JP2000215940A - Electric contact - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric contact improved so as to enhance the reliability of electrical contact. SOLUTION: A female contact part 20 of this electric contact 10 is so structured that a tab-shaped contact piece can be caught and received between an elastic contact piece and a top wall 22. Two pairs of projections 25 each pair of which are arranged separately from each other in the lengthwise direction are formed on the top wall 22. The projections 25 forming the pair are connected to each other through a bead 24 extending in the lengthwise direction. The contact projecting part of the elastic contact piece is so arranged as to face to the wall 22 at a position inside the two pairs of the projections 25.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a female electrical contact for receiving and electrically connecting a tab-type contact piece.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of an electrical contact having a female contact portion having a box-shaped outer shape is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-42004. According to the disclosed electrical contact, the elastic contact piece is disposed inside the female contact portion. The resilient contact piece has a single contact projection facing the top wall of the box. A pair of inward beads extending substantially parallel to the length direction are formed on the top wall. The female contact portion receives a mating tab-type contact, and the tab-type contact is sandwiched between the bead and the contact protrusion and electrically connected when the tab-type contact is received.

[0003]

In this type of electrical contact, the contact pressure at the time of receiving the tab-type contact is further increased sufficiently to improve the reliability of the electrical contact, and the variation of the contact pressure is suppressed. It is necessary to guarantee the characteristics.
These points are particularly important when using solder plating for the contact portion. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved electrical contact that satisfies these requirements and further enhances the reliability of the electrical contact.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has an elastic contact piece including a contact protrusion and a wall opposed to the contact protrusion, and receives a tab-type contact piece between the two to receive the tab-type contact piece. A female electrical contact electrically connected to the contact piece, wherein the wall has at least one pair of protrusions projecting inwardly at longitudinally spaced locations and interconnected by beads;
The contact projection of the elastic contact piece is configured to be disposed at an intermediate position in the length direction with respect to the pair of projections.

[0005] Preferably, two pairs of projections are provided on the wall of the electrical contact, and beads connecting the two pairs of projections are symmetrically arranged in the width direction and extend substantially parallel to each other.

[0006] Preferably, the contact protrusion is disposed so as to face the wall at an inner position surrounded by the two pairs of protrusions.

Preferably, a support piece for supporting the elastic contact piece in contact with the tab-type contact piece is provided at a bottom position of the elastic contact piece, and the support piece has a substantially isosceles triangular shape. And a supporting end having a predetermined width at the tip.

Preferably, a substantially triangular bead is formed substantially at the center of the support piece so as to protrude inward.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an electric contact according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a left side view. However, (c)
Omits a wire connection portion described later. FIG. 2 shows FIG.
It is sectional drawing which follows the line AA in (a). However, a window formed on a side wall described later is omitted for convenience. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing only a support piece of the electrical contact of FIG.
(A) is a partial plan view, and (b) is a line CC in (a).
FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment electrical contact 10 includes a generally box-shaped female contact 20 and a wire connection 90 for connection to a wire.
It is manufactured by punching and bending a metal plate. The female contact portion 20 has an elastic contact piece 30 which is open at the front end and which is folded back from the bottom of the front end so as to extend rearward inside the female contact portion 20. The resilient contact piece 30 has a single contact projection 31 used for electrical connection. A support piece 80 is formed on the bottom wall 21 of the female contact portion 20 so as to extend forward from the rear position and be disposed so as to partially overlap the elastic contact piece 30. Further, a window 28 through which the elastic contact piece 30 and the support piece 80 can be confirmed is formed in the side wall 27 of the female contact portion 20.

The wire connecting portion 90 has a wire conductor barrel 91 and an insulating coating barrel 92 for crimping and connecting an insulating wire. Female contact part 20 and wire connection part 9
A pair of tongue pieces 95 protruding from the left and right positions toward the top side is provided between the tongue pieces 95. This is for engaging the housing (not shown) for accommodating the electric contact 10 to stabilize the electric contact 10 or to determine the accommodating direction of the electric contact.

The female contact portion 20 is for receiving a tab-type mating contact piece. The tab-shaped contact piece is received along a horizontally extending space 23 between the elastic contact piece 30 and the top wall 22. At this time, the tab-type contact piece is brought into contact between the elastic contact piece 30 and the top wall 22 to realize electrical connection. What is important in the present invention is that improvements have been made to increase the reliability of the electrical contact. The details will be described below.

The first feature to be noted is that the elastic contact piece 30
Is the configuration of the inner surface of the top wall 22 facing the upper surface. This can be understood with particular reference to FIGS. 1 (a), 2 and 3. A pair of beads 24 extending in a substantially parallel direction is formed on the top wall 22, and the beads 24 are formed at both ends thereof inwardly.
Protrusions 25 projecting by a larger dimension are provided, so that a total of four protrusions 25 are formed. As shown, the projections 25 are located on the same bead 24,
And those provided on different beads 24 are located at a predetermined distance from each other. The protrusion 25 is a bead 24
, That is, slightly elongated in the length direction of the female contact portion 20. The contact protrusion 31 of the elastic contact piece 30 is
Are arranged so as to face the inside of the four projections 25.

According to the above configuration, since the top wall 22 of the female contact portion 30 comes into contact with the tab contact only by the projection 25, the contact pressure per unit area at the contact portion is increased, and the connection is ensured. Quality can be guaranteed. Furthermore, the received attitude of the tab-type contact piece can be properly maintained by the four projections 25, so that it is possible to ensure the maintenance of stable electrical contact. In particular, since the pair of protrusions 25 at the front and rear positions are connected to each other by the beads 24, the deformation of the top wall 22 near the positions of the beads 24 can be reliably prevented, thereby providing a highly reliable electrical contact. Can be maintained.

A second feature to note further is the configuration of the support piece 80 located behind the elastic contact piece 30. This is particularly well shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 (a)
As shown in FIG. 7, the support piece 80 has a substantially isosceles triangle shape, and a substantially triangular bead 81 is formed at the center thereof. Thereby, the support piece 80 is configured to have sufficient mechanical strength. The support piece 80 has a support end portion 82 extending forward from the rear end position of the female contact portion 20 and having a curved surface with a substantially rectangular outer shape at the front end. The support end 82 is located so as to substantially overlap the bottom side of the contact protrusion 31 of the elastic contact piece 30. Therefore, when the tab-shaped contact piece is received in the space 23 and the elastic contact piece 30 is deformed, the support piece 80 acts to support the elastic contact piece 30 from behind and maintain a sufficient contact pressure by the elastic contact piece 30. . In addition, the bottom wall 21 has a protruding wall 26 that protrudes in the upright direction toward the top side at an intermediate position of the elastic contact piece 30. The protruding wall 26 functions as a stopper for preventing the elastic contact piece 30 from being excessively deformed.

As described above, the electric contact according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail. However, this is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. It is possible.

[0018]

According to the electric contact of the present invention, the wall cooperating with the elastic contact piece so as to sandwich the mating tab type contact piece protrudes inward at a position separated in the longitudinal direction and is interconnected by the bead. The at least one pair of protrusions, and the contact protrusion of the resilient contact piece is configured to be arranged at an intermediate position in the length direction with respect to the pair of protrusions, so that it is relatively simple. Thus, a stable contact state with a high contact pressure can be maintained, and the reliability of the connection can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an electric contact according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a left side view.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1 (b).

4A and 4B are diagrams showing only a support piece of the electrical contact of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 4A is a partial plan view, and FIG. 4B is a partial cross-sectional view along line CC in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric contact 22 Wall 24 Bead 25 Projection 30 Elastic contact piece 31 Contact projection

Claims (1)

[Claims] An elastic contact piece including a contact protrusion, and a wall facing the contact protrusion, receiving a tab-type contact piece therebetween and being electrically connected to the tab-type contact piece. A female electrical contact, wherein the wall has at least one pair of protrusions projecting inward at spaced positions in the longitudinal direction and interconnected by beads, and the contact protrusion of the elastic contact piece is An electrical contact, wherein the electrical contact is configured to be disposed at an intermediate position in a longitudinal direction with respect to the pair of protrusions.