阅读说明：本技术 阴端子 (Female terminal ) 是由 西岛诚道 于 2019-02-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供一种阴端子,具备：阴端子零件(16)；阳端子插通筒部(26),被阳端子(12)压入,通过内表面(28)构成连接部(14)；一对重叠板部(25a、25b),与一对第一分离部(29、29)连接并相互离开地向外方突出,一对第一分离部(29、29)通过阳端子插通筒部(26)的周向的一处分离而设置；以及施力单元(50),对一对重叠板部(25a、25b)向使其相互重叠的方向施力而将阳端子插通筒部(26)保持为缩径状态,在阳端子(12)压入到阳端子插通筒部(26)时,阳端子插通筒部(26)对抗作用力向扩径方向弹性变形,容许阳端子(12)向阳端子插通筒部(26)的压入。(Provided is a female terminal provided with: a female terminal part (16); a male terminal insertion tube (26) which is press-fitted by the male terminal (12) and forms a connection section (14) by an inner surface (28); a pair of overlapping plate sections (25a, 25b) that are connected to the pair of first separated sections (29, 29) and that protrude outward while being spaced apart from each other, the pair of first separated sections (29, 29) being provided so as to be separated at one circumferential location of the male terminal insertion tube section (26); and a biasing means (50) for biasing the pair of overlapping plate sections (25a, 25b) in a direction in which they overlap each other to hold the male terminal insertion tube section (26) in a reduced diameter state, wherein when the male terminal (12) is pressed into the male terminal insertion tube section (26), the male terminal insertion tube section (26) is elastically deformed in a diameter expansion direction against the biasing force, and the male terminal (12) is allowed to be pressed into the male terminal insertion tube section (26).)

1. A female terminal is provided with:

a female terminal fitting including a connecting portion conductively connected to the male terminal;

a male terminal insertion tube portion provided in the female terminal fitting, press-fitted into the male terminal, and having an inner surface constituting the connection portion;

a pair of overlapping plate sections that are connected to a pair of first separated sections that are provided so as to be separated from each other in one circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube section over the entire length in the axial direction, and that protrude outward so as to be separated from each other; and

a biasing unit which is held by the female terminal fitting, biases the pair of overlapping plate portions in a direction in which the overlapping plate portions overlap each other, and holds the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion in a reduced diameter state,

when the male terminal is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is elastically deformed in a diameter expansion direction against the urging force of the urging means, and the press-fitting of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is allowed.

2. The female terminal of claim 1,

the female terminal component includes a band-shaped flat metal plate, and one end portion in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate constituting one of the pair of overlap plate portions is folded back toward the other end portion and is overlapped with the other end portion of the pair of overlap plate portions provided on the other end portion side, whereby an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate is bent to provide the male terminal insertion tube portion.

3. The female terminal as claimed in claim 2,

the other end portion of the flat metal plate constituting the female terminal fitting is formed as an electric wire connecting portion, and the biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions in the approaching direction is disposed and held between the electric wire connecting portion and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

4. The female terminal of claim 1,

the female terminal fitting further includes a second separated portion extending over the entire length in the axial direction and a pair of extending plate portions connected to the second separated portion and protruding outward, at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube portion, and the pair of extending plate portions are overlapped with each other to form an electric wire connecting portion.

5. The female terminal of claim 4,

the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is provided between the wire connecting portion and the pair of overlap plate portions in a longitudinal direction of the female terminal fitting.

6. The female terminal of claim 4 or 5,

the female terminal fitting includes a first plate member integrally including one of the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to one of the first split portions, a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion extending from one of the first split portions to one of the second split portions, and one of the extension plate portions extending from one of the second split portions, and a second plate member integrally including the other of the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to the other of the first split portions, the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion extending from the other of the first split portions to the other of the second split portions, and the other of the extension plate portions extending from the other of the second split portions, the first plate member and the second plate member being overlapped with each other, the male terminal insertion tube portion is formed at a central portion in a longitudinal direction of the first plate member and the second plate member, the wire connecting portion is formed at a base end side in the longitudinal direction, and the biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions so that the pair of overlapping plate portions overlap each other is disposed at a tip end side in the longitudinal direction,

the first plate member and the second plate member have plate thickness dimensions different from each other.

7. The female terminal of claim 6,

the first plate member is in the shape of a flat plate,

the second plate member overlapping the first plate member is configured to: wherein both end portions in the longitudinal direction are flat plate-shaped, and a convex portion constituting the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylinder portion and protruding in a plate width direction with a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member is provided at a central portion in the longitudinal direction,

the first plate member has a plate thickness dimension larger than a plate thickness dimension of the second plate member.

8. The female terminal of claim 6,

the first plate member is in the shape of a flat plate,

the second plate member overlapping the first plate member is configured to: wherein both end portions in the longitudinal direction are flat plate-shaped, and a convex portion constituting the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylinder portion and protruding in a plate width direction with a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member is provided at a central portion in the longitudinal direction,

the first plate member has a plate thickness dimension smaller than that of the second plate member.

9. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the male terminal insertion barrel portion has a rhombic cross-sectional shape.

10. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

the inner surface of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is formed in a tapered shape having a diameter gradually decreasing toward a tip end side in a press-fitting direction of the male terminal.

11. The female terminal of claim 1,

the female terminal fitting further includes a pair of extending plate portions extending further outward from the protruding end portions of the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to the pair of first separated portions and protruding outward, respectively, by which the wire connecting portion is constituted by overlapping the pair of extending plate portions with each other,

a second separated portion extending over the entire length in the axial direction is provided at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

12. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 11,

further comprising a housing assembled to the female terminal member and having a housing space disposed above the overlap plate portion,

the urging unit is configured to include a spring member that is held in a compressed state between the overlap plate portion and an opposing wall of the housing facing the overlap plate portion, and is housed in the housing space of the housing, thereby being held by the female terminal component.

13. The female terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

the force application unit includes a coil spring.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a female terminal, and more particularly, to a female terminal that can be conductively connected to a male terminal with a large contact pressure.

Background

Conventionally, as a female terminal used in an electrical system of an automobile or the like, for example, as described in japanese patent application laid-open publication No. 2011-238558 (patent document 1), a female terminal is known which includes a box-shaped housing having an opening at a side edge portion and a pair of flexibly deformable connecting portions which are capable of protruding toward the inside of the housing. As shown in fig. 8 of patent document 1, such a female terminal is configured such that, after the male terminal is inserted into the housing through the opening, a separate spring member is attached to apply a biasing force in a direction of approaching the pair of connection portions, thereby electrically connecting the connection portions of the male terminal and the female terminal with a large contact pressure.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the female terminal having such a conventional structure, since it is necessary to attach a separate spring member after the male terminal is inserted into the housing through the opening, there is a possibility that the number of working processes increases and the workability is deteriorated. Therefore, for example, it is conceivable that a large urging force is applied in the direction of approaching the pair of connection portions in advance, but in this case, the insertion force when the male terminal is inserted from the opening portion into between the pair of connection portions of the housing becomes large, and therefore, it is difficult to insert or damage the housing of the female terminal or the male terminal at the time of insertion.

When any external force is applied to the male or female terminal, the external force is transmitted in the direction of elastic deformation of the spring member, and therefore the contact pressure between the connection portion of the female terminal and the male terminal may vary.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal having a novel structure: the male and female terminals can be kept at a high contact pressure, the insertion force can be reduced, the operation can be facilitated, and the variation of the contact pressure can be suppressed.

Means for solving the problems

The present invention is a female terminal, including: a female terminal fitting including a connecting portion conductively connected to the male terminal; a male terminal insertion tube portion provided in the female terminal fitting, press-fitted into the male terminal, and having an inner surface constituting the connection portion; a pair of overlapping plate sections that are connected to a pair of first separated sections that are provided so as to be separated from each other in one circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube section over the entire length in the axial direction, and that protrude outward so as to be separated from each other; and a biasing unit which is held by the female terminal fitting, biases the pair of overlapping plate portions in a direction in which the overlapping plate portions overlap each other, and holds the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion in a reduced diameter state, and when the male terminal is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is elastically deformed in a diameter expansion direction against a biasing force of the biasing unit, and allows the press-fitting of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the connecting portion formed by the inner surface of the male terminal insertion tube portion can be crimped with a large contact pressure against the male terminal press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion. Further, high contact pressure between the male and female terminals can be achieved by excellent workability. Further, the contact pressure between the male and female terminals can be advantageously reduced or even prevented from varying due to external force.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a female terminal as a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the female terminal shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the female terminal shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view IV-IV in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the female terminal component shown in fig. 4, showing a state before the pair of overlap plate portions are urged by the urging unit.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view VI-VI in fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is an overall perspective view showing a female terminal as a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a top view of the female terminal shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the female terminal shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X in fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the female terminal part shown in fig. 10, showing a state before the pair of overlap plate portions are urged by the urging unit.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view XII-XII in fig. 8.

Fig. 13 is a sectional view showing a female terminal according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to fig. 10.

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing a female terminal according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a sectional view showing a female terminal according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and corresponds to fig. 10.

Fig. 16 is an overall perspective view showing a female terminal as a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view of XVII-XVII in fig. 16.

Fig. 18 is an overall perspective view showing a female terminal as a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view XIX-XIX in fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is a sectional view of the female terminal component shown in fig. 19, showing a state before the pair of overlap plate portions are urged by the urging unit.

Detailed Description

First, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

A first aspect of the present invention is a female terminal including: a female terminal fitting including a connecting portion conductively connected to the male terminal; a male terminal insertion tube portion provided in the female terminal fitting, press-fitted into the male terminal, and having an inner surface constituting the connection portion; a pair of overlapping plate sections that are connected to a pair of first separated sections that are provided so as to be separated from each other in one circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube section over the entire length in the axial direction, and that protrude outward so as to be separated from each other; and a biasing unit which is held by the female terminal fitting, biases the pair of overlapping plate portions in a direction in which the overlapping plate portions overlap each other, and holds the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion in a reduced diameter state, and when the male terminal is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is elastically deformed in a diameter expansion direction against a biasing force of the biasing unit, and allows the press-fitting of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

According to the female terminal of the present aspect, the male terminal insertion tube portion provided in the female terminal fitting includes the pair of first separated portions separated over the entire length in the axial direction at one position in the circumferential direction, and the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to the first separated portions and protruding outward while being separated from each other. Then, the pair of overlapping plate portions are biased in a direction in which they are overlapped while being brought close to each other by the biasing means held by the female terminal component. Thereby, the pair of first separated portions of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion elastically deform in a direction in which they approach each other and overlap each other, and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is held in a reduced diameter state by the urging force of the urging means. In addition, when the male terminal is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion can be elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction against the biasing force, and therefore, the press-fitting of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is allowed. In the female terminal of the present embodiment having such a configuration, a force in the diameter-reducing direction is applied to the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion by the biasing force of the biasing means. Therefore, the connecting portion formed by the inner surface of the male terminal insertion tube portion can be crimped with the male terminal press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion at a large contact pressure.

Further, since the biasing unit is held by the female terminal fitting, it is not necessary to mount a separate spring member or the like so as to sandwich the conductive connection portion after the male terminal and the female terminal are conductively connected as in the conventional structure. Therefore, the operation process can be simplified, and the high contact pressure between the male and female terminals can be realized with excellent operability.

When the male terminal is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion, elastic deformation in the diameter expansion direction of the male terminal insertion tube portion is allowed against the urging force of the urging means. As a result, the insertion force when the male terminal is inserted toward the connection portion of the female terminal can be favorably reduced, and the contact pressure state can be stably maintained.

When any external force is applied to the male terminal, the external force is transmitted outward in the radial direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion. Therefore, the transmission direction of the external force is different from the overlapping direction, which is the direction in which the biasing unit biases the pair of overlapping plate portions. Therefore, the variation of the contact pressure between the male and female terminals due to the external force transmitted to the male terminal can be advantageously reduced or prevented, and the improvement of the conduction stability between the male and female terminals can be ensured.

A second aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to the first aspect, wherein the female terminal component includes a band-shaped flat metal plate, one end portion in a longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate constituting one of the pair of overlapping plate portions is folded back toward the other end portion, and is overlapped with the other one of the pair of overlapping plate portions provided on the other end portion side, whereby an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate is bent to provide the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

According to this aspect, the female terminal fitting includes a pair of first separated portions separated over the entire length in the axial direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion at one position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, and a pair of overlapping plate portions connected to the first separated portions and protruding outward while being separated from each other. Therefore, the female terminal component having the male terminal insertion tube portion can be manufactured easily and with high yield by a simple structure in which one end portion of the band-shaped flat metal plate is folded back toward the other end portion.

A third aspect of the present invention is the female terminal according to the second aspect, wherein the other end portion of the flat metal plate constituting the female terminal fitting is formed as a wire connecting portion, and the biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions in the approaching direction is disposed and held between the wire connecting portion and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion.

According to this aspect, the other end portion of the flat metal plate is formed as the electric wire connecting portion, and the holding biasing means is disposed between the electric wire connecting portion and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, whereby the distance of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion from the electric wire connecting portion can be secured. Thus, the male terminal insertion tube portion can be advantageously protected from the thermal influence when the core wire exposed at the end of the external electric wire is connected and fixed to the electric wire connection portion by welding or the like, and the influence on the plating characteristics due to the thermal influence can be reduced or avoided.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the female terminal according to the first aspect, wherein the female terminal fitting further includes a second separated portion extending over the entire length in the axial direction and a pair of extending plate portions connected to the second separated portion and protruding outward, at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, and the pair of extending plate portions are overlapped with each other to form an electric wire connecting portion.

According to this aspect, the wire connecting portion is provided by overlapping the pair of extension plate portions extending from the second separating portion provided in the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion. Thus, the pair of extension plate portions extending from both the pair of second separating portions can be used as a current path, and the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion formed by overlapping the pair of extension plate portions can be advantageously ensured. As a result, more current can be made to flow, and the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion can be secured large even if the thickness of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is reduced. Therefore, the thickness of the male terminal insertion tube portion can be reduced to facilitate elastic deformation of the male terminal insertion tube portion, thereby reducing the insertion force of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion tube portion and securing a large conductor cross-sectional area.

The circumferential position of the second separated portion provided in the male terminal insertion tube portion can be arbitrarily set according to conditions such as the arrangement region of the female terminal. For example, the first separating portion may be provided at a position facing the first separating portion in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, and the configuration may be such that: the first separated portion and the second separated portion are provided at positions separated by 90 DEG in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion, and the overlap plate portion and the extension plate portion protrude in the orthogonal direction to each other.

A fifth aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to the fourth aspect, wherein the male terminal insertion tube portion is provided between the wire connecting portion and the pair of overlap plate portions in a longitudinal direction of the female terminal fitting.

According to this aspect, in the female terminal fitting, the wire connecting portion and the pair of overlap plate portions are provided on both sides sandwiching the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion. Thus, it is not necessary to provide a biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions between the connecting portion to which the male terminal is press-contacted and the wire connecting portion, and a current path between the connecting portion of the male terminal and the wire connecting portion can be shortened. Therefore, the conductor resistance can be reduced, and the performance of the female terminal can be improved.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the female terminal according to the fourth or fifth aspect, wherein the female terminal fitting includes a first plate member integrally configured with one of the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to one of the first split portions, a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion extending from one of the first split portions to one of the second split portions, and one of the extension plate portions extending from one of the second split portions, and a second plate member integrally configured with the other of the pair of overlapping plate portions connected to the other of the first split portions, the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion extending from the other of the first split portions to the other of the second split portions, and the other of the extension plate portions extending from the other of the second split portions, the first plate member and the second plate member are overlapped with each other, so that the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is formed in a central portion in a longitudinal direction of the first plate member and the second plate member, the wire connecting portion is formed on a base end side in the longitudinal direction, the biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions to be overlapped with each other is disposed on a tip end side in the longitudinal direction, and plate thickness dimensions of the first plate member and the second plate member are different from each other.

According to this aspect, the first plate member and the second plate member are overlapped with each other, so that the male terminal insertion tube portion, the wire connecting portion disposed on both sides thereof, and the biasing portion of the pair of overlapping plate portions can be provided, and therefore the female terminal of the present invention can be easily manufactured. Further, since the female terminal component is configured to include the first plate component and the second plate component, the plate thickness dimensions of the plate components can be made different from each other. Therefore, the plate thicknesses of the first plate member and the second plate member can be adjusted according to the required characteristics, and the degree of freedom in designing the female terminal can be improved.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is the female terminal according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first plate member has a flat plate shape, and the second plate member overlapping the first plate member is configured such that: the both end portions in the longitudinal direction are flat plate-shaped, and the central portion in the longitudinal direction includes a convex portion which constitutes the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion and which protrudes in a plate width direction with a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member, and the plate thickness dimension of the first plate member is larger than the plate thickness dimension of the second plate member.

According to this aspect, the second plate member having a small plate thickness and having both longitudinal direction sides in a flat plate shape and a longitudinal direction central portion formed as the convex portion constituting the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is overlapped with the first plate member having a flat plate shape and a large plate thickness as a whole to constitute the female terminal member. Therefore, when the male terminal is inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion, the projecting portion having a small plate thickness can be elastically deformed favorably, and the insertion force of the male terminal can be reduced favorably. Further, since the thickness of the first plate member can be ensured to be large, the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion can be favorably maintained, and the amount of current can be ensured.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is the female terminal according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first plate member has a flat plate shape, and the second plate member overlapping the first plate member is configured such that: the both end portions in the longitudinal direction are flat plate-shaped, and the central portion in the longitudinal direction includes a convex portion which constitutes the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion and which protrudes in a plate width direction with a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member, and the plate thickness dimension of the first plate member is smaller than the plate thickness dimension of the second plate member.

According to the present aspect, the second plate member having a large plate thickness and having both longitudinal direction sides in a flat plate shape and a longitudinal direction central portion formed as the convex portion constituting the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion is overlapped with the first plate member having a flat plate shape and a large plate thickness as a whole to constitute the female terminal member. Therefore, when the male terminal is inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion, the convex portion having a large plate thickness can be improved in adhesion to the male terminal, and the resistance between the male and female terminals can be reduced, thereby improving the performance of the female terminal.

A ninth aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion has a rhombic cross-sectional shape.

According to this aspect, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion has a rhombic cross-sectional shape. Thus, the male terminal inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion can be stably held by the four sides of the diamond shape. This makes it possible to fix the position of the contact point, as compared with the case where the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion has a circular cross-sectional shape. Therefore, the male terminal can be stably held at the position of the contact, and manufacturing management can be easily performed by observing the positional deviation of the contact.

A tenth aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, wherein the inner surface of the male terminal insertion tube portion is formed in a tapered shape having a diameter gradually decreasing toward a distal end side in a press-fitting direction of the male terminal.

According to this aspect, since the inner surface of the male terminal insertion tube portion has a tapered shape whose diameter gradually decreases toward the tip end side in the press-fitting direction of the male terminal, the insertion force with which the male terminal is initially inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion can be reduced. In particular, in the case where the distal end portion of the male terminal is formed in a tapered shape similar to the inner surface of the male terminal insertion tube portion, the insertion force is not generated until the male terminal is completely pressed into the male terminal insertion tube portion, and the male terminal may be pulled slightly when being pulled out from the male terminal insertion tube portion. Therefore, the insertion force of the male terminal with respect to the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion can be greatly reduced.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to the first aspect, wherein the female terminal fitting further includes a pair of extended plate portions that extend outward from the protruding end portions of the pair of overlapping plate portions that are connected to the pair of first separated portions and protrude outward, the pair of extended plate portions being overlapped with each other to form the wire connecting portion, and a second separated portion that extends over the entire length in the axial direction is provided at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube portion.

According to this aspect, the pair of extending plate portions further extend from the protruding end portions of the pair of overlapping plate portions, and the pair of extending plate portions overlap with each other, thereby constituting the electric wire connecting portion. Further, a second separated portion is provided separately in another circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion separated from the overlap plate portion and the wire connecting portion. Therefore, excellent conduction stability with the electric wire can be ensured, and reduction of the insertion force of the male terminal into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion can be favorably achieved.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention provides the female terminal according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, further comprising a housing assembled to the female terminal component and having a housing space disposed above the overlap plate portion, wherein the biasing means is configured to include a spring member held by the female terminal component by being housed in the housing space of the housing, and wherein the spring member is held in a compressed state between the overlap plate portion and an opposing wall of the housing facing the overlap plate portion.

According to this aspect, the urging unit is constituted by the spring member housed in the housing space of the housing, and the housing space of the housing is assembled in a state of being disposed above the pair of overlapping plate portions of the female terminal component that overlap each other. Therefore, the urging unit can be stably held by the female terminal. Further, the urging means does not affect the structure of the connection portion of the female terminal conductively connected to the male terminal, and therefore, the degree of freedom of the structure of the connection portion of the female terminal can be improved. Here, as the spring member, for example, a coil spring, a leaf spring, a coil spring, or the like can be used.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention provides the structure described in any one of the first to twelfth aspects, wherein the urging means includes a coil spring.

According to this aspect, since the biasing means is configured to include the coil spring, the amount of deflection of the biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate sections in the overlapping direction can be secured to a large extent. Therefore, the biasing means can be disposed in the limited housing space of the housing, the compact structure can be realized, and the spring constant can be reduced. Therefore, even if dimensional errors of components and the like occur, the variation in the contact pressure between the male and female terminals can be suppressed to a small extent.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 to 6 show a female terminal 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The female terminal 10 has a female terminal fitting 16, the female terminal fitting 16 includes a connecting portion 14, and the connecting portion 14 is conductively connected to the male terminal 12 having a substantially cylindrical pin shape. The female terminal 10 further has a housing 20, and the housing 20 is assembled to the female terminal part 16 with the receiving space 18. In the following description, the upper side means the upper side in fig. 1 and 4 to 6, the lower side means the lower side in fig. 1 and 4 to 6, the front side means the left side in fig. 2 to 4, the rear side means the right side in fig. 2 to 4, the longitudinal direction means the left-right direction in fig. 2 to 4, and the width direction means the up-down direction in fig. 2 to 3.

As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the female terminal component 16 is configured using a band-shaped flat metal plate 22, and one end portion 23 in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate 22 constituting one 25a of the pair of overlapped plate portions 25a, 25b is folded back toward the other end portion 24 side (the right side in fig. 4 to 5). The one end portion 23 is overlapped with the other 25b of the pair of overlapped plate portions 25a and 25b provided on the other end portion 24 side (the central portion in fig. 4 to 5), whereby the middle portion in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 4 to 5) of the flat metal plate 22 is bent. Thus, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having a maximum inner diameter r smaller than the maximum outer diameter t of the male terminal 12 and opening on both sides in the width direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in fig. 4 to 5). That is, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 is configured to be press-fitted with the male terminal 12. The connection portion 14 is formed by an inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. As a result, a pair of first separated portions 29, 29 are formed at one circumferential position (obliquely lower right side in fig. 4) of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 so as to be separated over the entire length in the axial direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in fig. 4 to 5) of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. Further, a pair of overlap plate portions 25a and 25b are provided which are connected to the pair of first separating portions 29 and project outward (rightward in fig. 4 to 5) while being spaced apart from each other. Further, an electric wire connection portion 30 is provided on the other end portion 24 side (right side in fig. 4 to 5) in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate 22. The female terminal component 16 having such a configuration is formed using various metal materials, such as brass, copper alloy, aluminum, and aluminum alloy, which have conductivity and can be subjected to press working, punching working, and the like.

The female terminal fitting 16 is in the electric wire connecting portion 30, and the core wire 34 of the electric wire 32 is conductively connected to the female terminal fitting 16. More specifically, the electric wire 32 has a structure in which a core wire 34, which is obtained by bundling copper, aluminum, or other plural metal wires as conductors, is covered with an insulating coating 36 having electrical insulation such as a vinyl resin or a styrene resin. The core wire 34 exposed by peeling the insulating coating 36 at the end of the wire 32 is fixed to the wire connecting portion 30 of the female terminal fitting 16 by a known technique such as resistance welding, whereby the core wire 34 of the wire 32 is conductively connected to the female terminal fitting 16.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a pair of engagement projections 38, 38 in the form of a substantially rectangular flat plate protruding outward in the width direction are provided at two locations apart in the longitudinal direction at both side edge portions in the width direction (the vertical direction in fig. 2 to 3) of the other 25b of the pair of overlapped plate portions 25a, 25b of the flat metal plate 22 constituting the female terminal component 16.

A housing 20 is assembled to the female terminal fitting 16 having such a configuration (see, for example, fig. 4). The case 20 is formed using various metal materials that can be subjected to press working, punching working, and the like, for example, brass, copper alloy, aluminum alloy, stainless steel, and the like. The housing 20 is assembled to the female terminal component 16 such that the housing space 18 is disposed above one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b of the female terminal component 16. More specifically, in the assembled state, the housing 20 has a facing wall 40 having a substantially rectangular flat plate shape facing one 25a of the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b with the housing space 18 interposed therebetween. The housing 20 has a pair of wall portions 42 and 42 of a substantially rectangular flat plate shape extending downward from both side edge portions in the width direction (vertical direction in fig. 2) of the opposing wall 40, and the opposing wall 40 and the pair of wall portions 42 and 42 constitute the housing space 18. The case 20 has a fastening portion 44 in the form of a substantially rectangular flat plate protruding downward at the extending end portions of the pair of wall portions 42, 42. Further, of the wall portion 42 on one side (lower side in fig. 2), both side edge portions in the width direction (left-right direction in fig. 2) on the other 25b (see fig. 5) of the pair of overlapped plate portions 25a, 25b have a substantially flat plate-like engaging projection 46 that projects outward in the width direction and is bent outward in the plate thickness direction (up-down direction in fig. 2). Further, coil spring holding walls 48 (see fig. 1 and 4) that protrude downward over substantially the entire length in the width direction (the vertical direction in fig. 2) are provided at both side edge portions in the longitudinal direction (the horizontal direction in fig. 2) of the opposing wall 40.

The housing 20 having such a configuration is held by one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b in a state in which the coil spring 50 made of metal, which is a spring member constituting the biasing means, is accommodated and arranged in the accommodation space 18 (see, for example, fig. 4). More specifically, in a state where the coil spring 50 is disposed in the housing space 18 of the housing 20, the housing 20 is placed above one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b of the female terminal component 16. The fastening portion 44 of the housing 20 is inserted between the pair of engaging projections 38, 38 provided at the side edge portion of the other 25b of the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b, and then bent inward in the width direction (vertical direction in fig. 3) to be fastened. Thus, the housing 20 is fixed in a state where the extended end portions of the pair of wall portions 42 and 42 are placed on the pair of engaging projections 38 and 38, and the coil spring 50 accommodated in the housing 20 is indirectly held by the female terminal component 16. The coil spring 50 is held in a compressed state between one 25a of the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b and the opposing wall 40 of the housing 20. The pair of overlap plate portions 25a and 25b are biased in directions approaching each other (directions of arrows a in fig. 4 and 6) by the coil spring 50 held in the compressed state in this way. That is, a coil spring 50 that holds biasing means for biasing the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b in the approaching direction is disposed between the wire connecting portion 30 and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26.

In the present embodiment, the spring member constituting the urging unit is constituted by using the coil spring 50, and therefore, a large amount of deflection can be secured. This allows the coil spring 50 having a small spring constant to be compactly arranged in the housing space 18 which is a limited housing space of the housing 20. Therefore, even if the plate thickness, the maximum inner diameter dimension r, and the like of the flat metal plate 22 vary, the variation in the contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be suppressed to a small extent. Further, since the coil spring 50 serving as the biasing means is disposed and held between the wire connecting portion 30 and the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26, the distance of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 from the wire connecting portion 30 can be secured. This advantageously protects the male terminal insertion tube portion 26 from the thermal influence when the core wire 34 exposed at the end of the wire 32 is connected and fixed to the wire connection portion 30 by welding or the like, and reduces or avoids the influence on the plating characteristics of the male terminal insertion tube portion 26 due to the thermal influence.

The male terminal 12 is conductively connected to the female terminal 10 having such a structure. More specifically, the male terminal 12 is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 of the female terminal 10. One 25a of the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b is slidingly displaced toward the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 side relative to the other 25b against the urging force of the coil spring 50 urging the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b in the direction of approaching each other. Thereby, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 is elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction, and the male terminal 12 is allowed to be pressed into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. After the insertion, the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 constituting the connection portion 14 is pressure-bonded and held in a connected state with the male terminal 12 at a high contact pressure by the elastic restoring force of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. That is, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 that can be elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction is held in a diameter-reduced state by the coil spring 50 constituting the urging means. In addition, the contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be changed according to the strength of the coil spring 50.

According to the female terminal 10 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, since the coil spring 50 as the spring member constituting the biasing means is held by the female terminal fitting 16, it is not necessary to attach a separate spring member or the like after the male terminal 12 and the female terminal 10 are conductively connected as in the conventional case. Therefore, the operation process can be simplified, and a high contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be achieved with excellent operability. When the male terminal 12 is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion 26 of the female terminal 10, one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b is slidingly displaced toward the male terminal insertion tube portion 26 side relative to the other 25b against the biasing force of the coil spring 50 as biasing means. Thereby, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 is elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction, and the male terminal 12 is allowed to be pressed into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. As a result, the connection portion 14 formed by the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 is pressed against the male terminal 12 by the elastic restoring force of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26, so that a large contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be ensured. The direction of the slide displacement (leftward in fig. 4) and the urging direction of the coil spring 50 (the direction of arrow a in fig. 4 and 6) are different from each other. Therefore, the insertion force when inserting the male terminal 12 into the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 constituting the connection portion 14 of the female terminal 10 can be advantageously reduced, and the contact pressure state can be stably maintained. Even when any external force is applied to the male terminal 12, the external force is transmitted outward in the radial direction of the male terminal insertion tube portion 26 of the female terminal 10, and the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b are transmitted in the direction of mutual sliding displacement. As a result, the transmission direction of the external force and the biasing direction of the coil spring 50 (the direction of arrow a in fig. 4 and 6) are different. Accordingly, since the variation in the contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 due to the external force can be advantageously reduced or prevented, the improvement in the conduction stability between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be ensured.

Further, since the housing 20 is held by the pair of overlap plate portions 25a and 25b in a state where the coil spring 50, which is a spring member constituting the biasing means, is accommodated in the accommodation space 18, the biasing means can be stably held by the female terminal 10. Further, since the biasing means does not affect the structure of the connection portion 14 of the female terminal 10 conductively connected to the male terminal 12, the degree of freedom in designing the structure of the connection portion 14 of the female terminal 10 can be improved.

In the present embodiment, a simple structure in which one end portion 23 of the flat metal plate 22 in a band shape is folded back toward the other end portion 24 side is adopted, and a pair of first separated portions 29, 29 separated over the entire length of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 in the axial direction are provided at one position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. Further, the pair of first separating portions 29, 29 are connected to each other, and a pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b are provided so as to protrude outward while being spaced apart from each other. Therefore, the female terminal component 16 having the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26 can be manufactured easily and with high yield.

Next, a female terminal 52 according to a second embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 7 to 12. The members and portions having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. In the present embodiment, the female terminal fitting 54 is further provided with a pair of second separated portions 58, 58 extending over the entire axial length of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56, and this point is different from the first embodiment described above. More specifically, in the female terminal fitting 54, a pair of first separated portions 29, 29 are formed at one position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 (left side in fig. 10), and a pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b that are connected to the pair of first separated portions 29, 29 and protrude outward (left side in fig. 10) are provided. Further, a pair of second separated portions 58, 58 are formed at the other position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56, which is opposed to the pair of first separated portions 29, 29 in the radial direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56. A pair of extending plate portions 60, 60 connected to the pair of second separated portions 58, 58 and projecting outward (rightward in fig. 10) are further provided. The pair of overlapped plate portions 25a and 25b are biased in a direction of approaching each other (a direction of an arrow in fig. 10 and 12), and the pair of extended plate portions 60 and 60 are overlapped with each other to constitute the electric wire connection portion 30. In the present embodiment, the pair of extension plate portions 60 and 60 are fixed to each other and integrated by any known means such as resistance welding. As a result, the male terminal insertion tube portion 56 is disposed between the wire connecting portion 30 and the pair of overlap plate portions 25a, 25b in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 10) of the female terminal fitting 54. In the present embodiment, the female terminal component 54 is configured using a band-shaped flat metal plate 22, and one end portion 23 in the longitudinal direction of the flat metal plate 22 is folded in two toward the other end portion 24 (left side in fig. 10). In a state where the one end portion 23 is folded over the other end portion 24 (the central portion in fig. 4), the intermediate portions in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 10) of the overlapping surfaces are bent in directions away from each other, thereby constituting a substantially cylindrical male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 26. The pair of extending plate portions 60, 60 can constitute the wire connection portion 30 in a state of being overlapped with each other, and when the core wires 34 of the wires 32 are welded to the wire connection portion 30, the welding is performed simultaneously with each other, so that the workability can be improved.

In the female terminal 52 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, as in the first embodiment, the coil spring 50 as a spring member constituting the urging means is held by the female terminal part 54. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a separate spring member or the like after the male terminal 12 and the female terminal 10 are conductively connected as in the conventional case. Therefore, the operation process can be simplified, and a high contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be realized with excellent operability. When the male terminal 12 is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 of the female terminal 10, one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b is slidingly displaced toward the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 side relative to the other 25b against the biasing force of the coil spring 50 as biasing means. Thereby, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 is elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction, and the male terminal 12 is allowed to be pressed into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56. Therefore, the connection portion 14 formed by the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 is pressed against the male terminal 12 by the elastic restoring force of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56, and a large contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be secured.

According to the present embodiment, the wire connecting portion 30 is provided by overlapping the pair of extending plate portions 60, 60 extending from the pair of second separated portions 58, 58 provided in the male terminal insertion tube portion 56. Accordingly, since both of the pair of extending plate portions 60 and 60 extending from the pair of second separating portions 58 and 58 can be used as current paths, the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion 30 where the pair of extending plate portions 60 and 60 overlap each other can be advantageously secured, and a larger amount of current can be caused to flow. Therefore, the plate thickness of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 can be reduced and the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion 30 can be ensured. Therefore, the elastic deformation of the male terminal insertion tube portion 56 is facilitated, the insertion force of the male terminal 12 into the male terminal insertion tube portion 56 can be reduced, and the cross-sectional area of the current path can be ensured. Further, since the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 is disposed between the wire connecting portion 30 and the pair of overlap plate portions 25a and 25b, it is not necessary to dispose the coil spring 50 as the urging means between the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 to which the male terminal 12 is pressure-contacted and the wire connecting portion 30 as in the first embodiment. This can shorten the current path between the connection portion 14 of the male terminal 12 and the wire connection portion 30, and reduce the resistance.

Next, a female terminal 62 as a third embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to fig. 13. The members and portions having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the female terminal part 64 includes a first plate part 66 and a second plate part 68, and the plate thickness dimensions of the first plate part 66 and the second plate part 68 are different from each other, and an embodiment different from the above-described second embodiment is shown in this respect. More specifically, the first plate member 66 is formed by integrally configuring one 25b of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b connected to one side (lower side in fig. 13) of the pair of first separated portions 29, a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion 70 extending from one side of the pair of first separated portions 29, 29 to one side (lower side in fig. 13) of the pair of second separated portions 58, and one side (lower side in fig. 13) of the pair of extending plate portions 60, 60 extending from one side of the pair of second separated portions 58, 58. The second plate member 68 is formed by integrally configuring one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b connected to the other side (upper side in fig. 13) of the pair of first separated portions 29, a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion 70 extending from the other side of the pair of first separated portions 29, 29 to the other side (upper side in fig. 13) of the pair of second separated portions 58, and the other side (upper side in fig. 13) of the pair of extending plate portions 60, 60 extending from the other side of the pair of second separated portions 58, 58. The first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 are overlapped with each other, whereby the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70 is formed at a central portion in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 13) of the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68. The wire connecting portion 30 to which the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 are fixed is formed on the base end side in the longitudinal direction (the right side in fig. 13), the coil spring 50 is arranged on the tip end side in the longitudinal direction (the left side in fig. 13), and the coil spring 50 forms urging means for urging the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b to overlap each other. In the present embodiment, the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 are each formed using flat plate-like flat metal plates 72a and 72b, and the thickness of the flat metal plate 72a is larger than the thickness of the flat metal plate 72 b. The first plate member 66 is formed into a substantially flat plate shape as it is. The second plate member 68 overlapping the first plate member 66 is constituted by: both end portions in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 13) are formed in a flat plate shape as they are, and a convex portion 74 is provided in the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and the convex portion 74 constitutes a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion 70, and protrudes in the plate width direction in a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member 66.

In the female terminal 62 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the coil spring 50 as a spring member constituting the urging means is held by the female terminal fitting 64, as in the first embodiment. This eliminates the need for a separate spring member or the like to be attached after the male terminal 12 and the female terminal 10 are conductively connected as in the conventional case. Therefore, the operation process can be simplified, and a high contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be achieved with excellent operability. When the male terminal 12 is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion 70 of the female terminal 10, one 25a of the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a, 25b is slidingly displaced toward the male terminal insertion tube portion 70 side relative to the other 25b against the biasing force of the coil spring 50 as biasing means. Thereby, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70 is elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction, and the male terminal 12 is allowed to be pressed into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70. As a result, the connection portion 14 formed by the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70 is pressed against the male terminal 12 by the elastic restoring force of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70, and a large contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be ensured.

According to the present embodiment, the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 are overlapped with each other, whereby the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 70, the electric wire connection portion 30 provided on both sides thereof, and the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b on which the coil spring 50 as the urging means is disposed can be provided. Thereby, the female terminal 62 of the present invention can be easily manufactured. Further, since the plate thickness dimensions of the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 can be made different from each other, the plate thicknesses of the first plate member 66 and the second plate member 68 can be adjusted in accordance with the required characteristics, and the degree of freedom in designing the female terminal 62 can be improved. The second plate member 68 having a small plate thickness dimension, flat plate shapes on both longitudinal sides, and a convex portion 74 formed at a longitudinal center portion to constitute a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion cylinder portion 70 is overlapped with the first plate member 66 having a large plate thickness dimension, thereby constituting the female terminal member 64. Therefore, when the male terminal 12 is inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion 70, the convex portion 74 having a small plate thickness can be favorably elastically deformed, and thus the insertion force of the male terminal 12 can be favorably reduced. Further, since the thickness of the first plate member 66 can be secured to a large extent, the cross-sectional area of the wire connecting portion 30 can be favorably maintained, and the amount of current can be secured.

As in the female terminal 76 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 14, the thickness of the first plate member 78 may be smaller than the thickness of the second plate member 80. That is, the first plate member 78 is formed in a flat plate shape. The second plate member 80 overlapping the first plate member 78 may be configured to: both end portions in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 14) are flat plate-shaped, and a convex portion 84 is provided in the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and the convex portion 84 constitutes a peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion 82, and protrudes in the plate width direction with a convex cross section protruding in a direction away from the first plate member 78. In the case where the projecting portion 84 constituting the peripheral wall of the male terminal insertion tube portion 82 is formed in the second plate member 80 having a large plate thickness dimension as in the present embodiment, the plate thickness dimension of the projecting portion 84 which comes into close contact when the male terminal 12 is inserted into the male terminal insertion tube portion 82 is increased. Thus, the resistance between the female terminal 76 and the male terminal 12 can be reduced.

As shown in fig. 15, the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 88 may have a substantially rhombic cross-sectional shape with rounded corners, as in the female terminal 86 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. This allows the male terminal 12 inserted through the male terminal insertion tube portion 88 to be stably held by the central portion of the four rhombic sides constituting the inner surface 28. That is, as compared with the case where the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 56 has a circular cross-sectional shape as in the second embodiment, the position of the contact point holding the inserted male terminal 12 can be fixed. Therefore, the male terminal 12 can be stably held at the position of the contact, and manufacturing management can be easily performed by observing the positional deviation of the contact. In order to further clarify the position of the contact, a known embossment may be protruded from the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 88, and in the case of the present embodiment, embossments may be provided at the center portions of the four sides of the diamond shape.

Alternatively, as in the female terminal 90 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 16 to 17, the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92 may be tapered so as to have a diameter gradually decreasing toward the tip end side (left side in fig. 17) in the press-fitting direction (left side in fig. 17) of the male terminal 94. Accordingly, the male terminal 94 does not come into contact with the inner surface 28 at the beginning of insertion into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92, and therefore the initial insertion force of insertion can be reduced. In particular, in the case where the distal end surface 96 of the distal end portion of the male terminal 94 is formed in a tapered shape similar to the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92 as in the present embodiment, no insertion force is generated until the male terminal 94 is completely pressed into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92. Therefore, the male terminal 94 can be pulled slightly when being pulled out of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92, and the insertion force of the male terminal 94 with respect to the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 92 can be reduced significantly.

Next, a female terminal 98 according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to fig. 18 to 20. The members and portions having the same configurations as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above-described embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, the female terminal fitting 100 is provided with a pair of second separated portions 104, 104 extending over the entire axial length of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 102 at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 102, and this embodiment is different from the second embodiment described above. More specifically, the female terminal component 100 is provided with a pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b that are connected to the pair of first separated portions 29 and protrude outward (rightward in fig. 19), the coil spring 50 is disposed and held on the pair of overlapping plate portions 25a and 25b, and the coil spring 50 is housed in the case 20. Further, a pair of extending plate portions 106 and 106 are provided, which extend outward (rightward in fig. 19) from the projecting end portions of the pair of overlapped plate portions 25a and 25b, respectively. The pair of extending plate portions 106, 106 are overlapped with each other, and when the core wire 34 of the electric wire 32 is welded to the electric wire connecting portion 30, for example, the pair of extending plate portions 106, 106 are fixed to each other and integrated. Further, a pair of second separated portions 104, 104 extending over the entire axial length of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 102 are provided at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 102, and both the pair of second separated portions 104, 104 are formed as free ends.

In the female terminal 98 of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the coil spring 50 as a spring member constituting the urging means is held by the female terminal part 100, as in the first embodiment. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a separate spring member or the like after the male terminal 12 and the female terminal 10 are conductively connected as in the conventional case. Therefore, the operation process can be simplified, and a high contact pressure between the female terminal 10 and the male terminal 12 can be achieved with excellent operability.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the pair of second separated portions 104, 104 extending over the entire length in the axial direction are provided at another position in the circumferential direction of the male terminal insertion tube portion 102, and both the pair of second separated portions 104, 104 are formed as free ends. Thus, when the male terminal 12 is press-fitted into the male terminal insertion tube portion 102, the pair of second separated portions 104 and 104 are displaced in the direction of separating, and the male terminal insertion tube portion 102 is elastically deformed in the diameter expansion direction, thereby allowing the press-fitting of the male terminal 12 into the male terminal insertion tube portion 102. Therefore, the insertion force of the male terminal 12 into the male terminal insertion cylindrical portion 102 can be advantageously reduced.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited by these specific details. For example, although the coil spring 50 has been described as an example of the urging means in the above embodiment, the urging means is not limited to this, and any known urging force applying member such as a spring member such as a leaf spring or a coil spring, or an elastic body such as a rubber elastic body can be used. In the above embodiment, the coil spring 50 is indirectly held by the female terminal fitting 16 via the housing 20, but may be directly held.

In the above embodiment, the electric wire 32 fixed to the electric wire connection portion 30 extends in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portions 26, 54, 64, 100, but the electric wire 32 may be fixed to the electric wire connection portion 30 so as to extend in the axial direction of the male terminal insertion cylindrical portions 26, 54, 64, 100. In the above embodiment, the case 20 is made of metal, but any member having sufficient rigidity may be used, and synthetic resin or the like may be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the male terminal insertion tube portions 26, 56, 70, 82, 92, and 102 have a substantially cylindrical shape and the example in which the male terminal insertion tube portion 88 has a substantially rhombic shape have been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the cross-sectional shapes of the male terminal insertion tube portions 26, 56, 70, 82, 88, 92, and 102 may be configured by a rectangular shape, an elliptical shape, a polygonal shape, or the like in accordance with the cross-sectional shape of the inserted male terminal. Further, the positions of the contacts with respect to the male terminals 12 and 94 may be clarified by providing embossments protruding from any portions of the inner surface 28 of the male terminal insertion tubular portions 26, 56, 70, 82, 88, 92 and 102 having any shape.

In the second to seventh embodiments, the circumferential position of the second separating portion 58 is provided at a position facing the first separating portion 29 in the axial perpendicular direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the following may be configured: the first separated portion 29 and the second separated portion 58 are provided at positions separated by 90 ° in the circumferential direction, and the overlap plate portions 25a and 25b and the extension plate portion 60 protrude in the orthogonal direction. This can improve the degree of freedom in designing the female terminals 52, 62, 76, 86, and 90.

Description of the reference numerals

10. 52, 62, 76, 86, 90, 98: a female terminal; 12. 94: a male terminal; 14: a connecting portion; 16. 54, 64, 100: a female terminal part; 18: a storage space; 20: a housing; 22. 72a, b: a metal flat plate; 23: an end portion; 24: the other end; 25a, b: an overlapping portion; 26. 56, 70, 82, 88, 92, 102: a male terminal insertion barrel portion; 28: an inner surface (connecting portion); 29: a first separating section; 30: an electric wire connecting part; 40: an opposing wall; 50: a coil spring (urging unit, spring member); 58. 104: a second separation section; 60. 106: an extension plate portion; 66. 78: a first plate member; 68. 80: a second plate member; 74. 84: convex part