JP3367468B2 - ID terminal - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure contact terminal that can be used, for example, in an electric junction box mounted on an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the case of a conventional electrical junction box, many pressure contact terminals are used in order to establish electrical connection between members without soldering.

As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional general pressure contact terminal 59 is formed by using a substrate 60 made of a conductive metal. A pair of clamping pieces 62 is provided at the end of the substrate 60.
Are formed to face each other. The covered electric wire 5 is placed between the two clamping pieces 62.
The slot 63 into which 5 can be inserted is located. In order to guide the covered electric wire 55 inserted into the slot 63,
A taper portion 64 as a guide portion is formed on the inner side of the front end portion of both holding pieces 62. A linear portion 65 that contacts the core wire 57 of the covered electric wire 55 is formed at a position closer to the base end side than the tapered portion 64.

The insertion work of the press contact terminal 59 is performed by using a dedicated jig (not shown). When inserting,
First, after the insulating coating 56 of the coated electric wire 55 is peeled off by the tapered portion 64, the exposed core wire 57 is sandwiched between the pair of linear portions 65. As a result, the pressure contact terminal 59 and the covered electric wire 55 can be electrically connected.

[0005]

However, in the case of the prior art, the height position of the covered electric wire 55 in the sandwiched state is determined only by the jig setting. Therefore, there is a possibility that the height position may vary due to an error in the wire diameter, a change in the insertion speed, a pressure welding condition, and the like. Therefore, the pressure contact terminal 5
It was difficult to connect the covered electric wire 55 to 9 with high accuracy.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pressure contact terminal capable of connecting a covered electric wire to the pressure contact terminal with high accuracy.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention as set forth in claim 1 is directed to a pair of sandwiching pieces formed opposite to each other at an end of a substrate made of a conductive metal, and both sandwiching pieces. In order to guide the covered electric wire to be inserted into the slot located between them, a guide portion formed inside the tip end portions of the sandwiching pieces and a base end side of the guide portion and the covered electric wire In a pressure contact terminal including a core and a linear portion that contacts, a pair of reinforcing portions for applying a contact pressure are
Formed by bending the outer end side of both clamping pieces,
Make the distance between the two reinforcements almost equal to the outer diameter of the covered wire.
And a pair of coating stripping parts on top of both reinforcing parts.
Positioning to keep the core wire at a predetermined height
The gist of the pressure contact terminal is that the female part is formed in the straight part .

[0008]

[0009] According to a second aspect of the invention, Te placed <br/> to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion is set to a pair of positioning recesses are formed opposite each other in the two straight portions.

The invention according to claim 3 is the same as claim 1 or
In 2 , the positioning recess is arcuate, and the radius of curvature thereof is substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the core wire.

The "action" of the present invention will be described below. According to the invention described in claims 1 to 3 , when the covered electric wire is inserted into the slot located between the pair of holding pieces, the core portion of the covered electric wire is moved to a predetermined height by the positioning portion formed in the straight portion. Retained. Therefore, the error of the wire diameter,
It is possible to connect the covered electric wire to the press contact terminal with high accuracy regardless of changes in the insertion speed, press contact conditions and the like.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the insulating coating is peeled off by the pair of coating peeling portions, good electrical connection can be obtained between the pair of holding pieces and the core wire. Further, since there is a pair of reinforcing portions, the required contact pressure can be obtained even when the whole is formed small. Therefore, the arrangement pitch of the press contact terminals can be narrowed, and the structure is suitable for downsizing of the electrical junction box.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the core wire is fitted into the positioning recess, so that the covered electric wire is held in a vertically immovable state. Since the positioning recesses are formed in a pair so as to face each other in both linear portions,
The core wire is grasped from both sides, so to speak. Therefore, the covered electric wire can be connected to the press contact terminal with higher accuracy.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the positioning recess has an arc shape and the radius of curvature thereof is substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the core wire.
Moreover, it is hard to carelessly damage the core wire.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An electric connection box 11 for mounting on a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

The electric junction box 11 of this embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is used while being housed in the engine room of an automobile. The electrical junction box 11 includes a lower case 12, an upper case 13, and a circuit assembly 14. The lower case 12 and the upper case 13 are made of synthetic resin. The box body is composed of these 12 and 13. The lower case 12 and the upper case 13 are locked and held by an engaging portion (not shown) in a state of being fitted to each other.

The upper case 13 is integrally formed with a bottomed rectangular tubular connector holder 15. An unillustrated connector of an external circuit is fitted to the connector holder 15. A plurality of through holes 16 are formed on the bottom of the connector holder 15 at a predetermined pitch.

The circuit assembly 14 includes a plurality of insulating plates 17 and 1.
It is configured by stacking 8 and 19. A bus bar 20 having a predetermined circuit pattern is arranged on the insulating plates 17 and 18. Insertion holes 22 and 23 are formed in the insulating plates 17 and 18 at positions corresponding to the through holes 16. These insertion holes 22 and 23 communicate with each other.

A plurality of covered electric wires 55 forming a part of the circuit are laid on the insulating plate 19. A plurality of holding portions 28 are formed in the insulating plate 19 so as to correspond to the insertion holes 22 and 23. A pressure contact terminal 29 is arranged between the holding portions 28. The core wire 57 of the covered electric wire 55 is connected to each press-contact terminal 29. The tab portion 31 of the press contact terminal 29 projects to the outside of the circuit assembly 14 through the insertion holes 22 and 23. Therefore, when the circuit assembly 14 is housed in the lower case 12 and the upper case 13 and the cases 12 and 13 are fitted to each other, the tab portion 3 of the press contact terminal 29 is formed.
1 projects into the connector holder 15 through the through hole 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, these pressure contact terminals 29 are
Is formed by using a substrate 30 made of a conductive metal as a starting material. FIG. 2 shows an expanded version of it.
The substrate 30 is punched into a predetermined pattern (see FIG. 2), and then each line RL shown by a dashed line in FIG.
1, RL2, RL3 are bent at a right angle. A narrow tab portion 31 extends from one end (base end) of the substrate 30. The tab portion 31 includes a pair of forming pieces 3
It is formed by folding 1A and 31B and bringing them into close contact with each other.

A holding piece 32 is provided at the other end (tip end) of the substrate 30. The number of the sandwiching pieces 32 of this embodiment is two, and they have a positional relationship of facing each other. Both of the pair of holding pieces 32 extend in the direction opposite to the tab portion 31. Then, between the sandwiching pieces 32, the covered electric wire 5
A slot 33 for holding 5 is formed. The slanting guide portions 34 as guide portions are formed inside the front end portions of both the holding pieces 32, respectively. It may be understood that there is a pair of tapered guide portions 34 that are tapered. Such a slanted guide portion 34 is used for the insulation coating 5 of the coated electric wire 55.
It plays a role of guiding the core wire 57 into the slot 33 while peeling off 6.

Further, linear portions 39 that come into contact with the core wire 57 of the covered electric wire 55 are formed in parallel with each other at a position closer to the base end side than the oblique guide portion 34. The straight line portion 39 is formed continuously with the oblique guide portion 34.

A pair of reinforcing portions 35 are bent and formed at the outer end portions of the sandwiching pieces 32. The pair of reinforcing portions 35
Have a substantially vertical positional relationship with the sandwiching piece 32. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the press contact terminal 29 is substantially U-shaped.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), both reinforcing portions 35 are formed in a stepped shape, and are roughly divided into a wide portion 35A above the stepped portion and a narrow portion 35B below the stepped portion. The wide portion 35A mainly serves to reinforce the sandwiching pieces 32. The wide portion 35A plays a role of applying a predetermined contact pressure to the covered electric wire 55 connected between the sandwiching pieces 32. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The distance between them is set to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of the covered electric wire 55 (specifically, slightly smaller).

At the upper end of the wide portion 35A, a pair of coating peeling portions 37 extend. These coating peeling parts 37
Are somewhat projected from the upper ends of the two holding pieces 32. A rectangular notch 38 for preventing bending is provided between the wide portion 35A and the coating peeling portion 37. The distance between the inner side surfaces of the coating stripping portions 37 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the coated electric wire 55 and equal to or larger than the outer diameter of the core wire 57. The width of the slot 33 is set smaller than the outer diameter of the core wire 57.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, this press contact terminal 29 has a positioning portion. In this embodiment, the positioning portion is concave (that is, the positioning recess 41). A plurality (specifically, a pair) of positioning recesses 41 are formed in the press contact terminal 29.
The pair of positioning recesses 41 are formed so as to face each other in both straight line portions 39. Both positioning recesses 41 are present at positions on the inner side of the linear portion 39. Both positioning recesses 41 have the same shape (arc shape) and the same size. The radius of curvature of both positioning recesses 41 is set to be substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the core wire 57.

When the covered electric wire 55 is inserted into the slot 33, the core wire 57 is fitted into the pair of positioning recesses 41, so that the covered electric wire 55 is held in a vertically immovable state. That is, the pair of positioning recesses 4
1 plays a role of holding the core wire 57 at a predetermined height.

Next, the pressure contact terminal 2 constructed as described above.
A method of connecting 9 and the covered electric wire 55 will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, in a state in which the coated electric wire 55 is arranged between the coating stripping portions 37, the coated electric wire 55 is pressed toward the slot 33 by using a jig (not shown). Then, the insulating coating 56 is broken by the edge inside the coating peeling portion 37. That is, peeling of the insulating coating 56 is started.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, as the coated electric wire 55 enters between the coating stripping portions 37, a part of the peripheral surface of the insulating coating 56 is gradually stripped. When the insulating coating 56 reaches the slant guide portion 34, the insulating coating 56 is peeled off more. That is, the core wire 57 under the insulating coating 56 is exposed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the covered electric wire 55 reaches the entrance of the slot 33, the slanted guide portion 3 is formed.
Due to the sliding contact with the inner end portion of 4, the peripheral surface of the core wire 57 is slightly cut. Then, the covered electric wire 55 advances to the inside of the slot 33 while maintaining this state.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, when the covered electric wire 55 reaches the position where the pair of positioning recesses 41 are present, the core wire 57 is fitted into the pair of positioning recesses 41.
Since the positioning recesses 41 are formed so as to face each other as described above, the core wire 57 is grasped from both sides of the core wire 57, so that the core wire 57 cannot move up and down.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) In this electric junction box 11, when the covered electric wire 55 is inserted into the slot 33 located between the pair of holding pieces 32, the positioning recess 41 formed in the linear portion 39 causes
The core wire 57 of the covered electric wire 55 is held at a predetermined height. Therefore, it is possible to connect the covered electric wire 55 to the press contact terminal 29 with high positional accuracy regardless of the error in the wire diameter, the change in the insertion speed, the press contact condition, and the like.

(2) In this electric junction box 11, a pair of positioning recesses 41 formed so as to face each other in the straight portions 39 are used as the positioning portions. Therefore, when the core wire 57 is fitted in the positioning recess 41, the covered electric wire 55 is held in a vertically immovable state. In this case, since the core wire 57 is, so to speak, grasped from both sides thereof, the covered electric wire 55 can be connected to the press contact terminal 29 with higher positional accuracy.

(3) In this electric junction box 11, the positioning recess 41 is arcuate, and its radius of curvature is substantially equal to the radius of curvature of the core wire 57. Therefore, in terms of shape, there is a merit that the core wire 57 is easily accommodated. Moreover, this structure has an advantage that the core wire 57 is unlikely to be carelessly scratched.

(4) In the case of the pressure contact terminal 29 of this embodiment,
Since the insulating coating 56 is peeled by the pair of coating peeling portions 37, good electrical connection between the pair of holding pieces 32 and the core wire 57 can be obtained.

(5) In the case of this press contact terminal 29, since the pair of reinforcing portions 35 are provided, it is possible to make the whole small. Specifically, the width of the pressure contact terminal 29 is set to the covered electric wire 55.
Can be approximately equal to the outer diameter of. Then, even when the entire structure is made small in this way, the required contact pressure can be reliably obtained. Therefore, the arrangement pitch of the press contact terminals 29 can be narrowed. therefore,
The structure is suitable for downsizing the circuit assembly 14, and thus the structure is suitable for downsizing the electrical junction box 11.

Further, since the distance between the pair of reinforcing portions 35 is formed to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of the covered electric wire 55, the width of the pressure contact terminal 29 can be made substantially equal to the outer diameter of the covered electric wire 55. Therefore, the arrangement pitch of the press contact terminals 29 can be narrowed. Therefore, miniaturization of the circuit assembly 14,
As a result, the electric connection box 11 accommodating the circuit assembly 14 can be downsized.

(6) In the pressure contact terminal 29 of the present embodiment, the pair of coating stripping portions 37 projecting from the upper ends of the sandwiching pieces 32 are extended to the reinforcing portions 35. Therefore, when connecting the pressure contact terminal 29 and the covered electric wire 55, the insulating cover 5
6 can be easily peeled off by the coating peeling portion 37.

(7) In the pressure contact terminal 29 of the present embodiment, the notch 38 is provided between both the reinforcing portions 35 and the coating peeling portion 37. Therefore, when the reinforcing portion 35 is bent, a curved portion is unlikely to occur at the end portion of the coating stripping portion 37, and both coating stripping portions 37.
The top edges of the can be parallel straight lines. therefore,
The insulating coating 56 can be uniformly and surely peeled off.

(8) In the press contact terminal 29 of this embodiment, a pair of tapered slanting guide portions 34 are provided at the upper end portions of both holding pieces 32. Therefore, these oblique guide portions 34
By peeling off the insulating coating 56, the core wire 57 under the insulating coating 56 can be reliably exposed.

(9) In the case of the pressure contact terminal 29 of this embodiment,
The tab portion 31 is formed by folding and closely contacting the pair of forming pieces 31A and 31B. Therefore, even when the thin substrate 30 is used, it is possible to secure sufficient mechanical strength in the tab portion 31. Therefore, the pressure contact terminal 29
It is possible to reduce weight and cost.

The embodiment of the present invention may be modified as follows. The shape of the positioning recess is not limited to the arc shape as in the embodiment. For example, like the pressure contact terminal 29 of another example shown in FIG. 6A, the positioning recesses 41A that are not curved but have an angular shape (a substantially V shape with a wide opening) may be formed to face each other. Further, like the pressure contact terminal 29 of another example shown in FIG. 6B, the rectangular positioning recesses 41B may be formed so as to face each other.

As in another example of the pressure contact terminal 29 shown in FIG. 6 (c), the positioning recess 41C having a shape having a protrusion on the lower edge may be formed. With such a structure, the covered electric wire 55 can be more reliably held at a predetermined height.

The positioning recesses 41 do not necessarily have to be formed so as to face each other, and are formed only on one of the straight portions 39 as in the pressure contact terminal 29 of another example shown in FIG. 6D. Good. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
In (b) and (c), one positioning recess 41A,
It is acceptable to adopt a configuration in which 41B and 41C are omitted.

-Other than the concave portion, the positioning portion may be adopted. The pair of reinforcing portions 35 for applying the contact pressure may have a shape and structure different from those of the embodiment, and may be omitted in some cases. That is, the reinforcing portion 35
By omitting, the pressure contact terminal 29 having a simpler structure can be constructed. It is also permissible to omit the pair of coating stripping portions 37 extending above the reinforcing portions 35.

Next, in addition to the technical ideas described in the claims, the technical ideas grasped by the above-described embodiment will be listed below together with their effects. (1) In any one of claims 2 to 4, a notch is provided between the reinforcing portion and the coating peeling portion. Therefore, according to the invention described in the technical idea 1, the occurrence of bending of the coating peeling portion at the time of bending is prevented.

(2) A plurality of press-connecting terminals according to any one of claims 2 to 4 and technical idea 1 are mounted on a box body at a predetermined pitch so that the reinforcing portions face each other, and An electrical junction box in which a plurality of pressure contact terminals are connected to a plurality of covered electric wires wired in the box body. Therefore, according to the invention described in this technical idea 2, it is possible to provide an electric junction box having a structure suitable for miniaturization.

[0048]

As described in detail above, according to the inventions of claims 1 to 3 , it is possible to provide a pressure contact terminal capable of connecting a covered electric wire to the pressure contact terminal with high accuracy. .

According to the first aspect of the invention, the sandwiching piece-
Good electrical connection between the core wires can be obtained, and the pitch of the pressure contact terminals can be narrowed. Claim
According to the invention described in 2 , it is possible to connect the covered electric wire to the press contact terminal with higher accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view of a pressure contact terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the pressure contact terminal.

FIG. 2 is a development view of the pressure contact terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electric junction box using the pressure contact terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electric junction box using the pressure contact terminal according to the embodiment.

5A to 5D are partially enlarged views of the pressure contact terminal according to the embodiment.

6A to 6D are partially enlarged views of a pressure contact terminal of another example.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view of a conventional pressure contact terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

29 ... Pressure contact terminal, 30 ... Board, 32 ... Clamping piece, 33 ... Slot, 34 ... Oblique guide section as guide section, 35 ... Reinforcing section, 37 ... Coating stripping section, 39 ... Straight section, 41, 41A,
41B, 41C ... Positioning recesses as positioning parts, 5
5 ... Coated electric wire, 57 ... Core wire.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H02G 3/16

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pair of sandwiching pieces that are formed opposite to each other at the end of a substrate made of a conductive metal, and a covered electric wire inserted into a slot located between the sandwiching pieces so as to guide the sandwiching pieces. In a pressure contact terminal including a guide portion formed inside the tip end portion, and a linear portion formed on the base end side of the guide portion and in contact with the core wire of the covered electric wire, a pair of contact pressure applying members are provided . Reinforcing part on both sides
It is formed by bending the outer end side of one piece,
The distance between the strong parts is set to be almost the same as the outer diameter of the covered wire.
Then, extend a pair of coating stripping portions on top of both the reinforcing portions,
Also, a positioning portion for holding the core wire at a predetermined height is provided.
A pressure contact terminal formed on the straight portion . 2. The positioning portion is located on both of the straight portions.
Pair of positioning recesses formed to face each other
The pressure contact terminal according to claim 1, wherein 3. The positioning recess has an arc shape,
The radius of curvature of is approximately equal to the radius of curvature of the core wire.
The pressure contact terminal according to claim 1 or 2, which is a characteristic of the pressure contact terminal.