Female terminals, connectors, bus bars, wires with terminals, wires with connectors and wire harnesses

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a female terminal 10 which, while connected to a male terminal 10, can closely adhere a portion thereof to the male terminal 10 for reliable conduction. [Solution] A connection part 12 of a female terminal 10, which is provided with an electric wire connection part 11 connected to an electric wire 5 and the connection part 12 electrically connected to a flat plate-shaped connection blade 3 on a male terminal to be connected, comprises: a conductive base part 20 including a pair of side walls 21 disposed separated by an insertion space 12X into which the connection blade 3 can be inserted, and a side wall connecting part 22 connecting the side walls 21 together; and a conductive spring member 30 that is disposed between the pair of side walls 21 on the base part 20 and contacts the connection blade 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X such that an urging force is exerted, with one side wall 21 serving as the reaction force, the urging force being exerted toward the other side wall 21. The spring member 30 and the side walls 21 are fixed by a conductive welded part 40 where the spring member 30 and the side walls 21 are welded so as to be conductive.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a female terminal to be attached to, for example, a connector of a wire harness for large current, a connector, a bus bar, an electric wire with a terminal, an electric wire with a connector, and a wire harness. [Background technology]

[0002] Electrical equipment installed in automobiles and other vehicles is connected to other electrical equipment and power supplies via wire harnesses, which are bundles of insulated electric wires, to form electrical circuits. In this case, the wire harness is connected to the electrical equipment and power supply using connectors attached to each of the electrical equipment and power supply.

[0003] Specifically, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, a female terminal is attached to a cavity of a connector housing, and when it is connected to the connector housing in which a male terminal is attached, a part of the male terminal is inserted inside the female terminal, and the terminals are electrically connected. At this time, it is necessary to press a part of the female terminal against the inserted male terminal to ensure close contact and ensure electrical conductivity.

[0004] For example, when the current flowing through drive system electrical circuits, etc. increases, it becomes necessary to construct the terminals using thick terminal board material. However, female terminals made of thick terminal board material have reduced spring properties, which reduces the pressure against the male terminal and may result in reduced conductivity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-245701 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal, a connector, a bus bar, an electric wire with a terminal, an electric wire with a connector, and a wire harness that can be connected to a male terminal and have a portion thereof in close contact with the male terminal to ensure electrical conductivity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This invention provides a terminal body having a spring member electrically connected to a male terminal to be connected, and a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls arranged across an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member being arranged between the pair of side walls of the base portion, and the spring member and the side walls being fixed by a conductive weld that welds the spring member and the side walls together to allow conductivity. The spring member is arranged in a direction intersecting the depth direction from the opening of the insertion space toward the back side, and has arm-shaped arm springs extending along the depth direction in the insertion space, the direction intersecting the depth direction in which the plurality of arm springs are arranged is defined as an arrangement direction, and the conductive welds are formed to extend in the arrangement direction so as to correspond to the arrangement positions of the plurality of arranged arm springs. It is characterized by being a female terminal.

[0008] The present invention is also characterized by a connector including the above-mentioned female terminal and a connector housing that accommodates the female terminal, a terminal-attached electric wire in which the above-mentioned female terminal is connected to the tip of the electric wire, a connector-attached electric wire including the terminal-attached electric wire and a connector housing that accommodates therein the female terminal connected to the tip of the terminal-attached electric wire, and a wire harness that includes at least one of the terminal-attached electric wire and the connector-attached electric wire.

[0009] The above welding includes laser welding such as fiber laser welding, electron beam welding, fusion welding such as arc welding, resistance welding, pressure welding such as ultrasonic welding and friction welding, or brazing welding such as brazing and soldering, and the conductive weld refers to a welded portion such as a bead formed by the above welding.

[0010] According to this invention, when connected to the male terminal, the spring member can be brought into close contact with the male terminal to ensure reliable electrical conduction. In more detail, a terminal body is provided that has a spring member electrically connected to a male terminal to be connected, and a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls arranged across an insertion space into which a portion of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member being arranged between the pair of side walls of the base portion, so that the conductive spring member can be pressed against the portion of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space by the side walls acting as a reaction force.

[0011] Furthermore, since the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that electrically connects the spring member and the side wall, higher conductivity can be ensured compared to, for example, a configuration in which the spring member is formed separately from the terminal body and only makes contact to make the spring member conductive. Therefore, when connected to the male terminal, the spring member electrically connected to the base can be tightly attached to the male terminal to ensure electrical conductivity.

[0012] The spring members are arranged in a direction intersecting the depth direction from the opening of the insertion space toward the rear side, and have arm-shaped arm springs that extend along the depth direction in the insertion space. The arm shape extending in the depth direction refers to an arm shape extending in a direction from the opening toward the depth of the insertion space when inserted into the insertion space.

[0013] As a result, by inserting a portion of the male terminal into the insertion space, the contact area between the arm-shaped arm spring extending along the depth direction and a portion of the male terminal increases, thereby more reliably improving conductivity without interfering with the insertion of a portion of the male terminal into the insertion space.

[0014] The conductive welded portion is formed to extend in a direction intersecting the direction in which the arm spring extends. In addition, "formed extending in an intersecting direction" may mean a line or band formed along the intersecting direction, or a substantially elongated shape formed by arranging point-like conductive welds adjacent to each other in the intersecting direction. This makes it possible to improve the electrical conductivity between the arm springs arranged in the intersecting directions and the base portion.

[0015] As an aspect of the present invention, the spring member may be provided for each of the pair of side walls. According to this invention, a portion of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space can be clamped and contacted by the spring member, increasing the contact area between the portion of the male terminal and the spring member, thereby further improving conductivity.

[0016] In another aspect of the present invention, the spring member may be provided on one of the pair of side walls. According to this invention, a part of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space can be sandwiched between the spring member and the other side wall and brought into contact with the spring member, thereby further improving conductivity.

[0017] In another aspect of the present invention, the spring members may be arranged in a direction intersecting the depth direction from the opening of the insertion space toward the back, and may have arm-shaped arm springs extending along the depth direction in the insertion space. The arm shape extending in the depth direction refers to an arm shape extending in a direction from the opening toward the depth of the insertion space when inserted into the insertion space.

[0018] According to this invention, by inserting a portion of the male terminal into the insertion space, the contact area between the arm-shaped arm spring extending along the depth direction and the portion of the male terminal is increased, thereby more reliably improving conductivity without interfering with the insertion of the portion of the male terminal into the insertion space.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, the conductive welded portion may be formed to extend in a direction intersecting a direction in which the arm spring extends. In addition, "formed extending in an intersecting direction" may mean a line or band formed along the intersecting direction, or a substantially elongated shape formed by arranging point-like conductive welds adjacent to each other in the intersecting direction. According to this invention, it is possible to improve the electrical conductivity between the base portion and a plurality of arm springs arranged along intersecting directions.

[0020] In another aspect of the present invention, the spring member may be provided with a gripping plate that cooperates with the base of the arm spring to grip the side wall, the gripping plate may be positioned outside the side wall, and the conductive weld may be welded to electrically connect the gripping plate and the side wall.

[0021] According to this invention, the arm spring can be fixed to the side wall in a conductive manner. In more detail, the arm spring can be stably attached to the side wall because the side wall is gripped by the base of the arm spring and the gripping plate. Also, the gripping plate, which is located on the outside of the side wall, is welded to the side wall in a conductive manner, improving welding workability and ensuring improved conductivity between the arm spring and the side wall through reliable welding.

[0022] As another aspect of the present invention, the terminal body may be configured to have higher conductivity than the spring member and to be thicker than the spring member. With this invention, even in the case of a female terminal in which the terminal body is made of thick plate material with low spring properties, the conductive welded portion can be used to adhere a spring member that is reliably conductive with the base portion to a part of the male terminal, thereby further improving conductivity.

[0023] In another aspect of the present invention, the terminal body may have at least a portion of its surface that is not plated. Since the spring member on the side wall of the base portion ensures conductivity by means of a conductive weld, high conductivity can be ensured without performing plating or other processes on the surface of the side wall to improve conductivity when conductivity is ensured by contact between the side wall and the spring member.

[0024] The present invention also provides a terminal body having a spring member electrically connected to a male terminal to be connected, and a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls separated by an insertion space into which a portion of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side walls being fixed together by a conductive weld that welds the spring member and the side walls together to allow conductivity, and the conductive weld portion being a plurality of female terminals provided along a predetermined direction.

[0025] In addition to the above-mentioned effects, this invention increases the number of welded points between the spring member and the side wall by multiple conductive welds, that is, increases the number of conductive points between the side wall and the spring member by multiple conductive welds, so that a so-called parallel circuit can be formed between the spring member and the side wall, reducing the contact resistance between the spring member and the side wall and improving conductivity.

[0026] The present invention is also characterized in that it comprises a terminal body having a spring member electrically connected to a male terminal to be connected, and a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion having a pair of side walls separated by an insertion space into which a portion of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member being disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side walls being fixed by a conductive weld that welds the spring member and the side walls together to allow conductivity, and the spring member being disposed on one of the pair of side walls, and the other of the pair of side walls having a protrusion that protrudes toward the one side wall.

[0027] In addition to the above-mentioned effects, this invention allows the connection blade of the male terminal, which is inserted into the insertion space and connected to the female terminal, to be sandwiched from both sides between the protrusion and the spring member to make contact and ensure conductivity. [Effects of the Invention]

[0028] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a female terminal, a connector, a bus bar, an electric wire with a terminal, an electric wire with a connector, and a wire harness that can be connected to a male terminal and have a portion thereof in close contact with the male terminal to ensure electrical conductivity. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] An explanatory diagram of a connector. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Figure 5]FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified female terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a further modified female terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a female terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a female terminal according to a modified example of the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a female terminal according to a third embodiment, viewed from above. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal of the third embodiment, viewed from below. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example of the female terminal of the third embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a modified example of the female terminal of the third embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a further modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a further modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of another modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of another modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of another modified example of the female terminal of the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an explanatory diagram of a connector-attached electric wire 1, FIG. 2 shows an oblique view of a female terminal 10, FIGS. 3, 4 and 6 show explanatory diagrams of the female terminal 10, and FIG. 5 shows an exploded oblique view of the female terminal 10.

[0031] More specifically, Fig. 1(a) shows a perspective view of the connector-attached electric wire 1, and Fig. 1(b) shows a perspective view of the connector-attached electric wire 1 with the connector housing 2 in a see-through state. Fig. 3(a) shows a front view of the female terminal 10, and Fig. 3(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in Fig. 2.

[0032] Fig. 4(a) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in Fig. 3(b), and Fig. 4(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in a state connected to a flat connecting blade 3 that is part of the male terminal. Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the assembly of the female terminal 10, with Fig. 6(a) showing a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in a state before the base part 20 and the spring member 30 are assembled, and Figs. 6(b) and (c) showing cross-sectional views taken along the line BB in a state in which the spring member 30 is being welded to the base part 20.

[0033] The female terminal 10 described below is composed of a spring member 30 and a terminal body 15, and can be arranged inside a connector housing 2 to form a connector-attached electric wire 1, as shown in FIG. The terminal body 15 has a conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to a spring member 30 which is electrically connected to a flat connecting blade 3 (see Figure 4(b)) of the male terminal to be connected, and an electric wire connecting portion 11 which is connected to an electric wire 5.

[0034] The electric wire 5 is a round electric wire for large currents, the inner conductor of which is covered with an insulating coating, and the electric wire 5 has the insulating coating stripped off at its tip, to expose the conductor, to which a female terminal 10 (described later) is connected, and this is referred to as an electric wire with terminal 4. The electric wire with terminal 4 may also form a wire harness.

[0035] The connector housing 2 has a first housing portion 2a having an approximately rectangular parallelepiped shape with an arrangement space 2c, and an electric wire insertion portion 2b extending from the first housing portion 2a, and the female terminal 10 of the terminal-attached electric wire 4 inserted from the electric wire insertion portion 2b is arranged in the arrangement space 2c inside the first housing portion 2a.

[0036] The arrangement space 2c in which the female terminal 10 is arranged is open on the side opposite to the side on which the wire insertion portion 2b is arranged in the first housing portion 2a, allowing the female terminal 10 arranged inside to be seen. In this embodiment, two terminal-equipped electric wires 4 are attached to the connector-equipped electric wire 1, and two female terminals 10 of the connector housing are adjacent to each other in the arrangement space 2c.

[0037] The connector-attached electric wire 1 configured in this manner may, for example, form an end of a wire harness (not shown) or an end of a branch wire branched from the main wire of the wire harness. A male connector (not shown) is connected to the connector-attached electric wire 1 through the opening of the first housing portion 2a, and a male terminal provided on the male connector is connected to a female terminal 10 arranged in the arrangement space 2c.

[0038] The female terminal 10 is connected to the conductor exposed at the tip of the electric wire 5 when the insulating coating is stripped off, thereby forming the electric wire with terminal 4. The female terminal 10 is provided with a wire connection portion 11 and a connection portion 12. The connection portion 12 has a base portion 20 and a spring member 30 that are assembled and electrically conductively fixed by a conductive welded portion 40 formed by welding. The wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20 form a terminal body 15.

[0039] In the female terminal 10, the wire connection portion 11 and the connection portion 12 are arranged in series. In the following description, the direction in which the wire connection portion 11 and the connection portion 12 are arranged in series (the direction connecting the lower right and upper left in FIG. 2) is referred to as the longitudinal direction L. Furthermore, the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L and in which the wire connection portion 11 opens (the direction connecting the lower left and upper right in FIG. 2) is referred to as the width direction W. Furthermore, the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W (the up-down direction in FIG. 2) is referred to as the height direction H, the direction in which the insertion space 12X opens (the up direction in FIG. 2) is referred to as the up direction Hu, and the opposite direction (the down direction in FIG. 2) is referred to as the down direction Hd.

[0040] The electric wire connection part 11 is composed of a connection plate 111 extending in the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H, and guide pieces 112 extending from both ends of the connection plate 111 in the height direction H to one side in the width direction W. The electric wire connection part 11 composed of the connection plate 111 and the guide pieces 112 is formed into a horizontally oriented square U-shape with one side in the width direction W being open when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. In this embodiment, the electric wire connection part 11 is formed into a horizontally oriented square U-shape with the front side in the width direction W being open.

[0041] The connection portion 12, which is electrically connected to the flat connection blade 3 (see Figure 4(b)) of the male terminal to be connected, is provided with a conductive base portion 20 and a conductive spring member 30 arranged between a pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20.

[0042] The base portion 20 includes a pair of side walls 21 arranged across an insertion space 12X into which the connection blade 3 can be inserted, and a side wall connecting portion 22 connecting the side walls 21 to each other. The spring member 30 disposed between the pair of side walls 21 contacts the connecting blade 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X so as to exert a biasing force against the connecting blade 3 with the side walls 21 acting as a reaction force.

[0043] More specifically, the side wall 21 constituting the base portion 20 is disposed on one side in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the wire connection portion 11, and is formed in a planar shape in the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H. Two side walls 21 constituting the base portion 20 are provided at a predetermined interval in the width direction W. As described above, the side wall connecting portion 22 constituting the base portion 20 is configured to connect one end of the pair of side walls 21 in the height direction H to each other in the width direction W. The base portion 20 is formed in a U-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, with an opening in the upward direction Hu that faces the side wall connecting portion 22 in the height direction H.

[0044] One of the pair of side walls 21 is continuous with the connection plate 111 of the electric wire connection portion 11 in the longitudinal direction L. In this embodiment, the side wall 21 on the far side in the width direction W is continuous with the connection plate 111, and is formed into a U-shape with an opening at the upper end Hu in the height direction H. Of the guide pieces 112 arranged in the height direction H in the electric wire connecting portion 11, a part of the guide piece 112 in the downward direction Hd is continuous in the longitudinal direction L with the side wall connecting portion 22 of the base portion 20.

[0045] At the end of the pair of side walls 21 in the upward direction Hu in the height direction H, a mounting recess 23 is formed which is concave toward the downward direction Hd and into which the spanning portion 33 of the spring member 30 described later is mounted. Specifically, a regulating protrusion 24 protruding in the upward direction Hu is provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction L at the upper end Hu in the height direction H of the side wall 21, and the space between the regulating protrusions 24 at the upper end Hu of the side wall 21 is formed as an attachment recess 23.

[0046] In addition, the regulating protrusion 24 abuts against the later-described cross-connecting portion 33 that is attached to the mounting recess 23, and functions as a slippage prevention device that prevents the spring member 30, with the cross-connecting portion 33 attached to the mounting recess 23, from slipping in the longitudinal direction L.

[0047] The base 20 also has a chamfered portion 25 formed by chamfering a corner of the mounting recess 23 of the side wall 21. Specifically, as shown in the enlarged view of part a in Fig. 4, the chamfered portion 25 is formed by chamfering a corner of the cross section of the mounting recess 23 at the end of the side wall 21 in the upward direction Hu with an inclined surface. Since the mounting recess 23 is provided with the chamfered portion 25, the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a, which is an inverted square U-shape constituting the spring member 30 as will be described later, can be easily mounted in the mounting recess 23.

[0048] Furthermore, by providing a chamfered portion 25 in the mounting recess 23, the heat used to weld the spanning portion 33 of the spring member 30 mounted in the mounting recess 23 by the fiber laser welding machine 100 is concentrated, as will be described later, allowing for reliable welding and preventing the spring member 30 from being deformed by the welding heat of the fiber laser welding machine 100.

[0049] The base portion 20 and the wire connection portion 11 configured in this manner are formed by cutting out a terminal plate material, which is a plate material made of a conductive metal such as copper or a copper alloy, into a predetermined shape and bending it to form the above-mentioned shape.

[0050] The terminal body 15, which is made up of the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20, is made of a thick plate having a predetermined thickness to accommodate large currents, and the surface of the terminal body 15, which is made of a terminal plate material made of a conductive metal such as oxygen-free copper, tough pitch copper, or various copper alloys, is a non-plated member that has not been plated with tin or other plating to improve conductivity. The entire surface of the terminal body 15 may be a non-plated member that has not been plated, or, for example, the wire connection portion 11 may be a member that has been partially plated.

[0051] The spring member 30 is arranged between a pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20 and is configured to come into contact with the connection blade 3 (see Figure 4(b)) inserted into the connection portion 12 so that a spring force acts toward one side wall 21, with one side wall 21 acting as a reaction force.

[0052] Specifically, the spring member 30 is configured as a rectangular, approximately M-shaped inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a, which is arranged in an opposing direction in the width direction W and has an angular, inverted U-shaped inverted U-shaped portion that opens downward Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, and is connected by connecting portions 34 at both ends in the longitudinal direction L.

[0053] The inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is configured by a gripping plate 31, a spring plate 32, and a straddling connecting portion 33 to have an inverted U-shape that is open downward Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L.

[0054] The gripping plate 31 is formed to extend in the width direction W and the height direction H, and is disposed on the outside in the width direction W. The spring plate 32 is disposed a predetermined distance inward in the width direction W from the gripping plate 31. The straddling connecting portion 33 is configured to connect the upper ends of the gripping plate 31 and the spring plate 32 in the height direction H in the width direction W.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 3(b), the spring plate 32 has an inverted angular U-shaped frame portion 321 that opens downward Hd when viewed from the width direction W, and an arm spring 322 that is approximately L-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. The arm spring 322, which is substantially V-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, extends downward Hd in the height direction H from the longitudinal portion 321b of the frame portion 321 and is inclined inward in the width direction W as it extends downward Hd.

[0056] The frame portion 321 is formed by a vertical portion 321a and a longitudinal portion 321b into an inverted angular U shape that opens downward in the width direction Hd when viewed from the width direction W. The vertical portion 321a extends in the height direction H, and the longitudinal portion 321b connects the ends of the vertical portions 321a on both sides in the longitudinal direction L in the upward direction Hu.

[0057] A plurality of arm springs 322 are arranged adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction L. Note that a connecting portion 34 connects the lower ends of the up-and-down portions 321a of the frame portion 321 located outside the plurality of adjacent arm springs 322 in the longitudinal direction L, thereby connecting the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a in the width direction W. Note that the connecting portion 34 extends in the longitudinal direction L.

[0058] The distance in the width direction W between the gripping plate 31 and the spring plate 32 in the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is formed slightly wider than the thickness of the side wall 21 in the width direction W. Furthermore, the distance in the width direction W between the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a, that is, the distance in the width direction W between the spring plates 32 connected in the width direction W by the connecting portion 34, is formed slightly narrower than the distance between the side walls 21, in other words, the length in the width direction W of the insertion space 12X.

[0059] In addition, in the spring member 30, a portion of the surface of the arm spring 322, such as the surface of the arm spring 322 that comes into contact with the connection blade 3, is plated with tin or the like to improve conductivity. Of course, the entire surface of the spring member 30 may be plated.

[0060] The spring member 30 configured in this manner can be made of a material different from that of the terminal plate material that makes up the terminal body 15, and can be made by cutting out a plate material that is thinner than the terminal plate material and has high spring properties into a predetermined shape and bending it. The spring member 30 can be made of, for example, a Corson alloy, a beryllium copper alloy, a chromium copper alloy, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0061] In addition, the spring member 30 is assembled to the above-mentioned base portion 20 from the side where the insertion space 12X opens, i.e., from above Hu in the height direction H, and is fixed conductively by a conductive weld 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L.

[0062] 6(a), the spring member 30 is disposed above Hu in the height direction H of the base portion 20, the spring plate 32 and the connecting portion 34 are disposed in the insertion space 12X, the gripping plate 31 is disposed on the outside of the side wall 21 in the width direction W, and the spanning connecting portion 33 is disposed in the mounting recess 23 at the upper end of the side wall 21. At this time, the end of the side wall 21 in the upward direction Hu is sandwiched from both sides in the width direction W between the base of the arm spring 322, i.e., the longitudinal portion 321b of the frame portion 321 and the gripping plate 31.

[0063] Then, the fiber laser welding machine 100 is moved in the longitudinal direction L to weld and fix the portion where the upper surface of the mounting recess 23 portion of the side wall 21 and the spanning portion 33 overlap in the height direction H, as shown in Figures 6(b) and 6(c). The conductive weld 40 is a weld bead welded by the fiber laser welding machine 100, and the straddling portion 33 and the upper end of the side wall 21 are melted and electrically connected and fixed by the conductive weld 40 so as to be conductive.

[0064] The fiber laser welder 100 that forms the conductive weld 40 has higher beam quality and power density than conventional semiconductor laser welders and YAG laser welders. Therefore, the conductive weld 40, which is a weld bead welded by the fiber laser welder 100, is a high-speed weld with low thermal impact.

[0065] In this way, the female terminal 10 is composed of a connection portion 12 assembled from the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 and electrically connected by the conductive welding portion 40 so as to be conductive, and an electric wire connection portion 11 for connecting the electric wire 5. As described above, the electric wire 5 is connected to the electric wire connection portion 11 to form an electric wire with terminal 4, and by attaching it to the connector housing 2, an electric wire with connector 1 can be formed.

[0066] When the male connector is connected to the connector-attached electric wire 1, the connection blade 3 of the male terminal attached to the male connector is inserted into the insertion space 12X from the opening side, as shown in Fig. 4(b). The connection blade 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X is wedged between the arm springs 322 of the spring plate 32, and the arm springs 322 come into close contact with the connection blade 3 while applying a biasing force in the width direction W, thereby enabling a conductive connection.

[0067] As described above, a terminal body 15 is provided which has a spring member 30 electrically connected to the flat connection blade 3 of the male terminal to be connected, and a conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to the spring member 30, the base portion 20 having a pair of side walls 21 arranged across an insertion space 12X into which the connection blade 3 can be inserted, the spring member 30 being arranged between the pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20, and the spring member 30 and the side walls 21 being fixed by a conductive welding portion 40 which welds the spring member 30 and the side walls 21 together to enable conductivity.When the female terminal 10 is connected to a male terminal, the spring member 30 can be brought into close contact with the connection blade 3 of the male terminal to ensure conductivity.

[0068] In more detail, the female terminal 10X is provided with a spring member 30 electrically connected to the flat connecting blade 3 of the male terminal to be connected, a conductive base portion 20 electrically connected to the spring member 30, and a terminal body 15 having an electric wire connecting portion 11 connected to the electric wire 5.

[0069] The base portion 20 has a pair of side walls 21 arranged across an insertion space 12X into which the connection blade 3 can be inserted. The spring member 30 is arranged between the pair of side walls 21 of the base portion 20 so that a biasing force acts from one side wall 21 to the other side wall 21. Therefore, the conductive spring member 30 can be pressed against the connection blade 3 of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X by the reaction force of the side walls 21, thereby bringing the conductive spring member 30 into close contact with the connection blade 3.

[0070] Furthermore, the spring member 30 and the side wall 21 are fixed together by a conductive weld 40 that electrically welds the spring member 30 and the side wall 21. Therefore, higher conductivity can be ensured than in a configuration in which the terminal body 15 and the spring member 30 are formed as separate bodies and are simply brought into contact with each other. Therefore, in the connected state with the male terminal, the spring member 30 fixed to the base portion 20 so as to be conductive can be brought into close contact with the connection blade 3 of the male terminal, thereby ensuring electrical conductivity.

[0071] Specifically, in a configuration where the terminal body 15 and the spring member 30, which are formed separately, are simply brought into contact, the spring member 30 contacts the longitudinal portion 321b of the frame portion 321 with the terminal body 15 and the arm spring 322 with the connection blade 3 at two points to establish electrical conduction. Therefore, in order to ensure a predetermined level of electrical conductivity, it was necessary to increase the number of arm springs 322 and the number of contact points. However, increasing the number of arm springs 322 increases the insertion force required to insert the connection blade 3 into the female terminal 10 to connect the female terminal 10 and the male terminal.

[0072] In contrast, in the female terminal 10, the spring member 30 and the side wall 21 are electrically integrated by the conductive weld 40. Therefore, when connected to a male terminal, the arm spring 322 and the connection blade 3 come into contact at only one point for electrical continuity, which simply halves the electrical contact resistance. Therefore, the same electrical continuity can be ensured even if the number of arm springs 322 is halved. In this case, the insertion force required to insert the connection blade 3 into the female terminal 10 can be reduced.

[0073] Furthermore, since the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a constituting the spring member 30 are provided on each of the pair of side walls 21, the arm springs 322 of the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a can sandwich and contact the connection blade 3 of the male terminal inserted into the insertion space 12X. This increases the contact area between the connection blade 3 and the spring member 30, further improving the conductivity of the connection between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal.

[0074] Furthermore, the spring members 30 are arranged in a longitudinal direction L that intersects with the height direction H, which is the depth direction of the insertion space 12X, and have arm-shaped arm springs 322 that extend along the height direction H of the insertion space 12X. Therefore, by inserting the connection blade 3 into the insertion space 12X, the contact area between the arm-shaped arm springs 322 extending along the height direction H and the connection blade 3 increases, and the conductivity of the connection state between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal can be more reliably improved without interfering with the insertion of the connection blade 3 into the insertion space 12X.

[0075] Furthermore, since the conductive welding portion 40 is formed extending in the longitudinal direction L that intersects the height direction H, the conductivity between the spring member 30 having multiple arm springs 322 arranged along the longitudinal direction L and the base portion 20 can be improved. The spring member 30 is also provided with a gripping plate 31 that grips the side wall 21 in cooperation with a longitudinal portion 321b of the frame portion 321, which is the base of the arm spring 322, and the gripping plate 31 is disposed outside the side wall 21 in the width direction W. The conductive welded portion 40 electrically welds the side wall 21 to a spanning connection portion 33 that connects the gripping plate 31 and the spring plate 32. Therefore, the spring member 30 having the arm spring 322 can be fixed to the side wall 21 in an electrically conductive manner.

[0076] More specifically, the upper portion of the side wall 21 is gripped by the gripping plate 31 and the longitudinal portion 321b, which is the base of the arm spring 322, so that the spring member 30 having the arm spring 322 can be stably attached to the side wall 21. Furthermore, the straddling portion 33 and the side wall 21 are welded and fixed together electrically conductively by the conductive weld 40, which improves the ease of welding and ensures that the conductivity between the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21 is improved.

[0077] Furthermore, the female terminal 10 has a terminal body 15 in which the base portion 20 and the wire connection portion 11 are integrally formed, and which is made of a thick plate material that is more conductive than the spring member 30 but has less springiness. The spring member 30, which is reliably conductive with the base portion 20, is tightly attached to the connection blade 3 by the conductive welding portion 40, thereby further improving conductivity.

[0078] Furthermore, although the terminal body 15 is made of a non-plated material whose surface is not plated, the spring member 30 can ensure conductivity with respect to the side wall 21 of the base portion 20 by the conductive weld 40. Therefore, when conductivity is ensured by contact between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30, high conductivity can be ensured without performing plating or the like on the surface of the side wall 21 to improve conductivity.

[0079] In the above description, the fiber laser welding machine 100 is used to melt the spanning portion 33 and the side wall 21 to form the conductive weld 40, thereby connecting them in a conductive manner. However, the conductive weld 40 may also be formed by fusion welding such as arc welding, or by pressure welding such as resistance welding, ultrasonic welding, or friction welding, or by brazing or soldering.

[0080] Furthermore, although the conductive weld 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L is formed in the spanning portion 33, as shown in Fig. 7, the conductive weld 40a may be formed above the gripping plate 31 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction L. Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of a modified female terminal 10a. In Fig. 7, the same components as those in the above-described female terminal 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0081] The female terminal 10a configured in this manner has the same effects as the above-described female terminal 10. Furthermore, in the female terminal 10a, the conductive welded portion 40a electrically connects the gripping plate 31 and the side wall 21, and therefore the arm spring 322 can be fixed to the side wall 21.

[0082] More specifically, the side wall 21 is gripped by the longitudinal portion 321b, which is the base of the arm spring 322, and the gripping plate 31, so that the arm spring 322 can be attached to the side wall 21 stably. Furthermore, since the gripping plate 31, which is positioned outside the width direction W of the side wall 21, is welded to the side wall 21 in a conductive manner, the welding workability is improved, and reliable welding can reliably improve the conductivity of the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21.

[0083] Furthermore, although the conductive welds 40 are formed along the longitudinal direction L by the spanning portions 33, a plurality of point-like conductive welds 40b and line-like conductive welds 40c may be arranged along the longitudinal direction L as shown in FIG. 8, which is an explanatory diagram of further modified female terminals 10b, 10c.

[0084] Note that Figure 8(a) shows a perspective view of a female terminal 10b having a plurality of point-shaped conductive welds 40b, and Figure 8(b) shows a perspective view of a female terminal 10c having a plurality of line-shaped conductive welds 40c. In addition, in FIG. 8, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 described above are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0085] Specifically, in the female terminal 10b, a plurality of spot-like conductive welds 40b are arranged at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction L in the straddling connection portion 33 of the spring member 30b. The dot-like conductive welds 40b are arranged at positions corresponding to the center of each arm spring 322 in the longitudinal direction L, and the number of the dot-like conductive welds 40b corresponds to the number of the arm springs 322.

[0086] The female terminal 10b configured in this manner, like the female terminal 10, welds the crossover portion 33 attached to the spring plate 32 of the side wall 21 to the side wall 21 in a conductive manner, thereby improving welding workability and ensuring reliable welding to reliably improve the conductivity of the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21.

[0087] Furthermore, in the female terminal 10b, the number of points welded by the spot-like conductive welds 40b between the spring member 30b and the side wall 21 is increased compared to the above-mentioned female terminal 10. In other words, the number of conductive points between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30b by the spot-like conductive welds 40b is increased. Therefore, a so-called parallel circuit can be formed between the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21, which reduces the contact resistance between the spring member 30b and the side wall 21 and improves conductivity.

[0088] In contrast, as shown in FIG. 8(b), in a female terminal 10c, the gripping plate 31 of the spring member 30c is welded to the side surface of the side wall 21 by a plurality of linear conductive welds 40c. The line-shaped conductive welds 40c are weld beads extending in the height direction H, and similar to the point-shaped conductive welds 40b described above, are arranged at positions corresponding to the center of each arm spring 322 in the longitudinal direction L, in numbers corresponding to each arm spring 322.

[0089] The female terminal 10c configured in this manner can achieve the same effects as the female terminals 10 and 10a described above. Furthermore, like the female terminal 10b, the number of welded locations between the spring member 30c and the side wall 21 by the linear conductive welds 40c is greater in the female terminal 10c than in the female terminal 10a described above. Therefore, the number of conductive locations between the side wall 21 and the spring member 30c by the linear conductive welds 40c is increased in the female terminal 10c, allowing the arm spring 322 and the side wall 21 to form a so-called parallel circuit, reducing the contact resistance between the spring member 30c and the side wall 21 and improving conductivity.

[0090] Furthermore, the line-shaped conductive welds 40c in female terminal 10c can be formed longer than the spot-shaped conductive welds 40b in female terminal 10b, which allows for improved conductivity in female terminal 10c compared to female terminal 10b welded with spot-shaped conductive welds 40b.

[0091] Furthermore, the above-described female terminal 10 uses a spring member 30 that is substantially M-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, with the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a connected in the width direction W by the connecting portion 34. However, as in the female terminal 10X shown in Figures 9 and 10, separate spring members 30X may be used so that a spring member is attached to each of the side walls 21.

[0092] 9 shows a perspective view of the female terminal 10X of the second embodiment equipped with a separate spring member 30X, and FIG. 10 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10X. In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the same components as those of the female terminal 10 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0093] The spring member 30X used in the female terminal 10X is configured to have an approximately inverted L-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, and is made up of only the longitudinal portion 321b of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a of the above-mentioned female terminal 10, the arm spring 322 portion of the spring plate 32, and a fixed plate 35 corresponding to the spanning portion 33. The fixing plate 35 is a plate that is placed on the upper surface of the mounting recess 23 in the side wall 21 in an assembled state, and is fixed by a conductive weld 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L so as to be conductive.

[0094] Two of the spring members 30X configured in this manner are arranged at the upper ends of the side walls 21, facing each other in the width direction W, and are fixed conductively by conductive welds 40 to form the female terminal 10X. The female terminal 10X configured in this manner can also achieve the same effects as the female terminal 10 described above. The spring members 30X may be connected to each other in the width direction W to be integrated.

[0095] Furthermore, since the mounting recess 23 is provided with the chamfered portion 25, the heat generated by welding the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X mounted in the mounting recess 23 by the fiber laser welding machine 100, as will be described later, is concentrated, thereby ensuring reliable welding and preventing the spring member 30X from being deformed by the welding heat of the fiber laser welding machine 100.

[0096] In the above-described female terminal 10X, the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X is placed in the mounting recess 23, and the spring member 30X is fixed to the side wall 21 by the conductive weld 40 extending in the longitudinal direction L. Alternatively, as in a female terminal 10Xa shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X may be fixed by the conductive weld 40X extending in the longitudinal direction L.

[0097] FIG. 11 shows a perspective view of a female terminal 10Xa, which is a modified example of the female terminal 10X described above, and FIG. 12 shows an explanatory diagram of the female terminal 10Xa. 12(a) and 12(b) are schematic diagrams illustrating the manufacturing method of the base portion 20, and FIG. 12(c) is a view taken along the line AA in FIG.

[0098] In the following description, the female terminal 10Xa has the same configuration as the female terminal 10X except for the welding points between the base portion 20 and the spring member 30X in the above-mentioned female terminal 10X, and therefore the same configurations will be given the same symbols and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0099] The female terminal 10Xa is fixed by welding a longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X, which places the fixing plate 35 of the spring member 30X in the mounting recess 23, to a side surface of the side wall 21 near the upper end in the upward direction Hu, in the longitudinal direction L. That is, the female terminal 10Xa is fixed by welding the spring member 30X to the inner surface of the side wall 21 on the side of the insertion space 12X.

[0100] As described above, in order to weld and fix the spring member 30X to the inner surface of the side wall 21 on the side of the insertion space 12X, as shown in Fig. 12(a), the spring member 30X is set on the plate material 120 that forms the base portion 20 composed of the side wall 21 and the side wall connecting portion 22. Then, as shown in Fig. 12(b), the fiber laser welder 100 is caused to scan in the longitudinal direction L against the longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X set on the plate material 120 to perform laser welding, thereby forming a conductive weld 40.

[0101] By bending the plate material 120, which has been welded by the fiber laser welding machine 100 to integrate the side wall 21 and the spring member 30X, into a predetermined cross-sectional shape, a base portion 20 having a predetermined cross-sectional shape can be formed, as shown in Figure 12(c).

[0102] As described above, by welding and fixing the longitudinal portion 321b of the spring member 30X to the plate-shaped plate material 120, the spring member 30X can be reliably welded to the inner surfaces of the side walls 21 facing each other in the width direction W, thereby achieving the same effect as the above-mentioned female terminal 10X.

[0103] Furthermore, the above-described female terminal 10 uses a spring member 30 that is substantially M-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, in which the inverted U-shaped spring portions 30a are connected in the width direction W by connecting portions 34 on both sides in the longitudinal direction L. Alternatively, a spring member 30Y that is connected at the ends in the longitudinal direction L may be used, as in a female terminal 10Y shown in Figures 13 to 15.

[0104] 13 shows a perspective view of the female terminal 10Y of the third embodiment equipped with a spring member 30Y, FIG. 14 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Y from above, and FIG. 15 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Y from below. In addition, in FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, the same components as those in the above-described female terminal 10 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] The terminal body 15Y of the female terminal 10Y has the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20Y arranged in series in the longitudinal direction L. The wire connection portion 11 is formed into a rectangular C shape by a connection plate 111 and a guide piece 112 when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, similar to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, but the wire connection portion 11 in this embodiment has an opening facing in a different direction from the wire connection portion 11.

[0106] In contrast to the base part 20, in which the lower ends of a pair of side walls 21 are connected in the width direction W by a side wall connecting part 22 to form a substantially U-shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, the base part 20Y has a pair of side walls 21Y, but the side walls 21Y are connected to each other by a side wall connecting part 22Y at their upper parts on the side of the wire connection part 11 in the longitudinal direction L. Therefore, the insertion space 12X formed between the side walls 21Y is a space that is open in both the height direction H and the tip side in the longitudinal direction L.

[0107] The side wall 21Y also has a restricting protrusion 24 protruding in the height direction H at the upper end on the tip side in the longitudinal direction L. Between the side wall connecting portion 22Y and the restricting protrusion 24, a mounting recess 23 is formed to mount the spanning connecting portion 33 of the spring member 30Y. Furthermore, a chamfered portion 25 is formed at the corner of the mounting recess 23 of the side wall 21Y.

[0108] The spring member 30Y used in the female terminal 10Y is configured by connecting the longitudinal direction L ends of the gripping plates 31Y in the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a in the width direction W with a connecting portion 34Y, and is configured in an approximately square U-shape when viewed from the height direction H.

[0109] The gripping plate 31Y is provided with a clip portion 36 near the center thereof, which applies a pressing force to the outer surface of the side wall 21Y when attached to the base portion 20Y, thereby assisting in fixing the spring member 30Y to the base portion 20. The clip portion 36 may also be provided on the gripping plate 31 of the spring member 30 in the female terminal 10 described above.

[0110] The spring member 30Y configured in this manner is attached to the attachment recess 23 formed on the upper surfaces of the pair of side walls 21Y from above Hu in the height direction H, and is fixed conductively by the conductive welded portion 40 to form the female terminal 10Y. In this attached state, the connecting portion 34Y is attached so as to straddle the end side surface of the side wall 21Y.

[0111] The female terminal 10Y configured in this manner can also achieve the same effects as the female terminal 10 described above. Furthermore, the spring member 30Y attached to the attachment recess 23 from the upward direction Hu can be prevented from shifting in the longitudinal direction L by the side wall connecting portion 22Y and the restricting protrusion 24. That is, of the restricting protrusions 24 and side wall connecting portion 22Y provided on both sides of the attachment recess 23 in the longitudinal direction L, the side wall connecting portion 22Y connects the upper portion of the wire connection portion 11 and, in cooperation with the restricting protrusion 24, can function to prevent the spring member 30Y attached to the attachment recess 23 from shifting.

[0112] Note that the configuration of the base portion, such as the base portion 20Y described above, does not have to be U-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L like the base portion 20 described above, and various configurations are possible as long as a pair of side walls 21 that form the insertion space 12X is provided. For example, the base portion may be configured such that the side walls 21 along the longitudinal direction L and width direction W are opposed to each other in the height direction H, and the connection blade 3 is inserted from the tip side in the longitudinal direction L. Even with such a configuration, the same effects as the female terminal 10 described above can be achieved.

[0113] Next, a female terminal 10Ya, which is a modification of the female terminal 10Y described above and which uses a spring member 30Y, will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 16 shows an explanatory diagram of a modified female terminal 10Ya, specifically Fig. 16(a) shows a perspective view of the female terminal 10Ya, Fig. 16(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in Fig. 16(a). Fig. 17 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Ya.

[0114] The female terminal 10Ya has the same configuration as the terminal body 15 in the above-described female terminal 10, and further includes a terminal body 15Ya having a tip convex portion 26 that extends from the side wall connecting portion 22 in the base portion 20Ya toward the tip side in the longitudinal direction L. Note that the same components as those in the above-described female terminal 10 are given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted.

[0115] The tip convex portion 26, which extends the side wall connecting portion 22 toward the tip side in the longitudinal direction L, has an arc shape that protrudes downward in the downward direction Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, and is formed in a step shape by the side surface at the tip side of the side wall 21 and the tip convex portion 26. When the spring member 30Y is attached to the base portion 20Ya configured in this manner so that the spanning connecting portion 33 is attached to the mounting recess 23 between the regulating protrusions 24, the connecting portion 34Y is attached so as to fit along the side surface at the tip end of the side wall 21Y.

[0116] Therefore, the end portion of the connecting portion 34Y of the spring member 30Y in the downward direction Hd is placed on or close to the upper surface of the tip protrusion 26 that forms a step with the side surface of the tip side of the side wall 21. Therefore, in the female terminal 10Ya, the spring member 30Y, in which the spanning connecting portion 33 is attached to the mounting recess 23, is prevented from shifting in the longitudinal direction L by the regulating protrusion 24, and the downward Hd end of the connecting portion 34Y abuts the upper surface of the tip protrusion 26, preventing shifting in the downward direction Hd.

[0117] In the above-described female terminal 10X, a spring member 30X is provided on each of the side walls 21. However, as in the modified example of the female terminal 10X shown in Figures 18 and 19, a spring member 30X may be provided on only one of the side walls 21. In this case, although the conductivity between the connection blade 3 and the female terminal 10X is reduced compared to a female terminal 10X provided with spring members 30X on both side walls 21, other effects can be similarly achieved.

[0118] FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a modified female terminal 10X, and FIG. 19 is an exploded perspective view of the modified female terminal 10X. Specifically, FIG. 18(a) shows a perspective view of a modified female terminal 10X, and FIG. 18(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 18(a).

[0119] Next, a female terminal 10Xb, which is a further modification of the female terminal 10X, will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. FIG. 20 and 21 are explanatory diagrams of the female terminal 10Xb. In detail, Fig. 20(a) is a perspective view of the female terminal 10Xb, Fig. 20(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in Fig. 20(a), Fig. 21(a) is an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10Xb, and Fig. 20(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE in Fig. 20(a).

[0120] Compared to the base portion 20 of the modified female terminal 10Xa shown in Figure 19, the female terminal 10Xb does not have an attachment recess 23 in the upward direction Hu of the side wall 21, and is simply composed of a base portion 20Xb having a flat-formed side wall 21b.Since the other configurations are the same, the same symbols are used for the same configurations and their explanations are omitted. The female terminal 10Xb configured in this manner can achieve the same effects as the female terminal 10X, as can the modified example of the female terminal 10Xa shown in FIGS.

[0121] Next, a female terminal 10Xc, which is a modified example of the female terminal 10Xb, will be described with reference to FIG. 22, which shows an explanatory diagram of the female terminal 10Xc. 22(a) shows a plan view of the female terminal 10Xc, FIG. 22(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF in FIG. 22(a), and FIG. 22(c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line GG in FIG. 22(a).

[0122] The female terminal 10Xc shown in Figure 22 is the same as the above-mentioned female terminal 10Xb, except that it has an abutment rib 27c on the side wall 21c on the side where the spring member 30X is not attached (the lower side in Figure 22(a)).Therefore, the same components are given the same symbols and their description is omitted.

[0123] In detail, in the female terminal 10Xc, of a pair of side walls 21c facing each other in the width direction W, the side wall 21c on which the spring member 30X is not attached has a plurality of abutment ribs 27c extending in the height direction H on the inner surface facing the insertion space 12X.

[0124] The contact ribs 27c are provided at positions in the longitudinal direction L facing the arm springs 322 of the spring member 30X attached to the opposing side wall 21c, and are formed with a length extending from a downward direction Hd below the arm springs 322 to a position slightly below the longitudinal portion 321b. Therefore, six contact ribs 27c are provided corresponding to the spring member 30X having six arm springs 322.

[0125] The female terminal 10Xc configured in this manner has the same effects as the above-described female terminal 10X. Furthermore, when the female terminal 10Xc is inserted into the insertion space 12X, the connecting blade 3 of the male terminal to be connected to the female terminal 10Xc is sandwiched between the abutment rib 27c and the arm spring 322 from both sides in the width direction W, thereby ensuring electrical conductivity.

[0126] Next, a female terminal 10Xd, which is a modified example of the female terminal 10Xb, will be described with reference to FIG. 23, which shows an explanatory diagram of the female terminal 10Xd. 23(a) shows a plan view of the female terminal 10Xd, FIG. 23(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line HH in FIG. 23(a), and FIG. 23(c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 23(a).

[0127] The female terminal 10Xd shown in Figure 23 is the same as the above-mentioned female terminal 10Xc, except that it has fewer abutment ribs 27c than the number of arm springs 322 of the spring member 30X, unlike the female terminal 10Xc which has six abutment ribs 27c corresponding to the number of arm springs 322.Therefore, the same components will be given the same symbols and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0128] More specifically, the female terminal 10Xd has a smaller number of abutment ribs 27c than the number of arm springs 322, which are arranged at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction L. The abutment ribs 27c are arranged at intervals wider than the intervals between the arm springs 322 within the range of the longitudinal direction L in which the arm springs 322 are arranged. In this embodiment, four contact ribs 27c are provided for the six arm springs 322.

[0129] Like the female terminal 10Xc, the female terminal 10Xd configured in this manner also has the same effects as the above-described female terminal 10X. Furthermore, when the female terminal 10Xd is inserted into the insertion space 12X, the connecting blade 3 of the male terminal to be connected to the female terminal 10Xd is sandwiched from both sides in the width direction W between the abutment rib 27c and the arm spring 322 and brought into contact with the connecting blade 3, thereby ensuring conductivity.

[0130] Furthermore, a female terminal 10Xe, which is a modified example of the female terminal 10Xb, will be described with reference to FIG. 24, which shows an explanatory diagram of the female terminal 10Xe. 24(a) shows a plan view of the female terminal 10Xe, FIG. 24(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line JJ in FIG. 24(a), and FIG. 24(c) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line KK in FIG. 24(a).

[0131] The female terminal 10Xe shown in Figure 24 is the same as the above-mentioned female terminal 10Xc except that it has an abutment rib 27e extending in the longitudinal direction L, compared to the female terminal 10Xc which has an abutment rib 27c extending in the height direction H. Therefore, the same components will be given the same symbols and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0132] In detail, the female terminal 10Xe, like the female terminal 10Xc, has a pair of side walls 21e facing each other in the width direction W, and is provided with a plurality of abutment ribs 27e extending in the longitudinal direction L on the inner surface of the side wall 21e facing the insertion space 12X on the side on which the spring member 30X is not attached.

[0133] The abutment rib 27e is formed with a length in the longitudinal direction L that is longer than the range in the longitudinal direction L in which the arm spring 322 is arranged, and two abutment ribs 27e are arranged at a predetermined interval in the height direction H, as shown in Figure 24(c). The female terminal 10Xe configured in this manner has the same effects as the above-described female terminal 10X. Furthermore, when the female terminal 10Xe is inserted into the insertion space 12X, the connecting blade 3 of the male terminal to be connected to the female terminal 10Xe is sandwiched between the abutment rib 27e and the arm spring 322 from both sides in the width direction W, thereby ensuring electrical conductivity.

[0134] In the configuration of this invention and the correspondence with the embodiment, a part of the male terminal of this invention corresponds to the connecting blade 3, Similarly, The insertion space corresponds to the insertion space 12X, The side walls correspond to side walls 21, 21b, 21c, 21e, and 21Y. The base part corresponds to the base parts 20, 20Xb, 20Y, and 20Ya, The spring members correspond to spring members 30, 30b, 30c, 30X, and 30Y. The conductive welds correspond to the conductive welds 40, 40a, 40X, the point-like conductive welds 40b, and the line-like conductive welds 40c. The female terminal is compatible with female terminals 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10X, 10Xa, 10Xb, 10Xc, 10Xd, 10Xe, 10Y, and 10Ya. The terminal body corresponds to terminal body 15, 15Y, 15Ya, The depth direction and the direction in which the arm spring extends correspond to the height direction H, The direction that intersects with the direction in which the arm spring extends , i.e., the placement direction corresponds to the longitudinal direction L, The arm spring corresponds to the arm spring 322. The gripping plates correspond to the gripping plates 31 and 31Y. The outer side of the side wall corresponds to the outer side of the side wall 21 in the width direction W, The terminal wire corresponds to terminal wire 4, The protrusions correspond to the contact ribs 27c and 27e. Although the electric wire with connector corresponds to the electric wire with connector 1, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be applied based on the technical ideas set forth in the claims, and many embodiments can be obtained.

[0135] For example, in the above description, the terminal body 15 is constituted by the electric wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20, but instead of the electric wire connection portion 11 to which the electric wire 5 is connected, a plate-shaped conductive member such as a bus bar may be used.

[0136] Furthermore, a plate-shaped conductive member such as a bus bar may be directly welded to wire connection portion 11, or a structure having a through-hole through which a fastening member can be inserted may be used so that terminal body 15 and a plate-shaped conductive member such as a bus bar are fastened and connected by a fastening means, for example, a structure that allows fastening with a bolt, etc. Furthermore, base portion 20 may be provided at the tip of a plate-shaped conductive member such as a bus bar.

[0137] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned spring members 30, 30X, and 30Y, the arm spring 322 is formed along the direction in which the connection blade 3 is inserted from the height direction H, that is, the direction from the opening of the insertion space 12X (upward direction Hu) toward the rear side (downward direction Hd). However, it is also possible to provide an arm spring 322 extending in a longitudinal direction L that intersects with the direction from the opening of the insertion space 12X (upward direction Hu) toward the rear side (downward direction Hd), and to configure the connection blade 3 to be inserted into the insertion space 12X from the tip side of the longitudinal direction L that intersects with the height direction H.

[0138] In the above-described side wall 21, the chamfered portions 25 having an inclined surface shape are formed on both sides in the width direction W at the upper end portion that forms the mounting recess 23, but the chamfered portions 25 may be formed only on the outer corners in the width direction W of the side wall 21 that face the width direction W, or may be formed only on the corners on the side of the insertion space 12X. Moreover, the chamfered portions 25 may be formed to have an arc-shaped cross section instead of an inclined surface shape.

[0139] Furthermore, in the above-described female terminals 10Xc, 10Xd, 10Xe, the spring member 30X is attached to one of the pair of side walls 21, and the abutment ribs 27c, 27e are provided on the inner surface of the other side wall 21 on the side of the insertion space 12X, but a spring member provided with the abutment ribs 27c, 27e may be attached to the other side wall 21. Furthermore, the number of the abutment ribs 27c, 27e is not limited to the number in the above-described embodiment, and any appropriate number may be provided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0140] 1...Wire with connector 3...Connection blade 4...Wire with terminal 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10X, 10Xa, 10Xb, 10Xc, 10Xd, 10Xe, 10Y, 10Ya...female terminal 11... Wire connection part 12X...insertion space 15, 15Y, 15Ya...Terminal body 20,20Xb,20Y,20Ya...Base part 21,21b,21c,21e,21Y…Side wall 22,22Y…Connection part 27c, 27e…Abutment rib 30, 30b, 30c, 30X, 30Y...Spring members 31,31Y…Gripping plate 40, 40a, 40X...Conductive welding 40b...Spot-shaped conductive weld 40c...Line-shaped conductive weld 322...Arm spring L...Longitudinal direction W: Width direction H: Height

Claims

1. a spring member electrically connected to the male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion has a pair of side walls arranged across an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member is disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that electrically welds the spring member and the side wall together, The spring member is a plurality of arm springs arranged along a direction intersecting a depth direction from an opening of the insertion space toward the back side, the arm springs having arm shapes extending along the depth direction of the insertion space; a direction in which the arm springs are arranged that intersects with the depth direction is defined as an arrangement direction; The conductive welds are formed to extend in the arrangement direction so as to correspond to the positions of the arm springs. Female terminal.

2. The spring member, a gripping plate that cooperates with the base of the arm spring to grip the side wall; The gripping plate is disposed on the outer side of the side wall, The conductive welded portion is a portion that electrically connects the gripping plate and the side wall. The female terminal according to claim 1 .

3. The spring members are provided for the pair of side walls, respectively. The female terminal according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The spring member is provided on one of the pair of side walls. The female terminal according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The terminal body has a higher conductivity than the spring member and is thicker than the spring member. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The terminal body has at least a portion of its surface that is not plated. The female terminal according to claim 5 .

7. A female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and a connector housing that accommodates the female terminal. connector.

8. At the end of the wire, A female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6 connected thereto. Wire with terminals.

9. An electric wire with terminal according to claim 8, A connector housing is provided that accommodates a female terminal connected to the tip of the terminal-attached electric wire. Wires with connectors.

10. A device comprising at least one of the terminal-equipped electric wire according to claim 8 and the connector-equipped electric wire according to claim 9. Wire harness.

11. A female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is integrated with an end of a bus bar. Busbar.

12. a spring member electrically connected to the male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion has a pair of side walls arranged across an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member is disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that electrically welds the spring member and the side wall together, The spring member is a plurality of arm springs arranged along a direction intersecting a depth direction from an opening of the insertion space toward the back side, the arm springs having arm shapes extending along the depth direction of the insertion space; a direction in which the arm springs are arranged that intersects with the depth direction is defined as an arrangement direction; the conductive welds are formed to extend in the arrangement direction so as to correspond to the positions of the arm springs, The conductive welds are provided in a plurality of positions along a predetermined direction. Female terminal.

13. a spring member electrically connected to the male terminal; and a terminal body having a conductive base portion electrically connected to the spring member, the base portion has a pair of side walls arranged across an insertion space into which a part of the male terminal can be inserted, the spring member is disposed between the pair of side walls of the base portion, the spring member and the side wall are fixed by a conductive weld that electrically welds the spring member and the side wall together, the spring member is provided on one of the pair of side walls, a protrusion protruding toward one of the side walls is provided on the other of the pair of side walls, The spring member is a plurality of arm springs arranged along a direction intersecting a depth direction from an opening of the insertion space toward the back side, the arm springs having arm shapes extending along the depth direction of the insertion space; a direction in which the arm springs are arranged that intersects with the depth direction is defined as an arrangement direction; The conductive welds are formed to extend in the arrangement direction so as to correspond to the positions of the arm springs. Female terminal.

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