Terminal unit and female terminal used in the terminal unit

Abstract

To provide a terminal unit that can suppress displacement of a male terminal relative to a female terminal in a board width direction and suppress increase in contact resistance value due to minute sliding friction between female and male terminals.SOLUTION: A terminal unit 10 includes a male terminal 12 and a female terminal 14. The female terminal 14 has a first contact portion 18 and a second contact portion 20, and the male terminal 12 has a pair of inclined portions 22. The first contact portion 18 has a pair of first inclined side edges 36, the second contact portion 20 has a pair of second inclined side edges 46, and the pair of first inclined side edges 36 or the pair of second inclined side edges 46 has a contact forming fitting 28 formed by a separate thin metal sheet conductively fixed thereto. The contact forming fitting 28 has a pair of first contact portions 56. With the male terminal 12 press-fitted into a male terminal press-fit gap 16, elastic restoring force of the first contact portions 56 causes the first contact portions 56 to be pressed against the inclined portions 22 respectively, and the inclined portions 22 to be held between the first and second inclined side edges 36 and 46 respectively.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Claims

[Claim 1] A plate-shaped male terminal, A female terminal connected to the male terminal, The female terminal has a first contact portion and a second contact portion that are positioned opposite each other across the male terminal press-fitting gap in which the male terminal is press-fitted and positioned. The male terminal has a pair of inclined portions on both sides in the plate width direction intersecting the press-fitting direction into the male terminal press-fitting gap, which are inclined to one side in the plate thickness direction of the male terminal. The first contact portion of the female terminal has a pair of first inclined side edges that face the one side of the male terminal in the thickness direction and are inclined along the pair of inclined portions of the male terminal, and the second contact portion of the female terminal has a pair of second inclined side edges that face the other side of the male terminal in the thickness direction and are inclined along the pair of inclined portions of the male terminal, A contact-forming fitting, made of a separate thin metal plate that is thinner and more flexible than the first and second inclined side edges, is electrically connected to at least one of the pair of first and second inclined side edges. The contact forming fitting has a pair of first contact portions that protrude toward the male terminal press-fitting gap, The bending deformation of the pair of first contact portions allows the male terminal to be pressed into the male terminal press-fitting gap, and with the male terminal pressed into the male terminal press-fitting gap, the elastic restoring force of the pair of first contact portions of the female terminal causes the pair of first contact portions to press against the pair of inclined portions of the male terminal, and the pair of inclined portions of the male terminal to be sandwiched between the pair of first inclined side edges and the pair of second inclined side edges of the female terminal, respectively. Terminal unit. [Claim 2] The female terminal has a connecting plate portion that electrically connects the first contact portion and the second contact portion, and the second contact portion has an external connection portion. The contact forming fitting is fixed to the pair of first inclined side edges of the first contact portion of the female terminal. The female terminal is provided with a pair of second contact portions on the pair of second inclined side edges of the second contact portion, each of which is formed to partially protrude toward the male terminal press-fit gap. The terminal unit according to claim 1, wherein, with the male terminal pressed into the male terminal press-fitting gap, the pair of inclined portions of the male terminal are pressed against the pair of second contact portions of the female terminal by the elastic restoring force of the first contact portion. [Claim 3] The terminal unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the contact forming fitting has a welded fixing portion that is fixed by welding to at least one of the pair of first inclined side edges and the pair of second inclined side edges. [Claim 4] The contact forming fitting of the female terminal has a strip shape that extends in the direction of press-fitting the male terminal into the male terminal press-fitting gap, The contact-forming fitting has a welded fixing portion provided in the central part in the longitudinal direction, and a forward-projecting tongue and a rearward-projecting tongue that project in a cantilevered manner from the welded fixing portion toward both ends in the longitudinal direction. The terminal unit according to claim 3, wherein the forward-projecting tongue and the rearward-projecting tongue extend in the longitudinal direction with a curved shape that is convex toward the male terminal press-fitting gap when viewed from the side, and the first contact portion is provided in the intermediate portion of the forward-projecting tongue and the rearward-projecting tongue in the longitudinal direction. [Claim 5] The terminal unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact forming fitting has a crimping fixing portion that is fixed to at least one of the pair of first inclined side edges and the pair of second inclined side edges by crimping. [Claim 6] The contact forming fitting of the female terminal has a strip shape that extends in the direction of press-fitting the male terminal into the male terminal press-fitting gap, The contact-forming fitting has a crimping fixing portion provided in the central part in the longitudinal direction, and a forward-projecting tongue and a rearward-projecting tongue that project in a cantilevered manner from the crimping fixing portion toward both ends in the longitudinal direction. The terminal unit according to claim 5, wherein the forward-projecting tongue and the rearward-projecting tongue extend in the longitudinal direction with a curved shape that is convex toward the male terminal press-fitting gap when viewed from the side, and the first contact portion is provided in the intermediate portion of the forward-projecting tongue and the rearward-projecting tongue in the longitudinal direction. [Claim 7] The male terminal has a central flat portion positioned between the pair of inclined portions in the width direction of the board, The first contact portion of the female terminal is positioned between the pair of first inclined side edges in the plate width direction and has a first flat portion that extends along the central flat portion of the male terminal opposite to it. The terminal unit according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second contact portion of the female terminal is positioned between the pair of second inclined side edges in the plate width direction and has a second flat portion that extends along the central flat portion of the male terminal opposite to it. [Claim 8] A female terminal used in the terminal unit according to claim 1 or claim 2.

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