Pressure-contact terminal

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a pressure-contact terminal formed with pressure-contact blades between which an end of an electric wire is press-fitted.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, there is a known pressure-contact terminal

1

as a pressure-contact terminal of this type as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,425 as shown in FIG.

1

. As shown in

FIG. 1

, the pressure-contact terminal

1

is formed at its front end side with a contact portion

2

for connection to an opposed terminal and at its the other side with an electric wire connecting portion

3

for retaining an electric wire and for connection to the electric wire. The electric wire connecting portion

3

is formed with pressure-contact portions

6

,

7

,

8

, and

9

hammered inward to bulge from a pair of side walls

4

and

5

. The electric wire connecting portion

3

is formed at its rear end portion with a pair of electric wire retaining chips

10

and

11

.

By the pressure-contact terminal

1

with such a structure, by press-fitting a covered electric wire in the electric wire connecting portion

3

, the pressure-contact portions

6

,

7

,

8

, and

9

cut the cover to bring an exposed core into contact with the pressure-contact portions

6

,

7

,

8

, and

9

, thereby establishing connection.

In the above-described pressure-contact terminal

1

, the pressure-contact portions

6

,

7

,

8

, and

9

to be connected to the electric wire and to retain the electric wire have shapes formed by hammering the side plates

4

and

5

inward and bending tip end portions (tip end portions in bulging directions). Therefore, axial retaining force of the pressure-contact portions

6

,

7

,

8

, and

9

is small if load is applied in an axial direction to the electric wire connected to the pressure-contact terminal

1

.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a pressure-contact terminal that can reliably retain an electric wire against attraction in an axial direction of the electric wire.

The present invention has been achieved with such points in mind.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pressure-contact terminal comprising: a contact portion to be in contact with an opposed terminal and formed on a tip end side of the pressure-contact terminal; and an electric wire connecting portion formed on a rear end side of the pressure-contact terminal, the electric wire connecting portion having a bottom plate and a pair of side plates formed by bending from both sides of the bottom plate in the same direction, the pair of side plates being formed with a plurality of pairs of pressure-contact portions; wherein at least a pair of pressure-contact portions out of the plurality of pairs of the pressure-contact portions has a pair of pressure-contact blades; and each of the pair of pressure-contact blades includes: a pressure-contact blade main body cut and bent up from the side plates; a blade portion formed on an outer periphery of the pressure-contact blade main body to cut a cover portion of a covered electric wire; a contact portion continuously formed from the blade portion to be in contact with a core of the covered electric wire; and a core retaining portion for retaining the core, the core retaining portion being formed on a lower portion side of the contact portion so as to project in such a direction as to approach to the other one of the pair of pressure-contact blades and to be brought into contact with the cover portion of the covered electric wire, thereby preventing coming off of the covered electric wire from the pressure-contact portions.

In this pressure-contact terminal, the covered electric wire is placed on the electric wire connecting portion and is pressed-fitted between the pressure-contact blades by using a pressure-contact jig or the like. If the covered electric wire is press-fitted between the pressure-contact blades, the cover portion of the covered electric wire is cut by the blade portions and the exposed core comes in contact with the contact portions. As a result, the covered electric wire is electrically connected to the pressure-contact terminal. In this case, end faces of the cut cover portion come in contact with the pressure-contact blade main bodies and with the core retaining portions formed on the pair of pressure-contact blades of at one of the plurality of pairs of pressure-contact portions. Thus, the covered electric wire can be reliably retained against attraction in an axial direction of the electric wire.

According a second aspect of the invention as it depends from the first aspect, in addition to an arrangement of the first aspect, there is provided a pressure-contact terminal, wherein the core retaining portions have retaining contact portions to come in contact with the core to be connected in a conductive manner to the core.

In this pressure-contact terminal, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, because the core of the covered electric wire comes in contact with the retaining contact portions, the electric connection between the covered electric wire and the pressure-contact terminal can be established.

According to a third aspect of the invention as it depends from the first or the second aspect, in addition to arrangements of the first and second aspects, there is provided a pressure-contact terminal, wherein the other pair of pressure-contact portions which have not the pressure-contact blades are formed in such a manner that the pair of side plates are projected inward each other by hammering operations.

In this pressure-contact terminal, in addition to the operation of the first and second aspects, the electric wire can be reliably retained by using the pressure-contact portions formed by hammering. In other words, although the pressure-contact portions formed by hammering the opposite side plates to project inward have small retaining force against the attraction in the axial direction of the covered electric wire, the electric wire can be retained reliably against the attraction in the axial direction of the electric wire because the core retaining portion is formed on the pressure-contact blade of at least one pressure-contact portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The above and further objects and novel features of the present invention will more fully appear from the following detailed description when the same is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1

is a perspective view showing a prior-art pressure-contact terminal;

FIG. 2

is a perspective view of an embodiment of a pressure-contact terminal according to the present invention;

FIG. 3

is a sectional perspective view of the pressure-contact terminal of the embodiment;

FIG. 4

is a plan view of a pressure-contact terminal of the embodiment;

FIG. 5

is a partially cutaway perspective view of the pressure-contact terminal of the embodiment;

FIG. 6

is a sectional view showing a state in which a covered electric wire is mounted to the pressure-contact terminal of the embodiment; and

FIG. 7

is a sectional perspective view of a modification of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

There will be detailed below the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like members are designated by like reference characters.

FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the pressure-contact terminal

20

of the present embodiment,

FIG. 3

is a sectional perspective view of the pressure-contact terminal

20

that is cut away at a center in a width direction, and

FIG. 4

is a plan view of the pressure-contact terminal

20

. As shown in

FIGS. 2

to

4

, the pressure-contact terminal

20

is formed on its front end side with a contact portion

21

to be in contact with an opposed terminal and on its rear end side with an electric wire connecting portion

22

.

The contact portion

21

and the electric wire connecting portion

22

are formed along a common bottom plate

23

. Side plates

24

and

25

standing to be perpendicular to the bottom plate

23

are formed on opposite side edges in a width direction of the bottom plate

23

. The side plates

24

and

25

face each other in parallel to each other.

The contact portion

21

includes top plates

26

and

27

respectively extending from upper edges of the side plates

24

and

25

, the top plates

26

and

27

being bent such that one is placed on the other. A contact spring chip

29

extending from a front end edge of the bottom plate

23

toward a rear end side is housed and disposed in a cavity (see

FIG. 3

)

28

surrounded by the bottom plate

23

, the side plates

24

and

25

, and the top plates

26

and

27

. The contact spring chip

29

is curved toward the top plate

26

side and presses the opposed terminal against an inner face of the top plate

26

to establish electric connection when the opposed terminal is press-fitted from a front end side of the contact portion

21

.

The electric wire connecting portion

22

is formed on its rear end side with a pair of electric wire retaining chips

30

and

31

. Between the electric wire retaining chips

30

,

31

and the contact portion

21

, three pairs of pressure-contact portions

32

,

33

, and

34

are respectively provided. The pressure-contact portion

32

on the electric wire retaining chips

30

,

31

side has a pair of pressure-contact blades

35

formed by cutting and bending the side plates

24

and

25

inward and the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

are formed by hammering the side plates

24

and

25

inward.

As shown in

FIG. 5

, the pair of pressure-contact blades

35

,

35

of the pressure-contact portion

32

include pressure-contact blade main bodies

35

A,

35

A cut and bent from the opposite side plates

24

and

25

, blade portions

35

B,

35

B formed on outer peripheries of the pressure-contact blade main bodies

35

A and

35

A to cut a cover portion

41

of a covered electric wire

40

, contact portions

35

C formed to continue from the blade portions

35

B,

35

B and to be in contact with a core

42

of the covered electric wire

40

, and core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D formed on lower portion sides of the contact portions

35

C,

35

C.

The blade portions

35

B and

35

B are inclined toward the bottom plate

23

to guide the covered electric wire

40

to the space between the pressure-contact blade main bodies

35

A,

35

A and to cut the cover portion

41

of the covered electric wire

40

that slides on the slopes. The contact portions

35

C,

35

C are formed along a vertical direction to come in contact with the core

42

exposed between pieces of the cover portion cut by the blade portions

35

B,

35

B, thereby establishing electric connection between the covered electric wire

40

and the pressure-contact terminal

20

.

The core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D are formed into substantially right-angled shapes to project in such directions as to approach each other from the pressure-contact blade main bodies

35

A,

35

A. An end face (lower portion side) of the cut cover portion

41

of the covered electric wire

40

comes in contact with the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D. The core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D are formed on faces that continue from the contact portions

35

C,

35

C with retaining contact portions

35

E,

35

E to be in contact with and connected in a conductive manner to the core

42

.

Next, structures of the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

will be described. The pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

are formed by hammering the side plates

24

and

25

inward (toward an inner side of the pressure-contact terminal) and have plan shapes of V as shown in FIG.

4

. At upper portions of tip ends of the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

projecting toward the other side plate

24

or

25

out of the side plates

24

and

25

formed with the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

, slits

33

A and

34

A are formed. By forming the slits

33

A and

34

A, the upper portions of the tip ends of the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

are sharpened to form blade portions

33

B and

34

B, thereby facilitating rupturing of an insulating cover

41

of the covered electric wire

40

. Lower portion sides of the blade portions

33

B and

34

B are contact faces

33

C and

34

C.

Distances between the pressure-contact portions

33

,

33

and the pressure contact portions

34

,

34

that respectively pair up with each other are set at dimensions slightly smaller than the core

42

of the covered electric wire

40

as shown in FIG.

4

. Therefore, if the covered electric wire

40

is press-fitted between the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

, the cover portion

41

is cut and exposed core

42

comes in contact with the contact faces

33

C and

34

C, thereby establishing electric connection between the covered electric wire and the pressure-contact terminal

20

.

Next, operation of the pressure-contact terminal

20

of the embodiment on the covered electric wire will be described. First, when an end of the covered electric wire

40

is press-fitted in the electric wire connecting portion

22

, an outer peripheral face of the insulating cover

41

of the covered electric wire

40

is cut by the blade portions

35

B,

35

B,

33

B, and

34

B. Then, the cover portion

41

of the covered electric wire

40

is cut and the core

42

is exposed and comes in contact with the contact portions

35

C,

35

C, and the contact faces

33

C and

34

C.

FIG. 6

shows a state in which the covered electric wire

40

is connected to the electric wire connecting portion

22

. A lower face side of the core

42

of the covered electric wire

40

is supported by the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D and the retaining contact portions

35

E,

35

E are in contact with the core

42

. In this state, opposite sides of the cut cover portion

41

are in contact with the pressure-contact blade main bodies

35

A,

35

A and the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D as shown in FIG.

4

.

According to the present embodiment, because the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D are formed on the pressure-contact blades

35

,

35

of the pressure-contact portions

32

, it is possible to reliably retain the electric wire

40

against attraction in an axial direction of the electric wire

40

.

Although the other pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

are formed by hammering the opposite side plates

24

and

25

, the cut cover portion

41

of the covered electric wire

40

comes in contact with the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D of the pressure-contact portions

32

, thereby reliably retaining the covered electric wire

40

and establishing reliable electric connection.

Because the retaining contact portions

35

E,

35

E are formed on the core retaining portions

35

D,

35

D, the number of contact portions with the core

42

can be increased, thereby establishing further reliable electric connection.

Although the embodiment has been described above, the present invention is, not limited to the embodiment and various modifications accompanying summary of the structure may be made. For example, although three pairs of pressure-contact portions are provided in the above-described embodiment, the covered electric wire can be retained reliably with a structure including two or more pairs of pressure-contact portions.

FIG. 7

is a sectional perspective view showing a modification of the above-described embodiment. Although the pressure-contact portions

33

and

34

are formed by hammering in the above embodiment, the pressure contact portions

36

and

37

are formed by bending the side plate

25

in the modification shown in FIG.

7

. Tip end portions of the pressure-contact portions

36

and

37

are formed as bent portions

36

A and

37

A by bending a metal plate.

According to the modification, because upper faces of the pressure-contact portions

36

and

37

are sections formed by cutting the side plate

25

, it is easier to capture the cover portion

41

of the covered electric wire

40

, thereby increasing retaining force in the axial direction of the covered electric wire

40

. Other structures of the modification are similar to those of the above embodiment.

Although the pressure-contact terminal

20

is formed by bending the sheet of metal plate in the developed shape, it is possible to form a plurality of members integrally with the pressure-contact terminal.

The entire contents of Japanese Patent Application P11-317373 (filed Nov. 8, 1999) are incorporated herein by reference.

Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Modifications and variations of the embodiments described above will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the above teachings. The scope of the invention is defined with reference to the following claims.

Claims

1. A pressure-contact terminal, comprising:a contact portion to be in contact with an opposed terminal and formed on a tip end side of the pressure-contact terminal; an electric wire connecting portion formed on a rear end side of the pressure-contact terminal, the electric wire connecting portion having a bottom plate and a pair of side plates formed by bending from both sides of the bottom plate in the same direction, the pair of side plates being formed with a plurality of pairs of pressure-contact portions; wherein at least a pair of the pressure-contact portions has a pair of pressure-contact blades; and wherein each of the pair of pressure contact blades includes: a pressure-contact blade main body cut and bent inwardly from the side plates; a blade portion formed on an outer periphery of the pressure-contact blade main body to cut a cover portion of a covered electric wire; a contact portion to be in contact with a core of the covered electric wire, the contact portion being straight and continuously formed from the blade portion; and a core retaining portion formed on a lower portion side of the contact portion and projecting inwardly farther than the blade portion and the contact portion to be brought into contact with the cover portion of the covered electric wire, thereby preventing the covered electric wire from disengaging from the pressure contact portions when load is applied to the covered electric wire in an axial direction.
2. The pressure-contact terminal according to claim 1, wherein at least a pair of the pressure-contact portions does not have the pressure-contact blades and is formed in such a manner that the pair of side plates are projected inward each other by hammering operations.
3. The pressure-contact terminal according to claim 1, wherein the core retaining portions have retaining contact portions to come in contact with the core to be connected in a conductive manner to the core.
4. The pressure-contact terminal according to claim 3, wherein at least a pair of the pressure-contact portions does not have the pressure-contact blades and is formed in such a manner that the pair of side plates are projected inward each other by hammering operations.

Priority Claims (1)

Number	Date	Country	Kind
11-317373	Nov 1999	JP

US Referenced Citations (2)

Number	Name	Date	Kind
4806120	Baker	Feb 1989	A
4940425	Hass et al.	Jul 1990	A

Foreign Referenced Citations (1)

Number	Date	Country
9-274941	Oct 1997	JP

Pressure-contact terminal

Information

Patent Number

Date Filed

Date Issued

Inventors

Original Assignees

Examiners

Agents

CPC

US Classifications

Field of Search

US

International Classifications

Abstract

Description

Claims

Priority Claims (1)

US Referenced Citations (2)

Foreign Referenced Citations (1)