Terminal-equipped electric wire, terminal crimping apparatus, and method of manufacturing terminal-equipped electric wire

A terminal crimping apparatus comprising:

• a first mold that supports a bottom of a crimp terminal having the bottom and a pair of barrel pieces with a support surface;
• and
• a second mold that winds the pair of barrel pieces around an end of an electric wire to overlap each other while shortening a distance with respect to the first mold in a state where the end of the electric wire is inserted into a space surrounded by the bottom and the pair of barrel pieces, wherein
• the second mold includes a core wire pressing portion that crimps the pair of barrel pieces to a core wire bare at the end of the electric wire, and a sheath pressing portion that crimps the pair of barrel pieces to a sheath at the end of the electric wire,
• the core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion are arranged such that a distance between the core pressing portion and the support surface in a relative movement direction between the first mold and the second mold is narrower than a distance between the sheath pressing portion and the support surface in the relative movement direction,
• the core wire pressing portion includes a first core wire pressing portion that crimps the pair of barrel pieces to a distal end side of the core wire;
• and a second core wire pressing portion that crimps the pair of barrel pieces to the core wire while widening a distance between the bottom and the pair of barrel pieces in a sandwiching direction of the core wire as being directed from the first core wire pressing portion side to the sheath pressing portion side, between the first core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion,
• the core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion have a joining pressing area to form an overlapping area in which one of the barrel pieces and the other barrel piece overlap each other, and
• a boundary pressing area arranged at a boundary part between the second core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion includes a plurality of coupling pressing portions, which connect two pressing portions having different angles with respect to a drawing direction of the electric wire from the crimp terminal between the second core pressing portion side and the sheath pressing portion side, in at least the joining pressing area.

A method of manufacturing a terminal-equipped electric wire, the method comprising:

• a terminal support step of supporting a bottom of a crimp terminal having the bottom and a pair of barrel pieces with a support surface of a first mold;
• and
• a crimping step of winding the pair of barrel pieces around an end of an electric wire to overlap each other while shortening a distance between the first mold and a second mold in a state where the end of the electric wire is inserted into a space surrounded by the bottom and the pair of barrel pieces to form a core wire crimping portion crimped to the core wire bare at the end of the electric wire and a sheath crimping portion crimped to a sheath at the end of the electric wire, wherein
• in the crimping step, the pair of barrel pieces is crimped to a distal end side of the core wire at the end of the electric wire by a first core wire pressing portion of the second mold arranged to oppose the support surface, the pair of barrel pieces is crimped to the sheath at the end of the electric wire by a sheath pressing portion of the second mold arranged to oppose the support surface, and the pair of barrel pieces is crimped to the core wire while widening a distance between the bottom and the pair of barrel pieces in a sandwiching direction of the core wire as being directed from the first core wire pressing portion side to the sheath pressing portion side by a second core wire pressing portion of the second mold arranged to oppose the support surface between the first core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion, thereby forming an overlapping area in which one of the barrel pieces and the other barrel piece overlap each other, and
• in the crimping step, the pair of barrel pieces is crimped to the end of the electric wire by a plurality of pressing portions, provided in at least a joining pressing area to form the overlapping area in a boundary pressing area arranged at a boundary part between the second core wire pressing portion and the sheath pressing portion, that is, coupling pressing portions, which connect two pressing portions having different angles with respect to a drawing direction of the electric wire from the crimp terminal between the second core wire pressing portion side and the sheath pressing portion side, when crimping the pair of barrel pieces by the first core wire pressing portion, the sheath pressing portion, and the second core wire pressing portion.