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

Abstract

Provided are a female terminal, a female connector, an electric cable with a terminal, an electric cable with a connector, and a wire harness with which damage to a welded portion can be prevented even if a conductor of the electric cable is connected by ultrasonic welding to an electric cable connecting portion of the female terminal, which is obtained by welding a base portion and a spring member in advance.　A female terminal 10 is provided with an electric cable connecting portion 11 to which a conductor 6 of an electric cable 5 is connected by ultrasonic welding, and a terminal connecting portion 12 to which a male terminal is connected, wherein: the terminal connecting portion 12 is provided with a base portion 20 having a pair of side walls 21 arranged spaced apart by a predetermined gap into which a connecting blade 3 of the male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member 30 attached to the base portion 20; the spring member 30 includes extended plates 31 which follow outside surfaces of the side walls 21, and arm springs 322 which extend toward the opposing side wall 21; the extended plates 31 are provided alongside the outside surfaces of the side walls 21; and the side walls 21 and the extended plates 31 are welded together at endless welded portions 40 that are endless.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to, for example, female terminals, connectors, electric wires with terminals, electric wires with connectors, and wire harnesses used in electric circuits through which a large current flows.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, electrical equipment constitutes an electric circuit by connecting an electric motor device and a power supply device with a wire harness. The wire harness and the electric motor device, as well as the wire harness and the power supply device, are connected to each other via connectors attached thereto.

[0003] For example, the connector shown in Patent Document 1 houses a female terminal in a connector housing. Such a female terminal is composed of a base portion and a spring member to form a terminal body. When a male terminal is inserted, an arm spring, which is a part of the spring member, is deformed so as to bend.

[0004] By the way, in an electric circuit such as a drive system in an automobile, since a large current flows, it is conceivable to weld the base portion and the spring member by laser welding or the like in order to ensure good conductivity. However, when connecting a conductor of an electric wire to the electric wire connection portion of a female terminal in which the base portion and the spring member are welded in advance by ultrasonic welding, the vibration for ultrasonic welding the conductor to the electric wire connection portion acts as a load on the welded portion between the base portion and the spring member, and there is a risk that the connection state deteriorates.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a female terminal, connector, wire with terminal, wire with connector, and wire harness that can prevent damage to the welded portion even when the wire conductor of an electric wire is connected to the wire connection portion of a female terminal with a pre-welded spring member by ultrasonic welding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This invention is characterized in that it is a female terminal having a wire connection part to which the conductors of an electric wire are connected by ultrasonic welding, and a terminal connection part to which a male terminal is connected, the terminal connection part having a base part having a pair of side walls arranged at a predetermined distance apart into which a male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member attached to the base part, the spring member having a mounting plate along the side surface of the side wall and an arm spring extending toward the opposing side wall, the mounting plate being mounted along the outer surface of the side wall, the side wall and the mounting plate being welded to form a welded part, and the welded part being an endless endless welded part.

[0008] Furthermore, this invention is characterized by a connector comprising the above-mentioned female terminal and a connector housing for housing the female terminal, and further comprising a terminal-equipped wire comprising the above-mentioned female terminal and the wire connected to the base portion of the female terminal.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by a wire with a connector comprising the aforementioned wire with terminals and a connector housing for housing the wire with terminals, and a wire harness comprising at least one of the aforementioned wire with terminals and the aforementioned wire with connectors.

[0010] The above-mentioned spring member may be a single spring member on which the mounting plate is attached to both outer surfaces of a pair of side walls, a separate spring member on which the mounting plate is attached to both outer surfaces of a pair of side walls, or a single spring member on which the mounting plate is attached to one of the pair of side walls.

[0011] An endless shape refers to a shape in which the starting and ending points of a welded joint, formed linearly or in a strip-like manner, coincide, such as a circular, oval, or polygonal shape with arc-shaped corners, or a shape in which the starting and ending points are located on an intermediate portion, resulting in no end point.

[0012] This invention makes it possible to prevent damage to the welded portion even when connecting the conductor of an electric wire to the wire connection portion of a female terminal that has been pre-welded to the base portion and spring member by ultrasonic welding. More specifically, the female terminal is provided with a wire connection section where the conductors of the electric wire are connected by ultrasonic welding, and a terminal connection section to which a male terminal is connected. The terminal connection section of the female terminal is provided with a base section having a pair of side walls spaced apart at a predetermined interval into which a male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member attached to the base section. The mounting plate of the spring member and the side walls are welded together with an endless, endless welding section.

[0013] Therefore, by connecting the wire conductor to the wire connection part of a female terminal that has been pre-welded to the base and spring member using ultrasonic welding, even if vibrations from ultrasonic welding act on the weld, the load due to the vibration does not act locally on the weld, but rather the load can be distributed. Consequently, even if the wire conductor is connected to the wire connection part of a female terminal that has been pre-welded to the base and spring member using ultrasonic welding, damage to the weld can be prevented.

[0014] In one aspect of this invention, the endless weld portion may be formed in a non-angular shape without angular portions. The aforementioned angular portion is a part that forms an edge shape in a strip-shaped weld formed by a linear or wobbling process with a predetermined width, such as the intersection of the ends of linear welds with different orientations, the intersection of the ends of curved welds with different tangential directions, or the intersection of the end of a curved weld with a different tangential direction and orientation with a linear weld. Therefore, a shape without the aforementioned angular portion is a smooth shape without any parts that form an edge shape.

[0015] This invention makes it possible to reliably prevent damage to the welded portion even when connecting the conductor of an electric wire to the wire connection portion of a female terminal that has been pre-welded to the base portion and spring member by ultrasonic welding. More specifically, if the endless welded portion has a corner section, the load due to the vibration of the ultrasonic welding connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor may act locally on the corner section. However, since the endless welded portion is cornerless and does not have a corner section, the load due to the vibration of the ultrasonic welding connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor is distributed, and even if the conductor of the electric wire is connected to the wire connection portion of the female terminal, which has been previously welded to the base portion and the spring member, by ultrasonic welding, damage to the welded portion can be reliably prevented.

[0016] Furthermore, in embodiments of this invention, a plurality of endless welds may be formed, a plurality of endless welds may be arranged in parallel in a predetermined direction at predetermined intervals, or a plurality of endless welds may be connected in series.

[0017] These inventions increase the welding area of ​​the welded joint, which prevents damage even when the wire conductor is connected to the wire connection portion of a female terminal that has been pre-welded to the base portion and spring member by ultrasonic welding, thereby improving the connection strength between the spring member and the base portion.

[0018] Furthermore, the above-mentioned continuous arrangement of endless welds refers to a configuration in which parts of the endless welds intersect or coincide. Multiple endless welds may be formed in a continuous, single-line manner, or multiple endless welds may be formed so that parts of them intersect or coincide.

[0019] Furthermore, in embodiments of this invention, an ended welded portion may be provided, and the endless welded portion may be arranged at the end of the ended welded portion; the ended welded portion may be linear in shape extending along a predetermined direction; and the ended welded portion may be wave-shaped or spiral-shaped.

[0020] Even in the case of an end-shaped welded portion having an end portion where the load due to the vibration of ultrasonic welding for connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor may act locally, since the endless welded portion is disposed at the end portion of the end-shaped welded portion, the load due to the vibration of ultrasonic welding for connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor is dispersed, and even when the conductor of the wire is connected to the wire connection portion of the female terminal, which has been previously welded between the base portion and the spring member, by ultrasonic welding, damage to the welded portion can be prevented.

[0021] As an aspect of this invention, a second welded portion may be disposed inside the area surrounded by the endless welded portion, and the second welded portion may be an endless second endless welded portion smaller than the endless welded portion. According to this invention, even when the conductor of the wire is connected to the wire connection portion of the female terminal, which has been previously welded between the base portion and the spring member, by ultrasonic welding, the welding area of the welded portion that can prevent damage increases, and the connection strength between the spring member and the base portion can be improved.

[0022] As an aspect of this invention, the second welded portion is an end-shaped welded portion, and the end portion of the end-shaped welded portion may be disposed on the endless welded portion. Even in the case of an end-shaped welded portion having an end portion where the load due to the vibration of ultrasonic welding for connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor may act locally, since the end portion of the end-shaped welded portion is disposed on the endless welded portion, the load due to the vibration of ultrasonic welding for connecting the wire connection portion and the conductor is dispersed, and even when the conductor of the wire is connected to the wire connection portion of the female terminal, which has been previously welded between the base portion and the spring member, by ultrasonic welding, damage to the welded portion can be prevented.

[0023] As an aspect of this invention, the wire connection portion and the terminal connection portion may be arranged in series along the longitudinal direction of the conductor connected to the wire connection portion. According to this invention, the conductor can be reliably connected to the wire connection portion of the female terminal, which has been previously welded between the base portion and the spring member, and damage to the previously connected welded portion can be prevented.

[0024] Specifically, compared with the case of ultrasonic vibration in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the conductor connected to the wire connection portion, by performing ultrasonic vibration in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the conductor, the wire connection portion and the conductor can be more reliably connected.

[0025] In addition, when performing ultrasonic vibration in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the conductor, the influence of the vibration of ultrasonic welding is likely to act on the terminal connection portion arranged in series with respect to the wire connection portion along the longitudinal direction of the conductor connected to the wire connection portion. However, since the along - provided plate of the spring member and the side wall are welded by an endless endless welding portion, the load due to the vibration of ultrasonic welding can be dispersed, and damage to the welding portion can be prevented.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] Explanatory drawing of the female connector. [Figure 2] Perspective view of the female terminal. [Figure 3] Explanatory drawing of the female terminal. [Figure 4] Explanatory drawing of the female terminal. [Figure 5] Exploded perspective view of the female terminal. [Figure 6] Explanatory drawing for explaining the assembly of the female terminal. [Figure 7] Explanatory drawing for explaining the connection of the wire to the female terminal. [Figure 8] Perspective view of the wire with the female connector. [Figure 9] Explanatory drawing for explaining a modification example of the endless welding portion of the female terminal. [Figure 10] Explanatory drawing for explaining a modification example of the endless welding portion of the female terminal. [Figure 11] Explanatory drawing for explaining a modification example of the endless welding portion of the female terminal. [Figure 12] Explanatory drawing for explaining a modification example of the endless welding portion of the female terminal.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0027] One embodiment of this invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows an explanatory diagram of the wire 1 with a female connector, Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the female terminal 10, Figures 3 and 4 show explanatory diagrams of the female terminal 10, and Figure 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the female terminal 10. Figure 6 shows an explanatory diagram illustrating the assembly of the female terminal 10, Figure 7 shows an explanatory diagram illustrating the connection of the wire 5 to the female terminal 10, and Figure 8 shows a perspective view of the wire 1 with a female connector.

[0028] More specifically, Figure 1(a) shows a perspective view of the wire 1 with a female connector, and Figure 1(b) shows a perspective view of the wire 1 with a female connector, with the connector housing 2 shown in a transparent state. Figure 3(a) shows a front view of the female terminal 10, and Figure 3(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow AA in Figure 2.

[0029] Figure 4(a) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the BB arrow in Figure 3(b), and Figure 4(b) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the BB arrow in a state where it is connected to a flat connecting blade 3, which is part of the male terminal. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the assembly of the female terminal 10. Figure 6(a) shows a perspective view of the assembled base portion 20 and spring member 30, and Figure 6(b) shows a perspective view of the welded spring member 30 to the base portion 20.

[0030] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of the connection of the electric wire 5 to the electric wire connection part 11 of the female terminal 10. Figure 7(a) is a perspective view showing the state in which the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is placed on the electric wire connection part 11, and Figure 7(b) is a perspective view showing the state in which the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is ultrasonically welded to the electric wire connection part 11 using an ultrasonic welding machine 200.

[0031] The female terminal 10 described below consists of a spring member 30 that is electrically connected to the flat connecting blade 3 of the male terminal to which it is connected, a conductive base portion 20 that is electrically connected to the spring member 30, and a terminal body 15 having a wire connection portion 11 that is connected to the wire 5. As shown in Figure 1, it can be arranged inside the connector housing 2 to form the wire with female connector 1. The connector housing 2 with the female terminal 10 of the wire with terminal 4 arranged inside is referred to as connector 2X. Furthermore, the wire with female connector 1 configured in this way will constitute a part of the wire harness 1X.

[0032] The electric wire 5 is a round electric wire for high currents in which the internal conductor 6 is covered with an insulating coating. When the insulating coating is stripped off at the tip of the electric wire 5, exposing the conductor 6, a female terminal 10 (described later) is connected to it, it is called an electric wire with a terminal 4.

[0033] The connector housing 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped first housing portion 2a having an arrangement space 2c, and a wire insertion portion 2b extending from the first housing portion 2a. The female terminal 10 of the wire 4 with terminals inserted through the wire insertion portion 2b is arranged in the arrangement space 2c inside the first housing portion 2a.

[0034] The arrangement space 2c in which the female terminal 10 is placed is open on the side opposite to the side in the first housing portion 2a where the wire insertion portion 2b is located, allowing a view of the female terminal 10 located inside. In this embodiment, the wire 1 with a female connector has two wires 4 with terminals attached, and the two female terminals 10 of the connector housing are adjacent to each other in the arrangement space 2c.

[0035] As described above, the wire 1 with a female connector configured in this way can form the end of a wire harness 1X (not shown) or the end of a branch wire branched from the main line of the wire harness 1X, and a male connector (not shown) can be connected to it through the opening of the first housing portion 2a, and the male terminals provided on the male connector can be connected to the female terminals 10 located in the arrangement space 2c.

[0036] The female terminal 10, which forms a wire with a terminal by connecting to the exposed conductor 6 at the tip of the electric wire 5 where the insulating coating has been stripped, is provided with an electric wire connection part 11 and a terminal connection part 12. The terminal connection part 12 has a base part 20 and a spring member 30 that are assembled and fixed in a conductive manner by an endless welded part 40. The electric wire connection part 11 and the base part 20 constitute the terminal body 15.

[0037] In the female terminal 10, the wire connection part 11 and the terminal connection part 12 are arranged in series. In the following description, the direction in which the wire connection part 11 and the terminal connection part 12 are arranged in series (the direction connecting the lower right and upper left in Figure 2) is referred to as the longitudinal direction L. The direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L (the direction connecting the lower left and upper right in Figure 2) is referred to as the width direction W. Furthermore, the direction intersecting the longitudinal direction L and the width direction W (the up and down direction in Figure 2) is referred to as the height direction H, the direction in which the insertion space 12X opens (up in Figure 2) is referred to as the upward direction Hu, and the opposite direction (down in Figure 2) is referred to as the downward direction Hd.

[0038] The wire connection portion 11 is formed in a plate shape that extends in both the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H, and is continuous in the longitudinal direction L with one of the side walls 21 of the base portion 20 which constitutes the terminal connection portion 12 described later. The terminal connection portion 12, which is electrically connected to the flat connecting blade 3 (see Figure 4(b)) of the male terminal to be connected, is provided with a conductive base portion 20 having a pair of side walls 21 arranged apart from an insertion space 12X into which the connecting blade 3 can be inserted, and a side wall connecting portion 22 connecting the side walls 21, and a conductive spring member 30 arranged between the pair of side walls 21 in the base portion 20, which contacts the connecting blade 3 inserted into the insertion space 12X so as to act as a biasing force with the side walls 21 as a reaction force.

[0039] More specifically, the base portion 20 is positioned on one side in the longitudinal direction L relative to the wire connection portion 11, and has two planar side walls 21 that are aligned along the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H, spaced apart in the width direction W. It also has a side wall connecting portion 22 that connects one end of the pair of side walls 21 in the height direction H 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 opposite to the side wall connecting portion 22 in the height direction H.

[0040] Furthermore, as described above, one of the pair of side walls 21 is continuous with the wire connection section 11 in the longitudinal direction L. In this embodiment, the rear side wall 21 in the width direction W is continuous with the wire connection section 11, and the upper part Hu in the height direction H is open, forming a U-shape.

[0041] The base portion 20 and the wire connection portion 11 configured in this way are formed by cutting a terminal plate material, which is a conductive metal plate material such as copper or a copper alloy, into a predetermined shape and then bending it to form the shape described above.

[0042] The terminal body 15, which consists of the wire connection portion 11 and the base portion 20, is made of a thick plate having a predetermined thickness to accommodate high currents. Furthermore, the surface of the terminal body 15, which is made of a conductive metal terminal plate material such as copper or a copper alloy, is an unplated material that has not been plated with tin plating or other treatments to improve conductivity. The entire surface of the terminal body 15 may be an unplated material, but for example, the wire connection portion 11 may be partially plated.

[0043] The spring member 30 is attached to a pair of side walls 21 on the base portion 20 and is configured to contact the connecting blade 3 (see Figure 4(b)) inserted into the terminal connection portion 12, such that a biasing force acts toward the other side wall 21 with one side wall 21 acting as a reaction force.

[0044] Specifically, the spring member 30 is constructed by connecting two rectangular inverted U-shaped spring sections 30a, which are arranged facing each other in the width direction W and have an opening at the bottom Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L, with a connecting section 34 on one side in the longitudinal direction L.

[0045] The inverted U-shaped spring section 30a is configured in a rectangular inverted U shape with an opening at the bottom Hd when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. It consists of a mounting plate 31 positioned on the outside in the width direction W and extending in the longitudinal direction L and the height direction H, a spring plate 32 positioned at a predetermined distance from the mounting plate 31 on the inside in the width direction W, and a straddling connecting section 33 that connects the upper ends of the mounting plate 31 and the spring plate 32 in the height direction H in the width direction W.

[0046] As shown in Figure 3(b), the spring plate 32 has an arm spring 322 that is roughly V-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction L. The spring base 321 is located along the inside of the straddle connecting portion 33 in the width direction W and downward in the height direction Hd, and the spring plate 32 extends downward in the height direction Hd, and inclins inward in the width direction W as it goes downward in Hd. Multiple arm springs 322 are arranged adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction L.

[0047] As described above, the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a, which is formed in an inverted U shape by the mounting plate 31 and the spring plate 32, is arranged so that they face each other in the width direction W, and the connecting portion 34 connects one end of the mounting plate 31 in the longitudinal direction L in the width direction W to form the spring member 30.

[0048] The distance in the width direction W between the mounting plate 31 and the spring base 321 of the spring plate 32 in the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a is formed to be slightly wider than the width direction W of the side wall 21, and 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 to be 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.

[0049] Furthermore, the spring member 30 is thinner than the terminal plate material that constitutes the terminal body 15, and is constructed by cutting out a spring plate material with high spring properties but low conductivity into a predetermined shape and then bending it. Furthermore, 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 contacts the connecting blade 3, is plated with a tin plating or similar treatment to improve conductivity. Of course, the entire surface of the spring member 30 may also be plated.

[0050] As shown in Figure 5, the spring member 30 configured in this way is attached to the upper surface of the pair of side walls 21 from above Hu in the height direction H, and is electrically fixed by an endless welded portion 40, which will be described later, to form a female terminal 10. In this mounting state, the connecting portion 34 is attached so as to straddle the end side surface of the side wall 21.

[0051] Specifically, the spring member 30 is positioned above Hu in the height direction H of the base portion 20, the spring plate 32 is positioned in the insertion space 12X, the perimeter plate 31 is positioned on the outside of the side wall 21 in the width direction W, the straddle connecting portion 33 is positioned at the upper end of the side wall 21, and the connecting portion 34 is positioned so as to straddle the tip of the side wall 21 in the width direction W (see Figure 6(a)). At this time, the upper end of the side wall 21 in the direction Hu is sandwiched from both sides in the width direction W by the base of the arm spring 322, that is, the spring base portion 321 and the perimeter plate 31.

[0052] Then, as shown in Figure 6(b), the fiber laser welding machine 100 is moved in a predetermined direction to form an endless weld 40 and weld it in place at the portion where the outer surface of the side wall 21 and the accompanying plate 31 overlap in the width direction W. The endless weld 40 is formed on the accompanying plate 31 of the inverted U-shaped spring portion 30a provided on both sides in the width direction W, and is welded to each of the paired side walls 21.

[0053] The endless weld 40 is a weld bead welded by a fiber laser welding machine 100, and the outer surface of the side wall 21 and the accompanying plate 31 are melted and electrically connected and fixed by the endless weld 40.

[0054] The endless weld 40 is formed in a roughly rectangular shape, with its corners being arc-shaped and longer in the longitudinal direction L than in the height direction H when viewed from the outside in the width direction W. The endless weld 40 is formed to a predetermined width by moving a laser beam 101 irradiated from a fiber laser welding machine 100 while drawing a fine, oval wobbling pattern at high speed.

[0055] In more detail, the endless weld 40 can be formed by moving the fiber laser welding machine 100 from the welding start point in the predetermined shape described above, along the predetermined shape, drawing a fine, elongated wobbling pattern at high speed, and extending the welding end point beyond the already welded start point, thereby creating an endless shape without an end. Furthermore, the endless weld 40 is formed in a long, roughly rectangular shape with arc-shaped corners, and is formed in a cornerless shape without sharp edges.

[0056] In this way, the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 are assembled, and the female terminal 10, which consists of a terminal connection portion 12 connected electrically by an endless welded portion 40 and a wire connection portion 11 for connecting the electric wire 5, is configured as described above when the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 to form a wire with a terminal 4, and when mounted in the connector housing 2, a wire with a female connector 1 can be constructed.

[0057] More specifically, as shown in Figure 7(a), the spring member 30 is assembled, and the conductor 6 exposed from the tip of the electric wire 5 is placed at the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which is connected by an endless weld portion 40, and then welded with an ultrasonic welding machine 200 as shown in Figure 7(b).

[0058] Note that in Figure 7, for ease of understanding, the orientation is aligned with other drawings, and the wire 5 is shown positioned on the front side (the side closest to the viewer in Figure 7) in the width direction W relative to the wire connection part 11, and ultrasonic welding is performed. However, generally, the wire 5 is positioned from above relative to the wire connection part 11, and ultrasonic welding is performed by sandwiching it between the anvil 201 and crimper 203, which will be described later, in the vertical direction.

[0059] Specifically, the anvil 201 of the ultrasonic welding machine 200 is placed on the back side of the wire connection section 11 (the back side in the width direction W, opposite to the side where the conductor 6 is placed), and the restricting sections 202 are placed on both sides of the wire connection section 11 in the height direction H.

[0060] Then, the wire connection part 11 is clamped in the width direction W from the front side (the side in the width direction W where the conductor 6 is placed) using the crimper 203, and ultrasonic vibration is applied in the longitudinal direction L with the crimper 203 to ultrasonically weld the conductor 6 of the wire 5 and the wire connection part 11 to form the wire with terminal 4.

[0061] Then, when the male connector is connected to the female connector-equipped wire 1, the connecting 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 Figure 4(b). It is then inserted between the arm springs 322 of the spring plate 32, and the arm springs 322 apply a biasing force in the width direction W, making close contact with the connecting blade 3 and enabling conductive connection.

[0062] The female terminal 10 described above is provided with a wire connection portion 11 to which the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected by ultrasonic welding, and a terminal connection portion 12 to which a male terminal is connected. The terminal connection portion 12 is provided with a base portion 20 having a pair of side walls 21 arranged at a predetermined distance apart into which the connecting blade 3 of the male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member 30 attached to the base portion 20. The spring member 30 has an attached plate 31 along the side wall 21 and an arm spring 322 extending toward the opposite side wall 21. The attached plate 31 is attached to the outer surface of the side wall 21, and the side wall 21 and the attached plate 31 are welded together by an endless endless weld portion 40. Therefore, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been previously welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage to the endless weld portion 40 can be prevented.

[0063] More specifically, the terminal connection portion 12 of the female terminal 10 is provided with a wire connection portion 11 to which the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected by ultrasonic welding, and a terminal connection portion 12 to which a male terminal is connected. The terminal connection portion 12 of the female terminal 10 is provided with a base portion 20 having a pair of side walls 21 arranged at a predetermined distance apart into which the connecting blade 3 of the male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member 30 attached to the base portion 20, and the mounting plate 31 of the spring member 30 and the side walls 21 are welded together with an endless endless welding portion 40.

[0064] Therefore, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, by ultrasonic welding, and the vibration of ultrasonic welding acts on the endless weld portion 40, the load due to the vibration does not act locally on the endless weld portion 40, and the load can be distributed. Accordingly, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage to the endless weld portion 40 can be prevented.

[0065] Furthermore, since the mounting plate 31, which is positioned along the outer surface of the side wall 21, is welded to the outer surface of the side wall 21 by an endless weld 40, the insertion of the male terminal connection blade 3 does not affect the mounting plate 31 along the outer surface of the side wall 21. Therefore, it is possible to prevent excessive load from being applied to the endless weld 40 between the side wall 21 and the mounting plate 31.

[0066] In addition, since the outer surface of the side wall 21 and the mounting plate 31 along that outer surface are on opposite sides to the side facing the connecting blade 3 of the inserted male terminal, the fiber laser welding machine 100 can be freely moved closer to or further away from the side wall 21 and the mounting plate 31 during the welding process. Therefore, the welding process can be easily carried out. Furthermore, since the overlapping portion of the mounting plate 31 with respect to the outer surface of the side wall 21 has a wide and long shape, any welding method can be applied.

[0067] Furthermore, since the endless welded portion 40 is formed in a non-angular shape without any edge-like corners, even when the crimper 203 is ultrasonically vibrated in the longitudinal direction L to connect the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been previously welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30, damage to the welded portion can be reliably prevented.

[0068] In more detail, if the welded portion has a corner, the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection portion 11 and the conductor 6 may act locally on the corner. However, since the endless welded portion 40 is cornerless and does not have a corner, the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection portion 11 and the conductor 6 is distributed. Therefore, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage to the endless welded portion 40 can be reliably prevented.

[0069] Furthermore, since the wire connection portion 11 and the terminal connection portion 12 are arranged in series along the longitudinal direction L of the conductor 6 connected to the wire connection portion 11, that is, along the longitudinal direction L which is the vibration direction of the crimper 203 when connecting the conductor 6 to the wire connection portion 11, the conductor 6 can be reliably connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10 which has been welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, and damage to the previously connected welded portion can be prevented.

[0070] More specifically, compared to the case where the crimper 203 is ultrasonically vibrated in the width direction W, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the conductor 6 connected to the wire connection part 11, a more reliable connection can be achieved by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, which is along the longitudinal direction of the conductor 6.

[0071] Furthermore, when the crimper 203 for ultrasonic welding is vibrated in the longitudinal direction L, which is along the longitudinal direction of the conductor 6, the vibrations of the ultrasonic welding are likely to affect the terminal connection part 12, which is arranged in series with respect to the wire connection part 11 along the longitudinal direction of the conductor 6 connected to the wire connection part 11. However, since the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 of the spring member 30 are welded with an endless welding section 40, the load due to the vibrations of ultrasonic welding can be distributed, and damage to the welded part can be prevented.

[0072] Furthermore, even with a connector 2X equipped with the aforementioned female terminal 10 and a connector housing 2 that accommodates the female terminal 10, a terminal-equipped wire 4 equipped with the aforementioned female terminal 10 and a wire 5 connected to the base portion 20 of the female terminal 10, a female connector-equipped wire 1 equipped with the aforementioned terminal-equipped wire 4 and a connector housing 2 that accommodates the terminal-equipped wire 4, and a wire harness 1X equipped with at least one of the aforementioned terminal-equipped wire 4 and the aforementioned female connector-equipped wire 1, the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 connecting the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 with an endless weld portion 40 can be achieved.

[0073] In the female terminal 10 described above, the side wall 21 and the accompanying plate 31 are welded together by an endless weld 40 that is longer in the longitudinal direction L than in the height direction H and is formed in a roughly rectangular shape with arc-shaped corners. However, as will be explained below, the endless weld 40 is not limited to the shape described above.

[0074] For example, as shown in Figure 9(a), two endless welds 41a and 41b may be placed in parallel at a predetermined distance apart in the height direction H to form a parallel endless weld 41. Specifically, the lower endless weld portion 41a in the downward direction Hd is formed in a more flattened, approximately rectangular shape, with a shorter height H length compared to the endless weld portion 40 described above.

[0075] The upper endless weld portion 41b, which is positioned at a predetermined distance in the upward direction Hu from the lower endless weld portion 41a, is formed in a substantially rectangular shape on the attached plate 31, corresponding to the cutout portion in the upward direction Hu of the connecting portion 34, and has a shorter longitudinal length L than the lower endless weld portion 41a.

[0076] The female terminal 10, which connects the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the parallel endless welded section 41 configured in this way, can improve the connection strength between the spring member 30 and the base section 20, in addition to the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 which connects the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the endless welded section 40.

[0077] Specifically, since the lower endless weld portion 41a and the upper endless weld portion 41b are arranged in parallel in the height direction H with a predetermined distance between them to form a parallel endless weld portion 41, even when the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been previously welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage can be prevented. The welding area of ​​the parallel endless weld portion 41 is increased compared to the endless weld portion 40, and the connection strength between the spring member 30 and the base portion 20 can be improved.

[0078] In this example, the parallel endless weld section 41 is constructed by arranging the lower endless weld section 41a and the upper endless weld section 41b at a predetermined distance in the height direction H. However, it may also be constructed by arranging multiple endless weld sections at predetermined distances in the longitudinal direction L. In this case as well, the same effects as those of the parallel endless weld section 41 described above can be achieved.

[0079] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 9(b), multiple endless welds 42 may be formed by arranging endless welds 42b and 42c at predetermined intervals inside the outermost endless weld 42a that is formed in an endless manner. Specifically, the outermost endless weld 42a has the same shape as the endless weld 40 described above, and an intermediate endless weld 42b of a similar shape is provided inside it at a predetermined interval, and an innermost endless weld 42c of a similar shape is provided inside that at a predetermined interval. Although the above-described multi-layer endless weld 42 is a triple-layer structure, it may also be a double-layer structure or a quadruple-layer or more.

[0080] The female terminal 10, which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the multiple endless welds 42 configured in this way, can achieve the following effects in addition to the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with endless welds 40 and 41.

[0081] The endless welds 42b and 42c are arranged inside the outermost endless weld 42a, forming a multi-layered endless weld 42. The intermediate endless weld 42b, located inside the outermost endless weld 42a, is similar in shape but smaller than the outermost endless weld 42a, and the innermost endless weld 42c, located inside the intermediate endless weld 42b, is similar in shape but smaller than the intermediate endless weld 42b. Therefore, even when the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been previously welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, the welding area of ​​the multi-layered endless weld 42, which prevents damage, is increased compared to the endless weld 40, thereby improving the connection strength between the spring member 30 and the base portion 20.

[0082] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10(a), the pentagonal endless weld portion 43 on the attached plate 31 may have a pentagonal shape with a hypotenuse corresponding to the notched portion in the upward direction Hu of the connecting portion 34. The pentagonal endless weld 43 is longer in the height direction H than the endless weld 40 described above, and has a shape that looks like the lower endless weld 41a and the upper endless weld 41b are integrated into a pentagon.

[0083] In the female terminal 10, which connects the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 with a pentagonal endless weld 43 configured in this way, the welding area of ​​the pentagonal endless weld 43 is larger than that of the endless weld 40, thus improving the effect achieved by the female terminal 10 that connects the mounting plate 31 and the side wall 21 with an endless weld 40.

[0084] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10(b), a grid-like endless weld section 44 may be formed by providing linear weld sections 44b and 44c arranged in a grid pattern inside the pentagonal endless weld section 44a. More specifically, the pentagonal endless welds 44a that constitute the outer shape of the grid-like endless weld 44 have the same shape as the pentagonal endless weld 43 described above, and the vertical linear welds 44b are formed along the height direction H inside the area surrounded by the pentagonal endless welds 44a. Multiple vertical linear welds 44b are provided at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction L.

[0085] The lateral linear welds 44c are formed along the longitudinal direction L inside the area enclosed by the pentagonal endless welds 44a. Multiple lateral linear welds 44c are provided at predetermined intervals in the height direction H. The vertical linear welds 44b and horizontal linear welds 44c formed in this manner form a grid pattern inside the pentagonal endless weld 44a, with both ends of each vertical linear weld 44b and horizontal linear weld 44c positioned on top of the pentagonal endless weld 44a.

[0086] The female terminal 10, which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the endless grid-like welded section 44 configured in this way, provides the following effects in addition to the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 that connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with endless welded sections 40 and 43.

[0087] The grid-like endless weld section 44 has ended linear weld sections 44b and 44c located inside the pentagonal endless weld section 44a, but the ends of the linear weld sections 44b and 44c are positioned on the pentagonal endless weld section 44a. Therefore, even though the ended linear weld sections 44b and 44c have ends that may be locally subjected to the load caused by the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection section 11 and the conductor 6, the load caused by the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection section 11 and the conductor 6 is distributed. Thus, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection section 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been welded to the base section 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage to the grid-like endless weld section 44 can be prevented.

[0088] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11(a), a linear endless weld 45 may be constructed by arranging circular welds 45b at both ends of a linear weld 45a along the longitudinal direction L. In the linear endless weld 45, each circular weld 45b passes over both ends of the linear weld 45a.

[0089] The female terminal 10, which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with a linear, endless welded section 45 configured in this way, provides the following effects in addition to the effects achieved by a female terminal 10 that connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with an endless welded section 40.

[0090] Because an endless circular weld 45b is positioned at the end of an ended linear weld 45a, even if the ended linear weld 45a has an end where the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection 11 and the conductor 6 may act locally, the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection 11 and the conductor 6 is distributed. Therefore, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been welded to the base 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage to the linear endless weld 45 can be prevented. In addition, for a linear endless weld 45 composed of a linear weld 45a and a circular weld 45b, the linear weld 45a and the circular weld 45b may be formed continuously as if drawn in a single stroke.

[0091] Alternatively, as shown in Figure 11(b), a wavy, endless welded section 46 may be constructed by arranging circular welded sections 46b at both ends in the longitudinal direction L of a wavy welded section 46a that extends in a zigzag pattern in the height direction H and the longitudinal direction L. In the wavy, endless welded section 46, each circular welded section 46b passes over both ends of the wavy welded section 46a.

[0092] The female terminal 10 connecting the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the wavy endless weld 46 configured in this way has the same effect as the female terminal 10 connecting the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with an endless weld 40. In addition, the wavy weld 46a in the wavy endless weld 46 is longer than the linear weld 45a in the linear endless weld 45, thus improving the effect of the female terminal 10 connecting the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the linear endless weld 45. Furthermore, in the case of a wavy endless weld 46 composed of a wavy weld 46a and a circular weld 46b, the wavy weld 46a and the circular weld 46b may be formed continuously as if drawn in a single stroke.

[0093] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12(a), a plurality of circular welds 47a may be arranged continuously in the longitudinal direction L with some overlap to form an endless circular weld 47. The endless circular weld 47 may have the circular welds 47a spaced apart, or the circular welds 47a may be arranged in a zigzag pattern.

[0094] The female terminal 10, which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the circular endless welded portion 47 configured in this way, provides the following effects in addition to the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the endless welded portion 40.

[0095] Since multiple circular welds 47a are connected to form a circular endless weld 47, even when the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection portion 11 of the female terminal 10, which has been previously welded to the base portion 20 and the spring member 30, by ultrasonically vibrating the crimper 203 in the longitudinal direction L, damage can be prevented. The welding area of ​​the circular endless weld 47 is increased compared to the endless weld 40, and the connection strength between the spring member 30 and the base portion 20 can be improved.

[0096] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 12(b), a spiral-shaped endless spiral weld 48 may also be used. Specifically, the spiral endless spiral weld 48 is formed with the same outer shape as the pentagonal endless spiral weld 43 and is formed in a single continuous line toward the inner diameter. The starting point 48a of the spiral endless spiral weld 48 is passed through by an intermediate portion, and the ending point 48b is formed on the intermediate portion, making it endless without an end.

[0097] The female terminal 10, which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with the spiral endless weld 48 configured in this way, provides the following effects in addition to the effects achieved by the female terminal 10 which connects the attached plate 31 and the side wall 21 with an endless weld 40.

[0098] Even if the spiral weld is formed in a single continuous line with an end, having an end where the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection part 11 and the conductor 6 may act locally, the starting point 48a and ending point 48b are positioned on the middle portion of the spiral endless weld 48 which is formed in a single continuous line. Therefore, the load due to the vibration of the crimper 203 connecting the wire connection part 11 and the conductor 6 is distributed. Thus, even if the conductor 6 of the electric wire 5 is connected to the wire connection part 11 of the female terminal 10 which has been welded to the base part 20 and the spring member 30 in advance, damage to the weld can be prevented. The spiral endless weld 48 may be formed in a spiral shape with the inner diameter being the starting point 48a and the outer diameter being the ending point 48b.

[0099] In the correspondence between the structure of this invention and its embodiments, the electric wire of this invention corresponds to electric wire 5. The same applies to the following: Some of the male connectors are compatible with connection blade 3. The conductor corresponds to conductor 6, The wire connection part corresponds to the wire connection part 11. The terminal connection part corresponds to the terminal connection part 12. The side wall corresponds to the side wall 21, The base part corresponds to the base part 20, The spring member corresponds to the spring member 30. The mounting plate corresponds to the mounting plate 31, The arm spring corresponds to arm spring 322. The endless welds correspond to endless welds 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, and 48. The female terminal corresponds to female terminal 10. The end-shaped weld corresponds to the straight weld 45a and the corrugated weld 46a. The second weld corresponds to the endless welds 42b, 42c and the linear welds 44b, 44c. The second endless weld corresponds to the endless welds 42b and 42c. The connector housing corresponds to connector housing 2. The wire with terminals corresponds to wire with terminals 4. The wire with connector corresponds to the female connector wire 1. While the wire harness corresponds to wire harness 1X, this invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be applied based on the technical concept shown in the claims, allowing for the creation of many embodiments.

[0100] For example, in the above description, the spring member 30 was constructed by connecting two inverted U-shaped spring sections 30a, which are arranged in opposite directions in the width direction W, with a connecting section 34. However, the spring member 30 may also be constructed by connecting two inverted U-shaped spring sections 30a with a connecting section that extends into the insertion space 12X, or the two inverted U-shaped spring sections 30a may remain separate and function as the spring member 30. Furthermore, the spring member 30 may be constructed using only one inverted U-shaped spring section 30a. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0101] 1…Wire with female connector 1X…Wire harness 2… Connector housing 3…Connecting blade 4…Electric wire with terminals 5...Electric wire 6...Conductor 10…Female terminal 11…Wire connection part 12...Terminal connection section 20... Base 21...Side wall 30... Spring component 31…Landside board 40... Endless weld 41…Parallel endless welding part 42…Multiple endless welds 42a...Outermost endless weld 42b…Intermediate endless welding part 42c…Innermost endless welding part 43... Pentagonal endless weld 44… Endless grid-like welded section 44a...Pentagonal endless welding part 44b... Longitudinal linear weld 44c...Transverse linear weld 45…Linear endless weld 45a...Straight weld 45b...Circular weld 46... Wavy, endless weld 46a...Wavy weld 46b...Circular weld 47…Circular endless weld 48…Spiral endless weld 322... Arm spring

Claims

1. A wire connection part in which the conductors of the wires are connected by ultrasonic welding, A terminal connection section to which a male terminal is connected is provided. The aforementioned terminal connection section is A base portion having a pair of side walls arranged at a predetermined distance apart into which a male terminal can be inserted, and a spring member attached to the base portion are provided. The spring member has a plate that runs along the side surface of the side wall and an arm spring that extends toward the opposing side wall, The mounting plate is mounted along the outer surface of the side wall. The side wall and the accompanying plate are welded together to form a welded joint. The aforementioned welded portion is an endless welded portion. Female connector.

2. The aforementioned endless weld is formed in a non-angular shape without any angular parts. The female terminal according to claim 1.

3. Multiple endless welded sections are formed The female terminal according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. Multiple endless welded sections are arranged in parallel in a predetermined direction at predetermined intervals. The female terminal according to claim 3.

5. Multiple of the aforementioned endless welded sections are arranged in series. The female terminal according to claim 3.

6. It is equipped with a welded section with an end, The endless weld portion is positioned at the end of the end of the end-shaped weld portion. The female terminal according to claim 3.

7. The end-shaped weld portion is linear in shape and extends along a predetermined direction. The female terminal according to claim 6.

8. The end-shaped weld portion is spiral-shaped. The female terminal according to claim 7.

9. The second weld is located inside the area surrounded by the aforementioned endless weld. The female terminal according to claim 3.

10. The second weld is a second endless weld that is smaller than the aforementioned endless weld. The female terminal according to claim 9.

11. The second welded portion is a welded portion with an end, The end portion of the end-shaped weld is positioned on the endless weld portion. The female terminal according to claim 9.

12. The female terminal according to Claim 1, The device is equipped with a connector housing that accommodates the female terminals. connector.

13. The female terminal according to Claim 1, The female terminal is provided with the electric wire connected to the base portion. Electrical wire with terminals.

14. The wire connection part and the terminal connection part are Arranged in series along the longitudinal direction of the conductor connected to the wire connection portion The wire with terminals as described in claim 13.

15. A wire with terminals as described in Claim 13, The device is equipped with a connector housing for accommodating the aforementioned wire with terminals. Electrical wire with connector.

16. A wire with a terminal as described in claim 13 or claim 14, and a wire with a connector as described in claim 15, comprising at least one of these. Wire harness.

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