Crimp connection member

Abstract

To provide a crimp connection member which can provide a good electrical connection by crimping even with copper or copper alloy electric wires having an insulating coating formed on the surface.SOLUTION: A crimp connection member includes a serration member provided on the outside so as to surround an electric wire to be crimped during crimping, a reinforcing pressure member provided on the outside surrounding the serration member and made of a conductive material harder than the constituent material of the serration member, and a crimping portion provided on the outside surrounding the reinforcing pressure member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a crimp connection member used for crimping electric wires, and more particularly to a crimp connection member that is effective when used for crimping electric wires using conductors made of copper or copper alloy. [Background technology]

[0002] When crimping an aluminum electric wire to a copper crimp terminal, in order to remove the oxide coating or insulating coating (hereinafter referred to as the insulating coating) that has formed on the surface of the electric wire, serrations are formed on the inner wall of the crimp terminal before crimping, or a serration member is inserted inside the crimp terminal before crimping.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a crimp terminal in which serrations are formed on the inner surface of the crimping part, extending obliquely relative to the longitudinal direction of the conductor, and when crimped, the serrations break the insulating coating on the surface of the aluminum electric wire to make contact and establish electrical continuity. When crimping an aluminum electric wire, even if such a conventional crimp terminal is used, the serrations break the insulating coating and bite into the aluminum, filling the holes in the serrations with aluminum, thereby providing good electrical contact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-249284 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when such conventional crimp terminals are used to crimp copper or copper alloy electric wires, the copper crimp terminal - serration - copper or copper alloy electric wire are overlapped and crimped in that order, resulting in a phenomenon in which the serrations bite into the copper crimp terminal rather than the copper or copper alloy electric wire, making it impossible to effectively break the insulating coating of the electric wire and making it impossible to obtain good electrical contact.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is to provide a crimp connection member which can obtain a good electrical connection by crimping even with copper or copper alloy electric wires having an insulating coating formed on their surfaces. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the present invention, the crimping connection member includes a serration member provided on the outside of the electric wire to be crimped so as to surround the electric wire during crimping, a reinforcing pressure member provided on the outside of and surrounding the serration member and made of a conductive material harder than the constituent material of the serration member, and a crimping portion provided on the outside of and surrounding the reinforcing pressure member.

[0008] Since the reinforcing pressure member is provided between the serration member and the crimping portion, the serration member does not directly contact the crimping portion during crimping. Moreover, since the reinforcing pressure member is formed of a conductive material harder than the material of the serration member, the serration member does not bite into the reinforcing pressure member, and the force from the crimping portion during crimping is distributed over the entire surface of the reinforcing pressure member and applied to the serration member. Therefore, the serration member bites into the electric wire side rather than the crimping portion side, and the insulating coating formed on the surface of the electric wire is effectively destroyed by the serration member, resulting in good electrical connection between the electric wire body and the serration member, the reinforcing pressure member, and the crimping portion.

[0009] The reinforcing pressing member is preferably made of a copper alloy material which is harder than copper.

[0010] In this case, it is more preferable that the reinforcing pressing member is made of a phosphor bronze alloy material, since the phosphor bronze alloy material provides good electrical conductivity.

[0011] It is also preferable that the reinforcing and pressing member has a thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm, which is sufficient to prevent the reinforcing and pressing member from being significantly deformed by the force applied during compression bonding.

[0012] It is also preferable that the serration member is formed of a conductive material harder than the electric wire, so that the serration member can bite into the electric wire during crimping, destroying the insulating coating on the surface of the electric wire, thereby obtaining good electrical continuity.

[0013] It is also preferable that the serration member is formed from a copper or copper alloy material.

[0014] The electric wire is preferably made of copper or a copper alloy material covered with an insulating film.

[0015] It is also preferred that the crimping portion is formed from a copper or copper alloy material. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, since the reinforcing pressure member is made of a conductive material harder than the material of the serration member, the serration member does not bite into the reinforcing pressure member, and the force from the crimping portion during crimping is distributed over the entire surface of the reinforcing pressure member and applied to the serration member. Therefore, the serration member bites into the electric wire side, not the crimping portion side, and the insulating coating formed on the surface of the electric wire is effectively destroyed by the serration member, resulting in good electrical connection between the electric wire body and the serration member, the reinforcing pressure member, and the crimping portion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a crimp connection member according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a partial axial cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 1 is a photograph showing a cross-sectional state of a crimped portion when a copper electric wire is crimped using a conventional crimp connection member. [Diagram 5] 3 is a photograph showing a cross-sectional state of a crimped portion when a copper electric wire is crimped using the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a crimp connection member according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 7 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 6. FIG. [Figure 8] 7 is a partial axial sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a crimp connection member in an embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the crimp connection member in this embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional configuration of the crimp connection member in this embodiment.

[0019] As shown in these figures, the crimp connection member of this embodiment includes a crimp terminal 10 having a crimping portion (barrel portion) 10a and a terminal portion 10b, a serration member 11 formed as a separate member from the crimp terminal 10 and inserted coaxially inside the crimping portion 10a and crimped, and a reinforcing pressing member 12 provided coaxially inside the crimping portion 10a and outside the serration member 11, i.e., between the serration member 11 and the crimping portion 10a, so as to surround the serration member 11. Although not shown, the electric wire to be crimped is made of copper or copper alloy material covered with an insulating coating in this embodiment. Of course, the crimp connection member of this embodiment can be applied even if the electric wire to be crimped is, for example, an aluminum or aluminum alloy electric wire covered with an insulating coating such as enamel. The electric wire may have a rectangular axial cross section, a round axial cross section, or a stranded wire.

[0020] In this embodiment, the crimp terminal 10 is a closed barrel type crimp terminal, with the crimping portion 10a formed in a cylindrical shape, and a through hole 10c is provided in a terminal portion 10b in a circular flat plate shape continuous with the crimping portion 10a. The crimp terminal 10 is made of copper or a copper alloy material, and the surface is tin-plated.

[0021] The serration member 11 is formed by rolling a flat plate, which is a separate member from the crimp terminal 10, into a cylindrical shape (with a circular cross section), and is coaxially inserted inside the crimping portion 10a of the crimp terminal 10 via a reinforcing pressing member 12. In this embodiment, the entire inner surface 11a of the serration member 11 is provided with a large number of protrusions that protrude toward the inside of the cylinder (toward the electric wire). These protrusions are a plurality of sharp protrusions or burrs, and are formed, for example, at the open ends of a plurality of through holes obtained by press-punching the flat plate. Instead of providing such protrusions in the serration member, a large number of simple holes may be provided, and the edges of the corners of the holes may be used as protrusions. The serration member 11 is formed of a copper or copper alloy material that is harder than the electric wire to be crimped, and its surface is tin-plated.

[0022] The reinforcing pressing member 12 is formed by rolling a flat plate, which is a separate member from the crimp terminal 10 and the serration member 11, into a cylindrical shape (with a circular cross section), and is inserted inside the crimping portion 10a of the crimp terminal 10 and outside the serration member 11 coaxially. An important point in the present invention is that the reinforcing pressing member 12 is provided and is formed of a conductive material having a higher hardness than the material constituting the serration member 11. Specifically, the reinforcing pressing member 12 is preferably formed of a stainless steel material or a copper alloy material having a higher hardness than the copper or copper alloy material constituting the serration member 11, and more preferably formed of a phosphorus bronze alloy material in consideration of the conductive characteristics. The thickness of the reinforcing pressing member 12 is preferably about 0.05 to 0.2 mm, which is thin enough not to be significantly deformed by the force applied during crimping. In this embodiment, the reinforcing pressing member 12 has a thickness of 0.1 mm.

[0023] Next, the crimping operation of the crimp connection member of this embodiment will be described. When crimping an electric wire made of copper or copper alloy material covered with an insulating film, the electric wire is inserted into the crimping portion 10a from one end opening of the serration member 11 of the crimp terminal 10. Next, the crimping portion 10a is crimped from the outside to perform crimping. As a result, pressure is applied in the order of the crimping portion 10a, the reinforcing pressing member 12, the serration member 11, and the electric wire to crimp the electric wire. Since the reinforcing pressing member 12 is provided, the serration member 11 does not directly abut against the crimping portion 10a. Moreover, since the reinforcing pressing member 12 is made of a phosphorus bronze alloy material harder than the copper or copper alloy material of the serration member 11, the serration member 11 does not bite into the reinforcing pressing member 12, and the force from the crimping portion 10a during crimping is distributed over the entire surface of the reinforcing pressing member 12 and applied to the serration member 11. As a result, the serration member 11 bites into the wire side rather than the crimping portion side, and the insulating coating formed on the surface of the wire is effectively destroyed by the serration member 11, resulting in good electrical connection between the wire body and the serration member 11, the reinforcing pressing member 12, and the crimping portion 10a.

[0024] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional state of a crimped portion when a copper electric wire is crimped using a conventional crimping connection member, and FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional state of a crimped portion when a copper electric wire is crimped using the crimping connection member of this embodiment.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 4, when a copper electric wire 13' is crimped using a conventional crimp connection member, the serration member 11' bites into the crimping portion 10a' of the crimp terminal 10' rather than into the electric wire 13', and the insulation coating of the electric wire 13' cannot be broken. As a result, the electrical connection between the electric wire 13' and the crimp terminal 10' becomes insufficient.

[0026] In contrast, when a copper electric wire 13 is crimped using the crimp connection member of this embodiment, the serration member 11 is prevented from coming into contact with the crimp portion 10a of the crimp terminal 10 by the reinforcing pressing member 12. Moreover, since the reinforcing pressing member 12 is made of a phosphor bronze alloy material which is harder than the copper or copper alloy material of the serration member 11, the serration member 11 does not bite into the reinforcing pressing member 12. As a result, as shown in Fig. 5, the serration member 11 bites into the electric wire, and the insulating coating formed on the surface of the electric wire is effectively destroyed by the serration member 11, resulting in a good electrical connection.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a crimp connection member in another embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state, FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a partial cross-sectional configuration of the crimp connection member in the embodiment of FIG. 6.

[0028] As shown in these figures, the crimp connection member of the embodiment of FIG. 6 includes a cylindrical crimp sleeve 110 (corresponding to the crimping portion of the present invention), a serration member 111 that is formed as a separate member from the crimp sleeve 110 and is inserted and disposed inside the crimp sleeve 110 for crimping, and a reinforcing pressing member 112 that is provided coaxially inside the crimp sleeve 110 and outside the serration member 111, i.e., between the serration member 111 and the crimp sleeve 110, so as to surround the serration member 111. Although not shown, the electric wire to be crimped is made of copper or copper alloy material covered with an insulating coating in this embodiment. Of course, the crimp sleeve 110 of this embodiment can be applied even if the electric wire to be crimped is, for example, an aluminum or aluminum alloy electric wire covered with an insulating coating such as enamel. The electric wire may have an axial cross section of a rectangular shape, a round axial cross section, or a stranded wire.

[0029] In this embodiment, the crimp sleeve 110 is made of copper or a copper alloy and has a tin-plated surface.

[0030] The serration member 111 is formed by rolling a flat plate, which is a separate member from the crimp sleeve 110, into a cylindrical shape (with a circular cross section), and is coaxially inserted inside the crimp sleeve 110 via a reinforcing pressing member 112. In this embodiment, the entire inner surface 111a of the serration member 111 is provided with a large number of protrusions that protrude toward the inside of the cylinder (toward the electric wire). These protrusions are a plurality of sharp protrusions or burrs, and are formed, for example, at the open ends of a plurality of through holes obtained by press-punching a flat plate. Instead of providing such protrusions in the serration member, a large number of simple holes may be provided, and the edges of the corners of the holes may be used as protrusions. The serration member 111 is formed of copper or a copper alloy, which is harder than the electric wire to be crimped, and its surface is tin-plated.

[0031] The reinforcing pressing member 112 is formed by rolling a flat plate, which is a separate member from the crimping sleeve 110 and the serration member 111, into a cylindrical shape (with a circular cross section), and is inserted inside the crimping sleeve 110 and outside the serration member 111 coaxially. An important point in the present invention is that the reinforcing pressing member 112 is provided and is formed of a conductive material having a higher hardness than the material constituting the serration member 111. Specifically, the reinforcing pressing member 112 is preferably formed of a stainless steel material or a copper alloy material having a higher hardness than the copper or copper alloy material constituting the serration member 111, and more preferably formed of a phosphorus bronze alloy material in consideration of the conductive characteristics. The thickness of the reinforcing pressing member 112 is preferably about 0.05 to 0.2 mm, which is thin enough not to be significantly deformed by the force applied during crimping. In this embodiment, the reinforcing pressing member 112 has a thickness of 0.1 mm.

[0032] Next, the crimping operation of the crimp connection member of this embodiment will be described. When crimping an electric wire made of copper or copper alloy material covered with an insulating film, the electric wire is inserted into the inside of the serration member 111 of the crimping sleeve 110 from one end opening. Next, the crimping sleeve 110 is crimped from the outside to perform crimping. As a result, pressure is applied in the order of the crimping sleeve 110, the reinforcing pressing member 112, the serration member 111, and the electric wire, thereby crimping the electric wire. Since the reinforcing pressing member 112 is provided, the serration member 111 does not directly abut against the crimping sleeve 110. Moreover, since the reinforcing pressing member 112 is formed of a phosphorus bronze alloy material that is harder than the copper or copper alloy material of the serration member 111, the serration member 111 does not bite into the reinforcing pressing member 112, and the force from the crimping sleeve 110 during crimping is distributed over the entire surface of the reinforcing pressing member 112 and applied to the serration member 111. As a result, the serration member 111 bites into the wire rather than the crimp sleeve, and the insulating coating formed on the surface of the wire is effectively destroyed by the serration member 111, resulting in good electrical connection between the wire body and the serration member 111, the reinforcing pressing member 112, and the crimp sleeve 110.

[0033] 4 and 5 and their contents are similar to those of the present embodiment, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] In the above-described embodiment, the crimp connection member has been described using a closed barrel type crimp terminal and a crimp sleeve, but the present invention is not limited to these and can, of course, be applied to any crimp connection member in which the insulating coating of an electric wire is broken by a serration member to perform crimping.

[0035] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention, and are not limiting, and the present invention can be embodied in various other modified and altered forms. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10, 10' crimp terminal 10a, 10a' Crimping section 10b Terminal section 10c through hole 11, 11', 111 Serration member 11a, 111a inside 12, 112 Reinforcing pressing member 13, 13′ wire 110 Crimp sleeve

Claims

1. A crimp connection member comprising: a serration member provided on the outside of an electric wire to be crimped so as to surround the electric wire during crimping; a reinforcing pressure member provided on the outside of and surrounding the serration member, the reinforcing pressure member being made of a conductive material harder than the constituent material of the serration member; and a crimping portion provided on the outside of and surrounding the reinforcing pressure member.

2. 2. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing pressing member is made of a copper alloy material which is harder than copper.

3. 3. The crimp connection according to claim 2, wherein the reinforcing pressing member is made of a phosphorus bronze alloy material.

4. 2. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing pressing member has a thickness of 0.05 to 0.2 mm.

5. 2. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the serration member is made of a conductive material harder than the electric wire.

6. 2. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the serration member is made of copper or a copper alloy material.

7. 2. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the electric wire is made of copper or a copper alloy material covered with an insulating film.

8. 8. The crimp connection member according to claim 1, wherein the crimp portion is made of copper or a copper alloy material.

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