JPH057829B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a so-called two-piece connector, which is a pair of electrical connectors, and particularly to a connector characterized by the conductive contacts provided therein and the supporting structure thereof.

(Prior art) A pair of conductive contacts included in a pair of connectors depends on the type of connector, the structure of the insulator, etc., but if they have the same shape and size, the manufacturing process, cost, quality control, and insulator This is extremely useful in work such as incorporating it into a housing.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 52-12141 proposes a pair of connectors having conductive contacts formed to have the same shape and dimensions. The conductive contact of this connector is made of an elastic band-like piece, and has an elastic deformable portion having a protruding contact point at the tip and a contact slope with the mating conductive contact, and a fixed portion having a contact plane with the mating conductive contact. , the proximal end of the fixed portion is fixed to an insulator, thereby being held in a cantilever shape.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned known conductive contact, the contact slope of the elastically deformable portion is formed by forming an elastic strip formed from a metal plate material into a mating conductive contact at a constant angle approximately at the center thereof. The contact point is also formed such that the tip of the strip is bent toward the non-contact surface side with the mating conductive contact.

According to such a known conductive contact, between the contact plane with the mating conductive contact in the fixing part and the non-contact surface with the mating contact in the contact point, in other words, when the known conductive contact is placed horizontally, The height between the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface must be several times the thickness (plate thickness) of the elastic strip. Therefore, a pair of conductive contacts held by a pair of insulators have their central axes separated by a large distance, occupying a large space on each insulator, and increasing the density of mounting on the insulator and making the connector lighter, thinner, shorter, and smaller. cannot meet the demands of

Moreover, in the conductive contact, the elastically deformable portion and the fixed portion are formed to have the same thickness, so when both conductive contacts come into contact, load (stress) is concentrated on the fixed portion where the contact contacts. deformed,
There is a risk that contact reliability may not be obtained.

Further, the contact plane of the fixed part of the conductive contact extending from the insulator is an extremely important part with which the contact of the mating conductive contact comes into contact; No structure is provided to support the non-contact surfaces. Therefore, the fixed part where the contact plane is located deforms when the conductive contact is assembled into the insulator, or deforms over time due to pressure contact force by the contact, resulting in a given contact with the contact. may not be achieved.

The purpose of this invention is to make a pair of conductive contacts included in a pair of connectors as small as possible (thinner or smaller), and to fully meet the demands for increasing the actual density of insulators and making connectors lighter, thinner, shorter, and smaller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a connector that can improve contact reliability between conductive contacts.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, a pair of conductive contacts included in a pair of connectors are formed into a substantially straight beam shape having the same shape and size.

The beam-shaped conductive contact is provided with an elastically deformable portion having an arcuate protruding contact point at its tip, and a fixed portion.

The elastically deformable portion is provided with a contact slope whose angle gradually increases toward the fixed portion, and the fixed portion is provided with a contact plane.

The insulator is provided with a conductive contact support plane area which abuts the back side of the fixing part where the contact plane is located.

What should be particularly noted in this invention is that
In contrast to the known conductive contacts, the contacts and the contact slopes are not formed by bending or curving the material of the conductive contact, so that the conductive contact as a whole is shaped like a substantially straight beam. That is to say. In addition, in such a conductive contact, when the first and second insulators are combined, the distance between the central axes of the first and second conductive contacts varies from a zero dimension (both the central axes are on a coaxial line). less than the thickness dimension of the thickest portion of each of the conductive contacts, most preferably at zero dimension, such that the conductive contacts overlap each other;
This means that the fixing portion is held by the first and second insulators, respectively.

(Function) In the present invention having the above configuration, when a pair of connectors are combined, the contacts of the pair of conductive contacts move while slidingly in contact with each other and overcome each other.

Further, each of the contacts moves along the contact slope of the mating conductive contact while slidingly contacting the other,
As the elastically deformable portion moves, the elastically deformable portion is deflected toward the back side against the elastic force.

Eventually, each of the contacts rides on the contact plane of the mating conductive contact and comes into elastic contact, and an electrical connection is achieved.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views perpendicular to the length direction of a pair of connectors 1 and 101 constituting a two-piece connector according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 1,
101 is composed of insulators 2 and 102 and a plurality of conductive contacts 3 and 103. The insulator 2, 102 is formed from an insulating material into a horizontally elongated (vertically elongated in the figure) symmetrical L shape as a whole, and includes an end wall 4, 104 and a side wall 5, 1 extending from one side thereof.
05. The side wall 5, 105 has a proximal region 8, 108 with a flat inner surface and an insulator 2, 102.
A plurality of grooves 10, 110 extend in the length direction (width direction of the proximal regions 8, 108) and are formed on the inner surface at a given pitch.
It has extension regions 9, 109 in which are formed.
Each groove 10, 110 is defined by both side walls 11, 111 extending in the length direction thereof. The inner end portions 12, 112 of the extension regions 9, 109 are each formed in an arc shape. The end wall 4, 104 has respective grooves 10, 1 along the inner surface of the proximal region 8, 108.
A plurality of conductive contact holding holes 13, 113 whose pitch matches that of 10 are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conductive contacts 3, 103 are formed into substantially straight beams of the same size from known metal plates of this type,
Elastic deformable portions 3b, 103b and fixed portions 3c, 1
03c. Elastic deformable portions 3b, 10
3b has contacts 3a and 103a which are raised in an arc shape on the side of the tip contacting surface with the mating conductive contact. Elastic deformable portion 3 including contacts 3a and 103a
The height dimension T ₁ of the tip of the fixing portion 3c, 103b is not larger than that T ₂ of the fixing portion 3c, 103c. The elastically variable portions 3b, 103b have contact slopes 3b', 10bc' that gradually increase in angle from the rear ends of the contacts 3a, 103a to the vicinity of the tips of the fixed portions 3c, 103c, on the contact surfaces with the mating conductive contacts. are doing. The fixing portions 3c, 103c have contact planes 3c', 103c' near their tips with which the contacts 3a, 103a of the mating conductive contacts come into contact. The contact slopes 3b', 103b' are formed by crushing, edging or cutting the metal material of the elastically deformable portions 3b, 103b.
Therefore, although the width is the same as that of the fixed portions 3c and 103c, the overall thickness (height) is smaller and the elastic strength is lower than that of the fixed portions 3c and 103c.
The angle of the contact slopes 3b', 103b' depends on the elastic strength of the material of the conductive contacts 3, 103 and the contact points 3a, 10.
It depends on the height of 3a, but generally 3° to 15°
An appropriate range is 4° in this example.

The conductive contacts 3, 103 are connected to the fixed parts 3c, 1
The rear end portions of 03c are integrally fixed to the holding holes 13 and 113, respectively, and the back surfaces of these tip portions are connected to the support plane areas 14 and 11 of the base end regions 8 and 108.
4 (this holding will be further described later with respect to FIGS. 3 and 4), and the elastically deformable portions 3b and 103b including the contact points 3a and 103a are held in a cantilever shape by contacting the grooves 10 ,110 on
In order to be able to elastically displace these in the depth direction,
In addition, the insulators 2 and 102 are located so that they cannot be elastically displaced in the lateral direction by being blocked by the side walls 11 and 111, respectively.

Although not shown, the fixing portion 3 of each conductive contact 3, 103 protrudes from the outside of the end wall 4, 104.
c and 103c are connected to each other, and these legs may be bent at a right angle, for example, depending on how they are arranged on a printed wiring board or the like. Therefore, in the present invention, each conductive contact has a "substantially straight beam shape" means that at least the portion located in the insulator 2, 102 area, that is, at least the elastically deformable portion 3b, 103b and the fixed portion. 3c,1
03c is substantially (arc-shaped contacts 3a, 103a
This means that it has a straight beam shape (even if it has contact slopes 3b' and 103b').

FIG. 3 shows the connectors 1 and 10 having the above configuration.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the first combination state. In this combined state, the end walls 4 of the insulators 2, 102,
104 and the end faces of the side walls 5 and 105 abut each other, and the support plane areas 14 and 114 and the grooves 10 and 110 are opposed to each other. Conductive contacts 3 and 103 come into contact and electrical connection is achieved.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a pair of conductive contacts 3, 103 in FIG. 3.

As is clear from FIGS. 3 and 4, when the connectors 1 and 101 are combined, the central axis 1 of the first and second conductive contacts 3 and 103 is
7 and 117 are located on a coaxial line, and these conductive contacts overlap each other. The fixing portions 3c, 103c of the conductive contacts 3, 103 are held in the housings 2, 102 as described above so that the central axes 17, 117 are located on the same axis. Conductive contacts 3, 1
03 are substantially straight beam shapes as described above, so in order for them to elastically overlap each other and come into contact with each other with the required pressure, as is clear from FIG. The central axes 17 and 117 are 0
From the dimensions (if the central axes 17, 117 are coaxial as described above), the conductive contacts 3, 103
It must be within the range of less than the thickness dimension T ₂ of each maximum wall thickness part.

FIG. 5 shows the conductive contacts 3, 10 from the beginning to the end of the fitting of the connector 1, 101.
3 is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of No. 3. FIG. Even though the center axes 17 and 117 are coaxial as described above, the conductive contacts 3 and 103 have arcuate contact points 3a and 103a and contact slopes 3b' and 103b' at their tips; As described in , they slide smoothly into contact with each other.

When the connectors 1 and 101 are combined with each other, the conductive contacts 3 and 103 first move over each other while the contacts 3a and 103a are in relative sliding contact, as shown in FIGS. 5a, b, and c. Next, as shown in FIG. 5d, the contact 3a moves while relatively sliding along the contact slope 103b' of the conductive contact 103, and the contact 103a moves along the contact slope 3b' of the conductive contact 3. With the movement, the elastically deformable portions 3b and 103b including the contacts 3a and 103a are displaced toward the bottom surfaces of the grooves 10 and 110 against their respective elastic forces. At this time, due to the presence of the contact slopes 3b' and 103b', load (stress) is not concentrated on the fixed portions 3c and 103c and these portions are not deformed. Eventually, as shown in FIG. 5e, the contact point 3a rides on the contact plane 103c' and the contact point 103a rides on the contact plane 3c' to come into elastic contact.

In the process leading to the final contact, the setting points 3a, 1
03a are mutually contacting slopes 3b', 103
b' and the contact planes 3c' and 103c', so
Their contact surfaces are cleaned and good electrical contact is achieved. Moreover, in the final contact state, the contact points 3a and 103a of each other are in contact with the contact planes 3c' and 103c' of the other party, that is, they are in contact at mutually independently spaced parts (two-point contact). Increased reliability.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the connector according to the present invention having the above configuration and operation, the following effects unique to the present invention are achieved.

a The pair of conductive contacts are formed into a substantially straight beam shape with the same shape and size, and when the pair of insulators are combined, the distance between the center axes of these conductive contacts varies from 0 dimension to Because the thickness is less than the maximum thickness of each of these conductive contacts, the bulk is equal to the thickness of the material of the conductive contact, even though it has an arcuate protruding contact point and a contact slope. , occupies minimal space in the insulator. Therefore, it is possible to fully meet the demands for higher density mounting of conductive contacts on insulators and for connectors to be lighter, thinner, shorter and smaller.

b The insulator is provided with a conductive contact support plane area that extends forward, and the non-contact surface (back surface) of the conductive contact with the mating conductive contact is in contact with and supported by this, so that the contact does not make contact. The fixed part, which has a contact plane which is arguably the most important area in which to achieve electrical connection, may be deformed when the conductive contact is assembled into the insulator, or may be deformed over time due to the pressure applied by the contact. By doing so, there is no risk that a given contact will not be achieved, and contact reliability can be increased.

c The conductive contact is formed into a substantially straight beam shape, and the height of the tip of the elastic deformable part including the arcuate protruding contact point is not larger than that of the fixed part, so the insulator When incorporated into the insulator, it can be inserted and fixed into the conductive contact holding hole of the insulator from either the front end or the rear end, and the assembly is easy and work efficiency can be improved.

d Grooves are formed in front of the conductive contact support plane area in the insulator, and the elastically deformable portion of the conductive contact is located on these grooves, so that the elastically deformable portion contacts the contact point of the mating conductive contact. When pressed, it not only moves freely into the groove to smooth the sliding of the contact, but also
There is no lateral displacement during the pressing and sliding process. This is because when the elastic deformable portion is pressed, it is displaced into the groove and its side walls prevent it from being displaced in the lateral direction. Therefore, the contact points move straight along the length of the contact slope and come into precise contact with the contact plane, which is the most important contact area.

e The elastic deformable part is formed with a contact slope whose angle increases from the rear end of the contact to the vicinity of the tip of the fixed part, so it can be easily displaced toward the non-contact side with the mating conductive contact by pressure from the contact. At the same time, it is possible to prevent contact wear and stress concentration deformation of the fixed portion, which reduce contact reliability, as much as possible, and to reduce the relative insertion/extraction force of the conductive contact.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view perpendicular to the length direction of a first connector according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view perpendicular to the length direction of the second connector according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the combined state of the first and second connectors. Figure 4 shows the first and second
FIG. 3 is a side view of a conductive contact in a contact state. Figure 5 a~
e is a schematic diagram showing the behavior of the first and second conductive contacts from the initial stage to the final stage of the combination of the first and second connectors. 1,101...first and second connectors, respectively
2, 102...first and second insulators, 3,
103...first and second conductive contacts, respectively;
3a, 103a...Contact, 3b, 103b...Elastic deformable portion, 3b', 103b'...Contact slope, 3
c, 103c...Fixing part, 3c', 103c'...Contact plane, 4,104...End wall, 5,105...Side wall, 8,108...Proximal region, 9,109...Extension region, 10,110...Groove, 14,114...Conductive contact support plane area, 17,117...Central axis line, _T2 ...Thickness of maximum thickness portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pair of first and second insulators that can be combined with each other, each of which includes first and second insulators and first and second conductive contacts held thereon in a cantilevered manner, respectively. the first and second insulators are symmetrically formed and each have an end wall and a side wall extending forward from one side of the end wall, each side wall having an inner a plurality of grooves arranged at a given pitch on a side surface and extending forward from the end wall side; the first and second conductive contacts are located along the grooves; In a two-piece connector in which opposing surfaces of two conductive contacts slide relative to each other along their respective lengths and come into contact, each side wall is a conductive contact in which the groove is not formed on the inner surface of the base end thereof. the first and second conductive contacts are formed in a substantially straight beam shape having the same shape and size, each having an elastically deformable portion and a fixed portion; and the elastically deformable portion has a contact point raised in an arc shape on the contact surface side with the mating conductive contact at the tip thereof, and the thickness dimension of the tip portion of the elastically variable portion including the contact point is equal to the thickness dimension of the tip portion of the elastically variable portion including the contact point. The elastically deformable portion has a contact slope, which is not larger than that of the fixed portion, on the contact surface side with the mating conductive contact, and whose angle gradually increases from the rear end of the contact to the vicinity of the tip of the fixed portion. , the fixed part has a contact plane near its tip with which the contact of the mating conductive contact comes into contact, and the rear end parts of the fixed part of the first and second conductive contacts are connected to the first and second insulating parts. The first and second conductive contacts are integrally fixed to conductive contact holding holes arranged on each end wall of the body, and the tips of the fixing portions of the first and second conductive contacts form a non-contact surface with a mating conductive contact. wherein the elastic deformable portions of the first and second conductive contacts are in contact with the conductive contact support plane areas of the first and second insulators, respectively, and are elastically displaceable into the grooves; When the opposing surfaces of the first and second conductive contacts are in contact with each other in the combination of the first and second connectors, the distance between the center axes of these conductive contacts is determined from the O dimension to the maximum thickness portion of each of these conductive contacts. said two-piece connector, characterized in that said two-piece connector has a thickness dimension of less than .