WO2023213469A1

WO2023213469A1 - Printed circuit board press-in contact

Info

Publication number: WO2023213469A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/057205
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andreas Veigel
Original assignee: Andreas Veigel
Priority date: 2022-05-03
Filing date: 2023-03-21
Publication date: 2023-11-09
Also published as: DE202022102403U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a printed circuit board press-in contact (1) for being pressed into a printed circuit board contact zone having a defined hole diameter D_L, the printed circuit board press-in contact (1) being formed from an elongate contact pin which has the material thickness D_K and consists of an upper connection portion (10), an adjoining press-in portion (20), which defines the press-in zone of the printed circuit board contact (1), and an insertion portion (30) on the plug-in side, and the press-in portion (30) being formed from two legs (31, 32) which extend next to one another and are formed by an expansion or separation of the contact pin in this region, characterised in that, for the material thickness D_K, in particular in the region of the connection portion (10), the following applies: 0.25 x D_E < D_K < 0.35 x D_E, where D_E is the largest width transversely to the plug-in axis of the printed circuit board press-in contact (1) in the region of the press-in portion (20).

Description

PCB PRESS CONTACT

The invention relates to a connector according to claim 1. The invention relates in particular to a circuit board connector for direct plugging into a hole or substantially round contact zone in a circuit board for producing a circuit board connector.

Documents from the prior art relating to circuit board contacts are described below. With known contacts for connection to circuit boards, such as press-fit contacts, expensive, precisely dimensioned tools are required. Press-in contacts are known from several publications, e.g. B. EP 0451 674 A or DE 36 23453 A known. One of the main disadvantages of such solutions is that, as explained above, the tools for manufacturing are very expensive and are also dimensionally inflexible, which in turn requires complex development to achieve the optimal final dimension of the press-fit contact.

For various applications and very small contacts, it is also disadvantageous if the originally available contact cross section is often reduced by punching, thereby reducing the current carrying capacity and mechanical stability or if correspondingly larger hole diameters have to be selected.

A press-fit contact and a method for producing a press-fit contact are known from WO 2005 122 337 A1. The known press-in contact comprises a contact body and two legs formed in one piece with this, which are formed by means of non-cutting machining, with a separating process and an expansion being provided in order to form a press-in area. The two legs form a tip in which a separating gap is provided.

DE 202 18295 U1 discloses a circuit board contact for circuit boards, with a pin part intended for pressing into a hole in the circuit board, which has two approximately parallel arms which are designed to be movable towards one another in pairs against a restoring force.

The DE 102013103818 A1 relates to a method for producing press-in contacts of a punched contour with a connection body and two adjoining legs which are arranged opposite one another, the legs having press-in areas and end areas facing away from the connection body with contact sections which face one another and are defined from one another - are spaced apart and the reshaping of the legs includes moving the end regions of the legs towards each other with at least partial plastic deformation of at least one of the legs, with the contact sections of the legs touching at least in sections in a defined manner after relief. Various other press-in connections are well known in the prior art and are particularly suitable for producing electrical contacts with low contact resistances. The connections can be made quickly and cost-effectively and - provided they are correctly designed, manufactured and installed - can ensure a high level of reliability and longevity. It is known to provide press-in contacts with deformable design elements, which deform as definedly as possible during assembly of the contact and are intended to provide a specific contact force or holding force.

A very important problem is the coordination of the contact geometry and the diameter of the circuit board contact in relation to the hole diameter on the circuit board side, thus the hole diameter in the contact zone of the circuit board, especially with regard to arrangements in which a plurality of circuit board contacts are pressed into a common circuit board.

It has been shown that known press-fit contacts can have production-related tolerance fluctuations and various problems in practice, which in turn can result in large variations in assembly forces and/or contact forces of the joined connections. On the one hand, this can mean that a sufficiently large contact force cannot be generated, so that the desired reliability of the connection is not achieved. Furthermore, the sizes of the contacts cannot be scaled arbitrarily due to manufacturing reasons, so that compact designs cannot be easily implemented.

On the other hand, in practice, a circuit board contact that is too small is not possible, as the coordination then becomes problematic. In order to function reliably, press-fit contacts must be precisely adapted to the corresponding hole diameters of a circuit board.

In certain applications, for example in which several separate modules with press-fit contacts are to be connected to a circuit board, the mechanical arrangement results in high position tolerances for the contacts. If the axes of the contacts and the holes deviate too much from each other, the contacts will find their way no longer in the holes.

In this respect, there is the so-called capture area or capture radius based on the center of a contact zone in the circuit board, within which a circuit board contact can still be correctly inserted into the contact zone without causing problems or damage. The permissible deviation between the theoretically ideal assembly position, in which the central plug-in axis of the circuit board contact is inserted vertically into the center of the contact zone, and an off-center insertion position, possibly also at an angle to the plug-in axis, in which the contact partners can just be brought together, is determined by the so-called capture area is defined. In other words, this means that plugging and inserting the circuit board contact into the contact zone of the circuit board outside the catch area is no longer possible, at least no longer reliably.

In this respect, the structural tolerances must be such that the contact is positioned within the catch area for assembly. However, since in many applications it is expensive and time-consuming to adhere to the tolerances so precisely, there is a need to optimize the capture area or to circumvent the problem. Based on the state of the art, there are established dimension combinations of contact diameter to hole diameter. For example, it is established to use a 0.6 mm contact for a 1 hole (hole diameter of the contact zone = 1 mm) or a 0.4 mm contact for a 0.6 hole (hole diameter of the contact zone = 0.6 mm). use.

The production of the press-in zone of the circuit board contact that matches the hole diameter also plays a significant role. Various solutions are known in the prior art for producing the press-in zone in a suitable manner. However, these known contacts are disadvantageously only suitable for a comparatively small catch area, since the established solutions are too stiff and too rigid to be guided into the contact zone of the circuit board.

Another problem is that even if the contact tip is in the hole finds that the contacts are so inclined due to the press-in process that safe function is no longer guaranteed. In order to minimize this inclination of the press-in zone, a very long contact is required to achieve the required flexibility. This height is often a major disadvantage and is therefore often not a suitable solution.

Against this background, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved contact, in particular an improved press-fit contact, which has good assembly and contacting properties over a large catch area.

A basic idea of the present invention is the specific geometric design of the circuit board contact. The hole in the circuit board is enlarged relative to the contact diameter compared to the known solutions, so that the required capture range can be realized theoretically and practically.

The catch area of the contact is determined, as generally explained above, from the difference between the geometric circumference of the contact tip touching at a maximum angle of 45° and the smallest hole diameter.

The circuit board contact according to the invention is designed so flexibly with a comparatively short overall length that it can be inserted into the hole and the press-in zone has a permissible inclined position in the end position after being pressed in.

For this purpose, the thickness of the entire contact is reduced in relation to the hole diameter, resulting in a short but sufficiently flexible area on the contact even outside the press-in zone. At the same time, the press-in zone of the circuit board contact is adapted to the larger hole diameter.

In an optimized design, the contact tip can be designed in such a way that it supports both the insertion into the hole and the alignment of the press-in zone in the hole. A tapered contact end can be used for this. According to the invention, a circuit board press-in contact for pressing into a circuit board contact zone with a defined hole diameter DL is proposed, the circuit board press-in contact consisting of an elongated contact pin with the material thickness DK, consisting of an upper connection section, an adjoining press-in section which defines the press-in zone of the circuit board contact and a plug-side insertion section is formed and wherein the press-in section is formed from two legs running next to one another, which are formed by an expansion or separation of the contact pin in this area, characterized in that the following applies to the material thickness DK, in particular in the area of the connection section: 0.25 x DE < DK < 0.35 x DE, where DE is the largest width transverse to the insertion axis of the circuit board press-in contact in the area of the press-in section. A further preferred range is: 0.25 x DE < DK < 0.30 x DE.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention it is provided that the following geometric condition also applies: 0.35 x DL < DK < 0.5 x DL, where DL represents the hole diameter in a circuit board contact zone for which the circuit board press-fit contact is intended. A further preferred range is: 0.35 x DL < DK < 0.45 x DL

In other words, this means that with a hole diameter of, for example, DL = 1 mm, the press-in area of the contact must have a width DE greater than 1 mm. Based on this width, a contact would then be e.g. B. can be used with a diameter or a material thickness of 0.4 mm. In this respect, the term diameter is understood to mean the material thickness as such, since stamped contacts are non-round contacts. In this respect, the contact of 0.4 mm in the press-in area can be expanded to such an extent that it goes beyond the hole dimension of 1 mm in this area, e.g. 1.25 mm. In the connection area, the contact is then, so to speak, “thin” in relation to this hole size due to the comparatively low material thickness, which, however, increases the elasticity as intended and therefore also enlarges or optimizes the catch area.

It is therefore further advantageous if at least a portion of the connection section has the material thickness DK in accordance with the above condition. Also from It is advantageous if at least a portion of the connection section has the material thickness DK in accordance with the above condition. This applies equally to the insertion area or at least a partial area of the insertion section on the insertion side which has the material thickness DK in accordance with at least one of the above-mentioned conditions.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that at the transition of the two legs to the insertion section and/or to the connection section there is an eyelet-shaped opening or widening, which can be seen at least in a sectional plane or grinding plane through the circuit board press-in contact.

A further aspect of the present invention relates to an assembly or a pluggable arrangement formed from a circuit board with at least one or a plurality of contact zones, each with a specific hole diameter DL of the circuit board contact zone, designed for a circuit board press-in contact as described above and such a circuit board press-in contact.

For the purposes of the present invention, a pluggable arrangement is also to be understood as the arrangement in which the circuit board connector according to the invention is pressed into a contact zone of the circuit board.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to such an arrangement, whereby the capture area F, based on the center of the contact zone, fulfills the following condition: F = 0.5 x DL + (sin a x LLP), where Lip represents the length of the circuit board contact and a represents the permissible one Inclination of the contact relative to the central plug axis through the middle of the contact zone and a is at least 30°.

In other words, this means that such a contact can still be inserted into the circuit board at an angle of 30° obliquely to the vertical plug-in direction at the edge of a hole or a contact zone and, when threaded or pressed into the hole, moves approximately s- shaped or wave-shaped. Further features and advantages of the invention result from the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment with reference to the drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1 shows a circuit board contact according to the prior art

Fig. 2 shows a circuit board contact according to the invention.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, with the same reference numbers indicating the same functional and/or structural features.

1 represents the prior art by showing an example of a 0.6 mm contact that is used for a 1 mm circuit board contact zone.

2 shows a contact modified according to the invention, namely a circuit board press-in contact 1 for pressing into a circuit board contact zone K with a defined hole diameter DL, the circuit board press-in contact consisting of an elongated contact pin 2 with the material thickness DK, consisting of an upper connection section 10, one attached to it subsequent press-in section 20, which defines the press-in zone of the circuit board contact 1 and is formed by an insertion section 30 on the plug-in side.

The press-in section 30 is formed from two legs 31, 32 running next to one another, which are formed by widening or separating (e.g. punching) the contact pin in this area. The following applies to the material thickness DK, particularly in the area of the connecting section 10: 0.25 x DE <DK <0.35 x DE or more preferably 0.25 x DE <DK <0.30 x DE, where DE is the largest width across the Plug-in axis of the circuit board press-in contact is in the area of the press-in section. With a contact with DK = 0.4 mm, the width DE of the press-in zone would be approx. 1.3 mm to 1.6 mm for a 1 mm hole. Alternatively, a solution can also be used in which the vote for the press-in section is as follows The following is chosen: 1.05 x DL < DE < 1.5 x DL, with an average value of approximately 1.2 x DL for the hole dimension of 1 mm, thus DE = 1.2 mm.

However, the implementation of the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiment specified above. Rather, a number of variants and embodiments are conceivable, which make use of the solution presented even if the embodiment is fundamentally different.

Claims

Claims Circuit board press-in contact (1) for pressing into a circuit board contact zone with a defined hole diameter DL, the circuit board press-in contact (1) consisting of an elongated contact pin with the material thickness DK, consisting of an upper connection section (10), an adjoining press-in section (20), which the press-in zone of the circuit board contact (1) is defined and is formed by a plug-side insertion section (30), and the press-in section (30) is formed from two legs (31, 32) running next to one another, which are formed by widening or separating the contact pin in this area , characterized in that the following applies to the material thickness DK, especially in the area of the connecting section (10):

0.25 x DE < DK < 0.35 x DE, where DE is the largest width transverse to the insertion axis of the circuit board press-in contact (1) in the area of the press-in section (20). Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to claim 1, wherein the following geometric condition also applies:

0.35 x DL < DK < 0.5 x DL where DL represents the hole diameter in a circuit board contact zone for which the circuit board press-fit contact (1) is intended. Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the connection section has the material thickness DK according to the condition of claim 1. Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the connection section has the material thickness DK according to the condition of claim 2. Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the plug-side insertion section (30) has the material thickness DK according to the condition of claim 1. Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a portion of the plug-side insertion section (30) has the material thickness DK according to the condition of claim 2. Circuit board press-in contact (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at the transition of the two legs (31, 32) to the insertion cut (30) and / or to the connection section (10) there is an eyelet-shaped opening or widening, which is at least in a cutting plane or The cutting plane can be seen through the circuit board press-in contact (1). Pluggable or plugged-together arrangement consisting of a circuit board (L) with at least one contact zone (K) with a specific hole diameter DL of the circuit board contact zone, designed for a circuit board press-in contact (1) and a circuit board press-in contact (1) according to one of the preceding claims. Arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that the capture area F, based on the center of the contact zone (K), meets the following condition: F = 0.5 x DL + (sin ax LLP), where Lip represents the length of the circuit board contact and a represents the permissible inclination of the contact relative to the central plug-in axle through the center of the contact zone (K) and a is at least 30°.