GB2291543A - Female power socket contact - Google Patents

Abstract

A power socket comprises a female socket, a central support (16) and pins (13, 14) extending in parallel lines from the support (16) opposite to the socket. The socket has two limbs (11, 12) each with three areas (11a, b, c, 12a, b, c). The areas converge on a contact line (21) and may be formed with a hole (22). Each pin is formed with a frustum end (15). The support may be bent into an annular shape and be formed with a stop (19) perpendicular to an overlapping area (16a). <IMAGE>

Description

FEMALE POWER SOCKET This invention relates to a female power socket whose new construction, conformation and design features fulfil the aim for which they have been specifically designed, with maximum safety and efficiency.

There exist on the market, and they can therefore be regarded as state of the art, a variety of types of female power sockets, characterised in that they receive, through one of their ends or female terminals, a series of male terminals welded to electric conductors, which transmit through the end or the male terminals of the female power socket the current received to the corresponding connectors which are equipped with a plurality of female terminals.

The mission of the female power sockets consists of transmitting the current they receive from a series of conductors whose ends are fitted with the corresponding geometry connectors and a number of different female terminals.

The way in which the power that is transmitted is preserved, with no problems of electrical discontinuity, overheating, sparks or disfunctions, is that the contact surfaces of male-female terminals are as large as possible, they are very even and are kept together with the highest possible pressure, which means that the magnitude of the surfaces brought into contact is preserved at all times, thereby guaranteeing the perfect transmission of the intensity flowing through the combined terminal conductors and the female sockets.

Thanks to the type of construction, all the male and female terminals available on the market consist of either flat surfaces, i.e. the male ones, which are inserted into the latter, i.e. the female ones, wIiic;i have two tongues with flat and converging parts which effect a clamping pressure on the flat surface of the male terminal inserted between the two tongues.

The constant insertion and removal of the male terminal and the pressure it exerts upon the parts of the female terminal (tongues) reduces the magnitude of the pressure of these tongues, and a lack of contact gradually takes place between the surfaces of both male and female terminals, leading to the aforementioned problems of sparks, flash-overs, overheating and eventually electrical discontinuity, which interrupts the power flow.

The goodness or reliability of a female power socket is greater or lower depending on whether it is capable of preserving, at all times, its capacity to transmit at an equal magnitude the voltage intensity it receives and the intensity voltage it transmits, and it is therefore of paramount importance that the contacting male and female terminal surfaces maintain at all times a pressure permitting the idealness of this contact.

The object of this Utility Model application is to choose a type of female power socket construction and design which assures at all times the pressure that the surfaces of the female terminals should apply to the surfaces of the male terminals inserted into them, and preventing, as a result of the repeated pushing and pulling between them, the appearance of the first signs of lack of pressure and in turn the first problems of electrical discontinuity.

The proposed female power socket consists of an area where there are four male terminals located on two different planes parallel to each other, an intermediate or pressure area and an outer area consisting of metal strips folded in such a way as to jointly provide a force of great magnitude.

The intermediate area consists of an upper and lower area parallel to one other, both connected through vertical and curved areas which exert pressure on the female terminals emerging from the aforementioned upper and lower areas, preventing them from opening when the male terminal is inserted.

Other details and features of the present application for a Utility Model will become clear during the description which follows, wherein reference is made to the drawings that accompany this specification, which provides, in a somewhat schematic manner, the preferred details. These details are given by way of example, referring to a possible embodiment, but this is not limited to the details which are hereinafter set forth, and therefore this description should be seen as designed to illustrate and without any kind of limitation.

The various elements numbered in the drawings attached to the current specification are set forth as follows: (10) female power sockets, (11) female terminal pins, (lla) outer area, (llb) intermediate area, (ill) initial area, (12) male terminal pins, (12a) outer area, (12b) intermediate area, (12c) initial area, (13) and (14) male terminal pins, (15) extremities (13) and (14), (16) vertical area, (16a) horizontal area, (17) upper flat area, (18) lower flat area, (19) stop, (20) curved area, (21) contact line, (22) hollow cavity.

Figure no. 1 is a side plan view of the female power socket (10), from which we can see that it comprises a fore area with two male terminals (13) and two male terminals (14) located on horizontal planes and parallel to each other, an intermediate area (16) consisting of an upper area (17) and a lower area (18) connected by means of a vertical area (16) and a curved area (20), which is prolonged to the opposite end of (13) and (14) by means of female terminals (11) and (12) made of curved metal strips in three areas (liy), (llb) and (lla) and (12c), (12b) and (12a) with a contact line between ill) and (12v formed by the ideal line (21).

Figure no. 2 is an elevation front view of the female power socket (10).

Figure no. 3 is a top view of the female power socket (10) in which we see the fore area consisting of the male terminals (13) and (14) arranged on an upper plane (17) and a lower one (18), a flat upper area (17) which is prolonged to the opposite end onto female terminals (11) and (12) made of a series of duly folded surfaces (llc), (llb) and (lla).

Figure no. 4 is an elevational front view of the rear part of the female power socket (10).

In one of the selected embodiments of the object of the present application, and as shown in figure no. 3, the female power socket (10) is made up of three different areas: a fore area comprising flat surfaces or male terminals (13) and (14) arranged on parallel planes, an upper one (17) and a lower one (18), ending (13-14) at extremities (15) with a markedly frustum-type configuration, whereas at the opposite end these terminals (13) and (14) have a markedly prismatic configuration, with an initial widening which ends at an upper flat area (17) and a lower flat area (18), markedly rectangular and parallel to each other, connected by means of a vertical area (16) which ends at an area (16a) perpendicular to (16) and which exerts pressure on the lower flat area (18), whereas at its other end (17) and (18) they are connected by means of a curved area (20).

From the flat areas (17) and (18), upper and lower, respectively, there emerge some female terminals made of some metallic strips folded in three areas (llc), (llb) and (lla), and (12c), (12b) and (12a), which are prolonged backwards and converge on a contact line (21) as can be seen from figure no. 1.

Areas (llc) and (lib) converge with areas (12c) and (12b) towards line (21) while the outer areas (slav and (12a) open out from the aforementioned contact tine (21) in an acute angle, with the respective male fastening terminals being introduced through the contact line (21), welded onto the corresponding electric conductors.

The aforementioned pressure characteristics, which allow a good contact between the surfaces of the male terminals inserted through line (21) into the female terminals (11) and (12), is perfectly guaranteed, as figures 2 and 4 demonstrate, by the special feature of the female power socket (10), which has the aforementioned areas (16) and (16a) folded onto the lower flat area (18) and prevent, when the male terminals are inserted through line (21), the said terminals from modifying the convergence between (lib) and (12b), and also the loss of the perfect electric contact between these surfaces (llb-12b) and through the contact line (21).

The contact line (21) presents an eminently circular interruption area or cavity (22), as shown in figure no.

2, where it can be seen how the surfaces (11) and (12) of the female terminals will always converge upon each other, and with the pressure required to retain a male terminal inserted through (21) thanks to the area (16a) which forms a right angle with the vertical area (16) and which obliges the flat upper area (17) of (10) to be parallel to the lower flat area (18) at all times, thereby ensuring that terminals (13) and (14) are always duly positioned for the entry of a connector into the corresponding cavities or terminals.

On the lower part of the horizontal area (16a) of (16), there is a small lug (19) which acts as a stop to ensure the perfect parallelism of areas (18) and (19) when the female power socket (10) is mechanised.

Claims (7)

1. A female power socket, of the type consisting of a rear area where the female terminals are located, and a fore area where the male terminals are situated, both areas connected by an intermediate area characterised in that the fore area consists of male terminals (13) and (14) with a markedly prismatic configuration, with frustum-like ends (15) located (1314) on parallel planes and emerging from an upper flat area (17) and a lower flat area (18), and which are prolonged on the inside (17) and (18) to an outer area consisting of female terminals (11) and (12), made up of three areas (lla), (lob) and (llc) and (12a), (12b) and (12c), with (llb) and (l2b) converging on a contact line (21).

2. A female power socket, characterised, in accordance with the first claim, in which areas (17) and (18), parallel to each other, are connected by means of a curved area (20) by one of their ends, and related on the opposite end by a vertical area (16) which is prolonged through the only free end to a horizontal area (16a) forming a right angle with (16) and whose lower part has a lug or stop (19) perpendicular to (16a) in contact with an initial area (12c).

3. A female power socket,characterised, in accordance with the preceding claims, by the terminals (11) and (12), emerging from the part or upper and lower flat area (17) and (18), and whose areas (llc) and (llb) and (12c) and (12b) converge on a contact line (21) from where the areas (flat form an acute angle and open outwards, as do the areas (l2a) of the terminals (12).

4. A female power socket, characterised, in accordance with the preceding claims, in that the contact line (21) formed by the inner surfaces of (llb) presents a markedly circular empty area or (22).

5. A female power socket, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A female power socket of the type comprising rear and fore areas where female and male terminals are respectively located, the rear and fore areas being connected by an intermediate area, wherein the intermediate area comprises parallel upper and lower flat areas, the female terminals extending from the flat areas and so configured as to converge along a contact line, wherein the upper and lower flat areas are connected at one side by a curved area, at the other side one of the flat areas being extended by a vertical area perpendicular to the flat areas and then by a horizontal area contacting the other of the flat areas so as to prevent the flat areas being moved out of parallel in such a direction as to cause the female terminals to diverge from the contact line.

2. A female power socket as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the horizontal area is provided with a lug contacting the end of the flat area contacted by the horizontal area.

3. A female power socket as claimed in Claim 1 or 2 wherein the female terminals each comprise outer, intermediate and inner areas angled so that the contact line between the terminals lies between the outer and intermediate areas.

4. A female power socket as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the inner and intermediate areas are angled so as to converge towards the contact line and the outer areas form an acute angle and open outwardly from the contact line.

5. A female power socket as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the female terminals are so configured as to provide a substantially circular empty area or cavity along the contact line.

6. A female power socket as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the male terminals have a substantially prismatic configuration with frustum-like ends located on parallel planes.

7. A female power socket, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 and Figure 4 of the accompanying drawing.