JP5660776B2 - contact - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to contacts.

  Conventionally, a receptacle terminal (contact) having an inner body and an outer body is known (see Patent Document 1 below).

  The receptacle terminal is fixed in the cavity of the electrical connector housing. The inner body of the receptacle terminal has a base portion, a spring portion, and a contact portion. The base portion has a connection portion. The connecting portion is electrically connected to the electric wire by crimping. The spring portion has two pairs of U-shaped elastic portions that can be elastically deformed on both side wall portions thereof. The spring portion is interposed between the base portion and the contact portion. The contact portion has a pair of contact arms. The pair of contact arms sandwich the mating tab terminal.

  The outer body is box-shaped and accommodates the inner body except for the connecting portion. The outer body has a retention tab. The holding tab holds the upper edge of the base portion of the inner body.

  A stress limiting tab is formed on the inner bottom surface of the outer body. The stress limiting tab engages the spring part when the inner body is received in the outer body, and the compression of the spring part is restricted so that the spring part is not overcompressed in the longitudinal direction of the receptacle terminal.

  The spring force of the spring portion is set to be smaller than the longitudinal friction force generated when the contact arm sandwiches the mating tab terminal. Therefore, even if the mating tab terminal vibrates in the vertical direction, the contact portion of the receptacle terminal follows the movement of the tab terminal, and the contact arm does not slide relative to the tab terminal.

JP-A-7-296886 (see paragraphs 0009, 0010, 0012, 0013, 0015, 0016, 0017)

  As described above, the compression of the spring portion in the longitudinal direction of the receptacle terminal is limited by the stress limiting tab. For this reason, when the receptacle terminal and the mating tab terminal are thermally expanded due to the temperature rise around them, the tab terminal relatively moves toward the connecting portion of the inner body. At this time, since the compression of the spring portion is limited by the stress limiting tab, the contact portion cannot follow the movement (thermal expansion) of the tab terminal, and the tab terminal slides with respect to the contact arm. As a result, wear powder is generated, which may increase the electrical resistance between the receptacle terminal and the tab terminal.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its problem is to suppress the relative sliding of the contact with respect to the mating contact due to a temperature change, and to suppress the generation of wear powder.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the contact of the invention of claim 1 connects the contact portion that contacts the counterpart contact, the connection portion connected to the connection object, the contact portion and the connection portion, A connecting portion that is elastically deformed so that the contact portion swings with respect to the connection portion in a direction orthogonal to a contact longitudinal direction; and a stabilizing means that stabilizes the swinging motion of the contact portion, The portion has one connecting piece, one end of the connecting piece is connected to the connecting portion, the other end of the connecting piece is connected to the contact portion, and the stabilizing means is constituted by one stabilizing piece, One end of the stabilization piece is connected to the connection portion, and the other end of the stabilization piece is inserted into a hole provided in the contact portion so as to be relatively slidable .

  As described above, the contact portion and the connection portion are connected, and the contact portion is elastically deformed so that the contact portion swings with respect to the connection portion in a direction orthogonal to the contact longitudinal direction. When the temperature of the contact and the counterpart contact that contacts this contact rises, the counterpart contact extends in the contact longitudinal direction, and the contact moves forward or backward relative to the counterpart contact. The contact portion of the contact that is in contact with the counterpart contact swings. As a result, the relative sliding distance of the contact with the counterpart contact is reduced.

The invention according to claim 2 comprises the contact according to claim 1 and a housing having an accommodation hole for accommodating the contact, and when the contact is accommodated in the accommodation hole, the contact fixing piece is an inner surface of the accommodation hole. In addition, a gap is formed between the contact portion and the inner surface of the receiving hole to enable the contact portion to swing .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the contact according to the third aspect , the connecting portion has a pair of connecting pieces .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the contact according to the fourth aspect , a notch is formed in the connecting piece .

The invention of claim 6, Oite the contact of claim 4, wherein the pair of connecting pieces, characterized in that the bent in a V shape towards each other.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the contact according to the third aspect, a stabilizing means for stabilizing the swinging motion of the contact portion is provided .

  According to this invention, the relative sliding of the contact with respect to the mating contact due to temperature change can be suppressed, and the generation of wear powder can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the contact of the connector shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the mating contact of the contact shown in FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a connection state between the contact shown in FIG. 2 and the counterpart contact shown in FIG. 3 when not thermally expanded. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a connection state between the contact shown in FIG. 2 and the counterpart contact shown in FIG. 3 during thermal expansion. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a contact according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a contact according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a contact according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective view when the contact shown in FIG. 8 is viewed from another angle. FIG. 10 is a perspective view when the contact shown in FIG. 8 is viewed from another angle. FIG. 11 is a perspective view when the contact shown in FIG. 8 is viewed from another angle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The socket connector (connector) of 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the socket connector (connector) 100 includes a socket contact (contact) 101 and a housing 60. FIG. 1 shows a part of the socket connector 100. The housing 60 has a plurality of receiving holes 61, and the socket contacts 101 are received in the receiving holes 61. The socket connector 100 is a connector mounted on, for example, an automobile, and is connected to a plug connector (not shown) which is a counterpart contact.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the socket contact 101 includes a contact portion 10, a crimping portion (connecting portion) 20, a connecting portion 30, and a pair of contact fixing pieces 40 and 40.

  The socket contact 101 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. For example, the socket contact 101 may be plated with tin. The socket contact 101 can be connected to a pin contact 901 (see FIG. 3) which is a counterpart contact.

  The contact portion 10 includes a rectangular tube portion 11, a first contact piece (contact piece) 17, and a second contact piece 18. The rectangular tube portion 11 has a rectangular tube shape and includes an upper surface portion 12, a lower surface portion 13, and side surface portions 14 and 15. The first contact piece 17 has a plate shape, and one end portion of the first contact piece 17 continues to the upper surface portion 12. A first contact 17 a is formed at the other end of the first contact piece 17. A second contact 13 a is formed on the lower surface portion 13. The second contact 13a faces the first contact 17a in a second direction D2 described later. The second contact piece 18 is plate-shaped, and one end of the second contact piece 18 is continuous with the upper surface part 12. The other end of the second contact piece 18 is located above the other end of the first contact piece 17.

  The crimping part 20 has a wire barrel 21 and an insulation barrel 22. The wire barrel 21 is bent so as to hold a conductor of an electric wire (not shown) and holds the conductor. The insulation barrel 22 is connected to the wire barrel 21 and is bent so as to hold the covering of the electric wire to hold the covering. For convenience, FIGS. 1, 4, and 5 show a state in which no electric wire is connected to the crimping portion 20.

  The connecting part 30 connects the contact part 10 and the crimping part 20.

  The connecting portion 30 includes a first connecting piece (connecting piece) 31, a second connecting piece (connecting piece) 32, and a third connecting piece 33. The first and second connecting pieces 31 and 32 are substantially plate-shaped. The thickness direction of the first connecting piece 31 and the thickness direction of the second connecting piece 32 are parallel to a direction D1 orthogonal to the contact longitudinal direction L (hereinafter referred to as “first direction”). One ends of the first and second connecting pieces 31 and 32 are connected to the contact portion 10. The first and second connecting pieces 31 and 32 can be elastically deformed so that the contact portion 10 swings with respect to the crimping portion 20 in the first direction D1 (left and right direction of the socket connector 100 (or the socket contact 101)). It is. The third connecting piece 33 is substantially U-shaped, and connects the first connecting piece 31 and the second connecting piece 32. An intermediate portion of the third connecting piece 33 is continuous with the crimping portion 20.

  The pair of contact fixing pieces 40, 40 are plate-like and continue to the upper part of the first and second connecting pieces 31, 32. The pair of contact fixing pieces 40 extend in a second direction (vertical direction of the socket connector 100 (or socket contact 101)) D2 orthogonal to the contact longitudinal direction L and the first direction D1. The contact fixing piece 40 is fixed to the inner surface of the accommodation hole 61 of the housing 60.

  The housing 60 is made of an insulating resin. As shown in FIG. 1, the socket contact 101 is accommodated in the accommodation hole 61 of the housing 60. When the socket contact 101 is accommodated in the accommodation hole 61, the swinging operation of the contact portion 10 of the socket contact 101 in the accommodation hole 61 is performed between the inner surface of the accommodation hole 61 and the side surfaces 14 and 15 of the socket contact 101. There is a gap G to enable (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pin contact 901 of the plug connector includes a contact portion 910, a press-fit portion 950, and a connecting portion 930.

  A notch 911 is formed in each of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the contact portion 910. The notch 911 prevents the contact portion 910 from interfering with the contact portion 10 when the contact portion 10 of the socket contact 101 swings.

  The press-fitting part 950 continues to the contact part 910. Both side portions of the press-fit portion 950 are serrated.

  The connection part 930 connects the press-fitting part 950 and a connection part (not shown). The connecting portion is inserted into a through hole of a printed board (not shown) and soldered.

  Next, an operation of the socket connector 100 mounted in an automobile engine room will be described as an example.

  Before starting the engine of the automobile, the socket connector 100 and the plug connector are fitted, but there is a manufacturing error of the socket contact 101 and an assembly error of the socket contact 101 with respect to the housing 60. The two contact points 13a slightly deviate in the first direction D1 with respect to the virtual straight line C1 passing through the rotation center O of the swinging operation and parallel to the contact longitudinal direction L (this deviation is small, so in FIG. 4). Not appear in.)

  When the automobile engine is started, the temperature of the socket connector 100 and the plug connector is increased by the heat generated by the engine, and the socket contact 101 and the pin contact 901 are thermally expanded.

  When the socket contact 101 and the pin contact 901 are thermally expanded, the pin contact 901 is extended, and the contact portion 10 of the socket contact 101 swings in the first direction D1 with respect to the crimping portion 20, as shown in FIG. . At this time, the contact portion 10 swings around the rotation center O of the swing operation as the rotation center.

  As described above, when the engine is started, the first contact 17a and the second contact 13a are slightly displaced in the first direction D1 with respect to the virtual straight line C1, so that when the pin contact 901 extends, the socket contact A rotation moment is generated in the contact portion 10 of 101, and the contact portion 10 swings. As a result, the relative sliding distance of the contact portion 10 with respect to the contact portion 910 of the pin contact 901 is shorter than a socket contact (not shown) having a structure in which the contact portion 10 does not swing.

  When the engine of the automobile is stopped, the engine is cooled, and accordingly, the temperatures of the socket connector 100 and the plug connector are lowered, and the socket contact 101 and the pin contact 901 are contracted. At this time, the contact portion 910 of the pin contact 901 swings to the original position before starting the engine by the spring force of the first and second connecting pieces 31 and 32.

  According to the first embodiment, when the connected socket contact 101 and the pin contact 901 are thermally expanded or contracted, the contact portion 10 of the socket contact 101 swings, so that the contact of the pin contact 901 Relative sliding of the contact portion 10 with respect to the portion 910 can be suppressed, and generation of wear powder can be suppressed. As a result, an increase in electrical resistance can be prevented.

  Next, a socket contact 201 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Portions common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  Notches 231a and 232a are formed on the contact portion 10 side portions of the first and second connection pieces (connection pieces) 231 and 232 of the connection portion 230 of the socket contact 201, respectively.

  According to the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the first and second connecting pieces 231 and 232 have the notches 231a and 232a. It becomes easier to deform than the two connecting pieces 31 and 32.

  Next, the socket contact 301 of 3rd Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. Portions common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  The first and second connecting pieces (connecting pieces) 331 and 332 of the connecting portion 330 of the socket contact 301 are bent in a V shape so as to approach each other.

  One contact fixing piece 340 of the pair of contact fixing pieces 340, 340 is connected to one end of the third connecting piece 333 of the connecting portion 330, and the other contact fixing piece 340 of the pair of contact fixing pieces 340, 340 is the third connecting piece. 333 is connected to the other end of 333. The positions of the pair of contact fixing pieces 340, 340 are located behind (in the crimping portion 20) the positions of the contact fixing pieces 40, 40 of the socket contact 101 of the first embodiment.

  According to the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the first and second connecting pieces 331 and 332 are bent in a V shape. It becomes easier to deform than the second connecting pieces 31 and 32.

  Furthermore, since the position of the contact fixing piece 340 is located behind the position of the contact fixing piece 40 of the first embodiment, the same effect as that obtained by lengthening the first and second connecting pieces 331 and 332 can be obtained.

  Next, the socket contact 401 of 4th Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated based on FIGS. Portions common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the first embodiment, the first and second contacts 17a and 13a pass through the rotation center O of the swinging operation and move to the right with respect to a virtual straight line C1 parallel to the contact longitudinal direction L due to manufacturing errors and assembly errors. If the pin contact 901 and the socket contact 101 are thermally expanded, the contact portion 10 swings the head to the right, and the first and second contacts 17a and 13a are in a virtual straight line C1. On the other hand, if it is shifted to the left (downward in FIG. 4), the contact portion 10 swings its head to the left.

  On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, as will be described later, the contact portion 410 of the socket contact 401 swings its head only to the left.

  Notches 414a and 415a are formed in the side surface portions 414 and 415 of the rectangular tube portion 411 of the contact portion 410 of the socket contact 401 (see FIGS. 8 and 11). The notches 414a and 415a avoid interference between the rectangular tube portion 411 and the contact portion 910 of the pin contact 901 when the contact portion 410 swings.

  The side surface portion 415 has a protruding piece 415b protruding in the contact longitudinal direction L. The protruding piece 415b has a flat plate shape. A hole 415c is formed in the protruding piece 415b.

  The connecting portion 430 includes a connecting piece 431 and a connecting piece 433. The connecting piece 431 is bent in an arc shape and can be elastically deformed. One end of the connecting piece 431 is connected to the contact part 410, and the other end of the connecting piece 431 is connected to the crimping part 20 via the connecting piece 433. The connecting piece 433 is bent into a substantially U shape, and an intermediate portion of the connecting piece 433 is connected to the crimping portion 20. The connecting portion 430 has a role of a hinge that rotatably connects the contact portion 410 to the crimping portion 20.

  One contact fixing piece 440 of the pair of contact fixing pieces 440 and 440 is connected to one end of the connecting piece 433, and the other contact fixing piece 440 of the pair of contact fixing pieces 440 and 440 is connected to the other end of the connecting piece 433.

  The socket contact 401 includes a stabilizing piece (stabilizing means) 450. The stabilizing piece 450 has an arcuate portion 451 and a connecting portion 452. One end of the arcuate portion 451 is connected to the connecting piece 433 through the connecting portion 452. The other end of the arc-shaped portion 451 is slidably inserted into the hole 415c of the protruding piece 415b of the side surface portion 415 (see FIGS. 8 and 10).

  The connecting portion 452 is bent in an approximately L shape, and connects the arcuate portion 451 and the connecting piece 433 (see FIG. 9).

  Next, the operation of the socket contact 401 according to the fourth embodiment will be described.

  When the temperature of the pin contact 901 (see FIG. 3) and the socket contact 401 rises, the pin contact 901 and the socket contact 401 are thermally expanded. As a result, the first and second contacts 17a and 13a (see FIGS. 10 and 8) try to move along the contact longitudinal direction L in the direction away from the fixed piece 440. At this time, the first and second contacts 17 a and 13 a press the pin contact 901 and receive the reaction force R from the pin contact 901. The reaction force R is substantially parallel to the virtual straight line C2 (virtual straight line passing through the rotation center of the swinging motion of the contact portion 410 (the central portion of the connecting piece 431) and parallel to the contact longitudinal direction L) toward the crimping portion 20. This is a force toward the vehicle, and is greatly shifted to the left from the virtual straight line C2 (see FIG. 10). For this reason, the reaction force R generates a counterclockwise rotational moment M centering on the rotational center of the swing motion (see FIG. 10), and as a result, the contact portion 410 is necked to the left (leftward in FIG. 10). Shake.

  Even if the contact portion 410 tries to swing in a direction other than the first direction D1, since the arc-shaped portion 451 of the stabilization piece 450 is inserted into the hole 415c, the contact portion 410 has a direction other than the first direction D1. Direction swing motion is restricted. As a result, the contact portion 410 rotates only in the first direction D1, and the operation of the contact portion 410 is stabilized.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained, and a gap G (see FIG. 4) is formed only on one side of the socket contact 401 in order to allow the contact portion 410 to swing. Therefore, the socket contacts 401 can be arranged in the housing at a narrower pitch, and the connector can be further downsized.

  Further, since the notches 414a and 415a are provided, the notch 911 of the contact portion 910 of the pin contact 901 can be made unnecessary. Can be larger.

  In the above-described embodiment, the contact portions 10 and 410 having the square tube portions 11 and 411 are employed, but the contact portions are not limited to those having the square tube portions 11 and 411.

  Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment is the socket contacts 101, 201, 301, 401, the present invention can be applied to contacts other than the socket contacts, for example, pin contacts.

  In the above-described embodiment, the crimp portion 20 is employed as the connection portion. However, the connection portion may be, for example, a soldering portion that is soldered to a pad of a printed board (not shown).

  In the first embodiment, the socket connector 100 and the pin connector mounted in the engine room have been described as an example. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this example. It is suitable as a connector used in an environment where the difference is extremely large.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the temperature of the pin contact 901 and the socket contacts 101, 201, 301, 401 is increased, the pin contact 901 and the socket contacts 101, 201, 301, 401 are thermally expanded, so that the pin contact 901 is deeper in the socket. Inserted into the contacts 101, 201, 301, 401. However, since the coefficient of thermal expansion of the housing of the pin connector (mating connector) and the socket connector is larger than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the pin contact 901 and the socket contacts 101, 202, 301, 401, the pin contact 901 is fixed to the housing. Depending on the fixing position of the socket contacts 101, 201, 301, 401 with respect to the housing, the fitting state between the pin connector housing and the socket connector housing, etc., when the pin connector and the socket connector are thermally expanded, the pin contact 901 becomes the socket contact. In some cases, the actuator moves backward relative to 101, 202, 301, 401.

  In such a case, in order to suppress the generation of wear powder, the contact portion 410 of the socket contact 401 according to the fourth embodiment may be previously tilted leftward (leftward in FIG. 10) with respect to the virtual straight line C2.

  In this modification, when the pin connector and the socket connector are thermally expanded, the first and second contacts 17a and 13a are pulled by the pin contact 901, and a clockwise moment is generated in the contact portion 410. The second contacts 17a and 13a follow the movement of the pin contact 901, and the generation of wear powder is suppressed.

100 Socket connector (connector)
101, 201, 301, 401 Socket contact (contact)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,410 Contact part 11,411 Square cylinder part 12 Upper surface part 14,15,414,415 Side part 414a, 415a Notch 415c Hole 17 1st contact piece (contact piece)
20 Crimping part (connection part)
30, 230, 330, 430 Connection part 31, 231, 331 First connection piece (connection piece)
32, 232, 332 Second connection piece (connection piece)
431, 433 Connecting piece 231a, 232a Notch 40, 340, 440 Contact fixing piece 450 Stabilizing piece (stabilizing means)
60 Housing 61 Housing hole G Gap 901 Pin contact (mating contact)
910 Contact part L Contact longitudinal direction D1 1st direction (direction orthogonal to contact longitudinal direction)
D2 2nd direction (direction orthogonal to the direction orthogonal to the contact longitudinal direction)

Claims (2)

A contact part that contacts the mating contact;
A connection part connected to the connection object;
A connecting portion that connects the contact portion and the connecting portion, and that elastically deforms so that the contact portion swings relative to the connecting portion in a direction orthogonal to a contact longitudinal direction;
Stabilizing means for stabilizing the swinging motion of the contact portion,
The connecting portion has one connecting piece, one end of the connecting piece is connected to the connecting portion, the other end of the connecting piece is connected to the contact portion,
The stabilizing means is composed of one stabilizing piece, one end of the stabilizing piece is connected to the connecting portion, and the other end of the stabilizing piece is inserted into a hole provided in the contact portion so as to be relatively slidable. Contact characterized by being. A contact according to claim 1, and a housing having a receiving hole for receiving the contact,
When the contact is accommodated in the accommodation hole, the contact fixing piece is fixed to the inner surface of the accommodation hole, and the contact portion can swing between the contact portion and the inner surface of the accommodation hole. A connector characterized in that a gap is formed.

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