Manufacturing method for chain terminal assemblies and wires with terminals.

Abstract

This reduces misalignment between components in terminal-equipped wires with terminals formed by the fusion of two parts, thereby minimizing variations. [Solution] The chain terminal assembly 10 comprises a first chain terminal 11 in which multiple first members 3 having a connection portion 31 for connecting to a mating member are connected to a carrier 38, and a second chain terminal 12 in which multiple second members 4 having a first crimping piece 44 and a second crimping piece 46 are connected to a carrier 48. The first members 3 and the second members 4, which are connected to the carrier 38 and the carrier 48 are joined together while being positioned by the holes 39a and 49a of the carriers 38 and 48, and the second members 4 are connected to the electric wire at the same time as joining, thereby obtaining an electric wire with terminals that has less misalignment and variation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a chain terminal set used for manufacturing a wire with terminals and a method for manufacturing a wire with terminals.

Background Art

[0002] Terminals connected to wires have various structures. For example, there is a terminal having the structure shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (see Patent Document 1). The terminals shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are composed of two parts: a terminal part 501 manufactured separately and a wire crimping part 502. The terminal part 501 has a contact piece part 501a and a connecting piece part 501b. The wire crimping part 502 has a conductor crimping piece part 502a and an insulator crimping piece part 502b.

[0003] When connecting this terminal to a wire 503, as shown in FIG. 7, with the connecting piece part 501b and the conductor crimping piece part 502a overlapped, the wire 503 is placed on the wire crimping part 502. Then, the conductor 503a of the wire 503 is crimped by the conductor crimping piece part 502a, and the insulator 503b of the wire 503 is crimped by the insulator crimping piece part 502b. Thereby, the terminal part 501 and the wire crimping part 502 are united.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the terminals of FIGS. 6 and 7 described above, when crimping the wire 503, displacement is likely to occur between the terminal part 501 and the wire crimping part 502, and there is a problem that variation is also likely to occur in the wire with terminals after crimping.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to suppress misalignment between components and reduce variations in a terminal-equipped electric wire that has a terminal formed by the fusion of two components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention relates to a chain terminal assembly comprising a first chain terminal in which a plurality of first members having connection portions for mating members are connected on a carrier, and a second chain terminal in which a plurality of second members having crimping pieces are connected on a carrier, wherein the carriers of the first chain terminal and the second chain terminal are provided with positioning portions that allow relative positioning such that a portion of the first member and a portion of the second member overlap each other. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress misalignment between components and reduce variations in a terminal-equipped electric wire that has a terminal formed by the fusion of two components. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This figure shows a wire with terminals obtained from a chain terminal assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is an exploded view of the terminals. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view along line BB in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This figure shows a chain terminal assembly used in the manufacture of the terminal-equipped electric wire shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] This is an exploded view of a conventional terminal. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates how to connect the terminals in Figure 6 to the wires. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] A "chain terminal assembly" and a "wire with terminals" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

[0011] The wire with terminals 1 shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4 comprises a wire 2 and a terminal 5.

[0012] The electric wire 2 is an insulated electric wire in which the conductor core wire 21 is covered with an insulating coating 22. At the end of this electric wire 2, the insulating coating 22 has been removed, exposing the core wire 21.

[0013] As shown in Figure 2, terminal 5 is formed by combining the first member 3 and the second member 4.

[0014] The first member 3 is separated from the first chain terminal 11 shown in Figure 5. The first chain terminal 11 is obtained by pressing or otherwise processing a metal plate, and multiple first members 3 are connected to the carrier 38 via connecting pieces 37. The carrier 38 extends in a strip shape and has holes 39a provided at equal intervals.

[0015] The first member 3 has a connection portion 31 to the mating member and a connecting portion 32 to the second member 4. The connection portion 31 is formed in an annular shape. The connecting portion 32 is formed in a rectangular plate shape connected to the connection portion 31. The connecting portion 32 is provided with an insertion hole 33 through which the first crimping piece 44 of the second member 4, described later, is inserted. The insertion hole 33 is elongated in a straight line. The width of the insertion hole 33 is approximately equal to the thickness of the first crimping piece 44 (the plate thickness of the second member 4). The length of the insertion hole 33 is approximately equal to the length of the wire in the longitudinal direction of the first crimping piece 44. In this example, since the second member 4 has a pair of first crimping pieces 44, the connecting portion 32 is provided with a pair of insertion holes 33.

[0016] The second member 4 is separated from the second chain terminal 12 shown in Figure 5. The second chain terminal 12 is obtained by pressing or otherwise processing a metal plate, and multiple second members 4 are connected to the carrier 48 via connecting pieces 47. The carrier 48 extends in a strip shape and has holes 49a provided at equal intervals.

[0017] The second member 4 has a core wire crimping portion 41 and a wire holding portion 42.

[0018] The core wire crimping part 41 is a part for crimping the core wire 21 of the electric wire 2, and is formed in a U shape before crimping. The core wire crimping part 41 has a bottom plate 43 and a pair of first clamping pieces 44 connected to both ends of the bottom plate 43. The pair of first clamping pieces 44 clamp the core wire 21 placed on the connecting part 32 in a state of being inserted into the pair of insertion holes 33 of the connecting part 32. Thereby, the core wire 21 and the terminal 5 are electrically connected. Also, the first member 3 and the second member 4 are joined (fixed).

[0019] The wire holding part 42 is a part for holding the part covered by the insulating coating 22 of the electric wire 2, and is formed in a U shape before holding. The wire holding part 42 has a bottom plate 45 and a pair of second clamping pieces 46 connected to both ends of the bottom plate 45. The bottom plate 45 of the wire holding part 42 is connected to the bottom plate 43 of the core wire crimping part 41. The pair of second clamping pieces 46 clamp the part covered by the insulating coating 22 of the electric wire 2 placed on the bottom plate 45.

[0020] In this specification, a set of the first interlocking terminal 11 and the second interlocking terminal 12 is referred to as an "interlocking terminal set" and is denoted by the reference numeral 10.

[0021] When the carriers 38 and 48 are overlapped with each other and the holes 39a and the holes 49a are overlapped with each other, the pair of first clamping pieces 44 are inserted into the pair of insertion holes 33, and the connecting part 32 overlaps on the bottom plate 43. That is, the holes 39a and the holes 49a function as "positioning parts" for positioning the first member 3 and the second member 4.

[0022] Subsequently, an example of the manufacturing method of the electric wire with terminal 1 will be described. The insulating coating 22 at the end of the electric wire 2 is removed in advance.

[0023] First, the first member 3 of the first chain terminal 11 and the second member 4 of the second chain terminal 12 are transported toward the crimping machine by a transport mechanism. The transport mechanism is equipped with feed claws, which catch on each hole 39a and each hole 49a, causing the holes 39a and each hole 49a to overlap. As a result, the pair of first crimping pieces 44 are inserted into the pair of insertion holes 33, and the connecting part 32 is placed on the bottom plate 43 to position the first member 3 and the second member 4 (chain terminal assembly process).

[0024] Next, the electric wire 2 is placed on the second member 4 which is positioned relative to the first member 3. Specifically, the exposed core wire 21 of the electric wire 2 is placed between a pair of first crimping pieces 44 and on the connecting portion 32, and the portion of the electric wire 2 covered with insulating coating 22 is placed between a pair of second crimping pieces 46 and on the bottom plate 45 (electric wire placement step).

[0025] After the above process, the first member 3 and the second member 4, which have been positioned relative to each other, and the electric wire 2 reach the crimping machine. The crimping machine is then operated to crimp the core wire 21 of the electric wire 2 and the connecting portion 32 with a pair of first crimping pieces 44. The pair of second crimping pieces 46 also crimp the portion of the electric wire 2 covered with the insulating coating 22. As a result, the first member 3 and the second member 4 are joined (fixed) together to form a terminal 5, and the terminal 5 is connected to the electric wire 2 (crimping process).

[0026] Finally, by detaching the first member 3 from the carrier 38 of the first chain terminal 11 and the second member 4 from the carrier 48 of the second chain terminal 12, the terminal-equipped wire 1 shown in Figure 1 is obtained (detachment process).

[0027] In the above manufacturing method, the first member 3, which is connected to the carrier 38, and the second member 4, which is connected to the carrier 48, are joined together while being positioned by the holes in the carriers 38 and 48. This suppresses misalignment between the first member 3 and the second member 4 during joining. Therefore, variations in the finished terminal-equipped electric wire 1 can also be reduced.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned terminal-equipped electric wire 1, the positional accuracy between the first member 3 and the second member 4 is higher because the pair of first crimping pieces 44 are inserted through the pair of insertion holes 33 of the connecting portion 32 and the core wire 21 are crimped together.

[0029] In the above embodiment, the first member 3 had an annular connecting portion 31, but the first member 3 may have a connecting portion of the type that fits (male-female fitting) with a mating member instead of the connecting portion 31. Furthermore, in the present invention, multiple types of first chain terminals with different shapes and sizes of connecting portions, and multiple types of second chain terminals with different shapes and sizes of first and second crimping pieces can be prepared, and a set of first and second chain terminals selected according to the application can be made into a chain terminal set. In this way, multiple types of wires with terminals can be manufactured at low cost.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the second member 4 had a first crimping piece 44 and a second crimping piece 46, but the second crimping piece 46 may be omitted if necessary. That is, in the present invention, it is sufficient that the second member has at least a crimping piece for crimping the core wire of the electric wire.

[0031] The embodiments described above merely represent typical forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. That is, it can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the core principles of the present invention. As long as such modifications still possess the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 1. Wire with terminals 2 electric wire 3. First Member 4. Second Member 5 terminals 10 Chain terminal set 11 1st chain terminal 12 2nd chain terminal 31 Connection part 38 Carriers 39a Hole (positioning part) 44. First crimping piece (crimping piece) 46. ​​Second crimping piece (crimping piece) 48 Carriers 49a Hole (positioning part)

Claims

1. A first chain terminal comprising multiple first members having connection portions to mating members connected to a carrier, A second chain terminal comprising a second member having a crimping piece connected to a carrier, The carriers of the first and second chain terminals are each provided with positioning sections that allow them to be positioned relative to each other so that a portion of the first and second members of the first member are positioned together. A chain terminal assembly characterized by the following features.

2. The second member has a first crimping piece and a second crimping piece as the crimping pieces. The chain terminal assembly according to feature 1.

3. The first member is provided with an insertion hole through which the first crimping piece is inserted. The chain terminal assembly according to feature 2.

4. A method for manufacturing a terminal-equipped wire obtained from a chain terminal assembly and a wire according to claim 2, A chain terminal assembly step in which a part of the first member is superimposed on the first crimping piece by aligning the positioning portion of the first chain terminal and the positioning portion of the second chain terminal, A wire placement step involves placing a wire, from which the insulating coating at the end has been removed, onto the second member. A crimping step in which the core wire of the electric wire and a part of the first member are crimped with the first crimping piece, and the portion of the electric wire covered with the insulating coating is crimped with the second crimping piece, The process includes, in sequence, a disconnection step of disconnecting the first member from the carrier of the first chain terminal, and the second member from the carrier of the second chain terminal. A method for manufacturing an electric wire with terminals, characterized by the following features.

Images