Terminal, electric wire with terminal, wire harness, and method for manufacturing electric wire with terminal

Abstract

To provide a terminal, etc. capable of achieving both connection strength and connection resistance.SOLUTION: A wire 10 with a terminal is configured by electrically connecting a terminal 1 and a sheathed conductor wire 11. A crimp portion 5 of the terminal 1 is a portion to be crimped with the sheathed conductor wire 11, and has a conductor crimp portion 7 that crimps the conductor wire 13 exposed from a sheathed portion 15 on an end side of the sheathed conductor wire 11 and a sheathed crimp portion 9 that crimps the sheathed portion 15 of the sheathed conductor wire 11. The conductor crimp portion 7 is formed in a cylindrical shape by rounding a plate-shaped member. A butt portion 23 of the plate-shaped member is not welded on the entire axial direction of the conductor crimp portion 7, but are welded only at portions by weld portions 25. For example, the weld portions 25 are arranged intermittently in the axial direction of the conductor crimp portion 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric wire with a terminal used in, for example, an automobile. [Background technology]

[0002] Typically, automotive wiring harnesses are made by connecting crimp terminals to the conductors of covered conductors, bundling them together, and then wiring them as signal lines in automobiles, etc. A typical covered conductor and crimp terminal are connected by removing the covering from the tip of the covered conductor, crimping the exposed conductor to a conductor crimping portion, and then crimping the covering at the covering crimping portion. The combined connection strength of the conductor crimping portion and the covering crimping portion satisfies the connection strength requirements between the crimp terminal and the covered conductor in an automotive wiring harness.

[0003] As the conductor crimping portion, for example, a so-called open barrel type in which a pair of barrel pieces are bent and crimped so as to bite into the conductor, and a cylindrical crimping portion in which a conductor is inserted into a cylindrically formed conductor crimping portion and crimped, thereby making it possible to seal the crimping portion, have been proposed (e.g., Patent Documents 1 and 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-89834 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-46171 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In recent years, particularly in the automotive field, the number of ECUs and sensors has increased in response to CASE and other trends, resulting in a significant increase in the number of electric wires used. In this situation, increasing the wire diameter of wire harnesses has become an issue. For this reason, there is a demand for even thinner electric wires for automobiles. For example, the conventional general 0.35 sq (sq: mm2 There is a demand for thin wires with a diameter of 1000 mm or less.

[0006] Thus, when crimping particularly thin electric wires, in a typical open barrel terminal such as that described in Patent Document 1, the tips of the barrel pieces dig into the conductor that makes up the wire after crimping, which can cause the conductor to come apart or break, resulting in a decrease in connection strength and electrical resistance. To improve connection strength, a method is available in which a coated conductor with a tensile strength wire inside is used, but even in this case, the tips of the barrel pieces dig into the wire, preventing the conductor and the tensile strength wire from being crimped together, resulting in a decrease in connection strength, etc.

[0007] On the other hand, in a method of crimping a conductor wire from the entire circumference in a substantially circular shape, such as a cylindrical terminal as in Patent Document 2, the biting that occurs with open barrel terminals is suppressed, but the cylindrical portion is sealed by welding, which takes time to process. Also, since welding is performed along the entire length of the conductor wire crimping portion, depending on the welding method, there is a risk of a difference in strength between the welded portion and the non-welded portion, and when crimped, the elongation of the internal conductor wire and the crimped portion of the terminal will not be uniform in the circumferential direction, which could lead to a decrease in connection strength.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has an object to provide a terminal or the like that is capable of achieving both connection strength and connection resistance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first invention provides a terminal electrically connected to a coated conductor wire, the terminal comprising: a conductor crimping portion to which a conductor exposed from a coating portion at a tip of the coated conductor wire is crimped; and a coating crimping portion to which the coating portion of the coated conductor wire is crimped; In a state before the conductor wire is crimped, The wire crimping portion is formed in a cylindrical shape with an approximately circular cross section, and in the wire crimping portion, the ends of the opposing plate-like members are welded to each other at a welded portion only in part, rather than being welded along the entire axial length of the wire crimping portion. The ends of the opposing plate-like members may be butted together along the entire axial length of the wire crimping portion, and the butt joint may be partially welded at the welded portion along only a portion of the entire length, with the welded portion being provided along the entire length of the butt joint. In the axial length of the conductor crimping portion, the total length of the welded portions may be equal to or less than the total length of the non-welded portions. A plurality of the welded portions may be disposed intermittently in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion. The tip side of the conductor crimping portion may be open.

[0010] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the conductor crimping portion is formed by rolling the plate-shaped member into a cylindrical shape, so that it is not necessary to bend the tip of the plate-shaped member relative to the conductor during crimping, and it is possible to crimp the plate-shaped member in its cylindrical shape. Therefore, unlike typical open barrel crimping, in which the tips of the barrel pieces are crimped into the conductor, crimping can be performed without the plate-shaped member biting into the conductor.

[0011] Furthermore, because the butt joints of the plate-shaped members are not welded along their entire length, even if a difference in strength occurs between the welded and non-welded portions, the portions with the difference in strength are not continuous in the axial direction. This reduces the impact of the difference in strength between the welded and non-welded portions. Furthermore, since the crimping can be performed approximately uniformly around the entire circumference, the joint strength can be increased. Furthermore, since the tubular conductor crimping portion can be formed by rolling the plate-shaped member, the terminal can be easily manufactured. Furthermore, since only a portion of the plate-shaped member is welded, excessive bending of the end portion of the plate-shaped member can be prevented.

[0012] The second invention is an electric wire with terminal in which the terminal according to the first invention is electrically connected to a coated conductor wire, wherein the coated conductor wire comprises a plurality of the conductor wires and at least one strength member, and in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coated conductor wire, the strength member is located approximately in the center of the coated conductor wire and the conductor wire is arranged on the outer periphery of the strength member.

[0013] It is desirable that the conductor wires be twisted together around the outer periphery of the strength member.

[0014] According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an electric wire with a terminal that can achieve both connection strength and connection resistance.

[0015] Furthermore, by providing a central tension member, the tensile strength of the conductor wire can be ensured. Furthermore, if the conductor wire is twisted around the outer periphery of the tension member, the conductor wire can be prevented from becoming unraveled.

[0016] A third invention is a wire harness characterized in that a plurality of electric wires with terminals, including the electric wire with terminal according to the second invention, are integrated together.

[0017] According to the third aspect of the present invention, a wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires are bundled can be obtained.

[0018] A fourth invention is a method for manufacturing an electric wire with terminal, the terminal being an open barrel type having a conductor crimping portion and a coating crimping portion, the ends of the barrel pieces of the conductor crimping portion are rounded so as to butt together, the butt joint is only partially welded in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion, the conductor exposed from the tip of the coating of the coated conductor is inserted into the cylindrical conductor crimping portion, the conductor crimping portion crimps the conductor from all around into a substantially cylindrical shape, and the coating crimping portion crimps the conductor.

[0019] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, an open barrel terminal having a wire crimping portion made up of a pair of barrel pieces is used, and instead of crimping the wire by simply bending the barrel pieces, the wire crimping portion is first rolled into a cylindrical shape and the conductor is crimped while still in a substantially cylindrical shape, so that the barrel pieces do not bite into the conductor. Also, because only a portion of the tip ends of the barrel pieces are welded together, at least the non-welded portion can be crimped approximately uniformly around the entire circumference, thereby increasing the joining strength. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a terminal or the like that is capable of achieving both connection strength and connection resistance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric wire 10 with a terminal. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the electric wire 10 with a terminal. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing the electric wire with terminal 10, where (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 4] 6(a) to 6(d) are other cross-sectional views showing the electric wire with terminal 10. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the terminal 1 before crimping. [Figure 6] 3A and 3B are perspective views showing the terminal 1 before crimping. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the terminal 1 before crimping. [Figure 8] 1A is a diagram showing the tip of a conductor 13, and FIGS. 1B to 1D are diagrams showing the configuration of a terminal processing portion 19. FIG. [Figure 9] 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the configuration of a terminal processing unit 19. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an electric wire with terminal 10, and Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the electric wire with terminal 10. The electric wire with terminal 10 is configured by electrically connecting a terminal 1 and a coated conductor wire 11.

[0023] The coated conductor wire 11 is composed of a conductor wire 13 made of, for example, copper, a copper alloy, aluminum, or an aluminum alloy, and a coating 15 that coats the conductor wire 13. That is, the coated conductor wire 11 includes the coating 15 and the conductor wire 13 exposed from its tip.

[0024] The terminal 1 is made of, for example, copper, a copper alloy, aluminum, or an aluminum alloy. A coated conductor wire 11 is connected to the terminal 1. The terminal 1 is configured by connecting a terminal body 3 and a crimping portion 5 via a transition portion 4.

[0025] The terminal body 3 is a plate-like member of a predetermined shape formed into a cylindrical body with a rectangular cross section. The terminal body 3 has an internal elastic contact piece formed by folding the plate-like member into the rectangular cylindrical body. A male terminal or the like is inserted into the front end of the terminal body 3 to connect it. In the following explanation, an example is shown in which the terminal body 3 is a female terminal that allows insertion of an insertion tab (not shown) of a male terminal or the like, but the present invention is not particularly limited to the detailed shape of the terminal body 3. For example, instead of the female terminal body 3, an insertion tab of a male terminal may be provided, or a bolt fastening portion like a round terminal may be provided.

[0026] The crimping portion 5 of the terminal 1 is the portion that is crimped to the coated conductor wire 11, and includes a conductor crimping portion 7 that crimps the conductor wire 13 exposed from the coating 15 at the tip side of the coated conductor wire 11, and a coating crimping portion 9 that crimps the coating 15 of the coated conductor wire 11. That is, the conductor wire 13 exposed when the coating 15 is stripped is crimped by the conductor crimping portion 7, and the conductor wire 13 and the terminal 1 are electrically connected. The coating 15 of the coated conductor wire 11 is also crimped by the coating crimping portion 9 of the terminal 1.

[0027] Serrations (not shown) may be provided in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) on part of the inner surface of the conductor crimping portion 7. By forming serrations in this manner, the oxide film on the surface of the conductor 13 can be easily destroyed when the conductor 13 is crimped, and the contact area with the conductor 13 can be increased.

[0028] The conductor crimping portion 7 is formed by rolling a plate-like member into a generally cylindrical shape. The butt joints 23 of the plate-like member are not welded over the entire axial length of the conductor crimping portion 7, but are only partially welded at welds 25. For example, as shown in the figure, the welds 25 are arranged intermittently in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7.

[0029] 3(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 2. In the conductor crimping portion 7, the conductor 13 is crimped from the entire circumference into a substantially cylindrical shape. In the example shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), the conductor 13 is formed, for example, by twisting together a plurality of conductor wires. In this case, the arrangement and number of the conductor wires are not limited to the example shown in which the conductor wires are twisted together in two layers (for example, 16 wires). For example, the conductor 13 may be in one layer (for example, seven wires), or may be in three or more layers.

[0030] Furthermore, it is desirable that the shape of the conductor crimping portion 7 after crimping is substantially circular. Here, a substantially circular conductor crimping portion 7 includes a slightly flattened shape (substantially oval shape) as shown in Figures 3(a) and 3(b), and also includes a case where a slight protrusion is formed on the outer periphery of the part corresponding to the mating part of the mold.

[0031] 4(a) and 4(b), the coated conductor 11 may have a conductor wire 13 and a strength member 17 covered with a covering 15. The strength member 17 is a member that receives tension in response to a tensile load. For example, in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coated conductor wire 11, at least one strength member 17 may be located approximately in the center of the coated conductor wire 11, and multiple conductor wires may be arranged on the outer periphery of the strength member 17. A conductor composed of the strength member 17 and the conductor wire 13 is referred to as a composite conductor 12.

[0032] In this case, the conductor wires arranged around the outer periphery of the tension member 17 may have the same cross-sectional area and the same shape. Furthermore, the conductor wire 13 may be spirally twisted around the outer periphery of the tension member 17 in the longitudinal direction of the covered conductor wire 11. The tension member 17 may be a single (integral) tension wire, or may be made up of multiple wires. Furthermore, the conductor wires may be arranged in multiple layers around the tension member 17. Even in this case, only a portion of the conductor wires is welded at the welded portion 25 in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7.

[0033] 4(c) and 4(d), the substantially circular conductor crimping portion after crimping may have butt portion 23 slightly bent toward the center. Even in this case, welded portion 25 prevents butt portion 23 from biting into conductor 13 excessively.

[0034] Here, the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor 13 (total cross-sectional areas of the element wires) or, if a reinforcing member 17 is used, the cross-sectional area of ​​the composite conductor 12 (total cross-sectional areas of the conductor 13 and the reinforcing member 17) is preferably 0.35 sq. or less. In this case, it is desirable that the terminal 1 be capable of crimping a conductor 13 having a cross-sectional area of ​​0.35 sq. or less. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor 13 or the composite conductor 12 (total cross-sectional areas of the element wires or total cross-sectional areas of the conductor 13 and the reinforcing member 17) is preferably 0.3 sq. or less. In this case, it is desirable that the terminal 1 be capable of crimping a conductor 13 having a cross-sectional area of ​​0.3 sq. or less. Furthermore, if a composite conductor 12 is used, for example, the total cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor 13 and the reinforcing member 17 may be 0.05 sq. or less. The smaller the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor 13 (or total cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor 13 and the reinforcing member 17), the greater the effect of this embodiment.

[0035] The reinforcing member 17 may be a metal wire such as a steel wire, or may be made of resin or fiber-reinforced resin. As mentioned above, the reinforcing member 17 may be a single wire or a bundle of multiple fibers such as aramid fiber. By using such a reinforcing member 17, it is possible to ensure a tensile strength of 50 N or more for the conductor at the conductor crimping portion 7, even if the cross-sectional area of ​​the composite conductor 12 is 0.05 sq. or less. For example, the electric wires shown in Table 1 can be used as such a composite conductor.

[0036] [Table 1]

[0037] Next, a method for manufacturing the electric wire with terminal 10 will be described. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the terminal 1 before crimping. In this embodiment, a normal open barrel type terminal having a conductor crimping portion 7 and an insulation crimping portion 9 can be used. That is, in the terminal 1 before processing, the conductor crimping portion 7 and the insulation crimping portion 9 each consist of a pair of barrel pieces.

[0038] In the present invention, before crimping, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the ends of the barrel pieces (plate-shaped members) of the conductor crimping portion 7 are rounded so as to butt together, forming a cylindrical shape with a substantially circular cross section.

[0039] The butt joint 23 is formed substantially straight along the entire length of the conductor crimping portion 7 in the axial direction. The cylindrically formed conductor crimping portion 7 has no irregularities or changes in cross-sectional shape other than the butt joint 23 on its inner and outer surfaces. It is desirable to leave the open barrel shape of the insulation crimping portion 9 as is to ensure ease of insertion of the conductor 13. Instead of performing additional processing on an open barrel type terminal, the conductor crimping portion 7 may be formed into a cylindrical shape at the same time as forming the terminal 1 from a plate-shaped material.

[0040] 6(b), only a portion of the butt joint 23 is welded in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7 by, for example, laser welding. That is, the butt joints 23 between the ends of the opposing barrel pieces (plate-like members) are welded only in part in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7 by welds 25. For example, a plurality of welds 25 may be formed in the butt joints 23 at points, or a predetermined length may be welded in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7.

[0041] As shown in the figure, it is desirable to form the welded portions 25 at multiple locations intermittently in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion 7, and in this case, it is desirable that the total length of the welded portions 25 is equal to or less than the total length of the non-welded portions in the axial length of the conductor crimping portion 7. Furthermore, by making both axial ends (front and rear ends) of the conductor crimping portion 7 non-welded, there are no welded portions 25 at least at both axial ends of the conductor crimping portion 7, making it possible to compress the conductor crimping portion 7 uniformly in the circumferential direction. On the other hand, by intentionally making both axial ends (front and rear ends) of the conductor crimping portion 7 welded, excessive deformation of the barrel pieces during crimping can be more reliably suppressed.

[0042] During welding, the ends of the butt joint 23 may come into contact with each other, leaving no gap, or a small gap may be formed due to springback during processing or the like. In this case, the gap between the ends of the opposing barrel pieces (plate-like members) is desirably smaller than the diameter of the conductor wires that make up the conductor 13, and is desirably 0.01 mm or less, for example. By intentionally forming a gap in the butt joint 23 at a location other than the welded portion 25, the position of the conductor 13 inside the conductor crimping portion 7 can be determined when inserting the conductor 13.

[0043] The covering 15 at the tip of the coated conductor wire 11 is stripped off in advance to expose the conductor wire 13 at the tip. Before inserting the coated conductor wire 11 into the crimping portion 5 of the terminal 1, a terminal processing portion 19 may be formed at the tip of the conductor wire 13, as shown in Fig. 8(a). The terminal processing portion 19 is a processing portion that integrates the individual wires of the conductor wire 13 to prevent them from coming apart.

[0044] 8(b) is a diagram showing the shape of the tip of the conductor wire 13 before terminal processing. In this embodiment, when viewed from the tip of the coated conductor wire 11, the tension member 17 is located approximately in the center, and the conductor wire 13 is located around it. The conductor wire 13 is made up of multiple wires. Note that this embodiment describes a case where the tension member 17 is located in the center, but the same applies to other coated conductor wires.

[0045] 8(b), the end processing portion 19 can be formed by compressing at least the tip portion of the conductor 13 from the outer periphery. By compressing the tip portion of the conductor 13 from the outer periphery in this manner, the wire is prevented from coming apart, and it is easy to insert the wire into the tubular crimping portion 5.

[0046] 8(c), at least the tip of the conductor 13 may be plated all at once to form the end processing portion 19 with a plating layer 21. By plating the tip of the conductor 13 all at once from the outer periphery in this way, the wire is prevented from coming apart, and insertion into the tubular crimping portion 5 is facilitated.

[0047] Note that, depending on the plating method, high temperatures may be generated when plating is performed en bloc from the outer periphery of the conductor wires 13. If plating is performed en bloc after twisting the conductor wires 13 using such a plating method, the tensile members 17 may be deteriorated by the heat, resulting in a decrease in tensile strength.

[0048] In such cases, as shown in FIG. 8(d), a plating layer 21 may be formed on each conductor wire before twisting them around the outer periphery of the tension member 17. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, a plating layer 21 may be formed on each conductor wire, and then the tips of multiple conductors may be plated together from the outer periphery. In this case, the type of plating may be different for each conductor wire and for all conductors. While batch plating can prevent the conductors from coming apart, bundling and plating conductor wires together may result in thick or thin plating in some areas due to the shape of the conductor wires, etc. In contrast, applying a primer plating treatment to each conductor wire in advance can reduce this effect and enable approximately uniform batch plating.

[0049] The terminal processing section 19 is not limited to methods using compression or plating, and may be, for example, soldering or welding the tip of the conductor wire 13 to prevent the conductor wires from coming apart. Also, multiple terminal processing methods, such as compression from the periphery and collective plating, may be used in combination.

[0050] Next, the conductor 13 of the coated conductor 11, which is exposed from the tip of the coating of the coated conductor and whose tip has been treated in this manner, is inserted into the cylindrical conductor crimping portion 7. When the tip of the coated conductor 11 is placed in the crimping portion 5, the exposed portion of the conductor 13 is located in the conductor crimping portion 7, and the coating 15 is located in the coating crimping portion 9. At this time, the tip of the conductor 13 may protrude from the tip of the conductor crimping portion 7.

[0051] Thereafter, the conductor wire 13 is crimped from the entire circumference into a substantially cylindrical shape by the conductor wire crimping portion 7, and the covering portion 15 is crimped by the covering crimping portion 9, thereby obtaining an electric wire with terminal 10 in which the covered conductor wire 11 is electrically connected to the terminal 1. Furthermore, a wire harness in which a plurality of electric wires with terminals are integrated, including the obtained electric wire with terminal 10, can be obtained.

[0052] As described above, according to this embodiment, by rolling the conductor crimping portion 7 into a generally cylindrical shape in advance, deformation of the conductor crimping portion 7 during crimping can be suppressed, and the conductor crimping portion 7 can be crimped into a generally circular shape. This prevents the barrel pieces from biting into the conductor 13.

[0053] Furthermore, because the welded portion 25 to which the butt portion 23 of the conductor crimping portion 7 is joined is not formed over the entire length, it is possible to prevent a decrease in connection strength due to a difference in strength between the welded portion and the non-welded portion during crimping. For example, even if the welded portion 25 and the non-welded portion differ in the amount of axial elongation during crimping, the presence of non-welded portions on both axial sides of the welded portion 25 allows this effect to be absorbed by the non-welded portions. Meanwhile, because the welded portion 25 is formed in at least a portion, it is possible to prevent the ends of the barrel pieces from shifting and excessive bending.

[0054] Furthermore, since the conductor crimping portion 7 is substantially cylindrical, it can reliably crimp the conductor 13 from all around 360°. This makes it possible to prevent local stress (deformation) from occurring in the conductor 13 during crimping.

[0055] The present invention is also applicable to coated conductor wires 11 that include reinforcing members 17, ensuring high connection strength even with small-diameter coated conductor wires 11. For example, even if the cross-sectional area of ​​the conductor wire 13 is 0.05 sq or less, the tensile strength of the conductor wire 13 at the conductor crimping portion 7 can be made 50 N or more. For example, when a coated conductor wire with a composite conductor cross-sectional area of ​​0.05 sq (conductor material: annealed copper, reinforcing member material: PBO fiber) was actually crimped at a conductor compression ratio (= cross-sectional area after compression / cross-sectional area before compression) of 80%, favorable results were obtained, with a tensile strength of 50 N or more and a resistance of 0.75 mΩ or less.

[0056] Here, when the conductor crimping portion 7 of the covered conductor wire 11, in which the conductor wire 13 is disposed around the tension member 17, is crimped, a compressive stress acts radially inside the conductor crimping portion 7. If this compressive stress is small, the frictional force at the contact surface between the conductor wire 13 and the tension member 17 will be smaller than the frictional force at the contact surface between the terminal 1 and the conductor wire 13. For this reason, when a tensile load is applied to the electric wire with terminal 10, the load will be concentrated on the conductor wire 13, making the conductor wire 13 more likely to break.

[0057] On the other hand, slippage occurs at the contact surface between the conductor 13 and the tension member 17, preventing compressive stress from acting on the tension member 17, which may result in the tension member 17 being pulled out without breaking, and the tensile strength of the tension member 17 not being fully exerted. To prevent this phenomenon and obtain sufficient compressive stress through crimping, the frictional force between the conductor 13 and the tension member 17 may be increased. For example, by providing irregularities on the inner surface of the conductor crimping portion 7, the compressive stress on the tension member 17 can be partially increased, preventing it from being pulled out.

[0058] Here, when the tension member 17 is formed from a plurality of wires, the movement of the tension member wires during compression causes the outer shape of the tension member 17 to become uneven, increasing the contact area between the conductor 13 and the tension member 17 and increasing the frictional force. As a result, tension is more easily transmitted from the conductor 13 to the tension member 17, and an increase in strength can be expected when tension is applied to the conductor 13.

[0059] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these modifications and alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1....Terminal 3...Terminal body 4. Transition section 5... Crimping part 7....Conductor crimping section 9.......Sheathing crimping part 10...Terminal-attached wire 11....Covered conductor 12...Composite conductor 13……Conducting wire 15....Covering part 17……Tensile strength body 19...Terminal processing section 21: Plating layer 23...Butt joint 25...Welded section

Claims

1. A terminal electrically connected to a coated conductor wire, a conductor crimping portion to which the conductor exposed from the coating portion at the tip of the coated conductor wire is crimped, and a coating crimping portion to which the coating portion of the coated conductor wire is crimped, A terminal characterized in that, before the conductor wire is crimped, the conductor crimping portion is formed in a tubular shape with a substantially circular cross section, and in the conductor crimping portion, the ends of opposing plate-like members are welded to each other at a welded portion only in part rather than being welded along the entire axial length of the conductor crimping portion.

2. A terminal as described in claim 1, characterized in that the ends of the opposing plate-like members are butted together along the entire axial length of the wire crimping portion, and the butt joint is partially welded at the welding portion along only a portion of the entire length, and the welding portion is provided along the entire length of the butt joint.

3. A terminal as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the total length of the welded portion is less than or equal to the total length of the non-welded portion in the axial length of the wire crimping portion.

4. 4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the welded portions are disposed intermittently in the axial direction of the conductor crimping portion.

5. 5. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein a tip side of the conductor crimping portion is open.

6. A terminal-attached electric wire in which the terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and a coated conductor wire are electrically connected, The insulated conductor wire is made up of a plurality of the insulated conductor wires and at least one tension member, and in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the insulated conductor wire, the tension member is located approximately at the center of the insulated conductor wire and the insulated conductor wires are arranged on the outer periphery of the tension member.

7. 7. The electric wire with terminal according to claim 6, wherein the conductor wires are twisted together at the outer periphery of the tension member.

8. A wire harness comprising a plurality of electric wires with terminals integrated together, the electric wire with terminal being the electric wire according to claim 6 or 7.

9. A method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal, The terminal is an open barrel type having a conductor crimping portion and an insulation crimping portion, a conductor crimping portion for crimping a terminal into the conductor crimping portion; ...

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