Female terminal and manufacturing process for female terminal

Abstract

The invention aims to easily confirm that a spring element is positioned correctly relative to a terminal body. To this end, a female terminal 1 is proposed, comprising a terminal body 10 having a bottom wall 22 and a spring element 70 mounted within the terminal body 10. The terminal body 10 includes a connecting tube portion 20 continuous with the bottom wall 22, a tab 81 of a male terminal 80 inserted into the connecting tube portion 22, an elastic contact piece 50 configured to enter elastic contact with the tab 81 inserted into the connecting tube portion 22, and a through hole 31 penetrating through the bottom wall 22. The spring element 70 is made of a metal having a higher modulus of elasticity than the elastic contact piece 50.One end portion of the spring member 70 forces the elastic contact piece 50 in a direction towards the lug 81 by coming into contact with the elastic contact piece 50. The other end portion of the spring member 70 is located in a region inside a portion of the edge of the hole through the hole 31 with the spring member 70 mounted in the terminal body 10. [Figure for abbreviation] FIG. 1.

Description

Title of the invention: Female terminal and method for manufacturing a female terminal

[0001] This disclosure relates to a female terminal and a method for manufacturing a female terminal. Previous technique

[0002] A female terminal is conventionally described in unexamined Japanese patent publication No. H07-45322. This female terminal is such that a male contact receiving portion of a female contact is substantially box-shaped, consisting of a top wall, a side wall, and a bottom wall, and a spring element is arranged within the male contact receiving portion. Furthermore, a spring element made of stainless steel having a higher modulus of elasticity than the spring element is arranged beneath the spring element.

[0003] [Patent literature]

[0004] Patent literature 1: Publication of unexamined Japanese patent no. H07-45322 Summary of the invention Technical problem

[0005] According to the above configuration, since the spring element is disposed in the box-shaped male contact receiving portion, there is a problem whereby it is difficult to confirm whether or not the spring element has been disposed in a correct position in the male contact receiving portion.

[0006] The present disclosure was made on the basis of the above situation and aims to provide a technique related to female terminals allowing easy confirmation of whether a spring element is in a correct position or not. Technical solution

[0007] This disclosure relates to a female terminal with a terminal body including a bottom wall, and a spring element mounted in the terminal body, wherein the terminal body includes a portion of connecting tube continuous with the bottom wall, a leg of a male terminal being inserted into the portion of connecting tube, an elastic contact piece configured to enter elastically into contact with the leg inserted in the portion of connecting tube, and a through hole penetrating through the bottom wall, and the spring element is made of a metal having a higher modulus of elasticity than the elastic contact piece, one end portion of the spring element compresses the elastic contact piece in a direction towards the leg by entering into contact with the elastic contact piece, and the other part The end of the spring element is located in a region inside a portion of the hole edge through the hole with the spring element mounted in the terminal body.

[0008] [Effect of the invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is easy to confirm whether a spring element is positioned correctly relative to a terminal body. Brief description of the drawings

[0010] Figure [1] is a longitudinal section along II of Figure [3] showing a female terminal according to one embodiment,

[0011] Fig. 2 is a side view showing a male terminal and the female terminal,

[0012] Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the female terminal,

[0013] [Fig. 4] is a perspective view showing a spring-loaded organ,

[0014] [Fig.5] is a section along VV of [Fig.1],

[0015] [Fig.6] is an enlarged partial side view showing a region P of [Fig.2],

[0016] [Fig.7] is an enlarged partial plan view showing a region Q of [Fig.3],

[0017] [Fig.8] is an enlarged partial plan view showing a region R of [Fig.1],

[0018] [Fig. 9] is a plan view showing a terminal body element formed by working a first metal plate material in a press,

[0019] [Fig. 10] is a plan view showing a state in which a spring element part formed by pressing a second metal plate material is placed on the terminal body element part,

[0020] [Fig. 1 1] is a plan view showing a state in which the spring element is formed by pressing the second metal plate material, and

[0021] [Fig. 12] is a plan view showing a state in which crimping portions are crimped onto the spring member.

[0022] [Description of the embodiments of this disclosure]

[0023] First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.

[0024] (1) This disclosure relates to a female terminal with a terminal body comprising a bottom wall, and a spring element mounted in the terminal body, wherein the terminal body includes a portion of connecting tube continuous with the bottom wall, a leg of a male terminal being inserted into the portion of connecting tube, an elastic contact piece configured to enter elastically into contact with the leg inserted in the portion of connecting tube, and a through hole penetrating through the bottom wall, and the spring element is made of a metal having a higher modulus of elasticity than the elastic contact piece, one end portion of the spring element compresses the elastic contact piece in one direction towards the leg by entering into contact with the elastic contact piece, and the other The end portion of the spring element is located in a region inside a portion of the hole edge of the through hole with the spring element mounted in the terminal body.

[0025] It is possible to easily confirm whether the spring member has been placed in a correct position relative to the terminal body by a simple method allowing confirmation whether the other end part of the spring member is located in the region inside the edge part of the hole through hole.

[0026] (2) Preferably, the spring element is crimped onto the terminal body by a portion of crimping formed on the terminal body.

[0027] It is possible to confirm whether the spring member is inclined or not when the spring member is fixed to the terminal body by the crimping portion by confirming the other end part of the spring member through the through hole.

[0028] (3) Preferably, the terminal body includes a portion for crimping wire on a wire and a coupling portion provided between the connecting tube portion and the wire crimping portion to couple the connecting tube portion and the wire crimping portion, and the through hole is provided in the under wall of the coupling portion.

[0029] During the crimping of the wire crimp portion onto the wire, a significant force is applied to the wire crimp portion. Furthermore, during the electrical connection of the male terminal leg and the connecting tube portion, a significant force is applied to the connecting tube portion from the elastic contact piece. Conversely, a significant force is not applied to the coupling portion, unlike the wire crimp portion and the connecting tube portion. Thus, the through hole can be formed while eliminating a reduction in the terminal body's resistance.

[0030] (4) Preferably, a shear surface is formed on the other part end of the spring element.

[0031] According to the above configuration, a cutting die for the spring element can be inserted into the through hole during press operation, with the spring element positioned on the underside wall. In this way, the press operation can be performed with the spring element positioned on the underside wall.

[0032] (5) Preferably, the lower wall is provided with a suppression piece for excessive deflection protruding towards the elastic contact piece, the excessive deflection suppression piece suppressing the excessive deflection of the elastic contact piece by making contact with the elastic contact piece when an excessive force is applied to the elastic contact piece, and the excessive deflection suppression piece is separated from the end part of the spring member.

[0033] Since the spring member has a relatively high modulus of elasticity, the excessive deflection suppression piece can be deformed if the spring member comes into contact with the excessive deflection suppression piece. Since the excessive deflection suppression piece is separated from the spring member according to this disclosure, the deformation of the excessive deflection suppression piece can be eliminated.

[0034] (6) Preferably, the connecting tube portion includes a side wall extending from a side edge of the bottom wall and the side wall includes a window portion penetrating through the side wall, and a contact portion of the elastic contact piece and the end portion of the spring member is exposed through the window portion.

[0035] The contact of the elastic contact piece and the end part of the spring member can be easily confirmed through the window portion.

[0036] (7) This disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a female terminal for to manufacture a female terminal including a terminal body having a bottom wall and a spring element to be mounted in the terminal body, the process including the formation of a terminal body element part including a through hole in the bottom wall by press-working a first metal plate material, the formation of a spring element part by press-working a second metal plate material having a higher modulus of elasticity than the first metal plate material, the placement of the spring element part on the bottom wall, and the formation of the spring element by press-working the spring element part by inserting a press-working die into the through hole.

[0037] The spring element can be formed by a press working with the spring element piece placed on the wall below.

[0038] (8) Preferably, the method further includes crimping the element part of spring or spring element placed on the wall below, on the wall below.

[0039] The spring member or spring element part can be firmly fixed to the wall below by crimping the spring member or spring element part onto the wall below.

[0040] [Details of the method of implementation of this disclosure]

[0041] An embodiment of this disclosure is described below. This disclosure is not limited to these illustrations and is intended to be represented by the claims and includes all modifications to the scope of the claims and the meaning and scope of the equivalents.

[0042] An embodiment of the present disclosure is described with reference to Figures 1 to 12. As shown in [Fig. 1], a female terminal 1 in this embodiment is connected to a male terminal 80 (only a portion of the leg is shown) including A leg 81. The female terminal 1 includes a terminal body 10 and a spring element 70 formed separately from the terminal body 10 and for mounting within the terminal body 10. In the following description, a direction indicated by an arrow Z is called an upward direction, a direction indicated by an arrow Y is called a forward direction, and a direction indicated by an arrow X is called a leftward direction. Furthermore, for a plurality of identical elements, only some elements may be designated by a reference sign, and the other elements may not be designated by the reference sign.

[0043] As shown in [Fig. 1], the terminal body 10 is formed into an elongated shape in a front-to-back direction by pressing a first metal plate material 90 made of copper or a copper alloy such as brass. The terminal body 10 includes a bottom wall 22 extending in the front-to-back direction. The bottom wall 22 is continuous from a front end portion to a rear end portion of the terminal body 10. As shown in [Fig. 2], a connecting tube portion 20, into which the lug 81 of the male terminal 80 is inserted from a direction indicated by an arrow A, is formed in a substantially front half region of the terminal body 10, and a wire connection portion 40 for connection to a wire 60 is formed in a substantially rear half region.

[0044] As shown in [Fig.2], the connecting tube portion 20 is in the form of an elongated rectangular tube in the front-to-back direction, and a terminal insertion opening 21, through which the male terminal 80 is inserted, is provided in the front end of the connecting tube portion 20. The connecting tube portion 20 includes a pair of side walls 23 rising upwards from the left and right end edges of a front half portion of the bottom wall 22 and a ceiling wall 24 facing the bottom wall 22 between the upper ends of the pair of side walls 23 (see [Fig.1]).

[0045] As shown in [Fig. 1], the wire connection portion 40 is coupled to the connecting tube portion 20 via a coupling portion 30 extending rearward from the rear end of the bottom wall 22 into the connecting tube portion 20. This wire connection portion 40 includes a rear half portion of the bottom wall 22 extending rearward from the rear end of the coupling portion 30 and a pair of wire cylinder portions 42 and a pair of insulation cylinder portions 43 projecting from the two left and right side edges of the rear half portion of the bottom wall 22. The wire cylinder portions 42 and the insulation cylinder portions 43 are crimped and electrically and mechanically connected to a core 61 and an insulation sheath 62 of the wire 60 located on the rear half portion of the bottom wall 22.

[0046] As shown in [Fig. 1], an elastic contact piece 50 is disposed inside the connecting tube portion 20. The elastic contact piece 50 is formed by being bent backward from the front end edge of the bottom wall 22. The elastic contact piece 50 extends to a substantially central position within the connecting tube portion 20 in the front-to-back direction. The elastic contact piece 50 is formed to be elastically deformable in a vertical direction within the connecting tube portion 20, with a front end portion of the bottom wall 22 as a support point. A contact point portion 54 projecting upward is formed at a position near a rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50. The contact point portion 54 makes elastic contact with the lug 81 of the male terminal 80 from below.

[0047] The spring element 70 is formed by pressing a second metal plate material 91 having a higher modulus of elasticity than the first metal plate material 90. In this embodiment, the second metal plate material 91 is made of stainless steel. The spring element 70 is in the form of an elongated plate in the front-to-back direction as a whole.

[0048] As shown in [Fig. 1], a front end portion (an example of an end portion) of the spring member 70 is located substantially in the center of the connecting tube portion 20 in the front-to-back direction, with the spring member 70 positioned on the underside wall 22. The front end portion of the spring member 70 serves as a load portion 71 to stress the elastic contact piece 50 upwards by coming into contact with a rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50 from below when the elastic contact piece 50 is elastically deformed downwards. In this way, the elastic contact piece 50 is stressed in a direction towards the tab 81. When the elastic contact piece 50 is in its natural state, the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50 and the load portion 71 of the spring member 70 may be separated or may be in contact.

[0049] As shown in [Fig. 1], a portion of the rear half of the spring member 70 serves as a placement portion 72 located on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22 of the terminal body 10. The placement portion 72 is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom wall 22. A region between the stress portion 71 and the placement portion 72 serves as an inclined portion 73 which is inclined upwards and forwards with the spring member 70 located on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22.

[0050] As shown in [Fig. 3], a rear end portion 76 of the placement portion 72 extends further rearward than the rear end portion of the connecting tube portion 20 with the spring member 70 placed on the lower wall 22. In this way, the rear end portion 76 of the placement portion 72 is located on the upper surface of the bottom wall 22 of the coupling portion 30. A shear surface 77 described later, formed by press working, is formed on the rear surface of the rear end part 76 of the placement portion 72.

[0051] As shown in [Fig.4], locking protrusions 74 are formed to project outwards to both left and right sides from both left and right side edges of a front end portion of the placement portion 72. Two locking protrusions 74 are formed side by side on each side edge of the placement portion 72 while being spaced apart in the front-back direction.

[0052] As shown in [Fig. 5], crimping portions 25 projecting inwards from the connecting tube portion 20 and crimped onto the placement portion 72 of the spring member 70 are formed on the pair of side walls 23 in the connecting tube portion 20. The crimping portions 25 are formed by cutting and folding back the side walls 23 of the connecting tube portions 20. The crimping portions 25 are crimped between the two locking protrusions 74 arranged one behind the other on the two side edges of the placement portion 72. In this way, the spring member 70 is mounted in the terminal body 10 with limited forward and backward movement. The two crimping portions 25 do not overlap and are arranged with a very small gap between their ends.

[0053] As shown in [Fig. 2], the side walls 23 of the connecting tube portion 20 are respectively provided with window portions 26 penetrating through the side walls 23 in a laterally direction at positions corresponding to the rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50 and to the left and right portions of the load portion 71 of the spring member 70. As shown in [Fig. 6], the window portion 26 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the side. The rear end portion of the elastic contact piece 50 and the load portion 71 of the spring member 70 are arranged in a region within a portion of the hole edge of the window portion 26 when viewed from the side.In this way, the rear end part of the elastic contact piece 50 and the stress portion 71 of the spring member 70 can be visually confirmed through the window portion 26.

[0054] As shown in [Fig. 7], the underside wall 22 of the coupling portion 30 is formed with a through hole 31 penetrating through the underside wall 22 in the vertical direction. The through hole 31 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above. In particular, the through hole 31 has a substantially trapezoidal shape in which a length of a portion of the front edge of the hole is longer than that of a portion of the rear edge of the hole. With the spring member 70 mounted in the body of terminal 10, the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70 is located in the region inside the edge portion of the hole of the through hole 31. The lower surface of the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70 is exposed downwards through the through hole 31. A gap 32 is formed between the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70 and the edge portion of the hole of the through hole 31.

[0055] As shown in [Fig. 8], the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70 can be formed with a downward-projecting burr 75 or a downward-deformed portion. The burr 75 is formed when the spring member 70 is press-formed. The burr 75 is located in the region inside the edge portion of the through hole 31. In this way, the burr 75 is positioned within the plate thickness of the bottom wall 22 and does not project outwards from the bottom wall 22.

[0056] As shown in [Fig. 1], the underside wall 22 of the connecting tube portion 20 is provided with an over-deflection suppression piece 27 projecting upwards below the elastic contact piece 50 and forwards towards the stress portion 71 of the spring member 70. The over-deflection suppression piece 27 is formed by cutting and raising the underside wall 22. A gap is formed between an upper end portion of the over-deflection suppression piece 27 and a lower edge portion of the elastic contact piece 50 in its natural state. Similarly, when the tab 81 of the male terminal 80 is inserted into the connecting tube portion 20, the gap is formed between the upper end portion of the over-deflection suppression piece 27 and the lower edge portion of the elastic contact piece 50.When the elastic contact piece 50 is pressed too far downwards by the tab 81 of the male terminal 80, the upper end part of the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 comes into contact with the lower edge part of the elastic contact piece 50 from below, thus suppressing the excessive downward deflection of the elastic contact piece 50. It should be noted that the natural state of the elastic contact piece 50 means a state in which no force is applied to the elastic contact piece 50 from the outside.

[0057] Since it is provided towards the front of the stress portion 71 of the spring member 70, the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 does not come into contact with the spring member 70.

[0058] [Female terminal manufacturing process]

[0059] The female terminal 1 is, for example, manufactured in the following manner. It should be noted that a manufacturing process for the female terminal 1 is not limited to that described below.

[0060] First, as shown in [Fig. 9], a terminal body element 10E is formed by pressing the first metal plate material 90 made of copper or a copper alloy. At this point, the through hole 31 is formed in the underside wall 22 of the terminal body element 10E.

[0061] Next, the spring element part 70E is formed by pressing the second metal plate material 91 made of stainless steel. Then, the spring element part 70E is placed on the bottom wall 22 as shown in [Fig. 10].

[0062] Next, as shown in [Fig. 11], the spring element part 70E is sheared to form the spring member 70 by inserting a cutting die 92 into the through hole 31 from above. At this point, the shear surface 77 is formed on the rear surface of the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70. In addition, the burr 75 can be formed on the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70. The die 92 is adjusted to have a size that allows it to be inserted between the edge portion of the through hole 31 and the rear end portion 76 of the spring member 70 in the vertical direction.

[0063] Next, as shown in [Fig. 12], the crimping portions 25 are bent to incline inwards with the spring member 70 placed on the lower wall 22, whereby the spring member 70 is crimped onto the terminal body element piece 10E.

[0064] It should be noted that the crimping portions 25 can be bent before the shearing of the spring member 70 (formation of the shearing surface 77) with the spring element piece 70E placed on the lower wall 22. In this case, it is possible to eliminate a positional deviation before the press working of the spring element piece 70E.

[0065] By bending the terminal body element piece 10E, the elastic contact piece 50 and the connecting tube portion 20 are formed. In this way, the female terminal 1 is made (see [Fig.1]).

[0066] [Functions and effects of the embodiment]

[0067] Next, the functions and effects of this embodiment are described. The female terminal 1 according to this embodiment includes the terminal body 10 having the bottom wall 22 and the spring element 70 mounted in the terminal body 10. The terminal body 10 includes the connecting tube portion 20 continuous with the bottom wall 22, the tab 81 of the male terminal 80 being inserted into the connecting tube portion 20, the elastic contact piece 50 configured to enter elastically into contact with the tab 81 inserted in the connecting tube portion 20, and the through hole 31 penetrating through the bottom wall 22. The spring element 70 is made of metal having a higher modulus of elasticity than the elastic contact piece 50. The portion The stress 71 of the spring member 70 stresses the elastic contact piece 50 in the direction towards the leg 81 by coming into contact with the elastic contact piece 50. The rear end part 76 of the spring member 70 is located in the region inside the edge part of the hole through the hole 31 with the spring member 70 mounted in the terminal body 10.

[0068] It is possible to easily confirm whether the spring member 70 has been placed in a correct position relative to the terminal body 10 by a simple method allowing confirmation whether the rear end part 76 of the spring member 70 is located in the region inside the edge part of the hole of the through hole 31.

[0069] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the spring element 70 is crimped onto the terminal body 10 by the crimping portions 25 formed on the terminal body 10.

[0070] By confirming the rear end part 76 of the spring member 70 through the through hole 31, it is possible to confirm whether the spring member 70 is inclined or not when the spring member 70 is fixed to the terminal body 10 by the crimping portions 25.

[0071] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the terminal body 10 includes the wire connection portion 40 to be crimped onto the wire 60 and the coupling portion 30 provided between the connecting tube portion 20 and the wire connection portion 40 to couple the connecting tube portion 20 and the wire connection portion 40, and the through hole 31 is provided in the under wall 22 of the coupling portion 30.

[0072] A greater force is applied to the wire connection portion 40 when the wire connection portion 40 is crimped onto the wire 60. Furthermore, when the lug 81 of the male terminal 80 and the connecting tube portion 20 are electrically connected, a significant force is applied to the connecting tube portion 20 from the elastic contact piece 50. In contrast, a significant force is not applied to the coupling portion 30, unlike the wire connection portion 40 and the connecting tube portion 20. Thus, the through hole 31 can be formed while eliminating a reduction in the resistance of the terminal body 10.

[0073] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the shearing surface 77 is formed on the rear end part 76 of the spring member 70.

[0074] According to the above configuration, the cutting die of the spring member 70 can be inserted into the through hole 31 at the time of press operation with the spring member 70 placed on the lower wall 22. In this way, the press operation can be carried out with the spring member 70 placed on the lower wall 22.

[0075] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the bottom wall 22 is provided with the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 projecting towards the elastic contact piece 50 and configured to suppress excessive deflection of the contact piece elastic 50 by coming into contact with the elastic contact piece 50 when an excessive force is applied to the elastic contact piece 50, and the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 is separated from the front end part of the spring member 70.

[0076] Since the spring member 70 has a relatively high modulus of elasticity, the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 can be deformed if the spring member 70 comes into contact with the excessive deflection suppression piece 27. However, since the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 is separated from the spring member 70 according to the present disclosure, the deformation of the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 can be suppressed.

[0077] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the connecting tube portion 20 includes the side walls 23 extending from the side edges of the bottom wall 22, the side walls 23 include the window portions 26 penetrating through the side walls 23, and a contact portion of the elastic contact piece 50 and the stress portion 71 of the spring member 70 is exposed through the window portions 26.

[0078] Thus, the contact of the elastic contact piece 50 and the stress portion 71 of the spring member 70 can be easily confirmed through the window portions 26.

[0079] The manufacturing process of the female terminal 1 according to this disclosure is a manufacturing process of the female terminal 1 including the terminal body 10 having the bottom wall 22 and the spring member 70 to be mounted in the terminal body 10 and includes the formation of the terminal body element part 10E including the through hole 31 in the bottom wall 22, the formation of the spring member part 70E by press-working the second metal plate material 91 having a higher modulus of elasticity than the first metal plate material 90, the placement of the spring member part 70E on the bottom wall 22 and the formation of the spring member 70 by press-working the spring member part 70E by inserting the press-working die 92 into the through hole 31.

[0080] Performing a press operation with the spring element part 70E placed on the lower wall 22 allows the spring member 70 to be formed.

[0081] Furthermore, the manufacturing process of the female terminal 1 according to this embodiment includes crimping the spring element 70 placed on the bottom wall 22, onto the bottom wall 22.

[0082] Crimping the spring element 70 onto the bottom wall 22 allows the spring element 70 to be securely fixed to the bottom wall 22.

[0083] <Autres modes de réalisation>

[0084] (1) A method for fixing the spring member 70 and the terminal body 10 is not limited to crimping, and the spring element 70 and the terminal body 10 can be welded or riveted.

[0085]

[0086]

[0087]

[0088]

[0089]

[0090]

[0091]

[0092]

[0093]

[0094]

[0095]

[0096]

[0097]

[0098]

[0099]

[0100]

[0101]

[0102]

[0103]

[0104]

[0105]

[0106]

[0107]

[0108]

[0109]

[0110] [YES]

[0112] (2) The through hole 31 may be provided in a different position from the coupling portion 30 and, for example, may be provided in the bottom wall 22 of the connecting tube portion 20 or in the bottom wall 22 of the wire cylinder portions 42. (3) The excessive deflection suppression piece 27 may be omitted. In addition, the excessive deflection suppression piece 27 may suppress excessive deflection of the spring member 70 by coming into contact with the spring member 70. (4) Portions of window 26 may be omitted. (5) The burr 75 of the spring organ 70 can protrude upwards. (6) Although the spring member 70 is crimped onto the bottom wall 22 by the two crimping portions 25 in the embodiment above, there is no limitation to this and the spring member 70 may be crimped onto the bottom wall 22 by three or more crimping portions 25. List of reference signs 1: female terminal 10: terminal body 10E: Terminal body component 20 connecting tube section 21 terminal insertion opening 22 bottom wall 23 side wall 24 ceiling wall 25 crimping section 26 window section 27 over-deflection suppression piece 30 coupling section 31 through hole 32 spacing 40 wire connection section 42 wire cylinder section 43 insulation cylinder section 50 elastic contact piece 54 contact point section 60 wire 61 core 62 insulation coating 70 spring element

[0113]

[0114]

[0115]

[0116]

[0117]

[0118]

[0119]

[0120]

[0121]

[0122]

[0123]

[0124]

[0125] 70E: Spring element part 71: Stress portion 72: Placement portion 73: Angled portion 74: Locking protrusion 75: Burr 76: Rear end portion 77: Shear surface 80: Male terminal 81: Tab 90: First metal plate material 91: Second metal plate material 92: Die

Claims

Demands

1. Female terminal (1), comprising: a terminal body (10) including a bottom wall (22); and a spring member (70) mounted in the terminal body (10), wherein: the terminal body (10) includes a portion of connecting tube (20) continuous with the bottom wall (22), a tab (81) of a male terminal (80) being inserted into the portion of connecting tube (20), an elastic contact piece (50) configured to enter elastically into contact with the tab (81) inserted into the portion of connecting tube (20), and a through hole (31) penetrating through the bottom wall (22), and the spring member (70) is made of metal having a higher modulus of elasticity than the elastic contact piece (50), an end portion of the spring member (70) forces the elastic contact piece (50) in a direction towards the tab (81) by entering into contact with the elastic contact piece (50),and the other end portion of the spring element (70) is located in a region inside a portion of the hole edge of the through hole (31) with the spring element (70) mounted in the terminal body.

2. Female terminal according to claim 1, wherein the spring element is crimped onto the terminal body by a crimping portion formed on the terminal body.

3. Female terminal (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: the terminal body (10) includes a wire crimp portion (25) for crimping onto a wire (60) and a coupling portion (30) provided between the connecting tube portion (20) and the wire crimp portion (25) for coupling the connecting tube portion (20) and the wire crimp portion (60), and the through hole (31) is provided in the underside wall (22) of the coupling portion (30).

4. Female terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a shearing surface (77) is formed on the other end part of the spring member (70).

5. Female terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: the bottom wall (22) is provided with an over-deflection suppression piece (27) projecting towards the elastic contact piece (50), the over-deflection suppression piece (27) suppressing the over-deflection of the elastic contact piece (50) by coming into contact with the elastic contact piece (50) when an excessive force is applied to the elastic contact piece (50), and the excessive deflection suppression piece (27) is separated from the end part of the spring member (70).

6. Female terminal (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: the connecting tube portion (20) includes a side wall (23) extending from a side edge of the bottom wall (22) and the side wall (23) includes a window portion (26) penetrating through the side wall (23), and a contact part of the elastic contact piece (50) and the end part of the spring member (70) is exposed through the window portion (26).

7. Method of manufacturing a female terminal (1) for manufacturing a female terminal (1) comprising a terminal body (10) having a bottom wall (22) and a spring element (70) to be mounted in the terminal body (10), comprising: the formation of a terminal body element part (10E) including a through hole (31) in the bottom wall (22) by pressing a first metal plate material (90); the formation of a spring element part (70E) by pressing a second metal plate material (91) having a higher modulus of elasticity than the first metal plate material (90); the placement of the spring element part (70E) on the underside wall (22); and the formation of the spring organ (70) by working the spring element part (70E) with a press by inserting a working die with a press into the through hole.

8. Method of manufacturing female terminal (1) according to claim 7, comprising crimping the spring element part (70E) or the spring member (70) placed on the bottom wall, onto the bottom wall.

Images