Terminal fitting and connector

Abstract

A terminal fitting (20, 20A) comprises a conductive plate material. The terminal fitting (20, 20A) is provided with: a connection part (21, 21A) that has an open surface (28) at one end in the length direction; a lead (34, 34A) that extends continuously to one length-direction end side of the connection part (21, 21A); and a closing part (29, 29A) that closes the open surface (28) of the connection part (21, 21A).

Description

Terminals and Connectors

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal fitting and a connector.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a connector including a terminal fitting and a housing for holding the terminal fitting. The terminal fitting includes a main body and a leg extending from the main body. The main body is accommodated in the housing. The leg extends from the rear surface of the housing. The main body has a contact piece that contacts a contact portion of a mating terminal fitting.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-192612

[0004] When the main body is housed in the housing, the rear end of the main body (the inside of the concave cross-section) opens to the rear surface of the housing. This means that foreign matter (objects other than the terminals) may get inside the main body. If foreign matter were to adhere to the contact piece inside the main body, it could prevent the contact piece and the contact part from properly connecting.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a terminal fitting and a connector that can ensure connection reliability.

[0006] The present disclosure relates to a terminal fitting made of a conductive plate material, comprising a connection portion having an opening surface at one end in the longitudinal direction, a lead portion extending in series with the one end side of the connection portion in the longitudinal direction, and a blocking portion blocking the opening surface of the connection portion.

[0007] The connector of the present disclosure comprises the above-mentioned terminal fittings and a housing that holds the terminal fittings, the housing having a pull-out surface from which the lead portion is pulled out, and the blocking portion being exposed and arranged on the pull-out surface.

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a terminal fitting and a connector that can ensure connection reliability.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a connector including a terminal fitting of embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a side view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is a rear view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 2. Fig. 6 is a side view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 2. Fig. 7 is a rear view of the terminal fitting of embodiment 2.

[0010] [Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] First, embodiments of the present disclosure will be listed and described. The terminal fitting of the present disclosure includes: (1) a terminal fitting made of a conductive plate material, and includes a connection portion having an opening at one end in the longitudinal direction, a lead portion extending continuous with the one end in the longitudinal direction of the connection portion, and a blocking portion blocking the opening of the connection portion. According to the configuration of (1), the blocking portion can prevent foreign matter (objects other than the terminal fitting) from entering the connection portion. As a result, the connection function of the connection portion can be maintained, and connection reliability can be ensured.

[0011] (2) In the terminal fitting described in (1) above, it is preferable that the wall portion of the connection portion defines the opening surface at one end in the longitudinal direction, and the closing portion and the lead portion extend from different positions on the wall portion. According to the configuration described in (2) above, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the shapes of the closing portion and the lead portion.

[0012] (3) In the terminal fitting described in (2) above, it is preferable that the lead portion has a bent portion bent from the wall portion toward the side opposite to the side where the opening surface is located, and the end of the closing portion faces the plate surface of the bent portion. According to the configuration described in (3) above, the bent shape of the lead portion including the bent portion and the minute gap or tight contact structure that can be formed between the end of the closing portion and the bent portion can more reliably prevent foreign matter from entering the connection portion.

[0013] (4) In the terminal fitting described in (1) above, the blocking portion may be bent from the wall portion of the connecting portion to block the opening, and the lead portion may be shaped to extend continuously from one end of the blocking portion in the bending direction. According to the configuration described in (4) above, the connecting portion, the blocking portion, and the lead portion have a continuous shape, ensuring ease of processing of the terminal fitting.

[0014] The connector of the present disclosure (5) includes the terminal fitting described in any one of (1) to (4) above and a housing for holding the terminal fitting, the housing having a lead-out surface from which the lead portion is drawn, and the blocking portion being exposed and disposed on the lead-out surface. According to the configuration of (5), for example, the blocking portion can be pressed with a finger or a jig to accommodate the terminal fitting in the housing. Furthermore, for example, a probe pin can be applied to the blocking portion to inspect the electrical continuity of the terminal fitting. Therefore, the blocking portion can have various functions in addition to the function of preventing foreign matter from entering the connection portion.

[0015] [Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure] Specific examples of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0016] First Embodiment As shown in FIG. 1 , a terminal fitting 20 of the first embodiment is a conductive member provided in a connector 10. The connector 10 is capable of mating with a mating connector (not shown). In the following description, the front-rear direction refers to the mating direction of the connector 10 with the mating connector. The front-rear direction is represented by the symbol X in the drawings. The left-right direction is represented by the symbol Y in the drawings, and the up-down direction is represented by the symbol Z in the drawings. The left-right direction is synonymous with the width direction, and the up-down direction is synonymous with the height direction. These directional references are for convenience and do not necessarily coincide with the directional references when the connector 10 is mounted on a vehicle (not shown) or the like.

[0017] (Terminal fitting 20) The terminal fitting 20 is formed by bending a conductive metal plate or the like. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the terminal fitting 20 has a tubular connecting portion 21 that is elongated in the front-to-rear direction (length direction). More specifically, the connecting portion 21 has a rectangular tubular wall portion. The wall portion is composed of an upper wall 22, a lower wall 23, and a pair of side walls 24. As shown in FIG. 3, an elastically deformable contact portion 25 is disposed within the connecting portion 21. A tab 81 of a mating terminal fitting 80 is inserted into the connecting portion 21 through a front-end opening of the connecting portion 21. The tab 81 comes into contact with the contact portion 25 within the connecting portion 21, thereby electrically connecting the terminal fitting 20 to the mating terminal fitting 80.

[0018] The terminal fitting 20 has a press-fit portion 26. As shown in Fig. 2, the press-fit portion 26 is formed by bending upward a portion between a pair of slits 27 formed in the upper wall 22. The pair of slits 27 are formed in the upper wall 22 so as to extend parallel to each other in the front-rear direction.

[0019] The terminal fitting 20 includes a closing portion 29 that closes the opening 28 at the rear end of the connecting portion 21. The closing portion 29 is plate-shaped (lid-like) with its plate surface facing the front-rear direction, and is disposed along the front-rear and left-right directions so as to be able to close the opening 28. The closing portion 29 is formed by bending a rectangular plate-shaped portion extending rearward from one side wall 24 (the right side wall 24 in FIG. 4 ) from a fold 31 to the other side in the width direction (the left side in FIG. 4 ).

[0020] As shown in Figure 4, the closing portion 29 has a notch 32 at one corner above the fold 31. The upper end of the closing portion 29 is adjacent to the notch 32 in the width direction and is disposed opposite the rear end surface of the top wall 22. The other width direction end of the closing portion 29 is disposed opposite the rear end surface of the other side wall 24 (the left side wall 24 in Figure 4). The lower end 29L of the closing portion 29 extends beyond the opening surface 28 toward a bent portion 35 of a lead portion 34, which will be described later.

[0021] 2 and 3 , a recess 33 is formed in the other side wall 24. The recess 33 penetrates the rear lower end of the other side wall 24 in the wall thickness direction and communicates with the opening surface 28. The rear end 23R of the bottom wall 23 is separated from the other side wall 24 by the recess 33. The rear end 23R of the bottom wall 23 has a shape that is shifted toward the recess 33 (the other side in the width direction) relative to the rest of the bottom wall 23.

[0022] The terminal fitting 20 also has a strip-shaped lead portion 34 extending from the lower wall 23 of the connecting portion 21. The lead portion 34 is shifted to the other side in the width direction (left side in FIG. 4 ) relative to the connecting portion 21 in correspondence with the shift of the rear end 23R of the lower wall 23 described above. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the lead portion 34 has a bent portion 35 that bends downward from the rear end 23R of the lower wall 23 toward the opposite side from the opening surface 28, an extending portion 36 that extends rearward from the lower end of the bent portion 35, a hanging portion 37 that extends downward from the rear end of the extending portion 36, and a board connecting portion 38 that extends rearward from the lower end of the hanging portion 37. The bent portion 35 and the hanging portion 37 are both positioned with their plate surfaces facing the front-to-rear direction. The extending portion 36 and the board connecting portion 38 are both positioned with their plate surfaces facing the up-down direction.

[0023] Bent portion 35, extending portion 36, and the upper end of hanging portion 37 are formed with the same width from rear end 23R of bottom wall 23. As shown in Figure 4, the vertical intermediate portion of hanging portion 37 has a sloped portion 39 on one side in the width direction, so that the width narrows downward. The lower end of hanging portion 37 and board connection portion 38 are formed with the same width, and are formed narrower than the upper end side of hanging portion 37 via sloped portion 39.

[0024] The lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29 covers the upper part of the rear surface of the bent portion 35. In other words, the lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29 is disposed opposite the rear surface of the bent portion 35. In the case of the twelfth embodiment, the lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29 is in contact with the rear surface of the bent portion 35.

[0025] (Connector 10 and Function) The connector 10 is exemplified as a connector 10 mounted on a circuit board 100 such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit). As shown in Fig. 1, the connector 10 includes a plurality of terminal fittings 20, 20B, a housing 60 made of synthetic resin that houses the terminal fittings 20, 20B, and a metal fixing fitting 90.

[0026] The housing 60 is made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular block-shaped housing body 61. The housing body 61 has a plurality of cavities 62 extending in the front-rear direction. Each of the cavities 62 is formed in two levels, an upper level and an lower level, in the housing body 61. The housing 60 also has a pair of protective walls 63 that protrude rearward from both widthwise ends at the rear end of the housing body 61.

[0027] The fixing metal fittings 90 are attached to both end faces in the width direction of the housing main body 61. The lower end of the fixing metal fittings 90 is fixed to the circuit board 100 by soldering. The housing 60 is fixed to the circuit board 100 via the fixing metal fittings 90.

[0028] The connecting portion 21 of the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 62 of the housing body 61 from the rear. The press-fit portion 26 is press-fitted into the inner wall of the cavity 62. The press-fit portion 26 holds the terminal fitting 20 in the housing body 61 and prevents it from slipping out.

[0029] The lead portion 34 of the terminal fitting 20 is drawn rearward from a drawing surface 64, which is the rear surface of the housing body 61. The extension portion 36, the hanging portion 37, and the board connection portion 38 are arranged between the protective walls 63. The board connection portion 38 of the lead portion 34 is arranged along the surface of the circuit board 100 and is electrically connected to a conductive portion 110 (pad) of the circuit board 100 by soldering.

[0030] 2 to 4 is accommodated in the upper cavity 62. The terminal fitting 20B (see FIG. 1) accommodated in the lower cavity 62 is shorter than the terminal fitting 20 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and, contrary to the terminal fitting 20, the lead portion 34 is shifted to one side in the width direction relative to the connection portion 21. Because the lead portions 34 of the terminal fittings 20, 20B are shifted to opposite sides in the width direction, the conductive portions 110 corresponding to the terminal fittings 20, 20B can be arranged in a zigzag pattern in the front-to-rear direction on the circuit board 100.

[0031] When assembling the terminal fitting 20 into the housing 60, a finger, a jig, or the like is placed against the rear surface of the closing portion 29, and the terminal fitting 20 is pressed forward. This inserts the terminal fitting 20 into the cavity 62. When the terminal fitting 20 is inserted into the cavity 62, the rear surface of the closing portion 29 is flush with and continuous with the drawing-out surface 64 of the housing 60 and is exposed on the drawing-out surface 64. After assembling the terminal fitting 20 into the housing 60, it is possible to test the electrical continuity of the terminal fitting 20, for example, by pressing a probe pin against the rear surface of the closing portion 29.

[0032] In the case of the first embodiment, a sealing material P such as a potting material is filled in the space behind the drawing surface 64 of the housing main body 61 and between the protective walls 63 on the circuit board 100. By filling the space with the sealing material P, it is possible to make the connector 10 waterproof and dustproof.

[0033] However, if the sealing material P seeps into the connection portion 21 through the opening 28 at the rear end of the connection portion 21 and adheres to the contact portion 25 during filling, there is a concern that the contact portion 25 will not be able to properly connect to the mating terminal fitting 80. In this regard, in the present embodiment 1, the opening 28 at the rear end of the connection portion 21 is closed by the blocking portion 29. This prevents the sealing material P from adhering to the contact portion 25, thereby enabling the proper connection function of the connection portion 21 to be maintained. In particular, the bent shape of the lead portion 34, including the bent portion 35, can restrict the movement of the sealing material P toward the connection portion 21. Furthermore, contact between the bent portion 35 and the blocking portion 29 can prevent the sealing material P from passing between the bent portion 35 and the blocking portion 29.

[0034] As described above, the terminal fitting 20 of the first embodiment includes a cylindrical connecting portion 21 extending in the front-rear direction (lengthwise direction), a lid-like closing portion 29 closing the opening surface 28 at the rear end (one end in the lengthwise direction) of the connecting portion 21, and a strip-shaped lead portion 34 extending continuously from the rear end of the connecting portion 21. With the above configuration, the closing portion 29 can prevent the sealing material P from entering the connecting portion 21. As a result, the connecting function of the connecting portion 21 can be maintained, and the connection reliability of the terminal fitting 20 can be ensured.

[0035] The blocking portion 29 and the lead portion 34 extend continuously from different portions (one of the side walls 24 and the bottom wall 23) of the wall of the connection portion 21. According to the above configuration, the degree of freedom in the shapes of the blocking portion 29 and the lead portion 34 can be increased.

[0036] Furthermore, the lead portion 34 has a bent portion 35 that bends from one end of the connection portion 21 to the side opposite to the side where the opening surface 28 is located, and the end of the blocking portion 29 faces the plate surface of the bent portion 35. According to the above configuration, the bent shape of the lead portion 34 including the bent portion 35 and the contact structure (close contact structure) between the lower end portion 29L of the blocking portion 29 and the bent portion 35 can more reliably prevent the sealing material P from entering the connection portion 21.

[0037] Furthermore, the connector 10 of the first embodiment includes the terminal fittings 20 and a housing 60 that holds the terminal fittings 20. The housing 60 has an extraction surface 64 from which the lead portions 34 are extracted, and the blocking portion 29 is exposed at the extraction surface 64. With the above configuration, the blocking portion 29 not only functions to prevent the sealing material P from penetrating into the connection portion 21, but also functions as a pressing surface when assembling the terminal fittings 20 into the housing 60 and as an inspection surface when inspecting the electrical continuity.

[0038] 5 to 7, a terminal fitting 20A of the second embodiment differs from the terminal fitting 20 of the first embodiment in the structure surrounding the blocking portion 29A. The rest is the same as the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or corresponding parts as those of the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0039] The closing portion 29A is formed by bending a rectangular plate-shaped portion extending rearward from the upper wall 22 of the connecting portion 21A downward at the crease 31A. Both widthwise end portions of the closing portion 29A are disposed opposite the rear end surfaces of the side walls 24. The side walls 24 do not have recesses 33 and are entirely closed. A lower end portion 29L, which is the end portion of the closing portion 29A in the bending direction (bending direction), is disposed opposite the rear end surface of the bottom wall 23 and further has a portion that protrudes downward from the bottom wall 23.

[0040] The lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29A is narrowed except for one end on one side in the width direction. The lead portion 34A bends and extends rearward from the lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29A. The lead portion 34A has the same width as the lower end 29L but is shifted toward the other side in the width direction relative to the portion of the blocking portion 29A other than the lower end 29L. Specifically, the lead portion 34A has an extension portion 36 extending rearward from the blocking portion 29A, a hanging portion 37 extending downward from the rear end of the extension portion 36, and a board connection portion 38 extending rearward from the lower end of the hanging portion 37. The shapes of the extension portion 36, the hanging portion 37, and the board connection portion 38 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0041] According to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the blocking portion 29A can prevent the sealing material P from entering the connection portion 21A, thereby properly maintaining the connection function of the connection portion 21A. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the connection portion 21A, the blocking portion 29A, and the lead portion 34A are formed in succession, which ensures ease of processing of the terminal fitting 20A.

[0042] [Other Embodiments of the Present Disclosure] The above-described first and second embodiments are illustrative in all respects and should not be considered limiting. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the connection portion 21, 21A has a cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction. In contrast, in other embodiments, the cylindrical portion may have any shape that allows an opening to be formed at the rear end. For example, the cylindrical portion may have a trough shape (concave cross section) extending in the front-rear direction. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the blocking portion 29, 29A is a portion that prevents the sealing material P from entering the connection portion 21, 21A. In contrast, in other embodiments, the blocking portion may be a portion that prevents foreign matter other than the sealing material from entering the connection portion. For example, the present disclosure is also applicable to connector structures that are not sealed with a sealing material such as a potting material. In the above-described first and second embodiments, the circuit board 100 is formed of a flat, flexible substrate such as an FPC. In contrast, in other embodiments, the circuit board may be formed of a rigid substrate. In the first embodiment, the lower end 29L of the blocking portion 29 is disposed so as to contact the rear surface of the bent portion 35. In contrast, in other embodiments, the lower end of the blocking portion may simply face away from the rear surface of the bent portion.

[0043] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10...Connector 20, 20A, 20B...Terminal fittings 21, 21A...Connection portion 22...Upper wall 23...Lower wall 23R...Rear end portion 24...Side wall 25...Contact portion 26...Press-fit portion 27...Slit 28...Opening surface 29, 29A...Closed portion 29L...Lower end portion 31, 31A...Fold 32...Notch portion 33...Recess 34, 34A...Lead portion 35...Bent portion 36...Extended portion 37...Dropping portion 38...Board connection portion 39...Sloped portion 60...Housing 61...Housing body 62...Cavity 63...Protective wall 64...Drawing surface 80...Mating terminal fittings 81...Tab 90...Fixing fitting 100...Circuit board 110...Conductive portion P...Sealing material

Claims

1. A terminal fitting made of a conductive plate material, comprising: a connection portion having an opening at one end in a longitudinal direction; a lead portion extending contiguous to the one end in the longitudinal direction of the connection portion; and a blocking portion blocking the opening of the connection portion.

2. A terminal fitting as claimed in claim 1, wherein the wall of said connection portion defines said opening surface at one end in the longitudinal direction, and said blocking portion and said lead portion extend from different positions on said wall.

3. A terminal fitting as claimed in claim 2, wherein the lead portion has a bent portion that is bent from the wall portion to a side opposite to the side where the opening surface is located, and an end of the blocking portion faces a plate surface of the bent portion.

4. The terminal fitting as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blocking portion is bent from a wall portion of the connection portion to block the opening, and the lead portion is shaped to extend continuously from one end of the blocking portion in the bending direction.

5. A connector comprising: a terminal fitting as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4; and a housing for holding said terminal fitting, said housing having a pull-out surface from which said lead portion is pulled out, and said blocking portion being arranged so as to be exposed on said pull-out surface.

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