Terminal connector

A terminal connector to which an electrical wire having a conductor and an insulating cover surrounding the conductor is to be connected is disclosed. The terminal connector has a terminal body having an electrical connecting section to which a partner terminal is to be electrically connected and an electrical wire connecting section to which the electrical wire is to be connected, and a connecting member, which is separate from the terminal body, adapted to be mounted to the wire connecting section to establish electrical connection between the conductor of the electrical wire and the terminal body when the connecting member is mounted to the wire connecting section. The wire connecting section includes a base plate having opposite edges along the elongated direction of the terminal body and side walls integrally formed on the respective edge of the base plate. The side wall portions are opposite with each other in such a manner that the electrical wire will be received therebetween when the electrical wire is connected to the wire connecting section and that the connection member is fitted therebetween when the connecting member is mounted to the wire connecting section. The wire connecting section further includes first portion provided between the side walls for supporting the electrical wire thereon when the electrical wire is connected, and second portion for supporting the electrical wire thereon, the second portion being provided on the front or rear side of the first supporting portion with spaces defined between the first portion and each of the second portions into which the connecting member is adapted to be inserted.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to a terminal connector, and in particular to a 
terminal connector to which an electrical wire with an insulating cover 
can be electrically connected without stripping the insulating cover in 
advance of the connecting operation of the wire to the terminal. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Conventionally, as such a terminal connector mentioned above, there is 
known a terminal connector as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent 
Publication No. 59-226476. The conventional terminal connector is 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
The conventional connector 1 has a terminal body 2 which is formed by 
punching a conductive metal plate and then bending it. The terminal body 2 
includes an electrical connecting section 3 at a front side thereof to 
which a partner terminal connector (not shown) is electrically to be 
connected and a wire connecting section 4 at a rear side thereof to which 
an electrical wire 5 having a conductor 5a and an insulating cover 5b 
surrounding the conductor 5a is electrically to be connected by means of a 
connecting member 6. 
The wire connecting section 4 includes a base plate portion 4a and two 
clamping wall portions 4b and 4c erectly formed on the opposite sides of 
the base plate portion 4a in the elongated direction of the terminal body 
2, respectively. In FIG. 1, the width of the base plate portion 4a which 
is measured between the clamping wall portions 4b and 4c is indicated by 
the letter "W1", and the length of the base plate portion 4a which is 
corresponding to the length of each of the clamping wall portions 4b and 
4c in the elongated direction of the terminal body 2 is indicated by the 
letter "L1". 
The connecting member 6 comprises a C-shaped member having a base plate 
portion 6a and first and second erected wall portions 6b and 6c provided 
on opposite sides of the base plate portion 6a. The width "W2" of the base 
plate portion 6a of the connecting member 6 which is corresponding to the 
width of each or the erected wall portions 6b and 6c is slightly shorter 
than the width "W1" of the base plate portion 4a of the wire connecting 
section 4, and the distance "L2" which is measured between the first and 
second erected wall portions 6b and 6c is slightly longer than the length 
"L1" of the base plate portion 4a of the wire connecting section 4. 
The first erected wall portion 6b has a recess 7b into which the insulating 
cover 5b of the electrical wire 5 is tightly secured. The second erected 
wall portion 6c also has a recess 7c, of which width is narrower than that 
of the recess 7b of the former wall portion 6b, into which the conductor 
5a of the electrical wire 5 is tightly secured to establish an electrical 
connection between the connecting member 6 and the conductor 5a of the 
wire 5. 
In use of the terminal connector 1, as shown in FIG. 1, first the 
connecting member 6 constituted as described above is put on the wire 
connecting section 4 of the terminal body 2 in such a manner that the 
first and second erected wall portions 6b and 6c thereof are aligned along 
the elongated direction of the terminal body 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, 
by clamping the clamping wall portions 4b and 4c of the wire connecting 
section 4 so as to engage with the base plate portion 6a of the connecting 
member 5, respectively, the connecting member 6 is mounted to the wire 
connecting section 4. Then, the electrical wire 5 is attached to the 
connecting member 6 already mounted to the terminal body 2 by 
pressurizingly inserting the electrical wire 5 into the recesses 7b and 7c 
of the first and second wall portions 6b and 6c of the connecting member 
6. In this case, the insulating cover 5b of the electrical wire 5 is 
tightly secured within the recess 7b of the first wall portion 6b of the 
connecting member 6. On the other hand, since the width of the recess 7c 
of the second wall portion 6c is smaller than that of the recess 7b of the 
first wall portion 6b, the insulating cover 5b is stripped when it is 
pressurizingly inserted into the recess 7c of the second wall portion 6c 
with a specific pusher (not shown), so that the conductor 5a of the 
electrical wire 5 is brought into contact with the inner surface of the 
recess 7c of the second wall portion 6c to establish an electrical 
connection between the electrical wire 5 and the connecting member 6. As a 
result, an electrical connection between the electrical wire 5 and the 
terminal connector 1 is established. 
In the conventional terminal connector as described above, however, there 
are disadvantages such as follows. Namely, in the conventional terminal 
connector 1, since two processes that mounts the connecting member 6 to 
the wire connecting section 4 of the terminal body 2 and then connects the 
electrical wire 5 to the connecting member 6 at the two recesses 7b and 7c 
are required in order to connect the electrical wire 5 to the terminal 
connector 1, it is difficult to improve operation efficiency for the 
connection, which results in increase of manufacturing cost thereof. 
Further, in the conventional terminal connector 1, it is required to 
prepare the specific pusher which pressurizingly inserts the wire into the 
recesses 7b and 7c when the wire 5 is electrically connected to the 
connecting member 6. The pusher requires to have a specific mechanism 
since a diameter of a wire to be connected is relatively too small. 
Therefore, the cost for preparing the machine is relatively expensive, 
thus also leading to cost up in the manufacturing the terminals. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the above disadvantages of the conventional terminal connector, 
a main object of the present invention is to improve operation efficiency 
at the time when an electrical wire is electrically connected to a 
connector terminal to reduce manufacturing cost thereof. 
Another object of the present invention is to increase contact area between 
the connecting member and the electrical wire connecting section to obtain 
reliable electrical connection therebetween. 
In order to achieve the main object, a terminal connector according to the 
present invention comprises a terminal body having an electrical 
connecting section to which a partner terminal is to be electrically 
connected and an electrical wire connecting section to which an electrical 
wire is to be connected, and a connecting member, which is separate from 
the terminal body, adapted to be mounted to the wire connecting section to 
establish electrical connection between a conductor of the electrical wire 
and the wire connecting section when the connecting member is mounted to 
the wire connecting section. The electrical wire connecting section 
includes a base plate having opposite edges along the elongated direction 
of the terminal body and side walls integrally formed on the respective 
edge of the base plate. The side walls are opposite with each other in 
such a manner that the electrical wire will be received between the wall 
portions when the electrical wire is connected to the wire connecting 
section and that the connecting member is fitted between the side walls to 
establish electrical connection therebetween when the connecting member is 
mounted to the wire connecting section. The wire connecting section 
further includes first means provided between the side walls for 
supporting the electrical wire thereon when the electrical wire is 
connected, and second means for supporting the electrical wire thereon, 
the second wire supporting means being provided on the front and rear 
sides of the first supporting means with spaces between the first wire 
supporting means and each of the second wire supporting means into which 
the connecting member is adapted to be inserted. 
According to the terminal connector of the present invention as described 
above, electrical connection between the electrical wire and the terminal 
connector can be accomplished substantially at the same time of mounting 
the connecting member to the wire connecting section of the terminal 
connector. Therefore, it becomes possible to reduce the number of 
processes for connecting the electrical wire to the terminal connector in 
comparison with those required in the conventional terminal connector as 
described above. As a result, operation efficiency in the connecting 
operation of the electrical wire to the terminal connector can be 
improved. Further, this also results in decreasing the manufacturing cost 
thereof. 
The connector terminal according to the present invention may be further 
provided with means for increasing contact area between the the connecting 
member and the electrical wire connecting section. The contact area 
increasing means may be constituted from protrusions formed on the 
connecting member or the second wire supporting means in such a manner 
that the protrusions come to contact with the second wire supporting means 
or the connecting member As a result, reliable electrical connection can 
be obtained between the connecting member and the terminal body. Further, 
the connecting member can be securely mounted with respect to the wire 
connecting section. 
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention 
will be more apparent from the following descriptions of preferred 
embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: 
Now, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of 
the present invention will be described. 
FIGS. 3 and 4 show the first embodiment of the terminal connector according 
to the present invention. 
In the figures, the reference numeral 10 denotes the terminal connector of 
this embodiment. The terminal connector 10 comprises a terminal body 20 
which has at a front side thereof an electrical connecting section 30 to 
which a partner terminal (not shown) is electrically connected and at a 
rear side thereof an wire connecting section 40 to which an electrical 
wire 50 having a conductor 50a and an insulating cover 50b surrounding the 
conductor 50a is to be connected. 
The electrical connecting section 30 comprises a tab receptacle 31 into 
which a male tab (not shown) of the partner terminal is fitted to 
establish electrical connection therebetween. 
The wire connecting section 40 comprises a base plate 41 having opposite 
edges along the elongated direction of the terminal body 20. Two side 
walls 42 are integrally formed on the respective edge of the base plate 41 
in such a manner that each of the side walls 42 is perpendicular to the 
base plate 41. The side walls 42 are opposite to each other in such a 
manner that the electrical wire 50 will be received between the walls 42 
when the wire 50 is connected to the connector terminal 10. 
Between the side walls 42, there is formed a wire supporting plate 43 so as 
to bridge between the side walls 42 in such a manner that the electrical 
wire 50 is supported thereon when the electrical wire 50 is connected to 
the connector terminal. The wire supporting plate 43 is formed by punching 
a part of the respective side wall 42 and then bending it inwardly such 
that the parts of the side walls 42 are connected to form a plate-like 
portion. 
Just below the wire supporting plate 43, there are formed two erected walls 
44 which serve to support the wire supporting plate 43 from the underside 
thereof. Each of the erected walls 44 is formed by punching a part of the 
base plate 41 and then bending it perpendicular to the base plate 41 in 
such a manner that the erected walls 44 are opposite to each other in the 
elongated direction of the terminal body 20. 
On the front and rear sides of the wire supporting plate 43, there are 
provided wire supporting walls 45 through a space 46 between each of the 
wire supporting walls 45 and the wire supporting plate 43. The wire 
supporting walls 45 also serve to support the wire when it is connected to 
the connector terminal. Each of the wire supporting walls 45 is formed by 
bending extending portions of each side wall inwardly so as to be 
perpendicular to each side wall 42. Each of the wire supporting walls 45 
has an upper edge 45a which has a concave arched-shape. Each of the center 
portions of the arched edges is situated substantially at the same height 
as that of the first wire supporting plate 43. This arched edge 45a serves 
to automatically center the wire 50 to be mounted with respect to the wire 
mounting section 40. 
In the figures, the reference numeral 60 indicates a connecting member. The 
connecting member 60 is separate from the terminal body 20, and is adapted 
to be mounted to the wire connecting section 40 to establish electrical 
connection between the conductor 50a of the electrical wire 50 and the 
wire connecting section 40 when the connecting member 60 is properly 
mounted to the wire connecting section 40. The connecting member 60 
includes a base plate part 61 and tow leg parts 62 which perpendicually 
extend from front and rear edges of the base plate part 61 so as to form a 
U-shaped configuration as a whole. The leg parts 62 of the connecting 
member 60 are adapted to be inserted into the spaces 46 which is defined 
between the wire supporting plate 43 and each of the wire supporting walls 
45, respectively. Each of the leg parts 62 has a recess 64 extending from 
a tip part 62a thereof along its center. As clearly illustrated in FIG. 1, 
at the tip part 62a of each leg part 62 of the connecting member 60, there 
is formed an inclined edge for cutting or stripping the insulating cover 
50b of the electrical wire 50. The width of the recess 64 is slightly 
smaller than the diameter of the conductor 50a in order to achieve good 
electrical connection therebetween. In this regards, it should be noted 
that the width of the recess 64 and the thickness of the connecting member 
50 are changed in accordance with a size of an electrical wire to be 
connected to the terminal connector. 
The connecting member 60 has the following size and dimension. Namely, the 
width of the connecting member 60 which is indicated by the letter "W3" is 
substantially the same as the distance between the side walls 42 which is 
indicated by the letter "W4". The thickness of the leg part 62 of the 
connecting member 60 which is indicated by the letter "T" is less than the 
width of the space 46(S) which is defined between the wire supporting 
plate 43 and each of the wire supporting walls 45. As a result, thus 
constituted connecting member 60 will be tightly inserted between the side 
walls 42 to establish good electrical connection therebetween when it is 
mounted to the wire connecting section 40. 
In use of the connector terminal 10 having the above structure, first the 
end portion of the electrical wire 50 is put onto the wire connecting 
section 40 in such a manner that the end portion is laid onto the wire 
supporting plate 43 and wire supporting walls 45 as indicated by the 
phantom line in FIG. 3. Then, the connecting member 60 having the recesses 
64 which are suitable to the size of the conductor 50a of the wire 50 is 
pressed to the wire connecting section 40 from the upper side of the wire 
connecting section 40 in such a manner that the the leg parts 62 of the 
connecting member 60 are inserted into the spaces 46(S) defined between 
the wire supporting plate 43 and each of the wire supporting walls 45. In 
this case, since the wire 50 has been centered with respect to the space 
defined between the two side walls 42 due to the arched edges 45a of the 
wire supporting walls 45, the recesses 46 of the connecting member 60 are 
accurately positioned with respect to the position of the conductor 50a of 
the wire 50. 
During this inserting and mounting operation of the connecting member 60, 
the insulating cover 50b of the electrical wire 50 is cut or stripped by 
the edges formed on the tips 62a of the leg parts 62 of the connecting 
member 60. Then, the conductor 50b of the electrical wire 50 is tightly 
fitted within the recesses 64 of the connecting member 60, so that the 
electrical wire 50 is secured to the connecting member 60. In this 
condition, as shown in FIG. 4, electrical connection between the conductor 
50a of the electrical wire 50 and the connecting member 60 is also 
achieved. Further, in this condition, because the connecting member 60 is 
tightly fitted between the side walls, the connecting member 40 is 
securely mounted to the wire connecting section 40 of the terminal body 
20. At the same time, electrical connection between the terminal body 20 
and the connecting member 60 is also achieved. As a result, electrical 
connection between the electrical wire 50 and the terminal body 20 is also 
established through the connecting member 60. In this case, since each of 
the leg parts 62 of the connecting member 60 is held between the side wall 
portions, it is possible to prevent the recesses 64 of the connecting 
member 60 open outwardly. 
According to the embodiment as described above, the electrical wire 50 can 
be secured and electrically connected to the terminal body 60 during the 
mounting operation of the connecting member 60 to the wire connecting 
section 40 of the terminal body 20. In other words, the electrical wire 50 
can be secured and electrically connected to the terminal body 20 
substantially at the same time of mounting the connecting member 60 to the 
terminal body 20. Therefore, the operation efficiency at the connection of 
the electrical wire 50 to the terminal body 20 is remarkably improved in 
comparison with the conventional terminal connector. 
Further, in the mounting operation of the connecting member 60 to the wire 
connecting section 40, it is enough to prepare a machine which simply 
pushes the connecting member 60 toward the terminal body 20. The machine 
does not need to have a complicated mechanism like that required in the 
machine used in the conventional connector terminal described above, the 
cost required for the manufacturing equipments can be reduced, thus 
leading to cost down. 
Furthermore, under the mounting condition of the connecting member 60 to 
the electrical wire connecting section 40, each of the recesses 64 of the 
connecting member 60 is normally being narrowed from the opposite sides 
thereof by the side walls 42 of the electrical wire connecting section 40. 
Therefore, good electrical connection between the conductor 50a of the 
wire 50 and the connecting member 60 will be kept, even if the recesses 64 
are loosingly opened during long time use thereof or a wire having a 
relatively thick conductor is used. 
In the foregoing embodiment, it is possible to constitute the connecting 
member 60 in such a manner that the length "L3" is substantially the same 
as the distance "L4" between the inner surfaces of the wire supporting 
walls 45. If so, when the connecting member 60 is properly mounted to the 
wire connecting section 40 of the terminal body 20, the outer surfaces of 
the leg parts 62 of the connecting member 60 come to contact with the 
inner surfaces of the wire supporting walls 45. As as result, the 
electrical contact area between the connecting member 60 and the wire 
connecting section 40 is increased, thus providing more reliable 
electrical connection therebetween. 
FIGS. 5 and 6 show the second embodiment of the present invention. In this 
second embodiment, most of the structure is same as that of the first 
embodiment. Therefore, it is believed that detailed descriptions of the 
structure of the second embodiment can be omitted by allotting the same 
reference numerals as those of the first embodiment to the common 
components. 
The feature of the second embodiment resides in the provision of 
protrusions 66 which are formed on the outer surfaces of the leg part 62 
of the connecting member 60 as clearly shown in FIG. 5. The protrusions 66 
each of which has a substantially hemisphere shape come to contact with 
the inner surfaces of the wire supporting walls 45 when the connecting 
member 60 is properly mounted to the wire connecting section 40 of the 
terminal body 20. 
According to the second embodiment, contact area between the connecting 
member 60 and the wire connecting section 40 is increased due to the 
contacts between the protrusions 66 of the connecting member 60 and the 
wire supporting walls 45, which results in more reliable electrical 
connection therebetween. In addition to this, the connecting member 60 is 
held with respect to the wire connecting section 40 not only between the 
side walls 42 but also between the wire supporting walls 45. Therefore, 
the connecting member 60 can be securely mounted to the wire connecting 
section 40. In particular, even if the leg parts 62 would be deformed and 
therefore the recesses open, the electrical connection made between each 
of the leg parts 62 and each of the wire supporting walls 45 will not be 
affected by the deformation of the connecting member 60, so that it is 
possible to continuously provide reliable electrical connection 
therebetween. 
FIGS. 7 and 8 show the third embodiment of the present invention. Since the 
structure of the third embodiment is substantially the same as that of the 
first embodiment excepting those of the erected walls and wire supporting 
walls, the detailed descriptions of the common structure has been omitted 
by allotting the same reference numerals to the common components. 
The feature of the third embodiment resides in the provisions of a 
protrusion formed on each of the wire supporting walls 45 and the 
configuration of each erected wall 44. Namely, in this embodiment, each of 
the wire supporting walls 45 has a protrusion 45b which is inwardly 
protruded toward the wire supporting plate 43. Further, each of the 
erected walls 44 is bent so as to have a substantially C-shape 
configuration in such a manner that it is elastically protruded toward 
each of the wire supporting walls 45. In other words, the protrusion 45b 
formed on the wire supporting walls 45 and the erected walls 44 are 
protruded into the space defined therebetween so as to narrow it. As a 
result, each of the leg parts 62 of the connecting member 60 comes to 
contact with them at the inner and outer surfaces thereof when the 
connecting member 60 is properly mounted to the wire connecting section 
40, which results in providing more reliable electrical connection 
therebetween. Further, it appears that this embodiment also has the same 
advantage as that of the second embodiment. 
FIGS. 9 and 10 show the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As see 
from these figures, the embodiment is a combination of the second and 
third embodiments. Therefore, detailed explanation of this embodiment has 
been omitted by allotting the same reference numerals as those of the 
second and third embodiments to the corresponding components of this 
embodiment. According to this embodiment, it also appears that this 
embodiment can have the same advantages as those of the second and third 
embodiments. 
Finally, it should be noted that in the first and second embodiments, it is 
possible to remove the wire supporting plate 43 and substitute it with the 
erected walls 44. Further, it should also be noted that in the third and 
fourth embodiments, the elastic contacts formed from the erected walls 44 
are formed by punching a part of each side wall and then bending it so as 
to have that configuration. Furthermore, in the foregoing embodiments, 
although the terminal connector is formed as a female terminal, it is 
appears that the terminal can be constituted as a male terminal. 
It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the terminal 
connector of the present invention has a number of advantages, some of 
which have been described above. Also, obvious modifications and 
variations can be made to the terminal connector of the present invention 
without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the scope 
of the invention is not limited as necessitated by the accompanying 
claims.