Female electrical terminal

Abstract: A female electrical terminal (10) has a contact end (12) a terminating end (14). The contact end is generally rectangular in cross-section and includes a pair of opposing side walls (24) extending upwardly from opposite sides of a bottom wall (22), along with a top wall (30). A deformable tab (26) is provided in each side wall. A spring contact element (20) is located in the contact end (12) for biasingly engaging a male terminal (46) inserted into the contact end. The spring contact element (20) includes recess portions (40) adapted to receive the deformable tabs (26) of the side walls (24).

Description: Field of the Invention This invention generally relates to the art of electrical connectors and, particularly, to a female terminal for use in an electrical connection. Background of the Invention Very generally, a typical electrical connector combination includes a plug connector and a receptacle connector, both of which mount or house interengageable electrical terminals. The plug connector is inserted into or mated with the receptacle connector to interengage the terminals. The terminals may take a variety of configurations, including male and female or pin and socket terminals. A known type of female socket terminal is elongated and has a terminating end and a contact end. The terminating end may be adapted for termination to an electrical wire, for instance. The contact end is box-shaped or generally rectangular in cross-section for receiving a male or pin contact or terminal. The female socket terminal typically is stamped and formed from sheet metal material, and spring sections may be stamped therefrom for resiliently gripping the pin contact or terminal. On the other hand, separate spring contact elements have been used with such female socket terminals. For example, in U.S. Patent No. 5,441,428, dated August 15, 1995, a female socket terminal employs a separate spring element to resiliently grip an inserted pin contact or terminal. In particular, the female socket terminal disclosed therein is generally rectangular in cross-section and includes a bottom plate portion having two sides. A pair of opposing side plate portions extend upwardly from both sides of the bottom plate portion. Two lug engagement holes are formed in the two side plate portions immediately adjacent the bottom plate portion. A pair of opposing top plate half portions extend inwardly from upper ends of the side plate portions. A spring element is mounted within the female terminal and includes a spring body and a pair of lug portions engaged within the lug engagement holes formed in the two side plates portions near the bottom plate portion. During assembly, the top plate half portions and the side plate portions are spread apart to allow insertion of the spring element transverse to the longitudinal direction of the terminal until the lug portions of the spring element engage within the lug engagement holes formed in the two side plate portions near the bottom wall. Problems are encountered with female socket terminals as described above in relation to the 5,441,428 patent. In particular, the spring element that grips the mating pin contact or terminal is mounted against the bottom plate portion of the female terminal and biases the male terminal upwardly against the top plate half portions which are joined at an open seam. This tends to open the seam and spread the opposing side plate portions of the female terminal which, in turn, reduces the contact forces on the mating male terminal. In addition, spreading and closing the female terminal tends to eventually loosen the intended interconnection. Lastly, assembling the spring element into the box-shaped female terminal transverse to the longitudinal direction of the terminal is a costly and cumbersome procedure. An improved female electrical terminal for solving these problems is shown in copending application Serial No. 08/565,750, filed December 1, 1995 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. With the structure of the female electrical terminal shown and described therein, the male terminal is biased against the solid bottom wall of the contact end rather than upwardly against the top half walls and the open seam. Therefore, there is no tendency to spread the contact end apart. In addition, the spring contact element may be more easily assembled into the contact end longitudinally of the terminal rather than transversely thereof. The terminal includes other improved features. Another improved female electrical terminal which solves the above problems is shown in copending application Serial No. 08/583,833, filed January 11, 1996 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. With the structure of the female electrical terminal disclosed and described therein, the spring contact element is again located in the contact end inside the top wall and adapted to bias the male terminal into engagement with the bottom wall. The spring contact element includes a generally rectangular mounting section with side wall portions juxtaposed inside the opposing side walls at the contact end of the female terminal. Complementary interengaging latch means are provided between the opposing side walls and the side wall portions of the mounting section of the spring contact element. Abutment means are provided on the bottom wall to prevent inward collapsing of the side wall portions and, thereby, to maintain the latch means in interengagement. This improved female terminal is more reliable, and provides greater stability for the spring contact element and is easier to manufacture than the prior art shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,441,428. The present invention again is directed to solving the above problems and providing a further improved box-type female socket terminal which is reliable and easy to manufacture. Summary of the Invention An object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a new and improved female electrical terminal of the character described. In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, the female electrical terminal is elongated and includes a contact end and a terminating end. The contact end is generally rectangular in cross-section and is adapted to receive a male terminal or pin contact. The contact end includes a bottom wall, a pair of opposing side walls extending upwardly from opposite sides of the bottom wall and a top wall. Each side wall is provided with a deformable tab. A spring contact element is located in the contact end for biasingly engaging a male terminal inserted into the contact end. The spring contact element is provided with recess portions adapted to receive the deformable tabs of the side walls. As disclosed herein, the female electrical terminal is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material. The deformable tabs in the side walls are stamped out of openings which span the junctures between the side walls and the bottom wall. Therefore, the spring contact element is located in the contact end to bias the male terminal toward the top wall. The top wall comprises a pair of overlapping top wall portions extending inwardly from the tops of the side walls to provide a rigid top wall means which is not prone to spreading apart. Optional features of the invention include stop means projecting inwardly from one of the walls to define a forward limit position of insertion of the male terminal. The spring contact element includes a cantilevered contact blade extending longitudinally of the terminal. The bottom wall includes a raised boss to provide an anti-overstress means for the cantilevered contact blade. The features and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the figures and in which: FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of the female electrical terminal of the invention, with the spring contact element about to be inserted into the contact end of the terminal; FIGURE 2 is a fragmented perspective view of the contact end of the terminal with the spring contact element fully inserted into its proper position; FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally along line 3-3 of Figure 1, but with the spring contact element in position; FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken generally along line 4-4 of Figure 2; FIGURE 5 is an axial section taken generally along line 5-5 of Figure 2; and FIGURE 6 is an axial section similar to that of Figure 5, but with a male terminal inserted into the female terminal. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to the drawings in greater detail, and first to Figures 1 and 2, the invention is embodied in an elongated female electrical terminal, generally designated 10, which includes a contact end, generally designated 12, and a terminating end, generally designated 14. Terminating end 14 includes two pairs of crimp arms 16 and 18 for clamping onto an insulated electrical wire (not shown). As is known, crimp arms 16 will be clamped onto the conductor of the wire to establish an electrical connection therewith. Crimp arms 18 will be clamped onto the outer insulation of the wire to provide a strain relief means therefor. Contact end 12 is generally box-shaped or rectangular in cross-section and mounts a spring contact element, generally designated 20, for resiliently gripping a pin contact or male terminal inserted into the contact end of the female electrical terminal in the direction of arrow "A" (Fig. 2). The spring contact element is inserted into contact end 12 in the direction of arrow "B" (Fig. 1). More particularly, contact end 12 includes a bottom wall 22 and a pair of opposing side walls 24 extending upwardly from opposite sides of the bottom wall. A deformable tab 26 is formed out of an opening 28 in each side wall 24, with the opening spanning the juncture between the respective side wall and bottom wall 22. A pair of top wall portions 30 extend inwardly from upper ends of side walls 24 and overlap each other to provide a rigid and reinforced top wall means which is not prone to spreading apart. Lastly, a stop flange 32 is bent inwardly from the rear end of the uppermost one of the overlapped top wall portions 30 to provide a stop means which defines a forward limit position of insertion of the male terminal. As best seen in Figure 1, spring contact element 20 includes a cantilevered, upwardly or inwardly bowed contact blade 34 terminating in a flat distal end 36. A flat proximal end 38 has a recess 40 in each opposite edge thereof. The flat distal end 38 is wider than bowed contact blade 34. Referring to Figures 3 and 4 in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2, spring contact element 20 is inserted into contact end 12 of female terminal 10 in the direction of arrow "B" as shown in Figure 1, until recesses 40 of the spring contact element are in alignment with deformable tabs 26 in side walls 24 of contact end 12. After the spring contact element is inserted to this position, tabs 26 are deformed or bent inwardly from their original stamped positions as shown in Figures 1 and 3, to their latching positions as shown in Figures 2 and 4. In their latching positions, the tabs project inwardly into recesses 40 at opposite edges of flat proximal end 38 of spring contact element 20. The insides of side walls 24 can be notched, as at 42, to define the specific points at which deformable tabs 26 are bent inwardly. Figure 5 shows how stop flange 32 projects inwardly from the uppermost one of the overlapped top wall portions 30 to define the extreme forward limit position of insertion of the male terminal. It can be seen how contact blade 34 bows upwardly of bottom wall 22 of the contact end. Figure 5 shows an anti-overstress feature of the invention which includes a raised boss 44 formed upwardly or inwardly of bottom wall 22 directly under the bowed contact blade 34. Figure 6 shows a male terminal or pin 46 inserted into contact end 12 of female terminal 10. Although the male terminal has not been inserted to an extent wherein its distal end engages stop flange 32, the stop flange still extends into the path of the male terminal to define the forward limit position beyond which the male terminal cannot be inserted. Figure 6 also shows how the male terminal has depressed bowed contact blade 34 downwardly in the direction of arrow "C". Although the contact blade is not in engagement with raised boss 44, the raised boss still functions to prevent excessive depressing of the contact blade which might overstress the blade. In essence, the bowed contact blade biases male terminal 46 upwardly in the direction of arrow "D" against the rigid and reinforced upper wall means provided by the overlapped top wall portions 30 which define a solid double-thickness structure against which the male terminal is biased. Finally, it should be understood that terms as "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower" and the like are used herein and in the claims hereof for reference purposes only to provide a clear and concise understanding of the invention. Such terms are not meant in any way to be limited herein or in the claims hereof, because female electrical terminal 10 obviously is omnidirectional in function and use. It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the scope of the claims. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein.

Claims: An elongated female electrical terminal (10) which includes a contact end (12) and a terminating end (14), the contact end (12) being generally rectangular in cross-section and comprising: a bottom wall (22); a pair of opposing side walls (24) extending upwardly from opposite sides of the bottom wall; a top wall (30); and a spring contact element (20) located in the contact end (12) for biasingly engaging a male terminal (46) inserted into the contact end, characterised in that each side wall has a tab (26) which has been deformed or bent inwardly after the spring contact is inserted in the terminal and in that the spring contact element comprises recess portions receiving the deformable tabs (26) of the side walls (24). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said spring contact element (20) is located at a position in the contact end (12) to bias the male terminal (46) toward the top wall (30). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said top wall comprises a pair of overlapping top wall portions (30) extending inwardly from the tops of the side walls (24). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said deformable tabs (26) are located in the side walls (24) near the bottom wall (22). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 4, wherein said spring contact element (20) is located at a position in the contact end (12) to bias the male terminal toward the top wall (30). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, including stop means (32) projecting inwardly from one of said walls (30) to define a forward limit position of insertion of the male terminal (46). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said spring contact element (20) includes a cantilevered contact blade (34) extending longitudinally of the terminal. An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said female electrical terminal (10) is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material, and said deformable tabs (26) are stamped out of openings (28) in the material of the side walls (24). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 8, wherein said openings (28) span the junctures between the side walls (24) and the bottom wall (22). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 1, wherein said bottom wall (22) includes a raised boss (44) to provide anti-overstress means for the spring contact element (20). An elongated female electrical terminal (10) as set forth in claim 1 in which the deformable tabs (26) are positioned near the bottom wall (22); the top wall includes a pair of overlapping top wall portions (30) extending inwardly from the tops of the side walls (24); and the spring contact element (20) biases the male terminal toward the top wall (30), and the spring contact element includes a cantilevered contact blade (34) extending longitudinally of the terminal. An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 11, including stop means (32) projecting inwardly from one of said walls (30) to define a forward limit position of insertion of the male terminal (46). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 11, wherein said female electrical terminal (10) is stamped and formed of conductive sheet metal material, and said deformable tabs (26) are stamped out of openings (28) in the material of the side walls (24). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 13, wherein said openings (28) span the junctures between the side walls (24) and the bottom wall (22). An elongated female electrical terminal as set forth in claim 11, wherein said bottom wall (22) includes a raised boss (44) to provide anti-overstress means for the cantilevered contact blade (34).

Inventors: OOYA MASAAKI, SAKANO MASAHIRO, OOYA, MASAAKI, SAKANO, MASAHIRO
Applicants: MOLEX INC, MOLEX INCORPORATED
Application year: 1998
Main classification: H01B1
IPC codes: H01R13