EP1780835B1 - Electrical contact - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an electrical contact comprising a contact element, which has a connecting portion, which serves for the electrically conductive connection to an electrical conductor, having a contact portion integrally connected to the contact portion for contacting a mating contact, and a support member, the contact carrier portion on at least a part enclosing its length along a longitudinal axis and being formed in cross section as a hollow rectangle circumscribed by four walls, having a rear end along the longitudinal axis and a rear end facing the connecting portion, having a first protrusion near the front end, one from the forward end in FIG Direction to the rear end has from the longitudinal axis removing the first insertion portion having side walls and which terminates with an end edge having a rear end near the second projection, one towards the rear n end has a second insertion section, which extends away from the longitudinal axis and which extends away from the first projection, rising away from the longitudinal axis, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such a contact is from the EP-A-1 303 008 known. A large number of such electrical contacts are present, for example, in connections which are used in motor vehicles on cable harnesses or for connecting electrically operated equipment elements of a motor vehicle. Such connectors have housings in which often in several rows and side by side receiving chambers are formed, each receiving an electrical contact. In addition, each receiving chamber is associated with a locking element in the form of a resilient arm, which fixes with a projection on a corresponding contour of the contact and in particular its support element, so that the contact against withdrawal from the housing is securely held. Frequently, so-called secondary locks are added. Thus, even if tensile forces are applied to the cable connected to the individual electrical contacts, the electrical contact should be securely held in the connector.

In addition, depending on the field of application, the sealing of such connector is important because, for example, in the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, a humid environment is present. It can get splashing into the area of such a connector. For this reason, the individual electrical contacts must also be sealed. This can be done by assigning to each individual electrical contact a special seal which is seated in a corresponding opening in front of the electrical contact accommodating chamber, or altogether the end of the connector from which the contacts are inserted into the housing be provided with a seal which covers the entire region of all insertion and the corresponding insertion openings for each contact element, aligned with the individual chambers has. Since such electrical contacts are usually introduced after assembly of the seals in the receiving chambers of the connector, the electrical contacts must be designed so that damage to the seal and thus a leak can be avoided.

The US 5,470,258 describes a connector whose housing has a plurality of receiving chambers, each associated with a locking arm, which occurs with a projection produced by multiple folding on a one-piece contact element in combination. This document describes a secondary lock for the contact element. A seal is not available.

An electrical contact, which provides a projection-free Abstützmöglichkeit for a locking arm for securing an electrical contact in a receiving chamber of a connector, is in the EP 0 971 446 B1 and the parallel ones US Pat. No. 6,102,752 A and DE 699 10 697 T2 described.

The electrical contact illustrated therein comprises a contact element having a connecting portion in the form of crimping lugs for connection to a cable and a conductor thereof to achieve an electrically conductive connection. Subsequently, a contact carrier portion with resilient contact arms is integrally formed on the connecting portion. The contact carrier portion is enclosed by a support element which is adapted to its cross section. The support member has four walls which form a hollow rectangle in cross-section, the upper wall having a tongue punched therefrom which serves to support one of the spring arms. At a height distance from the upper wall, a further wall is provided, which is integrally connected to one of the side walls. It runs parallel to the upper wall and has downwardly bent portions to the side walls or to the upper wall. It also has a recess whose front end facing edge serves as a support base for a projection of a locking arm on a connector. It is thus formed a relatively smooth surface, which ensures that upon insertion of such a contact in a sealed by a seal chamber of a connector no damage to the seal is caused. However, the support element is expensive to manufacture and requires due to the multi-layered training, i. the additional arrangement of the above the upper wall wall, a relatively large starting material portion from which the support member is bent. The manufacturing costs and the cost of the material are correspondingly high. The cross section is correspondingly large.

The DE 200 13 570 U1 describes an electrical contact for use in connection with connectors, wherein the contact element is made in one piece, ie has a connecting portion formed from a sheet metal portion and contact portion, which is designed as a contact socket. This contact portion is shown in cross-section as bounded by four walls hollow rectangle. In this case, a latching shoulder in the form of a projection is formed from one of the walls, which has an edge against which a projection of a connector associated latch arm can be supported. To the problem of damage to a seal to turn off, a rib-like guide member is arranged laterally of the projection, which is to expand when inserting a contact through the opening of a seal, this so that damage can be prevented.

The invention has for its object to provide an electrical contact of the type mentioned with two-part design, i. to provide with a contact element and a support member enclosing this, in which the cost of materials for the support member is reduced and which is also easy to manufacture, wherein the fuse in a receiving chamber of a connector serving elements are designed so that damage to the connector and its Seal to be avoided.

This object is achieved according to the characterizing part of claim 1, characterized in that both the first projection and the second projection of one of the walls are formed without cutting, so that they project from the longitudinal axis away from the associated wall.

The advantage here is that one of the four walls directly has the projection from which an edge is used to represent a support base for the locking arm of a connector. Since the two projections are formed without cutting out of the wall, smooth transitions can be created, so that damage to a seal in the assembly of the contact, i. during insertion into a receiving chamber in which a seal must be passed, is excluded. The second projection causes a guide and favorable orientation to the receiving chamber and can be used as a support base for second locking means, in addition to the latching arm supported on the first projection.

Thus, the overall result is the advantage that only a very small material requirement is required for the production of the support element, since only one of the usually existing four walls is used directly to form the projections. The fact that the leading edge of the first projection facing away from the introduction portion is separated from the associated wall, creates a clearly defined edge, which points in the direction of the second projection, and which serves as a support base for the projection of a locking arm is used.

A particularly favorable design results when the front end of the support element has a cap portion with a central opening, which is formed integrally with one of the four walls. He can with the remaining walls, in particular materially, e.g. be connected by one or more welding points. This cap portion at least partially covers the front end of the open cross section formed by the four walls. It can be designed to create smooth transitions. The central opening can serve, for example, that it exits a plug pin or it serves as an inlet opening for a tab pin of a corresponding mating contact.

In order to ensure that the seal is not damaged even when pulling out such an electrical contact from a receiving chamber by a seal, it is provided that the second projection towards the rear end has a bent in the direction of the longitudinal axis wall portion. This also makes a good investment for a second lock. A favorable possibility of production is given when the support member is formed from a sheet metal section by chipless shaping of the two projections and the cap, by bending into the final shape and optionally welding points at the joints.

Preferably, it is provided that the two projections and the cap of a portion of a sheet metal portion from which the support member is formed, are formed, which is intended to represent the wall having the projections.

In order to be able to effect a favorable support of the first projection on a locking arm of a connector, it is provided that the first projection has an open section in the direction of the second projection. This is generated by the fact that in the production of the first projection first a separation of the sheet metal portion, the wall having the two projections in the form of a linear incision and then the first projection is formed without cutting. This has the advantage that the deformation of the first projection can be made cheap and at the same time a favorable edge is formed for support on the locking arm.

Preferably, the electrical contact is designed as a socket contact, for which it is provided that the contact carrier section has resilient contact arms which receive a counter contact designed as a pin or a flat pin between them.

Overall, it should be noted that the electrical contacts according to the present invention are those which are preferably used in miniaturized form, i. for example, in the design as a socket contact for the introduction of plug pins with a width of 0.64 mm.

A solutions according to the invention is shown schematically in the drawing.

Figur 1

eine perspektivische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Kontaktes,

Figur 2

der Kontakt gemäß Figur 1 in einer weiteren perspektivischen Darstel- lung,

Figur 3

eine Seitenansicht des Kontaktes gemäß Figur 1,

Figur 4

das Stützelement als Einzelteil in perspektivischer Darstellung und

Figur 5

das Kontaktelement als Einzelteil, perspektivisch dargestellt.

It shows

FIG. 1

a perspective view of a contact according to the invention,

FIG. 2

the contact according to FIG. 1 in a further perspective illustration,

FIG. 3

a side view of the contact according to FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4

the support element as a single part in perspective view and

FIG. 5

the contact element as a single part, shown in perspective.

The contact 1 consists of the in FIG. 5 shown as a single part contact element 2 and the in FIG. 4 shown as a single part support element 3, which encloses along the longitudinal axis 4, the contact element 2 on a partial length.

The contact element 2 is, starting from a having an electrical conductivity Sheet metal material, produced by bending. It comprises a connecting section 5 formed by two first crimping lugs, which serves for connecting an electrical conductor to the contact element 2 by crimping. In addition, according to the right FIG. 5 to the connecting portion 5 in the form of first Crimplaschen then two second Crimplaschen 6 are provided which are offset along the longitudinal axis 4 to each other so that they are arranged after crimping to the insulation of a conductor having cable along the longitudinal axis 4 in succession. The first Crimplaschen 5 and second Crimplaschen 6 start from a bottom portion which is extended away from the second Crimplaschen 6 on the first Crimplaschen 5 and forms a connecting portion 7, to which a contact carrier portion 8 is connected. This contact carrier section 8 is designed in a first section following the connecting section 7 as a hollow rectangular profile, wherein at the end thereof, which faces away from the connecting section 5, contact arms 9 connect. The contact arms 9 are designed to be resilient and serve to receive and contact a plug pin, for example in the form of a flat plug pin, so that an electrically conductive connection is produced to this flat plug pin, which belongs to a mating contact. Towards the connecting section 5, the contact carrier section 8 ends with the end edge 11. Immediately following the end edge 11, two recesses 10 are provided on the connecting section 5 and are formed in the walls of the intermediate section 7 which are raised by bending.

The contact carrier section 8 and the contact arms 9 of the contact element 2 are enclosed by a support element 3. This support element 3 also has a hollow rectangular cross-section transverse to the longitudinal axis 4. This hollow rectangular cross-section is enclosed by four walls, namely a first wall 12, a second wall 13 adjoining at right angles thereto, a third wall 14 adjoining thereto, and a fourth wall 15 connecting the third wall 14 and the first wall 12 to one another. The supporting element 3 has a front end 16 and a rear end 17, which end is not a defined end to understand, but an end portion or end portion.

The support element 3 is formed starting from a corresponding preform having a sheet metal portion, which is preferably made of a material having a higher strength than the contact element 2. Preferably, this is a steel, in particular a spring properties and having stainless steel Question. The support member 3 has from the longitudinal axis 4 away from the base material of the third wall 14 forming sheet metal section formed without cutting two projections, namely a front end 16 near the first projection 18 and a rear end 17 near the second projection 23. The first projection 18th is formed from the third wall 14 forming sheet metal section so that initially transverse to the longitudinal axis 4, a linear section is introduced so that the first projection 18 can be pushed out before bending into the rectangular shape. This results in the front end 16 toward a first insertion portion 19, which forms an inclined surface, which along the longitudinal axis 4 from the front end 16, starting towards the rear end 17 away from the longitudinal axis, i. increases. When molding the first projection 18 is also connected via the side walls 22 with the third wall 14, while at the rear end 17 facing the end of the first projection 18 results in an end edge 20 and thereby to the third wall 14 an opening 21 and open section 21 is formed.

Towards the rear end 17, the second projection 23 is provided which has a second insertion section 24 in the direction of the first projection 18. This is also known as increasing from the third wall 14 towards the rear end 17, i. is shown from the longitudinal axis 4 removing surface portion which merges into an approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis 4 extending head portion. This head section terminates at the rear end 17 in the inward direction, i.e., inwards. in the direction of the longitudinal axis 4 bent end wall 26. The side walls 25 of the second projection 23 are also after the molding, as in the first projection 18, further connected to the third wall 14 in one piece.

Further, the second wall 13 is formed of two sections of the sheet metal portion for the support member 3, wherein these abut a butt joint 28 abutting each other and which may be connected, for example, by one or more welding points. One of these sections forms tabs 27, which are bent after mounting the support member 3 on the contact element 2 inwardly so that they engage in the recesses 10 and enclose the raised wall sections of the intermediate section 7, so that a backup of the support member 3 along the longitudinal axis 4 at the contact element 2 and its contact carrier portion 8 is given. Towards the front end 16, the tabs 27 are supported against the end edge 11 and in the opposite direction to the edges of the intermediate portion 7 formed by the recesses 10.

The front end of the support member 3 is closed by a cap portion 29 which centrally leaves an opening 30 through which, for example, a tab pin can be inserted to bring it in contact with the also enclosed by the support member 3 contact arms 9 of the contact element 2. The cap portion 29 has also been made by stamping and deforming a portion of the sheet metal portion to form the support member 3. The cap portion 29 is thus preferably integrally formed with a one of the side walls 12, 13, 14, 15 forming portion of the sheet metal portion. Of the remaining peripheral edges of the cap portion 29, which do not form a unit with the sheet metal section, one or more can be connected to the walls by a weld or spot welding cohesively or mechanically by other means.

It can also be seen that the two projections 18, 23 are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis 4 not centrally on the third wall 14, but are offset on one side. This can be used to insert the contact 1 in the correct orientation in a receiving receiving chamber of a connector housing, which has a corresponding design.

Since such connectors must be sealed when used in a humid environment or a splash-prone environment, the contact element 2 must be inserted through the seal during assembly. In this case, due to the course of the two insertion portions 19, 24 and the design of the two projections 18, 23 with their subsequent to the insertion portions 19, 24 closed side walls 22 and 25 damage to the seals avoided. After insertion of such a contact 1 in a corresponding receiving chamber of a connector housing, the first projection 18 is supported with its end edge 20 against a corresponding support surface of an elastic locking arm of the connector housing, so that pulling out of the contact 1 in pulling action on a to the connecting portion. 5 and the second Crimplaschen 6 connected cable no movement toward the rear end 17 is possible. However, to achieve a further assurance, a second latch is often used, which is inserted transversely to the longitudinal axis 4 in the connector housing behind the end wall 26. In the direction of the front end 16 pushing out of the connector housing is usually prevented because the cap portion 29 faces a corresponding projecting wall of the connector housing. Moreover, practically no pressure forces can be exerted on the contact 1 via the cable. Thus, the protection against pulling out by pulling action on a connected cable is of particular importance. The two projections 18, 23 may already be prefabricated in the sheet metal section. The same applies to the cap portion 29. Only then is the bending in the finished form.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

Contact

2

contact element

3

support element

4

longitudinal axis

5

Connecting section / first Crimplaschen

6

second crimps

7

intermediate section

8th

Contact support section

9

contact arms

10

recess

11

end edge

12

first wall

13

second wall

14

third wall

15

fourth wall

16

front end

17

rear end

18

first advantage

19

first introductory section

20

end edge

21

Opening / open section

22

Side wall

23

second lead

24

second introductory section

25

Side / side wall

26

end wall

27

flap

28

butt joint

29

cap section

30

breakthrough

31

recess

32

first edge

33

second edge

34

tongue

35

wall section

36

step

Claims (9)

1. Electrical contact comprising
   a contact element (2), which

   - has a connection portion (5), which serves for the electrically conductive connection to an electric wire,

   - has a contact carrier portion (8), connected integrally to the connection
   portion (5), for contacting a counter-contact, and

   a support element (3), which

   - encloses the contact carrier portion (8) on at least a portion of its length along a longitudinal axis (4) and is formed in cross-section as a hollow rectangle delimited by four walls (12, 13, 14, 15),

   - has along the longitudinal axis (4), a front end (16) and a rear end (17) facing the connection portion (5),

   - has a first projection (18) close to the front end (16) and which has a first insertion portion (19), which, starting from the front end (16), extends away from the longitudinal axis (4) in direction towards the rear end (17), and which has side walls (22) and which ends in an end edge (20),

   - has a second projection (23), close to the rear end (17), and which has a second insertion portion (24), which in direction towards the rear end (17) extends away from the longitudinal axis (4) and which extends away from the first projection (18) in an inclined manner away from the longitudinal axis (4),
   characterised in
   that the first projection (18) as well as the second projection (23) are formed in a chipless manner from one of the walls (12, 13, 14, 15), so that they project away from the longitudinal axis (4) from the mating wall (14).
2. Electrical contact according to claim 1,
   characterised in
   that the first projection (18) and the second projection (23) are still connected after the chipless forming directly from the base material of the wall (14) of the support element (3), to which wall they are assigned, by means of their side walls (22, 25) to this wall (14), while the end edge (20) of the first projection (18) is separated from the base material of the wall (14) and serves as the support base for the locking arm of a connector.
3. Electrical contact according to claim 1,
   characterised in
   that the front end (16) of the support element (3) has a cap portion (29) with a central through opening (30), and that the cap portion (29) is formed integrally with one (12) of the four walls (12, 13, 14, 15).
4. Electrical contact according to claim 3,
   characterised in
   that the cap portion (29) is connected to at least one of the residual walls.
5. Electrical contact according to claim 1,
   characterised in
   that the second projection has towards the rear end (17) a wall portion (26), bent in direction towards the longitudinal axis (4).
6. Electrical contact according to one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in
   that the support element (3) is formed from a metal sheet portion by means of chipless forming of the two projections (18, 23) and of the cap portion (29) and by bending into the final shape.
7. Electrical contact according to claim 6,
   characterised in
   that the two projections (18, 23) and the cap portion (29) are formed at a portion of the metal sheet portion, which forms the wall (14), which has the projections (18, 23).
8. Electrical contact according to claim 2,
   characterised in
   that the first projection (18) has an open portion (21) in direction towards the second projection (23).
9. Electrical contact according to claim 1,
   characterised in
   that the contact carrier portion (8) has elastic contact arms (9), which accommodate between each other a counter-contact formed as a connector pin or a connector tab.

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