Caulking die

Abstract

To provide a caulking die advantageous for life extension.SOLUTION: A caulking die 10 consists of a lower die 14 and an upper die 16 for crimping a crimp contact 110 to an electric wire 101. For example, a lower die projection part 25 is formed in a lower die recess 23 to be partially connected to a first inner face 23b closest to a lower die indent part 22, and a lower die groove part 26 is formed in a lower die projection 24 to be partially opened on a first outer face 24b closest to the lower die indent part 22. The lower die projection 25 is engaged with an upper die groove part 36 when the lower die recess 23 is engaged with an upper projection 34, and an upper die projection 35 is engaged with the lower die groove part 26 when the upper die recess 33 is engaged with the lower die projection 24. For example, a first starting point position 25b being a position closest to a lower die surface 20a of the lower die projection 25 is included within a height range corresponding to a depth D from the lower die surface 20a to a lower die indent bottom face 22b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a clamping die. [Background technology]

[0002] In the prior art, there is a terminal crimping device that manufactures a terminal-attached electric wire by crimping a crimp-forming portion of a crimp terminal to an end of an electric wire. In general, the terminal crimping device uses a crimping die that is made up of a lower die and an upper die that are held so as to be able to approach and move away from each other in the vertical direction and that form the crimp portion by plastically deforming the crimp-forming portion when they approach each other.

[0003] For example, when a closed barrel type crimp terminal is crimped to an electric wire, burrs may occur on or around the crimped portion. When such burrs occur, the outer shape of the crimped portion is usually larger than when no burrs occur, and therefore, when the crimp terminal is inserted into a cavity provided in a housing, unintended interference with the cavity may occur.

[0004] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a crimping die consisting of a lower die and an upper die, each of which has an indentation part that contacts the crimping part, a recess adjacent to one end of the indentation part in the width direction, and a protrusion adjacent to the other end. The width direction here is assumed to be a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction aligned with the axial direction of the crimping part. In this crimping die, when the lower die and the upper die approach each other with the crimping part placed on the indentation part of the lower die, the protrusion part of the lower die engages with the recess part of the upper die, and the protrusion part of the upper die engages with the recess part of the lower die. Then, the indentation part of the lower die and the indentation part of the upper die press the crimping part while being sandwiched between the protrusions at both ends in the width direction, thereby forming the crimping part. At this time, each protrusion restricts the plastic deformation of the crimping part so as to extend in the width direction, thereby preventing the crimping terminal from fitting into the crimping die while preventing burrs from being generated in the crimping part. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-42683 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the crimping die disclosed in Patent Document 1, both the lower die and the upper die have recesses adjacent to the indented portion. Therefore, every time the terminal crimping device manufactures an electric wire with a terminal, that is, every time the indented portion of the lower die and the indented portion of the upper die press the crimped portion to form the crimped portion, stress is likely to concentrate in a portion of the indented portion adjacent to the recessed portion. Therefore, if fatigue failure occurs in the crimping die relatively early due to such stress concentration, the life of the crimping die may be shortened.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the problems inherent in the conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to provide a crimping die that is advantageous in terms of extending the life of the die. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is a crimping die comprising a lower die and an upper die that crimp a crimp forming portion of a crimp terminal to an electric wire when they approach each other in a vertical direction, the lower die and the upper die each being a rectangular parallelepiped whose cross section in a horizontal plane is defined by a front-to-rear direction aligned with the axial direction of the crimp forming portion and a width direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, the lower die and the upper die each having an indent portion provided in a recessed portion formed on the side of the die surface facing the crimping direction, which contacts the crimp forming portion while aligning it along the front-to-rear direction, a recessed portion adjacent to one end of the indent portion in the width direction and formed from the die surface in the opposite direction to the crimping direction, and a recessed portion formed in the indent portion in the width direction opposite to the crimping direction. the protrusion of the lower mold engages with the groove of the upper mold when the recess of the lower mold engages with the protrusion of the upper mold, and the protrusion of the upper mold engages with the groove of the lower mold when the recess of the upper mold engages with the protrusion of the lower mold, and the starting position, which is the position of the protrusion closest to the mold surface, is included in a height range corresponding to the depth from the mold surface to the bottom surface of the indent of the indentation of the indentation. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a crimping die that is advantageous in terms of extending the life of the die. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a terminal crimping device that can employ a crimping die according to each embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower die constituting a clamping die according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a top view of a lower die constituting a crimping die according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a side view of the crimping die according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a cross-sectional view of a crimping die taken at a position corresponding to part VV in FIG. 3. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of a lower mold corresponding to a portion VI in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of the lower mold and the upper mold before they are brought close to each other. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of the lower mold and the upper mold during compression bonding. [Figure 9] 9 is a partial enlarged view of a crimped portion corresponding to part IX in FIG. 8. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of the lower mold and the upper mold after separation. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lower die constituting a clamping die according to a second embodiment. [Figure 12] 12 is a cross-sectional view of the lower mold corresponding to the portion XI-XI in FIG. 11. [Figure 13] 12 is a cross-sectional view of a lower mold corresponding to a portion XII-XII in FIG. 11. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the crimping die according to each embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for the convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0012] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal crimping device 1 that can employ the crimping die 10 according to the first embodiment. The terminal crimping device 1 can also employ the crimping die 10 according to the second embodiment instead of the crimping die 10 according to the first embodiment. For the sake of explanation, the directions related to the terminal crimping device 1 and the crimping die 10 are defined as follows. The X direction indicates the front-to-rear direction from the rear side to the front side. The Y direction indicates the width direction perpendicular to the X direction on a horizontal plane. The Z direction indicates the up-down direction from the bottom to the top. The X direction may be referred to as "front" or "rear". Furthermore, the Z direction may be referred to as "up" or "down".

[0013] The terminal crimping device 1 manufactures the electric wire with terminal 100 by crimping a crimp forming portion 112 of a crimp terminal 110 onto an end of an electric wire 101 to form a crimp portion 113 (see FIGS. 8 and 9).

[0014] The electric wire 101 has a plurality of core wires 102 (see Figs. 7 and 9) made of a conductive metal such as copper or aluminum, and a coating 103 made of an insulating synthetic resin that covers the plurality of core wires 102. At an end of the electric wire 101, the coating 103 is stripped away, exposing a portion of the core wires 102 to the outside. For convenience, in each of Figs. 7 to 10, the plurality of core wires 102 are drawn as a cross section of one member.

[0015] The crimp terminal 110 is made of a conductive metal such as copper, aluminum, or an alloy thereof, and is plated with tin or chrome. The crimp terminal 110 is crimped to the core wire 102 exposed to the outside after the covering portion 103 has been stripped off. The crimp terminal 110 has a connection portion 111 and a crimp forming portion 112.

[0016] The connection portion 111 is a cylindrical portion located on the front side in the X direction of the crimp terminal 110. The connection portion 111 is connected to a mating connection portion of a mating terminal, thereby electrically connecting the crimp terminal 110 and the mating terminal.

[0017] The crimp forming portion 112 is a cylindrical portion located on the rear side in the X direction of the crimp terminal 110. The crimp forming portion 112 extends in the X direction of the crimp forming portion 112 and has insertion holes 112a (see FIG. 7) through which the multiple core wires 102 of the electric wire 101 are inserted. Note that the crimp forming portion 112 may be connected to a flange portion 112b located on the front side of the crimp forming portion 112 and protruding radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the crimp forming portion 112.

[0018] The terminal crimping device 1 has a base 11, an electric wire holding portion 12, a frame 13, a lower die 14, a movement restricting portion 15, an upper die 16, and a driving means (not shown). Here, the lower die 14 and the upper die 16 constitute a crimping die 10 according to this embodiment.

[0019] The base 11 is, for example, a block-shaped structure such as a rectangular parallelepiped that is fixed onto a work table on which the terminal crimping device 1 is placed.

[0020] The electric wire holding part 12 is fixed to the base 11 and has a first holding part 12a on which the electric wire 101 is placed, and a second holding part 12b configured to be movable toward and away from the first holding part 12a in the Z direction and capable of holding the electric wire 101 placed on the first holding part 12a. The first holding part 12a is located in the center in the Y direction and has a groove 12c extending in the X direction, and the electric wire 101 is placed in the groove 12c to restrict movement of the electric wire 101 along the Y direction. First, the electric wire holding part 12 places the electric wire 101 on the first holding part 12a in a state in which the second holding part 12b is spaced apart from the first holding part 12a in the Z direction. Thereafter, the electric wire holding portion 12 brings the second holding portion 12b closer to the first holding portion 12a along the Z direction, and finally, the electric wire 101 is sandwiched between the first holding portion 12a and the second holding portion 12b. In a state in which the electric wire 101 is sandwiched between the first holding portion 12a and the second holding portion 12b, movement of the electric wire 101 along each of the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction is restricted.

[0021] The frame 13 is fixed to the base 11 and has a frame main body 13a and a frame support portion 13b that supports the upper mold 16 movably in the Z direction relative to the frame main body 13a.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lower die 14. Fig. 3 is a top view of the lower die 14. Fig. 4 is a side view of the crimping die 10 including the lower die 14 and the upper die 16. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the crimping die 10 cut at a position corresponding to the VV portion in Fig. 3. Figs. 4 and 5 show the crimping die 10 in a state in which the crimping part 112 has not yet been sandwiched between the lower die 14 and the upper die 16. Fig. 6 is a partial enlarged view of the lower die 14 corresponding to the VI portion in Fig. 5.

[0023] The lower die 14 is one of the pair of dies that constitute the crimping die 10 and that, together with the upper die 16, sandwich and press the crimp forming portion 112 of the crimp terminal 110, and is the one supported by the base 11. The lower die 14 is also called an "anvil." The lower die 14 has a lower die main body portion 20 and a lower die concave portion 21.

[0024] The lower mold body 20 is a rectangular parallelepiped block whose cross section on a horizontal plane is defined by the X and Y directions. The lower mold body 20 has a lower mold surface 20a. The lower mold surface 20a faces the upper mold 16 and is a mold surface on the lower mold 14 side that is adjacent to the upper mold surface 30a when the lower mold 14 and the upper mold 16 are combined.

[0025] The lower mold concave portion 21 is located at the center of the lower mold surface 20a in the Y direction in the lower mold main body 20, and is formed as if it is grooved along the X direction. The lower mold concave portion 21 has a lower mold bottom surface 21a whose width in the Y direction is set narrower than the opening width along the Y direction of the opening surface opened on the lower mold surface 20a. The lower mold concave portion 21 also has a first inclined side surface 20b and a second inclined side surface 20c that are symmetrical to each other in the Y direction with respect to the lower mold bottom surface 21a. One end of the first inclined side surface 20b is continuous with one end side of the lower mold bottom surface 21a along the X direction, and the other end of the first inclined side surface 20b is continuous with the lower mold surface 20a. Similarly, one end of the second inclined side surface 20c is continuous with the other end side of the lower mold bottom surface 21a along the X direction, and the other end of the second inclined side surface 20c is continuous with the lower mold surface 20a. The first inclined side surface 20b and the second inclined side surface 20c are inclined so as to move away from the lower mold bottom surface 21a in the Y direction from the lower mold bottom surface 21a toward the lower mold surface 20a.

[0026] The lower die indent portion 22 is located on the lower die bottom surface 21a, and the crimp forming portion 112 of the crimp terminal 110 is placed thereon. The lower die indent portion 22 crimps the crimp forming portion 112 to the tip of the electric wire 101, so that the shape of the lower die indent portion 22 is transferred to the crimping portion 113, and a lower portion 113a of the crimping portion 113 is formed (see Figs. 8 and 9). The lower die indent portion 22 includes a lower die central convex portion 22a and a pair of lower die indent bottom surfaces 22b. The lower die central convex portion 22a is lower than the lower die surface 20a in the Z direction, is located at the center of the lower die main body portion 20 in the Y direction, and protrudes in the crimping direction. Here, the crimping direction with respect to the lower die 14 is a direction from the bottom to the top along the Z direction. The pair of lower die indent bottom surfaces 22b are located on both sides of the lower die central protrusion 22a in the Y direction, and are formed below the lower die central protrusion 22a in the Z direction. One of the lower die indent bottom surfaces 22b is continuous with the first inclined side surface 20b at a first lower end 20d extending along the X direction. The other lower die indent bottom surface 22b is continuous with the second inclined side surface 20c at a second lower end 20e extending along the X direction. In other words, the first lower end 20d and the second lower end 20e are both ends of the lower die indent portion 22 in the Y direction that face each other in the Y direction.

[0027] Further, the lower mold 14 has a lower mold recess 23, a lower mold protrusion 24, a lower mold protrusion 25, and a lower mold groove 26. The lower mold recess 23 and the lower mold protrusion 24 are adjacent to each other in the Y direction with the lower mold recess 21 including the lower mold indent 22 sandwiched therebetween.

[0028] The lower mold recess 23 is adjacent to the first lower end 20d in the Y direction, and is formed downward in the Z direction from the lower mold surface 20a. The lower mold recess 23 has a bottom surface 23a, a first inner surface 23b and a second inner surface 23c that face each other in the Y direction, and a third inner surface 23d and a fourth inner surface 23e that face each other in the X direction. Here, the first inner surface 23b is closest to the lower mold indent portion 22 among the multiple inner surfaces that form the lower mold recess 23. The width W2 in the X direction of the lower mold recess 23 is longer than the width W1 in the X direction of the lower mold indent portion 22, as shown in FIG.

[0029] The lower mold protrusion 24 is adjacent to the second lower end 20e in the Y direction and protrudes upward in the Z direction from the lower mold surface 20a. The lower mold protrusion 24 may be called a "side wall" or a "support" because it can be considered as a wall that stands upright on the side of the lower mold indentation 22. The lower mold protrusion 24 has a tip surface 24a, a first outer surface 24b and a second outer surface 24c that face each other in the Y direction, and a third outer surface 24d and a fourth outer surface 24e that face each other in the X direction. Here, the first outer surface 24b is the closest to the lower mold indentation 22 among the multiple outer surfaces that form the lower mold protrusion 24. The width W3 in the X direction of the lower mold protrusion 24 is longer than the width W1 in the X direction of the lower mold indentation 22, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0030] The lower die protrusion 25 is a protrusion formed so as to be contained inside the lower die recess 23. The lower die protrusion 25 engages with the upper die groove 36 formed in the upper die protrusion 34 when the lower die recess 23 engages with the upper die protrusion 34.

[0031] In this embodiment, a portion of the lower die protrusion 25 is continuous with the first inner surface 23b. Here, the position of the lower die protrusion 25 closest to the lower die surface 20a is defined as the first starting point position 25b. In this case, the first starting point position 25b is on the first inner surface 23b. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, if the depth from the lower die surface 20a to the lower die indent bottom surface 22b is defined as depth D, the first starting point position 25b is included in the height range corresponding to depth D.

[0032] In this embodiment, the lower die protrusion 25 is block-shaped with a constant width W4 in the X direction as shown in Fig. 3. The lower die protrusion 25 is included in a width range corresponding to the width W1 of the lower die indent portion 22. In other words, the width W4 of the lower die protrusion 25 is narrower than the width W1 of the lower die indent portion 22. The width W4 of the lower die protrusion 25 is set based on the width W5 of the upper die groove portion 36 described later.

[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower mold protrusion 25 has a first lower mold inclined surface 25a which is an inclined surface that moves away from the first inner surface 23b as it moves from the first starting point position 25b toward the bottom surface 23a of the lower mold recess 23. In other words, the lower mold protrusion 25 is supported integrally by the lower mold recess 23 at two surfaces, the bottom surface 23a and the first inner surface 23b. Hereinafter, the inclination angle of the first lower mold inclined surface 25a with respect to the direction from above to below along the Z direction is defined as a first inclination angle θ1.

[0034] The lower die groove 26 is a groove formed in the lower die protrusion 24. The lower die groove 26 engages with the upper die protrusion 35 formed in the upper die recess 33 when the upper die recess 33 engages with the lower die protrusion 24.

[0035] In this embodiment, a portion of the lower mold groove 26 is open at the first outer surface 24b. Here, the position in the lower mold groove 26 closest to the lower mold surface 20a is defined as the second starting point position 26b. In this case, the second starting point position 26b is on the first outer surface 24b. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the second starting point position 26b is spaced apart from the lower mold surface 20a in the Z direction so that the height dimension from the lower mold surface 20a to the second starting point position 26b is approximately the same as the height dimension from the lower mold surface 20a to the first starting point position 25b.

[0036] In this embodiment, the width of lower die groove 26 in the X direction is defined as a constant width W5, as shown in Fig. 3. Lower die groove 26 is included in a width range corresponding to width W1 of lower die indent portion 22. In other words, width W5 of lower die groove 26 is narrower than width W1 of lower die indent portion 22. Width W5 of upper die groove 36 is set so that the strength of upper die convex portion 34 is maintained to a certain degree even when upper die groove 36 is formed in upper die convex portion 34.

[0037] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower mold groove 26 has a second lower mold inclined surface 26a, which is an inclined surface that moves away from the first outer surface 24b as it moves from the second starting point position 26b toward the tip surface 24a of the lower mold convex portion 24. In other words, the lower mold groove 26 is opened to the outside at two surfaces, the tip surface 24a and the first outer surface 24b. Hereinafter, the inclination angle of the second lower mold inclined surface 26a with respect to the Z direction is defined as the second inclination angle θ2. The second lower mold inclined surface 26a faces closely to the first upper mold inclined surface 35a when the upper mold protrusion 35 is engaged with the lower mold groove 26. In this case, the magnitude of the second inclination angle θ2 is approximately the same as the magnitude of the first inclination angle θ1.

[0038] 1, the movement restricting portion 15 is located on the front side in the X direction with respect to the lower mold 14. The movement restricting portion 15 has a restricting portion main body 15a and a pair of flange receiving portions 15b.

[0039] The restricting portion body 15a is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped block body. The pair of flange receiving portions 15b protrude upward from the upper surface of the restricting portion body 15a while being spaced apart in the Y direction. The connection portion 111 of the crimp terminal 110 is inserted between one flange receiving portion 15b and the other flange receiving portion 15b, thereby restricting the movement of the crimp terminal 110 along the Y direction. In addition, in a state in which the crimp forming portion 112 is placed on the lower die indent portion 22, the pair of flange receiving portions 15b come into contact with the flange portion 112b of the crimp forming portion 112 in the X direction, thereby restricting the movement of the crimp terminal 110 forward in the X direction.

[0040] The upper die 16 is the part of the crimping die 10 that is supported by the frame 13. The upper die 16 may also be called a "crimper." The upper die 16 is supported by the frame support portion 13b and faces the lower die 14 in the Z direction. The upper die 16 approaches and moves away from the lower die 14 as the frame support portion 13b moves along the Z direction relative to the frame main body 13a. Here, the crimping direction for the upper die 16 is a direction from top to bottom along the Z direction. The shape of the upper die 16 is such that the lower die 14 is rotated 180° while maintaining parallelism with the YZ plane. In other words, the main shape of the upper die 16 is the same as the shape of the lower die 14. However, there may be differences in the length in the Z direction between the lower die 14 and the upper die 16.

[0041] The upper mold 16 has an upper mold body 30 and an upper mold concave portion 31. The upper mold body 30 has a tip portion with the same shape as the lower mold body 20, and the length in the Z direction is longer than that of the lower mold body 20. The mold surface on the upper mold body 30 is the upper mold surface 30a. The upper mold concave portion 31 has the same shape as the lower mold concave portion 21, has an upper mold bottom surface 31a, and faces the lower mold concave portion 21 in the Z direction. The upper mold indent portion 32 has the same shape as the lower mold indent portion 22, and faces the lower mold indent portion 22 in the Z direction. The upper mold indent portion 32 is formed by crimping the crimp forming portion 112 to the tip of the electric wire 101, so that the shape of the upper mold indent portion 32 is transferred to the crimp portion 113, and an upper portion 113b of the crimp portion 113 is formed (see Figs. 8 and 9). The upper mold indent portion 32 also includes an upper mold central protrusion 32a and a pair of upper mold indent bottom surfaces 32b. One of the upper mold indent bottom surfaces 32b is continuous with the first inclined side surface 30b at a first upper end portion 30d extending along the X direction. The other upper mold indent bottom surface 32b is continuous with the second inclined side surface 30c at a second upper end portion 30e extending along the X direction.

[0042] Furthermore, the upper mold 16 has an upper mold recess 33, an upper mold protrusion 34, an upper mold protrusion 35, and an upper mold groove 36. The upper mold recess 33 has the same shape as the lower mold recess 23, a bottom surface 33a and a first inner surface 33b, and engages with the lower mold protrusion 24 when approaching the lower mold 14. The upper mold protrusion 34 has the same shape as the lower mold protrusion 24, a tip surface 34a and a first outer surface 34b, and engages with the lower mold recess 23 when approaching the lower mold 14. Note that the upper mold protrusion 34, like the lower mold protrusion 24, is considered to be a wall that stands upright on the side of the upper mold indent 32, and is sometimes called a "side wall" or "support". The upper mold protrusion 35 has the same shape as the lower mold protrusion 25, and has a first upper mold inclined surface 35a and a first starting point position 35b. The upper die groove 36 has the same shape as the lower die groove 26, and has a second upper die inclined surface 36a and a second starting point position 36b.

[0043] Here, the lower mold convex portion 24 including the lower mold groove portion 26 is fitted into the upper mold concave portion 33, so the shape of the lower mold convex portion 24 generally matches the shape of the upper mold concave portion 33 including the upper mold protrusion portion 35. Similarly, the upper mold convex portion 34 including the upper mold groove portion 36 is fitted into the lower mold concave portion 23, so the shape of the upper mold convex portion 34 generally matches the shape of the lower mold concave portion 23 including the lower mold protrusion portion 25. However, in order to prevent the lower mold convex portion 24 or the upper mold convex portion 34 from becoming stuck after fitting, the width dimensions of each portion of the lower mold convex portion 24 and the upper mold convex portion 34 are set smaller than the width dimensions of the corresponding portions of the upper mold concave portion 33 or the lower mold concave portion 23 by, for example, about 0.1 [mm].

[0044] Furthermore, the driving means moves the frame support portion 13b along the Z direction relative to the frame main body 13a, thereby moving the upper mold 16 toward and away from the lower mold 14 along the Z direction.

[0045] Next, a basic operation during crimping by the terminal crimping device 1 equipped with the crimping die 10 will be described.

[0046] Fig. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of the lower die 14 and the upper die 16 before the crimp forming portion 112 of the crimp terminal 110 is placed on the lower die indent portion 22 of the lower die 14 and crimped to the electric wire 101, i.e., before they approach each other, in the terminal crimping device 1. Note that each cross-sectional view from Fig. 7 to Fig. 10 corresponds to a view cut at the same position as Fig. 5.

[0047] Fig. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state of lower die 14 and upper die 16 in which upper die 16 is brought close to lower die 14 from the state shown in Fig. 7 and then compression forming portion 112 is pressed to form compression portion 113. Fig. 9 is a partial enlarged view of the compression portion corresponding to portion IX in Fig. 8.

[0048] Figure 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the state in which the finally formed compression portion 113 is present on the lower mold indentation portion 22 of the lower mold 14 after the upper mold 16 has been separated from the lower mold 14 from the state shown in Figure 7.

[0049] First, the worker inserts the multiple core wires 102 of the electric wire 101 into the insertion holes 112a of the crimp forming part 112. Next, as shown in Fig. 7, the worker places the crimp forming part 112 on the lower die indent part 22 with the multiple core wires 102 inserted into the insertion holes 112a, and places the electric wire 101 on the first holding part 12a of the electric wire holding part 12. Next, the worker brings the second holding part 12b close to the first holding part 12a, and clamps the electric wire 101 between the first holding part 12a and the second holding part 12b.

[0050] Next, the worker drives the driving means to move the upper die 16 toward the lower die 14. By this operation, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the upper die 16 approaches the lower die 14, and the crimp forming portion 112 is pressed (compressed) by the lower die indent portion 22 and the upper die indent portion 32. At this time, the crimp forming portion 112 extends in the Y direction while being compressed in the Z direction, and finally, the shapes of the lower die indent portion 22 and the upper die indent portion 32 are transferred to the crimp terminal 110 to form the crimp portion 113. In this way, the terminal crimping device 1 crimps the core wire 102 inserted into the insertion hole 112a of the crimp terminal 110 to the crimp forming portion 112, thereby manufacturing the terminal-attached electric wire 100 in which the crimp terminal 110 and the electric wire 101 are integrated.

[0051] Thereafter, the worker drives the driving means again to move the upper die 16 in a direction away from the lower die 14. This action separates the upper die 16 from the lower die 14, as shown in Fig. 10. Then, the worker removes the electric wire with terminal 100 placed on the first holding portion 12a and the lower die 14.

[0052] Next, the effect of the crimping die 10 will be described.

[0053] The crimping die 10 is composed of a lower die 14 and an upper die 16 that, when they approach each other in the vertical direction, crimp the crimp forming portion 112 of the crimp terminal 110 to the electric wire 101. The lower die 14 and the upper die 16 are each a rectangular parallelepiped whose cross section on the horizontal plane is defined by a front-to-rear direction aligned with the axial direction of the crimp forming portion 112 and a width direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction.

[0054] The lower die 14 has a lower die indentation 22 that is provided in a lower die recess 21 formed on the side of the lower die surface 20a facing the crimping direction and contacts the crimping forming part 112 in a state of being aligned in the front-rear direction. The lower die 14 has a lower die recess 23 adjacent to a first lower end 20d, which is one end in the width direction of the lower die indentation 22, and formed in the opposite direction from the lower die surface 20a to the crimping direction. The lower die 14 has a lower die protrusion 24 adjacent to a second lower end 20e, which is the other end in the width direction of the lower die indentation 22, and protruding from the lower die surface 20a in the crimping direction. The lower die 14 has a lower die protrusion 25 formed in the lower die recess 23 so as to be partially continuous with the first inner surface 23b closest to the lower die indentation 22. The lower mold 14 also has a lower mold groove 26 formed in the lower mold protrusion 24 so as to be partially open on the first outer surface 24b closest to the lower mold indentation 22.

[0055] The upper die 16 has an upper die indentation 32 that is provided in an upper die concave portion 31 formed on the side of the upper die surface 30a facing the crimping direction and contacts the crimping forming portion 112 in a state of being aligned in the front-rear direction. The upper die 16 has an upper die concave portion 33 that is adjacent to a first upper end portion 30d, which is one end portion in the width direction of the upper die indentation 32, and is formed in the opposite direction to the crimping direction from the upper die surface 30a. The upper die 16 has an upper die protrusion 34 that is adjacent to a second upper end portion 30e, which is the other end portion in the width direction of the upper die indentation 32, and protrudes from the upper die surface 30a in the crimping direction. The upper die 16 has an upper die protrusion 35 that is formed in the upper die concave portion 33 so as to be partially continuous with a first inner surface 33b that is closest to the upper die indentation 32. The upper die 16 also has an upper die groove 36 formed in the upper die protrusion 34 so as to be partially open on the first outer surface 34b closest to the upper die indentation 32.

[0056] In addition, the lower mold protrusion 25 engages with the upper mold groove 36 when the lower mold recess 23 engages the upper mold protrusion 34, and the upper mold protrusion 35 engages with the lower mold groove 26 when the upper mold recess 33 engages the lower mold protrusion 24.

[0057] Furthermore, first starting point position 25b, which is the position of lower die protrusion portion 25 closest to lower die surface 20a, is included in the height range corresponding to depth D from lower die surface 20a to lower die indent bottom surface 22b of lower die indent portion 22. Similarly, first starting point position 35b, which is the position of upper die protrusion portion 35 closest to upper die surface 30a, is included in the height range corresponding to depth D from upper die surface 30a to upper die indent bottom surface 32b of upper die indent portion 32.

[0058] In the above example, the up-down direction corresponds to the Z direction, the front-rear direction corresponds to the X direction, and the width direction corresponds to the Y direction. The pressure bonding direction of the lower die 14 corresponds to the Z direction, and the pressure bonding direction of the upper die 16 corresponds to the direction opposite to the Z direction.

[0059] First, according to the crimping die 10, when the lower die 14 and the upper die 16 are closest to each other, the lower die indent portion 22 and the upper die indent portion 32 press the crimped portion 112 while being sandwiched between the lower die convex portion 24 and the upper die convex portion 34 in the Y direction, thereby forming the crimped portion 113. At this time, the lower die convex portion 24 and the upper die convex portion 34 restrict the plastic deformation of the crimped portion 112 so as to extend along the Y direction at their respective first outer surfaces 24b and 34b, so that the generation of burrs in the crimped portion 113 can be suppressed.

[0060] Here, as a comparative example, a case is assumed in which the lower die 14 does not have the lower die protrusion 25 and the lower die groove 26, and the upper die 16 does not have the upper die protrusion 35 and the upper die groove 36. In this case, in the lower die 14, the lower die recess 23 is close to the first inclined side surface 20b continuing with the lower die indent portion 22, so the thickness between the lower die recess 23 and the lower die indent portion 22 is thinner than other portions. Therefore, this portion of the lower die 14 is likely to be subjected to stress every time the lower die indent portion 22 and the upper die indent portion 32 press the compression forming portion 112 to form the compression forming portion 113. In particular, according to the shape of the lower die indent portion 22, stress is likely to be concentrated at the first lower end portion 20d as a corner portion continuing so as to intersect the first inclined side surface 20b and the lower die indent bottom surface 22b. Such stress concentration at a specific portion is undesirable since it may cause fatigue failure relatively early in the lower mold 14. In this regard, the same is true for the portion of the upper mold 16 where the upper mold recess 33 is adjacent to the first inclined side surface 30b continuing from the upper mold indent portion 32 and where the thickness is thinner than other portions.

[0061] In contrast, in the crimping die 10 according to this embodiment, the lower die recess 23 is formed with a lower die protrusion 25 that is partially continuous with the first inner surface 23b closest to the lower die indentation 22. In addition, the first starting point position 25b of the lower die protrusion 25 is included in the height range corresponding to the depth D from the lower die surface 20a to the bottom surface 22b of the lower die indentation. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the distance in the Y direction from the first lower end 20d to the lower die recess 23 is thicker than when the lower die protrusion 25 is not present. Therefore, the thick portion including the lower die protrusion 25 can be a reinforced portion and can relieve the stress concentration that is easily generated at the first lower end 20d by being transmitted in the direction shown by the white arrow in FIG. 9, so that the timing at which fatigue failure occurs in the lower die 14 can be further delayed. The upper die protrusion 35 formed in the upper die recess 33 also functions in the same way as the lower die protrusion 25.

[0062] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide the clamping die 10 that is advantageous in terms of extending the life of the clamping die 10. Furthermore, due to the extended life of the clamping die 10, it is possible to further reduce the wear and tear costs of the clamping die 10.

[0063] Furthermore, in the crimping die 10, the lower die protrusion 25 may be included in a width range corresponding to the width W1 in the front-to-rear direction of the lower die indent portion 22. Similarly, the upper die protrusion 35 may be included in a width range corresponding to the width W1 in the front-to-rear direction of the upper die indent portion 32.

[0064] According to this crimping die 10, for example, the lower die protrusion 25 always faces the lower die indent portion 22 in the width direction, so that it is more susceptible to stress generated from the lower die indent portion 22 side, and as a result, it is possible to more reliably extend the life of the lower die 14. The same is true for the upper die protrusion 35.

[0065] Furthermore, according to this crimping die 10, the width W5 of the upper die groove 36 with which the lower die protrusion 25 engages is also included in the width range corresponding to the width W1 of the upper die indent 32. Therefore, even if the upper die groove 36 is formed in the upper die protrusion 34, the strength of the upper die protrusion 34 can be maintained, and the surface area of ​​the first outer surface 34b of the upper die protrusion 34 can be secured to an extent that does not hinder the prevention of burrs at the crimping portion 113. This is similar to the width W5 of the lower die groove 26 with which the upper die protrusion 35 engages, in that it is included in the width range corresponding to the width W1 of the lower die indent 22.

[0066] Furthermore, in the crimping mold 10, the lower mold protrusion 25 may have a first lower mold inclined surface 25a as a first inclined surface that moves away from the first inner surface 23b closest to the lower mold indentation 22 as it moves from the first starting point position 25b toward the bottom surface 23a of the lower mold recess 23. The lower mold groove 26 may have a second lower mold inclined surface 26a as a second inclined surface that closely faces the first upper mold inclined surface 35a when the upper mold protrusion 35 is engaged. Similarly, the upper mold protrusion 35 may have a first upper mold inclined surface 35a as a first inclined surface that moves away from the first inner surface 33b closest to the upper mold indentation 32 as it moves from the first starting point position 35b toward the bottom surface 33a of the upper mold recess 33. The upper mold groove 36 may have a second upper mold inclined surface 36a as a second inclined surface that closely faces the first lower mold inclined surface 25a when the lower mold protrusion 25 is engaged.

[0067] According to this crimping die 10, as shown in Fig. 9, the lower die protrusion 25 and the upper die protrusion 35 are provided in the direction in which stress is transmitted, as indicated by the outlined arrow in the figure. Therefore, the size of the lower die protrusion 25 can be set to the minimum necessary, and the size of the upper die groove 36 that engages with the lower die protrusion 25 can also be set to a smaller size, making it easier to ensure the strength of the upper die convex portion 34. This is similar in that the size of the upper die protrusion 35 can be set to the minimum necessary.

[0068] Here, when the direction in which stress is transmitted as indicated by the white arrow in Figure 9 is known based on conditions such as the shape of each part, such as the lower mold indent portion 22 or the lower mold recess portion 23, the magnitudes of the first inclination angle θ1 and the second inclination angle θ2 may be set based on that direction.

[0069] Second embodiment In the crimping die 10 according to the first embodiment, the lower die protrusion 25 and the upper die protrusion 35 in the lower die 14 and the upper die 16 have an inclined surface such as the first lower die inclined surface 25a or the first upper die inclined surface 35a, respectively. However, in the crimping die 10, the shapes of the protrusions and the corresponding grooves formed in the lower die 14 and the upper die 16 are not limited to the shapes of the lower die protrusion 25, the lower die groove 26, the upper die protrusion 35, and the upper die groove 36, and may have, for example, the following shapes.

[0070] Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the lower die 14 constituting the crimping die 10 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the lower die 14 corresponding to the portion XI-XI in Fig. 11. Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the lower die 14 corresponding to the portion XII-XII in Fig. 11. Note that the shape of the upper die 16 in the second embodiment is the same as that of the lower die 14 as in the first embodiment, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. Also, with regard to each part of the lower die 14 in the second embodiment, parts having the same shape as those of the lower die 14 in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[0071] In the lower mold 14 in this embodiment, a lower mold protrusion 27 is formed in the lower mold recess 23 instead of the lower mold protrusion 25 in the first embodiment, and a lower mold groove 28 is formed in the lower mold convex portion 24 instead of the lower mold groove 26 in the first embodiment.

[0072] A portion of lower die protrusion 27 is continuous with at least first inner surface 23b. In this case, first starting point position 27b is also included in the height range corresponding to depth D. Furthermore, like lower die protrusion 25, the width of lower die protrusion 27 in the X direction is also defined by a constant width W4.

[0073] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, lower die protrusion 27 has a first lower die plane 27a that includes first starting point position 27b and is parallel to lower die surface 20a, instead of first lower die inclined surface 25a of lower die protrusion 25. In this embodiment, lower die protrusion 27 is integrally supported by lower die recess 23 at three surfaces, namely, bottom surface 23a, first inner surface 23b, and second inner surface 23c.

[0074] At least a portion of the lower die groove 28 is open on the first outer surface 24b. In this case, the second starting point position 28b is also spaced apart from the lower die surface 20a in the Z direction so that the height dimension from the lower die surface 20a to the second starting point position 28b is approximately the same as the height dimension from the lower die surface 20a to the first starting point position 27b. Furthermore, the width of the lower die groove 28 is also defined as a constant width W5, similar to the lower die groove 26.

[0075] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, lower die groove 28 has second lower die flat surface 28a that closely faces second upper die flat surface 38a when upper die protrusion 37 is engaged, instead of second lower die inclined surface 26a in lower die groove 26. Lower die groove 28 is open to the outside on three surfaces, namely, tip surface 24a, first outer surface 24b, and second outer surface 24c.

[0076] In this way, in the crimping die 10, the lower die protrusion 27 may have a first lower die plane 27a which is a first plane including the first starting point position 27b and parallel to the lower die surface 20a. The lower die groove 28 may have a second lower die plane 28a which is a second plane that faces closely to the second upper die plane 38a when the upper die protrusion 37 is engaged. Similarly, the upper die protrusion 37 may have a first upper die plane 37a which is a first plane that includes the first starting point position 37b and is parallel to the upper die surface 30a. The upper die groove 38 may have a second upper die plane 38a which is a second plane that faces closely to the second lower die plane 28a when the lower die protrusion 27 is engaged.

[0077] According to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the crimping die 10 according to the first embodiment are achieved. Meanwhile, according to this embodiment, for example, the lower die protrusion 27 can be made thicker in the width direction along the Y direction than the lower die protrusion 25 in the first embodiment, so that stress concentration can be further alleviated. The same applies to the upper die protrusion 37 provided in the upper die recess 33 of the upper die 16.

[0078] Also, according to this embodiment, for example, the width in the front-rear direction of the lower die protrusion 27 can be made the same as the width W4 of the lower die protrusion 25 in the first embodiment. Therefore, the surface area of ​​the first outer surface 34b of the upper die protrusion 34 can be secured to a degree that does not hinder the prevention of the occurrence of burrs at the crimping portion 113, similar to that of the lower die protrusion 25. Also, even if the volume of the lower die protrusion 27 increases more than the volume of the lower die protrusion 25, the increase in the size of the upper die groove 36 that engages with the lower die protrusion 27 can be kept small, so that the decrease in the strength of the upper die protrusion 34 can be further suppressed.

[0079] In the above description, the crimping die 10 employed in the terminal crimping device 1 has been exemplified, but the structure or shape of the crimping die 10 may also be employed in a crimping tool.

[0080] Although the embodiments have been described above, the embodiments are not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 10 crimping type 14 Lower mold 16 Upper mold 20a Lower mold surface 20d 1st lower end 20e 2nd lower end 21 Lower mold recess 22 Lower die indentation 22b Bottom of lower die indent 23 Lower die recess 24 Lower die protrusion 24b,34b 1st outer surface 25,27 Lower mold protrusion 25a 1st lower mold slope 25b,27b 1st starting point position 26,28 Lower mold groove 26a 2nd lower mold slope 26b,28b 2nd starting point position 27a 1st lower mold plane 28a 2nd lower mold plane 30a Upper mold surface 30d 1st upper end 30e 2nd upper end 31 Upper mold concave part 32 Upper die indentation 32b Bottom of upper die indent 33 Upper die recess 34 Upper die protrusion 35,37 Upper die protrusion 35a 1st upper mold slope 35b,37b 1st starting point position 36,38 Upper die groove 36a 2nd upper mold slope 36b,38b 2nd starting point position 37a 1st upper mold plane 38a 2nd upper mold plane 101 Electric wire 110 Crimp terminal 112 Crimping and forming section

Claims

1. A crimping die including a lower die and an upper die that crimp a crimping portion of a crimp terminal to an electric wire when the upper die and the lower die approach each other in a vertical direction, The lower mold and the upper mold are each a rectangular parallelepiped whose cross section on a horizontal plane is defined by a front-to-rear direction aligned with the axial direction of the compression forming portion and a width direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, The lower mold and the upper mold are each An indent portion is provided in a recessed portion formed on the side of the mold surface facing the crimping direction, and the crimping forming portion is brought into contact with the indent portion in a state aligned along the front-rear direction; a recess formed adjacent to one end of the indent portion in the width direction and in a direction opposite to the crimping direction from the mold surface; A convex portion adjacent to the other end of the indent portion in the width direction and protruding from the mold surface in the compression direction; a protruding portion formed in the recess so as to be partially continuous with an inner surface closest to the indentation portion; a groove formed in the protrusion so as to be partially open on an outer surface closest to the indentation, the protruding portion of the lower mold engages with the groove portion of the upper mold when the concave portion of the lower mold engages with the convex portion of the upper mold, the protruding portion of the upper mold engages with the groove portion of the lower mold when the recess portion of the upper mold engages with the protruding portion of the lower mold, A crimping die, wherein a starting point of the protrusion portion, which is a position closest to the die surface, is included in a height range corresponding to a depth from the die surface to a bottom surface of the indent of the indent portion.

2. The crimping die according to claim 1 , wherein the protruding portion is within a width range corresponding to a width of the indent portion in the front-rear direction.

3. the protrusion has a first inclined surface that becomes increasingly distant from the inner surface closest to the indentation as it moves from the starting position toward the bottom surface of the recess, The crimping die according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the groove portion has a second inclined surface that faces closely to the first inclined surface when the protruding portion is engaged with the groove portion.

4. The protrusion has a first plane that includes the starting point and is parallel to the mold surface, The crimping die according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the groove portion has a second flat surface that faces closely to the first flat surface when the protruding portion is engaged with the groove portion.

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