EP0777306B1 - Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments - Google Patents

Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0777306B1
EP0777306B1 EP95203317A EP95203317A EP0777306B1 EP 0777306 B1 EP0777306 B1 EP 0777306B1 EP 95203317 A EP95203317 A EP 95203317A EP 95203317 A EP95203317 A EP 95203317A EP 0777306 B1 EP0777306 B1 EP 0777306B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
contact
contact surface
terminal
support tool
contact terminal
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP95203317A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP0777306A1 (fr
Inventor
Niranjan Kumar Mitra
Petrus Wouter Hendrikus Schalk
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Berg Electronics Manufacturing BV
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Berg Electronics Manufacturing BV
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Publication date
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Application filed by Berg Electronics Manufacturing BV filed Critical Berg Electronics Manufacturing BV
Priority to DE69518157T priority Critical patent/DE69518157T2/de
Priority to EP95203317A priority patent/EP0777306B1/fr
Priority to US09/077,571 priority patent/US6286209B1/en
Priority to PCT/US1996/019157 priority patent/WO1997020369A1/fr
Priority to JP9520722A priority patent/JP2000501225A/ja
Publication of EP0777306A1 publication Critical patent/EP0777306A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0777306B1 publication Critical patent/EP0777306B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/02—Contact members
    • H01R13/10—Sockets for co-operation with pins or blades
    • H01R13/11—Resilient sockets
    • H01R13/112—Resilient sockets forked sockets having two legs
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/16—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R12/00—Structural associations of a plurality of mutually-insulated electrical connecting elements, specially adapted for printed circuits, e.g. printed circuit boards [PCB], flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures, e.g. terminal strips, terminal blocks; Coupling devices specially adapted for printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures; Terminals specially adapted for contact with, or insertion into, printed circuits, flat or ribbon cables, or like generally planar structures
    • H01R12/50—Fixed connections
    • H01R12/51—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures
    • H01R12/55—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures characterised by the terminals
    • H01R12/58—Fixed connections for rigid printed circuits or like structures characterised by the terminals terminals for insertion into holes
    • H01R12/585—Terminals having a press fit or a compliant portion and a shank passing through a hole in the printed circuit board

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method of producing a contact terminal provided with at least a first contact surface for contacting with a mating contact area, comprising at least the step of stamping the contact terminal from a flat blank metal having a substantially flat surface with a predetermined first width, the first contact surface being substantially perpendicular to the flat surface.
  • this material is fed to a die for stamping operation to produce a contact terminal of pre-determined shape, its roughness increases in areas where it has been in contact with die tooling.
  • the resulting roughness depends on the surface roughness of the tool used and any associated die operation (i.e. bend, coin, slug punch-out etc.).
  • any associated die operation i.e. bend, coin, slug punch-out etc.
  • material drag through opposing die-platen results in the least increase in roughness.
  • a substantial roughness increase (burr) formation is expected.
  • the resulting roughness and burrs or undulating peaks on such contact surfaceas can be somewhat smoothened by coating the terminal with a predetermined suitable metal (e.g. gold).
  • a predetermined suitable metal e.g. gold
  • the gap size cannot be made smaller than about 0,8 mm.
  • Such gaps are required to ensure adequate electrolytic fluid movement, hence allowing metal deposition on the contacting surfaces.
  • the contact surface width is equal to the original material thickness, i.e, about 0.2 mm. Since a male type terminal is often a pin with a rectangular cross section with a width of about 0.4 mm, such 0.2 mm wide contact surfaces of the tuning-fork type terminal (with a width at contact surface substantially similar to that of the pin) would act like a "knife" on the plated coating of the mating male terminal. For a typical male type terminal having a circular cross section such tuning-fork type terminals are not suitable at all since they would slip away from the surface of the mating male terminal unless such pins are constrained, for example, by the housing cavity.
  • FIG. 1b One example of such a prior art contact terminal is a box-type contact terminal 41, as is schematically shown in figure 1b.
  • the stamping is in such a way as to have a U-shaped cross section.
  • Such a box-type terminal 41 is provided with a dual-beam receptacle contact with two opposing cantilever spring beams 42, 43 having a specific gap (under-size) to cooperate with a mating (over-size) male pin (not shown in figure 1b), to result in a specified contact normal force.
  • the opposing receptacle contact zone is flat. Should the pin be substantially flat over the contact zone, the corresponding contact area of the receptacle needs to be curved - which in practice usually is a spherical dimple (not shown) on the flat-rolled portion of stamped strip cantilever beams 42, 43 of this dual-beam contact.
  • cavity entry lead-in geometry openings for the connector are important to mutually guide opposing mating connector parts during insertion/withdrawal cycling. Additional provision on the terminals to facilitate appropriate contact mating is to have a lead-in entry throat for the receptacle contact, to cooperate with the taper at the extremity of the pin.
  • box-type terminals 41 in figure 1b involves usually three process steps: a pre-stamp, plating (involving precious metal deposit of at least a substantially large portion of the flat-rolled surface of cantilever beams 42, 43), and a final-stamp operation including an accurate gap-sizing operation to form the box-shaped base of contact beams.
  • Such contacts are stamped adjacent to each other joined by a common carrier strip, at a pitch defined by the span of the cantilever beams 42, 43 in the flat state. It will be known to a skilled practitioner that besides a relatively high strip material and precious metal utilization, the number of process steps and speed of operation (due to larger pitch between adjacent terminals on the carrier), contribute towards a less cost-effective connector manufacture.
  • each of the cavities of a connector containing several such U-shaped dual beam box contacts located adjacent to each other, although separated by an insulating wall, are rather close to one another, thus, increasing mutual cross-talk in high-speed electrical connector applications.
  • the conventional tuning-fork type contact terminal 1, shown in figure 1a, is accommodated within a cavity of a connector 31 shown in cross section.
  • Contact terminal 1 is provided with two opposing beams 2, 3 which are provided with contact surfaces 4, 5 for contacting a mating contact terminal, e.g., male type terminal 6 (shown in figures 2a, 2b, 2c).
  • a mating contact terminal e.g., male type terminal 6 (shown in figures 2a, 2b, 2c).
  • the contact surfaces 4, 5 are provided with widened throat lead-in parts 4', 5', as shown in figure 1a.
  • the cantilever beams 2, 3 of the tuning-fork type terminal 1 are stiffer due to the new moment of Inertia as applicable in the theoretical force deflection equation (i.e. a longer cantilever beam length or reduced material thickness or a combination thereof is required for the same normal force requirement), a positive contribution to miniaturization can be realized. Since the stamping operation involves punch-cutting to form the contact gap between contact surfaces 4, 5, accurate gap-size control (as required to satisfy contact normal force and maintain the insertion/withdrawal forces within accepted limits), can be affected. However, the contact zone in the tuning-fork concept is located on the stamped (burred) edge of the cantilever beams.
  • Figure 2a shows a cross section of the two beams 2, 3 when elecand mechanically contacting the mating terminal 6, which may be provided with a point shaped end 7 in order to facilitate insertion between the two beams 2, 3.
  • the 'ideal' situation is shown in which the two beams 2, 3 are still within one plane and the mating terminal 6 is inserted along the centre line axis x.
  • Contact surfaces 4, 5 of beams 2, 3 are shown with rough surfaces provided with burrs due to the stamping process used to manufacture the contact terminal 1.
  • Figure 2b shows a situation in which beams 2, 3 are still substantially within one plane but in which mating terminal 6 is displaced relative to centre line axis x.
  • Figure 2c shows a situation in which not only the mating terminal 6 is displaced but also one of the beams 2, 3 is displaced by an amount ⁇ x relative to the centre line axis x. The latter displacement is often the result of die mal-adjustment in the stamping operation.
  • the teachings of the prior art show an alternative using a tuning-type for terminal 51 having the twisted cantilever beams 52, 53, as shown in figure 1c.
  • Similar twisted beam contact terminals are, for example, shown in US-A-4,743,208 and US-A-5,199,886.
  • Such twisted beam contact terminals 51 take the advantage of a tuning-fork concept, and by twisting the cantilever beams 52, 53 through 90 degrees the contact surfaces 54, 55 become, essentially, the initially mill-rolled surface of the strip material with reduced surface roughness from which the terminal 51 is produced.
  • the concept of twisted beam contact terminals shows the following associated difficulties:
  • tuning-fork type terminals have many inherent advantages. Consequently, the application of (flat) stamped tuning-fork type terminals deserves to be persued, provided their associated disadvantages can be overcome. Compared to box type terminals tuning-fork type terminals can be stamped with an easier process, and the contact pitch on the carrier can be smaller, e.g. 2 mm, resulting in less material used per terminal. Moreover, when tuning-fork type terminals are inserted in the connector housing for a multi-row multi-column connector, a larger mutual spacing between adjacent terminals is obtained than would be the case with box-type terminals. Consequently, for the case of tuning-fork type terminals the coupling between adjacent contacts (cross-talk) for high frequency applications is reduced. Therefore, the use of tuning-fork type terminals has some merits over box type terminals in future connector applications.
  • the effective contact surface is larger in width than the initial stock width.
  • a still further object of the invention is to provide contact terminals with polished contact surfaces and products comprising such contact terminals, the terminals being made from thin, e.g. in a range of up to 1.0 mm, flat stock material.
  • the original rough contact surface will be highly polished due to pressing it against the highly polished surface of the support tool, thus avoiding the disadvantages related to the prior art rough contact surfaces.
  • the first predetermined force is exerted such and the first predetermined shape is such that after the last step the first contact surface is provided with a second width larger than the first width.
  • the previously "knife" action of the contact surface during contact mating can be avoided.
  • the method relates to the manufacturing of tuning-fork type terminals.
  • the contact terminal furthermore comprises a second contact surface being substantially perpendicular to the flat surface and opposite to the first contact surface for providing a gap for receiving a mating contact terminal, the method additionally comprising the following steps:
  • tuning-fork type terminals By producing tuning-fork type terminals in this way, also a very accurate controlled gap size between the first and second contact surfaces is obtained, since the gap size is determined by the support tool.
  • the second predetermined force is exerted such and the second predetermined shape is such that after the last step the second contact surface is provided with a third width larger than the first width.
  • the first surface of the support tool may have any desired shape but in one embodiment it is designed to shape the first contact surface such that a line of intersection between the first contact surface and a plane of cross section through the contact terminal and perpendicular to the flat surface, is substantially rectilinear.
  • the second surface of the support tool may be designed to shape the second contact surface such that a second line of intersection between the second contact surface and the plane of cross section is substantially rectilinear. Such a shape is preferred for a connector configuration with round cross-sectional pin members.
  • the first surface of the support tool may be designed to shape the first contact surface such that a line of intersection between the first contact surface and a plane of cross section through the contact terminal and perpendicular to the flat surface, is substantially curved.
  • the second surface of the support tool is, preferably, designed to shape the second contact surface such that a second line of intersection between the second contact surface and the plane of cross section is substantially curved.
  • Such a shape is preferred for a connector configuration with rectangular cross-sectional pin members.
  • the polishing and possible broadening of the contact surfaces may be done with specially shaped punches. These punches may be moved either substantially perpendicular to the flat surfaces of the terminal or substantially parallel to the flat surfaces of the terminal and towards the highly polished surface(s) of the support tool to exert the forces required for polishing and possible broadening of the contact surfaces.
  • the present invention is also applicable to press-fit terminals, as will be explained below.
  • Press-fitting connectors to printed circuit boards is common practice.
  • the press-fit terminal is often located on a tail portion which is at a 90° angle to the axis of the receptacle terminal axis, e.g. for use in right-angle connectors.
  • a major difficulty can be experienced during positioning and press-fit application to printed circuit boards.
  • the tooling and means to perform the press-fitting, including force transmission to the press-fit end can be critical.
  • Press-fit terminals for relatively large pitch spacings were primary square (solid) in cross-section.
  • the diagonal over-size with the plated through hole (PTH) resulted in an effective measure to maintain the electrical/mechanical integrity of the press-fit connection.
  • the elasto-plastic mechanical deformations and board material characteristics defined the press-fit section retention force values.
  • Such press-fit systems with solid press-fit terminals can generally be associated with high insertion forces, local board bow and potential danger for PTH plating rupture to impair the connection quality.
  • the method defined above also relates to press-fit terminals which furthermore comprises a second contact surface being substantially parallel and opposite to the first contact surface, the first and second contact surfaces being arranged for a press-fit connection to a plated through hole of, e.g., a printed circuit board, the method steps defined above additionally comprising the following steps:
  • the first surface of the support tool is designed to shape the first contact surface such that a first line of intersection between the first contact surface and a plane of cross-section through the contact terminal and perpendicular to the flat surface, is substantially curved and/or the second surface of the support tool is designed to shape the second contact surface such that a second line of intersection between the second contact surface and the plane of cross-section is substantially curved.
  • the invention also relates to a contact terminal provided with at least a first contact surface for contacting a mating contact area and stamped from a piece of blank having a substantially flat surface with a predetermined first width, the first contact surface being substantially perpendicular to the flat surface and being highly polished by pressing said first contact surface against a first, highly polished surface of a support tool.
  • the first contact surface is provided with a second width larger than the first width.
  • the contact terminal according to the invention may furthermore be provided with a second contact surface being substantially perpendicular to the flat surface and opposite to the first contact surface for providing a gap for receiving a mating contact terminal, the second contact surface being highly polished.
  • the second contact surface is provided with a third width larger than the first width.
  • Such a contact terminal may be a press-fit terminal with highly polished and possibly broadened contact surfaces.
  • the invention also relates to a connector provided with at least one contact terminal either as produced by any of the methods described above or as defined above.
  • the invention relates to an assembly of a substrate and at least one contact terminal either as produced by any of the methods described above or as defined above, the at least one contact terminal being fixed to the substrate.
  • FIGS 3a-3e a tuning-fork type terminal 1 according to the invention is shown. It is similar to the prior art terminal of figure 1a besides the presence of dimples 8-11 and extensions 12-15 which result from the manufacturing process.
  • Figure 3a shows a side view of terminal 1 whereas figure 3b shows a top view of the front side of the terminal 1 intended for connection to mating terminal 6 (figures 2a-2c). In figure 3b one can see the extensions 12, 13 from beam 3.
  • Figure 3e shows a top view of terminal 1 in an alternative embodiment in which the beams 2, 3 are curved relative to centre line axis x such that the bottom part of the stagger shaped terminal does not coincide with the centre line axis x.
  • a mating pin-like terminal 6 may be inserted deeper between beams 2, 3 without being stopped by the bottom part of the terminal 1. Consequently, existing relatively long pin-like terminals 6 can be received by terminal 1 even when beams 2, 3 are shorter than in the prior art tuning-fork type terminals.
  • Figure 3c shows a cross section through terminal 1 along line IIIc-IIIc in figure 3a whereas figure 3d shows a cross section through terminal 1 through line IIId-IIId in figure 3a.
  • Figure 3d clearly shows the dimples 8-11 above extensions 12-15 at those locations of beams 2, 3.
  • the material surface adjoining extensions 12, 13 and 14, 15 are the receptacle surfaces intended to mate with corresponding surfaces of male pin terminal 6.
  • the contact surfaces 4, 5 of beams 2, 3 are broadened relative to the width of the beams 2, 3 and are highly polished due to the manufacturing process which will be explained below.
  • the width of contact surfaces 4, 5 may be less than 1.0 mm, and preferably in the range of 0.5 to 0.6 mm whereas the width of the beams 2, 3 may be 1.0 mm or less, preferably in the range up to 0.5 mm, e.g. 0.3 mm.
  • the associated contact gap depends on the normal force requirement, usually of the order of 0.2 mm for 0.5 N force.
  • Contact surfaces 4, 5 are substantially perpendicular to the side surfaces of beams 2, 3.
  • the lines of intersection between contact surfaces 4, 5 and the cross section plane along lines IIIc-IIIc and IIId-IIId, respectively, are rectilinear.
  • the embodiment according to figures 3c, 3d is preferred when the mating contacting terminal 6 has a round cross section.
  • these lines of intersection may be curved as shown in figures 4a and 4b which show cross sections through terminal 1 similar to the cross sections of figures 3c and 3d, respectively, however, from an alternative embodiment of the invention.
  • the embodiment according to figures 4a, 4b is preferred when mating terminal 6 has a rectangular cross section.
  • Figure 5a shows a cross section through a specially shaped central support tool 16 used for manufacturing terminals according to the invention.
  • Figure 5b shows a cross section of specially shaped side support punches 28, 29 (not shown in figure 5a) simultaneously used with the support tool 16 in a plane perpendicular to beams 2, 3 along line Vb-Vb shown in figure 5a.
  • punch surfaces 33, 34 of side support punches 28, 29 correspond to the side surfaces of beams 2, 3.
  • Surfaces 27, 30 of central support tool 16, figure 5b are highly polished.
  • Punch surfaces 33, 34 need not be highly polished although it is well known that a smooth contour promotes material flow during a squeezing step (see below).
  • the support tool 16 is inserted between the beams 2, 3 of terminal 1 along centre line axis x in a direction indicated by arrow P1 until the position shown in figure 5a. Then, the side support punches 28, 29 are moved towards the beams 2, 3 in directions indicated by arrows P2 and P3, respectively. At that moment, the side surfaces of beams 2, 3 are still substantially flat (not shown).
  • the side support punches 28, 29 are pushed against the side surfaces of beams 2, 3 and apply a predetermined force in order to locally depress and squeeze the beams 2, 3 at the side surfaces.
  • the side support punches 28, 29 are shaped in order to prevent flow of material of beams 2, 3 in a direction away from contact surfaces 4, 5 and to force material flow towards surfaces 27, 30 of central support tool 16. Material of the beams 2, 3 is thus forced to flow by squeezing in order to fill the mutual opening between the side support punches 28, 29 and the surfaces 27, 30, thus forming extensions 12, 13, 14, 15 and dimples 8, 9, 10, 11. Since surfaces 27, 30 of central support tool 16 are highly polished the contact surfaces 4, 5 are polished by this process or at least obtain a strongly reduced surface roughness.
  • the widths of contact surfaces 4, 5 are enlarged relative to the widths of the beams 2, 3, thus further reducing the sharpness of the contact surfaces 4, 5. It is appreciated that the gap between contact surfaces 4, 5 remains well defined due to the use of central support tool 16. At the end of this step, the central support tool 16 can be withdrawn (opposite to direction P1), and subsequently side support punches 28, 29 can be removed to leave a highly, flared contact surface with a predetermined gap size between contact beams 2, 3.
  • central support tool 16 and side support punches 28, 29 are such that the heights of beams 2, 3 are, preferably, substantially not changed by the squeezing force. Control of the heights of beams 2, 3 is necessary since they are determined by the size of the connector cavity in which terminal 1 is to be inserted (see figure 1a). To this effect, side support punches 28, 29 are shown to have suitable extensions. However, alternatively, central support tool 16 may be provided with suitable extensions to prevent the heights of beams 2, 3 to be enlarged during the manufacturing process.
  • the invention is not limited to the application of one central support tool 16 and two side support punches 28, 29 as shown. Alternatively, other numbers of punches may be used.
  • Such two punches thus, act both as central support tool 16 and as side support punches 28, 29.
  • the previous discussion relates to the use of the invention for mating and termination (press-fit) end.
  • the remaining inbetween portion of the terminal edges can also be locally polished and flared, as required.
  • the junction portion between beams 2 and 3 of the dual-beam type terminal 1 could be provided with a polished and flared edge 56, as shown in figure 5a.
  • Providing this junction between beams 2, 3 with an enlarged width results in stiffer beams because of the increased moment of inertia, thus, providing the possibility of using less material to obtain the same stiffness as in dual-beam type terminals without such flared junction edges. Further miniaturization could thus be achieved.
  • the central support tool 16 and/or the side support punches 28, 29 may be slightly heated.
  • the beams 2, 3 of terminal 1 may be slightly heated before squeezing with the support tool 16 and the punches 28, 29.
  • such support tooling could be a part of a comb-like structure to facilitate mass-stamping.
  • FIG. 6a and 6b show single beam contact terminals 17 and 18 having beams 20 and 19, respectively.
  • plastic connector housings have been omitted.
  • Beam 19 is provided with a contact surface 25
  • beam 20 is provided with a contact surface 26.
  • Contact surfaces 25, 26 are polished by the same method as used to polish the contact surfaces 4, 5 of beams 2, 3 of the tuning-fork type terminal 1.
  • the polishing tools are essentially the same as are applied for polishing dual-beam contact terminals though they may be specially designed and manufactured. When the polishing process illustrated with reference to figures 5a, 5b is used dimples 8 will result.
  • Figure 6a shows a connector structure using single beam terminals 17, 18 provided with bases 21, 23 used as a means to connect two substrates 22, 24, e.g., printed circuit boards.
  • Terminal 18 is shown to be L-shaped in order to define a blocking position for beam 17 when contacting beam 18 such that contact surfaces 25 and 26 are then touching each other in a predetermined way.
  • Figure 6b shows a part of the same single beam terminal 18, however, the base 23 being used for a right angle connection to substrate 24.
  • Figure 6c shows the application of two single beam terminals 35, 36 arranged within an edge card connector 37, and suitable for connection to circuit tracks on two opposing sides of a substrate 44.
  • Dimples 47 and 48 are provided on the terminals 35 and 36, respectively, for a firm accommodation of terminals 35, 36 within connector 37.
  • the dimples 47, 48 may be polished, flared edge portions made by the method according to the present invention.
  • the connector 37 may be connected to another substrate 38 provided with conducting tracks (not shown) connected to the terminals 35, 36 in a way known by persons skilled in the art, e.g., by soldering or a press-fit connection.
  • the substrate 44 is also provided with conducting tracks (not shown) which will contact terminals 35, 36 when the connector 37 is connected to the edge of substrate 44.
  • the single beam terminals 35, 36 are provided with stops 39, 40 to define the insert depth of substrate 44 into edge card connector 37.
  • connector 37 may be provided with several more single beam terminals like terminals 35, 36 in a parallel relation thereto.
  • Figure 6d shows that substrate 44 may be provided with single beam terminals 45, 46, which are similar to the terminals 35, 36 and are arranged for contacting them and are to replace the conducting tracks (not shown) on substrate 44.
  • Reference number 49 refers to an elevation on pcb 44, arranged to define the insert depth of pcb 44 into connector 37 to ensure that the polished, and possibly flared portions of the contact surfaces of beams 35 and 36 are contacting the contact surfaces of beams 45 and 46, respectively, in the inserted state.
  • the invention is also applicable to press-fit tail areas, as shown in figures 7a and 7b.
  • FIG. 7a shows a press-fit terminal 60 having a slot shaped opening 61 on its centre line to resiliently absorp forces exerted on the press-fit terminal 60 when inserted into an undersized plated (through) hole of, e.g., a printed circuit board (not shown), as is known to persons skilled in the art.
  • a press-fit terminal is known as an "eye of a needle" press-fit.
  • the invention is not restricted to this type of press-fit terminal.
  • the press-fit terminal 60 comprises an insert part 62 with contact surfaces 64 (figure 7b) and 65 which result from stamping from a piece of blank.
  • the contact surfaces 64, 65 are rough and burred.
  • these rough and burred surfaces 64, 65 are polished by first pressing these surfaces 64, 65 against highly polished surfaces 66 and 67, respectively, of a support tool 16', e.g., by moving these surfaces 66, 67 in the directions of arrows P4 and P5, respectively (figure 7b).
  • punches 68, 69 are pressed against the flat upper and lower surfaces of press-fit terminal 60, as indicated in figure 7b by arrows P6 and P7, respectively. It is evident to a skilled practitioner, that by polishing the contact surfaces 64, 65 the potential risk of damage to a plated hole during the insertion of a press-fit terminal 60, can be reduced.
  • the front surfaces of punches 68, 69 and the surfaces 66, 67 of the support tool 16' are shaped such that the thickness of contact surfaces 64, 65 of press-fit terminal 60 are enlarged (or flared) relative to the original thickness of flat (rolled) material from which the initial contour of the press-fit section was cut-out.
  • the enlarged width of contact surfaces 64, 65 has the advantage that the normal forces exerted on the wall of the plated through hole in a printed circuit board is distributed over a larger area. This then results in a reduced risk to damage of the plated through hole, contributing to good reliable electrical connection between the press-fit terminal and the plated hole.
  • the invention describes essentially the use of two opposing indenting punches depressing from the flat-rolled side (i.e. along the material stock thickness and perpendicular to the material's flat surfaces), while the material extrusion is being restrained by support tooling located at the two other edges (i.e. along the width) of contact cut-out.
  • This mode of operation has been the basis of the embodiments according to figures 1 up to 7.
  • Figure 8a shows a dual-beam tuning-fork terminal 1 with beams 2, 3.
  • Contact surfaces 4, 5 are polished and are shaped like a spoon.
  • Contact surfaces 4, 5 have a width w2 which is larger than the original width w1 of the terminal.
  • W1 may be 0.3 mm or less whereas w2 may be 0.58 mm or less.
  • Figure 8b shows how these spoon-like contact surfaces 4, 5 can be made.
  • five right-angle contact terminals 1 are shown in their state after the stamping step.
  • the beams 2 and 3, respectively, are still provided with rough, burred contact surfaces 4 and 5, respectively.
  • FIG. 8b On the right-hand part of figure 8b, five right-angle contact terminals 1 provided with spoon-like contact surfaces 4 and 5 are shown.
  • the spoon shape of contact surfaces 4, 5 is obtained by inserting support tool 16 between opposing contact surfaces 4, 5 and by pressing contact surfaces 4, 5 with a predetermined force against its highly polished surfaces 27, 30 by means of punches 70, 71. To generate such a force, the punches 70, 71 are moved in a direction towards the highly polished surfaces of support tool 16, as indicated by arrows P8, P9.
  • punches 70, 71 In order to be able to move punches 70, 71 in the directions of arrows P8, P9 at the proper locations, they firstly have to inserted between a beam 4, 5 of one terminal and a beam 5, 4 of an adjacent terminal. However, because of the requirement to waste as little material as possible during the stamping step adjacent terminals 1 will be as close as possible, thus, leaving only a limited space available for inserting punches 70, 71 between them. Therefore, the method of polishing contact surfaces as described with reference to figures 5a and 5b, is preferred. One way of avoiding this diffulty of limited available space would be to turn the individual contact terminals 1, e.g. by 90°, before the polishing step. However, this would require an additional process step.
  • the method to polish and possibly broaden rough, burred contact surfaces resulting from stamping processes may be applied on any shaped terminal intended for electrically contacting any type of mating contact area, e.g., from a mating contact terminal, the plating of a plated hole in a printed circuit board, etc.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
  • Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)

Claims (29)

  1. Procédé de production d'une borne de contact (1 ; 17 ; 18 ; 35 ; 36 ; 60) dotée d'au moins une première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) pour venir au contact, par exemple, d'une région de contact adaptée (6 ; 18 ; 17), le procédé comportant au moins l'étape suivante :
       a - estamper la borne de contact à partir d'une pièce de flan ayant une surface sensiblement plate avec une première largeur prédéterminée, ladite première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) étant sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate ;
    caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte les étapes suivantes :
    b - presser ladite première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) contre une première surface hautement polie (27 ; 66) d'un outil de support (16), ladite première surface polie (27 ; 66) ayant une première forme prédéterminée ;
    c - exercer une première force prédéterminée sur ladite borne de contact afin de déformer ladite première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) contre ladite première surface hautement polie (27 ; 66) dudit outil de support (16), en polissant ainsi ladite première surface de contact.
  2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que la première force prédéterminée est exercée de telle façon, et la première forme prédéterminée est telle, qu'après l'étape c la première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) se voit dotée d'une deuxième largeur supérieure à ladite première largeur.
  3. Procédé selon la revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisé en ce que ladite borne de contact (1) comporte, en outre, une deuxième surface de contact (5), sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate et en regard de ladite première surface de contact (4), afin de ménager une ouverture pour recevoir une borne de contact adaptée (6), lesdites étapes b et c du procédé comportant, en plus, les étapes suivantes :
    b' - presser ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) contre une deuxième surface hautement polie (30) dudit outil de support (16), ladite deuxième surface polie (30) ayant une deuxième forme prédéterminée ;
    c' - exercer une deuxième force prédéterminée sur ladite borne de contact afin de déformer ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) contre ladite deuxième surface hautement polie (30) dudit outil de support (16), en polissant ainsi ladite deuxième surface de contact.
  4. Procédé selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que la deuxième force prédéterminée est exercée de telle façon, et la deuxième forme prédéterminée est telle, qu'après l'étape c' la deuxième surface de contact (5 ; 65) se voit dotée d'une troisième largeur supérieure à ladite première largeur.
  5. Procédé selon une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface (27) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite première surface de contact (4) de telle sorte que la ligne d'intersection, entre ladite première surface de contact (4) et le plan de section transversale passant par ladite borne de contact et perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, soit sensiblement rectiligne.
  6. Procédé selon la revendication 3 ou 4, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface (27) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite première surface de contact (4) de telle sorte qu'une première ligne d'intersection, entre ladite première surface de contact (4) et le plan de section transversale passant par ladite borne de contact et perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, soit sensiblement rectiligne et en ce que ladite deuxième surface (30) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) de telle sorte qu'une deuxième ligne d'intersection, entre ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) et ledit plan de section transversale, soit sensiblement rectiligne.
  7. Procédé selon une quelconque des revendications 1 à 4, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface (27) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite première surface de contact (4) de telle façon que la ligne d'intersection, entre ladite première surface de contact (4) et le plan de section transversale passant par ladite borne de contact et perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, soit sensiblement courbe.
  8. Procédé selon une quelconque des revendications 3, 4 ou 7, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface (27) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite première surface de contact (4) de telle sorte qu'une première ligne d'intersection, entre ladite première surface de contact (4) et le plan de section transversale passant par ladite borne de contact et perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, soit sensiblement courbe et en ce que ladite deuxième surface (30) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) de telle façon qu'une deuxième ligne d'intersection, entre ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) et ledit plan de section transversale, soit sensiblement courbe.
  9. Procédé selon une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que l'étape c est effectuée avec un premier (28 ; 68) et un deuxième (29 ; 69) poinçon spécialement conformé et en ce que le premier poinçon (28 ; 68) et la borne de contact sont déplacés l'un par rapport à l'autre selon une direction sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate afin d'exercer ladite première force prédéterminée et le deuxième poinçon (29 ; 69) et la borne de contact sont déplacés l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la direction opposée afin d'exercer ladite deuxième force prédéterminée.
  10. Procédé selon la revendication 3, 4, 6 ou 8, caractérisé en ce que les étapes c et c' sont effectuées avec un premier (28) et un deuxième (29) poinçon conformé spécialement et en ce que le premier poinçon (28) et la borne de contact sont déplacés l'un par rapport à l'autre dans une direction sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate afin d'exercer ladite première force prédéterminée et le deuxième poinçon (29) et la borne de contact sont déplacés l'un par rapport à l'autre dans la direction opposée afin d'exercer ladite deuxième force prédéterminée.
  11. Procédé selon la revendication 9 ou 10, caractérisé en ce que soit l'outil de support (16) et les premier et deuxième poinçons (28, 29 ; 68, 69) sont légèrement chauffés, soit la borne de contact est légèrement chauffée.
  12. Procédé selon une quelconque des revendications 1 à 8, caractérisé en ce que l'étape c est effectuée avec un poinçon spécialement conformé (70) et en ce que ledit poinçon (70) est déplacé vers la borne de contact selon une direction sensiblement parallèle à ladite surface plate et vers ladite première surface hautement polie (27) afin d'exercer ladite première force prédéterminée.
  13. Procédé selon la revendication 3 ou 4, caractérisé en ce que les étapes c et c' sont effectuées avec des premier et deuxième poinçons spécialement conformés (70, 71), ledit premier poinçon (70) étant déplacé vers la borne de contact selon une direction sensiblement parallèle à ladite surface plate et vers ladite première surface hautement polie (27) afin d'exercer ladite première force prédéterminée et ledit deuxième poinçon (71) étant déplacé vers la borne de contact dans la direction opposée vers ladite deuxième surface hautement polie (30) afin d'exercer ladite deuxième force prédéterminée.
  14. Procédé selon la revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte l'étape supplémentaire consistant à :
       d - recourber ladite borne de contact afin de décaler la première surface de contact depuis le plan comportant ladite surface plate.
  15. Procédé selon la revendication 3 ou 4, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte l'étape supplémentaire consistant à :
       d - recourber ladite borne de contact afin de décaler la première et la deuxième surface de contact depuis le plan comportant ladite surface plate.
  16. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface de contact (47 ; 48) est disposée pour serrer la borne dans une cavité d'un logement de connecteur.
  17. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ladite borne de contact est une borne ajustée à la presse (60) qui comporte, en outre, une deuxième surface de contact (65), sensiblement parallèle et en regard de ladite première surface de contact (64), lesdites première (64) et deuxième (65) surfaces de contact étant disposées pour une connexion ajustée à la presse à un trou métallisé, par exemple d'une carte de circuit imprimé, lesdites étapes b et c du procédé comportant, en outre, les étapes suivantes :
    b' - presser ladite deuxième surface de contact (65) contre une deuxième surface hautement polie (67) dudit outil de support (16), ladite deuxième surface (67) ayant une deuxième forme prédéterminée ;
    c' - exercer une deuxième force prédéterminée sur ladite borne ajustée à la presse afin de déformer ladite deuxième surface de contact (65) contre ladite deuxième surface hautement polie (67) dudit outil de support (16), en polissant ainsi ladite deuxième surface de contact.
  18. Procédé selon la revendication 17, caractérisé en ce que la première force prédéterminée est exercée de façon telle, et la première forme prédéterminée est telle, qu'après l'étape c la première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) se voit dotée d'une deuxième largeur supérieure à ladite première largeur et / ou en ce que la deuxième force prédéterminée est exercée de façon telle, et la deuxième forme prédéterminée est telle, qu'après l'étape c' la deuxième surface de contact (65) se voit dotée d'une troisième largeur supérieure à ladite première largeur, par exemple avec une section transversale de forme effilée ou évasée.
  19. Procédé selon la revendication 17 ou 18, caractérisé en ce que ladite première surface (66) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite première surface de contact (64) de telle façon qu'une première ligne d'intersection, entre ladite première surface de contact (64) et le plan de section transversale passant par ladite borne de contact et perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, soit sensiblement courbe et / ou en ce que ladite deuxième surface (67) dudit outil de support (16) est conçue pour conformer ladite deuxième surface de contact (65) de telle façon qu'une deuxième ligne d'intersection, entre ladite deuxième surface de contact (65) et ledit plan de section transversale, soit sensiblement courbe.
  20. Borne de contact (1 ; 17 ; 18 ; 35 ; 36 ; 60) dotée d'au moins une première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) pour venir au contact d'une région de contact adaptée (6 ; 18 ; 17) et estampée à partir d'une pièce de flan ayant une surface sensiblement plate d'une première largeur prédéterminée, ladite première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) étant sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate, caractérisée en ce que ladite première surface de contact est hautement polie en pressant ladite première surface de contact contre une première surface hautement polie d'un outil de support.
  21. Borne de contact selon la revendication 20, caractérisée en ce que la première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 2 6 ; 64) est dotée d'une deuxième largeur supérieure à la première largeur.
  22. Borne de contact selon la revendication 20 ou 21, caractérisée en ce qu'elle est munie, en outre, d'une deuxième surface de contact (5), sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate et en regard de ladite première surface de contact (4) afin de ménager une ouverture pour recevoir une borne de contact adaptée (6), ladite deuxième surface de contact (5) étant hautement polie.
  23. Borne de contact selon la revendication 22, caractérisée en ce que la deuxième surface de contact (5) est dotée d'une troisième largeur supérieure à la première largeur.
  24. Borne de contact selon la revendication 22 ou 23, caractérisée en ce que les première et deuxième surfaces de contact (4, 5) sont les surfaces de contact d'une borne de type diapason à double faisceaux ayant deux faisceaux connectés l'un à l'autre par une jonction en forme de Y munie d'un bord interne (56) poli et évasé.
  25. Borne de contact selon la revendication 20, caractérisée en ce qu'elle est une borne ajustée à la presse (60) dotée, en outre, d'une deuxième surface de contact (65), sensiblement perpendiculaire à ladite surface plate et en regard de ladite première surface de contact (64), ladite deuxième surface de contact (65) étant hautement polie.
  26. Borne de contact selon la revendication 25, caractérisée en ce que la première surface de contact (4 ; 25 ; 26 ; 64) est dotée d'une deuxième largeur supérieure à la première largeur et / ou en ce que la deuxième surface de contact (65) est dotée d'une troisième largeur supérieure à la première largeur.
  27. Connecteur (31 ; 37), caractérisé en ce qu'il est muni d'au moins une borne de contact (1 ; 17; 18; 35; 36 ; 60) soit produite par un quelconque des procédés suivant les revendications 1 à 19, soit définie dans par quelconque des revendications 20 à 26.
  28. Connecteur selon la revendication 27, caractérisé en ce que le connecteur est un connecteur (37) de bord de carte muni d'au moins deux bornes de contact (35, 36) à faisceau unique en regard.
  29. Assemblage d'un substrat (22 ; 24 ; 44) et d'au moins une borne de contact (17 ; 18 ; 45 ; 46), caractérisé en ce qu'elle est, soit produite par un quelconque des procédés suivant les revendications 1 à 19, soit définie par une quelconque des revendications 20 à 26, ladite au moins une borne de contact (17 ; 18 ; 45 ; 46) étant fixée audit substrat (22 ; 24 ; 44).
EP95203317A 1995-12-01 1995-12-01 Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments Expired - Lifetime EP0777306B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE69518157T DE69518157T2 (de) 1995-12-01 1995-12-01 Glatte Kontaktelemente, Verfahren zur Herstellung solcher Elemente und Produkte mit solchen Elementen
EP95203317A EP0777306B1 (fr) 1995-12-01 1995-12-01 Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments
US09/077,571 US6286209B1 (en) 1995-12-01 1996-12-02 Method of making smooth contact terminals
PCT/US1996/019157 WO1997020369A1 (fr) 1995-12-01 1996-12-02 Procede de fabrication de bornes de contact a surface lisse
JP9520722A JP2000501225A (ja) 1995-12-01 1996-12-02 滑らかなコンタクト端子を形成する方法

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP95203317A EP0777306B1 (fr) 1995-12-01 1995-12-01 Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0777306A1 EP0777306A1 (fr) 1997-06-04
EP0777306B1 true EP0777306B1 (fr) 2000-07-26

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EP95203317A Expired - Lifetime EP0777306B1 (fr) 1995-12-01 1995-12-01 Eléments de contact lisses, procédé de fabrication de tels éléments et produits ayant de tels éléments

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0777306B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP2000501225A (fr)
DE (1) DE69518157T2 (fr)
WO (1) WO1997020369A1 (fr)

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JP3044293U (ja) * 1997-06-11 1997-12-16 バーグ・テクノロジー・インコーポレーテッド 電気コネクタ
JP4603563B2 (ja) * 2007-04-10 2010-12-22 株式会社ティー・ピー・エス 打ち抜き形接触子
KR101131299B1 (ko) 2011-03-15 2012-04-12 오무론 가부시키가이샤 콘택트 및 그 제조 방법
US8556666B2 (en) 2011-10-14 2013-10-15 Delphi Technologies, Inc. Tuning fork electrical contact with prongs having non-rectangular shape
US9419396B2 (en) 2012-06-08 2016-08-16 Lear Corporation Female fuse terminal and printed circuit board assembly therefor
JP2014024079A (ja) * 2012-07-25 2014-02-06 Sanko Seisan:Kk 弾性挟持用接続端子
KR101489595B1 (ko) 2013-10-25 2015-02-06 주식회사 현대케피코 갈고리형 압입 터미널

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Publication number Publication date
WO1997020369A1 (fr) 1997-06-05
DE69518157D1 (de) 2000-08-31
DE69518157T2 (de) 2001-03-29
EP0777306A1 (fr) 1997-06-04
JP2000501225A (ja) 2000-02-02

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