(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal fitting and a method of attaching the terminal fitting, and particularly to a terminal fitting to be attached to a conductor of a flat circuit body such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or flexible flat cable (FFC) and a method of attaching such a terminal fitting.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Various electronic instruments are mounted on a motor vehicle as a mobile unit. The motor vehicle includes a wiring harness for transmitting electric power from a battery and control signals from a control device. The wiring harness includes electric wires and connectors. The connector includes a housing made of electrically insulating synthetic resin and terminal fittings received in the housing and attached to ends of the electric wires.
The motor vehicle is required to have multi-functions by users. Therefore, the number of instruments mounted on the motor vehicle tends to increase. That is, the number of the electric wires in the wiring harness tends to increase, thereby making the weight and volume of the wiring harness increase.
Accordingly, it has been proposed that a flat circuit body such as a FFC or FPC is used as the electric wires in the wiring harness in order to reduce the size and weight of the wiring harness.
The flat circuit body is formed in a flat band-shape including a plurality of electric conductors having a rectangular shape in section and film-shaped coatings for coating the respective conductors. Each conductor extends straight. A plurality of the conductors are arranged in parallel to each other. The coating insulates the conductors from each other.
When the terminal fitting is attached to the conductor of the flat circuit body, for example, as shown in European Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1363362, the conductor is once bent into a shape adapted to attach the terminal fitting thereto and then the terminal fitting is attached to the conductor, so that the attaching can be carried out stably without a risk of failure in contact between the conductor and the terminal fitting.
However, in the method of attaching a terminal fitting as shown in European Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1363362, when the terminal fitting is to be attached, it is necessary to prepare a mold for forming the conductor into a shape adapted to attach the terminal fitting thereto and another mold for caulking the terminal fitting to the conductor, causing increase in the cost.
It may be considered that the terminal fitting is attached to a flat conductor without forming the conductor into a shape adapted to attach the terminal fitting thereto. However, in this case, when the terminal fitting is attached to the conductor, since the conductor is flat, a positional gap between the terminal fitting and the conductor occurs, therefore it is difficult to securely attach the terminal fitting to the conductor.