Improved female terminal for an electrical connector

Abstract: An improved female terminal (5) for an electrical connector (1) wherein the female terminal includes a T-shaped soldering foot (5a) , a contact section (5b) and a mounting section (5c) integrally connected together and stamped out from a metal strip. The contact (5c) section and mounting section are linearly contiguous, and the T-shaped soldering foot (5a) extends from the mounting section. Each female terminal (5) in a consecutive series of female terminals is integrally connected to a longitudinal carrier strip (11) and has the T-shaped soldering foot (5a) and contact section (5b) bent to opposite sides of the mounting section. All the female terminals (5) may be inserted in the slots (3) of the female terminal housing (1) simultaneously.

Description: Field of the Invention The present invention relates to terminals for electrical connectors interconnecting printed circuit boards, and more particularly to the shape of female terminals located in such connectors. Background of the Invention A variety of electrical connectors, each comprising a male plug and a female receptacle are known in the art for establishing electrical connections between conductors located on different printed circuit boards or discrete conductors terminated to the connectors. The female receptacle has a housing with a plurality of female terminals laterally arranged at regular intervals and inserted in slots located in the female housing. Likewise, the male plug has a housing with a plurality of male terminals laterally arranged at regular intervals and inserted in slots located in the male housing. When the male and female portions are mated together, an electrical connection is established between circuits on printed circuit boards or discrete conductors connected to the male and female terminals of the electric connector. A number of prior art stamped female terminals is shown in Fig. 7. A female terminal 5′ has a T shaped soldering foot 5a′ on one side, a contact section 5b′, for engaging a male terminal, on the other side, and a mounting section 5c′ integrally connected both to the T shaped soldering foot 5a′ and the contact section 5b′ for mounting the female terminal 5′ in the female housing 1. The female terminal shape may be stamped out from a metal strip, and the terminal is then used as it is without requiring any secondary manufacturing operations to be performed on it. The T-shaped soldering foot 5a′ of the female terminal 5′ resists forces trying to pull the female terminal from the printed circuit board during the disengagement of the male housing from the female housing. As shown in Fig. 7, the die-cut surfaces of the punched female terminal are used as contact surfaces. The length of the terminal portion joining the T-shape soldering foot 5a′ and the contact section 5b′ is designed to be long enough to make the contact section 5b′ resilient. Accordingly, the joining portion is relatively long and it increases the lateral width of the terminal. The prior art female terminal shape has the following disadvantages: 1) As shown in Fig. 7, the female terminal shape has a relatively long lateral extension L, spanning the distance from the upright contact section 5b′ to the T-shaped soldering foot 5a′ from one side to the terminal to the other side of the terminal. The female terminal shapes to be punched from a given metal strip are limited to a relatively small number because of the relatively long lateral extension of each female terminal shape. 2) All the female terminals have to be separated from the longitudinal carrier strip 11 prior to insertion, and therefore are inserted individually one after another in the slots of the female housing. This is a time consuming and tedious work. 3) Each female terminal contacts a mating male terminal by its narrow die-cut surface rather than its uncut smooth surface. It is difficult to make the die-cut surface as smooth as the top or bottom of the metal piece even if the die-cut surface is subjected to finishing operations, and accordingly it is difficult to establish a good electrical contact between the surface contact areas of the mating terminals. Summary of Invention One object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal having a shape which permits an increased number of female terminals to be punched out from a given length of metal strip. Another object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal having a shape which permits simultaneous insertion of a contiguous series of female terminals in corresponding slots of the female housing prior to separation of the terminals from the longitudinal carrier strip. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal having a shape wherein its contact surface ensures a good electrical contact with a mating male terminal. To attain these objects a female terminal is provided for insertion into a selected slot of a female terminal housing of an electrical connector, comprising a T-shaped soldering foot, a contact section for contacting in a mating male terminal and a mounting section integrally connected both to the T-shaped soldering foot and the contact section to retain the female terminal in the female terminal housing. The female terminal has a shape wherein the T-shaped soldering foot, the contact section and the mounting section are integrally connected and the entire terminal is stamped out of a metal strip. The contact and the mounting sections are linearly contiguous and the T-shaped soldering foot extends from the mounting section. The T-shaped soldering foot is bent perpendicular to one major surface of the mounting section, and the contact section is bent and formed to face the other major surface of the mounting section. The contact section is formed in a "U"-shape to face the other major surface of the mounting section, the horizontal length of the "U" shaped section being relatively long. The mating male terminal, which the contact section of the female terminal is designed to contact, is soldered to a given printed circuit board. The contact section of the female terminal is linearly contiguous to the mounting section, and the T-shaped soldering foot extends from the mounting section. The T-shaped soldering foot is bent perpendicular to one major plane of the mounting section whereas the contact section is bent and formed in the direction which is opposite to the direction in which the T-shape soldering foot is bent. The contact section thus faces the other major plane of the mounting section. The lateral size "l" of the female terminal is relatively small, and accordingly an increased number of female terminals may be punched out from a given length of metal strip. The T-shaped soldering foot and contact section of each female terminal may be bent in opposite directions without separating the female terminal shape from the longitudinal carrier strip, and all the female terminals thus bent remain in the same arrangement as they are when inserted in the slots of the female housing. Therefore, a contiguous series of female terminals may be nested within the female housing before they are separated from the longitudinal carrier strip. Thus, the time consuming and tedious work of inserting female terminals individually one after another in selected slots of the female housing is not necessary. Also, advantageously a major plane of the contact section may be used as contact surface for a mating male terminal, ensuring that good electrical contact is established between the male and female terminals. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of the female terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention, which is shown in the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a female terminal according to the present invention along with the female and male housings and a mating male terminal; Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the mated male and female portions of the electrical connector; Fig. 3 is a section of a contiguous series of female terminals prior to separation from the longitudinal carrier strip; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the section of the contiguous series of female terminals (shown in Fig 3), each having its T-shaped foot bent perpendicular to the major surface of the mounting section prior to separation from the longitudinal carrier strip; Fig. 5 is perspective view of the sectional female terminals (shown in Fig. 3) each having its contact section bent in opposite directions, the female terminals ready for insertion into the female housing; Fig. 6 is a side view of the female terminal; and Fig. 7 is a contiguous series of prior art female terminals prior to separation from the longitudinal carrier strip. Detailed Description Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, a female terminal housing 1 has a plurality of insertion slots 3 located at regular intervals or pitch P to accommodate female terminals 5. Female terminal housing 1 has peg insertion slots 7 at its opposite ends. As shown in Fig. 1, pegs 8 are inserted in peg insertion slots 7. Female terminal housing 1 may be attached to a printed circuit board 9 by inserting pegs 8 into mounting holes (not shown) of printed board 9. The T-shaped soldering foot 5a of each female terminal 5 is soldered to selected conductors (not shown) of the printed circuit of printed board 9. Male terminal housing 2, has a plurality of male terminal insertion slots 4 located at the same pitch as female terminal insertion slots 3 of female terminal housing 1. Each insertion slot 4 accommodates a male terminal 6. As shown in Fig. 1, pegs 8 are inserted in peg insertion slots 7. Male terminal housing 2 may be attached to a printed circuit board 10 by inserting its pegs 8 into mounting holes (not shown) of printed board 10. The T-shaped soldering foot 6a of each male terminal 6 is soldered to selected conductors (not shown) of the printed circuit of printed board 10. Male terminals 6 may be soldered to discrete conductors instead of conductors on printed board 10. When all male terminals 6 of the male housing 2 are mated with corresponding female terminals 5 of the female housing 1, contact sections 6b of all male terminals 6 will contact corresponding contact sections 5b of the female terminals 5, establishing the desired electrical connections between printed boards 9 and 10. The female terminal 5 has a T-shaped soldering foot 5a on one side and a contact section 5b contacting a mating male terminal 6 on the other side. A mounting section 5c integrally connected both to the T-shaped soldering foot 5a and the contact section 5b enables female terminal 5 to be mounted in the female terminal housing 1. Fig. 3 shows a contiguous series of female terminals 5 punched out from a metal strip leaving one end of each female terminal integrally connected with longitudinal carrier strip 11. In Fig. 3, the die-cut surfaces of each punched female terminal 5 are indicated by 5g whereas the major planes of each punched female terminal 5 are indicated by 5e. The center-to-center distance between adjacent female terminals is selected to be equal to two times the interval at which female terminals 5 are mounted (2P). The lateral distance from T-shaped soldering foot 5a to the contact section 5b is indicated by "l". A contiguous series of female terminals are formed by bending every T-shaped soldering foot 5a at 5d in a direction which is perpendicular to the major plane 5e of mounting section 5c (See Fig. 4); and by bending and forming every contact section 5b in the direction which is opposite to the direction in which T-shaped soldering foot 5a is bent. Contact section 5b and mounting section 5c are bent to form a substantially "U" -shape. The horizontal length 5f of the "U"-shape section is relatively long. The horizontal length 5f and consecutive vertical rise has the effect of providing contact section 5b with resiliency. The male terminal 6 which is to be inserted into a selected insertion slot in a male housing 2, has a soldering leg 6a and contact section 6b, which will contact the corresponding contact section 5b of the mating female terminal 5. As described earlier, a consecutive series of female terminals are formed by bending the T-shaped soldering foot 5a of each female terminal shape in a first direction perpendicular to its major surface and by bending contact section 5g in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction. The female terminals thus bent and integrally connected to the longitudinal carrier strip 11 are arranged longitudinally at an interval of 2P, that is, at double the interval at which the insertion slots 3 are arranged in the female terminal housing 1. The consecutive series of the formed female terminals may be inserted in the insertion slots 3 of the female housing 1 simultaneously. In this particular embodiment, the female terminals 5 are arranged at an interval of 2P, and therefore, each female terminal 5, integrally connected to the longitudinal carrier strip 11, is inserted in every other insertion slot 3 with its mounting section 5c fitted in every other mounting section holder of the female housing 1. Thereafter, another consecutive series of similarly formed female terminals arranged at an interval of 2P and integrally connected to the longitudinal carrier strip 11, may be simultaneously inserted in the remaining insertion slots 3 of the female housing 1. Every female terminal 5 locks itself in the insertion slot 3 within its housing 1. Thus, the female terminals 5 may be quickly mounted in the insertion slots of the female housing. Finally, the female terminals 5 are cut and separated from the longitudinal carrier strip 11. When the male terminals 6 of the male terminal housing 2 are inserted into the female terminals 5 of the female terminal housing 1, the female terminals 5 contact the male terminals 6 by their major surface planes 5b, establishing good electrical connections therebetween.

Claims: A female terminal (5) adapted for mounting in a housing of an electrical connector, the terminal comprising: a T-shaped foot (5a) for soldering the terminal to a printed circuit board, a contact section (5b) for engaging a mating male terminal, a mounting section (5c), integrally connected with the T-shaped foot and the contact section, for mounting the terminal in the housing, wherein the terminal is stamped out from a flat metal strip the stamped out terminal having a first and second opposite major surfaces (5e) forming partly the contact section (5b) and partly the mounting section (5c), and wherein the T-shaped foot is bent substantially perpendicular to the first major surface (5e) of the mounting section and the contact section is formed such that it faces the second opposite major surface (5e) of the mounting section. A female terminal in accordance with claim 1, wherein the contact section is attached to the metal strip (11) during the stamping and forming operations. A female terminal in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein the contact section (5b) and the mounting section (5c) are bent to form a substantially "U" shape. A female terminal in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein the female terminal is mounted in the connector housing while still attached to the metal strip. A female terminal in accordance with any preceding claim, wherein a plurality of female terminals are stamped out and formed from the flat metal strip. A female terminal according to any preceding claim wherein said contact section (5b) and said mounting section (5c) are linearly contiguous.

Inventors: SASAO MASAMI, YAMADA SYOJI, SASAO, MASAMI, YAMADA, SYOJI
Applicants: MOLEX INC, MOLEX INCORPORATED
Application year: 1991
Main classification: H01R9
IPC codes: H01R12, H01R24, H01R43