Female contact and female terminal

Abstract

Disclosed is a female contact wherein the contact pressure of contact spring sections against a male contact can be increased with a simple structure while suppressing an increase in size.　This female contact (10) comprises a tubular body section (12), facing peripheral walls (22) that are facing with an insertion gap (20) therebetween, and contact spring sections (26) that are brought into pressure contact with a male contact (16). The contact spring sections (26) have first plate spring sections (68) that come into contact with the male contact (16) while trending from one end section (14) side of the tubular body section (12) to the other end section (27) side, and second plate spring sections (74) that are connected to the first plate spring sections (68) via U-turn-shaped bent sections (72) and protrude from the other end section (27) side toward the one end section (14) side. Tip end sections (78) of the second plate spring sections (74) are supported by inner surfaces (24) of the facing peripheral walls (22). The facing peripheral walls (22) are provided with displacement allowing spaces (52) that allow free end sides of the contact spring sections (26) which have been brought into pressure contact with the male contact (16), said free end sides including the U-turn-shaped bent sections (72), to be displaced farther way from the insertion gap (20) than the inner surfaces (24).

Description

Female Contacts and Terminals

[0001] The present disclosure relates to female contacts and female terminals.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a female contact to which a flat male contact is connected. The female contact includes a cylindrical main body portion having an insertion opening formed at one end thereof for receiving the male contact, and a contact spring portion protruding inward from the cylindrical main body portion and pressing against the male contact inserted through the insertion opening. In the female contact of Patent Document 1, the contact spring portion includes a first leaf spring portion held in a cantilevered manner by the cylindrical main body portion and a second leaf spring portion connected to the tip of the first leaf spring portion via a tightly folded portion folded back in a tight contact state. When the first leaf spring portion is pressed by the male contact inserted through the insertion opening, the tip of the second leaf spring portion slides on the bottom plate of the cylindrical main body. At this time, the second leaf spring portion assists the spring force of the first leaf spring portion, and the combined spring force of the first and second leaf spring portions contributes to the contact pressure against the male contact.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses a female terminal constructed by combining a terminal body made of a thick conductive material with a contact member made of a thin conductive material. By forming the terminal body and the contact member from conductive materials of different thicknesses, the current capacity required for larger currents can be met by increasing the thickness of the terminal body, while the contact member can be made thinner to ensure that it conforms to the male terminal, making it possible to accommodate larger currents while preventing the female terminal from becoming larger overall.

[0004] Patent Publication No. 2021-34330 Chinese Patent Application Publication No. 116565608

[0005] However, the female contact of Patent Document 1 attempts to reduce the size of the female contact by using a tightly folded portion as the connecting portion between the first and second leaf spring portions. However, this requires a process for tightly bonding the U-shaped folded portions together, which inevitably increases the number of manufacturing steps and manufacturing costs. Furthermore, in order to effectively exert the spring force of the second leaf spring portion when it is pressed against the first leaf spring portion, it is necessary to double the bottom plate on which the tip of the second leaf spring portion slides to ensure rigidity. This places a limit on how far the female contact can be miniaturized.

[0006] Therefore, a female contact is disclosed that can improve the contact pressure of the contact spring portion to the male contact while suppressing an increase in size and using a simple structure.

[0007] However, in the structure of Patent Document 2, a separate clip-shaped metal member is attached to a pair of opposing walls of the terminal body that define the male terminal insertion space in order to prevent the walls from opening excessively, which inevitably leads to problems such as an increase in the number of parts and a complicated assembly process.

[0008] Therefore, a female terminal is disclosed that can prevent the pair of opposing walls of the terminal body from opening apart with a simple structure.

[0009] The female contact of the present disclosure comprises a cylindrical main body portion having an insertion opening at one end thereof through which a male contact is inserted, a pair of opposing peripheral walls constituting the cylindrical main body portion and arranged opposite to each other across an insertion gap through which the male contact is inserted, and a contact spring portion held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surface of at least one of the opposing peripheral walls and pressed against the male contact inserted into the insertion gap, the contact spring portion having a base end fixed to the inner surface of the one end side of the opposing peripheral wall and protruding in a cantilevered manner toward the insertion gap while moving toward the other end side of the cylindrical main body portion. The contact spring has a first leaf spring portion that contacts the male contact, and a second leaf spring portion that is connected to the tip of the first leaf spring portion via a U-turn-shaped bent portion and protrudes from the other end side toward the one end side, and the tip of the second leaf spring portion is supported on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall to which the base end of the first leaf spring portion is fixed, and the opposing peripheral wall has a displacement-permitting space that allows the free end side, including the U-turn-shaped bent portion, of the contact spring portion that is pressed against the male contact to displace toward a side that is away from the insertion gap more than the inner surface.

[0010] The female terminal of the present disclosure has a male terminal mounting portion that is conductively connected to a male terminal, and comprises a terminal body formed using a first metal flat plate, and a contact member formed using a second metal flat plate that is thinner than the first metal flat plate and assembled to the male terminal mounting portion, and the male terminal mounting portion includes a first opposing wall and a second opposing wall that are arranged opposite each other with a gap between them and define a male terminal insertion space between them, and the protruding end of a crimping piece that protrudes from the side of the first opposing wall is overlapped and crimped onto the outer surface of the second opposing wall.

[0011] According to the female contact of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the contact pressure of the contact spring portion with the male contact with a simple structure while suppressing an increase in size.

[0012] According to the female terminal of the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the pair of opposing walls of the terminal body from opening apart with a simple structure.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a female contact according to a first embodiment in a state in which a male contact is inserted. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the female contact shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged view of a main portion of the III-III section in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view showing an enlarged view of a main portion of the IV-IV section in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the female contact shown in FIG. 1 from the rear side in a state before the male contact is inserted. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the female contact shown in FIG. 5 and corresponds to FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an enlarged view of a main portion of the VII-VII section in FIG. 6.

[0014] Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a female terminal in a terminal unit according to embodiment 2. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the female terminal shown in Fig. 8 from another angle. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the female terminal shown in Fig. 8 from yet another angle. Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the female terminal shown in Fig. 8 in a mated state with a male terminal.

[0015] <Description of Embodiments of the Present Disclosure> First, embodiments of the present disclosure relating to female contacts will be listed and described. The female contact of the present disclosure comprises: (1) a cylindrical main body portion having an insertion opening at one end thereof through which a male contact is inserted, a pair of opposing peripheral walls constituting the cylindrical main body portion and arranged opposite to each other across an insertion gap through which the male contact is inserted, and a contact spring portion held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surface of at least one of the opposing peripheral walls and brought into pressure contact with the male contact inserted into the insertion gap, the contact spring portion having a base end fixed to the inner surface of the one end side of the opposing peripheral wall and protruding in a cantilevered manner toward the insertion gap while moving toward the other end side of the cylindrical main body portion, and contacting the male contact The contact spring has a first leaf spring portion that contacts the tact, and a second leaf spring portion that is connected to the tip of the first leaf spring portion via a U-turn-shaped bent portion and protrudes from the other end side toward the one end side, and the tip of the second leaf spring portion is supported on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall to which the base end of the first leaf spring portion is fixed, and the opposing peripheral wall is provided with a displacement-permitting space that allows the free end side, including the U-turn-shaped bent portion of the contact spring portion that is pressed against the male contact, to displace toward a side that is away from the insertion gap more than the inner surface.

[0016] According to the female contact of the present disclosure, a contact spring portion is provided in a cantilevered manner on the inner surface of at least one of a pair of opposing peripheral walls that constitute the tubular main body, and a displacement-permitting cavity provided in the opposing peripheral wall allows the free end side, including the U-turn bent portion, of the contact spring portion that is pressed against the male contact to displace beyond the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall toward a side that is farther away from the insertion gap. That is, when the contact spring portion is pressed down by the male contact, with the tip end of the second spring portion supported on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall to which the base end of the first spring portion is fixed, the displacement-permitting cavity allows the free end side, including the U-turn bent portion, to displace further away from the insertion gap beyond the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall. As a result, large elastic deformation of the free end side, including the U-turn bent portion, can be allowed to escape into the displacement-permitting cavity without being prevented, allowing the contact spring portion to exert a large spring force. This eliminates the need to double the bottom plate to increase the spring force of the contact spring portion, as in the conventional structure, and enables the contact pressure of the contact spring portion against the male contact to be improved while preventing an increase in size. Moreover, because the need to double the bottom plate as in the conventional structure is eliminated to prevent an increase in size, there is no need to employ a process for closely adhering the U-shaped folded portions to each other to achieve miniaturization, as in the conventional structure. This allows for a simple structure that simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces manufacturing costs, and enables the contact pressure of the contact spring portion against the male contact to be improved while preventing an increase in size. The tip end of the second leaf spring portion may be slidably supported on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall.

[0017] (2) In the above (1), it is preferable that the longitudinal center portion of the second leaf spring portion forms a convex curved portion that protrudes toward the insertion gap. Since the longitudinal center portion of the second leaf spring portion has a convex curved portion that protrudes toward the insertion gap, when the first leaf spring portion comes into contact with the male contact and is pressed down, a large assisting force is exerted to push the first leaf spring portion back toward the male contact, thereby improving the contact pressure of the contact spring portion against the male contact. Furthermore, even when the tip end of the second leaf spring portion is slidably supported on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall, the convex curved portion prevents the tip end of the second leaf spring portion from separating from the opposing peripheral wall and falling into the displacement-permitting space. Therefore, even when the male contact is repeatedly inserted and removed from the female contact, a stable contact pressure of the female contact against the male contact can be maintained.

[0018] (3) In the above (1) or (2), it is preferable that the contact spring portions are held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surfaces of both of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, so that the pair of contact spring portions is pressed against the male contact inserted into the insertion gap from both sides of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, and that the displacement-permitting cavity is provided on both of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, so that the free end side, including the U-turn bent portion, of the contact spring portion pressed against the male contact is permitted to displace away from the insertion gap relative to the inner surface. Since a pair of contact spring portions is provided on each of the inner surfaces of the pair of opposing peripheral walls arranged opposite each other across the insertion gap into which the male contact is inserted, the number of contacts with the male contact can be easily increased, and the contact resistance of the female contact can be reduced. Moreover, because the displacement of the free end side of each of the pair of contact spring portions held by the pair of opposing peripheral walls is permitted by the displacement-permitting cavity, it is possible to improve the contact pressure of the contact spring portions against the male contact while suppressing size increase compared to conventional structures.

[0019] (4) In any one of the above (1) to (3), it is preferable that the displacement-allowing cavity is formed by a through-hole penetrating the opposing peripheral wall in the plate thickness direction. Since the displacement-allowing cavity can be formed by a through-hole penetrating the opposing peripheral wall in the plate thickness direction, the cylindrical main body including the displacement-allowing cavity can be manufactured with good workability and dimensional accuracy compared to when the displacement-allowing cavity is formed by forming a recessed portion in the opposing peripheral wall that opens to the inner surface.

[0020] (5) In any one of (1) to (4) above, it is preferable that a displacement-restricting protrusion protruding from the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall interferes with the male contact inserted into the insertion gap to restrict excessive displacement of the male contact. Since the displacement-restricting protrusion protruding from the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall interferes with the male contact to restrict excessive displacement of the male contact, it is possible to prevent problems such as damage to the contact spring portion due to excessive displacement of the male contact and to improve the durability of the female contact.

[0021] (6) In any one of (1) to (5) above, it is preferable that an interference prevention protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall, protruding toward the insertion gap beyond the fixing portion of the base end of the first leaf spring portion to the inner surface, to prevent interference between the male contact inserted into the insertion gap and the fixing portion. The interference prevention protrusion provided on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall prevents the male contact from interfering with the fixing portion (such as a crimped fixing portion) to the inner surface of the first leaf spring portion, thereby preventing mutual interference when the male contact is inserted into the female contact and resulting problems such as damage to the contact spring portion, and improving the durability of the female contact.

[0022] (7) In any one of (1) to (6) above, it is preferable that the contact spring portion is divided into a plurality of independently displaceable split spring pieces by a plurality of slits penetrating the first leaf spring portion, the U-turn bent portion, and the second leaf spring portion, and each of the split spring pieces has a split first leaf spring portion formed by dividing the first leaf spring portion, a split bent portion formed by dividing the U-turn bent portion, and a split second leaf spring portion formed by dividing the second leaf spring portion. The contact spring portion is divided into a plurality of split spring pieces, and each split spring piece has a split first leaf spring portion, a split bent portion, and a split second leaf spring portion. This allows the first leaf spring portion of each of the independently displaceable split spring pieces to follow the displacement of the male contact and maintain contact even when the male contact undergoes rotational displacement. The spring element is made of a flexible material, and the spring element is made of a flexible material, which is a material that can be used for a variety of purposes, including electrical connection, electrical wiring, and electrical wiring.

[0023] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure relating to a female terminal will be described below. The female terminal of the present disclosure (8) comprises a terminal body having a male terminal mounting portion that is electrically connected to a male terminal and formed using a first metal plate, and a contact member that is formed using a second metal plate that is thinner than the first metal plate and is assembled to the male terminal mounting portion, the male terminal mounting portion including a first opposing wall and a second opposing wall that are arranged opposite each other with a gap therebetween and that define a male terminal insertion space therebetween, and a protruding end of a crimping piece that protrudes from a side surface of the first opposing wall is crimped to overlap with an outer surface of the second opposing wall.

[0024] According to the female terminal of the present disclosure, the protruding end of the crimping piece protruding from the side surface of the first opposing wall is overlapped and crimped onto the outer surface of the second opposing wall, so that the crimping piece restricts the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall that define the male terminal insertion space from moving apart from each other. As a result, compared to conventional structures that use separate clip-shaped metal members to prevent excessive opening of the pair of opposing walls of the terminal body, a female terminal can be provided that is capable of preventing opening of the pair of opposing walls of the terminal body with a simple structure in which the protruding end of the crimping piece protruding from the side surface of the first opposing wall is overlapped onto the outer surface of the second opposing wall.

[0025] (9) In the above (8), it is preferable that the crimping piece includes a first side bent portion bent toward the second opposing wall in proximity to the side surface of the first opposing wall, an extending portion extending straight from the first side bent portion to the second opposing wall, and a second side bent portion bent in proximity to the side surface of the second opposing wall so that the protruding end of the crimping piece overlaps the outer surface of the second opposing wall. Since the crimping piece is configured with the extending portion extending straight between the first side bent portion and the second side bent portion provided in proximity to the side surfaces of the first and second opposing walls, the crimping piece is prevented from protruding significantly in a direction intersecting the opposing direction of the first and second opposing walls, and the crimping piece can be provided while preventing the female terminal from becoming large.

[0026] (10) In the above (9), it is preferable that the crimping piece has a support protrusion protruding from a side surface of the extension portion, and the second opposing wall has an overlapping protrusion protruding laterally and overlapping the support protrusion. In this way, when an external force is applied in a direction that moves the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall toward each other, the overlapping protrusion of the second opposing wall abuts on the support protrusion of the crimping piece, thereby preventing excessive movement of the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall toward each other, and making it possible to stably maintain the male terminal insertion space without increasing or decreasing the number of parts.

[0027] (11) In the above (8) or (9), it is preferable that the contact member is held by at least one of the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall, the crimping piece is provided biased toward one end of the side surface of the first opposing wall, and the other end of the side surface of the first opposing wall serves as a viewing window through which the contact member can be seen from a gap between the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall. By providing the crimping piece, which serves as a function of preventing the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall from opening, biased toward one end rather than over the entire length of the first opposing wall, the other end can serve as a viewing window through which the contact member can be seen from the gap between the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall, thereby realizing prevention of opening between the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall and improving operability in inspecting the spring height of the contact member, etc.

[0028] <Details of the Embodiments of the Present Disclosure> Specific examples of the female contact and female terminal of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure 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.

[0029] First Embodiment A female contact 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 . The female contact 10 includes a cylindrical main body 12, one end 14 of which is provided with an insertion opening 18 into which a male contact 16 is inserted. Inserting the male contact 16 into the insertion opening 18 in the cylindrical main body 12 establishes electrical contact between the female contact 10 and the male contact 16. While the female contact 10 can be positioned in any orientation within a vehicle, in the following description, the upper side will be referred to as the upper side in FIG. 3 , the lower side as the lower side in FIG. 3 , the left side as the upper side in FIG. 2 , the right side as the lower side in FIG. 2 , the front side as the left side in FIG. 2 , and the rear side as the right side in FIG. 2 . In addition, when multiple identical components are used, only some of the components will be designated by reference numerals, and the reference numerals may be omitted for the remaining components.

[0030] <Female Contact 10> The female contact 10 of the first embodiment comprises a cylindrical main body 12 having an insertion opening 18 at one end 14 through which a male contact 16 is inserted, and a pair of opposing peripheral walls 22, 22 that constitute the cylindrical main body 12 and are disposed opposite each other across an insertion gap 20 through which the male contact 16 is inserted. The female contact 10 also comprises a contact spring portion 26 that is cantilevered on an inner surface 24 of at least one of the opposing peripheral walls 22 and is pressed against the male contact 16 inserted into the insertion gap 20. As will be described later, the contact spring portion 26 comprises a first leaf spring portion 68, a U-turn bent portion 72, and a second leaf spring portion 74. On the inner surface 24 of the opposing peripheral wall 22, a first leaf spring portion 68 is provided protruding from one end 14 side of the cylindrical main body portion 12 toward the other end 27 side, and a second leaf spring portion 74 is provided protruding from the other end 27 side toward the one end 14 side.

[0031] <Cylindrical Main Body 12> The cylindrical main body 12 has a cylindrical shape with an inner hole (insertion gap 20) penetrating in the front-rear direction as a whole and is formed of a metal with excellent conductivity, such as copper (including copper alloys) or aluminum (including aluminum alloys). In the first embodiment, the cylindrical main body 12 is formed by pressing a single flat metal plate into a predetermined shape. As shown in FIG. 4 and other figures, the cross-sectional shape of the insertion gap 20 is substantially rectangular. The cylindrical main body 12 includes a pair of opposing peripheral walls 22, 22 arranged opposite each other and spaced apart in the vertical direction across the insertion gap 20, and a right side wall 28 covering the right side of the insertion gap 20. A crimped fixing piece 30 is provided on the left side of the insertion gap 20 to hold the flat metal plate in a pressed state. The crimped fixing piece 30 has a rearward protruding portion 31 that protrudes rearward.

[0032] Specifically, one longitudinal end of a single metal flat plate forms one opposing peripheral wall 22 (upper opposing peripheral wall 22a), and the other longitudinal end of the single metal flat plate folded back via a fold 32 forms the other opposing peripheral wall 22 (lower opposing peripheral wall 22b). The crimped fixing piece 30 extends from the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b, preventing the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b from moving in the opening direction. The opening at the rear end 14 of the cylindrical main body 12 (insertion gap 20) thus configured defines the insertion opening 18 for the male contact 16. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, a wire connection portion 34 is provided contiguous with the cylindrical main body 12. A core wire, which is exposed by stripping the insulating coating at the end of an electric wire (not shown), is fixed to the wire connection portion 34 by, for example, welding or adhesive.

[0033] More specifically, the right side wall portion 28 extends from the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and is connected to an upper electric wire connection portion 34a that constitutes the electric wire connection portion 34, and a lower electric wire connection portion 34b extends from the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b, and the upper electric wire connection portion 34a and the lower electric wire connection portion 34b are connected at their respective rear ends by a fold-back portion 32. The upper electric wire connection portion 34a and the lower electric wire connection portion 34b folded back by the fold-back portion 32 are joined together in the vertical direction to form the electric wire connection portion 34. Although the method of joining the upper electric wire connection portion 34a and the lower electric wire connection portion 34b is not limited, in the first embodiment, a through-hole 36 that penetrates through the upper electric wire connection portion 34a in the thickness direction (vertical direction) is formed, and a fitting protrusion 38 that protrudes upward is formed in the lower electric wire connection portion 34b. The fitting protrusion 38 is inserted into the through hole 36 and fitted therein, whereby the upper wire connecting portion 34a and the lower wire connecting portion 34b are fixed to each other in an overlapping state.

[0034] <Male Contact 16> The male contact 16 of the first embodiment is tab-shaped and has an overall rectangular flat plate shape. In particular, in the first embodiment, the male contact 16 includes a male contact body 40 and an insulating member 42 attached to the male contact body 40. The male contact body 40 has an overall rectangular flat plate shape extending in the front-to-rear direction and is made of a metal with excellent conductivity. The front end of the male contact body 40 is provided with a tip projection 44 that protrudes forward. Meanwhile, the insulating member 42 is frame-shaped, covering the front and both left and right sides of the male contact body 40 as a whole, and is made of synthetic resin. The front portion 46 of the insulating member 42 has a smaller thickness (vertical dimension) than the left and right side portions 48, 48, and the thickness of the front portion 46 is approximately equal to the thickness of the male contact body 40. In other words, the left and right side portions 48 of the insulating member 42 protrude in the vertical direction beyond the male contact body 40 and the front portion 46.

[0035] Furthermore, a receiving recess 50 for receiving the tip protrusion 44 opens rearward at the front portion 46 of the insulating member 42, and the insulating member 42 is attached to the male contact body 40 by inserting the tip protrusion 44 into the receiving recess 50. As a result, the front and both left and right sides of the male contact body 40 are covered by the insulating member 42, and the top and bottom surfaces of the male contact body 40 are exposed and not covered by the insulating member 42.

[0036] <Opposing peripheral wall 22 (upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and lower opposing peripheral wall 22b)> Since the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b have similar shapes, the following description will focus on the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, and the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b will be omitted by assigning the same reference numerals as the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a.

[0037] The upper opposing peripheral wall 22a has a generally rectangular flat plate shape, and a displacement-permitting cavity 52 extending in the left-right direction is formed in the front-rear middle portion of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. This displacement-permitting cavity 52 opens to the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, and in the first embodiment, is formed as a through-hole penetrating the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a in the plate thickness direction. The displacement-permitting cavity 52 has a predetermined left-right dimension, and is formed in the left-right middle portion of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a so as not to reach both left-right ends. In addition, a left protrusion 53 is formed at the left end of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. The left protrusion 53 protrudes leftward and abuts and engages with the rear protrusion 31 when a single metal flat plate is bent to form the cylindrical main body 12.

[0038] Displacement-restricting protrusions 54 protrude from the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. These protrusions interfere with the male contacts 16 inserted into the insertion gaps 20 to restrict excessive displacement of the male contacts 16. In the first embodiment, the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a is provided with a plurality of displacement-restricting protrusions 54. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 , each of the displacement-restricting protrusions 54 has a generally rectangular shape in plan view (up-down projection). In particular, in the first embodiment, three displacement-restricting protrusions 54 are provided spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction forward of the displacement-allowing space 52 on the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, and two displacement-restricting protrusions 54 are provided spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction at the rear end of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. Each displacement-restricting protrusion 54 is formed by press working, and recesses 58 are formed on the outer surface 56 (top surface) of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a at positions corresponding to the displacement-restricting protrusions 54. At the rear end of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, a rear open recess 60 is formed between the displacement restricting protrusions 54 in the left-right direction, the rear open recess 60 being open to the rear and penetrating in the up-down direction.

[0039] Furthermore, an interference prevention protrusion 62 protrudes from the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. This protrusion prevents interference between the male contacts 16 inserted into the insertion gaps 20 and fixing portions 64 (described later) for fixing the contact spring portions 26 to the inner surface 24. The interference prevention protrusion 62 protrudes further toward the insertion gap 20 (downward) than the fixing portions 64. As a result, when the male contacts 16 are inserted into the insertion gaps 20, the male contacts 16 abut against the interference prevention protrusion 62, thereby preventing further outward displacement of the male contacts 16 in the vertical direction and preventing the male contacts 16 from abutting against the fixing portions 64. As a result, when the male contacts 16 are inserted into the insertion gaps 20, the abutment between the male contacts 16 and the fixing portions 64 prevents the contact spring portions 26 from coming off the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. In the first embodiment, each displacement-regulating protrusion 54 provided on the rear end of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a also functions as an interference prevention protrusion 62. Each interference prevention protrusion 62 is formed by press working, and a recess 63 is formed on the outer surface 56 (top surface) of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a at a position corresponding to each interference prevention protrusion 62, and this recess 63 also functions as the recess 58.

[0040] Furthermore, on the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, fixing portions 64 for fixing the contact spring portions 26 to the inner surface 24 are provided between the displacement-allowing spaces 52 and the interference prevention protrusions 62 (displacement-restricting protrusions 54) in the front-rear direction. The method for fixing the contact spring portions 26 to the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a is not limited, and may be, for example, adhesive bonding or welding. However, in the first embodiment, the contact spring portions 26 are fixed by crimping. Specifically, the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a is provided with protrusions that protrude downward and are inserted into the contact spring portions 26, and the crimping fixation is achieved by striking and crushing the protrusions inserted into the contact spring portions 26. That is, in the first embodiment, the fixing portions 64 are formed by protrusions that protrude downward from the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a, and the protruding height of the fixing portions 64 from the inner surface 24 refers to the protruding height after the fixing portions 64 are crushed. In addition, in the first embodiment, a plurality of fixing portions 64 are provided spaced apart from one another in the left-right direction on the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22 a. In particular, in the first embodiment, the protrusions that constitute the fixing portions 64 are formed by press working, and recesses 66 are formed on the outer surface 56 (top surface) of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22 a at positions corresponding to the respective protrusions (fixing portions 64).

[0041] <Contact spring portion 26> In the first embodiment, the contact spring portion 26 is held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surfaces 24 of both of the pair of opposing peripheral walls 22, 22 (the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b). That is, the female contact 10 of the first embodiment includes an upper contact spring portion 26a held by the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and a lower contact spring portion 26b held by the lower opposing peripheral wall 22b. Note that the upper contact spring portion 26a and the lower contact spring portion 26b have similar shapes, and therefore, the following description will focus on the upper contact spring portion 26a, and the lower contact spring portion 26b will be omitted by assigning it the same reference numeral as the upper contact spring portion 26a.

[0042] The upper contact spring portion 26a has a first leaf spring portion 68 and a second leaf spring portion 74 that is connected to a tip end portion 70 of the first leaf spring portion 68 via a U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 and projects from the other end portion 27 (front end portion) of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a toward the one end portion 14 (rear end portion) of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. The first leaf spring portion 68 of the upper contact spring portion 26a has a base end portion 76 fixed to the inner surface 24 of the one end portion 14 side of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a and projects in a cantilevered manner toward the other end portion 27 and the insertion gap 20 (downward) to come into contact with the male contact 16. The base end portion of the second leaf spring portion 74 is connected to the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 as described above, and the tip end portion 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 is supported by the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a to which the base end portion 76 of the first leaf spring portion 68 is fixed.

[0043] 7 and other figures, the upper contact spring portion 26a is divided into a plurality of independently displaceable split spring pieces 82 by a plurality of slits 80 that penetrate the first leaf spring portion 68, the U-turn bent portion 72, and the second leaf spring portion 74 in the thickness direction. That is, each split spring piece 82 includes split first leaf spring pieces 84 formed by dividing the first leaf spring portion 68 by the slits 80, split bent portions 86 formed by dividing the U-turn bent portion 72 by the slits 80, and split second leaf spring pieces 88 formed by dividing the second leaf spring portion 74 by the slits 80. In each split spring piece 82, these split first leaf spring pieces 84, split bent portions 86, and split second leaf spring pieces 88 are all substantially the same shape and have the same functions as the first leaf spring portion 68, the U-turn bent portion 72, and the second leaf spring portion 74 before division.

[0044] <First Leaf Spring Portion 68 (Split First Leaf Spring Portion 84)> As described above, the base end 76 of the first leaf spring portion 68 of the upper contact spring portion 26a is fixed to each of the fixing portions 64 provided on the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. The base end 76 of the first leaf spring portion 68 has insertion holes 90 formed therethrough in the thickness direction, through which the protrusions constituting each fixing portion 64 are inserted. The first leaf spring portion 68 protrudes forward from each fixing portion 64 toward the other end 27 of the cylindrical main body 12, and gradually extends inward (downward) in the opposing direction of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b toward the tip end (front end). A bent portion is provided in the middle of the first leaf spring portion 68 in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction), and the first leaf spring portion 68 protrudes most downward at the bent portion. These bent portions form contact portions 92 that come into contact with the male contact body 40 when the male contact 16 is inserted. Before the male contact 16 is inserted, the opposing vertical distance between the contact portions 92 of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b is smaller than the vertical dimensions of the front portion 46 of the insulating member 42 and the male contact body 40. As a result, as the male contact 16 is inserted, the contact portions 92 come into contact with the front portion 46 and the male contact body 40, and the contact spring portions 26a, 26b are pressed outward in the vertical direction.

[0045] 7, before the male contact 16 is inserted, the portion of the first leaf spring portion 68 forward of the bent portion (contact portion 92) extends in the front-to-rear direction or is slightly inclined in a direction gradually increasing forward, and as described above, the U-turn bent portion 72 is connected to the tip end 70 of this first leaf spring portion 68. Note that in the first leaf spring portion 68, the slits 80 do not reach the fixing portions 64 of the base end 76, but are connected together at a portion rearward of the divided first leaf spring portions 84, and the above-mentioned insertion holes 90 are formed in this connected portion.

[0046] <U-Turn-Shaped Bent Portion 72 (Split Bent Portion 86)> Before the insertion of the male contact 16, the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 has a substantially semicircular arc shape with a predetermined radius of curvature in the longitudinal cross section shown in FIG. 7 . That is, the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 of the upper contact spring portion 26a extends upward from the tip portion 70 of the first leaf spring portion 68. Before the insertion of the male contact 16, a portion of the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72, specifically, the end portion of the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 opposite the end portion connected to the first leaf spring portion 68 (the end portion connected to the second leaf spring portion 74), is inserted into the displacement-allowing cavity 52 provided in the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a to which the upper contact spring portion 26a is fixed. The base end of the second leaf spring portion 74 is connected to the end portion of the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 that is inserted into the displacement-allowing cavity 52.

[0047] <Second leaf spring portion 74 (divided second leaf spring portion 88)> The second leaf spring portion 74 extends rearward from the end portion that enters the displacement-allowing cavity 52 toward the one end 14 of the cylindrical main body 12. The second leaf spring portion 74 of the upper contact spring portion 26a extends at a gradual inward (downward) angle in the opposing direction of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b as it extends rearward as a whole, and as described above, the tip portion 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 is supported on the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a. In the first embodiment, before the male contact 16 is inserted, the tip portion 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 of the upper contact spring portion 26a is placed on and supported by the rear end of the inner (downward) opening of the displacement-allowing cavity 52. In particular, in the first embodiment, a convex curved portion 94 that protrudes toward the insertion gap 20 (downward) is provided in the central portion of the second leaf spring portion 74 in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the upper contact spring portion 26a. That is, the center of curvature of this convex curved portion 94 is located on the opposite side of the second leaf spring portion 74 from the insertion gap 20, i.e., above the second leaf spring portion 74. Note that the tip end 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 is not fixed to the rear end of the inner opening of the displacement-allowing space 52, and is a free end.

[0048] <Assembly of Female Contact 10> When assembling the female contact 10, first, a single metal flat plate constituting the tubular main body 12 is pressed to form the through holes 36, the mating protrusions 38, the displacement-allowing cavities 52, the displacement-regulating protrusions 54, the interference-preventing protrusions 62, and the protrusions constituting the fixing portions 64. Then, the contact spring portions 26a, 26b formed in the above-described shapes are fixed to the surfaces corresponding to the inner surfaces 24 of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. In the first embodiment, the protrusions constituting the fixing portions 64 are inserted into the insertion holes 90 of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b and fixed by crimping, thereby fixing the contact spring portions 26a, 26b to the inner surfaces 24 of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. Then, by bending a single metal plate to which each contact spring portion 26a, 26b is fixed into the above-mentioned shape, the wire connection portion 34 and the tubular main body portion 12 are formed, and the female contact 10 of embodiment 1 is completed.

[0049] 6 and 7 , when inserting the male contacts 16 into the female contacts 10 formed as described above, the male contacts 16 are placed facing one end 14 (rear end) of the female contact 10, and inserted into the insertion gap 20 through the insertion opening 18 provided on the one end 14 side. This causes the contact portions 92 of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b to abut against the front portion 46 of the male contact 16 and the male contact body 40. When the insertion of the male contacts 16 is complete, the contact portions 92 of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b come into contact with both the upper and lower surfaces of the male contact body 40, thereby electrically connecting the male contacts 16 and the female contacts 10.

[0050] Furthermore, when each contact portion 92 abuts against the front portion 46 and the male contact body 40, each contact spring portion 26 a, 26 b elastically deforms outward in the vertical direction. In particular, with regard to the upper contact spring portion 26 a, when the upper contact spring portion 26 a is pressed upward by the contact portion 92, the portion further distal (front end) than the contact portion 92 is also pressed upward, but because the distal end portion 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 is supported by the rear end portion at the lower opening of the displacement-allowing cavity 52, the portion further distal than the contact portion 92 is displaced in a direction rotating around the distal end portion 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74. Alternatively, for example, if the tip end 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 is located rearward of the rear end of the lower opening of the displacement-allowing cavity 52 before the male contact 16 is inserted, the tip end 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74 may slide forward on the inner surface 24 of the upper opposing peripheral wall 22a as the male contact 16 is inserted, and the portion of the second leaf spring portion 74 further forward than the contact portion 92 may be displaced into the displacement-allowing cavity 52. ​​Note that the lower contact spring portion 26b also undergoes deformation similar to that of the upper contact spring portion 26a.

[0051] 3, the portion of the upper contact spring portion 26a that is distal from the contact portion 92 is displaced clockwise around the distal end 78 of the second leaf spring portion 74. As a result, compared to before the insertion of the male contact 16, a relatively large portion of the portion distal from the contact portion 92 is accommodated in the displacement-allowing cavity 52, and substantially the entire U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 and the second leaf spring portion 74 are positioned within the displacement-allowing cavity 52. ​​In other words, the opposing peripheral wall 22 is provided with a displacement-allowing cavity 52 that allows the free end side, including the U-turn-shaped bent portion 72, of the contact spring portion 26 that is pressed against the male contact 16 to be displaced farther from the insertion gap 20 than the inner surface 24. In the first embodiment, the contact spring portions 26a, 26b are provided on both sides of the pair of opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b, and the contact spring portions 26a, 26b are pressed against the male contacts 16 inserted into the insertion gap 20 from both sides of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. Displacement-allowing spaces 52 are provided on both sides of the pair of opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b, and the free ends, including the U-turn bent portions 72, of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b that are pressed against the male contacts 16 are allowed to displace further away from the insertion gap 20 (outward in the vertical direction) than the inner surfaces 24.

[0052] Here, in addition to the elastic restoring force caused by the deformation of each first leaf spring portion 68, the male contact 16 (male contact main body 40) is also subjected to the elastic restoring force caused by the deformation of each U-turn-shaped bending portion 72 and each second leaf spring portion 74, so that each contact portion 92 can be abutted against the male contact 16 with a relatively large pressing force.

[0053] In the first embodiment, the U-turn bent portions 72 and second leaf spring portions 74, which are displaced outward in the vertical direction upon insertion of the male contact 16, do not protrude outward (outward in the vertical direction) from the displacement allowing spaces 52, i.e., do not protrude outward from the outer surfaces 56 of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. This prevents the contact spring portions 26a, 26b (particularly the U-turn bent portions 72 and second leaf spring portions 74), which protrude outward from the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b through the displacement allowing spaces 52 upon insertion of the male contact 16, from interfering with other members arranged around the female contact 10.

[0054] Furthermore, each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b is provided with displacement-restricting protrusions 54 and interference-preventing protrusions 62 that protrude into the insertion gap 20, but these are provided in the left-right central portion of each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. Meanwhile, the thickness dimension (vertical dimension) of the left-right central portion of the male contact 16 is kept smaller than that of both left-right end portions (each of the left and right lateral portions 48). As a result, even when the displacement-restricting protrusions 54 and interference-preventing protrusions 62 are provided that protrude into the insertion gap 20, these displacement-restricting protrusions 54 and interference-preventing protrusions 62 do not get caught on the male contact 16, and the male contact 16 can be inserted with its left-right alignment aligned with the tubular main body 12.

[0055] According to the female contact 10 of the first embodiment having the above-described structure, the contact spring portions 26a, 26b are folded back at the U-turn-shaped bent portions 72, and when the male contact 16 is inserted, the elastic restoring forces of the first leaf spring portions 68 and the second leaf spring portions 74 are used as the pressing force that presses the contact portions 92 against the male contact body 40. Displacement-allowing spaces 52 are provided in the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b, allowing for the accommodation of the U-turn-shaped bent portions 72 and the second leaf spring portions 74 of the contact spring portions 26a, 26b. That is, by forming each displacement-allowing cavity 52 with a size that can accommodate each U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 and each second leaf spring portion 74, it is not necessary to tightly contact the U-turn-shaped folded portions of the contact spring portion as in the prior art, and this avoids the need for complicated processes and operations when forming each contact spring portion 26a, 26b, thereby improving the manufacturing efficiency of each contact spring portion 26a, 26b and, ultimately, the female contact 10. In particular, by adopting a structure in which the tip portion 78 of each second leaf spring portion 74 is supported by the inner surface 24 of each opposing peripheral wall 22a, 22b, an elastic restoring force can be obtained in each second leaf spring portion 74 as well, and since there is no need for a double bottom plate as in the prior art, the female contact 10 can also be made smaller.

[0056] A convex curved portion 94 that protrudes toward the insertion gap 20 (inward in the up-down direction) is provided at the longitudinal center of each second leaf spring portion 74. This allows the end of each U-turn bent portion 72 on the second leaf spring portion 74 side to fit into the corresponding displacement allowance space 52 before the male contact 16 is inserted, and the tip portion 78 of each second leaf spring portion 74 can be supported on the inner surface 24 of each opposing peripheral wall 22a, 22b. In other words, compared to a configuration without the convex curved portion 94, for example, each U-turn bent portion 72, and therefore each contact spring portion 26a, 26b, can be made larger, thereby ensuring a greater pressing force of each contact portion 92 against the male contact 16 due to the elastic restoring force of each contact spring portion 26a, 26b.

[0057] In the first embodiment, the contact spring portions 26a, 26b are provided on the inner surface 24 of each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b, and each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b is provided with a displacement-allowing cavity 52. ​​This allows the contact spring portions 26a, 26b to abut against the male contacts 16 from both sides (upper and lower sides) of each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b. As a result, the male contacts 16 are sandwiched between the contact spring portions 26a, 26b from both the upper and lower sides, ensuring contact pressure at the contact spring portions 26a, 26b and enabling the connector to handle larger currents.

[0058] Each displacement-allowing cavity 52 is formed by a through-hole that penetrates each opposing peripheral wall 22a, 22b in the plate thickness direction (vertical direction). This allows a larger U-turn-shaped bent portion 72 and second leaf spring portion 74 to be accommodated within the displacement-allowing cavity 52 when inserting the male contact 16, i.e., allows each contact spring portion 26a, 26b to be made larger. As a result, the contact pressure at the contact portion 92 of each contact spring portion 26a, 26b can be increased, improving conductivity.

[0059] Each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b is provided with a displacement-restricting protrusion 54 that interferes with the male contacts 16 inserted into the insertion gap 20 to restrict excessive displacement of the male contacts 16. Each of the displacement-restricting protrusions 54 is provided to avoid the left and right ends of the male contacts 16 where the thickness dimension is increased, thereby preventing any interference with the insertion of the male contacts 16. Furthermore, the abutment of each displacement-restricting protrusion 54 with the male contacts 16 not only restricts displacement in the up-down direction, but also restricts swinging displacement of the male contacts 16 (rotational displacement around an axis extending in the left-right direction).

[0060] Each of the opposing peripheral walls 22a, 22b is provided with an interference prevention protrusion 62 that prevents interference between the male contacts 16 inserted into the insertion gap 20 and each fixing portion 64. That is, the protrusion height of each interference prevention protrusion 62 from each inner surface 24 is greater than that of each fixing portion 64, and by inserting the male contacts 16 between the vertical interference prevention protrusions 62, contact between the male contacts 16 and each fixing portion 64 is avoided when the male contacts 16 are inserted. This makes it possible to avoid problems such as the male contacts 16 hitting the fixing portions 64 and the contact spring portions 26a, 26b falling off when the male contacts 16 are inserted.

[0061] Each contact spring portion 26a, 26b is divided into a plurality of split spring pieces 82 that can be displaced independently by a plurality of slits 80. As a result, even if the male contact 16 inserted into the insertion gap 20 rotates around a central axis extending in the front-to-rear direction, each split spring piece 82 deforms separately, so that the contact state between each contact spring portion 26a, 26b and the male contact 16 can be stably maintained.

[0062] <Modifications> Although the first embodiment has been described above in detail as a specific example of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to this specific description. Modifications, improvements, etc. within the scope of achieving the object of the present disclosure are included in the present disclosure. For example, the following modifications of the embodiment are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0063] (1) In the above embodiment, the contact spring portions 26 a, 26 b are provided on the opposing peripheral walls 22 a, 22 b, but the contact spring portions may be provided on only one of the opposing peripheral walls. In this case, the U-shaped bent portion of the contact spring portion and the displacement allowance space that allows displacement of the second leaf spring portion only need to be provided on the opposing peripheral wall on the side where the contact spring portion is provided.

[0064] (2) In the above embodiment, each of the displacement-permitting spaces 52 is formed by a through-hole penetrating each of the opposing peripheral walls 22 a, 22 b in the thickness direction (vertical direction), but the displacement-permitting spaces may be recesses with bottoms that open to the inner surfaces of the opposing peripheral walls. Also, in the above embodiment, each of the contact spring portions 26 a, 26 b that deform when the male contact 16 is inserted does not protrude outward from each of the displacement-permitting spaces 52, but they may protrude.

[0065] (3) In the above embodiment, multiple displacement-regulating protrusions 54 are provided spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, but a single displacement-regulating protrusion having a predetermined length in the left-right direction may be provided. Similarly, in the above embodiment, multiple interference prevention protrusions 62 are provided spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, but a single interference prevention protrusion having a predetermined length in the left-right direction may be provided. Note that these displacement-regulating protrusions and interference prevention protrusions are not essential to the female contact according to the present disclosure.

[0066] (4) In the above embodiment, each contact spring portion 26a, 26b was divided into a plurality of split spring pieces 82 by each slit 80, but this is not limited to this form, and each contact spring portion does not have to be divided by a slit.

[0067] (5) The shape of the male contact is not limited, and for example, an insulating member does not need to be provided.

[0068] <Embodiment 2> A female terminal A10 according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figures 8 to 11. The female terminal A10 is provided in a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, and is electrically connected to the male terminal A12 shown in Figure 4. The female terminal A10 has a male terminal mounting portion A16, and when the male terminal A12 is mounted to this male terminal mounting portion A16, the female terminal A10 and the male terminal A12 are electrically connected. Note that the female terminal A10 can be positioned in any orientation within the vehicle, but in the following description, unless otherwise specified, the directions indicated by the arrows in Figure 8 will be described as up-down, front-rear, and left-right directions. Furthermore, in some cases, when multiple identical components are shown, only some of the components will be designated by reference numerals, and the reference numerals will be omitted for the other components.

[0069] <Female Terminal A10> The female terminal A10 includes a male terminal mounting portion A16 that is electrically connected to the male terminal A12. The female terminal A10 includes a terminal body A18 formed using a first metal plate and a contact member A20 that is formed using a second metal plate that is thinner than the first metal plate and is assembled to the male terminal mounting portion A16. In the second embodiment, the terminal body A18, which extends in the left-right direction as a whole, is formed by pressing a single first metal plate having a predetermined thickness. The male terminal mounting portion A16 is provided at one end (left end) of the terminal body A18. The other end (right end) of the terminal body A18 is provided with a connection portion A22 that is electrically connected to another member such as an electric wire or bus bar (not shown). The terminal body A18, which includes the male terminal mounting portion A16 and the connection portion A22, is formed from a metal with excellent conductivity, such as copper (including copper alloys) or aluminum (including aluminum alloys).

[0070] <Male Terminal A12> The male terminal A12 is tab-shaped and has an overall rectangular flat plate shape. It includes a flat terminal fitting A24 and a resin cap A26 that surrounds the periphery of the terminal fitting A24. The terminal fitting A24 has an overall rectangular flat plate shape extending in the front-to-rear direction and is made of a metal with excellent conductivity. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 11 , the resin cap A26 is frame-shaped, covering the front and both left and right sides of the terminal fitting A24 and further covering the rear end of the terminal fitting A24 from above and below. This leaves both the top and bottom surfaces of the terminal fitting A24 exposed and uncovered by the resin cap A26. The male terminal A12 having this shape is assembled, for example, by inserting the terminal fitting A24 through a rear opening of the resin cap A26, or by forming the resin cap A26 as an integrally molded product with the terminal fitting A24. The male terminal A12 is then fitted to the male terminal fitting portion A16 from rear to front.

[0071] <Male Terminal Mounting Section A16> The male terminal mounting section A16 includes a first opposing wall A30 and a second opposing wall A32 that are disposed opposite each other across a gap and define a male terminal insertion space A28 between them. That is, the second opposing wall A32 is disposed above the first opposing wall A30, facing each other across a gap. The male terminal insertion space A28 is formed by penetrating the opposing surfaces of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 in the front-to-rear direction. The male terminal mounting section A16 includes a male terminal insertion opening A34 that is defined by the rear side edges of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 and opens the male terminal insertion space A28 rearward. The male terminal mounting section A16 also includes a right wall A36 that covers the right side of the male terminal insertion space A28.

[0072] <Crimping Piece A38> A crimping piece A38 is provided on the left side of the male terminal insertion space A28, protruding in a strip shape integrally from the side surface (left side surface) of the first opposing wall A30. The crimping piece A38 includes a first side bent portion A40 bent toward the second opposing wall A32 in proximity to the side surface (left side surface) of the first opposing wall A30, an extending portion A42 extending straight from the first side bent portion A40 to the second opposing wall A32, and a second side bent portion A48 bent in proximity to the side surface (left side surface) of the second opposing wall A32 so that a protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 overlaps with an outer surface A46 of the second opposing wall A32.

[0073] <Support Protrusion A50 / Overlapping Protrusion A52> A support protrusion A50 protruding rearward from the rear side surface of the extending portion A42 is integrally formed at approximately the middle of the extending portion A42 of the crimping piece A38 in the extension direction (vertical direction in FIG. 8 ). An overlapping protrusion A52 protruding laterally (to the left) and overlapping the support protrusion A50 from above is integrally formed on the side surface (left side) of the second opposing wall. The protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 is overlapped and crimped onto the outer surface A46 of the second opposing wall A32, thereby crimping and fixing the protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 to the second opposing wall A32. In this state, the overlapping protrusion A52 protruding from the second opposing wall A32 overlaps from above with the support protrusion A50 protruding from the crimping piece A38.

[0074] In the second embodiment, the crimping piece A38 is provided biased toward one end (front end in FIG. 8 ) of the side surface (left side surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30. The width dimension (front-rear dimension) of the crimping piece A38 is smaller (e.g., half or less) than the length dimension in the front-rear direction of the side surface (left side surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30. Therefore, a viewing window A54 is provided at the other end of the side surface (left side surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30, through which the contact member A20 can be seen from the gap between the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32. Therefore, the contact member A20 fixed to and held on the opposing surfaces of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 can be easily seen from the outside through the viewing window A54.

[0075] In the terminal body A18 having this structure, one longitudinal end of a single first metal plate constitutes the first opposing wall A30 of the male terminal mounting portion A16, and the other longitudinal end of the first metal plate folded back via the fold portion A56 constitutes the second opposing wall A32 of the male terminal mounting portion A16. The protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 provided on the side surface (left side surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30 is bent to overlap the outer surface A46 of the second opposing wall A32 and crimped to secure the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32. The rear opening of the cylindrically configured male terminal mounting portion A16 (male terminal insertion space A28) serves as the male terminal insertion opening A34. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the connecting portion A22 is provided contiguous to the right of the male terminal mounting portion A16. An electric wire, a bus bar, or the like (not shown) is fixed to the connection portion A22 by means of, for example, welding or adhesive.

[0076] That is, the right wall portion A36 extends from the second opposing wall A32 and is connected to an upper connection portion A22a that constitutes the connection portion A22, while the lower connection portion A22b extends from the first opposing wall A30, and these upper connection portion A22a and lower connection portion A22b are connected at their respective rear ends by a folded portion A56. The upper connection portion A22a and the lower connection portion A22b folded back by the folded portion A56 are joined together in the vertical direction, thereby constituting the connection portion A22. Although the method of joining these upper connection portion A22a and lower connection portion A22b is not limited, in the second embodiment, a through-hole A58 that penetrates through the upper connection portion A22a in the thickness direction (vertical direction) is formed, and a fitting protrusion A60 that protrudes upward is formed in the lower connection portion A22b. The fitting protrusion A60 is inserted into and fitted into the through hole A58, whereby the upper connecting portion A22a and the lower connecting portion A22b are fixed to each other in an overlapping state.

[0077] <First opposing wall A30 and second opposing wall A32> Since the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 have similar shapes, we will only explain the first opposing wall A30, and will omit detailed explanation of the second opposing wall A32 by assigning it the same symbol as the first opposing wall A30.

[0078] The first opposing wall A30 has a generally rectangular flat plate shape overall, and the upper surface of the first opposing wall A30 is a lower surface A62 that constitutes the male terminal insertion space A28. A lower contact member A20b that constitutes the contact member A20 is fixed to the lower surface A62 (the upper surface of the first opposing wall A30) by crimping via a plurality of crimping portions A65 provided on the first opposing wall A30, and in embodiment 2, the lower contact member A20b is fixed to the central portion of the lower surface A62. Similarly, the lower surface of the second opposing wall is an upper surface A64 that constitutes the male terminal insertion space A28, and an upper contact member A20a that constitutes the contact member A20 is fixed to the central portion of the upper surface A64 by crimping via a crimping portion A65 provided on the second opposing wall A32.

[0079] <Front guide protrusions A66> A plurality of front guide protrusions A66 protrude inward into the male terminal insertion space A28 on the front side (rear side) of the contact member A20 in the insertion direction of the male terminal A12 on the upper surface A64 and the lower surface A62, which are opposing surfaces that constitute the male terminal insertion space A28. In embodiment 2, since contact members A20 (upper contact member A20a and lower contact member A20b) are provided on both the upper surface A64 and the lower surface A62 of the male terminal insertion space A28, front guide protrusions A66 are provided on both the upper surface A64 and the lower surface A62. Therefore, the front guide protrusion A66 on the upper surface A64 side protrudes downward, and the front guide protrusion A66 on the lower surface A62 side protrudes upward. By inserting the resin cap A26 of the male terminal A12 between these upper and lower front guide protrusions A66, the male terminal A12 is guided in a centered state relative to the male terminal insertion space A28.

[0080] <Deep guide protrusions A68> A plurality of deep guide protrusions A68 protrude inward into the male terminal insertion space A28 on the deep (front) sides of the upper and lower surfaces A64 and A62, which are opposing surfaces that define the male terminal insertion space A28, in the insertion direction of the male terminal A12 of the contact member A20. In the second embodiment, since the contact members A20 (upper contact member A20a and lower contact member A20b) are provided on both the upper and lower surfaces A64 and A62 of the male terminal insertion space A28, deep guide protrusions A68 are provided on both the upper and lower surfaces A64 and A62. Therefore, the deep guide protrusions A68 on the upper surface A64 side protrude downward, and the deep guide protrusions A68 on the lower surface A62 side protrude upward. By inserting the resin cap A26 of the male terminal A12 between these upper and lower rear guide protrusions A68, the male terminal A12 is guided and held in a centered state relative to the male terminal insertion space A28.

[0081] In embodiment 2, as described above, the terminal body A18 is formed by pressing a single first metal flat plate, and therefore recesses A70 that open outward in the vertical direction are formed on the upper surface of the second opposing wall A32 and the lower surface of the first opposing wall A30 at positions corresponding to each crimping portion A65, each front guide protrusion A66, and each rear guide protrusion A68.

[0082] <Assembly of the Female Terminal A10> When assembling the female terminal A10, first, a single first metal plate constituting the terminal body A18 is pressed to form the crimping portions A65, the front guide protrusions A66, and the rear guide protrusions A68. Then, the first metal plate is crimped to the surfaces corresponding to the lower surface A62 of the first opposing wall A30 and the upper surface A64 of the second opposing wall A32 that form the male terminal insertion space A28, respectively, via the crimping portions A65. The first metal plate to which the upper and lower contact members A20a and A20b are attached is then bent into the above-described shape to form the connecting portion A22 and the male terminal mounting portion A16, thereby completing the female terminal A10 of the second embodiment.

[0083] According to the female terminal A10 of the second embodiment having the above-described structure, the protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 protruding from the side surface of the first opposing wall A30 is overlapped and crimped to the outer surface A46 of the second opposing wall A32, so that the displacement of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 that define the male terminal insertion space A28 in the direction away from each other is restricted by the crimping piece A38. As a result, compared to the conventional structure in which a separate clip-shaped metal member is used to prevent excessive opening between the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 of the terminal body A18, it is possible to provide a female terminal A10 that can prevent opening between the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 of the terminal body A18 with a simple structure in which the protruding end A44 of the crimping piece A38 protruding from the side surface of the first opposing wall A30 is overlapped with the outer surface A46 of the second opposing wall A32.

[0084] Furthermore, since the crimping piece A38 is configured with an extension portion A42 that extends straight between the first side bend portion A40 and the second side bend portion A48, which are provided close to the side surfaces of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32, the crimping piece A38 is prevented from protruding significantly in a direction that intersects the opposing direction of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 (left and right direction in Figure 8), and the crimping piece A38 can be provided while preventing the female terminal A10 from becoming larger.

[0085] In addition, the second opposing wall A32 has an overlapping protrusion A52 that overlaps from above with a support protrusion A50 provided on the extension A42 of the crimping piece A38. As a result, when an external force is applied in a direction that moves the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 toward each other, the overlapping protrusion A52 of the second opposing wall A32 abuts against the support protrusion A50 of the crimping piece A38, preventing the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 from moving toward each other excessively, and making it possible to stably maintain the male terminal insertion space A28 without increasing or decreasing the number of parts.

[0086] The width (front-rear dimension) of the crimping piece A38 is smaller (e.g., 1 / 2 or less) than the length in the front-rear direction of the side surface (left surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30, and the crimping piece A38 is provided biased toward one end (front end in FIG. 8 ) of the side surface (left surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30. As a result, a viewing window A54 is provided at the other end of the side surface (left surface in FIG. 8 ) of the first opposing wall A30, through which the contact member A20 can be seen from the gap between the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32. This makes it possible to visually check the contact member A20 fixed to and held on the opposing surfaces of the first opposing wall A30 and the second opposing wall A32 through the viewing window A54, thereby improving operability in inspecting the spring height of the contact member A20, etc.

[0087] <Modifications> Although the second and third embodiments have been described above in detail as specific examples of the present disclosure, the present disclosure is not limited to these specific descriptions. Modifications, improvements, etc., within the scope of achieving the object of the present disclosure, are included in the present disclosure. For example, the following modifications of the embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0088] (1) In the second embodiment, the terminal body A18 of the female terminal A10 is formed by pressing a single first metal flat plate, but this is not limited to this. The female terminal A10 of the first embodiment may be formed by, for example, stacking an upper first metal flat plate including the second opposing wall A32, the right wall portion A36, and the upper connecting portion A22a and a lower first metal flat plate including the first opposing wall A30 and the lower connecting portion A22b in the vertical direction and fixing them together by welding, crimping, or the like. Alternatively, the terminal body of the female terminal according to the present disclosure may be formed from multiple first metal flat plates.

[0089] (2) In the second embodiment, the contact members A20 (upper contact member A20a and lower contact member A20b) are provided on both the upper surface A64 and the lower surface A62 that form the male terminal insertion space A28. However, this is not limited to this configuration, and the contact members A20 may be provided on only one of the upper surface A64 and the lower surface A62.

[0090] (3) The number, shape, and location of the front guide protrusions A66 and the rear guide protrusions A68 are not limited to those shown in the examples, and any number, shape, and location can be selected according to requirements. Furthermore, the viewing window A54 does not necessarily have to be provided, and the crimping piece A38 may be provided wide enough to make it difficult to form the viewing window A54.

[0091] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 female contact 12 tubular main body 14 one end 16 male contact 18 insertion opening 20 insertion gap 22 opposing peripheral wall 22a upper opposing peripheral wall 22b lower opposing peripheral wall 24 inner surface 26 contact spring portion 26a upper contact spring portion 26b lower contact spring portion 27 other end 28 right side wall 30 crimping fixing piece 31 rearward protruding portion 32 folded portion 34 electric wire connection portion 34a upper electric wire connection portion 34b lower electric wire connection portion 36 through hole 38 mating protrusion 40 male contact body 42 insulating member 44 tip protruding portion 46 front portion 48 side portion 50 receiving recess 52 displacement-allowing space (through hole) 53 leftward protruding portion 54 displacement-regulating protrusion 56 Outer surface 58 Recess 60 Rear opening recess 62 Interference prevention protrusion 63 Recess 64 Fixing portion 66 Recess 68 First leaf spring portion 70 Tip portion (of first leaf spring portion) 72 U-turn bent portion 74 Second leaf spring portion 76 Base end portion (of first leaf spring portion) 78 Tip portion (of second leaf spring portion) 80 Slit 82 Split spring piece 84 Split first leaf spring portion 86 Split bent portion 88 Split second leaf spring portion 90 Insertion hole 92 Contact portion 94 Convex curved portion

[0092] A10 Female terminal (Embodiment 2) A12 Male terminal A16 Male terminal mounting portion A18 Terminal body A20 Contact member A20a Upper contact member A20b Lower contact member A22 Connecting portion A22a Upper connecting portion A22b Lower connecting portion A24 Terminal fitting A26 Resin cap A28 Male terminal insertion space A30 First opposing wall A32 Second opposing wall A34 Male terminal insertion opening A36 Right wall portion A38 Crimping piece A40 First side bent portion A42 Extension portion A44 Protruding end portion A46 Outer surface (second opposing wall) A48 Second side bent portion A50 Support protrusion A52 Overlapping protrusion A54 Viewing window A56 Folded portion A58 Through hole A60 Fitting protrusion A62 Bottom surface A64 Top surface A65 Crimping portion A66 Front guide protrusion A68 Back guide protrusion A70 Recess

Claims

1. A cylindrical main body portion having an insertion opening at one end through which a male contact is inserted; a pair of opposing peripheral walls constituting the cylindrical main body portion and arranged opposite each other across an insertion gap through which the male contact is inserted; and a contact spring portion held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surface of at least one of the opposing peripheral walls and pressed against the male contact inserted into the insertion gap, wherein the contact spring portion has a first leaf spring portion having a base end fixed to the inner surface of the one end side of the opposing peripheral wall and protruding in a cantilevered manner toward the insertion gap while moving toward the other end side of the cylindrical main body portion to come into contact with the male contact, and a second leaf spring portion connected to a tip end of the first leaf spring portion via a U-turn bent portion and protruding from the other end side toward the one end side, wherein the tip end of the second leaf spring portion is supported by the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall to which the base end of the first leaf spring portion is fixed, a displacement-permitting space that allows a free end side, including the U-turn bent portion, of the contact spring portion that is pressed against the male contact to be displaced away from the insertion gap relative to the inner surface, in the opposing peripheral wall; 2. The female contact according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal center portion of said second leaf spring portion forms a convex curved portion that protrudes toward said insertion gap.

3. A female contact as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact spring portions are held in a cantilevered manner on the inner surfaces of both of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, and the pair of contact spring portions are pressed against the male contact inserted into the insertion gap from both sides of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, and the displacement-allowing space is provided on both of the pair of opposing peripheral walls, so that the free end side including the U-turn-shaped bent portion of the contact spring portion pressed against the male contact is allowed to displace more away from the insertion gap than the inner surfaces.

4. A female contact according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the displacement-allowing space is formed by a through-hole that penetrates the opposing peripheral wall in the thickness direction.

5. A female contact as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a displacement restriction protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall to interfere with the male contact inserted into the insertion gap and restrict excessive displacement of the male contact.

6. A female contact as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein an interference prevention protrusion is provided on the inner surface of the opposing peripheral wall, protruding toward the insertion gap beyond the fixing portion of the base end of the first leaf spring portion to the inner surface, to prevent interference between the male contact inserted into the insertion gap and the fixing portion.

7. A female contact as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the contact spring portion is divided into a plurality of independently displaceable split spring pieces by a plurality of slits penetrating the first leaf spring portion, the U-turn-shaped bent portion, and the second leaf spring portion, and each split spring piece has a split first leaf spring portion formed by dividing the first leaf spring portion, a split bent portion formed by dividing the U-turn-shaped bent portion, and a split second leaf spring portion formed by dividing the second leaf spring portion.

8. A female terminal comprising: a terminal body formed using a first metal plate and having a male terminal mounting portion that is electrically connected to a male terminal; and a contact member formed using a second metal plate that is thinner than the first metal plate and is assembled to the male terminal mounting portion, wherein the male terminal mounting portion includes a first opposing wall and a second opposing wall that are arranged opposite each other with a gap between them and define a male terminal insertion space therebetween, and the protruding end of a crimping piece protruding from the side surface of the first opposing wall is overlapped and crimped onto the outer surface of the second opposing wall.

9. A female terminal as described in claim 8, wherein the crimping piece includes a first side bent portion bent toward the second opposing wall in the vicinity of the side surface of the first opposing wall, an extending portion extending straight from the first side bent portion to the second opposing wall, and a second side bent portion bent in the vicinity of the side surface of the second opposing wall so that the protruding end of the crimping piece overlaps the outer surface of the second opposing wall.

10. A female terminal as set forth in claim 9, wherein the crimping piece has a support protrusion protruding from a side surface of the extension portion, and the second opposing wall has an overlapping protrusion protruding laterally and overlapping the support protrusion.

11. A female terminal as described in claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the contact member is held on at least one of the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall, the crimping piece is provided biased toward one end of the side surface of the first opposing wall, and the other end of the side surface of the first opposing wall is formed as a viewing window through which the contact member can be seen from the opposing gap between the first opposing wall and the second opposing wall.

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