JP2011159607A - Female terminal for connector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a female terminal for a connector which has a sufficient contact load for a male terminal, and yet, can be attained downsizing and of low cost. <P>SOLUTION: An elastic contact spring 12 which is arranged by press working integrally inside a cylindrical box part 11 is constructed of a leaf spring of which the rear end is cantilever supported. The leaf spring is formed in a shape having a curved cross-section (nearly semicircle arc cross-section) curved in width direction Y. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, the electrical contact portion of the front portion of the terminal for electrically connecting the male terminal on the mating connector side is composed of a cylindrical box portion and an elastic contact spring disposed inside the box portion. It is related with the female terminal for the connector.

  In general, a female terminal for a connector has an electrical contact portion for electrical connection with a male terminal on the mating connector side at a front portion and a wire connection portion for connection with an electric wire at a rear portion. Moreover, the electrical contact part of the terminal front part is comprised by the cylindrical box part in which a male terminal is inserted from a front-end inlet, and the elastic contact spring arrange | positioned inside the box part. In this case, the elastic contact spring is pushed by the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted into the box portion, and is elastically deformed in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the male terminal. And a male terminal is clamped between the surrounding walls of a box part by the elastic reaction force which arises with elastic deformation. Usually, this type of female terminal is integrally formed as a whole including a box portion and an elastic contact spring by pressing a single sheet metal.

  Moreover, what is shown in FIG. 7 is known as a two-part type female terminal instead of such an integral type. This female terminal 200 is described in Patent Document 1, and is composed of a terminal main body 210 and a terminal main body 210 and a cylindrical sleeve 220 that are separate from the terminal main body 210. The front of the terminal body 210 is provided with a bifurcated spring piece 211 that receives and clamps the inserted male terminal, and the tip of the bifurcated spring piece 211 has an outer side to make it easier to accept the male terminal. An introduction part 212 having an open shape is formed.

JP-A-9-185970

  Recently, there has been a strong demand for miniaturization of connectors, and at the same time, miniaturization of terminals has been strongly demanded. When reducing the size of the female terminal, the strength of the elastic contact spring may drop due to the thinness of the material and the reduction in size, so strengthening the contact load on the male terminal is a challenge. It was difficult to secure a sufficient contact load with the female terminal of the type. In addition, the two-part type is disadvantageous for downsizing and also has a disadvantage in terms of cost because the number of parts increases.

  In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost female terminal for a connector that can be reduced in size while ensuring a sufficient contact load.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, claim 1 has an electrical contact portion for electrical connection with a male terminal on the mating connector side at the front portion, and a wire connection portion for connection with an electric wire at the rear portion, The electrical contact portion is disposed inside the box portion with a cylindrical box portion into which the male terminal is inserted from the front end entrance, and when the male terminal has been inserted into the box portion, the An elastic contact spring that is pushed by the male terminal and elastically deforms in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the male terminal, and holds the male terminal between the peripheral wall of the box portion by an elastic reaction force generated along with the elastic deformation And the elastic contact spring is a female terminal for a connector formed by pressing a sheet metal integrated with a sheet metal forming the box portion, wherein the elastic contact spring is in the axial direction of the box portion. And is formed of a strip-shaped plate spring that is bent and deformed in the thickness direction when the male terminal is inserted into the box portion. The plate-like leaf spring is formed in a shape having a curved cross section curved in the width direction orthogonal to the length direction.

  Invention of Claim 2 is the female terminal for connectors of Claim 1, Comprising: The piece by which the said strip | belt-plate-shaped leaf | plate spring was supported via the connection board part at the front end or the rear end of the said box part It is formed as a holding spring, and the connecting plate portion has a rectangular cross section that is long in the axial direction of the box portion from one end continuous to the peripheral wall of the box portion to the other end continuous to the cantilever support end of the plate spring. It is formed as a plate body having.

  A third aspect of the present invention is the female terminal for a connector according to the second aspect, wherein the box portion is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the leaf spring extends along an inner periphery of the cylindrical box portion. Thus, both ends in the width direction are formed in a substantially semicircular shape in cross section rounded into a curved shape.

  According to the invention of claim 1, the elastic contact spring made of a strip-shaped leaf spring inside the box portion is formed in a shape having a curved cross section curved in the width direction orthogonal to the length direction. The section modulus in the bending direction of the spring can be increased, and the repulsive force of the spring can be increased accordingly. As a result, even when the size is reduced or the thickness is reduced, it is possible to ensure a sufficient contact load on the male terminal. Further, since the elastic contact spring and the box portion are pressed by an integrated sheet metal, it is advantageous in reducing the cost and size.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the connecting plate portion that supports the elastic contact spring made of the cantilever spring is formed as a plate body having a rectangular section that is long in the axial direction of the box portion, the connecting point is a connecting point. Deformation at the plate portion can be eliminated as much as possible, and bending of the entire elastic contact spring can be promoted. In addition, since the entire elastic contact spring has a large section modulus in the bending direction as described above, the repulsive force of the spring can be further increased.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the cross-sectional shape of the elastic contact spring has a substantially semicircular cross-section in which both ends are rounded into a curved shape along the inner periphery of the cylindrical box portion, the box portion Between the elastic contact spring and the elastic contact spring can be avoided as much as possible, and the displacement of the elastic contact spring can be prevented from being damaged by the interference, and sufficient bending performance can be exhibited.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the female terminal of embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which fractures | ruptures a part of surrounding wall of the box part of the female terminal, and shows an internal structure. It is an expansion perspective view of the principal part of FIG. It is AA arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is BB arrow sectional drawing of FIG. It is an expanded view of the female terminal. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional female terminal.

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

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the female terminal of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration by cutting a part of the peripheral wall of the box portion of the female terminal, and FIG. 4 is an AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 along the BB arrow, and FIG. 6 is a developed view of the female terminal.

  This female terminal 1 is a female terminal for a connector that constitutes a connector by being housed in a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 1 has an electrical contact portion 10 for electrical connection with a male terminal on the mating connector side at the front, and a conductor crimping portion 22 and a sheath for connection with an electric wire at the rear. It has the connection part 24 (electric wire connection part). A positioning recess 20 is provided between the electrical contact portion 10 and the conductor crimping portion 22 to position and fix the female terminal 1 when the female terminal 1 is inserted into a terminal housing chamber of a connector housing (not shown). .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the front electrical contact portion 10 includes a cylindrical box portion 11 into which a male terminal (not shown) is inserted in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 11 and an elastic contact spring 12 disposed inside. The female terminal 1 including the box portion 11 and the elastic contact spring 12 is integrally formed by press-molding a sheet metal punched into the shape shown in FIG. In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the box portion 11 is formed by rounding a rectangular plate and butting edges. Reference numeral 18 in the figure indicates a butt portion. Moreover, the code | symbol in FIG. 6 has shown the part corresponding to each element after press work.

  Further, the elastic contact spring 12 disposed inside the box part 11 is pushed by the male terminal when the male terminal is inserted into the box part 11, and the insertion direction of the male terminal (arrow A direction). The male terminal is sandwiched between the peripheral wall of the box portion 11 by the elastic reaction force generated along with the elastic deformation. In this embodiment, it is pushed by the male terminal and bends downward, and a spring reaction force is generated in the upper portion, and the male terminal is sandwiched between the upper wall portion of the peripheral wall of the box portion 11. .

  In addition, the convex part 13 and 15 for raising a contact pressure by limiting a contact part locally in the part which clamps a male terminal among the front half part of the elastic contact spring 12, and the upper wall part of the box part 11 is provided. Is provided. The convex portion 13 on the elastic contact spring 12 side is formed by providing an indent (a concave portion due to pressing deformation) from the lower surface side. Moreover, the convex part 15 by the side of the box part 11 is formed by providing an indent (concave part by press deformation) or a pushing part with a notch from the outer surface side.

  The elastic contact spring 12 is disposed along the length direction (also indicated by the arrow X direction) in the axial direction of the box portion 11 (in the arrow X direction and coincides with the insertion direction A of the male terminal). In addition, when the male terminal is inserted into the box portion 11, it is constituted by a strip-shaped leaf spring that is bent and deformed in the thickness direction (substantially coincides with the arrow Z direction). In addition, the elastic contact spring 12 made of a strip-shaped plate spring is formed in a shape having a curved cross section curved in the width direction (arrow Y direction) perpendicular to the length direction (arrow X direction). Specifically, along the inner periphery of the cylindrical box portion 11, both end portions 12b sandwiching the central portion 12a in the width direction are formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape that is rounded into a curved shape.

  The elastic contact spring 12 is formed as a cantilever spring supported at the rear end of the box portion 11 via a connecting plate portion 14, and the connecting plate portion 14 is one end 14 a continuous to the peripheral wall of the box portion 11. From the other end 14b of the elastic contact spring 12 to the cantilevered support end 12e, the box portion 11 is formed as a plate having a long rectangular cross section in the axial direction (arrow X direction). Here, the connecting plate portion 14 enters the inside of the box portion 11 from the outside of the box portion 11 through the notch 16 provided on the peripheral wall of the box portion 11 and is connected to one side edge portion in the width direction of the elastic contact spring 12. Has been.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In this female terminal 1, the elastic contact spring 12 made of a strip-shaped plate spring inside the box portion 11 is formed in a shape having a curved cross section curved in the width direction Y orthogonal to the length direction X. The section modulus in the direction of bending of the spring can be increased, and the repulsive force of the spring can be increased accordingly. As a result, even when the size is reduced or the thickness is reduced, it is possible to ensure a sufficient contact load on the male terminal. Moreover, since the elastic contact spring 12 and the box part 11 are press-worked by integral sheet metal, it is advantageous in reducing cost and size.

  Further, since the connecting plate portion 14 that supports the elastic contact spring 12 made of a cantilever spring is formed as a plate body having a rectangular cross section that is long in the axial direction X of the box portion 11, the connecting plate portion 14 that is a support point. Can be eliminated as much as possible, and bending of the entire elastic contact spring 12 can be promoted. In addition, since the entire elastic contact spring 12 has a large section modulus in the bending direction Z as described above, the repulsive force of the spring can be further increased.

  Further, since the cross-sectional shape of the elastic contact spring 12 is substantially semicircular in cross-section in which both end portions 12b are rounded along the inner periphery of the cylindrical box portion 11, the elastic contact spring 12 is elastic with the box portion 11. Interference with the contact spring 12 can be avoided as much as possible, the displacement of the elastic contact spring 12 can be prevented from being damaged by the interference, and sufficient bending performance can be exhibited.

  In addition, in the said embodiment, although the box part 11 is a cylindrical shape, this invention is applicable also to a square tube-shaped type female terminal. In this case, the cross-sectional shape of the elastic contact spring 12 is not limited to a semicircular arc shape, and may be a U shape.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Female terminal 10 Electrical contact part 11 Box part 12 Elastic contact spring 12b Both ends 12e Cantilever support end 14 Connection board part 14a One end 14b Other end 22 Conductor crimping part (electric wire connection part)
24 Cover connection (wire connection)

Claims (3)

The front part has an electrical contact part for electrical connection with a male terminal on the mating connector side, and the rear part has an electrical wire connection part for connection with an electric wire, and the electrical contact part is connected to the male terminal from the front end inlet. A cylindrical box part to be inserted, and an insertion direction of the male terminal that is disposed inside the box part and pushed by the male terminal when the male terminal has been inserted into the box part. An elastic contact spring that elastically deforms in an orthogonal direction and sandwiches the male terminal with the peripheral wall of the box portion by an elastic reaction force generated along with the elastic deformation, and the elastic contact spring includes the box portion In the female terminal for a connector formed by pressing a sheet metal integral with the sheet metal forming
The elastic contact spring is disposed along the length direction in the axial direction of the box portion, and is bent and deformed in the thickness direction when the male terminal is inserted into the box portion. A female terminal for a connector, comprising a leaf spring, wherein the belt spring is formed in a shape having a curved cross section curved in a width direction perpendicular to the length direction. . A female terminal for a connector according to claim 1,
The band plate-like plate spring is formed as a cantilever spring supported by a front or rear end of the box portion via a connecting plate portion, and the connecting plate portion is continuous with the peripheral wall of the box portion. A female terminal for a connector, characterized in that it is formed as a plate body having a rectangular section that is long in the axial direction of the box portion from one end to the other end continuous with the cantilever support end of the leaf spring. A female terminal for a connector according to claim 2,
The box part is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the leaf spring is formed in a substantially semicircular cross section in which both ends in the width direction are rounded into a curved shape along the inner periphery of the cylindrical box part. A female terminal for connectors.

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