reduce the step, the length of the chamfered portion 38b is increased and the tip portion of the caulking piece 32b is made thinner, as described above.

Since the two ribs 37 bite into the sheathing 22 in this way, when the sheathed wire 2 is bent near the terminal fitting 3, a gap will be created between the sheathed wire 2 and the sheathed crimping portion 32. can be suppressed. Moreover, when the covered electric wire 2 is pulled in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to suppress the covered electric wire 2 from shifting from the covered crimping part 32. Furthermore, since the ribs 37 bite into the entire circumference of the covered wire 2, it is possible to prevent the covered wire 2 from separating from the covered crimping portion 32 even when the covered wire 2 is bent in any direction.

Moreover, after the electric wire 1 with a terminal of this example is crimped to the core wire crimping part 31 and the covering crimping part 32 as described above, the end of the covering 22 and the exposed part of the core wire 21 are crimped as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. covered with anti-corrosion resin 4. More specifically, by covering the front end portions of the caulking pieces 32a, 32b with the connecting portion 33 with the anticorrosive resin 4, all exposed portions of the core wire 21 are covered with the anticorrosive resin 4. The anticorrosion resin 4 is for preventing moisture from entering the contact portion between the core wire 21 and the core wire crimping portion 31. In this example, a liquid anti-corrosion resin 4 is applied to the end of the covered wire 2 after the terminal is crimped, and the anti-corrosion resin 4 is dried and cured. Resin or the like may also be used.

In the electric wire 1 with a terminal configured as described above, the exposed portion of the core wire 21 is covered with anti-corrosion resin 4, and the ribs 37 make it difficult to form a gap between the covered electric wire 2 and the covered crimped portion 32. This makes it difficult for moisture to enter the contact portion between the core wire 21 and the core wire crimping portion 31, and the core wire 21 has high corrosion resistance.

(Second embodiment)
The "electric wire with terminal" according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 17. In FIGS. 10 to 17, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The electric wire 101 with a terminal shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 has a covered electric wire 2 and a terminal fitting 103, and in a state where the terminal fitting 103 is connected to the covered electric wire 2, the entire exposed portion of the core wire 21 is for corrosion protection. Covered with resin 4. The terminal fitting 103 has the same configuration as the terminal fitting 3 of the first embodiment except for the cover crimping portion 32. Hereinafter, the structure of the covering crimping part 32 of this example will be explained.

The covering crimping portion 32 has a bottom portion 32c and a pair of crimping pieces 32a, 32b. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, a chamfered portion 38a is formed at the tip of the pair of caulking pieces 32a, 32b. In addition, in FIG. 12, illustration of the covered electric wire 2 is omitted. In this example, the length of the chamfer 38a formed on one crimping piece 32b is equal to the length of the chamfer 38a formed on the other crimping piece 32a.

As shown in FIGS. 12 to 15, two ribs 137 extending in a direction intersecting the covered electric wire 2 are formed on the inner surface (contact surface with the core wire 21) of the covering crimping portion 32. These two ribs 137 are lined up in the longitudinal direction of the covered electric wire 2. Each rib 137 extends from the tip of one caulking piece 32b to the middle of the other caulking piece 32a. Further, each rib 137 has a constant height except for the end 137a on the side of the other caulking piece 32a. That is, the one crimping piece 32b extends at a constant height from the tip to the front of the end 137a, and the height gradually increases at the end 137a as it moves away from the one crimping piece 32b. .

The sheathing crimping part 32 crimps the sheath 22 portion of the sheathed wire 2 placed on the bottom part 32c with a pair of crimp pieces 32a and 32b, and also crimp one side as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. It is crimped so that the inner surface of the other crimping piece 32a overlaps the outer surface of the piece 32b. In addition, in FIG. 17, illustration of the covered electric wire 2 is omitted.

In the state in which the sheath crimping portion 32 has crimped the sheathed wire 2 in this manner, the rib 137 is biting into the sheath 22 and extends along the entire circumference of the sheathed wire 2, and both ends of the rib 137 are in contact with each other. Further, the rib 137 is not present in the overlapping portion of the other (outer) crimping piece 32a with the one (inner) crimping piece 32b. That is, the length of the rib 137 is set to be equal to the total circumferential length of the covered electric wire 2.

In this example, at the end 137a of the rib 137, the height gradually increases toward the end on the other crimping piece 32a side, so that the inner surface of the covering crimping portion 32 is crimped as shown in FIG. There is no step at the tip of the piece 32b. That is, the height of the end of the rib 137 on the crimping piece 32a side is set to be equal to the sum of the height of the end of the rib 137 on the crimping piece 32b side and the thickness of the tip of the crimping piece 32b. ing. With such a configuration, it is possible to further suppress the formation of a gap between the covered electric wire 2 and the covered crimping part 32, and it is also possible to further suppress the damage to the covering 22.

In the electric wire 101 with a terminal configured as described above, the exposed portion of the core wire 21 is covered with the anticorrosive resin 4, and the ribs 137 make it difficult to form a gap between the covered electric wire 2 and the covered crimped portion 32. This makes it difficult for moisture to enter the contact portion between the core wire 21 and the core wire crimping portion 31, and the core wire 21 has high corrosion resistance.

In the embodiment described above, two ribs 37, 137 were formed on the cover crimping portion 32, but the number of ribs may be one or three or more. That is, in the present invention, it is sufficient that at least one rib is formed in the covering crimping portion.

In the embodiments described above, the terminal fittings 3, 103 and the core wire 21 of the covered electric wire 2 are made of different metals, but the present invention provides an electric wire with a terminal in which the terminal fittings and the core wire of the covered electric wire are made of the same kind of metal. can also be applied. Even in that case, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of gaps or misalignments between the insulated wire and the insulated crimping part when the insulated wire is bent or pulled, increasing the connection reliability between the insulated wire and the terminal fitting. be able to.

Further, in the present invention, the length of the chamfered portion 38a of the inner crimping piece 32b is increased to make the tip part thinner as described in the first embodiment, and the crimping of the rib 137 as described in the second embodiment is adopted. A configuration in which the height of the end on the side of the piece 32a is increased may also be adopted at the same time so as not to create a step on the inner surface of the covering crimping portion 32.

Note that the above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. Such modifications are, of course, included within the scope of the present invention as long as they still have the structure of the present invention.

1,101 Electric wire with terminal 2 Covered wire 3,103 Terminal fitting 4 Anti-corrosion resin 21 Core wire 22 Covering 31 Core wire crimping portion 32 Covering crimping portion 37,137 Rib

Claims (4)

It has a covered electric wire and a terminal fitting,
At the end of the covered electric wire, the covering is removed to expose the core wire,
The terminal fitting has a core wire connection part that is connected to the exposed part of the core wire, and a covering crimping part that crimps the part covered with the sheath of the covered electric wire,
The covering crimping part has a bottom part along the covering, and a pair of crimping pieces extending from both ends of the bottom part in a direction intersecting the covered electric wire,
A rib extending from the tip of one crimping piece to the middle of the other crimping piece is formed on the inner surface of the covering crimping part,
When the terminal fitting is connected to the covered electric wire, the inner surface of the other crimping piece overlaps the outer surface of the one crimping piece, and the rib runs along the entire circumference of the covered electric wire, And, the terminal is characterized in that the rib is not present in the overlapping portion of the other crimping piece with the one crimping piece, and at least the exposed portion of the core wire is covered with anti-corrosion resin. Electrical wire. A chamfer is formed at the tip of the pair of crimping pieces, and the length of the chamfer of the one crimping piece is larger than the length of the chamfer of the other crimping piece. The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1. The rib extends at a constant height halfway from the tip of the one crimped piece, and the height gradually increases from the middle to the end of the other crimped side. The electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1 or 2. The electric wire with a terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the core wire and the terminal fitting are made of different metals.

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