JP3460059B2 - Receptacle contact and connector using the same - 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 of a connector used in an environment where vibration and temperature change are severe, such as an automobile connector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a connector used in an environment where vibration and temperature change are severe, fretting corrosion (fine sliding corrosion) occurs between a receptacle contact and a mating contact inserted into the contact. Therefore, poor contact is likely to occur. That is, vibrations and temperature changes
Causes slight sliding that causes fretting corrosion between both contacts. In order to eliminate this slight sliding, a spring part is provided on the receptacle contact, and this spring part causes the contact part of the receptacle contact to follow the movement of the mating contact when both contacts are in contact with each other. A receptacle contact has been invented in which the physical movement is eliminated.

This anti-fretting corrosion type receptacle contact is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-2968.
No. 86, No. 8-45606, No. 10
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 189102.

A receptacle contact described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-296886 (hereinafter, referred to as "receptacle contact of Conventional Example 1") includes a connecting portion connected to an electric wire.
A contact part that comes into contact with the mating contact, a spring part that is made up of a pair of elastic beams and a bridge part and that is interposed between the connection part and the contact part, and supports the contact part in a freely movable manner, and the connection part, the spring part, and the contact. The outer body (fixed portion) is formed separately from the portion, covers the contact portion and the spring portion, and is connected to the connection portion.

A receptacle contact described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-45606 (hereinafter referred to as "receptacle contact of Conventional Example 2") is a conductor connecting portion connected to an electric wire, and a base portion continuously provided at one end of the conductor connecting portion. A contact part that comes into contact with the mating contact, a spring part that is formed between the base part and the contact part by providing a slot, and supports the contact part so that the contact part is free to move, a conductor connection part, a base part, a spring part, and a contact part. And a spring member (fixed portion) formed separately from the portion, covering the contact portion and the spring portion, and connected to the base portion.

Receptacle contacts of the first and second embodiments described in JP-A-10-189102 (hereinafter, referred to as "receptacle contact of Conventional Example 3").
Has an electric wire connecting portion to be connected to an electric wire, a receptacle portion (fixed portion) connected to the electric wire connecting portion, and a contact portion which is movably arranged in the receptacle portion and comes into contact with a mating contact. This contact portion is free to move by a connecting portion that is continuously provided on one side wall that constitutes a part of the receptacle portion and that extends in a direction perpendicular to the mating / disengaging direction with the mating connector. In addition, the developed shape of this contact part is a strip shape extending in parallel with the fitting / removing direction, and by folding it back toward the receptacle part near the wire contact part, It is formed in a U shape.

The receptacle contact of the third embodiment described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-189102 (hereinafter referred to as "receptacle contact of Conventional Example 4") is an electric wire contact portion to which an electric wire is connected, and an electric wire contact portion of the electric wire contact portion. A spring portion formed by the first and second slits formed in the one end side portion, a receptacle portion (fixed portion) continuously provided at one end of the spring portion, and a mating contact arranged in the receptacle portion. It has a contact part that contacts, and this contact part is connected to the contact piece adjacent to the inside of the top part of the receptacle part and the front end of the base part of the receptacle part. And an elastic contact piece formed by bending a strip-like piece extending in parallel with the elastic contact piece into a substantially elliptical shape so as to be accommodated in the receptacle part. So as to lifting is made in contact with the mating contact. In the case of the receptacle contact of Conventional Example 4, unlike the receptacle contacts of Conventional Examples 1 to 3, the contact portion does not follow the mating contact, but the contact portion is formed by the spring portion formed by the first and second slits. The receptacle part accommodating the is adapted to follow the contact of the other side.

[0008]

In the receptacle contacts of Conventional Examples 1 and 2, since the spring portion and the contact portion are aligned in a straight line along the fitting / removing direction, the length in the fitting / removing direction is large. Therefore, it is difficult to miniaturize the connector. Further, in the case of the receptacle contacts of the conventional examples 1 and 2, since the fixing portion is formed separately from the spring portion, the contact portion, and the like, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost increases accordingly.

In the case of the receptacle contact of the conventional example 3, since the contact portion is movably arranged in the fixed portion, the length in the fitting / removing direction can be shortened. Therefore, the receptacle contact of the conventional example 3 is provided. Has the advantage that the size of the connector can be easily reduced, and the receptacle contact of Conventional Example 3 is formed by punching and bending a single metal plate having conductivity and elasticity. Therefore, it also has an advantage that the manufacturing cost is low. However, in the case of the receptacle contact of Conventional Example 3, since the rear end of the contact portion (the end on the side of the electric wire connecting portion) is the folded portion, when the mating contact is inserted into the contact portion, tracking failure due to strong vibration does not occur. Due to possible relative movement of the mating contacts and expansion or contraction of both contacts due to temperature change, there is a risk that both contacts may come into contact with each other at the folded portion of the contact portion and be damaged. In order to eliminate this fear, it is sufficient to increase the length of the contact portion in the fitting / removing direction. However, in this case, the length of the contact portion in the fitting / removing direction can be shortened. The benefits are lost.

The receptacle contact of Conventional Example 4 has one
Although it has the advantage that it can be formed from a single metal plate having conductivity and elasticity, it has a long length in the fitting / removing direction because the spring part and the receptacle part are aligned in a line along the fitting / removing direction. There is a problem that it ends up.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is that the manufacturing is easy, the length in the fitting / removing direction can be shortened, and moreover, there is a risk of collision with the mating contact in the fitting / removing direction due to vibration or temperature change. It is to provide a receptacle contact that does not have any.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the invention, a single metal plate having conductivity and elasticity is punched out,
A receptacle contact that bends to form all the parts, a fixed portion fixed in a contact insertion portion provided in an insulator, and a mating contact provided in a mating connector and receiving the mating contact. The contact portion is in contact with the fixed portion and the contact portion, and movably supports the contact portion so that the contact portion follows the movement of the mating contact inserted into the contact portion. In a receptacle contact including a spring portion, the spring portion is continuously provided at the front end of the fixing portion in the fitting / removing direction with the mating connector, and the spring portion is folded back toward the fixing portion, The contact portion is arranged to float in the fixed portion, and the contact portion is
A receptacle contact characterized in that both ends in the fitting / removing direction are open can be obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the receptacle contact according to the first aspect is obtained in which the fixing portion is formed in a gutter shape having a U-shaped cross section.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the contact portion is formed in a rectangular tube shape having a cut parallel to the fitting / removing direction at one location, and is in a direction perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction. 3. The contact force according to claim 1 or 2.
The described receptacle contact is obtained.

According to the invention of claim 4, the insulator having the contact insertion portion, and the receptacle according to any one of claims 1 to 3 inserted and fixed in the contact insertion portion. A connector is obtained which is characterized in that it includes contacts.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described. 1A and 1B show a receptacle contact according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a development view.

With reference to FIG. 1, this receptacle contact (socket contact) 5 is formed by punching and bending a single metal plate having conductivity and elasticity to form all parts. Made of The receptacle contact 5 includes a connecting portion 51 and a fixing portion 52.
And a contact portion 53 and a spring portion 54.

The connecting portion 51 comprises an insulation barrel 51a and a wire barrel 51b. The insulation barrel 51a holds the electric wire 7 together with the insulating coating 71. The wire barrel 51b is the front end of the insulation barrel 51a in the fitting / removing direction (hereinafter, simply referred to as "fitting / disengaging direction") a of the socket connector 1 to the mating connector 9 (to be mated when mating / disengaging). The core wire 72, which is exposed at the end of the electric wire 7, is connected to the side connector 9 and is electrically connected to the core wire 72.

The fixing portion 52 is a portion fixed in the contact insertion portion 31 (see FIG. 2) provided in the socket side insulator 3 of the socket connector 1, and the connecting portion 5
It is connected to the front end of the mating / disengaging direction 1. The fixing portion 52 includes a bottom wall 52a and side walls 52b and 52b. The bottom wall 52a is rectangular and has a wire barrel 51b.
Are connected to the front end in the mating / unmating direction. Also, the bottom wall 5
A lance 52c is formed at the center of 2a. The side walls 52b, 52b are rectangular and have a fitting / removing direction a.
The bottom wall 52a is connected to both ends of the bottom wall 52a in a direction (hereinafter, simply referred to as an "orthogonal direction") orthogonal to. The bottom wall 52a and the side walls 52b, 52b are bent at their boundaries so that the fixing portion 52 is formed in a trough shape having a U-shaped cross section. Also, lance 52c
Are raised from the bottom wall 52a toward the outside of the fixed portion 52.

The contact portion 53 is a portion that receives the mating contact 92 provided on the mating connector 9 and comes into contact with the mating contact 92. In the expanded shape shown in FIG. It is formed in front of the fixing portion 51 (toward the mating connector 9) in the direction a (for convenience, the unfolded shape is the same as the mating connector 9 when the mating connector 9 is inserted and removed). The contact portion 53 includes a bottom wall 53a, side walls 53b and 53b, ceiling walls 53c and 53c, and contact points 53d and 53d.
The bottom wall 53a has a rectangular shape. The side walls 53b and 53b are
It has a rectangular shape and is continuously provided at both ends of the bottom wall 53a in the orthogonal direction. The ceiling walls 53c, 53c are rectangular and are connected to one end of the side walls 53b, 53b in the orthogonal direction. The contacts 53d and 53d are connected to the front ends of the side walls 53b and 53b in the fitting / removing direction in the expanded shape. These bottom wall 53a, side walls 53b, 5
3b and the ceiling walls 53c, 53c are the boundaries between them.
The ceiling wall 5 is bent in the direction opposite to the fixing portion 52 and in the orthogonal direction b.
3c are butted against each other, but ceiling walls 53c are not joined to each other. Therefore, the contact portion 53 is formed in a rectangular tube shape having a cut parallel to the fitting / removing direction a at one location, and has a contact force in a direction perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction a. The contact point 53 is slightly bent inward.
Therefore, the contact point 53d is brought into contact with the other contact 92 by sandwiching the other contact 92 in the orthogonal direction b by the contact force of the above-mentioned contact portion 53, and is made conductive.

The spring portion 54 is interposed between the fixed portion 52 and the contact portion 53, supports the contact portion 53 in a freely movable manner, and allows the contact portion 53 to move in response to the movement of the mating contact 92 inserted into the contact portion 53. Is the part that follows. The spring portion 54 has a substantially strip shape and is continuously provided at the front end of the fixing portion 52 (bottom wall portion 52a) in the fitting / removing direction a. , Contact portion 53 (bottom wall 53
linked to a).

The spring portion 54 is folded back toward the fixed portion 52 in a substantially U shape by 180 °, and as a result, the contact portion 53 is formed.
Will be floatably disposed in the fixed portion 52.
In this state, the center line of the contact portion 53 is configured to be substantially parallel to the fitting / removing direction a, so that the contact portion 53 is open at both ends in the fitting / removing direction a. It means that As described above, the contact portion 53 is in the shape of a rectangular tube and is open at both ends in the fitting / removing direction. Therefore, when the mating contact 92 is inserted into the contact portion 53, the contact portion 53 is inserted into both contacts 5, 92. Even if violent vibration is applied or the temperature around the contacts 5 and 92 changes drastically, the contacts 5 and 92 do not come into contact with each other in the fitting / removing direction a and the contacts 5 and 92 are damaged. There is nothing.

Next, a socket connector using the receptacle contact of the present invention will be described. 2 is shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a fitted state of a socket connector using the receptacle contact shown in FIG.

This socket connector 1 comprises a socket-side insulator 3 and a plurality of receptacle receptacle contacts 5 shown in FIG. 1 (only one is shown).

The socket-side insulator 3 has a housing shape, and has a plurality of contact insertion portions 31 for accommodating the receptacle contacts 5 therein. A lock lever 32 is swingably provided on the upper portion of the socket-side insulator 3. The lock lever 32 has a recess 32. Further, at the bottom of the socket-side insulator 3, the contact locking hole 3
3 is formed.

Each of the receptacle contacts 5 is inserted into the contact insertion portion 31, and the lance 52c of the fixed portion 52 is fitted into the contact locking hole 33 of the socket side insulator 3 so that the receptacle contact 5 is inserted into the contact insertion portion 31. Fixed.

Incidentally, the mating connector 9 of the socket contact 1 is a pin contact of a type mounted on the printed circuit board 11. This pin contact 9
The pin-side insulator 91 and a plurality of pin contacts 92 that are mating contacts of the receptacle contact 5
It consists of and.

The pin side insulator 91 has a housing shape and a receiving portion 91 for receiving the receptacle contact 5.
a. Further, a convex portion 91b is formed on the inner wall of the pin side insulator 91. This convex portion 91b
Fits in the recess 32a of the lock lever 32 provided in the socket connector 1 inserted in the receiving portion 91a,
As a result, the socket connector 1 is locked in the receiving portion 91a.

The pin contacts 92 are planted in a row on the pin side insulator 91. The soldering portions 92a of the pin contacts 92 are soldered to the printed board 11.

[0030]

Since the present invention is composed of one metal plate, it is easy to manufacture, and therefore the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, in the present invention, since the contact portion is disposed in the fixed portion so as to float by folding back the spring portion provided at the front end of the fixed portion, the contact portion can be made to follow the mating contact. Therefore, it is possible to prevent fine sliding corrosion, and also to fit the receptacle contact.
Since the length in the detaching direction can be shortened, the connector can be easily downsized.

Further, in the present invention, since both ends of the fitting / removing of the contact portion are open, in the state where the receptacle contact and the mating contact are in contact with each other, severe vibration is applied to them, or a large temperature is applied. Even if a change occurs, there is no contact in the fitting / removing direction, and damage to both contacts can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a receptacle contact according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a development view.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a fitted state of a socket connector using the receptacle contact shown in FIG. 1 and a mating connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 socket connector 3 Socket side insulator 31 Contact insertion part 5 Receptacle contact (socket contact) 51 Connection 52 Fixed part 53 Contact part 54 Spring

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-11-45750 (JP, A) JP-A-7-307180 (JP, A) JP-A-10-69928 (JP, A) JP-A-5- 62731 (JP, A) Actual development 55-93975 (JP, U) Actual development 56-174474 (JP, U) Actual development Hei 5-97065 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/11 302 H01R 23/02 H01R 107: 00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A receptacle contact for punching and bending a single metal plate having conductivity and elasticity to form all parts, and a fixing part fixed in a contact insertion part provided in an insulator. A contact portion that receives the contact of the counterpart provided on the counterpart connector and contacts the contact of the counterpart, and the contact portion is interposed between the fixed portion and the contact portion, and the contact portion is supported so as to be free to move. In a receptacle contact including a spring portion that causes the contact portion to follow the movement of the mating contact inserted into the contact portion, the spring portion is provided at the front end of the fixing portion in the mating / disengaging direction with the mating connector. The contact portion is arranged so as to float in the fixed portion by being connected to each other, and the spring portion is folded back toward the fixed portion. Receptacle contact characterized in that both ends in the detaching direction are open. 2. The receptacle contact according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is formed in a trough shape having a U-shaped cross section. 3. The contact portion is formed in a rectangular tube shape having a cut parallel to the fitting / removing direction at one place, and has a contact force in a direction perpendicular to the fitting / removing direction. The receptacle contact according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. An insulator having a contact insertion portion, and the receptacle contact according to any one of claims 1 to 3 inserted and fixed in the contact insertion portion. Connector to be.