Terminal metal fitting

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6416366
  • Patent Number
    6,416,366
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 23, 2001
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, July 9, 2002
    22 years ago
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)
Number Name Date Kind
5281175 Chupak et al. Jan 1994 A
5624289 Kourimsky et al. Apr 1997 A
5791945 Myer et al. Aug 1998 A
6042433 Chen Mar 2000 A
6095873 Muramatsu et al. Aug 2000 A
6174208 Chen Jan 2001 B1
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number Date Country
0 687 033 Dec 1995 EP
5-62729 Mar 1993 JP