TERMINAL FITTING AND MOUNTING METHOD

Abstract

An Al terminal has a first bottom wall, and a pair of caulking pieces that are stood from the first bottom wall and caulked in a state where the first bottom wall covers a wire connection portion with the core wires arranged on the upper side from the underside. Thereby, the Al terminal made of Al or Al alloy can be crimped from outside the terminal fitting main body made of copper or copper alloy, and the spring back of the terminal fitting main body made of copper or copper alloy can be suppressed by the Al terminal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal fitting and an electric wire mounted on this terminal fitting according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a terminal fitting main body is positioned at an aluminum terminal in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal fitting and the electric wire as shown in FIG. 2, taken along the I-I line.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the caulking pieces of the Al terminal as shown in FIG. 2 are caulked.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal fitting and the electric wire as shown in FIG. 4, taken along the line II-II.

FIG. 6 is one example of a crimping device for crimping the terminal fitting and the Al core wires as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state where an anvil and a crimper approach each other as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a terminal fitting main body according to another embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a partial side view in a state where the terminal fitting main body of FIG. 9A is positioned on the Al terminal.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing one example of the conventional terminal fitting.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the terminal fitting mounted on the electric wire as shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 11, taken along the line III-III.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal fitting 3 and an electric wire 4 mounted on this terminal fitting 3 according to the invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a terminal fitting main body 31 is positioned in an aluminum (herein after abbreviated as Al) terminal 32 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal fitting 3 and the electric wire 4, taken along the line I-I as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where the caulking pieces 322 of the Al terminal 32 as shown in FIG. 2 are caulked. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the terminal fitting 3 and the electric wire 4, taken along the line II-II as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is one example of a crimping device 1 for crimping the terminal fitting 3 and the Al core wire 41 as shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state where an anvil 19 and a crimper 27 as shown in FIG. 6 approach each other.

The electric wire 4 comprises a plurality of Al core wires 41 and a sheath portion 42 for covering the Al core wires 41, as shown in FIG. 1. The Al core wires 41 (=core wires) are made of Al or Al alloy. The Al core wires 41 are formed like a circular arc in cross section.

The sheath portion 42 is made of synthetic resin having insulating property. The sheath portion 42 covers the plurality of Al core wires 41. The electric wire 4 has the Al core wires 41 exposed with the sheath portion 42 removed at its termination.

The terminal fitting 3 comprises a terminal fitting main body 31 and an Al terminal 32 separately. The terminal fitting main body 31 is made of copper or copper alloy. The terminal fitting main body 31 is obtained by bending a sheet metal made of copper or copper alloy, and comprises an electric contact portion 311 for connecting the mating terminal fitting, and a wire connection portion 312 for connecting the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4, as shown in FIG. 1.

The electric contact portion 311 comprises a rectangular barrel portion 313, and a spring piece, not shown, accommodated within the barrel portion 313. The barrel portion 313 is formed like a rectangular barrel in the shown example. The spring piece urges an inserter such as a male tab of the mating terminal fitting entered into the barrel portion 313 toward the inner surface of the barrel portion 313, and pinches the inserter with the inner surface. The electric contact portion 311 is connected with the mating terminal fitting electrically and mechanically, because the inserter such as the male tab of the mating terminal fitting is inserted into the barrel portion 313 and the spring piece pinches the inserter with the inner surface of the barrel portion 313.

The electrical connection portion 312 comprises a bottom wall 314 having an arcuate section, a pair of core wire caulking pieces 315, and a pair of sheath portion caulking pieces 316 (FIG. 1), as shown in FIG. 3. The bottom wall 314 is continuous with an external wall of the barrel portion 313. The Al core wires 41 are arranged on the upper side of the bottom wall 314.

The pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 constitute a second pair of caulking pieces as defined in the claims. The bottom wall 314 constitutes a second bottom wall as defined in the claims. The core wire caulking pieces 315 are provided centrally in the longitudinal direction Y1 of the bottom wall 314. The core wire caulking pieces 315 are stood from both ends of the bottom wall 314 in the width direction Y2.

The sheath portion caulking pieces 316 are provided at the ends of the bottom wall 314 on the side away from the electric contact portion 311. The sheath portion caulking pieces 316 are stood from both ends of the bottom wall 314 in the width direction Y2. The sheath portion caulking pieces 316 pinch the sheath portion 42 of the electric wire 4 with the bottom wall 314 by bending their edges away from the bottom wall 314 in a direction closer to the bottom wall 314, as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, the sheath portion caulking pieces 316 caulk the sheath portion 42 of the electric wire 4.

The Al terminal 32 comprises a bottom wall 321 having arcuate section and a pair of caulking pieces 322, as shown in FIG. 3. The pair of caulking pieces 322 are stood from both ends of the bottom wall 321 in the width direction Y2. The bottom wall 321 covers the underside of the bottom wall 314 between the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315. That is, the bottom wall 312 covers the underside of the wire connection portion 312.

The core wire caulking pieces 315 have the height H1 to be lower than the height H2 of the caulking pieces 322, as shown in FIG. 3. The pair of caulking pieces 322 constitute a first pair of caulking pieces as defined in the claims. The bottom wall 321 constitutes a first bottom wall as defined in the claims.

Also, the pair of caulking pieces 322 are caulked in a state where the bottom wall 321 of the Al terminal 32 covers the bottom wall 314 of the terminal fitting main body 31 with the Al core wires 41 arranged on the upper side from the underside, and the pair of caulking pieces 315 are pinched between the pair of caulking pieces 322. The pair of caulking pieces 322 are folded at the edge on the side away from the bottom wall 321 in a direction closer to the bottom wall 321, thereby pinching the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4, the core wire caulking pieces 315 of the terminal fitting main body 31 and the bottom wall 314 with the bottom wall 321. Thus, the caulking pieces 322 can caulk the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4, the core wire caulking pieces 315 of the terminal fitting main body 31, and the bottom wall 314.

In the terminal fitting 3 having the above constitution, the caulking pieces 322 of the A1 terminal 32 are folded at the edge on the side away from the bottom wall 321 in a direction closer to the bottom wall 321, and the sheath portion caulking pieces 316 of the terminal fitting main body 31 are folded at the edge on the side away from the bottom wall 314 in a direction closer to the bottom wall 314 by the crimping device 1, as shown in FIG. 6, for example. And the terminal fitting 3 is mounted at the terminal of the electric wire 4 by caulking the Al core wires 41 and the sheath portion 42 of the electric wire 4 with the caulking pieces 322 and 316 using the crimping device 1, as shown in FIG. 4.

The crimping device 1 comprises a device main body, not shown, a caulking portion 15 as caulking means, and an air cylinder 17 as a drive source, as shown in FIG. 6. The device main body is installed on the floor of the factory. The drive source may be a motor or a hydraulic type.

The caulking portion 15 comprises an anvil 19 as the shape and a crimper 27 as the shape. The anvil 19 is fixed to the device main body. The terminal fitting 3 is superposed (positioned) on the surface of the anvil 19.

The crimper 27 is opposed to the anvil 19 with a clearance, and supported on the device main body to be freely in or out of contact with the anvil 19. That is, the anvil 19 and the crimper 27 are provided to be freely in or out of contact with each other. The in or out of contact means approaching or leaving each other. The crimper 27 is provided with a groove 27a along the in or out of contact direction from the edge part on the side nearer to the anvil 19. This groove 27a is narrower in the width in a direction away from the anvil 19

In a state where the anvil 19 and the crimper 27 are out of contact with each other, the terminal fitting 3 and the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4 are positioned on the anvil 19. The anvil 19 and the crimper 27 approach each other to pinch the terminal fitting 3 and the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4 between them and caulk the caulking pieces 322, 315 and 316.

An air cylinder 17 as the drive source comprises a cylinder main body 28, and a rod 29 that can be freely projected from or retracted into the cylinder main body 28. The cylinder main body 28 is mounted on the device main body. The rod 29 is mounted on the crimper 27. The air cylinder 17 is arranged such that as the rod 29 is extended from the cylinder main body 28, the crimper 27 comes closer to the anvil 19, and if the rod 29 is contracted into the cylinder main body 28, the crimper 27 separates from the anvil 19.

A method for mounting the Al core wires 41 on the terminal fitting 3 having the above constitution will be described below. First of all, the Al terminal 32 is mounted on the anvil 19 in a state where the anvil 19 and the crimper 27 are separated, as shown in FIG. 7. And the bottom wall 314 between the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 for the terminal fitting main body 31 is positioned on the bottom wall 321 between the pair of caulking pieces 322 of the Al terminal 32. Thereby, the bottom wall 321 of the Al terminal 32 covers the bottom wall 314 that is a part of the wire connection portion 312 of the terminal fitting main body 31 from the underside. Also, the pair of caulking pieces 315 of the terminal fitting main body 31 are pinched between the pair of caulking pieces 322 of the Al terminal 32.

Further, the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4 are positioned on the bottom wall 314 between the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 of the terminal fitting main body 31. Thereby, the Al core wires 41 are arranged on the upper side of the bottom wall 314 that is a part of the wire connection portion 312 of the terminal fitting main body 31.

Thereafter, the rod 29 of the air cylinder 17 is extended. Then, the crimper 27 approaches the anvil 19, so that the pair of caulking pieces 322 are deformed along the inner side of the groove 27a provided in the crimper 27, as shown in FIG. 7. At the same time, the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 are deformed as the pair of caulking pieces 322 are deformed. And the terminal fitting 3 is mounted on the electric wire 4 by pinching the terminal fitting 3 and the Al core wires 41 of the electric wire 4 between the anvil 19 and the crimper 27 and caulking the caulking pieces 322 and 316. Finally, the Al core wires 41 are crimped onto the terminal fitting 3 in tight contact with the bottom wall 314 and the caulking pieces 315 and 322, as shown in FIG. 5.

And the rod 29 of the air cylinder 17 is contracted, so that the anvil 19 and the crimper 27 are separated from each other to remove the terminal fitting 3 on the anvil 19. The Al terminal 32 is superposed on the anvil 19, the bottom wall 314 between the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 for the terminal fitting main body 31 is positioned on the bottom wall 321 of the Al terminal 32, and the Al core wires 41 are positioned on the bottom wall 314 between the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315, whereby the terminal fitting 3 is mounted on the electric wire 4 in the same manner as the previous process.

With the above embodiment, the Al terminal 31 has the bottom wall 321 and one pair of caulking pieces 322 that are stood from the bottom wall 321 and caulked in a state where the bottom wall 321 covers the bottom wall 314 of the wire connection portion 312 with the Al core wires 41 arranged on the upper side from the underside.

Thereby, the Al terminal 32 made of Al or Al alloy can be crimped from outside the terminal fitting main body 31 made of copper or copper alloy, whereby the spring back of the terminal fitting main body 31 made of copper or copper alloy is suppressed by the Al terminal 32. The material of the Al terminal 32, Al or Al alloy, has a smaller spring back ratio than the material of the terminal fitting main body 31, copper or copper alloy.

Therefore, if the application of a crimping force by the crimping device 1 is stopped, the terminal fitting main body 31 greatly tends to return to its origin al shape. However, since the Al terminal 32 hardly returns to the origin al shape, the Al terminal 32 can suppress the spring back of the terminal fitting main body 31. Thereby, the Al core wires 41 made of Al or Al alloy for the electric wire 4 can be securely mounted by suppressing the contact resistance at the crimped part.

Since the Al core wires 41 made of Al or Al alloy and the Al terminal 32 have the roughly same spring back characteristic, it is possible to obtain a high contact pressure in the part where the Al terminal 32 and the Al core wires 41 are directly crimped.

With the above embodiment, the wire connection portion 312 of the terminal fitting main body 31 has the bottom wall 314 and the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 stood from the bottom wall 314 and having lower height than the height H2 of the pair of caulking pieces 322. Thereby, the ends of the pair of caulking pieces 322 on the side away from the bottom wall 321 provided for the Al terminal 32 bite into the Al core wires 41 to form an interference fit structure, whereby the Al core wires 41 made of aluminum or aluminum alloy for the electric wire 4 can be securely mounted by suppressing the contact resistance at the crimped part.

Also, the terminal fitting main body 31 is provided such that the length L1 from one edge to the other edge of the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 for the terminal fitting main body 31 may be ⅓ to ⅔ the length L2 from one edge to the other edge of the pair of caulking pieces 322 for the Al terminal 32. Thereby, it is possible to securely suppress spring back of the terminal fitting main body 31 made of copper or copper alloy, and increase the contact are a between the Al terminal 32 and the terminal fitting main body 31 and between the terminal fitting main body 31 and the Al core wires 41.

With the above embodiment, the wire connection portion 312 of the terminal fitting main body 31 has the bottom wall 314 and the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 stood from the bottom wall 314, but the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the wire connection portion 312 may not be provided with the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315, as shown in FIG. 8. However, if the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315 are provided as in the above embodiment, the contact are a between the Al terminal 32 and the terminal fitting main body 31 and between the terminal fitting main body 31 and the Al core wires 41 can be increased. And the secondary moment of are a and the section modulus structurally become larger values than the shape of the flat bottom wall 314 alone without the core wire caulking pieces 315, as shown in FIG. 8, improving the rigidity or strength of the crimped part, whereby the above embodiment is optimal.

Also, the terminal fitting main body 31 may be provided with the guide pieces 317 to prevent a misregistration in the longitudinal direction Y1 between the Al terminal 32 and the terminal fitting main body 31, as shown in FIG. 9. One pair of guide pieces 317 are provided for each of the pair of core wire caulking pieces 315. The pair of guide pieces 317 are provided at both ends of the core wire caulking piece 315 in the longitudinal direction. The guide pieces 317 are provided to project outwards from the outer side face of the core wire caulking piece 315. And the terminal fitting main body 31 is positioned on the Al terminal 32 to pinch the caulking pieces 322 of the Al terminal 32 between the pair of guide pieces 317, as shown in FIG. 9B.

The above embodiment only illustrates the typical mode of the invention, but the invention is not limited to the described embodiment. That is, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A terminal fitting comprising: a terminal fitting main body made of copper or copper alloy having a wire connection portion for connecting a core wire made of aluminum or aluminum alloy and an electric contact portion for connecting a mating terminal fitting; andan aluminum terminal made of aluminum or aluminum alloy for caulking the wire connection portion and the core wire, the aluminum terminal including a first bottom wall, and a first pair of caulking pieces that are stood from the first bottom wall,wherein the aluminum terminal is caulked such that the core wire is arranged on an upper side of the wire connection portion and the first bottom wall covers the wire connection portion from a lower side thereof.

2. The terminal fitting according to claim 1, wherein the wire connection portion includes a second bottom wall on which the core wire is arranged, and a second pair of caulking pieces that are stood from the second bottom wall and has a lower height than the first pair of caulking pieces, and the aluminum terminal is caulked such that the second pair of caulking pieces are pinched between the first pair of caulking pieces.

3. Amounting method for mounting a core wire on a terminal fitting main body made of copper or copper alloy having a wire connection portion for connecting the core wire made of aluminum or aluminum alloy and an electric contact portion for connecting a mating terminal fitting, using an aluminum terminal made of aluminum or aluminum alloy having a first bottom wall and a first pair of caulking pieces stood from the first bottom wall, including: a step of arranging the core wire on an upper side of the wire connection portion;a step of covering a back face of the wire connection portion with the first bottom wall of the aluminum terminal; anda step of caulking the pair of caulking pieces such that the first bottom wall covers the wire connection portion from a lower side of the wire connection portion.