JPH0646586B2 - Method of manufacturing male terminal - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a male terminal, and more particularly to various fitting widths at an electric contact portion of a female terminal fitted for electrical connection. And a method for easily manufacturing a male terminal.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, there is a male terminal for electrical connection as shown in FIG. 7 or 8.

A male terminal A'shown in FIG. 7 is a flat terminal connected to an electric wire (not shown), and a front portion thereof is formed on an electric contact portion composed of a tongue plate body (hereinafter also simply referred to as a tab) a. At the same time, the rear portion is formed in the electric wire connecting portion b, and the male terminal B'shown in FIG. 8 has an end portion of the bus bar circuit band c formed by punching a metal plate into a required shape. It is formed by forming a tab d that is bent and becomes an electrical contact portion.

However, in junction blocks and the like that have been frequently used in automobiles, home appliances, etc. in recent years, existing relays, connectors, etc. to which these male terminals are connected are usually used. Different sizes are used.

9 and 10 show a conventional female terminal into which a male terminal is fitted. That is, in the female terminal C shown in FIG. 9, a front substrate f and both side extending portions of the substrate f are bent in an arc shape in the upper portion of the substrate to form a pair of projecting contact surfaces g above the substrate f. Then, an electric contact portion e having a fitting width of a gap 1 is formed between the substrate f and the protruding contact surface g. Also, the first
The female terminal D shown in FIG. 0 is the same as the female terminal of FIG. 9 except that the extending portions on both sides of the board f are bent in a U shape on the top of the board to form a pair of protruding contact surfaces g. is there. In addition, h is an electric wire connection part.

Therefore, the shape and size of the tabs a or d of the male terminal must naturally correspond to the shape and size of the electrical contact portion e of the female terminal.

By the way, in response to female terminals having various sizes and various fitting widths 1 which are incorporated in electrical parts of junction blocks in recent years, the dubs d of bus bars connected to these female terminals are connected.
It is required to adjust the size and the thickness of the dove.

Conventionally, a bus bar and a male terminal are formed using a metal plate having a thickness different from the fitting width of the female terminal, and as a means for adjusting the tab thickness of the male terminal to match the fitting width of the female terminal, it has been practically used. A method disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-37819 or a method of using a metal plate thicker than a target dove thickness as a bus bar material and pressing the entire tab to obtain a required tab thickness is known.

The former means adjusts the thickness of the metal plate forming the bus bar to the tough thickness of the thinnest terminal among the male terminals formed on the bus bar, and when forming a male terminal having a thick tab, the first means is adopted.
As shown in FIG. 1, a part of a tab formed of a metal plate i is pressed outward to form a protrusion j to form a male terminal B ″ having a required tab thickness. is there.

However, in such a tab thickness forming means, the step difference between the protruding portion j of the tab and the surface of the metal plate i is limited to about 25% of the entire increased tab thickness, and when the step exceeds about 25%. Is a drawback that the metal material k in the step portion is prone to cracking due to plastic deformation similar to shearing, and the contact reliability with the female terminal is insufficient due to the decrease in conductivity and strength of the male terminal B ″. Furthermore, this method has a problem that a male terminal having a thinner tab thickness cannot be formed from a material having a large thickness.

On the other hand, in the latter method, since it is necessary to press the entire surface of the tab, a large-capacity press machine is required, and a male terminal having a wide tab area has problems in manufacturing and cost.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The present invention focuses on problems in forming a male terminal having a thicker tab thickness from a thin metal material and a problem in forming a male terminal having a thinner tab thickness from a thick metal material according to the related art. This is done by using a metal material with a plate thickness different from the tab thickness required for female terminals with different fitting widths, and it has a required tab thickness with excellent contact stability and reliability. It is an object to provide a method by which terminals can be manufactured.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method of manufacturing a male terminal according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.
A method for producing a male terminal having an electric contact portion composed of a tongue-shaped plate body (1) contacting a protruding contact surface (7, 12) formed on the electric contact portion (5) of F ₁ ) A groove (which is wider than the protruding contact surfaces (7, 12) of the front female terminals (F, F ₁ ) and contacts the tongue-shaped plate (1) by guiding the protruding contact surfaces at the time of fitting. 2, 10) is formed by forging.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment.

1 and 2 are perspective views of the male terminal according to the present invention connected to an electric wire, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the male terminal according to the present invention applied to a bus bar.

In FIG. 1, a male terminal A has a tongue-shaped plate body (tab) 1 forming an electric contact portion, and a protruding contact surface (for example, FIG. 9g) formed on the female terminal for electrical contact. It is manufactured by forming the groove portion 2 which comes into contact during fitting in the fitting direction from the tip portion 1a of the tab 1 to the female terminal by forging.

This male terminal A is obtained by punching out a metal plate having a thickness t larger than the fitting width of the female terminal (1 in the female terminal shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10) according to a usual method to obtain the tab 1 and the electric wire. The electric wire connecting portion 3 including the conductor crimping portion 3a (not shown) and the insulating coating crimping portion 3b is formed.

Further, the groove 2 formed on one surface (the upper surface in the figure) of the tab 1 is formed by a forging process in which the metal material is plastically deformed by hammer impact, and the depth α of the groove 2 is t-α.
That is, the tab thickness of the groove portion 2 is substantially equal to the fitting width of the mating female terminal (for example, l in FIG. 9), and the groove portion 2 has a sufficient contact with the projecting contact surface of the female terminal (FIG. 9g). It is formed to a depth where pressure can be obtained. Further, the width of the groove portion 2 is formed to be sufficiently larger than that of the protruding contact surface.

FIG. 2 shows the thickness t of the metal plate on which the male terminal is made,
An example in which the fitting width of the female terminal is large is shown, and the male terminal B
Forms a tab 1 having a thickness 2t that is twice the thickness t of the metal plate by refracting and superimposing the metal plate forming the tab 1 on the upper surfaces at both side edges of the tab 1, and The groove 2 is formed in the same manner as in the case of the male terminal in the figure. In this case, the depth α of the groove portion 2 is 2t−α, that is, the tab thickness of the groove portion 2 is substantially equal to the fitting width of the female terminal, and sufficient contact pressure is obtained in the groove portion 2 with the projecting contact surface of the female terminal. Formed to a depth

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment in which the female terminal is formed at the end portion or the intermediate portion of the bus bar 4, and C is the tab shown in FIG.
D is a tab having the same shape as the tab shown in FIG. 2, and E is a conventional tab.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the tab 1 of the male terminal B shown in FIG. 2 is fitted to the electric contact portion 5 of the female terminal F.
The groove portion 2 formed by forging on the upper surface of the tab 1 has a fitting width 1 between the electric contact portion 5 of the female terminal F and the space between the substrate 6 and the protruding contact surface 7 formed above the substrate. Has the effect of making the tab thicknesses of the two substantially match. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the depth of the groove portion 2, it is possible to easily form the male terminal that can be fitted to the female terminals having various fitting widths.

Further, when the male terminal is inserted and fitted into the female terminal, the groove portion 2 guides the projecting contact surface 7 of the female terminal F to facilitate the inserting and fitting work and maintain reliable electrical contact. Further, since the groove portion 2 is formed by forging, it has a function of hardening the metallographic structure of the portion and increasing the physical strength as well as improving the conductive characteristics and the contact reliability with the female terminal.

FIG. 5 (a) is a front view showing another embodiment of the male terminal according to the present invention bent and formed on the bus bar, and FIG. 5 (b) is shown in FIG.
The BB sectional drawing of (a) was shown.

In the male terminal G of this embodiment, when the metal plate 8 is bent and superposed on the upper surfaces at both side edges of the tab to form the tab 9 having a thickness twice the thickness of the metal plate 8 and fitted to the female terminal. A plurality of (three in the figure) groove portions 10 are formed on the side of the female terminal that comes into contact with the electric contact portion substrate surface by forging in the fitting direction from the tip of the tab 9 to the female terminal.

The male terminal G of this embodiment has the electric contact portion substrate surface 1 as shown in the longitudinal sectional view in the fitted state with the female terminal in FIG.
1 can be used for the female terminal F ₁ formed in the fitting direction of the male terminal G, and the groove portion 10 formed in the male terminal G can be used for fitting the female terminal F ₁ . In addition to the function of adjusting the tab thickness of the male terminal G with respect to the groove l ₁ , the function as a guide groove at the time of fitting the tab 9 and other various functions described above are provided.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a male terminal having a required tab thickness can be easily formed by using a metal plate material having a thickness different from the fitting width of the female terminal. Moreover,
It is extremely easy to adjust the tab thickness regardless of whether the material thickness is thicker or thinner than the fitting width of the female terminal.
Further, since the groove portion for adjusting the tab thickness is formed by forging mainly for striking, the metal structure of the groove portion is hardened to increase the terminal strength, and at the same time, the conductive characteristic and the contact reliability with the female terminal are improved. Further, the groove portion serves as a guide when the terminal is fitted, and many advantages such as improved contact stability of the terminal can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 are perspective views showing various embodiments of the male terminal according to the method of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the male terminal of the present invention shown in FIG. 2 in a fitted state with a female terminal. 5 (a) is a front view showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 (b) is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 5 (a), and FIG. 6 is a male of FIG. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are perspective views showing an example of a conventional male terminal, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are perspective views showing an example of a female terminal. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a conventional male terminal having an increased tab thickness. 1 ... Tongue-shaped plate (tab), 2 ... Groove part, 4 ... Bus bar, 5 ... Electric contact part, 7 ... Projective contact surface, 8 ... Bus bar, 9 ... Tab, 10 ... Groove, 12 ... Projective contact surface.

Claims (1)

[Claims] _1. An electrical contact portion comprising a tongue-shaped plate body (1) contacting a protruding contact surface (7, 12) formed on the electrical contact portion (5) of a female terminal (F, F ₁ ). A method of manufacturing a male terminal having the tongue-shaped plate body (1), wherein the protruding contact surface is wider than the protruding contact surface (7, 12) of the female terminal (F, F ₁ ). A method for manufacturing a male terminal, characterized in that the groove portions (2, 10) that are guided and contact at times are formed by forging.