EP0926766B1 - Electrical female contact member - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an organ female electrical contact.

The invention relates, more particularly, to a female electrical contact member of the type comprising a body with, at one end, means for fixing it to an electrical conductor and, at the other end, a receiving member of a male electrical contact element complementary, the body having an open socket at its free end for the passage of the male element, while the receiving body of the latter comprises an extended ring towards the means of attachment to a conductor electric, by elastic tabs intended to enclose said male element, said ring being mounted floating and sliding in the socket and being connected by a flexible connection to the body, means being provided to limit the sliding of the ring in the socket.

Such a female electrical contact member is described in European application No. 0 859 432 at name of the applicant.

In this type of female organ, the socket has cut-out retaining tabs that allow fixing and blocking it in a channel of an element of insulating housing.

The socket must therefore have qualities important mechanics if we want the tabs are effective, which leads to achieving it stainless steel, but it has poor qualities of electrical conduction so that we imagined to realize a two-part electrical contact member, either a first part comprising the socket, the latter being fixed to a second part comprising the fixing lugs of the electrical conductor, this second part being connected to the flexible connection and thus being, by the ring, made of a copper alloy good conductor of electricity. Such an organ has the advantage of being perfectly rigid over its entire length but has the drawback to be expensive.

By the German utility model n ° 87 11 955 and the article "Von der Wüste bis zum Nordpol 'ELEKTRONIK, flight. 36, No. 24,27 November 1987, page 131 XP002058863 MUENCHEN, W.GERMANY, we know how to make contact organs electric with good mechanical qualities and made in a corresponding material but poor conductor of electricity, and the parts in contact are coated a material with good conductivity in order to combine conductivity and mechanical qualities.

One of the aims of the present invention is to produce a female electrical contact member such than that described in European application No. 0 859 432 which is of a much cheaper cost price than that of this request.

The female electrical contact organ, according to the invention is of the type comprising a body with, at one end, a pair of crimping lugs for fixing an electrical conductor housed in an insulating sheath, a second pair of lugs for crimping a end of the previously stripped conductor and at the other end, a socket open at its free end for the passage of a male element of electrical contact and an elastic clamp intended to grip said element male, characterized in that the elastic clamp is made in a ring housed in the socket and made in one material good conductor of electricity, said ring being integral with one end of a flexible braid good conductor of electricity, the other end of which is fixed to the body by tabs cut from this last in the vicinity of the second pair of legs crimping, said body being made of steel, while that its part including the tabs and the second pair of crimping lugs, is coated on its face internal layer of a material different from that of the body and having qualities of electrical conductivity greater than those of said body.

Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to realize body in one piece of stainless steel, which simplifies tooling and manufacturing and provides a female organ at an acceptable cost price.

Figure 1 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne 1-1 de la figure 2.

Figure 2 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne 2-2 de la figure 1.

Preferably, the layer of the material having qualities of electrical conductivity superior to those of the body is a copper alloy. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a particular embodiment given by way of example only and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional view along line 1-1 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

The female electrical contact member shown in the figures comprises a body 1 made of stainless steel and shaped to present, at one end, a first pair of lugs 2 intended for crimping a conductor electric housed in an insulating sheath and a second pair of lugs 3 intended for crimping the end stripped of said conductor.

In the vicinity of the legs 3 is practiced a punctured 6 so as to form a bearing surface 6a, while that at the right of the puncture are cut two tabs 4 intended to be folded against the bearing surface 6a to secure one end of a flexible braid 7 good conductor of electricity including the other end is fixed to a ring 10 by lugs 11.

The ring 10 is made of a copper alloy good conductor of electricity and is consistent for present an opening 12 for introducing a member male with elastic pliers with two tabs 16 and two bands 15 which form a bend 15a so also to enclose a male organ.

The body, on the side opposite the crimping lugs 2 and 3, is extended by a socket 20 in which two retaining bars 21 and two folds are cut out 22. The bars 21 are intended to ensure blocking of the contact member in a channel of a housing element a connector, while the folds 22 form shoulders to cooperate with a locking key.

At the free end of the socket 20, it can be provided with keying devices 23.

The free end of the sleeve 20 has an opening 25 for passage of the male element.

In the socket 20 are made two openings 26 whose edges, located towards the legs 3, form internal bosses to form stops 17 for folds 14 of the ring 10 in order to limit sliding of the latter in the socket 20.

According to the invention, the part of the body 1 including bars 4 and crimp tabs 3 are coated. On these parts is placed a layer 30 of a copper alloy whose conductivity qualities higher than the material in which is made said body 1. Thus, one realizes electrical continuity extending from the ring 10 to legs 3, all elements between these two parts being good conductors of electricity.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment which has just been described and shown.

Claims (2)

1. Electrical female contact member of the type comprising a body (1), having a pair of crimping tabs (2) at one extremity for securing an electrical conductor arranged in an insulating sheath, a second pair of tabs (3) for crimping a conductor extremity previously laid bare, and at the other extremity, a socket (20) open at its free extremity for passing through an electrical male contact element, and a flexible binder intended to hug tightly said male element, characterised in that the flexible binder is shaped as a ring (10) arranged in the socket (20) and produced in a good electrically-conducting material, said ring (20) being interdependent with one of the extremities of a supple covering (7) of good electrical conductivity, the other extremity of which is secured to the body (1) by flat pin terminals (4) cut out in this latter in the vicinity of the second pair of crimping tabs (3), said body (1) being produced in steel, whilst its part comprising the flat pin terminals (4) and the second pair of crimping tabs (3) is covered by a layer of material on its internal surface different to that of the body (1), and having electrical conductivity qualities which are superior to that of said body (1).
2. Electrical female contact member as according to claim 1, characterised in that the layer of material (30) having electrical conductivity qualities which are superior to that of body (1) is a cupreous alloy.

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