Patent Grant
12142866
This application is a national phase of PCT application No. PCT/JP2020/044405, filed on 30 Nov. 2020, which claims priority from Japanese patent application No. 2019-229949, filed on 20 Dec. 2019, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a terminal fitting and a connector.
A connector of Patent Document 1 includes a female housing and a male housing connectable to each other. A pair of female terminals and a shorting terminal are accommodated in the female housing. The shorting terminal includes contact point portions to be brought into contact with the pair of female terminals. The pair of female terminals are shorted to each other via the shorting terminal. A shorted state of the pair of female terminals is released when the connection of the female housing and the male housing is completed.
Note that a specific shape of the female terminal is not described in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 describe a specific shape of a female terminal of this type. A female terminal normally includes a tubular connecting portion. A deflectable and deformable resilient contact portion is arranged in the connecting portion. The connecting portion includes a bead for sandwiching a tab of a male terminal between a contact point of the resilient contact portion and the bead. Note that the connecting portion, the resilient contact portion, the contact point and the bead are respectively a compressing portion, a resilient contact piece, a dome-shaped embossed contact point portion and an inner facing contact surface in Patent Document 2 and are respectively a box portion, a resilient deflecting portion, an indent portion and a facing contact portion in Patent Document 3.
The contact point portion of the shorting terminal may have to be brought into contact with an outer surface part of the bead in the connecting portion for various reasons such as a reason in the design of the female housing, the female terminal and the shorting terminal. However, the outer surface part of the bead is recessed inwardly in the connecting portion. Thus, in the case of the above configuration, there is a concern that the contact point portion of the shorting terminal enters a recess of the bead. If the contact point portion enters the recess of the bead, a sufficient contact load cannot be obtained between the shorting terminal and the female terminal and the shorting terminal and the female terminal may become insufficiently conductive.
Accordingly, it is aimed to provide a terminal fitting and a connector capable of ensuring connection reliability with a shorting terminal.
The present disclosure is directed to a terminal fitting with a tubular connecting portion, and a deflectable and deformable resilient contact portion arranged in the connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion includes a bead extending in a front-rear direction and projecting inward toward a contact point of the resilient contact portion on a base wall portion facing the contact point, and an outer surface of the base wall portion includes recesses recessed inwardly in both front and rear end parts of the bead and a shorting terminal facing portion located outwardly of bottoms of the recesses between the both front and rear end parts of the bead.
The present disclosure is also directed to a connector with the terminal fitting configured as described above and a housing for accommodating a pair of the terminal fittings and a shorting terminal, the shorting terminal having a pair of contact surfaces facing the shorting terminal facing portions in the pair of terminal fittings.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a terminal fitting and a connector capable of ensuring connection reliability with a shorting terminal.
First, embodiments of the present disclosure are listed and described.
(1) The terminal fitting of the present disclosure is provided with a tubular connecting portion, and a deflectable and deformable resilient contact portion arranged in the connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion includes a bead extending in a front-rear direction and projecting inward toward a contact point of the resilient contact portion on a base wall portion facing the contact point, and an outer surface of the base wall portion includes recesses recessed inwardly in both front and rear end parts of the bead and a shorting terminal facing portion located outwardly of bottoms of the recesses between the both front and rear end parts of the bead. A shorting terminal is contactably arranged to face the shorting terminal facing portion, whereby the shorting terminal can be prevented from entering into the bottoms of the recesses. Thus, a conductive state of the terminal fitting and the shorting terminal can be satisfactorily realized and the connection reliability of the terminal fitting and the shorting terminal can be secured.
(2) Preferably, a part of the bead between the both front and rear end parts in the base wall portion is thicker than the both front and rear end parts of the bead. By pressing the outer surface of the base wall portion by a press, the recesses can be formed in the both front and rear end parts of the bead. By designing press parts such that a material in both front and rear end parts of the bead moves toward the part of the bead between the both front and rear end parts during pressing, the part of the bead between the both front and rear end parts can be thickened. By pressing, the shorting terminal facing portion located outwardly of the bottoms of the recesses can be easily formed between the both front and rear end parts of the bead in the outer surface of the base wall portion. By thickening the part of the bead between the both front and rear end parts, the rigidity of this part can be enhanced.
(3) Further, the connector of the present disclosure is provided with the terminal fitting configured as described above and a housing for accommodating a pair of the terminal fittings and a shorting terminal, the shorting terminal having a pair of contact surfaces facing the shorting terminal facing portions in the pair of terminal fittings. According to this configuration, since the pair of contact surfaces of the shorting terminal can face and contact the shorting terminal facing portions, the connection reliability of the terminal fittings and the shorting terminal can be ensured.
(4) The recesses may be arranged in a widthwise central part of the outer surface of the base wall portion, and a widthwise central part of the contact surface may be arranged at a position deviated in a width direction from the widthwise central part of the outer surface of the base wall portion. According to this configuration, the shorting terminal is less likely to enter the recesses and the connection reliability of the terminal fittings and the shorting terminal can be more improved.
Specific examples of a terminal fitting and a connector of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these illustrations and is intended to be represented by claims and include all changes in the scope of claims and in the meaning and scope of equivalents.
<Connector>
A connector includes a housing 80, shorting terminals 60 and terminal fittings 10 as shown in
The housing 80 is made of synthetic resin and accommodates the terminal fittings 10 and the shorting terminals 60. The housing 80 is in the form of a rectangular block as a whole, and fit into an unillustrated mating housing with a front side in the lead. The housing 80 includes a plurality of cavities 81 penetrating in the front-rear direction. A deflectable and deformable locking lance 82 is provided at the inner surface of each cavity 81 in the housing 80. The terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 81 from behind and locked by the locking lance 82.
The housing 80 includes a plurality of shorting terminal accommodating portions 83 open in a front surface. As shown in
As shown in
A front holder 70 is mounted on the housing 80. The front wall of the front holder 70 covers the front surface of the housing 80 and stops the terminal fittings 10 in front. Further, a front part of the shorting terminal 60 (front end parts of resilient pieces 63 to be described later) is arranged inside the front wall of the front holder 70. The front wall of the front holder 70 is provided with insertion openings 71 at positions corresponding to the respective cavities 81. A tab 210 (see
<Shorting Terminal>
The shorting terminal 60 is formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in
As shown in
The resilient pieces 63 are in the form of strip plates. A front part of the resilient piece 63 is narrower than a rear part. As shown in
<Terminal Fitting>
The terminal fitting 10 is similarly formed, such as by bending an electrically conductive metal plate. As shown in
The wire barrel portion 12 is crimped and electrically connected to a core wire 120 exposed by removing a coating 110 in an end part of a coated wire 100. The insulation barrel portion 13 is located rearward of the wire barrel portion 12. The insulation barrel portion 13 is crimped and mechanically connected to the coating 110 in the end part of the coated wire 100.
The connecting portion 11 is in the form of a rectangular extending in the front-rear direction. The connecting portion 11 includes the base wall portion 14, a pair of side wall portions 15, 16 projecting downward from both widthwise ends of the base wall portion 14, an inner wall portion 17 (see
As shown in
The connecting portion 11 includes a gate-shaped protrusion 22 projecting downward in a rear end part. The protrusion 22 is arranged to face the locking projection 21. A rear end part of each of the inner wall portion 17 and the outer wall portion 18 constitutes a lower wall part of the protrusion 22. The lower wall part of the connecting portion 11 includes a recess-like lance entering portion 23 recessed between the protrusion 22 and the locking projection 21.
If the terminal fitting 10 is inserted into the cavity 81 of the housing 80 as shown in
As shown in
The resilient contact portion 24 includes an embossed contact point 25 projecting upward at an intermediate position in the front-rear direction (extending direction). A gap for allowing the insertion of the tab 210 of the mating terminal fitting 200 is formed between the contact point 25 of the resilient contact portion 24 and the later-described bead 28 of the base wall portion 14. The tab 210 is sandwiched between the contact point 25 of the resilient contact portion 24 and the bead 28 while receiving a resilient reaction force from the resilient contact portion 24. In this way, the terminal fitting 10 is electrically connected to the mating terminal fitting 200.
As shown in
The base wall portion 14 includes the bead 28 at an intermediate position in the front-rear direction (in particular, in a region near the front end of the base wall portion 14). The bead 28 is in the form of a rib projecting downward and extending in the front-rear direction in a widthwise central part of the base wall portion 14. As shown in
As shown in
The recess 31 is formed into a concave curved surface in the upper surface of the bead 28. As shown in
The shorting terminal facing portion 32 is arranged to be flat or form a convex curved surface in the front-rear direction between the front and rear recesses 31. The shorting terminal facing portion 32 is arranged above (outwardly of) of the bottoms 36 of the recesses 31 and below (inwardly of) the reference surface 29. The shorting terminal facing portion 32 can face and contact the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 of the shorting terminal 60. Note that the bead 28 is formed symmetrically in the front-rear direction.
<Bead Forming Method>
First, a metal plate as a base material is stamped to form a development shape of the terminal fitting 10. When the terminal fitting 10 is in a developed state, a base of the base wall portion 14 (a part corresponding to the base wall portion 14 before press-working) is placed on a receiving surface 310 of a receiving die 300. As shown in
Subsequently, a press surface 410 of a press die 400 is pressed against the upper surface of the base of the base wall portion 14. The press surface 410 of the press die 400 is shaped to correspond to the upper surface shape of the base wall portion 14. The press surface 410 of the press die 400 has a curved surface part corresponding to the upper surface of the bead 28. The curved surface part of the press die 400 includes projections 411 having a convex curved surface at positions corresponding to the front and rear recesses 31, and an escaping portion 412 having a concave curved surface at a position corresponding to the shorting terminal facing portion 32. The escaping portion 412 is recessed to a depth larger than a height from the bottoms 36 of the recesses 31 to the shorting terminal facing portion 32 in the vertical direction.
The press die 400 presses the upper surface of the base wall portion 14, whereby both front and rear end parts of the bead 28 are compressed between the projections 411 of the press die 400 and the recessed surface portion 311 of the receiving die 300 and the recesses 31 are formed in the upper surface of the bead 28. Simultaneously, the material on the sides of the recesses 31 moves toward the escaping portion 412 of the press die 400, and a part of the bead 28 between the both front and rear end parts is raised to form the shorting terminal facing portion 32 in the upper surface of the bead 28.
As described above, the material moves from both front and rear end sides of the bead 28 toward a front-rear central side by the upper surface of the base wall portion 14 being pressed as described above. As a result, as shown in
<Connection Structure of Terminal Fittings and Shorting Terminals>
In assembling, the shorting terminals 60 are accommodated into the shorting terminal accommodating portions 83 and the terminal fittings 10 are accommodated into the cavities 81. Out of these, a pair of the terminal fittings 10 are in contact with the resilient pieces 63 of the shorting terminal 60 facing the cavities 81 while being inserted in the cavities 81 (see
In the case of this embodiment, the contact surfaces 64 of the pair of resilient pieces 63 are arranged in regions corresponding to the beads 28, out of the upper surfaces of the base wall portions 14, for reasons relating to the setting of the connector.
Here, the upper surface of the bead 28 includes the recesses 31 in the both front and rear end parts and the shorting terminal facing portion 32 between the front and rear ends. Thus, the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 can face and contact the shorting terminal facing portion 32 (see
Further, in the case of this embodiment, a widthwise central part of the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 is set at a position deviated in the width direction from the widthwise central part of the upper surface of the base wall portion 14 as shown in
On the other hand, if the widthwise central part of the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 and the widthwise central part of the upper surface of the base wall portion 14 coincide in the width direction unlike this embodiment, there is a concern that the resilient piece 63 drops into the recess 31 when the resilient piece 63 is positionally deviated in the width direction due to an assembling error, vibration or the like.
In that respect, according to the above configuration, the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 can widely contact the reference surface 29 of the base wall portion 14 on the one widthwise side of the upper surface of the base wall portion 14. As a result, the concern that the resilient piece 63 drops into the recess 31 can be reduced.
As described above, according to this embodiment, the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 of the shorting terminal 60 is contactably arranged to face the shorting terminal facing portion 32, whereby the entry (drop) of the contact surface 64 of the resilient piece 63 into the bottom 36 of the recess 31 can be prevented. Thus, a conductive state of the terminal fitting 10 and the shorting terminal 60 can be satisfactorily realized and the connection reliability of the terminal fitting 10 and the shorting terminal 60 can be ensured.
Further, in the case of this embodiment, the recesses 31 can be formed in the both front and rear end parts of the bead 28 by pressing the outer surface of the base wall portion 14 by the press and, further, the material on the sides of the recesses 31 can move, whereby the part of the bead 28 between the both front and rear end parts can be formed thick. Simultaneously, the shorting terminal facing portion 32 can be formed at a position higher than the bottoms 36 of the recesses 31 in the outer surface of the base wall portion 14.
By forming the part of the bead 28 between the both front and rear end parts thicker than the both front and rear end parts of the bead 28, sufficient durability can be ensured for the shorting terminal 60 when the shorting terminal 60 contacts the shorting terminal facing portion 32. As a result, the connection reliability of the terminal fitting 10 and the shorting terminal 60 can be more improved.
The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered illustrative in all aspects, rather than restrictive.
Although the lower (inner) surface of the bead is formed linearly along the front-rear direction in the case of the above embodiment, the lower surface of the bead may be curved upward as another embodiment.
Although the shorting terminal facing portion is arranged at the position lower than the reference surface of the base wall portion in the case of the above embodiment, the shorting terminal facing portion may be arranged at the same height position as or at a position higher than the reference surface of the base wall portion as another embodiment.
Although the recesses and the shorting terminal facing portion are connected to form a curved surface in the upper surface of the bead in the case of the above embodiment, the recesses and the shorting terminal facing portion may be connected at an obtuse angle as another embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-229949 | Dec 2019 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2020/044405 | 11/30/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2021/124842 | 6/24/2021 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130109250 | Haga | May 2013 | A1 |
| 20160013569 | Chikusa | Jan 2016 | A1 |
| 20170040728 | Saito | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| 20180366860 | Naoi | Dec 2018 | A1 |
| 20190089084 | Hirano | Mar 2019 | A1 |
| 20190157786 | Horiuchi | May 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-331968 | Nov 2003 | JP |
| 2012-134004 | Jul 2012 | JP |
| 2015-204186 | Nov 2015 | JP |
| 2016-136542 | Jul 2016 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report issued on Feb. 9, 2021 for WO 2021/124842 A1 (4 pages). |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20230006389 A1 | Jan 2023 | US |
