JPH11214059A - Connector and connector assembling method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a connector in which a contact spring member can be easily inserted and damaged without damaging parts and assembling work is easy. A drum-shaped contact spring member (1) is provided in an annular body (11).
2 and the contact spring member 1
And a male terminal 20 having a contact 21 which is inserted into the contact body 1 and electrically conducts with the contact spring member 12. A side on which the contact 21 is inserted into the annular main body 11. To small diameter part 11A, medium diameter part 11
B, a large diameter portion 11C is formed, and the contact spring member 12 is formed on the middle diameter portion 11B of the annular main body 11 through the large diameter portion 11C.
And a cylindrical or column-shaped fitting portion 13 having an electric wire connected to the large-diameter portion 11C is inserted and locked, and the above-mentioned is inserted between the fitting portion 13 and the small-diameter portion 11A of the annular main body 11. The contact spring member 12 is restrained within the middle diameter portion 11B of the annular main body 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector, particularly a connector for a large current applied to an electric vehicle or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Connectors used as wire harnesses for electric vehicles must withstand large currents.
For example, the female terminal must have a structure that can be adapted to a large current capacity. Therefore, in order to achieve a large current capacity and a low contact resistance, a drum-shaped contact spring member in which a conductive spring piece is provided around a female terminal of a connector is conventionally mounted, and a contact terminal of a male terminal is provided in the contact spring member. Are inserted for electrical connection between the two terminals.

FIG. 9 shows a conventional connector of this kind. The body 1 of the female terminal of this connector has a chamber 1A formed at the front end thereof, and a wire crimping recess 1 for crimping the wire at the rear end.
B is provided. A drum-shaped conductive contact spring member 2 is fitted into the chamber 1A. Then, when a contact (not shown) of the male terminal is inserted into the contact spring member 2 from the distal end introduction port 1C of the female terminal 1, the contact pushes and expands the spring piece 2A that bends inside the contact spring member 2, Strong contact is made by the elastic force of the spring piece 2A.

In the female terminal described above, the inner diameter of the inlet 1C is formed smaller than the outer diameter of the contact spring member 2 in order to restrain the contact spring member 2 in the chamber 1A without falling off. Therefore, when the contact spring member 2 is mounted in the chamber 1A, it is necessary to perform an operation of forcibly deforming the contact spring member 2 and pushing it in. For this reason, the operation is difficult and the workability is not excellent. Accidents such as plastic deformation and breakage may occur. In addition, although the main body 1 of the female terminal forms the chamber 1A by cutting from a solid round bar, since the inlet 1C is smaller than the inner diameter of the chamber 1A, it is necessary to perform boring. The processing is complicated.

Therefore, the applicant has previously proposed the connector shown in FIG. In this connector, the introduction port 1C of the main body 1 of the female terminal is formed to be larger than the outer diameter of the contact spring member 2, and the contact spring member 2 is inserted into the chamber 1A via the introduction port 1C to introduce the main body 1. An annular cap 3 is screwed around the outer periphery of the end of the mouth 1C, and the contact spring member 2 is restrained in the chamber 1A by the cap 3. Such a connector has an advantage that it can be loaded into the chamber 1A without deforming the contact spring member 2. However, in this connector, the operation of screwing the cap 3 to the main body 1 is complicated.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such problems of the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector and a method of assembling a connector in which the contact spring member can be easily inserted and damaged without damaging parts.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector according to the first or second aspect, wherein a female terminal comprising a drum-shaped contact spring member mounted in an annular body, and a female terminal provided in the contact spring member. A male terminal provided with a contact that is inserted and electrically connected to the contact spring member, wherein the small-diameter portion and the medium-diameter portion from the side where the contact is inserted into the annular main body. Forming a large-diameter portion, having a tubular or columnar fitting portion at one end, and having an electric wire connector having an electric wire connecting portion at the other end; The contact spring member is loaded through, and the fitting portion of the electric wire connector is inserted and locked in the large diameter portion,
The contact spring member is restrained within the middle diameter portion of the annular main body between the fitting portion and the small diameter portion of the annular main body.

Further, in the connector according to the present invention, the connecting portion of the electric wire connector is a tongue piece for supporting the end of the electric wire by caulking. According to the connector of the first or second aspect, the inside of the annular main body is formed so as to gradually increase in size from the one end to the other end in the order of the small diameter portion, the middle diameter portion, and the large diameter portion. Since the contact spring member is loaded into the medium diameter portion via the large diameter portion, the work is easy, and there is no fear of damaging the contact spring member. Further, after the contact spring member is loaded on the middle diameter portion, the contact spring member is restrained by inserting and locking the fitting portion of the wire connector into the large diameter portion, so that the operation of holding the contact spring member is easy. is there. Furthermore, the electric wire is connected to the connecting portion of the electric wire connector without directly caulking and connecting the electric wire to the annular main body of the female terminal, and the fitting portion of the electric wire connector is inserted and locked in the annular main body. By providing a plurality of wire connectors for fitting various wires having the same diameter and different diameters, the annular body can be shared, and an inexpensive female terminal is provided. Can be.

Further, in the connector according to the third aspect, a female terminal formed by loading an annular contact spring member in an annular main body, and a contact that is inserted into the contact spring member and electrically conducts to the contact spring member. A male terminal provided with a contact, a small-diameter portion, a middle-diameter portion, and a large-diameter portion are formed inside the annular main body from the side where the contact is inserted, and a middle-diameter portion of the annular main body is formed. The contact spring member is loaded through the large-diameter portion, and the tip of a bus bar is inserted and locked in the large-diameter portion, and the contact spring member is inserted between the tip of the bus bar and the small-diameter portion of the annular body. Is restrained in the middle diameter portion of the annular main body.

According to the connector of the third aspect, the inside of the annular main body extends from one end to the other end with a small-diameter portion, a medium-diameter portion,
Since the contact spring member is formed so as to sequentially increase in size with the large diameter portion, the working is easy. Since the contact spring member is loaded into the middle diameter portion via the large diameter portion, the work is easy, and there is no risk of damaging the contact spring member. In addition, after the contact spring member is loaded on the medium diameter portion, the contact spring member is restrained by inserting and locking the tip of the bus bar into the large diameter portion, so that the operation of holding the contact spring member is easy.

According to the connectors of the first to third aspects, the annular main body can be used commonly for the electric wire and the bus bar, so that an inexpensive female terminal can be provided.

Further, in the connector according to the present invention, a female terminal formed by loading an annular contact spring member in an annular main body, and a contact that is inserted into the contact spring member and electrically conducts to the contact spring member. A connector formed by a male terminal having a contact and having a cylindrical large-diameter portion formed on the rear end surface of the contact, and having a fitting portion inserted into the large-diameter portion at one end; An electric wire connector having an electric wire connection portion at an end is provided.

Further, in the connector according to the fifth aspect, the connecting portion of the electric wire connector is a tongue piece for supporting the end of the electric wire by caulking. According to this connector, the electric wire is connected to the electric wire connector without directly caulking the electric wire to the contact of the male terminal, and the fitting portion of the electric wire connector is fitted to the contact. The wires are connected by inserting and locking. Therefore, by preparing a plurality of wire connectors corresponding to various wires having the same outer diameter and different diameters of the fitting portion, the contact can be shared for wires having different thicknesses, An inexpensive male terminal can be provided.

Further, in the connector according to the present invention, a female terminal formed by loading an annular contact spring member in an annular main body, and a contact that is inserted into the contact spring member and electrically conducts to the contact spring member. A connector comprising a male terminal having a contact and a male terminal having a cylindrical large-diameter portion formed on a rear end surface of the contact, and a bus bar having a distal end inserted into the large-diameter portion. According to the connector of the sixth aspect, since the contact can be shared with the electric wire and the bus bar, an inexpensive male terminal can be provided.

Further, in the assembling method according to the seventh aspect, the fitting portion is formed at the rear end of the female terminal or the male terminal and is fitted to the large-diameter cylindrical portion having a stopper at the back. And an assembling method of caulking and assembling the fitting portion of the electric wire connecting device, comprising a wire connecting portion serving as a tongue piece for electric wire caulking, by inserting a fitting portion of the electric wire connecting device into the large diameter portion, After the fitting portion is brought into contact with the stopper of the portion, the crimping tool acting on the wire connecting portion and the large-diameter portion loaded with the wire is used to caulk the wire connector and caulk the wire. Simultaneously with fixing, assemble the wire connector to the female terminal or male terminal. According to the assembling method of the seventh aspect, the positioning of the electric wire connector can be accurately and easily performed, and the assembling of the connector becomes extremely easy. The cross section of the annular main body of the female terminal in the present invention is circular, rectangular, or the like, and the shape of the cross section is not limited.

[0016]

1 to 7 show a first embodiment of a connector according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the female terminal 10 of this connector has an annular body 11 formed of a conductive material, and has elasticity and conductivity such as brass and beryllium-copper loaded in the annular body 11. Hourglass-shaped contact spring member 12 formed of a material
And an electric wire connector 13 formed of a conductive material for restraining the contact spring member 12 in the annular main body 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, the annular main body 11 has
A small-diameter portion 11 having an inner diameter d1 from one end to the other end
A, a middle diameter portion 11B having an inner diameter d2, and a large diameter portion 11C having an inner diameter d3 are formed. Further, the contact spring member 1
2 has annular portions 12A, 12A at both ends whose outer diameter d4 is larger than the inner diameter d1 of the small diameter portion 11A of the annular main body 11 and smaller than the inner diameter d2 of the middle diameter portion 11B. They are tied between 12A, 12A, and have a plurality of spring pieces 12B whose middle part curves inward. Further, the electric wire connector 13 has a cylindrical fitting portion 13A at one end, the outer diameter d5 of which is smaller than the inner diameter d3 of the large diameter portion 11C of the annular main body 11 and larger than the inner diameter d2 of the middle diameter portion 11B. The other end has a tongue 13B for caulking and holding the electric wire.

On the other hand, the male terminal 20 of this connector is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is composed of a rod-shaped contact 21 made of a conductive material and an electric wire connector 22. The outer diameter d6 of the contact 21 is smaller than the inner diameter d1 of the small diameter portion 11A of the annular main body 11, and the large diameter portion 2 having a tapered portion 21A at the front end and an inner diameter d7 at the rear end surface.
1B is formed. The electric wire connector 22 has an annular fitting portion 22A at one end to be inserted into the large diameter portion 21B,
The other end has a tongue piece 22B for caulking and holding the electric wire. The outer diameter d8 of the fitting portion 22A is formed smaller than the inner diameter d7 of the large diameter portion 21B of the contact 21.

The female terminal 1 of the connector thus constructed
0, as shown in FIG. 4, the contact spring member 12 is loaded into the middle diameter portion 11B via the large diameter portion 11C of the annular main body 11,
Next, the fitting portion 13A of the electric wire connector 13 is inserted into the large diameter portion 11C of the annular main body 11. Then, before or after, the distal end of the electric wire 30 is arranged on the tongue piece 13B of the electric wire connector 13, and the outer peripheral surface of the tongue piece 13B and the annular body 11 are caulked by the crimping tool 40, and the fitting portion 13A is attached to the annular body 11
And the tip of the electric wire 30 is connected to the tongue piece 13B. The contact spring member 12 in this state has a middle diameter portion formed by a step 11D formed at a boundary between the small diameter portion 11A and the middle diameter portion 11B of the annular main body 11 and an end face of the fitting portion 13A of the electric wire connector 13. 11B. On the other hand, the male terminal 20 of the connector is, as shown in FIG.
The fitting portion 22A of the electric wire connector 22 is inserted into the large-diameter portion 21B, the tip of the electric wire 31 is arranged on the tongue piece 22B, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the tongue piece 22B and the contact 21 are caulked by the crimping tool 40. Then, the wire connector 22 is fixed to the contact 21 and the tip of the wire 31 is connected to the tongue 22B.

Here, the large diameter portion 1 of the annular main body 11 of the female terminal.
The step 11E at the boundary between 1C and the middle diameter portion 11B functions as a stopper when the fitting portion 13A of the electric wire connector 13 is inserted. Then, at the position where the fitting portion 13A abuts on the step portion 11E, the fitting portion 13A of the electric wire connector 13 and the tongue piece 13B serving as the electric wire connecting portion are at an appropriate caulking position. Therefore, the fitting portion 13A and the tongue piece 13B are properly caulked at the same time by the crimping tool 40, and the wire connector 1
3 and the electric wire 30 to the tongue piece 13B can be accurately and easily performed at the same time.

Similarly to the female terminal, the contact 21 of the male terminal
Also, the step 21C at the innermost part of the large diameter part 21B functions as a stopper, and the fitting part 22A and the tongue piece 22B are positioned at the position where the fitting part 22A of the electric wire connector 22 abuts the step 21C.
Is in the proper caulking position. Therefore, the large diameter portion 21
The caulking and fixing of the electric wire connector 22 to B and the caulking and fixing of the electric wire 31 to the tongue piece 22B can be performed accurately and easily at the same time.

The female terminal 10 and the male terminal 20 assembled as described above are connected to the contact spring member 12 through the small-diameter portion 11A of the annular main body 11 of the female terminal 10 with the tip of the contact 21 of the male terminal 20. Insert Then, the contact 2
1, the spring piece 12B of the contact spring member 12 is pushed outward, and the contact element 21 is
The contact spring member 12 is strongly contacted.

In the connector of the above-described first embodiment, the distal end of the electric wire 30 is connected to the annular main body 11 of the female terminal 10 via the electric wire connector 13, and the contact 21 of the male terminal 20 is connected to the female terminal 10. Although the distal end of the electric wire 31 is connected via the electric wire connector 22, the outer diameter of the fitting portion 13A of the electric wire connector 13 is the same as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. If a bus bar 32 having a diameter is used, the bus bar 32 can be used instead of the electric wire connector 13 (FIG. 6).
If a bus bar 33 having the same diameter as the outer diameter of the electric wire connector 22 is used, the bus bar 33 can be used instead of the electric wire connector 22 (FIG. 7).

As described above, according to the connector of the present invention,
As shown in FIG. 8, one kind of the annular main body 11, the contact spring member 12, and the contact 21 make various electric wires 30A, 30
B, 30C, 31A, 31B, 31C or bus bar 3
Exchange use of 2A, 32B, 33A, 33B becomes possible.

[0025]

As is clear from the embodiments described above, according to the female terminal of the connector according to the present invention, the inside of the annular main body has a small diameter portion and a medium diameter portion from one end to the other end. Since the contact spring member is formed so as to sequentially increase in size with the large diameter portion, processing is easy, and since the contact spring member is loaded into the middle diameter portion via the large diameter portion, the work is easy, and there is a risk of damaging the contact spring member. Absent. Furthermore, the electric wire is connected to the connecting portion of the electric wire connector without directly caulking and connecting the electric wire to the annular main body of the female terminal, and the fitting portion of the electric wire connector is inserted and locked in the annular main body. By providing a plurality of wire connectors for fitting various wires having the same diameter and different diameters, the annular body can be shared, and an inexpensive female terminal is provided. Can be. Furthermore, if the large diameter portion of the annular main body is made to correspond to the outer diameter of the tip of the bus bar,
Busbars can be connected instead of electric wire connectors, and by combining them, one type of annular body,
With the contact spring member, various electric wires or bus bars can be exchanged and used.

Further, according to the connector of the present invention, the electric wire is swaged to the electric wire connector without being directly connected to the male terminal contact by caulking, and the electric wire connector is inserted and locked to the contact. Thereby connecting the wires to the contacts. Therefore, if various wire connectors are prepared for various wires having the same outer diameter at the portion to be fitted into the large-diameter portion of the contact and having different thicknesses, the contact can be shared and an inexpensive male connector can be used. Terminals can be provided. If the inner diameter of the large-diameter portion of the contact corresponds to the outer diameter of the tip of the bus bar, the bus bar can be connected instead of the electric wire connection tool. Alternatively, replacement use of the bus bar becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of a connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view showing details of a female terminal of the connector shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded sectional view showing details of a male terminal of the connector shown in FIG. 1;

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the female terminal of the connector shown in FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state where the male terminal of the connector shown in FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the connector according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing a state where female terminals are assembled.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a second embodiment of the connector according to the present invention, in which a male terminal is assembled.

FIG. 8 is a combination diagram showing a use mode of the connector according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a female terminal of a conventional connector.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing another female terminal of a conventional connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Female terminal 11 Annular main body 11A Small diameter part 11B Medium diameter part 11C Large diameter part 11D, 11E Step part 12 Contact spring member 12A Ring part 12B Spring piece 13 Wire connector 13A Fitting part 13B Tongue piece (connection part) 20 Male Terminal 21 Contact 21A Tapered part 21B Large diameter part 21C Step part 22 Electric wire connector 22A Fitting part 22B Tongue piece (connecting part) 30, 30A, 30B, 30C Electric wire 31, 31A, 31B, 31C Electric wire 32, 32A, 32B Bus bar 33, 33A, 33B Bus bar 40 Crimping tool

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A female terminal comprising an annular main body loaded with an annular contact spring member, and a male terminal having a contact inserted into the contact spring member and electrically connected to the contact spring member. And a small diameter portion from the side where the contact is inserted into the inside of the annular body,
Forming a middle diameter part, a large diameter part, having a cylindrical or columnar fitting part at one end, and having a wire connector having a wire connection part at the other end, The contact spring member is loaded through a large-diameter portion, and a fitting portion of the electric wire connector is inserted and locked in the large-diameter portion. A connector, wherein a contact spring member is restrained within a middle diameter portion of the annular main body. 2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is a tongue for supporting the end of the electric wire by caulking. 3. A female terminal having an annular main body loaded with an annular contact spring member, and a male terminal having a contact inserted into the contact spring member and electrically connected to the contact spring member. In the connector constituted by, a small-diameter portion, a medium-diameter portion, a large-diameter portion are formed from the side where the contact is inserted into the annular main body, and the medium-diameter portion of the annular main body passes through the large-diameter portion. The contact spring member is loaded, the leading end of the bus bar is inserted into and engaged with the large-diameter portion, and the contact spring member is placed between the leading end of the bus bar and the small-diameter portion of the annular main body. A connector characterized by being restrained in a part. 4. A female terminal comprising an annular main body loaded with an annular contact spring member, and a male terminal having a contact inserted into the contact spring member and electrically connected to the contact spring member. A connector having a cylindrical large-diameter portion having a stopper at a rear portion at a rear end surface of the contact, and having a fitting portion inserted at one end into the large-diameter portion; A connector provided with a wire connector having a wire connection portion. 5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein said connecting portion is a tongue piece for supporting a tip of an electric wire by caulking. 6. A female terminal having an annular main body loaded with an annular contact spring member, and a male terminal having a contact inserted into the contact spring member and electrically connected to the contact spring member. A connector having a cylindrical large-diameter portion having a stopper at a rear portion at a rear end surface of the contact, and a bus bar having a distal end inserted into the large-diameter portion. connector. 7. A cylindrical large-diameter portion formed at a rear end of a female terminal or a male terminal and having a stopper at a back portion, and a fitting portion fitted to the large-diameter portion and a tongue for electric cable caulking. In an assembling method of caulking and assembling the fitting portion of the electric wire connecting device including a certain electric wire connecting portion, the fitting portion of the electric wire connecting device is inserted into the large-diameter portion, and the stopper is fitted to the large-diameter portion. After the parts are brought into contact with each other, crimping of the wire connector and crimping of the wire are simultaneously performed by a crimping tool acting on the wire connecting portion and the large diameter portion loaded with the wire, and the female terminal Or, a method of assembling a connector for assembling a wire connector to a male terminal.