Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6416366
-
Patent Number
6,416,366
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, January 23, 200124 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, July 9, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Armstrong, Westerman & Hattori, LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 439 851
- 439 852
- 439 854
- 439 856
- 439 855
- 439 857
- 439 858
- 439 862
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A terminal metal fitting has a wire connecting portion to which an electric wire is connected and an electrically contacting portion to which a mating terminal metal fitting is connected. The electrically contacting portion is formed in a hollow quadrilateral cylinder. The mating terminal metal fitting has an insertion to be inserted into the electrically contacting portion. The electrically contacting portion has a flat bottom wall, a ceiling wall facing the bottom wall, and a pair of elastic pieces 15a, 15b. The elastic pieces 15a, 15b are arranged in an insertion direction of the insertion. One end portions 16a, 16b of the respective elastic pieces 15a, 15b integrally continue from the bottom wall. The elastic pieces 15a, 15b each are formed obliquely from the one end portions 16a, 16b toward the other end portions 17a, 17b, respectively, with respect to the bottom wall from the bottom wall toward the ceiling wall. End faces 18a, 18b of the other end portions 17a, 17b of the elastic pieces 15a, 15b face the insertion direction of the insertion into the electrically contacting portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a terminal metal fitting for electrically connecting an electric wire to a connection terminal of electric parts such as busbar, electric relay or fuse.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, a terminal metal fitting
101
shown in
FIG.7
has been used for connection with a connection terminal of electric parts such as busbar, electric relay or fuse. The terminal metal fitting
101
is formed, for example, by bending a conductive metal plate and has a wire connecting portion
104
and an electrically contacting portion
105
.
The metal plate to form the terminal metal fitting
101
is initially rectangular. The wire connecting portion
104
has a bottom wall
110
a
and cramping pieces
111
continuing from an edge of the bottom wall
110
a
. The wire connecting portion
104
is electrically connected to an electric wire
103
by inwardly bending the cramping pieces
111
after a wire-exposed end portion of the electric wire
103
has been put on the bottom wall
110
a.
The electrically contacting portion
105
is cylindrical and has a bottom wall
110
b
, a ceiling wall
112
facing the bottom wall
110
b
, sidewalls
113
connecting the bottom wall
110
b
and the ceiling wall
112
, and a pair of elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
. The bottom wall
110
a
of the wire connecting portion
104
and the bottom wall
110
b
of the electrically contacting portion
105
are integrally formed in one plane.
The pair of elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
each are formed in a belt-like shape and are integrally formed with the bottom wall
110
b
. The elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
are arranged in a direction parallel with the electric wire
103
placed on the bottom wall
110
a.
End portions
116
a
,
116
b
(hereinafter, one end portions) of the respective elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
integrally continue from the above bottom wall
110
b
and oppositely positioned apart from each other. End portions
117
a
,
117
b
(hereinafter, other end portions) of the respective elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
are flatly arranged between the bottom wall
110
b
and the ceiling wall
112
parallel therewith and are positioned close to each other. In this way, the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
each are in a cantilevered state.
And, the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
have connecting portions
118
a
,
118
b
connecting the one end portions
116
a
,
116
b
and the other end portions
117
a
,
117
b
, respectively. The connecting portions
118
a
,
118
b
each are formed obliquely to the above bottom wall
110
b
, namely to the ceiling wall
112
, from the bottom wall
110
b
toward the ceiling wall
112
.
And, the other end portions
117
a
,
117
b
of the pair of elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
are in layers in a vertical direction and can be elastically-deformed contactably and discontactably with the above ceiling wall
112
.
An insertion
102
of the above connection terminal (P in
FIG.7
) of electric parts is inserted among the bottom wall
110
b
, the ceiling wall
112
, and the sidewalls
113
of the terminal metal fitting
101
.
And, the insertion
102
having been inserted is put between the ceiling wall
112
and one, closer to the ceiling wall
112
, of the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
, whereby the electric wire
103
connected to the wire connecting portion
104
is electrically connected with the insertion
102
. In this state, the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
have an elastic restoring force to push the insertion
102
toward the ceiling wall
112
.
With respect to the above prior art terminal metal fitting
101
, however, since the other end portions
117
a
,
117
b
of the pair of elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
are in layers in vertical direction, a distance between the bottom wall
110
b
and the ceiling wall
112
is large.
And, in the prior art terminal metal fitting
101
, the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
each are in a cantilevered state, wherein the one end portions
116
a
,
116
b
each integrally continue from the bottom wall
110
b
. Therefore, since the elastic restoring force of the elastic pieces
115
a
,
115
b
to push the insertion
102
toward the ceiling wall
112
is comparatively week, the insertion
102
is likely to come out.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, a first object of the present invention is to provide a downsized terminal metal fitting, and a second object of the present invention is to provide a terminal metal fitting which is capable of preventing an insertion of a mating connection terminal from coming out.
In order to achieve the above first object, as a first aspect of the present invention, a terminal metal fitting for electrically connecting an electric wire to a mating terminal metal fitting comprises: a wire connecting portion to which the electric wire is connected; an electrically contacting portion in which an insertion of the mating terminal metal fitting is inserted; a pair of walls formed on the electrically contacting portion to receive the insertion therebetween; and a pair of elastic pieces formed on one of the pair of walls to push the insertion toward the other of the pair of walls, the insertion being put between the other of the pair of walls and the pair of elastic pieces, wherein the pair of elastic pieces are arranged in an insertion direction of the insertion, while obliquely projecting from the one of the pair of walls toward the other of the pair of walls, and end faces, facing each other, of the pair of elastic pieces, respectively, face the insertion direction of the insertion. As a second aspect of the present invention, in the structure with the above first aspect, the pair of elastic pieces each are formed in a belt-like shape, one end portion of each elastic piece integrally continues from the one of the pair of walls, and the other end portion of each elastic piece obliquely projects toward the other of the pair of walls and is capable of elastically deforming contactably and discontactably therewith.
As a third aspect of the present invention, in the structure with either one of the above aspects, the terminal metal fitting further comprises: a second elastic piece, formed in a belt-like shape, to be put on top of the pair of elastic pieces so that the insertion is pushed toward the other of the pair of walls and securely held between the other of the pair of walls and the second elastic piece.
According to the above-described structures of the present invention, the following advantages are provided.
(1) Since the pair of end faces of the other end portions of the elastic pieces face the insertion direction of the insertion, the pair of elastic pieces are not put on top of each other. Therefore, the vertical thickness of the electrically contacting portion can be decreased, thereby attaining the downsizing of the terminal metal fitting.
(2) A pair of elastic pieces each are formed in a belt-like shape, and one end portion of each elastic piece integrally continues from the one of the pair of walls. And, the other end portion of each elastic piece obliquely projects toward the other of the pair of walls and is capable of elastically deforming contactably and discontactably therewith.
When the insertion is inserted into the electrically contacting portion, an elastic restoring force to push the insertion toward the ceiling wall arises in each of the elastic pieces. Therefore, the insertion can be securely held between the ceiling wall and the elastic pieces, thereby preventing the insertion from coming out of the electrically contacting portion.
(3) The insertion having inserted into the electrically contacting portion is pushed by the second elastic piece in addition to the elastic pieces. Therefore, the insertion can be more securely held inside the electrically contacting portion, thereby preventing the insertion from coming out of the electrically contacting portion.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a terminal metal fitting in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a partly sectional side view showing the terminal metal fitting of the same embodiment;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view showing elastic pieces of the terminal metal fitting of the same embodiment;
FIG. 4
is a plan view showing a metal plate forming the terminal metal fitting of the same embodiment;
FIG. 5
is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the terminal metal fitting in accordance with the present invention;
FIG.6
is a plan view showing a metal plate forming the terminal metal fitting shown in
FIG.5
; and
FIG. 7
is a partly sectional side view showing a prior art terminal metal fitting.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A terminal metal fitting
1
of a first embodiment of the present invention is described referring to
FIGS. 1
to
4
. The terminal metal fitting
1
shown in FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
is used in order to electrically connect an electric wire
3
with a mating terminal metal fitting
2
(FIG.
2
). As the mating terminal metal fitting
2
there are a male tab of busbar or connection terminals of electric parts such as electric relay or fuse.
The mating terminal metal fitting
2
has an insertion
2
a
to be inserted into a later-described electrically contacting portion
5
of the terminal metal fitting
1
, as shown in FIG.
2
. The insertion
2
a
is formed in a blade-like shape. The mating terminal metal fitting
2
with the insertion
2
a
is made of a conductive metal.
The terminal metal fitting
1
has a wire connecting portion
4
, to which the electric wire
3
is connected electrically, and an electrically contacting portion
5
to which the insertion
2
a
of the above mating terminal metal fitting
2
is connected electrically, as shown in FIG.
1
and FIG.
2
.
The wire connecting portion
4
has a bottom wall
10
a
and cramping pieces
11
continuing from an edge of the bottom wall
10
a
, as shown in FIG.
1
and FIG.
2
. The bottom wall
10
a
is formed flatly. The bottom wall
10
a
is rectangular. An exposed end portion of the electric wire
3
is placed on the bottom wall
10
a
. The cramping pieces
11
continue from both side edges continuing from the bottom wall
10
a.
The wire connecting portion
4
is electrically connected to the electric wire
3
by inwardly bending the cramping pieces
11
after the wire-exposed end portion of the electric wire
3
has been put on the bottom wall
10
a.
As shown in FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
, the electrically contacting portion
105
is of a hollow quadrilateral cylinder and has a flat bottom wall
10
b
, a ceiling wall
12
facing the bottom wall
10
b
, and a pair of sidewalls
13
connecting the bottom wall
10
b
and the ceiling wall
12
. The bottom wall
10
a
of the wire connecting portion
4
and the bottom wall
10
b
of the electrically contacting portion
5
are integrally formed in one plane.
Planar shape of the bottom wall
110
b
is rectangular. Width of the bottom wall
10
b
is generally equal to that of the bottom wall
10
a
of the above wire connecting portion
4
. Planar shape of the ceiling wall
12
is almost to that of the bottom wall
10
b
. Planar shape of the ceiling wall
12
is rectangular. The ceiling wall
12
is arranged in parallel with the bottom wall
10
b.
The sidewalls
13
each continue from the bottom wall
10
b
to the ceiling wall
12
. The sidewalls
13
are arranged in parallel each other.
The bottom wall
10
b
and the ceiling wall
12
form a pair of walls in the present invention. That is, the bottom wall
10
b
forms one wall, and the ceiling wall
12
forms the other wall in the present invention.
In the electrically contacting portion
5
the insertion
2
a
is inserted in a longitudinal direction thereof. That is, the insertion
2
a
is positioned between the ceiling wall
12
and the bottom wall
10
b
and the pair of sidewalls
13
.
And, the electrically contacting portion
5
has a pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
as
shown in
FIGS. 1
to
3
. The pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
are formed in a belt-like shape and provided on the bottom wall
10
b
. The pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the bottom wall
10
b
, namely in an insertion direction of the insertion
2
a.
The longitudinal direction of each of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
is in accordance with that of the above bottom wall
10
b
. End portions
16
a
,
16
b
(hereinafter, one end portions) of the respective elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
integrally continue from the above bottom wall
10
b.
The pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
each are formed obliquely from the one end portions
16
a
,
16
b
toward the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
, respectively, with respect to the bottom wall
10
b
from the bottom wall
10
b
toward the ceiling wall
12
. The pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
each obliquely project from the bottom wall
10
b
. The other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the respective elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
each are to be securely put into contact with the insertion
2
a.
An end face
18
a
of the other end portion
17
a
of the elastic piece
15
a
opposes the other end portion
17
b
of the elastic piece
15
b
. And, an end face
18
b
of the other end portion
17
b
of the elastic piece
15
b
opposes the other end portion
17
a
of the above elastic piece
15
a
. Accordingly, a pair of end faces
18
a
,
18
b
of the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
face the insertion direction of the insertion
2
a
into the electrically contacting portion
5
.
And, the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
are bent toward the bottom wall
10
b
so that the insertion
2
a
does not abut the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b.
The elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
each are in a cantilevered state, and the above other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the respective elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
can be elastically-deformed contactably and discontactably with the above ceiling wall
12
.
When the insertion
2
a
is inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
, both of the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
are securely put into contact with the insertion
2
a
. The other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
are displaced in a direction of getting apart from the ceiling wall
12
on inserting the insertion
2
a
into the electrically contacting portion
5
. And, the elastic restoring force pushing the insertion
2
a
toward the ceiling wall
12
arises in the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. The insertion
2
a
is put between the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
and the ceiling wall
12
.
As shown in
FIG. 4
, the terminal metal fitting
1
is formed, for example, by bending a conductive metal plate
20
. The metal plate
20
is formed by punching conductive metal plate such as copper or copper alloy (i.e. brass, beryllium copper, for example). Planar shape of the metal plate
20
is generally rectangular. The metal plate
20
, as shown in
FIG. 4
, has a bottom wall corresponding portion
21
positioned at a general center in its width direction, a pair of sidewall corresponding portions
22
, a pair of ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
, and a plurality of cramping piece corresponding portions
24
. The bottom wall corresponding portion
21
is formed in a belt-like shape along a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
.
And, the metal plate
20
has slots
25
,
25
which are provided on respective side edge portions of the above bottom wall corresponding portion
21
in a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
. The bottom wall corresponding portion
21
corresponds to the bottom walls
10
a
,
10
b
to be formed by bending the metal plate
20
along bending lines
30
a
,
30
b.
The sidewall corresponding portions
22
continue from the respective edges of the bottom wall corresponding portion
21
and each are formed in a belt-like shape in a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
. The sidewall corresponding portions
22
correspond to the respective sidewalls
13
to be formed by bending the metal plate
20
along the bending lines
30
a
,
30
b
,
31
.
The ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
continue from the respective edges of the sidewall corresponding portions
22
and each are formed in a belt-like shape in a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
. The ceiling corresponding portions
23
correspond to the respective ceiling walls
12
to be formed by bending the metal plate
20
along the bending lines
31
.
The cramping piece corresponding portions
24
extend from the edges of the bottom wall corresponding portion
21
of the above bottom wall
10
a
. The cramping piece corresponding portions
24
correspond to the cramping pieces
11
of the terminal metal fitting
1
.
An elastic piece corresponding portion
26
is provided between the slots
25
,
25
on the metal plate
20
, which elastic piece corresponding portion
26
becomes the pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b.
In forming the terminal metal fitting
1
from the metal plate
20
, firstly, the metal plate
20
is bent along the bending lines
30
a
,
30
b
,
31
shown in
FIG. 4
, wherein the sidewall corresponding portions
22
face each other and one ceiling wall corresponding portion
23
is put on top of the other ceiling wall corresponding portion
23
. The lower ceiling wall corresponding portion
23
faces the bottom wall corresponding portion
21
.
As shown, the above bending lines
30
a
,
30
b
each extend in a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
. The pair of bending lines
31
are provided generally in the middle between the edges
20
a
,
20
b
and the pair of bending lines
30
a
,
30
b
, respectively, and also extend in a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
.
And, the longitudinal center portion of the elastic piece corresponding portion
26
is cut as shown in FIG.
4
and the cut portions are gradually bent toward the ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
to form the pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
, thereby obtaining the terminal metal fitting
1
having the wire connecting portion
4
and the electrically contacting portion
5
.
According to the above-described structure, when the insertion
2
a
is inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
, the front end portion of the insertion
2
a
is strongly put into contact with the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. As inserting the insertion
2
a
, the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
elastically deform, getting apart from the ceiling wall
12
side toward the bottom wall
10
b
side.
An elastic restoring force to push the insertion
2
a
toward the ceiling wall
12
arises in each of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. That is, the insertion
2
a
is pushed toward the ceiling wall
12
by means of the elastic restoring force of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
and is put between the ceiling wall
12
the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b.
According to the present embodiment, a pair of end faces
18
a
,
18
b
of the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
face the insertion direction of the insertion
2
a.
That is, the pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
are not put on top of each other. Therefore, the vertical thickness of the electrically contacting portion
5
can be decreased, thereby attaining the downsizing of the terminal metal fitting
1
.
And, when the insertion
2
a
is inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
, an elastic restoring force to push the insertion
2
a
toward the ceiling wall
12
arises in each of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. Therefore, the insertion
2
a
can be securely held between the ceiling wall
12
and the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
, thereby preventing the insertion
2
a
from coming out of the electrically contacting portion
5
.
Next, a second embodiment of the terminal metal fitting
1
in accordance with the present invention is described referring to FIG.
5
and FIG.
6
.
The same reference characters are designated to the same elements of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.
The terminal metal fitting
1
of the present embodiment has a second elastic piece
35
, as shown in FIG.
5
. The second elastic pieces
35
is formed in a belt-like shape along the insertion direction of the insertion
2
a
. The second elastic piece
35
is put on top of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. That is, the second elastic piece
35
is placed between the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
and the ceiling wall
12
.
One end portion
35
a
of the second elastic piece
35
continues from a portion of the ceiling wall
12
close to the wire connecting portion
4
. The other end portion
35
b
of the second elastic piece
35
is positioned at the vicinity of the front edge of the bottom wall
10
b
, and bendingly extends from the above one end portion
35
a
toward the front edge of the bottom wall
10
b
. The second elastic piece
35
is in a cantilevered state.
The second elastic piece
35
has an elastic pressing portion
36
. The elastic pressing portion
36
is provided on the vicinity of the other end portion
35
b
of the second elastic piece
35
. A middle portion
35
c
of the elastic pressing portion
36
projects to a certain extent toward the ceiling wall
12
.
The elastic pressing portion
36
of the cantilevered second elastic piece
35
can be elastically-deformed contactably and discontactably with the above ceiling wall
12
.
When the insertion
2
a
is inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
, the second elastic piece
35
is securely put into contact with the insertion
2
a
. The elastic pressing portion
36
is displaced in a direction of getting apart from the ceiling wall
12
on inserting the insertion
2
a
into the electrically contacting portion
5
. And, the elastic restoring force pushing the insertion
2
a
toward the ceiling wall
12
arises in the second elastic piece
35
. The insertion
2
a
is put between the second elastic piece
35
and the ceiling wall
12
.
The terminal metal fitting
1
is formed by bending a conductive metal plate
20
show in FIG.
6
. The metal plate
20
has a second elastic piece corresponding portion
37
, as shown in FIG.
6
.
The second elastic piece corresponding portion
37
has a connecting portion
38
and an elastic portion
39
. The connecting portion
38
is connected to an edge of one of the ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
. The connecting portion
38
projects from the one of the ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
. That is, the connecting portion
38
extends outward from the edge
20
b
of the metal plate
20
.
The elastic portion
39
extends from the above connecting portion
38
in a belt-like shape along a longitudinal direction of the metal plate
20
toward the rear edge
20
c
of the metal plate
20
.
In forming the terminal metal fitting
1
from the metal plate
20
, firstly, the metal plate
20
is bent along the bending lines
30
a
,
30
b
,
31
shown in FIG.
6
. And, the longitudinal center portion of the elastic piece corresponding portion
26
is cut and the cut portions are gradually bent toward the ceiling wall corresponding portions
23
to form the pair of elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b.
Further, the second elastic piece corresponding portion
37
is folded toward the ceiling wall corresponding portion
23
along a bending line
32
shown in FIG.
6
. The bending line
32
is along the edge
20
b
of the metal plate
20
. The second elastic piece corresponding portion
37
is reversely folded toward the electrically contacting portion
5
. The other work is substantially the same as of the first embodiment.
According to the above-described structure, when the insertion
2
a
is inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
, the front end portion of the insertion
2
a
is strongly put into contact with the elastic pressing portion
36
of the second elastic piece
35
. As inserting the insertion
2
a
, the elastic pressing portion
36
of the second elastic piece
35
elastically deforms, getting apart from the ceiling wall
12
side toward the bottom wall
10
b
side. At the same time, the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
elastically deform toward the bottom wall
10
b
side.
The elastic restoring force to push the insertion
2
a
toward the ceiling wall
12
arises in the second elastic piece
35
and also in the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. Therefore, the insertion
2
a
can be securely held between the ceiling wall
12
and the second elastic piece
35
, thereby preventing the insertion
2
a
from coming out of the electrically contacting portion
5
.
According to the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the pair of end faces
18
a
,
18
b
of the other end portions
17
a
,
17
b
of the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
face the insertion direction of the insertion
2
a
. Therefore, the vertical thickness of the electrically contacting portion
5
can be decreased, thereby attaining the downsizing of the terminal metal fitting
1
.
And, the insertion
2
a
having inserted into the electrically contacting portion
5
is pushed by the second elastic piece
35
in addition to the elastic pieces
15
a
,
15
b
. Therefore, the insertion
2
a
can be more securely held inside the electrically contacting portion
5
, thereby preventing the insertion
2
a
from coming out of the electrically contacting portion
5
.
Although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention, they should be construed as being included therein.
Claims
- 1. A terminal metal fitting for electrically connecting an electric wire to a mating terminal metal fitting, comprising:a wire connecting portion to which the electric wire is connected; an electrically contacting portion in which an insertion of the mating terminal metal fitting is inserted; a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, and a ceiling wall formed on the electrically contacting portion to receive the insertion therebetween; and a pair of elastic pieces formed on the bottom wall to push the insertion toward the ceiling wall, the insertion being put between the ceiling wall and the pair of elastic pieces, wherein the pair of elastic pieces are arranged in an insertion direction of the insertion, while gradually approaching each other and obliquely projecting from the bottom wall toward the ceiling wall, and end faces, facing each other, of the pair of elastic pieces, respectively, face the insertion direction of the insertion, and the end face of an end portion of one of said pair of elastic pieces opposes a drawn-back portion of an end portion of the other of said pair of elastic pieces, while the end face of said end portion of said other of said pair of elastic pieces opposes a drawn-back portion of said end portion of said one of said pair of elastic pieces.
- 2. The terminal metal fitting as set forth in claim 1, whereinthe pair of elastic pieces each are formed in a belt shape, one end portion of each elastic piece integrally continues from the bottom wall, and the other end portion of each elastic piece obliquely projects toward the ceiling wall and is capable of elastically deforming while contacting or separating from the ceiling wall by virtue of the insertion.
- 3. The terminal metal fitting as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:a second elastic piece, formed in a belt shape, to be put on top of the pair of elastic pieces so that the insertion is pushed toward the ceiling wall and securely held between the ceiling wall and the second elastic piece.
- 4. The terminal fitting as set forth in claim 2, further comprising:a second elastic piece, formed in a belt shape, to be put on top of the pair of elastic pieces so that the insertion is pushed toward the ceiling wall and securely held between the ceiling wall and the second elastic piece.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-014422 |
Jan 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
0 687 033 |
Dec 1995 |
EP |
5-62729 |
Mar 1993 |
JP |