JP5739923B2 - Wire harness, terminal, and connection method of terminal and coated conductor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness or the like used for an automobile or the like.

  Conventionally, wire harnesses are used as power lines and signal lines in the fields of automobiles, OA equipment, home appliances, and the like. The wire harness includes a crimp terminal that is attached to an electric wire and used for connection to other devices. The electric wire has a covering portion coated with an insulator and an exposed portion of the conductor portion where the core wire is exposed from the tip of the covering portion, and the crimping terminal is crimped to each of the covering portion and the exposed portion, thereby providing conductivity. The wire harness is configured. From the viewpoint of weight reduction, an electric wire using aluminum as a core wire material is attracting attention. As the crimp terminal, copper having excellent electrical characteristics is often used.

  For example, when moisture adheres to a contact portion of different metals such as aluminum and copper, so-called galvanic corrosion may occur due to a difference in standard electrode potential. In particular, since the standard electrode potential difference between aluminum and copper is large, corrosion on the aluminum side, which is electrically base, proceeds. For this reason, the connection state between the core wire and the crimp terminal becomes unstable, and there is a risk that an increase in contact resistance or an increase in electrical resistance due to a decrease in the wire diameter, or a disconnection, leading to malfunction of an electrical component or a malfunction.

  Among such wire harnesses in contact with different types of metals, there is one in which a resin material is filled so as to cover a connection portion between an electric wire and a crimp terminal (Patent Document 1). By filling the resin material, it is possible to prevent moisture from adhering to the contact portion between the electric wire and the crimp terminal.

JP 2004-111058 A

    However, in the method of Patent Document 1, since the resin material must be separately filled, the manufacturing process becomes complicated, and accordingly, the management in the manufacturing process becomes complicated. In addition, the cost of the entire wire harness increases due to the complexity of the process. Therefore, a water stop method that does not use a resin material is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and can prevent moisture from adhering to a contact portion with an electric wire without using a resin material, and can simplify the manufacturing process. An object is to provide a simple crimp terminal and a wire harness using the crimp terminal.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the first invention is a wire harness in which a coated conductor and a terminal are connected, and the terminal includes a crimping portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body, The crimping part has a coated crimping part that crimps the covering part and a conductive wire crimping part that crimps the conductive wire exposed from the covering part, and other parts are sealed except the part where the coated conductive wire is inserted. The lead wire crimping portion has a compression amount larger than that of the coated crimp portion, and a taper portion where the compression amount gradually changes is formed at a boundary portion between the lead wire crimp portion and the sheath crimp portion, When the covered conducting wire is inserted into the portion and the covered conducting wire is crimped by the crimping portion, a convex portion protruding from the inner surface of the crimping portion is formed on at least a part of the inner surface of the tapered portion. A wire harness.

  The convex portion may be formed at least at a part of the position corresponding to the outer diameter step portion between the conductive wire and the covering portion.

  The convex portion may be formed continuously in the circumferential direction of the crimping portion.

  According to the first invention, even if the lead wire is strongly pressure-bonded and the cover portion is pressure-bonded relatively weakly, the air reservoir formed at the taper portion at the boundary between the lead wire and the cover portion after compression, It can be reduced by the convex portion. Such an air reservoir may cause thermal expansion during use. In this case, air compresses the covering portion and escapes to the outside. At this time, moisture may enter from the air flow path. Therefore, it is desirable to make such an air reservoir as small as possible. In this invention, since the space which a taper part produces by a convex part is shrunk | reduced, the permeation of water accompanying air leak or air leak can be suppressed.

  Further, by forming such a convex portion at the outer diameter step portion at the boundary between the conducting wire and the covering portion, it is possible to reliably suppress the occurrence of an air pool at a position corresponding to the outer diameter step portion.

  In addition, since the convex portions are continuously formed in the circumferential direction, the occurrence of air accumulation can be suppressed with respect to the entire circumference of the outer diameter step portion at the boundary between the tapered portion and the covering portion and the conducting wire portion. .

  The second invention is a terminal connected to the coated conductor, and has a crimped portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body, and the crimped portion is a coated crimped portion that crimps the coated portion; A conductive wire crimping portion that crimps the conductive wire exposed from the covering portion, except for a portion where the coated conductive wire is inserted, and other portions are sealed, and the coated conductive wire is inserted into the crimping portion, When the coated conductor is crimped by the crimping portion, a convex portion protruding from the inner surface of the crimping portion is formed in at least a part of the position corresponding to the tapered portion in the vicinity of the boundary between the conductor and the coating portion. It is a terminal characterized by this.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to obtain a terminal capable of suppressing air accumulation formed in the tapered portion at the boundary between the covering portion and the conductor portion when connected to the covered electric wire.

  A third invention is a method of connecting a terminal and a coated conductor, wherein the terminal includes a crimping portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body, and the crimping portion crimps the sheath. And a lead wire crimping part for crimping the conductor wire exposed from the sheath part, and other parts are sealed except for the part into which the sheathed conductor wire is inserted, and the inner surface of the crimp part At least part of which is formed with a protrusion protruding on the inner surface, the covered conductor is inserted into the crimping portion, and the conductor crimping portion has a larger compression amount than the coated crimping portion, and the conductor crimping portion and the coating The coated conductor is crimped by the crimping portion so as to form a tapered portion where the amount of compression gradually changes at the boundary with the crimping portion, and at this time, the convex portion is at least at a position corresponding to the tapered portion. The crimping part is crimped so as to be located in a part A terminal and covered wire connection method of.

  According to the third invention, it is possible to obtain a connection method between a terminal and a covered conductor capable of suppressing air accumulation formed in a tapered portion at the boundary between the covering portion and the conductor portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent moisture from adhering to a contact portion with an electric wire without using a resin material, and to use the crimp terminal capable of simplifying the manufacturing process. A wire harness can be provided.

The exploded perspective view which shows the wire harness 1. FIG. AA sectional view taken on the line AA of FIG. Explanatory drawing of the crimping method of a wire harness. The perspective view of the wire harness 1 after crimping | compression-bonding. BB sectional drawing of FIG. It is an enlarged view of a portion in the vicinity of the tapered portion at the boundary between the covering portion and the electric wire after crimping, (a) is a diagram showing an air reservoir 27 when there is no convex portion, (b) is a diagram showing the convex portion 25b. The figure which shows the state provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the wire harness 1 and shows a state before caulking, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. The wire harness 1 includes an electric wire 10 and a crimp terminal 20. The electric wire 10 has an insulating coating portion 12 and a core wire exposed portion 11. The insulation coating portion 12 is configured by covering a conductive core wire 16 with an insulator. The core wire exposed portion 11 is a portion where a part of the core wire 16 is exposed from the tip end in the longitudinal direction X of the insulating coating portion 12. The core wire 16 is made of an aluminum-based material such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and more specifically, is formed by twisting a plurality of aluminum alloy wires or the like.

  The crimp terminal 20 includes a terminal body 21 and a crimp part 22. The terminal main body 21 can be inserted with a male connector (not shown) from the front end 20 </ b> A in the longitudinal direction X. The terminal body 21 includes an elastic contact piece 21A that comes into contact with the insertion tab of the male connector. The crimp part 22 can insert the electric wire 10 from the rear end part 20B.

  The crimping part 22 has a lead crimping part 23 and a covering crimping part 24. The conducting wire crimping portion 23 is located between the covering crimping portion 24 and the terminal main body 21. The covering crimping part 24 has a substantially cylindrical shape with a hollow cross section that extends in the longitudinal direction X so that the electric wire 10 can be inserted from the rear end part 20B while opening to the rear end part 20B.

  The crimp terminal 20 is manufactured by, for example, press working. In this case, first, a copper alloy strip such as brass whose surface is tin-plated is punched into a shape in which the terminal is flattened. Next, it is bent into a three-dimensional terminal shape composed of a terminal body 21 of a hollow rectangular column and a crimping portion 22 of a hollow cylinder.

  Further, the crimping part 22 is sealed so as to be watertight. Specifically, the edge portions formed in a circular shape in the crimping portion shape are butted against each other to form the joint portion 29. Further, the end of the crimping portion 22 on the terminal body 21 side is crushed to provide the sealing portion 26. The joint portion 29 and the sealing portion 26 are welded by, for example, laser welding.

  By doing in this way, the crimping | compression-bonding part 22 becomes a substantially cylindrical hollow body, and space is formed in an inside. As a result, the crimping portion 22 is sealed in the circumferential direction and one end portion except for the rear end portion 20B into which the electric wire 10 is inserted.

  In the crimping part 22 as described above, convex portions 25 a and 25 b projecting in the center direction are formed on the inner surface of the covering crimping part 24. The convex portions 25 a and 25 b are formed in an annular shape in the circumferential direction of the covering crimping portion 24.

  In addition, as the insulation coating part 12 which covers the core wire 16, what is normally used in the field | area of this technique, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene, can be selected.

  By doing in this way, after the crimping | compression-bonding mentioned later, the rear-end part side (electric wire insertion side) of the crimping | compression-bonding part 22 can be sealed watertight by contact | adherence with the covering crimping | compression-bonding part 24 and the insulation coating part 12. At this time, the other portion other than the rear end portion side of the crimping portion 22 is sealed in a watertight manner by the joint portion 29 and the sealing portion 26, thereby preventing moisture from entering the crimping portion 22.

  Next, a method for crimping the wire harness 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method for crimping the wire harness 1. As illustrated, the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the covering crimping portion 24 can be crimped by the crimping tool 30. The crimping tool 30 includes an upper mold 31 and a lower mold 32. The upper mold 31 is substantially semicircular. The upper mold 31 includes a large diameter portion 34 and a small diameter portion 33 having a radius smaller than that of the large diameter portion 34. The large diameter portion 34 corresponds to the coated crimping portion 24. The small diameter portion 33 corresponds to the conductor crimping portion 23.

  The lead wire crimping portion 23 has a larger compression amount than the coated crimping portion 24 and is strongly crimped. That is, between the large diameter part 34 and the small diameter part 33, a taper part in which the amount of compression gradually changes is formed.

  Both the small diameter portion 33 and the large diameter portion 34 have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the crimping portion 22 before caulking. The lower mold 32 has a substantially semicircular shape, and the radii of the portions corresponding to the conductor crimping portion 23 and the covering crimping portion 24 are the same. In addition, by combining the upper mold 31 and the lower mold 32, the compression target can be compressed in a substantially circular cross section. The shape of the compression portion is not limited to the illustrated example, and the compression portion can be crimped in a shape other than a circle.

  4 is a perspective view showing the wire harness 1 in which the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the covering crimping portion 24 are crimped inward in the radial direction, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. The electric wire 10 is inserted into the crimping part 22. At this time, the electric wire 10 is inserted such that the core wire exposed portion 11 of the electric wire 10 is located in the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the insulating coating portion 12 is located in the covering crimping portion 24. The dimension in the longitudinal direction X of the crimping part 22 is larger than the dimension in the longitudinal direction X of the core wire exposed part 11. Therefore, when the electric wire 10 is inserted into the crimping portion 22, the boundary portion between the core wire exposed portion 11 and the insulating coating portion 12 is positioned to face the inner periphery of the crimping portion 22.

  With the core wire exposed portion 11 and the insulating coating portion 12 inserted into the crimp portion 22, the crimp portion 22 is crimped by the above-described mold. Thereby, the conducting wire crimping portion 23 and the core wire exposed portion 11 are crimped, and the covering crimping portion 24 and the insulating coating portion 12 are crimped.

  The covering crimping portion 24 is provided with convex portions 25a and 25b. When the crimping portion 22 is caulked, the convex portion 25 a can be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the insulating coating portion 12 more strongly than other portions. Therefore, the strong pressure bonding portion 13 is formed in the insulating coating portion 12.

  As described above, the lead wire crimping portion 23 has a larger compression amount than that of the cover crimping portion 24 and is strongly crimped. Therefore, the taper in which the compression amount gradually changes between the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the sheath crimping portion 24. A portion 28 is formed. That is, the tapered portion 28 is formed on the outer peripheral portion in the vicinity of the boundary portion between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11.

  The taper portion 28 is provided with a convex portion 25b. The convex portion 25 b may be located anywhere on the tapered portion 28. That is, the convex portion 25b is provided in advance at any position corresponding to the tapered portion 28 after crimping. In addition, although the taper part 28 showed the example formed only in the upper surface of a terminal, the taper part 28 may be formed over the perimeter.

  More desirably, the convex portion 25 b is provided at a position corresponding to an outer diameter step portion formed in the vicinity of the boundary portion between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11. Here, the insulation coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11 have different outer diameters before being crimped. For this reason, an outer diameter step portion whose outer diameter changes is formed at the boundary between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11. Thus, it is desirable that the convex portion 25 b is provided at a position corresponding to the outer diameter step portion formed between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the tapered portion 28 formed between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11. As shown in FIG. 6A, if there is no shape like the convex portion 25b in the vicinity of the tapered portion 28, an air reservoir 27 corresponding to the tapered shape is formed. This is because the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the sheath crimping portion 24 have different compression amounts, and a tapered portion 28 is formed at the boundary between them, but the inner insulation coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11 are completely in this tapered shape. This is because it cannot follow. If such an air pool occurs, the air may thermally expand during use. In this case, air escapes from the gap between the insulating coating portion 12 and the coating crimping portion 24 to the outside. At this time, moisture may enter from the air flow path. Therefore, it is desirable to make such an air reservoir as small as possible.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, in the present invention, the boundary portion between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11 is located in the tapered portion 28. The tapered portion 28 is provided with a convex portion 25b. Therefore, the convex portion 25b protrudes from the air reservoir formed by the tapered portion 28 and the outer diameter step portion, and this space is reduced. For this reason, infiltration of water accompanying air leakage and air leakage can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of air accumulation inside the crimping portion 22. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress air leakage and moisture intrusion during air expansion. For this reason, for example, the penetration of moisture into a portion where a different metal contacts, such as the core wire 16 of the electric wire 10 made of an aluminum material and the lead wire crimping portion 23 of the crimp terminal 20 made of a copper material. Can be prevented and electric corrosion can be prevented.

  In general, since the lead wire crimping portion 23 needs to be crimped more strongly than the covering crimp portion 24, a taper portion 28 whose compression amount gradually changes is provided between the lead wire crimping portion 23 and the covering crimp portion 24. It is formed. Therefore, by arranging the convex portion 25 b on the tapered portion 28, the convex portion 25 b can be reliably arranged in the space formed in the vicinity of the boundary between the insulating coating portion 12 and the core wire exposed portion 11.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, the technical scope of this invention is not influenced by embodiment mentioned above. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. It is understood that it belongs.

  For example, the cross-sectional shape of the convex portions 25a and 25b is not limited to the illustrated shape. The cross-sectional shape may be a semicircle, a polygon such as a triangle, or the like. Moreover, the cross-sectional shape of the radially inner portions of the convex portions 25a and 25b may be inclined to an axis extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction X. That is, you may incline so that the diameter may become large toward the rear end part 20B side from the front end part 20A side. By inclining in this way, when the electric wire 10 is inserted from the rear end 20B side, it is relatively easy to insert, but it is difficult to move in the opposite direction, and the inserted electric wire 10 can be made difficult to come off.

  Moreover, although the convex part 25b showed the example formed in the cyclic | annular form continuous in the circumferential direction, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the convex portions 25b may be formed only at the upper and lower portions, and the sides of the crimping portion may be smooth. In this case, by disposing the convex portions 25b above and below in the compression direction, the convex portions 25b can be pushed into the stepped portions during crimping. Thus, the convex part 25b should just be formed in at least one part of the site | part corresponding to a level | step difference part.

  Moreover, although the example which forms both convex part 25a, 25b was shown in this invention, this invention is not limited to this. For example, even with only the convex portion 25b, it is possible to obtain the effect of suppressing the generation of the air pool described above. Therefore, the convex part 25a is not necessarily required in the present invention. Conversely, the convex portions 25a can be formed at a plurality of locations.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wire harness 10 ... Electric wire 11 ... Core wire exposed part 12 ... Insulation coating | cover part 13 ... Strong crimp part 16 ... Core wire 20 ... Crimp terminal 20A ... Front end part 20B ... Rear end part 21 ... Terminal body 21A ... Elastic contact piece 22 ... Crimp Part 23 ... Conductive wire crimping part 24 ... Cover crimping part 25a, 25b ... Convex part 26 ... Sealing part 27 ... Air reservoir 28 ... Taper part 29 ... Joining part 30 ... Crimping tool 31 ... Upper mold 32 ... Lower mold 33 ... Small diameter part 34 ... Large diameter part

Claims (5)

A wire harness in which a coated conductor and a terminal are connected,
The terminal has a crimping portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body,
The crimping part has a coated crimping part that crimps the covering part and a conductive wire crimping part that crimps the conductive wire exposed from the covering part, and other parts are sealed except the part where the coated conductive wire is inserted. Has been
The lead wire crimping portion has a larger compression amount than the coated crimp portion, and a taper portion in which the compression amount gradually changes is formed at the boundary between the lead crimp portion and the sheath crimp portion,
When the coated conductor is inserted into the crimp portion, and the coated conductor is crimped at the crimp portion,
The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the inner surface of the tapered portion is formed with a convex portion protruding from the inner surface of the crimping portion.   The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is formed at least at a part of a position corresponding to an outer diameter step portion between the conductor and the covering portion.   The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is continuously formed in a circumferential direction of the crimping portion. A terminal connected to the coated conductor,
A crimping portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body;
The crimping part has a coated crimping part that crimps the covering part and a conductive wire crimping part that crimps the conductive wire exposed from the covering part, and other parts are sealed except the part where the coated conductive wire is inserted. Has been
When the coated conducting wire is inserted into the crimping portion and the coated conducting wire is crimped by the crimping portion, the crimping is applied to at least a part of the position corresponding to the tapered portion in the vicinity of the boundary between the conducting wire and the coating portion. A terminal characterized in that a convex portion protruding from the inner surface of the portion is formed. A method of connecting a terminal and a coated conductor,
The terminal has a crimping portion to which the coated conductor is crimped, and a terminal body,
The crimping part has a coated crimping part that crimps the covering part and a conductive wire crimping part that crimps the conductive wire exposed from the covering part, and other parts are sealed except the part where the coated conductive wire is inserted. Has been
At least a part of the inner surface of the pressure-bonding portion is formed with a convex portion protruding from the inner surface,
Insert the coated conductor into the crimping part,
The wire crimping part has a larger compression amount than the coated crimping part, and the crimping part covers the covering part so as to form a taper part where the compression amount gradually changes at the boundary between the conductor crimping part and the coating crimping part. Crimp the conductor,
In this case, the terminal and the covered conductor are connected to each other, wherein the crimping portion is crimped so that the convex portion is located at least at a part of the position corresponding to the tapered portion.

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