JP3526307B2 - Female contact and connector having 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 female contact, particularly a female contact having a substantially box-shaped contact portion, and a connector having the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector having a male contact and a female contact which are fitted to each other has been conventionally used for interconnecting electric circuits of home electric appliances, automobiles and the like.
A so-called tab type contact having a relatively wide contact surface is often used as the male contact. As the female contact, a female contact having a box-shaped contact portion as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 64-38777 is often used. This type of female contact has the advantage of protecting the inner contact piece from the outside as it has a relatively robust structure. This contact is generally held in the housing by an elastic arm formed in the contact receiving chamber of the connector housing engaging with the rear end of the box-shaped contact portion.

[0003]

When inserting the female contact into the housing chamber of the housing, the elastic arm slides relatively to the upper surface of the box-shaped contact portion of the contact while being bent against the elasticity. To do. The box-shaped contact portion of the female contact needs to have a predetermined length in order to ensure an effective contact length with the mating male contact. The female contact is pressed by the elastic arm while the elastic arm passes over the upper surface of the contact portion. The friction generated by this pressing acts as the insertion resistance of the contact, and therefore the worker must continue to insert the contact by the length of the contact portion against the insertion resistance. For this reason, the worker may stop the contact insertion work before the elastic arm reaches the position where the elastic arm engages with the rear end of the contact portion.

Further, in the female contact disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, since the wall forming the upper surface of the contact portion is a single plate, there is elasticity when the rear end of the contact portion and the elastic arm are engaged. The area of contact with the arm is small. For this reason,
When the force for pulling out the contact is applied, the elastic arm may be damaged by the edge at the rear end of the contact portion.

Therefore, the present invention provides a female contact and a connector which solve the above-mentioned problems, that is, a female contact which is excellent in the mountability of the contact and prevents the elastic arm of the housing from being damaged, and a connector using the same. To aim.

[0006]

The female contact of the present invention is formed by punching and bending a conductive metal plate.
A female contact that has a substantially box-shaped contact portion and is used by being held in the contact accommodating cavity of the housing.
A female contact having two upper walls extending from opposite side walls of the contact portion and abutting each other at a central seam surface of the female contact, the female contact being provided at a rear end of each of the two upper walls. Providing a protrusion formed by folding back a part of the upper wall substantially 180 ° to the outside so that the folds are butted against each other, a chamfer is formed on the edge of each of the protrusions on the side opposite to the folds, The protrusion is provided inside the contact portion.
A wide tip of the contact spring piece is provided at a position facing the top contact point of the contact spring piece formed by cutting and raising the bottom wall.
An end is in contact with the bottom wall and is slidable on the bottom wall,
The contact between the wide tip and the bottom wall causes the contact
It is characterized in that the bevel is substantially a doubly supported beam .

The connector of the present invention is a conductive metal plate.
A female contact having a substantially box-shaped contact portion formed by punching and bending, and an elastic arm that engages with the rear end of the upper wall of the contact portion in a cavity that accommodates the female contact. A formed housing, the female contacts extending from opposite side walls of the contact portion and abutting each other at a central seam surface of the female contact.
In a connector having two upper walls, a projection is formed at each rear end of the two upper walls so that a part of the upper wall is folded back substantially 180 ° and the folds are butted. A chamfer is formed on the edge of each of the protrusions on the side opposite to the fold line, and the protrusion is provided inside the contact portion.
Is provided at a position facing the top contact point of the contact spring piece formed by cutting and raising the bottom wall of the
The tip portion is in contact with the bottom wall and is slidable on the bottom wall.
The contact between the wide tip and the bottom wall.
The contact spring pieces are substantially double-supported beams .

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1A and 1B show an embodiment of a female contact of the present invention, and are a plan view of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. The contact spring pieces are omitted.

In FIG. 1, a female contact 10 is formed by punching and bending a sheet of copper alloy and has a substantially box-shaped contact portion 12 for contacting a male contact at one end and an electric wire at the other end. Each has a crimping portion 14 to be connected. The crimp portion 14 is composed of a wire barrel 16 to which the core wire of the electric wire is connected and an insulation barrel 18 which holds the coating of the electric wire. A double lock barrel 20 that contacts the double lock member 46 (FIG. 3) is formed adjacent to the insulation barrel 18.

The contact portion 12 includes a bottom wall 22 and opposite side walls 24, 24.
And the upper walls 28, 28 that are butted against each other at the seam surface 26, and are formed in a substantially box shape. A contact spring piece 30 is formed inside the contact portion 12 by being cut and raised from the bottom wall 22, and extends from the insertion opening 32 side of the mating contact (not shown) toward the crimp portion 14.
As shown by the broken line in FIG. 1 (A), the contact spring piece 30 is formed to be tapered toward the tip portion 30a, and the tip portion 30a is formed to be wide. For this reason, the ridges 3 of the upper walls 28, 28
When a mating male contact (not shown) is inserted between 4, 34 (FIG. 2) and the contact spring piece 30, a wide tip portion 30a is formed.
Can contact the bottom wall 22 and slide on the bottom wall 22. Since the contact spring piece 30 substantially becomes a doubly supported beam due to the contact between the tip portion 30a and the bottom wall 22, a high contact pressure can be obtained.

On the upper walls 28, 28 of the contact portion 12, projections 36, 36, which are partially folded back at the seam surface 26 by 180 °, are provided with folds 36a, 36.
They are provided so as to match a. A chamfer 36b is formed on the edge of each protrusion 36 on the side opposite to the fold line 36a. The function of the protrusion 36 will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a process of inserting the contact of FIG. 1 into the housing. However, the contact is not shown in cross section. Connector 40 has multiple contacts 10
A housing 44 having a plurality of cavities 42 for accommodating the contacts 10, and a plurality of double lock members 46 (only one is shown) for double-locking the contacts 10 for each contact row. In each cavity 42, an elastic arm 48 extending from the inner wall of the housing 44 is formed as in the conventional case.
The contact 10 is inserted from one end of the cavity 42 against the elasticity of the elastic arm 48, and the engagement surface 48a of the elastic arm 48 and the rear end 28a of the upper wall 28 of the contact 10 are engaged with each other to be inserted into the housing 44. Retained.

The above-mentioned protrusions 36, 36 provided on the upper wall 28 of the contact 10 increase the apparent plate thickness at the rear ends 28a of the upper walls 28, 28, so that the upper wall 28 including the protrusion 36 is increased. The second moment of area of the elastic arm increases and the area of the elastic arm 48 in contact with the engaging surface 48a increases. Therefore, the locking strength of the contact 10 by the elastic arm 48 is improved, and when a load is applied in the direction of pulling out the contact 10,
The pressure on the engagement surface 48a is reduced, and the elastic arm 48 is prevented from being damaged. Further, since the protrusions 36, 36 are folded back at the seam surface 26 which is the center line of the contact 10, the contact portion 12
The folded length is shorter than the width of. Therefore, even if the tip end side of each folded-back projection 36 is pressed by the elastic arm 48, it is difficult to turn up. Further, the protrusion 36 is formed on a part of the rear end side of the upper wall 28, and its proportion to the entire length of the contact portion 12 is small. Resilient arm 48 is displaced than when people when the bottom surface 48b as shown in the upper and middle stages of FIG. 3 is in contact with the upper wall 28 those abuts the upper surface of the projection 36 (bending) amount is small, the insertion The resistance is also small. Therefore, when the contact 10 is inserted into the cavity 42, the insertion resistance becomes small in the initial stage of the insertion in which the upper wall 28 of the contact 10 and the elastic arm 48 relatively slide, and the protrusion 36 and the elastic arm 48 face each other. Although the insertion resistance becomes large in the latter stage of the sliding, the insertion resistance does not increase significantly because burrs and the like are removed by the chamfer 36b. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the overall insertion resistance to facilitate the insertion work, and to give the worker a feeling of wearing (clicking feeling) to sense the end of the insertion work. Further, since the contact portion 12 is vertically asymmetrical due to the formation of the protrusion 36, reverse insertion of the contact 10 into the housing 44 is prevented as described later.

As shown in the lower part of FIG.
After inserting 10 into cavity 42, double lock member 46
Insert from one end of 42 and double-lock the contact 10.
Even if the contact 10 is incompletely mounted in the cavity 42, the contact 10 can be completely mounted by pressing the double lock barrel 20 with the tip 46a of the double lock member 46.

FIG. 4 shows a state where the contact shown in FIG. 1 is reversely inserted into the housing, and is a sectional view (A), (B) (A).
FIG. Note that the contact did not cross section in (A), and the contact did cross section in (B). FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4B, showing a state in which the contacts of FIG. 1 are tilted and reversely inserted. As shown in FIG. 4, when the contact 10 is inserted into the cavity 42 upside down, the protrusions 36, 36 of the contact 10 are inclined to the slope 50 of the cavity 42.
Therefore, the contact 10 cannot be inserted further into the cavity 42. Therefore, the contact 10 can be prevented from being inserted in the opposite direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, even when the contact 10 is inserted in a state in which the contact 10 is slightly tilted from the upside-down direction, at least one protrusion 36 abuts the slope 50, so that the contact 10 is prevented from being inserted. To do.
In the connector of the present invention, the function of preventing the reverse insertion of the contact is obtained by using the projection 36 having a relatively low profile instead of using the stabilizer extending from the side wall of the contact as in the conventional case. Therefore, a low-profile connector having a function of preventing reverse insertion of contacts can be obtained. Further, the entanglement between the contacts 10 after the wire is crimped can be significantly reduced. Further, since the chamfer 36b is formed at the edge of the protrusion 36, the contact 10 is properly formed in the cavity 42 of the housing 44.
When inserted inside, the projection 36 will be
It facilitates insertion of the contact 10 without interfering with 43.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a connector for accommodating a contact for an electric wire having a small coating diameter. However, the contact is not shown in cross section. Depending on the usage conditions of the connector, there are a case where the electric wire 60 having a relatively large coating diameter is used (FIG. 3) and a case where the electric wire 60 ′ having a relatively small coating diameter is used (FIG. 6). In the latter case, in order to obtain good crimping of the wire barrel 16 'and the core wire 62', it is necessary to make the depth d of the insulation barrel 18 'from the bottom wall 22' relatively shallow depending on the coating diameter. However, when the former and latter contacts 10 and 10 'can be inserted into the cavity 42 of the same housing 44, the latter insulation barrel 18' is formed.
And a gap is formed between the partition wall 52 of the housing 44. Therefore, the contact 10 'inserted in the cavity 42 may rattle, or the double lock barrel 20' may not engage with the double lock member 46 (FIG. 3) due to the inclination of the contact 10 '. So insulation barrel 1
A protrusion 38 is formed on the bottom wall between the 8'and the double lock barrel 20 'to compensate for the clearance.

According to the female contact and the connector having the same of the present invention, the two upper walls extending from the opposite side walls of the substantially box-shaped contact portion and abutted against each other at the central seam surface of the female contact are provided. Provided at each rear end is a protrusion formed by folding a part of the upper wall outward by substantially 180 ° so that the folds are abutted, and chamfering on the edge of each protrusion opposite to the fold. forming a protrusion is tangent to the internal contact portion
Since it is provided at a position facing the top contact point of the contact spring piece formed by cutting and raising the bottom wall of the contact portion, the workability of inserting the contact is improved. Further, since the area of the housing in contact with the engaging surface of the elastic arm is increased, the locking strength of the contact is improved and the elastic arm is prevented from being damaged when a load is applied in the direction of pulling out the contact. Further, it is possible to obtain a low-profile connector having a function of preventing the contacts from being reversely inserted into the housing and to significantly reduce the entanglement between the contacts. Further, there is an effect that the structural strength of the contact portion is improved to stably maintain the gap between the contact point of the contact spring piece and the upper wall. Furthermore, the wide tip of the contact spring piece
The end contacts the bottom wall of the contact part and can slide on the bottom wall.
The contact between the wide tip and the bottom wall
Since it is qualitatively a double-supported beam, the effect of high contact pressure is obtained.
is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a female contact of the present invention,
(A) It is a plan view and (B) is a side view with a partial cross section.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of inserting the contact of FIG. 1 into a housing.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view (A) and a view (B) taken in the direction of arrow B in (A), showing a state where the contact of FIG. 1 is reversely inserted into the cavity of the housing.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4B, showing a state in which the contact of FIG. 1 is tilted and reversely inserted into the cavity of the housing.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector that houses a contact for an electric wire having a small coating diameter.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 10 'female contact 12 Contact part 24 side wall 26 Seam surface 28 Upper wall 36 Projection 36a fold 36b chamfer 40 connector 42 cavity 44 housing 48 elastic arm

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoichi Kashiwa 3-5-8 Hisamoto, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Japan MP Co., Ltd. (56) References: Shokai 63-3073 U) Actual development 56-169377 (JP, U) Actual development 4-98275 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01R 13/11 H01R 13/42

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A conductive metal plate is punched and bent.
And a substantially box-shaped contact portion, the female contact being held and used in the contact receiving cavity of the housing, the female contact extending from opposite side walls of the contact portion. 2 butted against each other at the seam
In a female contact having two upper walls, a protrusion formed at the rear end of each of the two upper walls such that a part of the upper wall is folded back substantially 180 ° and the folds are butted. A chamfer is formed on the edge of each protrusion on the side opposite to the fold, and the protrusion cuts the bottom wall of the contact inside the contact.
Provided on the top of the contacts and a position facing the contact spring pieces formed causing, the wide front end of the contact spring piece said bottom wall and in contact with
It is slidable on the bottom wall, and the wide tip and the bottom wall
A female contact characterized in that the contact spring piece substantially becomes a doubly supported beam by abutting with the contact spring . 2. A conductive metal plate is punched and bent.
A female contact having a substantially box-shaped contact portion, and a housing having an elastic arm that engages with the rear end of the upper wall of the contact portion in a cavity that accommodates the female contact. A connector having two upper walls extending from opposite side walls of the contact portion and abutting each other at a central seam surface of the female contact, wherein each of the two upper walls is The rear end is provided with a protrusion formed by folding a part of the upper wall outward by substantially 180 ° so that the folds are abutted, and a chamfer is formed on the edge of each of the protrusions on the side opposite to the fold. Forming a bottom wall of the contact portion inside the contact portion.
Provided on the top of the contacts and a position facing the contact spring pieces formed causing, the wide front end of the contact spring piece said bottom wall and in contact with
It is slidable on the bottom wall, and the wide tip and the bottom wall
A connector characterized in that the contact spring piece substantially becomes a doubly supported beam by contact with the connector.