WO2010067149A1

WO2010067149A1 - Electrical contact member and electrical connector

Info

Publication number: WO2010067149A1
Application number: PCT/IB2008/055673
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert Van Den Heuvel; Tiny Peters; Marcel Peter Meijer; Michel Fonteneau
Original assignee: Fci
Priority date: 2008-12-12
Filing date: 2008-12-12
Publication date: 2010-06-17

Abstract

The present invention concerns a contact member (10) comprising two opposite blades (11,11') bridged at one end by a bridge section (14). The contactmember is linked to a connecting portion (15) via a resilient linking section (16), wherein the linking section is connected to one of the blades at a distance from the bridge section (14).

Description

ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEMBER AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a contact member for receiving a corresponding male contact member of a mating connector. The invention also pertains to a connector comprising one or more contact member (s) and to a method for manufacturing such a contact member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Connectors for data transmission typically have a mating side and a connecting or mounting side. At the connecting or mounting side the connector can for example be mounted on a board or connected to a data transmission cable. At the mating side, the connector can be brought into mating engagement with a corresponding connector. When contact pins of a connector are inserted in corresponding receiving contact members of a receiving connector, misalignment of the contact pins and the receiving contacts can result in asymmetrical clamping forces exerted by the female contact member to the male connector pin, which can result in a lower quality of signal transmission.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide improved contacts having optimized degree of freedom to compensate misalignments .

To this end, the invention is directed to a contact member according to claim 1. This way, while the contact faces formed by the blades can resiliently clamp a mating pin contact, the flexible linking section can compensate for misalignment of a pin and its receiving contact member. Since the linking section is connected to one of the blades at a distance from the bridging section, the blades are flexibly supported in a direction under right angle with the pin insertion direction, resulting in another degree of freedom to compensate for misalignment. The improved compensation for misalignment results in a better fit of the contact member with a mating contact pin, the clamping force being more balanced between the two opposite resilient or flexible blades. Positioning the point of connection of the linking section to one of the flexible blades at a distance from the bridging section also has the advantage that the flexible linking section can be made longer without the need to use extra space. This can result in a larger flexural displacement radius of the linking section, so that a higher degree of flexibility can be obtained. The two opposite blades and the bridge section may for instance be formed by a strip of sheet of metal bent to form a C-shape.

The linking section may for example comprise a first part linked to the flexible blade, and a second part linked to the connecting member, wherein the first part of the linking section comprises two lateral strips having their first ends positioned at opposite sides of a flexible contact blade, and having their other ends positioned at opposite sides of an outer end of the second part of the linking section. The open space between the two lateral strips may be made longer than the distance between their outer end connected to the blade and the outer end of the blade to which they are connected. Such a configuration enables manufacturing of the contact member by folding it from a flat sheet of metal.

The invention further pertains to an electrical connector according to claim 6, adapted to cope with deviation in a mating position with a mating connector. The contact member can, e.g., be connected to the interior of the housing via the connecting member at a mounting side of the connector. The resilient blades with the flexible linking section can be left floating to have a maximum freedom of movement. Moreover, only a little amount of insulative plastic material embeds the contacts, resulting in higher possible datatransmission speeds.

The invention also pertains to a method for manufacturing a contact member according to claim 7.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and further aspects of the invention will be explained in greater detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 : shows a connector according to the invention; Figure 2: shows a contact member of the connector of

Figure 1; Figures 3A - 3F: show consecutive steps of a method of manufacturing the contact member of Figure

2. Figures 4A -4C: show different views of another embodiment of a contact member according to the invention . The figures are not drawn to scale. Generally, identical components are denoted by the same reference numerals in the figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Figure 1 shows a connector 1 according to the invention. The connector 1 comprises a housing 2 made of an electro-insulative material, surrounded by a metal shield 3. The connector 1 has a mating side 4 for connection with a mating connector, and a mounting side 5. In its interior, the housing 2 holds, in the receiving cavity formed in it, contact members 10, which are shown in more detail in Figure 2. As an example, the contact member 10 is a female contact member. The female contact member 10 is arranged in a cantilevered fashion inside the connector housing 2, with its mating portion floatingly mounted in the corresponding receiving cavity, i.e. the contact member experience three degree of freedom (respectively in X', Y' and Z' directions) .

Figure 2 shows a female contact member 10 of the connector 1. The female contact member 10 comprises a clamping portion comprising two opposite flexible blades 11,11' having outwardly bent tips 12 to form opposite curved contact faces 13 for clamping a contact pin of a mating connector. At their other outer end opposite to the tips 12, the blades 11,11' are bridged by a bridge section 14. The female contact member is linked to a connecting portion 15, which is terminated by e.g. a board mounting tail (not shown), via a flexible linking section 16. As shown in Figure 3F, the linking section 16 is connected to one of the blades 11 at a distance Y from the bridge section 14. The linking section 16 comprises a first part 17 linked to one of the blades 11,11' and a second part 18 linked to the connecting portion 15. The first part 17 of the linking section 16 comprises two lateral strips 19 having their first ends 20 positioned at opposite sides of the flexible contact blade 11. Starting from these first ends 20, the lateral strips 19 are bent over, forming a curved portion 19', to extend in an opposite direction, where the second ends 21 of the lateral strips are connected to the second part 18 of the linking section 16. The second part 18 of the linking section 16 has one connecting end 22 in between the ends 21 of the two lateral strips 17. Starting from the connecting end 22, the second part 18 extends bent in an S-shape to the connecting portion 15.

The female connector member 10 of Figure 2 can be manufactured by first providing a strip 30 having all parts of the connector element extending in a single plane, as shown in Figure 3A.

The strip 30 comprises:

- a connecting part 23 providing for the connecting portion 15; - a first arm section, providing for the second part 18 of the linking section 16, extending from the connecting part 23;

- a second arm section having two branches, extending and bifurcating from the free end of the first arm section, providing for the lateral strips 19 and wherein the branches are connected to each other by a bridging part forming the connecting end 22;

- a first blade part, providing for the first blade 11, extending from the bridging part towards the connecting part 23 in between the two branches;

- a blade section, providing for the second blade 11', extending from the connecting part in a direction opposite to the first blade 11.

The strip 30 is stamped out of a sheet of metal. During stamping, the curvature of the outwardly curved tips 12 of the flexible contact blades 11 is formed.

The length z' of the open space between the two lateral strips 19 is longer than the distance z' ' measured from the first end 20 and the tip 12 of the blade 11. Subsequently, the various sections are folded from the strip 30, as shown in consecutive steps in Figures 3B - 3F. The two opposite flexible contact blades and the bridge section 14 are bent to form a C-shape (Fig. 3B) . Meanwhile, the second part 18 of the linking section 16 is bent to obtain its final S-shape (Fig. 3C) . After bending the blades 11 to such extent that the contact faces 13 touch each other or just about (Fig. 3D), the formed C-shape is bent backwardly (Fig. 3E) until the centreline X mirroring the blades 11 is parallel with the connection member 15 (Fig. 3F) .

The strip 30 has a main or major surface extending in one plane before being stamped and folded. In its final shape, the corresponding portions of this major surface has been curved but not twisted. The current flowing on this surface can follow continuously the curve without flowing on a surface perpendicular to the original major surface. Fig. 4A, 4B and 4C are a side view and two perspective views of another alternative embodiment of the contact member according to the invention.

The contact member 10 comprises a clamping portion, made of two cantilevered flexible contact blades 11,11', extending from a connecting portion 15. The flexible contact blades 11,11' are linked to one another by a bridge section 14 and each one has a curved tip 12. The connecting portion 15 comprises an L shape having a first leg 24 and a second leg 25 extending perpendicularly from the first leg 24 via a curved part 26. The connecting portion 15 is linked to one of the blades 11,11' through a flexible linking section 16, having a U-shaped form. The flexible linking section is located at a distance from the bridge section 14. A first end of the U-shaped linking section 16 is connected to the rear edge of the blade 11, while the opposite second end is connected to an edge of the first leg 24 of the connection portion 15.

In order to provide more flexibility of the clamping portion (comprising the flexible contact blades 11, 11') in respect to the connection portion 15, a cut-out 27 is made at the level of the first leg 24 near the second end of the linking section 16. A slit 28 is also formed from the rear edge, near the first end of the flexible linking section 16, up to an intermediate portion of the blade 11.

The contact member of the second embodiment can be made from a blank of foldable conductive material, configured such that when it is folded it forms the contact member.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described above. The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, which are illustrative of the invention and not to be construed as limiting.

Claims

1. Contact member (10) comprising a clamping portion with two opposite blades (11,11') bridged at one end by a bridge section (14), the clamping portion being linked to a connecting portion (15) via a flexible linking section (16), wherein the linking section (16) is connected to one of the blades (11,11') at a distance (Y) from the bridge section (14) .

2. Contact member according to claim 1, wherein the linking section and the bridge section are electrically connected through a portion of a blade.

3. Contact member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the linking section has a U-shape.

4. Contact member according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the linking section (16) has a major surface in continuity, without twisting, with the major surface of at least one blade.

5. Contact member to one of the preceding claims, wherein the linking section (16) comprises a first part (17) flexibly linked to a blade.

6. Connector comprising a housing (2) and at least one contact member (10) according to anyone of the preceding claims, accommodated into the housing (2) and maintained in the housing only via the connecting portion (15) .

7. Method of manufacturing a contact member according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of: a) providing a strip (30) , formed from a sheet of metal, b) cutting and stamping two blades, a linking section and a connecting portion, c) folding the two blades so as to form two opposite curved contact faces (13) for resiliently clamping a contact pin, the two blades being linked by a bridge section, d) folding the linking section at a distance (Y) from the bridge section

(14) .