JP2024105976A - Female terminal and terminal unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To disclose a female terminal capable of suppressing deformation risks during manufacture of a contact spring part while suppressing upsizing of the female terminal even when it is necessary to cope with a large current.

SOLUTION: A female terminal 10 includes: a body part 22 having a connection part 18 being a pressed product of a first metal plate 16 and electrically connected to other members, and a hollow cylindrical conductor part 20; and a contact point forming metal fitting 26 which is a pressed product of a second metal plate 24 smaller in thickness than the first metal plate 16 and conductively assembled with the cylindrical conductor part 20. The cylindrical conductor part 20 has a male terminal insertion port 32 opening to one end side. The contact point forming metal fitting 26 has: a frame body part 62 assembled with inner surfaces of wall parts 36a, 36b, 38, 40 of the cylindrical conductor part 20; and a contact spring part 64 which is held by the frame body part 62, projects toward the inside of the frame body part 62 and is in press contact with a male terminal 12 to be inserted through a male terminal insertion port 32.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

This disclosure relates to female terminals and terminal units.

Patent Document 1 proposes a female terminal formed by pressing a metal plate. The base end of the female terminal is provided with an electric wire connection section formed by overlapping a pair of flat plate sections, and the tip end of the female terminal is provided with a male terminal mounting tube section into which a flat tab-shaped male terminal is inserted, and the female terminal and male terminal are provided as a terminal unit. The male terminal mounting tube section has a pair of L-shaped support plate sections that protrude from each flat plate section to the opposite side in the overlapping direction and then protrude toward the tip end. Furthermore, the male terminal mounting tube section also has a pair of contact spring sections that are connected to the protruding ends of the pair of support plate sections in a cantilever shape via a semicircular arc-shaped curved section and protrude toward the base end. The pair of contact spring sections are arranged opposite to each other across a male terminal insertion gap, and a separate contact pressure spring is attached to the tip end of the pair of contact spring sections. This contact pressure spring applies contact pressure to the pair of contact spring sections to the male terminal, so that a stable connection state of the male and female terminals can be maintained.

JP 2022-83287 A

However, because the female terminal in Patent Document 1 is formed by pressing a metal plate, the contact spring portion also needs to have a thickness according to the current capacity. Therefore, when a large current needs to flow, the plate thickness of the contact spring portion also becomes thicker. As a result, in order to ensure that the contact spring portion can follow the male terminal, the contact spring portion must be made longer, which tends to result in larger female terminals. In addition, because the contact spring portion is open to the side, it is easily exposed to contact with other parts or tools during the manufacturing stage of the female terminal, which may result in deformation.

Therefore, we disclose a female terminal and terminal unit that can prevent the female terminal from becoming too large even when it is necessary to handle large currents, while also reducing the risk of deformation during manufacturing of the contact spring portion.

The female terminal of the present disclosure comprises a main body portion which is a pressed product of a first metal plate and has a connection portion which is electrically connected to another member and a hollow cylindrical conductor portion, and a contact forming metal fitting which is a pressed product of a second metal plate having a thickness thinner than that of the first metal plate and is electrically connected to the cylindrical conductor portion, the cylindrical conductor portion having a male terminal insertion opening which opens toward one end side, the contact forming metal fitting having a frame portion which is attached to the inner surface of a wall portion of the cylindrical conductor portion, and a contact spring portion which is held by the frame portion, protrudes toward the inside of the frame portion, and is pressed against a male terminal inserted through the male terminal insertion opening.

The terminal unit of the present disclosure is a terminal unit having a female terminal and a male terminal connected to the female terminal, the female terminal being the female terminal described in the present disclosure.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a female terminal and a terminal unit that can suppress the increase in size of the female terminal and also suppress the risk of deformation during manufacturing of the contact spring portion, even when it is necessary to accommodate a large current.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a female terminal according to a first embodiment in a connected state with a male terminal. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the female terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the female terminal shown in FIG. 1 in a state where it is not connected to the male terminal. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 4 and corresponds to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a contact-forming fitting constituting the female terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the first metal plate constituting the main body of the female terminal shown in FIG. 1 in a state prior to press working. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the second metal plate constituting the contact-forming metal fitting shown in FIG. 8 in a state before being pressed.

<Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure>
First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described.
The female terminal of the present disclosure comprises:
(1) A press-formed product of a first metal flat plate, comprising: a main body portion having a connection portion conductively connected to another member and a hollow tubular conductor portion; and a press-formed product of a second metal flat plate having a thickness thinner than that of the first metal flat plate, comprising a contact-forming metal fitting electrically assembled to the tubular conductor portion, the tubular conductor portion having a male terminal insertion port opening toward one end side, the contact-forming metal fitting having a frame portion assembled to the inner surface of a wall portion of the tubular conductor portion, and a contact spring portion held by the frame portion, protruding toward the inside of the frame portion and pressed against a male terminal inserted through the male terminal insertion port.

According to the female terminal of the present disclosure, the main body portion having a connection portion with another member and a hollow cylindrical conductor portion, and the contact forming metal fitting that is assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion of the main body portion so as to be conductive are configured as separate parts, and further, the contact forming metal fitting is formed using a second metal plate having a thickness thinner than the first metal plate forming the main body portion. As a result, when it is necessary to accommodate a large current, the contact spring portion can be provided with a thickness thinner than that of the main body portion while ensuring the current carrying capacity in the main body portion with a large plate thickness. Therefore, even when it is necessary to accommodate a large current, compared to the conventional structure, it is possible to reduce the need to increase the length of the contact spring portion in order to obtain the followability of the contact spring portion to the male terminal, and it is possible to accommodate a large current while suppressing the enlargement of the female terminal.

In addition, the contact forming metal fitting has a frame portion that is attached to the inner surface of the wall portion of the cylindrical conductor portion, and a contact spring portion that is pressed against the male terminal, and the contact spring portion is held by the frame portion and formed so as to protrude toward the inside of the frame portion. This makes it possible to easily perform the assembly work when assembling the contact forming metal fitting to the cylindrical conductor portion of the main body, since the assembly work can be performed while holding the frame portion. Furthermore, the frame portion can reduce the risk of other parts or tools interfering with the contact spring portion during the assembly work, and therefore the risk of deformation of the contact spring portion during manufacturing can be reduced compared to conventional structures.

(2) In the above (1), it is preferable that the contact-forming metal has a welded portion, and the welded portion is welded to the welded portion of the tubular conductor. By welding the welded portion of the contact-forming metal to the welded portion of the tubular conductor, the electrical resistance between the contact-forming metal and the tubular conductor can be reduced, and a more stable conductive state between the contact-forming metal and the main body can be ensured.

(3) In the above (2), the contact-forming metal fitting is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening on the one end side of the cylindrical conductor portion toward the other end side and assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion, the frame portion of the contact-forming metal fitting has an abutment edge portion that is superimposed on the end face of the cylindrical conductor portion on the male terminal insertion opening side, the insertion end of the contact-forming metal fitting into the cylindrical conductor portion is defined by the abutment of the abutment edge portion against the end face, and the abutment edge portion is welded to the end face, the abutment edge portion forms the welded portion, and the end face forms the welded portion.

The contact-forming metal fitting is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening of the cylindrical conductor portion toward the other end side and assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion, which allows for good assembly workability. Moreover, by overlapping and abutting the contact edge of the contact-forming metal fitting against the end face of the male terminal insertion opening side of the cylindrical conductor portion, the insertion end of the contact-forming metal fitting into the cylindrical conductor portion is defined, making the assembly work even easier.

Furthermore, because the abutting edge is welded to the end face, forming a welded portion and a welded portion, it is possible, for example, to orient the male terminal insertion opening of the tubular conductor portion upward, overlap the abutting edge (welded portion) with the end face (welded portion) from above, and perform welding in a state in which the welded portion is brought into close contact with the welded portion by the weight of the terminal forming fitting. This makes it possible to stably perform welding work on the tubular conductor portion of the contact forming fitting, advantageously ensuring a more stable conductive state between the contact forming fitting and the main body.

(4) In any one of (1) to (3) above, the tubular conductor portion has a rectangular tubular shape having a pair of side walls and an upper wall and a lower wall connected by the pair of side walls, the frame portion of the contact-forming metal fitting has a rectangular frame shape having a pair of side portions that are superimposed on each of the pair of side walls of the tubular conductor portion and an upper portion and a lower portion that are superimposed on each of the upper wall and the lower wall of the tubular conductor portion, and the cantilever-shaped contact spring portion is preferably formed by partially cutting and raising at least one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the frame portion inward.

The cylindrical conductor portion is formed in a rectangular tube shape, and the contact forming metal fitting is formed in a rectangular frame shape, so that their rigidity can be advantageously ensured. Moreover, a cantilever-shaped contact spring portion is formed by partially cutting and raising at least one of the upper and lower parts of the frame portion of the contact forming metal fitting inwardly, so that the contact spring portion can be easily manufactured with good yield. Furthermore, by adjusting the length of the inward cut and raising of the upper and lower parts, the spring rigidity and amount of deflection of the contact spring portion can be easily set to the desired value, resulting in excellent manufacturability.

More preferably, both the upper and lower parts are partially cut inward to form a pair of upper and lower contact spring parts facing each other. This allows the pair of upper and lower contact spring parts to come into contact with both the upper and lower surfaces of the male terminal, improving the connection stability between the male and female terminals.

(5) In the above (4), the contact-forming metal fitting is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening on the one end side of the tubular conductor portion toward the other end side and assembled to the tubular conductor portion, and the pair of side walls of the tubular conductor portion and one of the pair of side parts of the frame body portion each have a lock hole, and the other of the pair of side walls of the tubular conductor portion and the pair of side parts of the frame body portion each have a lock claw that fits into the lock hole, and the lock claw is elastically deformed to allow the contact-forming metal fitting to be inserted into the other end side, and the lock claw is elastically restored to fit into the lock hole, so that the contact-forming metal fitting is maintained in an assembled state to the tubular conductor portion.

By effectively utilizing a pair of side walls and a pair of side portions arranged opposite each other, a lock hole and a lock claw can be provided to hold the contact-forming metal fitting in an assembled state to the tubular conductor portion. This allows the stability of the assembly of the contact-forming metal fitting and the tubular conductor portion to be maintained without increasing the size of the female terminal. The lock hole and the lock claw may be fitted to prevent the contact-forming metal fitting from moving into the male terminal insertion port, or may be fitted to define the insertion end of the contact-forming metal fitting to the other end side, or multiple lock holes and lock claws may be formed to include both.

(6) In the above (4) or (5), a rear opening window is provided on the other end side of the cylindrical conductor portion, the contact spring portion includes a first contact spring portion and a second contact spring portion, the upper and lower parts of the frame portion have a pair of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion that are held by the frame portion at the one end side and protrude inward toward the other end side and extend out like a cantilever, and a contact pressure applying spring is arranged to sandwich the respective protruding ends of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion and has a size that allows it to pass through the rear opening window, and it is preferable that the contact pressure applying spring biases the respective protruding ends in a direction approaching each other as the male terminal is pressed into between the opposing surfaces of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion, and the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion are pressed against the male terminal.

The contact pressure spring biases the protruding ends of the first and second contact spring parts in a direction approaching each other, and the first and second contact spring parts are pressed against the male terminal pressed between the first and second contact spring parts with a high contact pressure. This advantageously reduces the size of the female terminal, while ensuring the flexibility and followability of the contact spring parts and advantageously ensures contact pressure between the male and female terminals. Furthermore, since the contact pressure spring has a size that allows it to pass through the rear opening window, it can be inserted through the rear opening window and placed on the protruding ends of the first and second contact spring parts from the front side in the protruding direction. This improves the assembly of the female terminal compared to the conventional structure in which it could only be assembled from the side, which is a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the first and second contact spring parts.

(7) In the above (6), it is preferable that the contact pressure applying spring is configured by a clip spring having a rectangular flat connecting plate portion and a pair of rectangular flat clamping plate portions that protrude from both side edges of the connecting plate portion in a direction approaching each other, and that the protruding end of the first contact spring portion and the protruding end of the second contact spring portion are clamped between the pair of clamping plate portions of the clip spring when the male terminal is inserted. By adopting a clip spring as the contact pressure applying spring, it is possible to configure a contact pressure applying spring with a compact and simple structure that can bias the protruding ends of the first spring piece and the second spring piece in a direction approaching each other when the male terminal is inserted, while allowing the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion to be arranged on the protruding ends.

(8) In the above (7), the contact spring portion includes a plurality of the first contact spring portions and a plurality of the second contact spring portions arranged at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction of the male terminal, the clip spring has a plurality of pairs of clamping plate portions arranged at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction corresponding to the contact spring portions, and when the male terminal is inserted, the protruding end portions of the plurality of first contact spring portions and the protruding end portions of the plurality of second contact spring portions are each clamped separately by each of the plurality of pairs of clamping plate portions. The male terminal can be clamped by the plurality of first contact spring portions and the second contact spring portions arranged at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction of the male terminal. Moreover, when the male terminal is inserted, the pair of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion is clamped by a separate pair of clamping plate portions arranged at a distance from each other in the plate width direction. This advantageously allows the female terminal to stably follow the rotational displacement of the male terminal.

The terminal unit of the present disclosure comprises:
(9) A terminal unit including a female terminal and a male terminal connected to the female terminal, the female terminal being any one of the female terminals described in any one of (1) to (8) above. In the terminal unit of the present disclosure, the female terminal is configured in any one of (1) to (8) above, and therefore it is possible to provide a terminal unit that can achieve the same effect as that obtained by any one of (1) to (8) above.

<Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure>
Specific examples of the female terminal and terminal unit of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, the female terminal 10 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure and the terminal unit 14 including the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 connected to the female terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. The female terminal 10 is a terminal that connects between a power source side member such as a battery and a load side member such as a motor. The female terminal 10 provided on one side of the power source side and the load side and the male terminal 12 provided on the other side of the power source side and the load side are in contact with each other to be in a conductive state, so that power is supplied from the power source such as a battery to the load such as a motor. The female terminal 10 can be arranged in any direction, but in the following, the upper side will be described as the upper side in FIG. 3, the lower side will be described as the lower side in FIG. 3, the front side will be described as the left side in FIG. 2, the rear side will be described as the right side in FIG. 2, the left side will be described as the upper side in FIG. 2, and the right side will be described as the lower side in FIG. 2. In addition, for multiple identical members, only some of the members may be labeled with a symbol, and the symbols may be omitted for the other members.

<Female terminal 10>
The female terminal 10 includes a body 22 having a connection portion 18 that is conductively connected to another member (for example, a member on the power source side such as a battery) and a hollow tubular conductor portion 20. The body 22 is a pressed product of a first metal flat plate 16 (see FIG. 9). The female terminal 10 also includes a contact-forming metal fitting 26 that is electrically conductively assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20. The contact-forming metal fitting 26 is a pressed product of a second metal flat plate 24 (see FIG. 10) that is thinner than the first metal flat plate 16.

<Male terminal 12>
The male terminal 12 is a tab terminal having a plate shape as a whole. The male terminal 12 has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, has a predetermined width dimension (left-right dimension) and thickness dimension (up-down dimension), and extends substantially straight in the front-rear direction. In the first embodiment, the male terminal 12 has a horizontally elongated shape in which the width dimension is larger than the thickness dimension. In addition, the end portion (rear end portion) of the male terminal 12 on the front side in the insertion direction into the female terminal 10 is tapered. The male terminal 12 is conductive and is formed of a metal with low electrical resistance, such as copper, copper alloy, aluminum, or aluminum alloy. For example, a bolt insertion hole is provided in the base end portion (front end portion) of the male terminal 12, and the male terminal 12 is fixed to another member (for example, a load side member such as a motor) by a bolt not shown. Alternatively, if a bolt insertion hole is not provided, a load side electric wire or the like is fixed to the base end portion of the male terminal 12 by crimping or the like.

<Connection portion 18>
The connection portion 18 is generally plate-shaped, and when the female terminal 10 is disposed as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the connection portion 18 extends in the front-rear direction as a whole, and is generally rectangular in shape with a front-rear dimension greater than a top-bottom dimension in a side view (left-right view). A bolt insertion hole 28 penetrating in the plate thickness direction (left-right direction) is formed at the rear end of the connection portion 18, and the female terminal 10 can be fixed to another member (e.g., a member on the power source side such as a battery) by, for example, a bolt (not shown) inserted through the bolt insertion hole 28. For example, the connection portion 18 can be connected to an end of an electric wire, a bus bar, or the like (not shown) as another member.

As described above, the main body 22 having the connection portion 18 and the tubular conductor portion 20 is a press-formed product of the first metal plate 16, which is a single metal plate, and the connection portion 18 has the same plate thickness as the tubular conductor portion 20. The tubular conductor portion 20 is integrally connected to the front of the connection portion 18. In other words, the connection portion 18 extends rearward from the tubular conductor portion 20, and in the first embodiment, it extends rearward from the left side wall (left side wall 36a) of the pair of side walls 36, 36 described later that constitute the tubular conductor portion 20. As shown in FIG. 9, a narrow width portion 30 having a smaller width dimension (vertical dimension) than the connection portion 18 and the left side wall 36a is provided at the connection portion (front end portion of the connection portion 18) between the connection portion 18 and the tubular conductor portion 20 (left side wall 36a). This makes it possible to easily perform press processing of the first metal plate 16.

<Cylindrical conductor portion 20>
The cylindrical conductor portion 20 is generally cylindrical and opens on both sides in the front-rear direction, and has a male terminal insertion opening 32 that opens toward one end (front end) of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 in the length direction, and a rear opening window 34 that opens toward the other end (rear end) in the length direction. In the first embodiment, the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is generally rectangular cylindrical and has a pair of side walls 36, 36 (left side wall 36a and right side wall 36b) and an upper wall 38 and a lower wall 40 connected by the left and right side walls 36a, 36b. The left-right dimensions of the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40 are larger than the up-down dimensions of the left and right side walls 36a, 36b, so that the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is generally rectangular cylindrical. Each wall portion (left and right side walls 36a, 36b, upper wall 38, and lower wall 40) constituting the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is generally rectangular plate-shaped. In embodiment 1, a welded portion is formed on each front end face 41, which is the end face on the male terminal insertion port 32 side of the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40, and a welded portion formed by each abutment edge portion 88 described later on the contact forming fitting 26 is welded.

In the first embodiment, a mating protrusion 42 that protrudes toward the right side wall 36b is provided at the front-rear middle portion of the right end of the top wall 38, and a mating recess 44 that opens toward the top wall 38 is provided at the front-rear middle portion of the upper end of the right side wall 36b. The length dimension (front-rear dimension) of the mating protrusion 42 is approximately equal to the length dimension of the mating recess 44. As a result, when forming the cylindrical conductor portion 20 by performing press processing or the like on the first metal flat plate 16, for example, by fitting the mating protrusion 42 on the top wall 38 into the mating recess 44 on the right side wall 36b in a substantially press-fit state, it is possible to prevent the top wall 38 and the right side wall 36b from unintentionally separating when forming the cylindrical conductor portion 20.

When the first metal plate 16 is bent to form the cylindrical conductor portion 20, the left and right side walls 36a, 36b face each other in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the rear end portions of the inner surfaces of the left and right side walls 36a, 36b that form the inner surface of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 are provided with positioning protrusions 46 that protrude inward in the opposing direction (inward in the left-right direction). In addition, recesses 48 that open outward are formed at positions corresponding to the positioning protrusions 46 on the outer surfaces of the left and right side walls 36a, 36b. Furthermore, in the left and right side walls 36a, 36b, lock holes 50 that penetrate the left and right side walls 36a, 36b in the thickness direction (left-right direction) are formed in front of each positioning protrusion 46 (each recess 48). Each lock hole 50 is approximately rectangular in side view (left-right view) and has a predetermined size in the front-rear direction and up-down direction. In addition, the front ends of the left and right side walls 36a, 36b are provided with abutment parts 52 that protrude forward, and when the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 are connected, each abutment part 52 is adapted to abut against a housing (not shown) that holds the male terminal 12.

Similarly, when the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is constructed, the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40 face each other in the vertical direction. The rear end portions of the outer surfaces of the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40 are provided with locking protrusions 54 that protrude outward in the opposing direction (outward in the vertical direction). The rear end faces of each positioning protrusion 46 and the front end faces of each locking protrusion 54 are each vertical surfaces 56 that extend in a direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction. In addition, recesses 58 that open inward are formed at positions corresponding to each locking protrusion 54 on the inner surfaces of the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40 that constitute the inner surface of the cylindrical conductor portion 20.

<Main body portion 22>
The first metal flat plate 16 before press working is shown in Fig. 9. Recesses 48 are formed on the left and right side walls 36a, 36b of the first metal flat plate 16 on the outer surface side of the cylindrical conductor portion 20, which is the rear side of the paper in Fig. 9, so that the positioning protrusions 46 are formed to protrude on the inner surface side of the cylindrical conductor portion 20, which is the front side of the paper in Fig. 9. In addition, recesses 58 are formed on the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40 of the first metal flat plate 16 on the inner surface side of the cylindrical conductor portion 20, which is the front side of the paper in Fig. 9, so that the locking protrusions 54 are formed to protrude on the outer surface side of the cylindrical conductor portion 20, which is the rear side of the paper in Fig. 9.

As shown in FIG. 9, before the first metal plate 16 is pressed, the upper wall 38, the left side wall 36a, the lower wall 40, and the right side wall 36b constituting the cylindrical conductor portion 20 are continuously provided in the vertical direction in FIG. 9, and the connection portion 18 extends from the left side wall 36a to the right in FIG. 9 through the narrow width portion 30. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 9, a bent portion 60 is provided between the upper wall 38 and the left side wall 36a, between the left side wall 36a and the lower wall 40, and between the lower wall 40 and the right side wall 36b. By bending each bent portion 60 and fitting the mating convex portion 42 and the mating concave portion 44, the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is formed in the front portion of the main body portion 22. The material of the metal of the first metal plate 16 constituting the main body portion 22 is not limited, but a metal with excellent conductivity can be used, for example, pure copper can be used.

<Contact forming metal fitting 26>
The contact-forming metal fitting 26 has a frame body portion 62 that is assembled to the inner surface of the wall portion (left and right side walls 36a, 36b, upper wall 38, and lower wall 40) of the cylindrical conductor portion 20. The contact-forming metal fitting 26 also has a contact spring portion 64 that is held by the frame body portion 62, protrudes toward the inside of the frame body portion 62, and is pressed against the male terminal 12 inserted from the male terminal insertion port 32. In the first embodiment, the contact spring portion 64 includes a first contact spring portion 66 that protrudes toward the inside of the frame body portion 62 from an upper portion of the frame body portion 62, and a second contact spring portion 68 that protrudes toward the inside of the frame body portion 62 from a lower portion of the frame body portion 62. In particular, in the first embodiment, the contact-forming metal fitting 26 has a substantially vertically symmetrical shape, and can be assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion 20 without distinguishing between the upper and lower orientations.

<Frame body portion 62>
8, the frame 62 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is generally rectangular frame-shaped. That is, the frame 62 has a pair of side portions 70, 70 (left portion 70a and right portion 70b) assembled to each side wall 36 (left side wall 36a and right side wall 36b) of the tubular conductor 20, an upper portion 72 overlapped with the upper wall 38, and a lower portion 74 overlapped with the lower wall 40. The left portion 70a and the right portion 70b are connected by the upper portion 72 and the lower portion 74, respectively. As a result, the frame 62 is open on both front and rear sides, and a front opening 75a and a rear opening 75b are provided.

A roughly rectangular through window 76 is formed in the middle of the upper and lower parts 72 and 74 in the thickness direction (up and down direction), and each through window 76 is formed over the entire length of the upper and lower parts 72 and 74 in the left and right direction. As a result, the upper and lower parts 72 and 74 are divided on both the front and rear sides by each through window 76, and the upper and lower parts 72 and 74 are configured to include a front connection part 78 that connects each side part 70 (left side part 70a and right side part 70b) at the front part and a rear connection part 80 that connects each side part 70 at the rear part. In other words, the left side part 70a and the right side part 70b are connected at the front part by the front connection part 78 of the upper and lower parts 72 and 74, and are connected at the rear part by the rear connection part 80 of the upper and lower parts 72 and 74.

10 shows the state of the second metal flat plate 24 before press processing. As also shown in FIG. 8, in the first embodiment, the left side portion 70a is provided with the portions that are butted together when the second metal flat plate 24 is bent to form the contact-forming metal fitting 26. That is, the left end of the front connection portion 78 and the rear connection portion 80 in the upper portion 72 is provided with a first left side portion 82a extending downward, and the right end of the front connection portion 78 and the rear connection portion 80 in the lower portion 74 is provided with a second left side portion 82b extending upward. The left side portion 70a is formed by butting the first left side portion 82a and the second left side portion 82b against each other in the vertical direction. In particular, in the first embodiment, the lower end of the first left side portion 82a is provided with an engagement recess 84 that opens downward, and the upper end of the second left side portion 82b is provided with an engagement protrusion 86 that protrudes upward. As a result, when forming the contact forming fitting 26, the left side portion 70a is formed, for example, by striking the engaging protrusion 86 from the outside and fitting it into the engaging recess 84, and the first left side portion 82a and the second left side portion 82b can be prevented from unintentionally separating from each other.

In addition, in the first embodiment, the contact forming metal fitting 26 has an abutment edge portion 88 that is overlapped with the end face (each front end face 41) of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 on the male terminal insertion opening 32 side. The abutment edge portion 88 is provided on each front connection portion 78 of the upper portion 72 and the lower portion 74 of the contact forming metal fitting 26, and is configured to extend outward in the vertical direction from each front connection portion 78. Then, as described later, when welding the cylindrical conductor portion 20 and the contact forming metal fitting 26, each front end face 41 that is overlapped with each other and each abutment edge portion 88 are welded, and each abutment edge portion 88 forms a welded portion, and each front end face 41 forms a welded portion. The welding method of each front end face 41 and each abutment edge portion 88 is not limited, but in the first embodiment, they are welded by laser welding.

Furthermore, at the rear end of the left and right side portions 70a, 70b of the contact forming metal fitting 26, a notch 90 is provided in the vertical center portion, which opens rearward and penetrates each side portion 70a, 70b in the thickness direction (left and right direction). In addition, a substantially rectangular through hole 92 is formed in the front portion of each of the left and right side portions 70a, 70b, which penetrates each side portion 70a, 70b in the thickness direction, and a lock claw 94 is provided in the rear portion of the inner peripheral surface of each through hole 92, which protrudes forward. A space (gap) is provided on three sides (both sides in the vertical direction and the front) around each lock claw 94, so that each lock claw 94 can be elastically deformed in the left and right direction. As shown in FIG. 8, etc., in the assembled state of the contact forming metal fitting 26, each lock claw 94 protrudes in a direction that gradually inclines outward in the left and right direction as it approaches the front. As described above, the left side portion 70a is composed of the upper and lower first left side portion 82a and second left side portion 82b, so before bending the second metal plate 24 that constitutes the contact-forming metal fitting 26, the left side through hole 92 and locking claw 94 are also separated. In other words, the left side through hole 92 and locking claw 94 are formed by butting the first left side portion 82a and the second left side portion 82b together to form the left side portion 70a.

<Contact spring portion 64 (first contact spring portion 66 and second contact spring portion 68)>
In each of the upper portion 72 and the lower portion 74, the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 extend rearward in a cantilever shape from the rear end of each front connection portion 78 inside each through window portion 76. That is, the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 are held by each front connection portion 78 of the frame portion 62 at one end (the front side) and extend inward toward the other end (the rear side) in a cantilever shape. As a result, spaces (gaps) are provided on three sides (both left and right directions and the rear) around the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68, and the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 are elastically deformable in the up and down directions, with the connection portions with the front connection portions 78 at their front ends as base points.

As shown in FIG. 8 and other figures, in the assembled state of the contact forming metal fitting 26, the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 are inclined in a direction (inward in the vertical direction) that they approach each other toward the rear. As a result, the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 face each other in the vertical direction. The first contact spring portion 66 has a first contact 96 with the male terminal 12 on the surface (lower surface) facing the second contact spring portion 68, and the second contact spring portion 68 has a second contact 98 with the male terminal 12 on the surface (upper surface) facing the first contact spring portion 66. In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, before the male terminal 12 is inserted into the female terminal 10, the respective protruding ends 99 of the first and second contact spring portions 66, 68 are relatively close to each other, and the first contact 96 and the second contact 98 abut each other or face each other in the vertical direction with a slight distance therebetween.

In the first embodiment, a bent portion 100 is provided at each protruding tip portion of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68, and the first contact 96 and the second contact 98 are provided at the formation position of each bent portion 100. These first contact 96 and second contact 98 are formed in a curved arc shape in the vertical cross section shown in Figures 3 and 5, have a predetermined left-right dimension at the left-right central portion of the first and second contact spring portions 66, 68, and are provided so as to straddle both sides in the front-rear direction of the first and second contact spring portions 66, 68, sandwiching the bent portion 100. Such first and second contacts 96, 98 are elliptical in shape in which the dimension in the front-rear direction, which is the insertion direction of the male terminal 12, is larger than the dimension in the left-right direction when viewed in a plan view (projected in the up-down direction). This allows the contact area between the first and second contacts 96, 98 and the male terminal 12 to be stably secured even when the male terminal 12 inserted into the female terminal 10 is swung and displaced in the vertical direction. In the first embodiment, the first and second contacts 96, 98 are formed by pressing the first and second contact spring parts 66, 68, respectively, and recesses 102 are formed at positions corresponding to the first and second contacts 96, 98 on the outer side of the facing direction (outer side in the vertical direction) of the first and second contact spring parts 66, 68.

In the first embodiment, the front connection portion 78 in the upper portion 72 has first contact spring portions 66, 66 at each of a plurality of locations (two locations) spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction (left-right direction) of the male terminal 12, and the front connection portion 78 in the lower portion 74 has second contact spring portions 68, 68 at each of a plurality of locations (two locations) spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction of the male terminal 12. That is, a slit 104 extending over substantially the entire length in the front-rear direction is provided in the left-right center of the substantially rectangular portion that extends rearward from each front connection portion 78 and constitutes the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion, so that a pair of first contact spring portions 66, 66 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and a pair of second contact spring portions 68, 68 are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction.

In FIG. 10, the bent portion of the second metal plate 24 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. As shown in FIG. 10, before the second metal plate 24 is pressed, the second left side portion 82b, the lower portion 74, the right side portion 70b, the upper portion 72, and the first left side portion 82a constituting the contact forming metal fitting 26 are continuously provided in the up-down direction in FIG. 10 via the bent portion. The metal material of the second metal plate 24 constituting the contact forming metal fitting 26 is not limited, but a metal having electrical conductivity and spring properties can be used, for example, a copper alloy.

In the first embodiment, each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 is formed by partially cutting and raising the wall parts constituting the upper part 72 and the lower part 74. That is, each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 is cut and raised, for example, from the upper part 72 and the lower part 74 toward the front side of the paper in FIG. 10, so that when the contact forming metal fitting 26 is formed, it protrudes inwardly from the frame body part 62. Similarly, each of the lock claws 94 is formed by partially cutting and raising the wall parts constituting the left side part 70a (first left side part 82a and second left side part 82b) and the right side part 70b. That is, each of the lock claws 94 is cut and raised, for example, from the left side part 70a and the right side part 70b toward the back side of the paper in FIG. 10, so that when the contact forming metal fitting 26 is formed, it protrudes outwardly in the left-right direction from the contact forming metal fitting 26. In addition, each of the first contact spring parts 66, each of the second contact spring parts 68, and each of the lock claws 94 may be bent so as to protrude inward or outward in the left-right direction of the frame body part 62 after the contact forming metal fitting 26 is formed into a generally cylindrical shape.

<Contact Pressure Spring (Clip Spring 106)>
The female terminal 10 includes clip springs 106 as contact pressure applying springs arranged on the protruding ends 99 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68. When the male terminal 12 is inserted into the female terminal 10, the clip springs 106 bias the protruding ends 99 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the protruding ends 99 of the second contact spring portions 68 in a direction in which they approach each other. The clip springs 106 are formed to a size that allows them to pass through the rear opening window 34 of the tubular conductor portion 20. In particular, in the first embodiment, the clip springs 106 are formed to a size that allows them to pass through the rear opening 75b of the contact forming fitting 26 arranged inside the tubular conductor portion 20.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the clip spring 106 has a rectangular flat connecting plate 108 and a pair of rectangular flat clamping plates 110, 110 that protrude in a direction approaching each other (inward in the vertical direction) from both side edges (upper and lower side edges) of the connecting plate 108. In the first embodiment, a plurality (two) of clamping plates 110, 110 that are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, which is the plate width direction of the male terminal 12, are provided on each side of the connecting plate 108, and a total of four clamping plates 110 are provided in the clip spring 106. That is, a pair of clamping plates 110, 110 that face each other in the vertical direction are provided at a position spaced apart in the left-right direction. Each of these clamping plates 110 is elastically deformable in the vertical direction with the connection part with the connecting plate 108 as a base point.

The left-right dimension of each clamping plate 110 is larger than the left-right dimension of each recess 102 provided on the vertical outside of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68. In addition, a bent portion 112 is provided in the middle portion of each clamping plate 110 in the longitudinal direction. As a result, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, when the male terminal 12 is inserted into the female terminal 10 and the bent portion 112 of each clamping plate 110 abuts against the formation position of each recess 102 of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68, both left-right end portions of each clamping plate 110 abut at the left-right outside portion of each recess 102 of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68.

Because a bent portion 112 is provided in the middle of the length of each clamping plate portion 110, the protruding tip portions of each clamping plate portion 110 extend away from the bent portion 112. Therefore, the opposing distance between the clamping plate portions 110 facing each other in the vertical direction is smallest at the bent portion 112 provided in the middle of the length. The gap between these bent portions 112 is the insertion opening 114 for inserting and assembling the protruding end portions 99 of the first and second contact spring portions 66, 68.

The opening dimensions (vertical dimensions) of each insertion port 114 before elastic deformation of each clamping plate portion 110 in the clip spring 106 may be equal to, or slightly larger or smaller than, the vertical dimensions at the protruding tip portions of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68. Such a clip spring 106 is inserted into the interior of the tubular conductor portion 20 from the rear opening window 34 of the tubular conductor portion 20 (particularly, the rear opening 75b of the contact forming metal fitting 26). The protruding tip portions of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 are inserted into the insertion openings 114 without abutting against the bent portions 112 located at the innermost vertical position in each clamping plate portion 110, or while the protruding tip portions of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 push the bent portions 112 outward in the vertical direction. The position of the insertion end of the tubular conductor portion 20 inward from the rear opening window 34 in the clip spring 106 is determined by the left and right ends of the connecting plate portion 108 abutting against the vertical surfaces 56 at the rear ends of the positioning protrusions 46 provided on the inner surfaces of the left side wall 36a and the right side wall 36b, as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

As described above, in the female terminal 10 before the insertion of the male terminal 12, the vertical dimension of each insertion opening 114 may be larger than the vertical dimension of the protruding tip portion of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68 to be inserted. In addition, the front-to-rear distance between each positioning protrusion 46 (vertical surface 56) and the retainer 116 described later may be larger than the thickness dimension (front-to-rear dimension) of the connecting plate portion 108, and the distance between the opposing surfaces of the inner surfaces of the left side wall 36a and the right side wall 36b may be larger than the width dimension (left-to-right dimension) of the connecting plate portion 108. As a result, in the female terminal 10 before the insertion of the male terminal 12, the clip spring 106 may be arranged in a free state without being fixed to the tubular conductor portion 20 in the up-down, front-to-back, and left-to-right directions.

<Retainer 116>
The female terminal 10 further includes a retainer 116 that is attached to the cylindrical conductor portion 20 to cover the rear opening window 34 and prevent the clip spring 106 from falling off. As shown in Fig. 7, the retainer 116 is formed by bending a substantially strip-shaped member by pressing or the like. The retainer 116 may be formed of, for example, a metal or a synthetic resin, and preferably has sufficient strength (deformation rigidity) and heat resistance, and in the first embodiment, is formed of stainless steel.

When assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20, the retainer 116 extends in the vertical direction as a whole, and a displacement regulating portion 118 is provided in the center of the length direction, which is disposed adjacent to the clip spring 106 and abuts against the clip spring 106 to regulate the displacement of the clip spring 106 toward the rear opening window 34 when the female terminal 10 is assembled. The displacement regulating portion 118 is substantially rectangular in front view (front-rear view) and is smaller in size than the rear opening window 34. In particular, in the first embodiment, the displacement regulating portion 118 is slightly smaller in size than the rear opening 75b of the contact forming metal fitting 26 arranged inside the tubular conductor portion 20. As a result, when the retainer 116 is assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the displacement regulating portion 118 enters the inside of the tubular conductor portion 20 through the rear opening window 34 and covers substantially the entire rear opening 75b of the contact forming metal fitting 26.

The vertical end portions of the retainer 116 are bent so as to extend forward relative to the displacement restriction portion 118, and the forward extending portions at the vertical end portions of the retainer 116 form fixing portions 120 for fixing the retainer 116 to the tubular conductor portion 20. A substantially rectangular locking hole 122 penetrating in the thickness direction (vertical direction) is formed in the front portion of each fixing portion 120, and the retainer 116 is assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20 by approaching the tubular conductor portion 20 from the rear and locking each locking protrusion 54 protruding outward in the vertical direction at the tubular conductor portion 20 into each locking hole 122.

<Assembly of female terminal 10>
Hereinafter, a specific example of a method for assembling the female terminal 10 will be described. Note that the method for assembling the female terminal 10 is not limited to the embodiment described below.

First, the first metal flat plate 16 constituting the main body 22 is prepared, each bent portion 60 is bent, and the mating protrusion 42 of the upper wall 38 is fitted into the mating recess 44 of the right side wall 36b. This forms the main body 22 having the tubular conductor portion 20 and the connection portion 18. In addition, the second metal flat plate 24 constituting the contact forming fitting 26 is prepared, each bent portion is bent, and the engaging protrusion 86 of the second left side portion 82b is fitted into the engaging recess 84 of the first left side portion 82a. This forms the contact forming fitting 26 having the frame portion 62 and the contact spring portion 64 (each of the first contact spring portions 66 and each of the second contact spring portions 68).

7, the contact-forming metal fitting 26 and the main body 22 are arranged facing each other in the front-rear direction, and the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening 32, which is one end side (front end side) of the tubular conductor part 20, toward the other end side (rear end side) and assembled. When the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is assembled to the tubular conductor part 20, each abutting edge 88 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is superimposed on each front end face 41, which is the end face of the male terminal insertion opening 32 side of the tubular conductor part 20. In short, the insertion end of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 into the tubular conductor part 20 is defined by the abutment of each abutting edge 88 with each front end face 41. Note that the insertion of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 into the tubular conductor part 20 may be performed by inserting the contact-forming metal fitting 26 from above, for example, with the male terminal insertion opening 32 of the tubular conductor part 20 facing upward. As a result, the contact-forming metal fitting 26 naturally displaces downward due to gravity inside the cylindrical conductor portion 20, allowing each abutment edge portion 88 to easily overlap each front end face 41 with almost no gaps.

When the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is inserted into the tubular conductor portion 20, the positioning protrusions 46 protruding inwardly from the tubular conductor portion 20 fit into the notches 90 provided at the rear end of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, thereby avoiding interference between the positioning protrusions 46 and the left and right side portions 70a, 70b of the contact-forming metal fitting 26. In addition, the locking claws 94 protruding outwardly in the left and right direction from the contact-forming metal fitting 26 abut against the left and right side walls 36a, 36b as the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is inserted into the tubular conductor portion 20, elastically deforming inwardly in the left and right direction, thereby allowing further insertion backward in the tubular conductor portion 20. Then, the locking claws 94 reach the locking holes 50 in the left and right side walls 36a, 36b, elastically restoring their original deformation (elastic return), and the locking claws 94 fit into the locking holes 50. As a result, each locking claw 94 abuts against the front portion of the inner circumferential surface of each locking hole 50, preventing the contact-forming metal fitting 26 from falling forward out of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 and holding the contact-forming metal fitting 26 in an assembled state to the cylindrical conductor portion 20.

As described above, when the locking claws 94 are fitted into the locking holes 50 and the contact-forming fitting 26 is assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20, the overlapping abutment edges 88 and front end faces 41 are welded together. In the first embodiment, this welding is performed by laser welding. In particular, when the contact-forming fitting 26 is assembled from above with the male terminal insertion opening 32 in the tubular conductor portion 20 facing upward, the welding following the insertion of the contact-forming fitting 26 (laser welding in the first embodiment) can also be performed from above on the overlapping portions of the abutment edges 88 and front end faces 41, so that the assembly work of the contact-forming fitting 26 and the tubular conductor portion 20 can be performed efficiently.

Then, insert the clip spring 106 into the tubular conductor portion 20 through the rear opening window 34 (particularly the rear opening 75b in the contact forming metal fitting 26) in the tubular conductor portion 20, and insert the protruding tip portions of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 into the insertion openings 114 in the clip spring 106. As a result, the clip spring 106 is positioned on the protruding end portions 99 of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68. Note that the insertion of the clip spring 106 into the tubular conductor portion 20 through the rear opening window 34 in the clip spring 106 is restricted, for example, by the connecting plate portion 108 in the clip spring 106 abutting against the positioning protrusions 46 protruding into the interior of the tubular conductor portion 20.

Then, the retainer 116 is placed behind the clip spring 106 and brought close to the tubular conductor portion 20. As a result, the displacement restricting portion 118 of the retainer 116 enters the rear opening 75b of the contact forming metal fitting 26, and the locking protrusions 54 of the tubular conductor portion 20 enter and lock into the locking holes 122 in the fixing portions 120 on both the upper and lower sides of the retainer 116. As a result, the retainer 116 is attached to the tubular conductor portion 20, and the assembly of the female terminal 10 of embodiment 1 is completed.

<Assembly of Terminal Unit 14>
Hereinafter, a specific example of a method for assembling the terminal unit 14 in a state in which the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 are connected by inserting the male terminal 12 into the female terminal 10 of the first embodiment will be described.

First, the female terminal 10 and male terminal 12 assembled as described above are opposed in the front-rear direction as shown in Figures 4 to 6. Then, the male terminal 12 is inserted into the inside of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 through the male terminal insertion port 32 and pressed between the opposing surfaces of the first contacts 96 and the second contacts 98 of the upper and lower first contact spring portions 66 and second contact spring portions 68. As a result, as shown in Figure 3, the first contacts 96 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contacts 98 of the second contact spring portions 68 abut against the upper and lower surfaces of the male terminal 12, and the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68 are pushed apart in a direction away from each other.

Then, the bent portions 100 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68, which are pushed outward in the vertical direction, come into contact with the bent portions 112 of the clip spring 106 from the inside in the vertical direction, and the clamping plate portions 110 are elastically deformed outward in the vertical direction. The elastic restoring force of each of these clamping plate portions 110 clamps the protruding ends 99 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68, and the protruding ends 99 of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68 are biased in a direction in which they approach each other. As a result, the first contacts 96 and the second contacts 98 are pressed against both the upper and lower surfaces of the male terminal 12 that is pressed between the opposing surfaces of the first contact spring portions 66 and the second contact spring portions 68. As a result, the male terminal 12 and the female terminal 10 are electrically connected, completing the terminal unit 14 in which the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 are connected.

That is, the vertical distance A (see FIG. 3) of each bent portion 100 of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68 that is pressed against the male terminal 12 from both the top and bottom sides after the male terminal 12 is inserted is made larger than the vertical dimension B (see FIG. 5) of each insertion opening 114 of the clip spring 106 before the male terminal 12 is inserted. As a result, not only each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68 but also each clamping plate portion 110 of the clip spring 106 are pushed outward in the vertical direction with the insertion of the male terminal 12, and each first contact 96 and each second contact 98 are pressed against both the top and bottom sides of the male terminal 12 not only by the elastic restoring force of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68 but also by the elastic restoring force of each clamping plate portion 110.

In particular, in the first embodiment, a pair of first contact spring parts 66, 66 and a pair of second contact spring parts 68, 68 are provided that are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and a pair of clamping plate parts 110, 110 that are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction are provided on both the upper and lower sides of the clip spring 106. As a result, the upper and lower clamping plate parts 110, 110 on both the left and right sides respectively clamp the first contact spring part 66 and the second contact spring part 68, and press the first contact 96 and the second contact 98 against the male terminal 12.

According to the female terminal 10 of the first embodiment, the contact forming metal fitting 26 having each of the first contacts 96 and each of the second contacts 98 is provided separately from the main body 22 having the cylindrical conductor portion 20, and the contact forming metal fitting 26 is assembled inside the cylindrical conductor portion 20. As a result, compared to the conventional structure in which a metal flat plate is bent to form a contact, the member that forms the contact (the contact forming metal fitting 26) can be formed from the second metal flat plate 24, which has a relatively small plate thickness, and the female terminal 10 can be made smaller. In addition, since the main body 22 having the cylindrical conductor portion 20 is formed by bending the first metal flat plate 16, which has a relatively large plate thickness, it can also handle large currents, and can achieve both improved current carrying capacity and avoidance of large terminals.

In particular, the contact-forming metal fitting 26 has a frame portion 62 and a contact spring portion 64 (each of the first contact spring portions 66 and each of the second contact spring portions 68), and each of the first contact spring portions 66 and each of the second contact spring portions 68 protrude inward from the frame portion 62. This reduces the risk of unintentionally contacting each of the first contact spring portions 66 and each of the second contact spring portions 68 when gripping the contact-forming metal fitting 26 when assembling the contact-forming metal fitting 26 to the tubular conductor portion 20, and prevents the first contact spring portions 66 and each of the second contact spring portions 68 from being deformed when assembling the contact-forming metal fitting 26 to the tubular conductor portion 20.

The contact-forming metal fitting 26 has a welded portion, and this welded portion is welded to the welded portion of the tubular conductor portion 20. In the first embodiment, the welded portion of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is composed of the abutment edge portions 88 extending outward in the vertical direction from the forward connection portion 78 of the upper portion 72 and the lower portion 74, and the welded portion of the tubular conductor portion 20 is composed of the front end faces 41 of the upper wall 38 and the lower wall 40. When the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is inserted into the tubular conductor portion 20, the abutment edge portions 88 abut against the front end faces 41 to define the insertion end, and the abutment edge portions 88 and the front end faces 41 are welded by skillfully utilizing the mutually overlapping abutment edge portions 88 and the front end faces 41, so that the contact-forming metal fitting 26 and the tubular conductor portion 20 can be firmly fixed. In particular, after the cylindrical conductor portion 20 and the contact forming metal fitting 26 are formed by a series of press processes, the contact edges 88 and the front end faces 41 are welded together, which improves manufacturing efficiency compared to, for example, performing welding in the middle of the press process.

The cylindrical conductor portion 20 is a rectangular cylinder having left and right side walls 36a, 36b, an upper wall 38, and a lower wall 40, and the frame portion 62 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is a rectangular frame having left and right side portions 70a, 70b, an upper portion 72, and a lower portion 74. Since both the cylindrical conductor portion 20 and the contact-forming metal fitting 26 have a rectangular outer shape, the displacement (wobbling, etc.) of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 within the cylindrical conductor portion 20 can be suppressed. In particular, since the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is approximately symmetrical in the vertical direction, it can be assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion 20 without specifying the top and bottom of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, improving assembly efficiency. In addition, each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 in the contact forming fitting 26 are formed by partially cutting and raising the upper part 72 and the lower part 74, respectively, so that no other parts separate from the frame part are used when forming the first contact spring part and the second contact spring part, and the contact forming fitting 26 can be formed with good yield.

The left and right side walls 36a, 36b of the tubular conductor portion 20 have the respective lock holes 50, and the left and right side portions 70a, 70b of the contact-forming fitting 26 have the respective lock claws 94, and when the contact-forming fitting 26 is assembled to the tubular conductor portion 20, the respective lock claws 94 are fitted into the respective lock holes 50. That is, the abutment between the above-mentioned abutment edges 88 and the respective front end faces 41 limits the displacement of the tubular conductor portion 20 in the contact-forming fitting 26 in the insertion direction, and the displacement of the tubular conductor portion 20 in the contact-forming fitting 26 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction is limited by the engagement between the above-mentioned lock claws 94 and the respective lock holes 50. This allows the contact-forming fitting 26 and the tubular conductor portion 20 to be positioned in the front-rear direction. Since the contact-forming metal fitting 26 and the tubular conductor portion 20 are thus positioned in the front-rear direction and the abutment edges 88 and the front end faces 41 are welded together, they can be welded together with almost no gaps between the abutment edges 88 and the front end faces 41.

The female terminal 10 has a clip spring 106 as a contact pressure applying spring arranged on each of the protruding ends 99 of the first contact spring portion 66 and the second contact spring portion 68 and having a size that can be inserted through the rear opening window 34 of the cylindrical conductor portion 20. That is, while the clip spring is assembled from the side in the conventional structure, the clip spring 106 is assembled from the rear through the rear opening window 34 of the cylindrical conductor portion 20 in the female terminal 10 of the first embodiment. In particular, while the clip spring is assembled in a state in which the opening of the clip spring is widened in the conventional structure, in the first embodiment, the vertical dimension of each protruding end 99 of each first contact spring portion 66 and each second contact spring portion 68 is approximately equal to the opening dimension of the insertion port 114 in the clip spring 106, and the clip spring 106 can be assembled without the need to widen the opening. This improves the workability when assembling the clip spring 106.

The clip spring 106 is used as a contact pressure applying spring that applies contact pressure to each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 when the male terminal 12 is inserted. As a result, the clip spring 106 can be assembled to each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 by inserting the protruding end parts 99 of each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68 into the insertion opening 114 of the clip spring 106. In particular, before the male terminal 12 is inserted, the clip spring 106 can be arranged in a free state in each of the vertical, front-back, and left-right directions relative to the cylindrical conductor part 20. As a result, even when the male terminal 12 is inserted at an angle relative to the female terminal 10, for example, the clip spring 106 can be displaced in response to the inclination of the male terminal 12, and contact pressure can be applied stably to each of the first contact spring parts 66 and each of the second contact spring parts 68.

At the upper part 72 of the contact forming metal fitting 26, a pair of first contact spring parts 66, 66 are provided at a distance from each other in the left-right direction, and at the lower part 74, a pair of second contact spring parts 68, 68 are provided at a distance from each other in the left-right direction. In addition, at the clip spring 106, two clamping plate parts 110 are provided at a distance from each other in the left-right direction on both the upper and lower sides of the connecting plate part 108. This allows the upper and lower clamping plate parts 110 to apply contact pressure to the first contact spring part 66 and the second contact spring part 68 separately on both the left and right sides. As a result, even if, for example, the male terminal 12 is rotated around a central axis extending in the front-rear direction after the male terminal 12 is inserted into the female terminal 10, the occurrence of a defect such as insufficient contact pressure being applied to either the left or right side can be avoided.

<Modification>
Although the first embodiment has been described above as a specific example of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to this specific description. Modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope of achieving the object of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure. For example, the following modified examples of the embodiment are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

(1) In the above embodiment, the male terminal 12 is a flat tab-shaped terminal, and the tubular conductor portion 20 and the contact-forming metal fitting 26 are each substantially horizontally elongated rectangular, but this is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, if the male terminal is a cylindrical pin terminal, the tubular conductor portion and the contact-forming metal fitting may each be cylindrical. Similarly, if the male terminal is a vertically elongated terminal, the tubular conductor portion and the contact-forming metal fitting may each be substantially vertically elongated rectangular, in which case the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion constituting the contact spring portion may be provided on each of a pair of side portions of the contact-forming metal fitting.

(2) In the above embodiment, the cylindrical conductor portion 20 and the contact-forming fitting 26 are fixed by welding each abutment edge portion 88 (weld portion) to each front end face 41 (welded portion) and by fitting each lock hole 50 to each lock claw 94, but this is not limited to the above embodiment. The cylindrical conductor portion and the contact-forming fitting may be fixed only by welding, or only by a concave-convex fit, such as the fit between the lock hole and the lock claw. Alternatively, a fixing method other than welding or concave-convex fit (for example, fixing with bolts or rivets) may be used.

(3) In the above embodiment, the abutment edges 88 as welded parts extend outward in the vertical direction from the front ends of the front connection parts 78 at the upper part 72 and the lower part 74 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, depending on the shape of the housing that holds the male terminal, the abutment edges as welded parts may extend outward in the horizontal direction from a pair of side parts of the contact-forming metal fitting instead of or in addition to the front ends of the upper and lower parts. In the above embodiment, the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is inserted into the tubular conductor part 20 through the male terminal insertion port 32 on the front end side, but the contact-forming metal fitting may be inserted into the tubular conductor part through a rear opening window on the rear end side, and in this case, the abutment edges as welded parts may be provided at at least one rear end of the pair of side parts, upper part, and lower part of the contact-forming metal fitting. As described above, the tubular conductor part and the contact-forming metal fitting may be fixed by a method other than welding, and the welded part and the welded part are not essential to the female terminal according to the present disclosure.

(4) In the above embodiment, each first contact spring portion 66 is formed by partially cutting and raising the upper portion 72 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, and each second contact spring portion 68 is formed by partially cutting and raising the lower portion 74 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, but this is not limited to the above embodiment. In other words, the first contact spring portion and/or the second contact spring portion may be formed separately from the frame portion of the contact-forming metal fitting and then later fixed to the metal plate that constitutes the frame portion by welding or the like. The contact-forming metal fitting may then be constructed by pressing the metal plate.

(5) In the above embodiment, the tubular conductor portion 20 is provided with each lock hole 50, and the contact-forming metal fitting 26 is provided with each lock claw 94, but this is not limited to this embodiment. That is, instead of or in addition to the above embodiment, the tubular conductor portion may be provided with a lock claw, and the contact-forming metal fitting may be provided with a lock hole. Also, in the above embodiment, the lock claws 94 protrude in the opposite direction (from rear to front) to the insertion direction of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 into the tubular conductor portion 20, and displacement in the opposite direction to the insertion direction of the contact-forming metal fitting 26 into the tubular conductor portion 20 is prevented, but this is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the lock claws may protrude in the same direction as the insertion direction of the contact-forming metal fitting into the tubular conductor portion, and displacement in the insertion direction of the contact-forming metal fitting into the tubular conductor portion may be prevented. In this case, for example, by inserting the contact-forming metal fitting into the tubular conductor portion with the lock claws pressed inward, the lock claws can be prevented from getting caught on the wall of the tubular conductor portion when the contact-forming metal fitting is inserted.

(6) In the above embodiment, the female terminal 10 is provided with a clip spring 106 as a contact pressure applying spring, but a contact pressure applying spring is not essential in the female terminal according to the present disclosure. That is, the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion may be pushed outward in the vertical direction by the insertion of the male terminal, and the first and second contacts of the first and second contact spring portions may be pressed against the male terminal by the elastic restoring force of the first and second contact spring portions. Also, even when a contact pressure applying spring is used, it does not have to be a clip spring, and a contact pressure applying spring of any structure, such as a coil spring or an annular elastic body, may be used.

(7) In the above embodiment, a pair of first contact spring portions 66, 66 is provided on the upper portion 72 of the contact-forming metal fitting 26, and a pair of second contact spring portions 68, 68 is provided on the lower portion 74, but the number of these first contact spring portions and second contact spring portions is not limited. That is, one or more first contact spring portions may be provided on the upper portion of the contact-forming metal fitting, and one or more second contact spring portions may be provided on the lower portion of the contact-forming metal fitting. Similarly, the number of upper and lower clamping plate portions of the clip spring is not limited, and one or more of each may be provided. Note that the number of first contact spring portions and the number of upper clamping plate portions may be different from each other, and the number of second contact spring portions and the number of lower clamping plate portions may be different from each other.

(8) In the above embodiment, the connection portion 18 that is conductively connected to another member extends rearward from the left side wall 36a of the tubular conductor portion 20. However, it may extend rearward from, for example, the upper wall or lower wall of the tubular conductor portion. In that case, the retainer attached to the rear end portion of the tubular conductor portion may be attached in a state in which it extends in the left-right direction. Note that a retainer is not essential to the female terminal according to the present disclosure.

(9) In the above embodiment, the portions that butt together when the second metal plate 24 is pressed to form the contact-forming fitting 26 are provided on the left side portion 70a of the contact-forming fitting 26, but this is not limited to this embodiment, and the portions that butt together when pressed can be set at any position on the contact-forming fitting.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 female terminal 12 male terminal 14 terminal unit 16 first metal plate 18 connection portion 20 cylindrical conductor portion 22 main body portion 24 second metal plate 26 contact forming metal fitting 28 bolt insertion hole 30 narrow portion 32 male terminal insertion port 34 rear opening window 36 side wall (wall portion)
36a Left side wall (wall part)
36b Right side wall (wall part)
38 Upper wall (wall part)
40 Lower wall (wall section)
41 Front end face (end face, part to be welded)
42 Fitting protrusion 44 Fitting recess 46 Positioning protrusion 48 Recess 50 Lock hole 52 Abutment portion 54 Locking protrusion 56 Vertical surface 58 Recess 60 Bent portion 62 Frame portion 64 Contact spring portion 66 First contact spring portion 68 Second contact spring portion 70 Side portion (frame portion)
70a Left side (frame body)
70b Right side (frame body part)
72 Upper part (frame part)
74 Lower part (frame part)
75a Front opening 75b Rear opening 76 Through window 78 Front connection 80 Rear connection 82a First left side 82b Second left side 84 Engagement recess 86 Engagement protrusion 88 Abutment edge (weld)
90 Notch 92 Through hole 94 Lock claw 96 First contact 98 Second contact 99 Protruding end 100 Bent portion 102 Recess 104 Slit 106 Clip spring (contact pressure applying spring)
108 Connecting plate part 110 Clamping plate part 112 Bent part 114 Insertion port 116 Retainer 118 Displacement regulating part 120 Fixing part 122 Locking hole

Claims (9)

a main body portion which is a press-formed product of a first metal plate and which has a connection portion which is electrically connected to another member and a hollow cylindrical conductor portion;
a contact-forming metal fitting which is a press-formed product of a second metal flat plate having a thickness thinner than that of the first metal flat plate and is assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion so as to be conductive thereto;
the cylindrical conductor portion has a male terminal insertion opening that opens toward one end side,
The contact-forming metal fitting has a frame portion that is attached to the inner surface of the wall portion of the cylindrical conductor portion, and a contact spring portion that is held by the frame portion, protrudes toward the inside of the frame portion, and is pressed against the male terminal inserted through the male terminal insertion opening.
Female terminal. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the contact-forming metal fitting has a welded portion, and the welded portion is welded to the welded portion of the cylindrical conductor portion. the contact-forming metal fitting is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening at the one end side of the cylindrical conductor portion toward the other end side thereof and is assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion,
the frame portion of the contact-forming metal fitting has an abutment edge portion that is superimposed on an end surface of the cylindrical conductor portion on the male terminal insertion opening side,
an insertion end of the contact-forming metal fitting into the cylindrical conductor portion is defined by the abutment of the abutment edge portion against the end surface,
3. The female terminal according to claim 2, wherein the abutting edge portion is welded to the end surface, the abutting edge portion defining the welded portion, and the end surface defining the welded portion. the cylindrical conductor portion has a rectangular cylindrical shape having a pair of side walls and an upper wall and a lower wall connected by the pair of side walls,
the frame portion of the contact-forming metal fitting has a rectangular frame shape having a pair of side portions respectively overlapping the pair of side walls of the cylindrical conductor portion, and an upper portion and a lower portion respectively overlapping the upper wall and the lower wall of the cylindrical conductor portion,
3. The female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the contact spring portion is configured in a cantilever shape by partially cutting and raising inward at least one of the upper and lower portions of the frame portion. the contact-forming metal fitting is inserted from the male terminal insertion opening at the one end side of the cylindrical conductor portion toward the other end side thereof and is assembled to the cylindrical conductor portion,
the pair of side walls of the cylindrical conductor portion and one of the pair of side portions of the frame body portion each have a lock hole,
the other of the pair of side walls of the cylindrical conductor portion and the other of the pair of side portions of the frame body portion each have a lock claw that is fitted into the lock hole,
5. The female terminal of claim 4, wherein the locking claw elastically deforms to allow insertion of the contact-forming fitting into the other end, and the locking claw elastically returns to its original position to engage with the locking hole, thereby maintaining the contact-forming fitting in an assembled state with the tubular conductor portion. A rear opening window is provided on the other end side of the cylindrical conductor portion,
the contact spring portion includes a first contact spring portion and a second contact spring portion,
the upper and lower portions of the frame portion include a pair of upper and lower first and second contact spring portions that are held by the frame portion at the one end and protrude inward toward the other end in a cantilever shape,
a contact pressure applying spring arranged to sandwich the protruding end portions of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion and having a size large enough to be inserted through the rear opening window;
5. The female terminal according to claim 4, wherein as the male terminal is pressed between the opposing surfaces of the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion, the contact pressure applying spring urges the respective protruding ends in a direction approaching each other, so that the first contact spring portion and the second contact spring portion are pressed against the male terminal. The female terminal according to claim 6, wherein the contact pressure applying spring is composed of a clip spring having a rectangular flat connecting plate portion and a pair of rectangular flat clamping plate portions that protrude in a direction approaching each other from both side edges of the connecting plate portion, and when the male terminal is inserted, the protruding end of the first contact spring portion and the protruding end of the second contact spring portion are clamped between the pair of clamping plate portions of the clip spring. the contact spring portion includes a plurality of the first contact spring portions and a plurality of the second contact spring portions that are respectively arranged at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in a plate width direction of the male terminal,
the clip spring has a plurality of pairs of clamping plate portions disposed at a plurality of positions spaced apart from each other in the plate width direction in correspondence with the contact spring portions,
8. The female terminal as described in claim 7, wherein when the male terminal is inserted, the protruding end portions of the first contact spring portions and the protruding end portions of the second contact spring portions are respectively paired and clamped separately by each of the pairs of clamping plate portions. A terminal unit including a female terminal and a male terminal connected to the female terminal,
A terminal unit, wherein the female terminal is the female terminal according to claim 1 or 2.

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