JP3152385B2 - Receptacle contact - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receptacle contact, and more particularly to a receptacle contact having a structure for preventing an overstress generated in an elastic contact piece that comes into contact with a mating contact.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the automobile industry and the like, a receptacle contact which is in electrical contact with a male contact such as a tab contact has been conventionally used. No problem arises when the male contact is properly inserted into the receptacle contact along the axis of the receptacle contact. However, when the male contact is inserted obliquely with respect to the axis of the receptacle contact, or when the receptacle contact is pulled out from the connector accommodating the receptacle contact using a tool such as a driver, the male contact is mistakenly inserted into the receptacle contact. When a tool is inserted or the like, a stress exceeding the allowable stress may be generated in the elastic contact piece of the receptacle contact, and the elastic contact piece may be plastically deformed.

In order to solve this problem, various receptacle contacts having a structure for preventing overstress of the elastic contact piece have been proposed. For example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-137
No. 575 discloses the receptacle contact shown in FIGS.

First, a receptacle contact 100 shown in FIG. 7 includes an elastic contact piece 106 which is bent at the front end of a base 104 and extends rearward in a substantially box-shaped male contact receiving portion 102, and an elastic contact piece 106. And an extension 108 bent from the rear end toward the base 104. A rising piece 110 extending from the base 104 to substantially the center of the elastic contact piece 106 is formed by cutting and raising the base 104. Since the displacement amount of the elastic contact piece 106 is regulated by the rising piece 110, overstress generated in the elastic contact piece 106 can be prevented.

The receptacle contact 150 shown in FIG. 8 has an elastic contact piece 156 and an extension 158 in a substantially box-shaped male contact receiving portion 152, like the receptacle contact 100 described above. The difference from the above-described receptacle contact 100 is that
Instead, a set prevention piece 160 extending from the extension 158 toward the base 154 is formed. Accordingly, when the elastic contact piece 156 is deformed by inserting a male contact (not shown), the receptacle contact 15
Since the movement of the extension 158 in the direction of the front end of 0 is not hindered, the dimension of the receptacle contact 150 in the axial direction (front-back direction) can be reduced.

[0006]

In the receptacle contact 100 shown in FIG. 7, the elastic contact piece 106 moves in the direction of arrow A and the extension 108 moves in the direction of arrow B by inserting a male contact. However, the movement of the extension 108 may be restricted by the rising piece 110, and an excessive stress may be generated in the elastic contact piece 106 or the extension 108. Further, since the rising piece 110 is provided substantially at the center of the elastic contact piece 106, the bent portion at the front end of the base 104 is not sufficiently protected from overstress due to oblique insertion of a male contact or erroneous insertion of a tool or the like. .

Next, the receptacle contact 15 shown in FIG.
In the case of No. 0, although the dimension along the axial direction is reduced, it is necessary to cut and set the anti-settling piece 160 from the extension 158. Are concentrated and easily plastically deformed. Also, if the width of the extension 158 is reduced in response to recent demands for miniaturization and high density, it is difficult or impossible to cut and raise the anti-settling piece 160, so that the extension 1
It is difficult to reduce the width of 58. For this reason, there is a problem that high-density mounting by reducing the size of the receptacle contact 150 itself in the lateral (pitch) direction is difficult. Further, the anti-settling piece 160 is
Before the contact with the base portion 154, the elastic region extends from the bent portion 162 to the distal end of the extension portion 158 before the contact with the base portion 154. , And the elastic region rapidly decreases. Therefore, before and after the anti-settling piece 160 contacts the base 154, the elastic contact piece 156 and the extension 1
The stiffness of 58 changes rapidly. For this reason, it is difficult to absorb a vibration particularly remarkable in a field of use such as an automobile.
Further, the base 154, the elastic contact piece 156, and the extension 158
There is no means for regulating the deformation of the elastic contact piece 156 in the space surrounded by
6 has a problem that the bent portion 162 at the front end is not sufficiently protected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a receptacle contact in which the rigidity of an elastic contact piece does not suddenly increase in actual use and can be mounted at a narrow pitch with respect to a housing.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a receptacle contact that reliably protects an elastic contact piece and an extension from oblique insertion of a male contact or erroneous insertion of a foreign object such as a tool.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A receptacle contact according to the present invention is bent at a front end of the base wall into a space surrounded by a base wall, side walls on both sides of the base wall, and an upper wall opposed to the base wall. An elastic contact piece extending rearwardly and extending at a rear end of the elastic contact piece and extending between the base wall and the elastic contact piece toward the front end; A first rising piece extending from the base wall toward the elastic contact piece in the vicinity of the front end, and a flat part capable of surface contact with the base wall when the elastic contact piece is elastically deformed. A receptacle contact provided at a free end of the extension portion with a second rising piece that can be bent toward the elastic contact piece and contact the elastic contact piece, wherein the flat portion has a width Becomes smaller toward the front When the plane portion comes into surface contact with the base wall, the contact surface between the plane portion and the base wall continuously expands, so that the elasticity of the elastic contact piece continuously increases. It is characterized by the following.

[0011]

[0012]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the receptacle contact of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the receptacle contact of FIG.

1 and 2, a receptacle contact 1 is stamped and formed from a metal plate such as a copper alloy, and has a connecting portion 3 for crimping connection with an electric wire 7 and a mating tab contact 5 (see FIG. 3). And a contact portion 10 for making electrical contact. Note that the connection portion 3 may be of a type that is press-connected to an electric wire or a type that is connected to a through-hole of a circuit board (not shown) or a conductive pad on the surface of the board by soldering.

The contact portion 10 has a base wall 1 serving as a bottom surface thereof.
2, two side walls 14 rising from both sides of the base wall 12,
16, a first upper wall 18 extending from one side wall 14 and facing the base wall 12 and a second upper wall 20 extending from the other side wall 16 and covering the first upper wall 18 are formed into a rectangular cylindrical shape. I have. The elastic contact piece 22 is formed continuously and integrally with the base wall 12, is bent rearward (to the right in FIG. 2) at the front end (first bent portion 24) of the base wall 12, and is bent at the wall 12, 1.
The space 23 surrounded by 4, 16, and 18 extends rearward. The base wall 12 is formed by cutting and raising the base wall 12, and has a rising piece (first rising piece) 26 extending from the center of the elastic contact piece 22 toward the front end. A substantially spherical projecting contact 28 projecting toward the first upper wall 18 is formed substantially at the center of the elastic contact piece 22. In addition, projecting contact 2
On the lower surface of the first upper wall 18 facing the upper surface 8, a ridge 30 extending in the front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is formed. The extension portion 32 is formed integrally with the elastic contact piece 22 and is bent forward at the rear end (second bent portion 34) of the elastic contact piece 22. The extension portion 32 further has a flat portion 36 that extends linearly obliquely forward from the second bent portion 34. As shown in FIG. 1, the flat portion 36 is formed in a tapered shape whose width decreases toward the front. In addition, it may be formed in an arc shape shown by a two-dot chain line. By not making the width of the plane portion 36 constant, stress is appropriately distributed, and stress concentration can be prevented. The plane portion 36 can make surface contact with the base wall 12 when a load is applied to the elastic contact piece 22 and moves downward (in the direction of arrow A) as described later. A rising piece (second rising piece) 40 that is bent toward the elastic contact piece 22 and extends toward the elastic contact piece 22 is formed at the front end of the flat portion 36 at the bent portion 38. Since the bent portion 38 has a curved surface in contact with the base wall 12 by the bending process, the bent portion 38 can smoothly slide on the base wall 12 in the arrow B direction.

Since the windows 42 are formed in the side walls 14 and 16, it is possible to inspect through the window 42 whether the gap between the first rising piece 26 and the elastic contact piece 22 is within a set range. Also, the projections 4 protruding outwardly are formed on the side walls 14 and 16.
4 and a connector housing (not shown)
The direction (keying) at the time of inserting the receptacle contact 1 into the inside is given.

FIG. 3 shows the receptacle contact 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the mating tab contact 5 is properly inserted. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the mating tab contact 5 inserted into the receptacle contact 1 of FIG. 1 is slightly inclined in the vertical direction in the receptacle contact 1. FIG. 5 shows the receptacle contact 1 of FIG.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a mating tab contact 5 is inserted from an oblique direction. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the mating tab contact 5 is inserted into the receptacle contact 1 of FIG. 1 from a more oblique direction than the state shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, when the tab contact 5 is inserted in the normal state along the longitudinal axis of the receptacle contact 1, the elastic contact piece 22 of the receptacle contact 1 changes from the unloaded state shown by the broken line to the solid line. Transition to the indicated load condition. The inserted tab contact 5 is
The receptacle contact 1 is sandwiched between the ridge 30 of the first upper wall 18 and the projecting contact 28 of the elastic contact piece 22. In this state, the contact area between the receptacle contact 1 and the tab contact 5 is maximized. Also, the elastic contact piece 22
The extension portion 32 is integrated with the base wall 12 at the first bent portion 24 and is in contact with the base wall 12 at the bent portion 38, so that the extension portion 32 is apparently a doubly supported beam. Therefore, a sufficient contact pressure can be applied to the tab contact 5. Moreover, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the first rising piece 26 does not contact the lower surface of the elastic contact piece 22, and the extension 32 contacts the base wall 12 only at the bent part 38. As a result, the elastic contact piece 22 and the extension portion 32 secure a long elastic region from the first bent portion 24 to the bent portion 38, so that plastic deformation due to stress concentration does not occur.

In FIG. 4, when the tab contact 5 is slightly tilted up and down from the normal state shown by the broken line in the receptacle contact due to twisting or vibration in actual use, the second bent portion 34 and the bent portion 38 are formed. The plane portion 36 between them makes surface contact with the base wall 12. For this reason, since the region that functions as the elastic region extends from the first bent portion 24 of the elastic contact piece 22 to the second bent portion 34 of the extension portion 32, the elastic region is reduced as compared with the case of FIG. The rigidity increases. In addition, when shifting from FIG. 3 to FIG. 4, the contact surface between the extension portion 32 and the base wall 12 is between the contact point 46 of FIG. Because it expands continuously throughout 36, the stiffness increases continuously rather than discontinuously. Therefore, it is easy to absorb the vibration and the manufacturing error of the elastic contact piece 22 and the like in actual use.

In FIG. 5, when the tab contact 5 or a tool (not shown) is obliquely inserted into the receptacle contact 1, the flat portion 36 of the extension portion 32 is
And the first rising piece 26 is in contact with the elastic contact piece 2.
Contact 2 Thereby, the amount of deformation of the elastic contact piece 22 is regulated, and in particular, the overstress generated in the first bent portion 24 is prevented, the elastic region is further reduced, and the rigidity of the elastic contact piece 22 and the extension portion 32 is increased.

In FIG. 6, when the tab contact 5 or the tool inserted in the state shown in FIG. 5 is further tilted, the tip of the second rising piece 40 comes into contact with the elastic contact piece 22. This restricts the deformation of the second bent portion 34 in addition to the deformation of the first bent portion 24 due to the contact between the first rising piece 26 and the elastic contact piece 22. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first and second bent portions 24 and 34 from being plastically deformed due to stress concentration due to insertion of the tab contact 5 in the wrong direction or intrusion of a tool.
The tab contact 5 has a strong resistance to so-called “torsion”.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made as needed. For example, as is clear from FIGS. 5 and 6, in this embodiment, the tip of the tab contact 5 does not abut on the elastic contact portion 22 between the projecting contact 28 and the second bent portion 34,
No deformation restricting piece of the second bent portion 34 is provided near the second bent portion 34. However, when the size of the receptacle contact 1 is large, the tip of the tool or the like is
It is also possible to reach part 2 above. Therefore, by deforming the side walls 14 and 16, a deformation restricting piece 50 shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 may be further provided to ensure the prevention of plastic deformation of the second bent portion 34.

Although the tab contact is exemplified as the mating male contact of the receptacle contact, a post contact having a circular or rectangular cross section may be used.

[0023]

According to the receptacle contact according to the first aspect, a flat portion capable of surface contact with the base wall is formed in the extension integrated with the elastic contact piece, and the free end of the extension is directed toward the elastic contact piece. Since the rising pieces that can be bent and contact the elastic contact pieces are provided, the rigidity changes continuously, and an effect is obtained that a highly reliable receptacle contact that absorbs vibration and manufacturing errors in actual use can be obtained. Also, since the lateral dimension of the receptacle contact can be reduced, high-density mounting of the contact is possible.

[0024]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a receptacle contact according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the receptacle contact shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a mating tab contact is properly inserted into the receptacle contact shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state where a mating tab contact inserted into the receptacle contact of FIG. 1 is slightly inclined in the vertical direction within the receptacle contact.

5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where a mating tab contact is inserted into the receptacle contact of FIG. 1 from an oblique direction.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a mating tab contact is inserted into the receptacle contact of FIG. 1 from a more oblique direction than the state shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a conventional receptacle contact.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another conventional receptacle contact.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Receptacle Contact 12 Base Wall 14, 16 Side Wall 18 Upper Wall 22 Resilient Contact Piece 23 Space 26, 40 Rise Piece 32 Extension 36 Flat Surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/11-13/115 H01R 13/187

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An elastic contact piece bent at a front end of the base wall and extending rearward in a space surrounded by a base wall, side walls on both sides of the base wall, and an upper wall opposed to the base wall; An extension that is bent at a rear end of the elastic contact piece and extends between the base wall and the elastic contact piece toward the front end, and near the front end of the base wall, from the base wall. A first rising piece extending toward the elastic contact piece is provided, and a flat part capable of making surface contact with the base wall when the elastic contact piece is elastically deformed is formed on the extension, and a free end of the extension is provided on the free end of the extension. A receptacle contact provided with a second rising piece that can be bent toward the elastic contact piece and contact the elastic contact piece, wherein the flat portion is formed in a tapered shape such that its width decreases toward the front. Wherein the flat portion makes surface contact with the base wall. When, by the contact surfaces of the flat portion and the base wall is expanded continuously, receptacle contacts, characterized in that the elasticity of the resilient contact piece increases continuously.