JP5066618B2 - Contacts and electrical connectors - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact provided with a spring portion that press-contacts an object to be connected, and an electrical connector using the contact.

  The electrical connector includes a contact made of a conductive member for obtaining contact with an object to be connected. The contact usually includes a spring portion that movably supports a portion that contacts the connection object. In order to increase the removal force of the connected object to be connected, various devices as described below are applied to the electrical connector or the contact.

  The electrical connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a movable operation member, and is configured to operate the contact by the operation member to press-contact the connection object, thereby increasing the removal force of the connection object. .

  Further, the contact disclosed in Patent Document 2 has a structure in which three spring pieces are crossed and pressed against the connection object in order to increase the removal force of the connection object.

JP 2007-95671 A JP 2007-280639 A

  However, since the electrical connector disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires an operation member that is a component different from the contact, the number of components increases and it is difficult to reduce the cost. Further, when the operation member is made of synthetic resin, there is a concern about deformation due to heat. When the operation member is deformed, the removal force of the connection object is reduced. However, if the operation member is made of metal, there is a risk of causing discharge if the contact of the operation member is insufficient at the portion where the operation member contacts the contact. Further, when the electrical connector receives vibration, there is a concern that it may cause problems such as unstable contact.

  Further, in the contact disclosed in Patent Document 2, the structure is complicated and the outer shape becomes large by providing three spring pieces. In addition, since the spring piece is crossed and brought into contact with the connection object, a shearing force acts on the connection object in the contact state, and thus there is a concern about lack of long-term reliability.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a contact and an electrical connector that can increase the removal force of a connection object without increasing the number of parts and with a relatively simple structure.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, a connecting portion bent around one axis, a spring portion extending from the connecting portion and connected to a first connection object, and a second connecting object extending from the connecting portion. The spring part includes a pair of spring pieces elastically displaceable in a direction intersecting the one axis, and at least one of the pair of spring pieces is connected to the spring part. In addition, a contact having a protrusion that prevents the first connection object from moving in the removal direction along the one axis is obtained.

  The connecting portion may have an annular shape around the one axis.

  The connecting portion may be formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and the pair of spring pieces may extend from two mutually opposed surfaces of the connecting portion.

  The connecting portion may have a seam on at least one of the remaining two surfaces of the connecting portion.

  The seam may be formed by mutual engagement in the uniaxial circumferential direction.

  The connecting portion may have a joint at at least one place around the one axis.

  The connecting portion may have a curved shape around the one axis.

  Each of the pair of spring pieces may include a contact portion that contacts each other with a preload, and a contact portion for contacting the first connection object.

  The contact portion may be shaped into a shape suitable for contacting a lamp tube as the first connection object.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, an electrical connector including the contact and a housing holding the contact is obtained.

  The contact which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention extends the connection part connected to the spring part and 2nd connection target object which are connected to a 1st connection object from a connection part, and the connection part is connected. By bending around one axis, it is possible to increase the removal force of the connection object without increasing the number of parts and with a relatively simple structure.

It is a perspective view of a contact concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the different direction of the contact of FIG. 1A. It is a front view of the contact shown to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. It is a perspective view which shows the usage example of a contact shown to FIG. 1A and 1B. It is an expansion perspective view which shows only a part of FIG. 2A. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the contact shown to FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the connection effect | action of the contact shown in FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C, and a connection target object. It is a perspective view of the 1st modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is a perspective view of the 2nd modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is the perspective view seen from a different direction of the 2nd modification shown in Drawing 6A. It is a perspective view of only the principal part of the 3rd modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is a perspective view of only the principal part of the 4th modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is a perspective view of only the principal part of the 5th modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is a perspective view of only the principal part of the 6th modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C. It is a perspective view of only the principal part of the 7th modification of a contact shown in Drawing 1A-Drawing 1C.

  First, an overall structure of a contact according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 1C.

  The illustrated contact 1 is integrally formed of a conductive plate material, and includes a connecting portion 3 formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape so as to surround a uniaxial shaft 2 extending in the vertical direction along the paper surface in FIG. 1C. . The cylindrical shape of the connecting portion 3 is maintained by the shape maintaining means 4 formed by a seam provided on at least one surface of the connecting portion 3. In addition, the connection part 3 consists of a plate-shaped part which can be bent and extended.

  The connecting portion 3 has an upper end surface 3a and a lower end surface 3b facing in a direction parallel to the one axis 2. From the upper end surface 3a of the connection part 3, the spring part 6 for connecting with 1st connection objects, such as a lamp tube (for example, cold cathode tube), has extended. Further, from the lower end surface 3b of the connecting portion 3, a connecting portion 7 that is surface-mounted and connected to a second connection object such as a printed circuit board extends.

  The spring portion 6 has a pair of spring pieces 8 that can be elastically displaced in a direction intersecting the uniaxial axis 2. The pair of spring pieces 8 respectively extend from the two plate portions 3-1 and 3-2 facing each other of the connecting portion 3 having a substantially square cylindrical shape. The plate portion 3-3 on one surface of the remaining two surfaces of the connecting portion 3 is provided with a seam constituting the shape maintaining means 4. A concave portion is provided on one side of the joint, and a convex portion is provided on the other side. The seam is crushed by fitting the recesses and the projections formed on the opposing end surfaces when the connecting portion 3 is bent into a cylindrical shape, and appropriately crimping the boundary between the recesses and the projections. Thereby, it forms so that it may mutually engage in the circumferential direction of the one axis | shaft 2. As shown in FIG.

  As will be described later, the pair of spring pieces 8 includes an abutment portion 9 that abuts with each other with a preload, a contact portion 11 for contacting the first connection object, and an effective displacement. And a meandering portion 12. Since the meandering portion 12 increases the flexibility of the spring piece 8, it has an action of preventing the first connection object from being damaged when connected.

  Each of the pair of spring pieces 8 has a protruding portion 13 that engages with the first connection object in contact with the contact portion 11 in the removal direction along the single axis 2 (the upward direction along the paper surface in FIG. 1C). Have. Here, the protruding portion 13 is formed at or near the portion corresponding to the contact portion 9 by pressing the front portion of the pair of spring pieces 8 from the outside. The protrusion 13 will be described in detail later.

  The contact part 11 has a shape suitable for contacting the terminal of the first connection object, that is, a recess. Specifically, each spring piece 8 is provided with a convex portion 14 formed as a result of press forming a concave portion on the inner side surface of the contact portion 11 and a chamfer 16 formed on an end portion of the inner side surface of the contact portion 11. Yes. The concave portion makes contact with the terminal of the first connection object at multiple points, and improves the reliability of the contact. Furthermore, since the concave portion that causes the convex portion 14 reduces the contact area when the first connection object is connected, it is possible to reduce the shavings that are generated when the first connection object is connected. The chamfer 16 also contributes to reduction of shavings.

  The illustrated contact 1 further includes a stopper plate 17 extending upward from the upper end surface 3 a of the plate portion 3-4 on the remaining one surface of the connecting portion 3. The stopper plate 17 serves to protect the pair of spring pieces 8 and limit the position of the connected first connection object in the direction of one axis 2. The connecting portion 18 is a portion that is generally connected to a portion called a carrier when a large number of contacts 1 are formed continuously and automatically from a strip-shaped plate material.

  With reference to FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the usage example of the contact 1 mentioned above is demonstrated.

  2A and 2B, a plurality of contacts 1 are arranged on a printed circuit board 21 as a second connection object at intervals. A cold cathode tube 22 is connected to each contact 1 as a first connection object. Specifically, the connection terminal 22 a of the cold cathode tube 22 is inserted between the pair of spring pieces 8.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the manufacturing method of the contact 1 mentioned above is demonstrated.

  When the contacts 1 are integrally formed of a plate material, the plate portions 3-1, 3-2 and 3-4 of the connecting portion 3 are first formed in a straight line as shown in FIG. In this state, the pair of spring pieces 8 are separated from each other. The plate portion 3-3 for providing the joint of the connecting portion 3 is divided into two portions 3-3a and 3-3b, and these portions 3-3a and 3-3b are divided into the other plate portions 3-1, 3-b. Pre-bent substantially perpendicular to 2 and 3-3. In addition, the recessed part and convex part which were mentioned above are each formed in the end surface of two part 3-3a, 3-3b which comprises the board part 3-3.

  Next, the connecting portion 3 is bent at right angles by the two bent portions 3c and 3d so that the pair of spring pieces 8 are opposed to each other and the abutting portions 9 are abutted against each other. Further, while the spring piece 8 is elastically deformed, the two portions 3-3a and 3-3b are brought close to each other, and the concave portion and the convex portion are fitted to each other as described above. In this state, the boundary portion between the concave portion and the convex portion is crushed in the thickness direction, and the two portions 3-3a and 3-3b are engaged with each other to form an integral plate portion 3-3. Thus, it is possible to easily obtain a state in which the contact portions 9 of the pair of spring pieces 8 are in contact with each other with a so-called preload.

  Since the preload is applied to the spring piece 8 as described above, a force is applied in the direction in which the base portions (connecting portions 3) of the spring piece 8 are separated from each other, that is, in the spreading direction, in order to prevent this. The shape maintaining means 4 is provided in the connecting portion 3 to prevent the base portions (connecting portion 3) of the spring pieces 8 from spreading to each other so as to keep the contact pressure of the spring pieces 8 properly.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the contact 1 described above will be described in relation to the cold cathode tube 22.

  FIG. 4A shows an initial state in which the contact portions 9 of the pair of spring pieces 8 are in contact with each other. As shown in FIG. 4B, the connection terminals 22a of the cold cathode tubes are inserted between the pair of spring pieces 8 while the contact portions 9 are separated from each other. After that, as shown in FIG. 4C, the contact portion 11 comes into contact with the connection terminal 22 a by the restoring force of the pair of spring pieces 8. In this state, the connection terminal 22a is strongly sandwiched between the contact portions 11 by the preload described above, so that it is possible to increase the pulling force with the cold cathode tube when the cold cathode tube is forcibly pulled out, Since the part 13 interferes as an obstacle part, the separation from between the pair of spring pieces 8 is prevented. Therefore, the cold cathode tube is electrically and mechanically connected to the contact 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the seam constituting the shape maintaining means 4 may be obtained by mutual fitting of a concave portion and a convex portion having a shape that mutually engages in the circumferential direction in advance.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a seam constituting the shape maintaining means 4 may be provided on each of the front surface and the back surface of the contact 1. Similar variations are possible in the embodiment shown in FIGS.

  With reference to FIGS. 7-11, the various modifications about the protrusion part 13 are demonstrated.

  Although the example which provided the protrusion part 13 only in the front part of the pair of spring pieces 8 was demonstrated above, as shown in FIG. The other may be provided at the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 8, at least one of the pair of spring pieces 8 may be provided with a protruding portion 13 at a central portion in the front-rear direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the protruding portion 13 may be formed by cutting a pair of spring pieces 8.

  As shown in FIG. 10, one of the pair of spring pieces 8 is cut to form a protruding portion 13, and the other is provided with a notch 23, and the protruding portion 13 is linearly extended to form a notch 23. You may arrange in. In this case, the protrusion 13 extends across the opposing surfaces of the pair of spring pieces 8.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the protruding portion 13 may be appropriately bent.

  Needless to say, various combinations of the structures shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 are possible.

  The contact 1 described above forms an engaging portion at the joint of the connecting portion 3 as the shape maintaining means 4, but the shape of the connecting portion 3 may be maintained by other means.

  For example, when the connection portion 7 of the contact 1 is fixed to the printed board 21, the shape of the connecting portion 3 can be maintained by the printed board 21. In this case, a part of the printed circuit board 21 functions as the shape maintaining means 4.

  Further, a means for fixing the bending angle of the bent portions 3 c and 3 d of the connecting portion 3 may be added to the contact 1 as the shape maintaining means 4.

  An electrical connector can be configured by incorporating the contact 1 described above into an insulating housing (not shown). According to the electrical connector, the connecting portion 3 can be maintained in a bent shape so as to surround the single shaft 2 by the housing. In that case, the housing serves as the shape maintaining means 4.

  Further, in the above description, the connecting portion 3 extends so as to form a ring around the single axis 2, but the connecting portion 3 does not form a ring and extends so as to form a curved shape partially opened around the single axis 2. It may be.

  The contact and electrical connector according to the present invention can be used for connecting a cold cathode tube such as a backlight of a liquid crystal display device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Contact 2 Uniaxial 3 Connection part 3a Upper end surface 3b Lower end surface 3c, 3d Bending part 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4 Plate part 4 Shape maintenance means 6 Spring part 7 Connection part 8 Spring piece 9 Contact part 11 Contact part 12 Meander part 13 Projection part 14 Projection part 16 Chamfer 17 Stopper plate 18 Coupling part 21 Printed circuit board 22 Cold cathode tube 22a Connection terminal 23 Notch

Claims (10)

  A connecting portion bent around one axis, a spring portion extending from the connecting portion and connected to a first connection object, and a connecting portion extending from the connection portion and connected to a second connection object The spring portion includes a pair of spring pieces that can be elastically displaced in a direction intersecting the one axis, and at least one of the pair of spring pieces is the first connection object connected to the spring portion. The contact characterized by having a protrusion part which prevents the movement to the extraction direction along the said one axis | shaft.   The contact according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion has an annular shape around the one axis.   The contact according to claim 2, wherein the connecting portion is formed to have a substantially rectangular tube shape, and the pair of spring pieces extend from two mutually opposed surfaces of the connecting portion.   The contact according to claim 3, wherein the connecting portion has a seam on at least one of the remaining two surfaces of the connecting portion.   The contact according to claim 4, wherein the joint is formed by mutual engagement in the circumferential direction of the one axis.   The contact according to claim 2, wherein the connecting portion has a joint at at least one position around the one axis.   The contact according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion has a curved shape around the one axis.   The pair of spring pieces each have a contact portion that is in contact with each other with a preload and a contact portion for contacting the first connection object. contact.   The contact according to claim 8, wherein the contact portion is shaped into a shape suitable for contacting a lamp tube as the first connection object.   An electrical connector comprising: the contact according to claim 1; and a housing holding the contact.

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