Female terminal fitting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9515396-B2
Application number	US-201414771884-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 5, 2014
Priority date	Mar 5, 2013
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

A female terminal fitting ( 10 ) includes a tubular main body ( 20 ) and a resilient contact piece ( 28 ) deflectably arranged in the main body portion ( 20 ). When being inserted into the main body portion ( 20 ), a mating male tab ( 90 ) comes into contact with the resilient contact piece ( 28 ) to deflect and deform the resilient contact piece ( 28 ) toward a base wall ( 21 ) of the main body portion ( 20 ). Excessive deflection regulating portions ( 37 ) arranged at positions facing the resilient contact piece ( 28 ) in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece ( 28 ) and configured to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece ( 29 ) are provided on the base wall ( 21 ) of the main body portion ( 20 ). The excessive deflection regulating portions ( 37 ) are bottom-raised toward the resilient contact piece ( 28 ) with respect to reference surfaces of the base wall ( 21 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A female terminal fitting with a tubular main body and a resilient contact piece deflectably arranged in the main body, a mating male tab coming into contact with the resilient contact piece to deflect and deform the resilient contact piece toward a base wall of the main body portion when the male tab is inserted into the main body, wherein:
an excessive deflection regulating portion arranged at a position facing the resilient contact piece in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece and configured to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece is provided on the base wall of the main body portion;
the main body includes a pair of side walls standing up from opposite widthwise ends of the base wall;
the base wall is provided with a hole left by cutting the base wall to form an auxiliary spring piece and bending the auxiliary spring piece into the main body, the auxiliary spring piece being configured to assist a spring force of the resilient contact piece by coming into contact with the resilient contact piece in the deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece and a bottom-raising hole is provided in a range from the base wall to lower end parts of the side walls in the hole;
two excessive deflection regulating portions are cut and bent from the side walls and the base wall at the bottom-raising hole and located on the sides of the pair of side walls and include regulating surfaces bottom-raised to a one-level higher position to be closer to the resilient contact piece and arranged substantially horizontally at positions facing opposite widthwise end parts of the resilient contact piece in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece and configured to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece;
the female terminal fitting is resiliently lockable by a locking lance projecting at an inner wall of a cavity of a connector housing when being inserted into the cavity; and
a lance receiving space into which the locking lance is insertable is provided below the excessive deflection regulating portions.

2. The female terminal fitting of claim 1 , wherein the base wall is provided with a locking projection lockable to the locking lance by striking an edge part of the hole outwardly.

3. A female terminal fitting with a tubular main body and a resilient contact piece deflectably arranged in the main body, a mating male tab coming into contact with the resilient contact piece to deflect and deform the resilient contact piece toward a base wall of the main body portion when the male tab is inserted into the main body, wherein:
an excessive deflection regulating portion arranged at a position facing the resilient contact piece in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece and configured to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece is provided on the base wall of the main body portion;
the main body includes a pair of side walls standing up from opposite widthwise ends of the base wall;
the base wall is provided with a hole left by cutting the base wall and bending a cut piece and a bottom-raising hole is provided in a range from the base wall to lower end parts of the side walls in the hole;
two excessive deflection regulating portions are cut and bent from the side walls and the base wall at the bottom-raising hole and located on the sides of the pair of side walls and include regulating surfaces bottom-raised to a one-level higher position to be closer to the resilient contact piece and arranged substantially horizontally at positions facing opposite widthwise end parts of the resilient contact piece in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece and configured to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece;
the female terminal fitting is resiliently lockable by a locking lance projecting at an inner wall of a cavity of a connector housing when being inserted into the cavity; and
a lance receiving space into which the locking lance is insertable is provided below the excessive deflection regulating portions, and wherein the base wall is provided with a locking projection lockable to the locking lance by striking an edge part of the hole outwardly.

4. A female terminal fitting comprising:
a tubular main body having opposite front and rear ends, a base wall, a facing wall opposed to the base wall and opposite first and second side walls bent from the base wall and extending toward the facing wall;
a resilient contact piece extending from the base wall at the front end of the main body and bent into the main body so that a mating male tab inserted into the front end of the main body contacts the resilient contact piece and deflects the resilient contact piece toward the base wall;
an auxiliary spring piece cut from the base wall and bent into the main body, the auxiliary spring piece being configured to contact with the resilient contact piece in a deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece to assist a spring force of the resilient contact piece;
excessive deflection regulating portions cut from the base wall and from portions of the side walls adjacent the base wall and bent into the main body so that upper surfaces of the excessive deflection regulating portions are at positions higher than the base wall and facing opposite widthwise sides of a lower surface of the resilient contact piece in the deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece to regulate excessive deflection of the resilient contact piece; and
a lance receiving space is provided below the excessive deflection regulating portions for receiving a locking lance projecting at an inner wall of a cavity of a connector housing when the female terminal fitting is inserted into the cavity.

5. The female terminal fitting of claim 4 , wherein the excessive deflection regulating portions are spaced laterally outward of the auxiliary spring piece and at positions farther from the resilient contact piece than the auxiliary spring piece in on deflected conditions of the resilient contact piece and the auxiliary spring piece.

6. The female terminal fitting of claim 5 , wherein the resilient contact piece has lateral protrusions and the excessive deflection regulating portions being opposed to the lateral protrusions of the resilient contact piece in the deflecting direction of the resilient contact piece.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Wiring Systems

Inventors

• Chikusa Takahiro

Classifications

• H01R13/113 Primary

  co-operating with pins or blades having a rectangular transverse section · CPC title

• H01R13/115

  U-shaped sockets having inwardly bent legs, e.g. spade type · CPC title

• H01R4/48 Primary

  utilising a spring, clip, or other resilient member (H01R4/52 takes precedence) · CPC title