JP7620446B2 - Connection structure between female and male terminals - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal.

Conventionally, a connection structure is known between a female terminal having a box portion (rectangular tube portion) and an elastic piece provided on the wall of the box portion, and a male terminal having a tab portion consisting of a tab main body portion and a tapered portion (see Patent Document 1).

The inclined surface of the tapered portion of the tab of the male terminal serves as a guide surface when inserting the tab of the male terminal into the box of the female terminal to connect the male terminal to the female terminal.

When the tab portion of the male terminal has been inserted into the box portion of the female terminal and the insertion is complete (the connection of the male terminal to the female terminal is complete), the tab body of the tab portion is elastically clamped by the elastic piece. This prevents the female terminal and male terminal from wobbling in the width direction, as compared to the conventional connection structure between the male terminal and female terminal.

JP 2009-054504 A

In a conventional connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal, when the tab portion of the male terminal is being inserted into the box portion of the female terminal, the elastic piece of the box portion elastically deforms outward in the width direction. The reaction force caused by this elastic deformation causes the elastic piece of the box portion to elastically clamp the tab main body of the tab portion in the width direction, and while in this elastic clamping state, the tab main body of the tab portion slides against the elastic piece of the box portion.

Therefore, in the conventional female terminal and male terminal connection structure, the tab body slides against the elastic piece while the tab is being inserted into the box, so the insertion force of the tab into the box is high. The insertion force of the tab into the box changes according to the amount of elastic deformation of the elastic piece, which depends on the width dimension of the tab body of the tab.

The present invention aims to provide a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal that can suppress rattling between the female terminal and the male terminal when the connection of the male terminal to the female terminal is complete, and can minimize the insertion force required when inserting the tab portion of the male terminal into the box portion of the female terminal.

The connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to the present invention includes a female terminal having a cylindrical box portion, an elastic piece, and a support portion provided at the tip of the elastic piece and protruding toward the center of the box portion, the elastic piece being configured in a first mode in which the elastic piece is configured of a pair of first elastic pieces, and the pair of first elastic pieces extending along each of a pair of walls of the box portion, and/or in a second mode in which the elastic piece is configured of a pair of second elastic pieces, and the pair of second elastic pieces extending along each of a pair of walls different from the pair of walls of the box portion, and a male terminal having a tab portion including a tab main body portion and a tapered portion provided at the tip of the tab main body portion, and the tapered portion of the tab portion abuts against the support portion just before the insertion of the tab portion into the box portion is completed, thereby elastically deforming the elastic piece, and the tapered portion of the tab portion is supported by the support portion with a biasing force due to the reaction force caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece.

In addition, in the connection structure between the female terminal and the male terminal according to the present invention, the elastic piece is provided in the second aspect, and the female terminal is provided with an electric wire connection portion protruding from a first wall portion, which is the first of the other pair of walls of the box portion, and a spring portion protruding from the first wall portion and having a contact portion at its tip, and the first second elastic piece of the pair of second elastic pieces and the support portion provided on this first second elastic piece are formed by cutting and raising a part of the first wall portion.

In addition, in the connection structure between the female terminal and the male terminal according to this aspect of the present invention, the force with which the spring portion urges the tab portion reaches a maximum constant value when the tab portion is in the middle of being inserted into the box portion, and by further inserting the tab portion into the box portion while the urging force is at the maximum constant value, the insertion is brought to a state immediately before completion of the insertion.

In addition, in the connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to this aspect of the present invention, the elastic piece is provided in the first aspect, and the first of the pair of first elastic pieces extends parallel to the first of the pair of walls of the box portion, and the second of the pair of first elastic pieces extends parallel to the second of the pair of walls of the box portion.

This invention has the effect of suppressing rattling between the female terminal and the male terminal when the connection of the male terminal to the female terminal is complete, and of minimizing the insertion force required to insert the tab portion of the male terminal into the box portion of the female terminal.

1 is a perspective view of a female terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a female terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention (a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the height direction), taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1 . FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the height direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure of a female terminal and a male terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the state before the tab portion of the male terminal is inserted into the box portion of the female terminal. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the height direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure of a female terminal and a male terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the tab portion of the male terminal is being inserted into the box portion of the female terminal. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the height direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure of a female terminal and a male terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing the state in which the insertion of the tab portion of the male terminal into the box portion of the female terminal has been completed. 13 is a perspective view of a female terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to a modified example. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction) of a female terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to a modified example, taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6 . FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to a modified example, showing the state before the tab portion of the male terminal is inserted into the box portion of the female terminal. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal relating to a modified example, showing the state in which the tab portion of the male terminal is being inserted into the box portion of the female terminal. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-section taken along a plane perpendicular to the width direction) of a female terminal and a male terminal used in a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal relating to a modified example, showing the state in which the insertion of the tab portion of the male terminal into the box portion of the female terminal has been completed. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to a comparative example. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing a connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal according to a comparative example.

The female terminal and male terminal connection structure 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured with a female terminal 3 and a male terminal 5, as shown in Figures 3 to 5 and Figures 8 to 10.

For ease of explanation, one specific direction in the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 is defined as the front-to-rear direction (axial direction), another specific direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction is defined as the width direction, and the direction perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction and the width direction is defined as the height direction (up-down direction).

As shown in Figures 2, 7, etc., the female terminal 3 comprises a cylindrical box portion 7, elastic pieces 9 and 11, and a support portion 13 that is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the elastic pieces 9 and 11 and protrudes toward the center of the box portion 7.

The elastic pieces 9, 11 are provided in at least one of the first aspect (see FIG. 2, etc.) and the second aspect (see FIG. 7, etc.). That is, the elastic pieces are provided in the first aspect and/or the second aspect. To explain further, the elastic pieces are provided in only the first aspect, only the second aspect, or both the first and second aspects.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 etc., the elastic piece is composed of a pair of first elastic pieces 9 (9A, 9B). The pair of first elastic pieces 9 extend opposite each other along each of a pair of opposing wall portions 19, 21 of the box portion 7.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 etc., the elastic piece is composed of a pair of second elastic pieces 11 (11A, 11B). The pair of second elastic pieces 11 extend opposite each other along the other pair of opposing wall portions 15, 17 of the box portion 7. The other pair of wall portions 15, 17 are different from the pair of wall portions 19, 21.

In the case where the elastic pieces extend along the wall of the box portion 7, as shown in FIG. 2 etc., the first elastic piece 9A extends from the wall portion 19 of the box portion 7 in parallel with the wall portion 19, and the first elastic piece 9B extends from the wall portion 21 of the box portion 7 in parallel with the wall portion 21.

As an example of the elastic piece extending along the wall of the box portion 7, there can be mentioned an example in which the elastic piece 11B extends from the wall portion 17 as an extension of the wall portion 17, as shown in FIG. 7, etc. Furthermore, as an example of the elastic piece extending along the wall of the box portion 7, there can be mentioned an example in which the elastic piece 11A is formed by cutting and raising a part of the wall portion 15 of the box portion 7, as shown in FIG. 7, etc.

As shown in Figures 3, 8, etc., the male terminal 5 has a tab portion 27 that includes a tab body portion 23 and a tapered portion 25 provided at the tip (rear portion) of the tab body portion 23.

In the connection structure 1 between the female terminal and the male terminal, immediately before the tab portion 27 is completely inserted into the box portion 7, the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 abuts against the support portion 13, causing the elastic pieces 9 and 11 to elastically deform. The tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 is supported by the support portion 13 (elastic pieces 9 and 11) with a biasing force due to the reaction force (restoring force of elastic deformation) caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic pieces 9 and 11.

Even when the insertion of the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7 is complete, the elastic pieces 9 and 11 are elastically deformed as the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 abuts against the support portion 13, as shown in Figs. 5 and 10. The tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 is supported by the support portion 13 with a biasing force due to the restoring force of the elastic deformation of the elastic pieces 9 and 11 (see the arrows in Figs. 5 and 10). As shown in Figs. 3, 4, 8, and 9, the tab portion 27 (tapered portion 25) is separated from the support portion 13 before the insertion of the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7 and during the insertion just before the completion of the insertion.

The box section 7 is formed, for example, in a rectangular cylindrical shape (square cylindrical shape). More specifically, the box section 7 is configured with four rectangular flat wall sections 15, 17, 19, and 21.

As shown in FIG. 7 etc., the first of the four walls is the lower wall (first wall) 15, and the second of the four walls is the upper wall (second wall 17). The upper wall 17 and the lower wall 15 face each other, and the thickness direction of the lower wall 15 is the height direction, and the thickness direction of the upper wall 17 is also the height direction.

As shown in FIG. 2 etc., the third of the four walls is a first side wall (third wall) 19, and the fourth of the four walls is a second side wall (fourth wall) 21. The first side wall 19 and the second side wall 21 face each other, and the thickness direction of the first side wall 19 is the width direction, and the thickness direction of the second side wall 21 is also the width direction. The central axis of the cylinder of the box portion 7 extends in the front-to-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 2 etc., the first elastic piece 9A of the pair of first elastic pieces (two first elastic pieces) 9 extends parallel to the first side wall portion 19 along the first side wall portion 19. The second elastic piece 9B of the pair of first elastic pieces 9 extends parallel to the second side wall portion 21 along the second side wall portion 21. The first first support portion 13A is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the first first elastic piece 9A, and the second first support portion 13B is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the second first elastic piece 9B. The first first support portion 13A and the second first support portion 13B also face each other.

The first elastic pieces 9A, 9B and the first support parts 13A, 13B are located inside the box part 7 in the extension direction of the tube of the box part 7 (front-rear direction; axial direction), except for a part of the support parts 13A, 13B. In addition, the first elastic pieces 9A, 9B and the first support parts 13A, 13B are located inside the box part 7 in the width direction and height direction. Note that the first elastic pieces 9A, 9B and the first support parts 13A, 13B may be configured to be located outside the box part 7 or at the rear end of the box part 7 in the extension direction (front-rear direction; axial direction).

As shown in FIG. 7 etc., the first second elastic piece 11A of the pair of second elastic pieces (two second elastic pieces) 11 extends along the lower wall portion 15 in a manner in which a part of the lower wall portion 15 is cut and raised. The second second elastic piece 11B of the pair of second elastic pieces 11 extends along the upper wall portion 17 in a manner in which the upper wall portion 17 is extended. A first second support portion 13C is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the first second elastic piece 11A, and a second second support portion 13D is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the second second elastic piece 11B. The first second support portion 13C and the second second support portion 13D also face each other.

The second elastic pieces 11A, 11B and the second support parts 13C, 13D are located outside the box part 7 in the extension direction of the tube of the box part 7 (front-rear direction; axial direction), except for a part of the second elastic piece 11A. In addition, the second elastic pieces 11A, 11B and the second support parts 13C, 13D are located inside the box part 7 in the width direction and height direction. Note that the second elastic pieces 11A, 11B and the second support parts 13C, 13D may be configured to be located inside the box part 7 in the extension direction (front-rear direction; axial direction).

Here, the configuration in which the elastic piece is provided in the first manner described above will be further explained with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

The first elastic piece 9A of the pair of first elastic pieces 9 extends parallel to the first side wall portion 19, which is the first of a pair of opposing walls of the box portion 7. More specifically, the first elastic piece 9A extends from the front end of the first side wall portion 19 toward the rear side of the first side wall portion 19 inside the box portion 7.

The second of the pair of first elastic pieces 9, the first elastic piece 9B, extends parallel to the second side wall 21, which is the second of the pair of opposing walls of the box section 7. More specifically, the first elastic piece 9B extends from the front end of the second side wall 21 toward the rear side of the second side wall 21 inside the box section 7.

The width dimension of the tab body 23 is slightly smaller than the distance between the pair of first elastic pieces 9A, 9B in the width direction. The wire connection portion 29 and the spring portion 31 are provided even when the elastic pieces are provided in the second manner described above.

Next, the configuration in which the electric wire connection portion 29, the spring portion 31, and the elastic piece are provided in the first manner described above will be further described with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

The female terminal 3 is provided with an electric wire connection portion 29 that protrudes rearward from the rear end of the bottom wall portion 15, and a spring portion 31 that protrudes rearward from the front end of the bottom wall portion 15 inside the box portion 7. A contact portion 33 is provided at the tip end (rear end; free end) of the spring portion 31, for example, by stamping.

The electric wire connection part 29 is configured with a core wire crimping piece 35 and a covering crimping piece 37. The core wire of an electric wire (not shown) is installed by crimping to the core wire crimping piece 35, and the covering of the electric wire is installed by crimping to the covering crimping piece 37.

This electrically connects the female terminal 3 to the core of the electric wire, ensuring that the female terminal 3 holds the end of the electric wire.

Here, the configuration in which the elastic piece is provided in the second manner described above will be further described with reference to Figures 6 to 10. The first second elastic piece 11A of the pair of second elastic pieces 11 and the support portion 13C provided on this first second elastic piece 11A are formed by cutting and raising a part of the lower wall portion 15.

The second elastic piece 11B of the pair of second elastic pieces 11 and the support portion 13D provided on this second elastic piece 11B protrude rearward from the rear end of the upper wall portion 17.

In the female terminal and male terminal connection structure 1, when the tab portion 27 is in the middle of being inserted into the box portion 7, the force with which the spring portion 31 urges the tab portion 27 becomes a maximum constant value. When the urging force is at its maximum constant value, the tab portion 27 is further inserted into the box portion 7, and is configured to reach a state immediately before the completion of insertion (insertion completed state).

Here, we will explain in more detail the connection structure 1 between the female terminal and the male terminal.

The female terminal 3 and male terminal 5 are formed by punching, for example, a flat metal material so that its outer shape is a predetermined shape, and then appropriately performing plastic processing such as bending on the punched-out piece. In other words, the female terminal 3 and male terminal 5 are formed by appropriately performing plastic processing such as bending on a flat metal material with a predetermined outer shape.

The box portion 7 of the female terminal 3 is formed into a rectangular cylinder by four rectangular flat wall portions 15, 17, 19, and 21, so that a rectangular parallelepiped space 39 is formed inside the box portion 7.

The spring portion 31 is formed, for example, in an isosceles trapezoidal plate shape, and extends from the front end of the bottom wall portion 15, which corresponds to one side of the rectangular opening at the front of the tube of the box portion 7, into the space 39 inside the box portion 7. The direction in which the spring portion 31 extends is slightly oblique. In other words, the spring portion 31 extends toward the rear and upper sides, but the proportion of the extension toward the rear is greater than the proportion of the extension toward the upper side.

The spring portion 31 is contained within the space 39 of the box portion 7. The thickness direction of the spring portion 31 intersects with the height direction at a small angle. The lower side of the isosceles trapezoid of the spring portion 31 is located on the front side, and the upper side of the isosceles trapezoid of the spring portion 31 is located on the rear side. The spring portion 31 is separated from the walls 17, 19, and 21, and extends in a cantilever shape from the front end of the lower wall portion 15. When viewed in the width direction, the base end of the spring portion 31 (the end on the lower wall portion 15 side; the front end) is folded back to form an arc shape. The tip end (rear end; free end) of the spring portion 31 is located in the middle (almost the center) of the space 39 in the front-to-rear direction.

The electric wire connection portion 29 extends rearward from the rear end of the lower portion of each side wall portion 19, 21 and the rear end of the bottom wall portion 15.

The contact portion 33 is provided in the middle of the spring portion 31 and protrudes upward from the spring portion 31. When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the contact portion 33 has a front-rear circular shape (the front side is semicircular and the rear side is rectangular), and is located in the center of the spring portion 31 in the width direction.

As shown in Figs. 1, 6, 7, etc., a convex portion (embossed portion) 41 is formed on the upper wall portion 17. In the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, when viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the embossed portion 41 is located in the center of the upper wall portion 17. In addition, the embossed portion 41 protrudes slightly downward from the upper wall portion 17.

When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the embossed portion 41 is larger than the contact portion 33, and the contact portion 33 is located inside the embossed portion 41 and approximately in the center of the embossed portion 41.

The first elastic piece 9A is formed, for example, in a rectangular plate shape, and extends from the front end of the first side wall portion 19, which corresponds to one side of the rectangular opening at the front of the tube of the box portion 7, toward the rear side into the space 39 of the box portion 7, as shown in FIG. 2 etc. The thickness direction of the first elastic piece 9A is the width direction. The first elastic piece 9A is contained within the space 39 of the box portion 7, except for a part of the support portion 13A.

The first elastic piece 9A is separated from the walls 15, 17, and 21, and extends in a cantilever shape from the front end of the first side wall 19. When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the base end of the first elastic piece 9A (the front end of the first side wall 19) is folded back to form an arc. The radius of curvature of this arc is smaller than the radius of curvature of the arc of the base end of the spring portion 31. The tip (rear end; free end) of the first elastic piece 9A is located at the rear end of the space 39.

The support portion 13A is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the first elastic piece 9A. When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the support portion 13A is formed in a trapezoid shape and protrudes in the width direction toward the center of the box portion 7 (toward the second side wall portion 21).

The second first elastic piece 9B and support portion 13B are symmetrical with the first first elastic piece 9A and support portion 13A with respect to the central plane. The central plane is a plane that includes the center of the female terminal 3 and is perpendicular to the width direction.

That is, the second first elastic piece 9B is formed, for example, in a rectangular plate shape, and extends from the front end of the second side wall portion 21, which corresponds to one side of the rectangular opening at the front of the tube of the box portion 7, toward the rear side into the space 39 of the box portion 7. The thickness direction of the first elastic piece 9B is the width direction. The first elastic piece 9B is contained within the space 39 of the box portion 7, except for a part of the support portion 13B.

The first elastic piece 9B is spaced apart from the walls 15, 17, and 19, and extends in a cantilever shape from the front end of the second side wall 21. When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the base end of the first elastic piece 9B (the front end of the second side wall 21) is folded back to form an arc. The radius of curvature of this arc is smaller than the radius of curvature of the arc of the base end of the spring portion 31. The tip (rear end; free end) of the first elastic piece 9B is located at the rear end of the space 39.

The support portion 13B is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the first elastic piece 9B. When viewed in a plane consisting of the width direction and the axial direction, the support portion 13B is formed in a trapezoid shape and protrudes in the width direction toward the center of the box portion 7 (toward the first side wall portion 19).

Here, the configuration in which the elastic piece is provided in the second aspect described above will be further described with reference to Figs. 6 to 10. As described above, the first second elastic piece 11A and the support portion 13C are formed by cutting and raising a part (rear portion) of the lower wall portion 15 (see Fig. 7, etc.). The second elastic piece 11A is formed, for example, in a rectangular plate shape. Therefore, the lower wall portion 15 has a rectangular cutout (through hole) 43 corresponding to the shape of the second elastic piece 11A. The through hole 43 is located at the center of the lower wall portion 15 in the width direction, and is formed from the center to the rear end of the lower wall portion 15 in the front-rear direction.

The second elastic piece 11A extends rearward from the rear end of the through hole 43. The thickness direction of the second elastic piece 11A is the height direction.

The second elastic piece 11A is separated from the walls 17, 19, and 21, and extends in a cantilever shape from a predetermined location (the rear end of the through hole 43) of the lower wall 15. When viewed in a plane consisting of the height direction and the axial direction, the base end of the second elastic piece 11A (the rear end of the through hole 43) is folded back to form an arc shape.

The support portion 13C is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the second elastic piece 11A. When viewed in a plane consisting of the height direction and the axial direction, the support portion 13C is formed in a trapezoidal shape similar to the support portions 13A and 13B, and protrudes toward the center of the box portion 7 (toward the upper wall portion 17) in the height direction.

The second elastic piece 11B is formed, for example, in a rectangular plate shape, and extends slightly rearward from the rear end of the upper wall portion 17, which corresponds to one side of the rectangular opening at the rear of the tube of the box portion 7. The thickness direction of the second elastic piece 11B is the height direction.

The second elastic piece 11B is separated from the walls 15, 19, and 21 and extends in a cantilever shape from the rear end of the upper wall 17.

The support portion 13D is provided at the tip (rear end; free end) of the second elastic piece 11B. When viewed in a plane consisting of the height direction and the axial direction, the support portion 13D is formed in a trapezoidal shape and protrudes toward the center of the box portion 7 in the height direction (toward the lower wall portion 15).

The above describes the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and the second embodiment shown in Figs. 6 to 10, but the connection structure between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 may be a combination of the first and second embodiments.

While each of the support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D is located slightly rearward of the rear end of the box part 7 in the front-to-rear direction, each of the support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D may be located at the rear end of the box part 7 in the front-to-rear direction. Furthermore, each of the support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D may be located slightly forward of the rear end of the box part 7 in the front-to-rear direction. Also, each of the support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D may protrude in another shape, such as a semicircular arc, instead of a trapezoidal shape.

In addition, in a mode that combines the first and second modes, the four support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D are located at the same position in the front-to-rear direction, but the four support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D may be located at different positions in the front-to-rear direction. For example, the positions of two support parts 13A and 13B may coincide with each other in the front-to-rear direction, and the positions of the other two support parts 13C and 13D may coincide with each other in the front-to-rear direction. In this case, the positions of the two support parts 13A and 13B and the positions of the other two support parts 13C and 13D are different from each other in the front-to-rear direction.

In FIG. 1, the embossed portion 41 of the first embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape, but as shown in FIG. 6, the embossed portion 41 of the second embodiment may be formed of two elongated linear protrusions 41 (41A, 41B). The protrusions 41A, 41B extend in the front-rear direction, separated by a predetermined distance in the width direction. Furthermore, the protrusions 41A, 41B have a form in which the protrusions in the rectangular area in the width direction center of the embossed portion 41 shown in FIG. 1 have been removed.

The tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 protrudes rearward from the male terminal body portion 45 of the male terminal 5. In addition, an electric wire connection portion 47 similar to the electric wire connection portion 29 of the female terminal 3 protrudes from the front side of the male terminal body portion 45.

The tab body 23 of the tab section 27 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, with the thickness direction of the tab body 23 being the height direction, and the protruding direction of the tab body 23 being the front-rear direction.

The tapered portion 25 is formed in a quadrangular pyramid shape. This quadrangular pyramid shape results in four slopes being formed at the tip (rear end) of the tab portion 27.

In the first, second, and combined modes, just before and when the tab portion 27 is completely inserted into the box portion of the female terminal 3, the following occurs: That is, each of the four inclined surfaces of the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 simultaneously abuts against each of the four support portions 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D. This abutment causes each of the elastic pieces 9 and 11 to elastically deform.

In the case where the four support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D are located at different positions in the front-to-rear direction, the shape of the tapered part 25 of the tab part 27 is changed as appropriate. Then, just before and when the insertion of the tab part 27 into the box part 7 is completed, each of the four inclined surfaces of the tapered part 25 of the tab part 27 is simultaneously abutted against each of the four support parts 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D.

Next, we will explain how to assemble the male terminal 5 to the female terminal 3.

In the initial state, as shown in Figures 3 and 8, the male terminal 5 is not connected to the female terminal 3, and the male terminal 5 is located away from the female terminal 3 and in front of the female terminal 3.

When the male terminal 5 is moved backward from the initial state shown in Figures 3 and 8 relative to the female terminal 3, it enters the mid-insertion state shown in Figures 4 and 9. In the mid-insertion state, the spring portion 31 is elastically deformed and bent downward compared to the initial state by being pushed by the tab body portion 23.

As a result, the tab body 23 is sandwiched between the contact portion 33 and the embossed portion 41 with a biasing force in the height direction. Note that even if the male terminal 5 is moved further rearward relative to the female terminal 3 from the state shown in Figures 4 and 9, the value of the force sandwiching the tab body 23 between the contact portion 33 and the embossed portion 41 does not change.

By moving the male terminal 5 further backward with respect to the female terminal 3, the insertion is completed as shown in Figs. 5 and 10. In the insertion completed state, the tapered portion 25 abuts against the support portion 13, causing the elastic pieces 9 and 11 to elastically deform. Note that the insertion is completed by moving the male terminal 5 slightly backward with respect to the female terminal 3 from the state immediately before the completion of insertion of the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7. As a result, the state immediately before the completion of insertion is almost the same as the state shown in Figs. 5 and 10. In the insertion completed state, the male terminal 5 is electrically and mechanically connected to the female terminal 3.

The inclined surface of the tapered portion 25 on the tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 serves as a guide surface when the tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 is inserted into the box portion 7 of the female terminal 3 to connect the male terminal 5 to the female terminal 3.

In the connection structure 1 between the female terminal and the male terminal, immediately before the tab portion 27 is completely inserted into the box portion 7, the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 abuts against the support portion 13, causing the elastic pieces 9 and 11 to elastically deform. The reaction force caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic pieces 9 and 11 (see the arrows in Figures 5 and 10) causes the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 to be supported by the support portion 13 with a biasing force.

This makes it possible to suppress rattling between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 when the connection of the male terminal 5 to the female terminal 3 is complete. Also, in the mid-insertion state before the insertion is completed, the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 is separated from the support portion 13 of the female terminal 3, so the tab portion 27 does not slide against the support portion 13. This makes it possible to minimize the insertion force required to insert the tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 into the box portion 7 of the female terminal 3.

Furthermore, the tapered portion 25 of the tab portion 27 is supported by the support portion 13 with a biasing force, so that rattling between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 caused by vibrations when the tab portion 27 is fully inserted into the box portion 7 can be suppressed.

In addition, when the first elastic pieces 9A, 9B and their support parts 13A, 13B are provided without providing the second elastic pieces 11A, 11B as in the first embodiment, rattling between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 due to vibration in the lateral direction can be suppressed.

In addition, as in the second embodiment, when the first elastic pieces 9A, 9B are not provided, and the second elastic pieces 11A, 11B and their support parts 13C, 13D are provided, it is possible to suppress rattling between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 caused by vibration in the height direction.

In addition, when the first elastic pieces 9A, 9B and their supporting parts 13A, 13B and the second elastic pieces 11A, 11B and their supporting parts 13C, 13D are provided as in the first and second embodiments, the following occurs. That is, it is possible to suppress rattling between the female terminal 3 and the male terminal 5 caused by vibrations in the lateral and vertical directions.

The connection structure 301 between a female terminal and a male terminal according to the comparative example includes a female terminal 303 and a male terminal 305, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The male terminal 305 includes a tab portion 311 consisting of a tab main body portion 307 and a tapered portion 309. The female terminal 303 includes a box portion 313 and an elastic piece 317 provided on a wall portion 315 of the box portion 313.

The inclined surface of the tapered portion 309 on the tab portion 311 of the male terminal 305 serves as a guide surface when the tab portion 311 of the male terminal 305 is inserted into the box portion 313 of the female terminal 303 to connect the male terminal 305 to the female terminal 303.

When the tab portion 311 of the male terminal 305 is inserted into the box portion 313 of the female terminal 303 and the insertion is complete (the connection of the male terminal 305 to the female terminal 303 is complete), the tab body portion 307 of the tab portion 311 is elastically clamped by the elastic piece 317. This prevents the male terminal 305 from rattling relative to the female terminal 303 in the width direction.

However, in the female terminal/male terminal connection structure 301, when the tab portion 311 of the male terminal 305 is being inserted into the box portion 313 of the female terminal 303, the elastic piece 317 of the box portion 313 is elastically deformed outward in the width direction. The reaction force caused by this elastic deformation causes the elastic piece 317 of the box portion 313 to elastically clamp the tab main body portion 307 of the tab portion 311 in the width direction. In this elastically clamped state, the tab main body portion 307 of the tab portion 311 slides against the elastic piece 317 of the box portion 313. This sliding increases the insertion force of the tab portion 311 into the box portion 313.

In addition, in the connection structure 1 between a female terminal and a male terminal, the first second elastic piece 11A of the pair of second elastic pieces 11 and the support portion 13C provided on this first second elastic piece 11A are formed by cutting and raising a part of the lower wall portion 15. As a result, even if the electric wire connection portion 29 and the spring portion 31 are configured to protrude from the lower wall portion 15, the first second elastic piece 11A and the support portion 13C can be easily formed while avoiding the electric wire connection portion 29 and the spring portion 31.

In addition, in the female terminal and male terminal connection structure 1, the force (squeezing force) with which the spring portion 31 urges the tab portion 27 becomes a maximum constant value when the tab portion 27 is being inserted into the box portion 7. Then, by further inserting the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7 while the urging force is at its maximum constant value, the structure is configured so that the tab portion 27 reaches a state immediately before completion of insertion.

This improves the feeling of insertion when manually inserting the tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 into the box portion 7 of the female terminal 3. In other words, when manually inserting the tab portion 27 of the male terminal 5 into the box portion 7 of the female terminal 3, the tab portion 27 abuts against the contact portion 33 of the spring portion 31 in the preliminary stage of insertion.

As the insertion of the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7 proceeds, the amount of elastic deformation of the spring portion 31 gradually increases, causing the force required for insertion to gradually increase and reach the maximum constant value described above. After this, the force required for insertion remains at the maximum constant value described above until the state immediately before insertion is complete (insertion complete state).

This allows the user to know when the insertion stage is approaching the state immediately before completion of insertion (the state where insertion is completed), and provides a good feeling for inserting the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7.

In addition, in the connection structure 1 between the female terminal and the male terminal, each of the pair of first elastic pieces 9 is parallel to the first side wall portion 19 and the second side wall portion 21 of the box portion 7. As a result, by making the value of the widthwise dimension of the tab main body portion 23 very slightly smaller than the value of the distance between the pair of first elastic pieces 9 in the widthwise direction, the tab portion 27 is guided by the first elastic pieces 9 in the mid-insertion state before reaching the point where the tab portion 27 is completely inserted into the box portion 7. This makes it easier to insert the tab portion 27 into the box portion 7. In addition, the provision of the tapered portion 25 on the tab portion 27 makes the above-mentioned guiding even more accurate.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Connection structure between female terminal and male terminal 3 Female terminal 5 Male terminal 7 Box portion 9, 9A, 9B First elastic piece 11, 11A, 11B Second elastic piece 13 Support portion 15 Wall portion (first wall portion; lower wall portion)
17 Wall portion (second wall portion; upper wall portion)
19 Wall portion (third wall portion; first side wall portion)
21 Wall portion (fourth wall portion; second side wall portion)
23 Tab body portion 25 Tapered portion 27 Tab portion 29 Electric wire connection portion 31 Spring portion 33 Contact portion

Claims (5)

a female terminal comprising a cylindrical box portion, an elastic piece, and a support portion provided at the tip of the elastic piece and protruding toward the center of the box portion, the elastic piece being composed of a pair of first elastic pieces, the pair of first elastic pieces being provided in such a manner that they extend along a pair of walls of the box portion,
a male terminal including a tab portion having a tab main body portion formed in a rectangular flat plate shape and a tapered portion provided at a tip end of the tab main body portion;
immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion, the tapered portion of the tab portion comes into contact with the support portion, thereby elastically deforming the elastic piece, and immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion and at the completion of insertion, the tapered portion of the tab portion is supported by the support portion with an urging force due to a reaction force caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece,
a width direction is a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the tube of the box portion and perpendicular to the thickness direction of the tab main body portion;
A connection structure for connecting a female terminal and a male terminal, wherein the pair of wall portions face each other in the width direction of the tab portion of the male terminal. a first elastic piece of the pair of first elastic pieces extends parallel to a first wall portion of the pair of walls of the box portion,
A connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal as described in claim 1, wherein a second of the pair of first elastic pieces extends parallel to a second of the pair of wall portions of the box portion. a female terminal comprising a cylindrical box portion, an elastic piece, and a support portion provided at a tip of the elastic piece and protruding toward the center of the box portion, the elastic piece being composed of a pair of second elastic pieces, the pair of second elastic pieces being provided in such a manner that they extend along a pair of walls of the box portion ,
a male terminal including a tab portion having a tab main body portion formed in a rectangular flat plate shape and a tapered portion provided at a tip end of the tab main body portion;
immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion, the tapered portion of the tab portion comes into contact with the support portion, thereby elastically deforming the elastic piece, and immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion and at the completion of insertion, the tapered portion of the tab portion is supported by the support portion with an urging force due to a reaction force caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece,
A connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal, wherein the pair of wall portions face each other in a thickness direction of the tab main body portion of the tab portion of the male terminal. the female terminal is provided with an electric wire connection portion protruding from a first wall portion which is a first wall portion of a pair of walls of the box portion, and a spring portion protruding from the first wall portion and having a contact portion at a tip end thereof,
4. A connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal as described in claim 3, wherein a first of the pair of second elastic pieces and a support portion provided on this first second elastic piece are formed by cutting and raising a portion of the first wall portion. a female terminal comprising a cylindrical box portion, an elastic piece, and a support portion provided at a tip of the elastic piece and protruding toward the center of the box portion, the elastic piece being composed of a pair of first elastic pieces and a pair of second elastic pieces, the pair of first elastic pieces extending along each of a pair of walls of the box portion, and the pair of second elastic pieces extending along each of another pair of walls different from the pair of walls of the box portion;
a male terminal including a tab portion having a tab main body portion formed in a rectangular flat plate shape and a tapered portion provided at a tip end of the tab main body portion;
immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion, the tapered portion of the tab portion comes into contact with the support portion, thereby elastically deforming the elastic piece, and immediately before completion of insertion of the tab portion into the box portion and at the completion of insertion, the tapered portion of the tab portion is supported by the support portion with an urging force due to a reaction force caused by the elastic deformation of the elastic piece,
a width direction is a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the tube of the box portion and perpendicular to the thickness direction of the tab main body portion;
A connection structure between a female terminal and a male terminal, wherein the pair of wall portions face each other in the width direction of the tab portion of the male terminal, and the other pair of wall portions face each other in the thickness direction of the tab main body of the tab portion of the male terminal.

Images