The present disclosure relates to a terminal and an electric cable including a terminal.
The technology described herein relates to a coupling structure of coupling a terminal to an electric wire.
A known electric cable includes a core wire exposed at an end of the electric cable and a terminal coupled to the core wire. The terminal may include a crimping portion that is crimped on a section of the core wire that is exposed at the end of the electric cable.
To crimp the terminal on the core wire, the following steps may be performed. A sheet metal is pressed into a predefined shape to prepare the terminal. The terminal is placed on a lower die of dies that are movable relative to each other in the vertical direction. The section of the core wire exposed at the end of the electric cable is placed on the crimping portion of the terminal. The one of the dies or both dies are moved closer to each other. The crimping portion of the terminal is crimped on the section of the core wire by pressing the crimping portion of the terminal with a crimping portion of the upper die and a placing portion of the lower die. Through these steps, the terminal is coupled to the end section of the electric wire (see Patent Document 1).
[Patent Document 1]
With the core wire being sandwiched by and connected to the terminal instead of using the above crimping portion, two components including a terminal body and a slider that is disposed behind the terminal body may configure the terminal. In such a configuration, the slider may be deformed by a force applied to the slider when the slider is pushed and slid.
The technology described herein was made in view of the above circumstances. An object is to provide a terminal including a slider that is less likely to be deformed.
The present disclosure relates to a terminal to be coupled to a front end portion of an electric wire. The terminal includes a terminal body and a slider. The terminal body includes a holding section holding a core wire of the electric wire. The slider is movable in a front-rear direction between a first position and a second position that is on a front side with respect to the first position while the slider being fitted on a section of the terminal body including the holding section. The slider includes a pressing portion that presses the holding section toward the electric wire when the slider is at the second position. The slider includes a pressure receiving portion that is pushed from a rear side to move the slider from the first position to the second position. The slider includes a support portion that receives a force applied to the pressure receiving portion that is pushed.
According to the present disclosure, the terminal is less likely to be deformed.
First, embodiments according to the present disclosure will be listed and described.
When a force is applied to the pressure receiving portion and the slider moves from the first position to the second position, the holding section is pressed by the pressing portion toward the electric wire. The holding section is electrically connected to the electric wire and the terminal is electrically connected to the electric wire.
The support portion receives the force that is applied to the pressure receiving portion when the pressure receiving portion is pushed from the rear side. This suppresses the slider from being deformed.
The force that is received by the support portion is further received by the auxiliary support portion. This further suppresses the slider from being deformed.
If the pressure receiving portion is on the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider and receives a force, the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider may be bent and lifted up. Since the pressure receiving portion is in the middle of the slider in the front-rear direction, the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider 16 is less likely to be bent and lifted up.
Since the pressure receiving portion is behind the overlapping area in which the walls overlap, the thickness of the walls that are in the overlapping area can be used for a contact portion of the pressure receiving portion. This increases a contact area of the pressure receiving portion and improves work efficiency of pushing the slider.
The force applied to the pressure receiving portion is effectively transferred to the pressing portion that is adjacent to the pressure receiving portion. The pressing portion presses the holding section effectively and this improves electric connection reliability between the holding section and the electric wire.
Embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments. All modifications within and equivalent to the technical scope of the claimed invention may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
A first embodiment according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to
[Electric Wire 11]
As illustrated in
[Terminal 12]
As illustrated in
[Terminal Body 15]
The terminal body 15 is formed into a predetermined shape by a known method including pressing, cutting, and casting. The metal of which the terminal body 15 is made may be selected from any kinds of metal including copper, copper alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, and stainless steel where appropriate. The terminal body 15 in this embodiment may be made of copper or copper alloy. Surfaces of the terminal body 15 may be plated. The plating metal may be selected from any kinds of metal such as tin, nickel, and silver where appropriate. The terminal body 15 in this embodiment is tin-plated.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
An upper holding protrusion 23A protrudes downward from a section of a lower surface of the upper holding section 18A in front of a rear edge of the upper holding section 18A. A lower holding protrusion 23B protrudes upward from a section of an upper surface of a rear edge of the lower holding section 18B. The lower holding protrusion 23B is displaced from the upper holding protrusion 23A in the front-rear direction.
A lower surface of the upper holding section 18A and an upper surface of the lower holding section 18B dig into an oxide layer formed on the surface of the core wire 13 and locally strip the oxide layer so that the metal surface of the core wire 13 is exposed. With the metal surface contacting the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B, the core wire 13 is electrically connected to the terminal body 15.
As illustrated in
[Slider 16]
As illustrated in
A cross-sectional dimension of an inner shape of the slider 16 is about same as or greater than a cross-sectional dimension of an outer shape of a section of the terminal body 15 including the upper holding portion 18A and the lower holding portion 18B. According to such a configuration, the slider 16 is outside the section of the terminal body 15 including the upper holding portion 18A and the lower holding portion 18B.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
When the holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 are held in the temporary receiving holes 26 of the slider 16, the slider 16 is held at a temporary holding position relative to the terminal body 15 (see
When the holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 are held in the permanent receiving holes 27 of the slider 16, the slider 16 is held at the permanent holding position relative to the terminal body 15. At this position, as illustrated in
As described above, while the slider 16 is fitted on the section of the terminal body 15 including the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B, the slider 16 is slidable between the temporary holding position and the permanent holding position.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The rear upper wall 30B extends leftward from an upper edge of the right sidewall 39 of the slider 16.
The front upper wall 30A extends rightward from an upper edge of the left sidewall 34 of the slider. A pressing portion 31 (one example of a wall) is disposed on the front upper wall 30A. The pressing portion 31 extends leftward from the upper edge of the right sidewall 39 of the slider 16. The upper wall 30 and the pressing portion 31 overlap in an overlapping area 32. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
A structure of pushing the pressure receiving portion 46 is not particularly limited and a known jig 45 may be used for example. Instead of using the jig 45, an equipment including an actuator that presses the pressure receiving portion 46 may be used to press the pressure receiving portion 46.
The pressure receiving portion 46 is in a middle of the slider 16 in the front-rear direction. The pressure receiving portion 46 is adjacent to the upper pressing portion 25A. In detail, the pressure receiving portion 46 is in front of a front edge portion of the upper pressing portion 25A.
The left sidewall 34 of the slider 16 includes a support recess 35 on the upper edge of the left sidewall 34. The support recess 35 is recessed downward and corresponds to the bent portion 33. A front inner surface of the inner surface of the support recess 35 is a support portion 36. The support portion 36 contacts the bent portion 33 from a front side when the pressure receiving portion 46 of the pressing portion 31 is pressed from a rear side by the jig 45. The support portion 36 receives a force applied by the jig 45.
As illustrated in
[Steps of Coupling Electric Wire 11 and Terminal 12]
Next, one example of steps of coupling the electric wire and the terminal 12 will be described. The steps of coupling the electric wire 11 and the terminal 12 are not limited to those described below.
The terminal body 15 and the slider 16 are prepared with a known method. The slider 16 is attached to the terminal body 15 from the rear. The front edge of the slider 16 contacts the holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 from the rear and the sidewalls of the slider 16 deform to expand. When the slider 16 is pushed further forward, the sidewalls of the slider 16 recover. As a result, the holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 are fitted in the temporary receiving holes 26 of the slider 16 and the slider 16 is held at the temporary holding position relative to the terminal body 15 (see
The section of the core wire 13 of the electric wire 11 is exposed by striping the section of the insulating sheath with a known method.
With the electric wire 11 being pushed frontward from the rear of the slider 16, the front end portion of the core wire 13 is guided into the slider 16. With the core wire 13 contacting the drawing sections 47 of the slider 16, the core wire 13 is guided into the slider 16. When the core wire 13 is pushed further forward, the front end of the core wire 13 enters the inside of the terminal body 15 and reaches the gap between the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B.
When the slider 16 is held at the temporary holding position relative to the terminal body 15, the gap between the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B is greater than the outer diameter of the core wire 13.
Next, the jig 45 is brought into contact with the pressure receiving portion 46 from the rear to slide the slider 16 frontward. The slider 16 is slid frontward relative to the terminal body 15. The holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 are released from the temporary receiving holes 26 of the slider 16. The sidewalls of the slider 16 slide on the holding protrusions 28 and thus the sidewalls of the slider 16 deform to expand.
When the slider 16 is moved forward, the sidewalls of the slider 16 recover and the holding protrusions 28 of the terminal body 15 are elastically fitted in the permanent receiving holes 27 of the slider 16. As a result, the slider 16 is held at the temporary holding position relative to the terminal body 15.
With the slider 16 held at the permanent holding position relative to the terminal body 15, the upper pressing portion 25A of the slider 16 contacts the upper holding section 18A of the terminal body 15 from above and presses the upper holding section 18A downward. The lower pressing portion 25B of the slider 16 contacts the lower holding section 18B of the terminal body 15 from below and presses the lower holding section 18B upward. Therefore, the core wire 13 is sandwiched between the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B in the top-bottom direction.
As illustrated in
When the core wire 13 is sandwiched between the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B in the top-bottom direction, the core wire 13 is sandwiched between the upper holding protrusion 23A on the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding protrusion 23B on the lower holding section 18B. The core wire 13 is stretched in the front-rear direction and bent in the top-bottom direction. According to the configuration, the core wire 13 is firmly held and thus the electric wire 11 and the terminal 12 are held together with a greater force even when the electric wire 11 is pulled. The electric cable 10 including the terminal is complete.
Next, operations and effects of this embodiment will be described. This embodiment includes the terminal 12 coupled to the front end of the electric wire 11. The terminal 12 includes the terminal body 15 and the slider 16. The terminal body 15 includes the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B that holds the core wire 13 of the electric wire 11. The slider 16 is movable in the front-rear direction between a first position and a second position that is in front of the first position while the slider 16 being fitted on the section of the terminal body 15 including the upper holding portion 18A and the lower holding portion 18B. The slider 16 includes the upper pressing portion 25A and the lower pressing portion 25B that press the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B toward the electric wire 11, respectively, when the slider 16 is at the second position. The slider 16 includes the pressure receiving portion 46. With the pressure receiving portion 46 being pushed from the rear side, the slider 16 can be moved from the first position to the second position. The slider includes the support portion 36 that receives a force applied when the pressure receiving portion 46 is pressed.
The electric cable 10 including the terminal according to this embodiment includes the terminal 12 and the electric wire 11 coupled to the terminal 12.
When a force is applied to the pressure receiving portion 46 by the jig 45 and the slider 16 moves from the first position to the second position, the upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B are pressed by the upper pressing portion 25A and the lower pressing portion 25B, respectively, toward the core wire 13 of the electric wire 11. The upper holding section 18A and the lower holding section 18B are electrically connected to the core wire 13 of the electric wire 11 and the terminal 12 is electrically connected to the electric wire 11.
The support portion 36 receives the force that is applied to the pressure receiving portion 46 by the jig 45 when the pressure receiving portion 46 is pushed from the rear side by the jig 45. This suppresses the slider 16 from being deformed.
In this embodiment, the slider 16 includes the auxiliary support portion 38 that receives a force that the support portion 36 receives from the pressure receiving portion 46.
The force that is received by the support portion 36 is further received by the auxiliary support portion 38. This further suppresses the slider 16 from being deformed.
In this embodiment, the pressure receiving portion is in the middle of the slider 16 with respect to the front-rear direction.
If the pressure receiving portion 46 is on the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider 16 and receives a force applied by the jig 45, the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider 16 may be bent and lifted up. Since the pressure receiving portion 46 is in the middle of the slider 16 in the front-rear direction, the front end portion or the rear end portion of the slider 16 is less likely to be bent and lifted up.
In this embodiment, the slider 16 includes the overlapping area 32 in which the upper wall 30 and the pressing portion 31 of the slider 16 are disposed on top of each other. The pressure receiving portion 46 is behind the overlapping area 32.
Since the pressure receiving portion 46 is behind the overlapping area 32 in which the upper wall 30 and the pressing portion 31 overlap, the thickness of the upper wall and the pressing portion 31 that are in the overlapping area 32 can be used for a contact portion of the pressure receiving portion 46 that contacts the jig 45. This increases a contact area of the pressure receiving portion 46 and the jig 45 and improves work efficiency of pushing the slider 16 with the jig 45 contacting the pressure receiving portion 46.
In this embodiment, the pressure receiving portion 46 is adjacent to the upper pressing portion 25A.
The force applied to the pressure receiving portion 46 by the jig 45 is effectively transferred to the upper pressing portion 25A that is adjacent to the pressure receiving portion 46. The upper pressing portion 25A presses the upper holding section 18A effectively and this improves electric connection reliability between the upper holding section 18A and the electric wire 11.
A terminal 52 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
A left sidewall 64 on a left side of the slider 56 includes a support portion 66. The support portion 66 is on an upper edge of the left sidewall 64 and close to the front end portion of the slider 56. The support portion 66 is arranged in the receiving recess 70. The upper edge of the support portion 66 is on a same level as an upper surface of the pressing portion 61. The support portion 66 comes in contact with the pressing portion 61 from the front side when the pressure receiving portion 76 of the pressing portion 61 is pushed by the jig 45 from the rear side. The support portion 66 receives the force that is applied by the jig 45.
Other configurations are similar to the configurations of the first embodiment. Components of the second embodiment the same as the components of the first embodiment will be indicated by the reference signs that indicate the components of the first embodiment and will not be described.
In this embodiment, when the pressure receiving portion 76 is pressed by the jig 45 from the rear side (see
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2019-132787 | Jul 2019 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2020/025480 | 6/29/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2021/010148 | 1/21/2021 | WO | A |
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105428870 | Mar 2016 | CN |
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Entry |
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Sep. 15, 2020 International Search Report issued in International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2020/025480. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220368040 A1 | Nov 2022 | US |