Contact member

A contact member has a first flat-plate portion, a pair of leg portions, a second flat-plate portion, and a projection portion. The pair of leg portions extends from opposite ends of the first flat-plate portion along a first orientation in a direction intersecting with the first flat-plate portion. The second flat-plate portion is connected to a projecting end of the leg portion. The projection portion extends from an end of the first flat-plate portion on a first direction side of a second orientation, which intersects with the first orientation, to the same direction as the direction where the leg portion extends. The projection portion is bent in a second direction of the second orientation to pass through the space between the pair of leg portions, thereby projecting in the second direction of the second orientation. The projection portion is provided with a protruding portion that expands along the first orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-216437 filed with the Japan Patent Office on Sep. 28, 2012, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a contact member that is surface-mounted on a printed board by an automatic mounting machine and is in contact with a casing and the like to electrically connect between the printed board and the casing.

BACKGROUND ART

A contact member that is surface-mounted on a printed board as below has been suggested (see Patent Document 1). In this contact member, an end part thereof that is brought into contact with a casing or the like is elastically displaced in a direction parallel to a surface of the printed board where the contact member is to be mounted. By the use of the contact member as above, the electrical conduction can be achieved between the printed board and the contact surface of the casing extending in the direction intersecting with the mount surface of the printed board.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

Patent Documents

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The contact member according to Patent Literature 1 includes two components: a base component and an elastic component. Only a part (spring part) of the elastic component is elastically displaced, while the base component is not elastically displaced largely. Therefore, the movable range of the spring part is limited to the range where the deformation of the spring part itself is possible. This is the reason why it has been difficult to widen the movable range. If the movable range is not sufficient, the damage is likely to occur; for example, when the spring part is brought into strong contact with the casing or other components, the spring part is bent to be broken or lose its spring property.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a contact member that can inhibit the damage is desirably provided.

Solutions to the Problems

An aspect of the present invention is a contact member that is surface-mounted on a mounting object. This contact member includes a single metal plate having electrical conductivity and elasticity. This contact member includes a first flat-plate portion, a pair of leg portions, second flat-plate portions, and a projection portion. The pair of leg portions extends from respective ends of the first flat-plate portion on a first direction side and on a second direction side of a first orientation in the first flat-plate portion in a direction intersecting with the first flat-plate portion. The second flat-plate portions are connected to the extending ends of the leg portions and are disposed in parallel to the first flat-plate portion. The projection portion extends from an end of the first flat-plate portion on the first direction side of a second orientation, which intersects with the first orientation in the first flat-plate portion, in the same direction as the direction where the leg portions extend. The projection portion is bent in the second direction of the second orientation, and projects in the second direction of the second orientation through the space between the pair of leg portions. The projection portion is provided with protruding portions that expand along the first orientation. When the projection portion is displaced in the second direction of the second orientation, the expansion portions are locked by the leg portions.

By having the projection portion, which projects through the space between the pair of leg portions, in contact with the casing or the like disposed in a projection direction, the contact member structured as above can achieve the electrical conduction between the casing and the mounting object.

The projection portion in the contact member according to the present invention is displaced when the load is applied from the outside in the first direction of the second orientation. On this occasion, the projection portion can be displaced widely using the region from the connection area between the projection portion and the first flat-plate portion in the area to which the load is applied. In other words, the projection portion can be displaced widely using the region of the projection portion extending from the connection area to the same direction as the direction where the leg portions extend and the region projecting in the second direction side of the second orientation.

Therefore, the movable range, which is the range where the projection portion can be displaced without being damaged, can be increased. As a result, even when the load is applied from the outside to cause the large displacement, the projection portion is unlikely to be damaged. Moreover, when the projection portion is displaced in the second direction of the second orientation, the expansion portions are locked by the leg portions. Therefore, the displacement of the projection portion in the second direction of the second orientation is inhibited. Therefore, it is possible to inhibit the deformation of the projection portion because of being pulled out in the second direction of the second orientation.

In this manner, the movable range of the projection portion is wide in the contact member of the present invention. Moreover, the expansion portions inhibit the aforementioned deformation of the projection portion because of being pulled out in the second direction of the second orientation. Thus, the damage of the projection portion can be inhibited.

The contact member of the present invention includes a single metal plate. The structure of the present invention except the first flat-plate portion, the leg portions, the second flat-plate portions, the projection portion, and the expansion portions may not be formed of a single metal plate but may be attached as separate components.

The aforementioned contact member may have the space between the expansion portion and the leg portion, and may be structured so that when the projection portion is displaced in the second direction of the second orientation to displace the expansion portion in the second direction of the second orientation by a predetermined amount, the expansion portion is brought into contact with the leg portion to be locked by the leg portion.

In the contact member structured as above, when the projection portion is pulled out in the second direction of the second orientation, the projection portion is displaced in the second direction of the second orientation until the expansion portion is locked by the leg portion. The projection portion is connected to the first flat-plate portion. Therefore, the projection portion is displaced to rotate around the connection area. Thus, when the projection portion is hung by something and pulled out in the second direction of the second orientation, the inclination angle of the projecting end of the projection portion, the position of the projection portion related to the direction other than on the second orientation, and so on change. As a result, the connection between the projection portion and something that pulls out the projection portion in the second direction of the second orientation is easily released. This makes it difficult to pull out the projection portion, thereby inhibiting the damage of the projection portion.

The end of the projection portion of the aforementioned contact member that projects in the second direction of the second orientation may be folded back in the first direction of the second orientation. In this case, the leg portions or the first flat-plate portion may be provided with restriction portions. By having this restriction portion locked by a locking piece provided to the folded-back end of the projection portion, the movement of the end of the projection portion in the second direction of the second orientation can be inhibited.

In the contact member structured as above, locking the restriction portion with the locking piece can inhibit the displacement of the projection portion in the second direction of the second orientation. For this reason, it is possible to inhibit that the projection portion is pulled out in the second direction of the second orientation and damaged.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings.

Example

(1) Overall Structure

A contact member1of this example is a contact member that is surface-mounted on a mounting object. The contact member1includes a single metal plate having electrical conductivity and elasticity. A specific configuration thereof is described with reference toFIG. 1AtoFIG. 1I.

In the contact member1, a base portion configured to be relatively less susceptible to elastic displacement when being bent is connected to a movable portion that is easily elastically-displaced. The aforementioned base portion includes a first flat-plate portion11, a pair of leg portions13aand13b, and a pair of second flat-plate portions15aand15b. The base portion has a cylindrical shape with a rectangular section as a whole. The aforementioned movable portion corresponds to a projection portion23.

The first flat-plate portion11has a rectangular plate-like shape. The leg portions13aand13bare plate-like portions. The leg portions13aand13bextend in parallel to each other in a direction orthogonal to the first flat-plate portion11at opposite ends of the first flat-plate portion11along a first orientation. (The first orientation corresponds to the C-D direction inFIG. 1BtoFIG. 1E. In the description below, the direction may be denoted by C or D. The C direction is an example of the first direction of the first orientation in the present invention. The D direction is an example of the second direction of the first orientation in the present invention.) The direction where the leg portions13aand13bextend from the first flat-plate portion11is not limited to the direction orthogonal to the first flat-plate portion11but may be the direction intersecting with the first flat-plate portion11.

The second flat-plate portions15aand15bare plate-like portions that are connected to the extending ends of the leg portions13aand13b, respectively, and that are disposed in parallel to the first flat-plate portion11. The second flat-plate portion15aextends in the second flat-plate portion15b, and the second flat-plate portion15bextends in the second flat-plate portion15a. The second flat-plate portions15aand15bare positioned on the same plane.

Restriction portions17aand17bare provided at the ends of the leg portions13aand13bin the second direction (an A direction) of the second orientation that intersects with the C-D direction. (The second orientation corresponds to the A-B direction inFIG. 1A,FIG. 1D, andFIG. 1E. In the description below, the direction may be denoted by A or B. The B direction is an example of the first direction of the second orientation in the present invention. The A direction is an example of the second direction of the second orientation in the present invention.) The restriction portions17aand17bmutually extend toward the counterparts thereof, and are positioned in the same plane.

The projection portion23is connected to the end of the first flat-plate portion11in the B direction, and extends in the direction toward the second flat-plate portions15aand15b. The end of the projection portion23enters from the B direction side into the space between the pair of leg portions13aand13bto pass therethrough, thereby projecting in the A direction.

The projection portion23has an extension portion21. The extension portion21is a portion with a plate-like shape of the aforementioned projection portion23that extends from the connection area of the first flat-plate portion11toward the second flat-plate portions15aand15b. The extension portion21is provided with protruding portions25aand25bthat expand outward in the C-D direction. The extension portion21including the expansion portions25aand25bis spaced apart from the leg portions13aand13bin the A-B direction.

The projection portion23includes a bottom portion31, an inclined portion33, a folded-back portion35, and a locking piece37. When the second flat-plate portions15aand15bare the lower end of the contact member1and the first flat-plate portion11is the upper end of the contact member1, the bottom portion31corresponds to the part of the projection portion23that extends in the A direction along the second flat-plate portions15aand15bfrom the end (lower end) of the extension portion21on the second flat-plate portions15aand15bside.

The inclined portion33is the part of the projection portion23that is inclined from the end of the bottom portion31in the A direction and in the upward direction. The folded-back portion35is the part of the projection portion23that is folded back in the B direction from the end of the inclined portion33.

The locking piece37is the part of the projection portion23that is connected to the end of the folded-back portion35and bent downward. The folded-back portion35is formed to have the width in the C-D direction that is narrower than that of the inclined portion33. The locking piece37is formed to have the width in the C-D direction that is larger than that of the folded-back portion35and have the width equivalent to that of the inclined portion33. The inclination angle of the inclined portion33from the A-B direction is larger than that of the folded-back portion35. The angle of the folded-back portion35is the angle that is closer to be parallel to the A-B direction.

As is clear such as fromFIG. 1BandFIG. 1C, the contact member1has a symmetrical shape along the C-D direction.

(2) Operation and Effect

FIG. 2Adepicts the state in which the contact member1is attached to the board3by soldering the second flat-plate portions15aand15bof the contact member1with solder (that is not illustrated). The contact member1is surface-mounted by an automatic mounting machine and fixed by solder in a predetermined region that is electrically connected with a printed wiring board, which is not illustrated, on the board3. By bringing the projection portion23into contact with the casing5in this state, the board3and the casing5are electrically connected to each other.

The projection portion23can be elastically displaced in the A-B direction. When the load from the outside to the B direction acts on the projection portion23such as because the projection portion23is brought into contact with the casing5, the projection portion23is displaced in the B direction as a whole. The contact member1illustrated with the solid line inFIG. 2Ais in the state before the contact member1is brought into contact with the casing5. The contact member1illustrated the two-dot chain line is in the state where the contact member1is in contact with the casing5.

On this occasion, the projection portion23presses the casing5in the A direction with the elastic force. This maintains the favorable contact between the casing5and the projection portion23. When the projection portion23is detached from the casing5, the projection portion23returns to the original position (position illustrated with the solid line) with the elastic force.

As depicted inFIG. 2B, when the casing5rises from the downward direction relatively to get closer to the projection portion23, the upper end of the casing5slides on the surface of the inclined portion33to move upward while pressing the inclined portion33in the B direction. The casing5and the projection portion23come to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line inFIG. 2A.

The projection portion23has elasticity. When the load is applied from the casing5in the B direction as aforementioned, the projection portion23is displaced from the area where the projection portion23is connected to the first flat-plate portion11. This can increase the movable range largely. In other words, even when the load is applied from the outside to cause large deformation, the projection portion23is not damaged easily.

When the projection portion23is hung by something such as a finger of a person or the casing5to be pulled out in the A direction, the expansion portion25ais locked by the leg portion13aas illustrated with the two-dot chain line inFIG. 3A. Thus, the further displacement of the projection portion23in the A direction is inhibited. Although not illustrated, this similarly applies to the expansion portion25band the leg portion13b. Therefore, as depicted inFIG. 3B, the deformation of the projection portion23because of being pulled out largely in the A direction can be inhibited.

Moreover, when the projection portion23is pulled out in the A direction, the locking piece37is locked by the restriction portions17aand17b. This can also inhibit the displacement of the projection portion23in the A direction. Thus, the damage of the projection portion23can be inhibited.

When the load that pulls out the projection portion23in the A direction is applied to the projection portion23, the expansion portions25aand25bare displaced by a predetermined amount in the A direction to be brought into contact with the leg portions13aand13b. The extension portion21is displaced in the A direction until the expansion portions25aand25bare locked by the leg portions13aand13b. The extension portion21is connected to the first flat-plate portion11. Therefore, the extension portion21is displaced so as to rotate around that portion. As a result, the lower end side of the extension portion21is displaced, whereby the extension portion21is in the inclined state.

As a result, the projection portion23is displaced largely as indicated by the arrow F inFIG. 3A. Specifically, as compared with the case in which just the part of the projection portion that extends externally from the bottom portion31is displaced, the projecting end of the projection portion23is moved upward. Moreover, the inclination angle of the inclined portion33related to the vertical direction is increased.

Therefore, even though there is an article that applies the load pulling out the projection portion23in the A direction, the connection between the article and the projection portion23is easily released. Accordingly, the damage of the projection portion23can be inhibited. In particular, as for the article that is in contact with the inclined portion33from the downward direction, since the inclination angle of the inclined portion33is large, the connection is easily released.

When the projection portion23has moved in the A direction, the locking piece37is locked by the restriction portions17aand17b. Therefore, the lower end of the inclined portion33is more displaced in the A direction than the upper end thereof. As a result, the change of the aforementioned inclination angle becomes larger. This is convenient because the effect of releasing the connection between the projection portion23and the article that applies the load pulling out the projection portion23in the A direction is easily obtained.

The folded-back portion35extends in the A-B direction. This can inhibit the entry of foreign substances into the region between the leg portions13aand13band to the inside of the inclined portion33(in the B direction). Thus, the displacement of the projection portion23due to the entry of the foreign substances can be inhibited.

The locking piece37is formed widely in a manner similar to the inclined portion33. Therefore, the range where the locking piece37can be displaced in the C-D direction is narrow. Thus, the displacement of the end of the projection portion23in the C-D direction when the load in the C-D direction is applied to the projection portion23can be inhibited.

Moreover, the contact member1can be mounted by the solder on the board3by using not only the second flat-plate portions15aand15bbut also the first flat-plate portion11. Thus, the more appropriate bonding plane for the casing5can be selected to carry out the mounting.

For example, in the case where the contact member1is mounted as illustrated inFIG. 2A, the inclined portion33extends in the A direction and upward. Therefore, when the casing5gets close to the contact member1from the downward direction or the A direction side relatively, the projection portion23is displaced to the position illustrated with the two-dot chain line smoothly. When the casing5gets closer to the contact member1from the upward direction, on the contrary, the contact with the inclined portion33does not occur. Therefore, as compared with the case in which the casing5gets closer from the downward direction, the smooth movement is difficult.

In that case, therefore, the contact member1is reversed upside down to make the first flat-plate portion11serve as the solder plane; thus, the contact member1is mounted on the board3. This makes the inclined portion33face upward. Therefore, when the casing5gets closer from the upward direction, the contact member1can be displaced to the position illustrated with the dashed line smoothly.

In the mounting on the board3through the soldering to the second flat-plate portions15aand15b, the first flat-plate portion11can be used as the suction plane of a suction nozzle of the automatic mounting machine. When the first flat-plate portion11is soldered, the second flat-plate portions15aand15bcan be used as the suction plane.

As illustrated inFIG. 1A, the inclined portion33and the folded-back portion35of the contact member1have the different inclination angles in the A-B direction. The folded-back portion35is narrower than the inclined portion33in the C-D direction. Therefore, it is easy to check whether the vertical direction of the contact member1is correct or not with a sensor or eyes. Thus, for example, when the contact member1is housed in an embossed carrier tape or after the contact member1is housed in the embossed carrier tape, the erroneous housing direction can be easily found.

Modified Example

The example of the present invention has been described as above. The present invention is, however, not limited thereto. Needless to say, various modes can be employed within the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, the above example has described the structure in which the expansion portions25aand25bare locked by the leg portions13aand13band the locking piece37is locked by the restriction portions17aand17bfor inhibiting the projection portion23from being pulled in the A direction. Another structure is also possible in which the locking piece37and the restriction portions17aand17bare not provided and just the expansion portions25aand25band the leg portions13aand13binhibit the aforementioned pulling out in the A direction.

In this case, the displacement of the projection portion23in the A direction is inhibited by having the expansion portions25aand25blocked by the leg portions13aand13bas illustrated with the dashed line inFIG. 3A. The space between the expansion portions25aand25band the leg portions13aand13bmay be reduced or omitted. Even in this case, the extension portion21can be displaced in the B direction. Accordingly, the amount of the displacement of the projection portion23in the B direction can be increased. On the other hand, as illustrated inFIG. 4A, when the space is increased, the change of the inclination angle (arrow G) when the projection portion23is pulled out in the A direction can be increased.

In the above example, the restriction portions17aand17bare provided for the leg portions13aand13b. As depicted inFIG. 5, a restriction portion17b′ (17a′) may be also connected to extend in the downward direction from the end of the first flat-plate portion11in the A direction.

In the above example, the structure has been described in which the locking piece37is bent from the end of the folded-back portion35to the downward direction and connected. However, another structure of a projection portion41illustrated inFIG. 4Bis also possible in which a locking piece45is bent in the upward direction. In this case, when the projection portion41is pulled out in the upward direction, the restriction portions17aand17bare locked by the locking piece45firmly. Therefore, the displacement in the upward direction can be inhibited more effectively. When a folded-back portion43is inclined downward as illustrated inFIG. 4B, the entire can be formed to be small.

Another structure is also possible in which the expansion portion is provided for only one of the pair of leg portions13aand13b.