Female contact for an electrical connector

Abstract: A female electrical contact (2) has a resilient contact section (32) and an embossment (36) disposed in opposing relation and formed on a pin receiving section (6) of the contact. A mating pin (40) is electrically connected by being inserted between the resilient contact section (32) and the embossment (36). A lance (50) which is formed as an integral part of the embossment (36) extends to the outside of the main body of the contact from the embossment and engages in an anchoring hole (138) of a housing (100) in which the contact is fitted so as to prevent removal of the contact from the housing.

Description: The present invention relates to a female contact for an electrical connector and, more specifically, to a female contact which has a lance that engages with a housing in which this female contact is mounted. Conventionally, female contacts mounted inside the cavities of connector housings are known to have lances that engage with the inside walls of the cavities. The contacts described in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184 and Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629, are universally known as examples of such female contacts. The connector disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184 is shown as one example in Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings. This connector 200 has a housing 202 having a cavity 204 and a socket contact 210 which is disposed inside the cavity 204. The socket contact 210 has, on its front part, a contact section 206 which accommodates a mating pin contact (not shown) and has an electrical wire connection section 212 that is connected to a cable 208. A lance 214 is formed between the contact section 206 and the electrical wire connection section 212 and this lance 214 engages with a recessed groove 216 in the housing 202, so that the socket contact 210 is anchored inside the housing. The lance 214 is separated in the axial direction from the contact section 206. Similarly, in a relay connector disclosed in the latter Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629, the contact section and lance of the contact are disposed so that they are separated in the axial direction of the contact. In the connector 200 disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2542184, the positions of the contact section 206 and lance 214 are separated in the axial direction thus increasing the dimensions of the socket contact 210 and the size of the housing 202. The same problem exists with the relay connector disclosed in the latter Japanese Patent Application Kokai No. H 11-16629. US-A-4 472 017 describes a tab receptacle terminal adapted to be inserted into an insulating housing and comprising a box-like main body portion and two cantilever spring contact members extending from the tab-entry end of the body portion and bent back inside the body portion. A spring retention tang struck from each of two opposed sides of the body portion has an inwardly directed projection engageable by an associated one of the contact members, upon flexing in response to insertion of a blade tab between the contact members, to bias the tang into retaining relation with an abutment shoulder formed in the housing. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved compact female contact and compact electrical connector. The invention consists in a female contact comprising a main body having a resilient contact section positioned opposite an embossment such that a contact pin is receivable between the embossment and the resilient contact section, a lance extending outwardly from the embossment in a direction opposite the resilient contact section, and an opening formed in the main body of the contact adjacent the lance characterised in that edges of the opening is coined to reduce the opening size. The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the female contact of the present invention, Figure 1 (A) being a plan view, Figure 1 (B) a side view, Figure 1 (C) a front view and Figure 1 (D) a partial sectional view along the line A-A of Figure 1 (A). Figure 2 is a plan view in which the contact shown Figure 1 is unfolded and shown together with its carrier. Figure 3 shows the housing used in the electrical connector of the present invention. Figure 3 (A) being a plan view of the housing, Figure 3 (B) a front view and Figure 3 (C) a back view. Figure 4 shows other views of the housing of Figure 3, Figure 4 (A) being a side view, Figure 4 (B) being a sectional view along the line B-B in Figure 3 (B) and Figure 4 (C) being a sectional view along the line C-C in Figure 3(B). Figure 5 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the state in which the connector of the present invention engaged with a mating header connector. Figure 6 is a basic structural diagram which shows one example of a prior art electrical connector. As is shown in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, the female contact 2 is formed by stamping and forming a single metal plate or blank. Referring also to Figure 1, the contact main body 4 is substantially box-shaped, and has a pin receiving section 6 at the front, a termination section 8 disposed behind the pin receiving section 6 and an insulator crimp section 10 at the rear behind the termination section 8. The main body 4 has a set of side walls 12a and 12b that extend parallel to each other toward the pin receiving section 6. A bridge 16 which extends from the upper edge 14 of one side wall 12a to the upper edge 14 of the other side wall 12b is formed on the front ends of the side walls 12. The bridge 16 and side wall 12b can be joined by welding using ultrasound, laser, or other suitable techniques. A rectangular cut-out 18 is formed in the end 16a of the bridge 16 and is arranged so that the end 32b of a resilient contact section 32 can be accommodated therein. In the rear of the main body 4, a connecting member 20 extends from the upper edge 14 of the side wall 12b, to the upper edge 14 of the other side wall 12a. A cut-out 24 which has a large-diameter curved portion 22 at its innermost end is formed in the end edge 20a of the connecting member 20. A tongue 26 with a shape that is complementary to the shape of the cut-out 24 protrudes from the upper edge 14 of the side wall 12a. The side walls 12a and 12b are connected by the engagement of this tongue 26 with the cut-out 24. As a result of the large-diameter curved portion 22, the connecting member 20 and tongue 26 can resist a force that tends to pull the parts apart in the lateral direction, so that a firm connection is made. The termination section 8 formed as an integral part at the rear of the main body 4 has conductor barrels 8a formed in upright positions on both sides. The insulator crimp section 10, which is formed as a continuation of the termination section 8 behind the termination section 8, has insulator barrels 10a whose positions are shifted in the axial direction of the contact 2. A resilient contact section 32 extends from the side edge 20b of the connecting member 20 toward the inside of the pin receiving section 6, as is shown most clearly in Figures 1 (A) and 1 (D). This resilient contact section 32 is positioned between the side walls 12a and 12b. The front part 32a of this resilient contact section 32 is inclined upward, and the end 32b is positioned in the cut-out 18 of the bridge 16. An embossment 36 which is extruded from a die is formed in the bottom wall 34 of the pin receiving section 6 such that it protrudes toward the resilient contact section 32. A lance 50 is integrally formed as a continuation of this embossment 36. When the lance 50 is punched out, slots 11 and 13 are formed on both sides of the lance 50 (Figure 2). As a result, the lance 50 can bend without interfering with the side walls 12 or bottom wall 34. As a result of the above-mentioned lance 50 being punched out, an opening 42 which includes the slots 11 and 13 is formed in the bottom wall 34 of the pin receiving section 6, and the lance 50 extends at an inclination toward the outside and rear of the main body 4 from this opening 42. The distance between the embossment 36 and lance 50 along the axial direction of the contact 2 is shortened, so that the pin receiving section 6 can be shortened. Consequently the contact 2 can be made more compact. The mating pin 40 (Figure 5) advances into the space between the resilient contact section 32 and embossment 36 so that an electrical connection is established. A reinforcing bead 15 is formed in the axial direction of the contact 2 on the bottom part of the main body 4. As is shown in Figures 1 (B) and 1 (D), the tip end 50a of the lance 50 is coined so that the total length of the lance 50 is slightly lengthened. The outside of the edge 42a of the facing opening 42 is also coined so that this surface extends slightly into the opening 42. As a result, when the lance tends to be pushed into the opening 42 by an external force the end 50a of the lance 50 can contact the edge 42a to prevent the lance 50 from being pushed into the opening 42. The coining can optionally be performed on either the end 50a or the edge 42a. However, it is preferred to coin both parts 50a and 42a. In cases where coining is performed on both the lance 50 and the edge 42, the length by which the end 50a protrudes from the main body 4 when the end 50a of the lance 50 contacts the end edge 42a of the main body 4 can be minimized. As a result, when the contact 2 is mounted in the corresponding cavity 130 (Figure 3) of the housing 100, the end 50a of the lance 50 can be prevented from interfering with or damaging the inside wall of the cavity 130. Furthermore, since the inside dimensions of the cavity 130 can be reduced, the housing 100 can also be made more compact. A projection 44 is bent at substantially a right angle on one edge of the lance 50. This projection 44 has a protruding part 44a which extends upward at an inclination from the edge of the lance 50 beyond the end 50a and has a downward-facing edge 44b. In the vicinity of the edge 42a, the projection 44 passes through an opening 47 (shown in Figure 2) so that it can protrude slightly to the outside of the main body 4 of the contact 2, as shown in Figure 1D. As a result, the lance 50 can easily bend toward the outside. A stopper 46 extends upward and has a forward-facing surface 46a that is perpendicular to the axis of the contact 2 and protrudes from the side edge 20c of the connecting member 20. Next, the housing used in the connector 1 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. The three contact housing 100 is integrally molded from an insulating material and is formed substantially in the shape of a rectangular solid. Flanges 102 are disposed on both sides of the rear part of the main body 120. The front part is slightly narrowed via steps 106 from the side surfaces 104 of the housing 100 to form an engaging member 110. Guide rails 112 extend forward from the steps 106 along the side surfaces 104. These guide rails 112 extend from portions near the upper surface 108 of the housing 100 and act as guides for the purpose of smooth engagement in cooperation with recessed parts (not shown) in the mating connector 170 (Figure 5,) during mating In the engaging member 110, as is shown most clearly in Figure 3 (B), recessed grooves 118 extend from the engaging surface 116 to the main body 120. Three cavities 130 extend from the engaging surface 116 to the rear end 122 of the housing 100. The contacts 2 are inserted into these cavities 130 and fastened in place Tapers 124a, 124b, 124c and 124d are formed around rectangular openings 124 at the front ends of the cavities 130, so that the mating male contacts 40 are guided during mating, as is shown most clearly in Figure 3 (B). The contacts 2 are inserted into the housing 100 from the openings 133 of the cavities 130. As is shown most clearly in Figure 3 (C), similar tapers 132a, 132b, 132c and 132d are formed around the intermediate parts of the cavities 130, and these tapers act as guides during the mounting of the contacts 2. As is shown most clearly in Figure 4 (B), grooves 134 extend into the cavities 130 from intermediate positions on the tapers 132d. The stoppers 46 of the contacts 2 advance into these grooves 134. As is shown most clearly in the same figure, the internal dimensions of the cavities 130 increase via the tapers 132c toward the rear of the main body to accommodate the insulator crimp sections 10 of the contacts 2. Anchoring holes 138 are formed near the center in the undersurface 114 of the engaging part 110. The lances 50 are disposed in these anchoring holes 138.A projection 109 is engaged by a mutual detent engagement at the time of mating with the mating connector 170 so that the connectors are anchored to each other. Next, Figure 5 shows a sectional view of the connector 1 mated with the mating header connector As is shown in Figure 5, the header connector 170 has an engaging recess 172 and pins 40 are secured in the bottom wall 174 of this engaging recess 172 in positions facing the contacts 2. When the contacts 2 are inserted into the cavities 130 of the housing 100 during the assembly of the connector 1, the lances 50 are positioned inside the anchoring holes 138 of the housing 100. As a result, even if it is attempted to pull the contacts 2 out of the housing 100, the lances 50 engage with the inside walls 142 of the anchoring holes 138, so that the contacts 2 cannot be pulled out. In a case where the contacts 2 are pulled so as to cause the contacts 2 to slip out of the housing 100 after the lances 50 have been attached to the housing 100, the protrusions 44a of the lances 50 contact the areas in the vicinities of the anchoring holes 138 of the housing 100 when the lances begin to protrude to the outside from the anchoring holes 138, so that further displacement of the lances 50 to the outside is prevented. Accordingly, the lances 50 have a large resistance to any force that tends to cause the contacts 2 to be pulled out. The stoppers 46 of the contacts 2 contact the end walls 134a of the grooves 134, as shown in the figures. As a result, the contacts 2 can be prevented from being over inserted into the cavities 130. Furthermore, since the stoppers 46 protrude from the upper walls 16 and 20 upside-down insertion of the contacts 2 is prevented. When the connector 1 in which the contacts 2 and housing 100 have been assembled is engaged with the engaging recess 172 of the above-mentioned header connector 170, the engaging member 110 of the connector 1 is inserted into the engaging recess 172. The resilient contact sections 32 contact the pins 40 and are elastically displaced from the normal positions indicated by the solid lines to the positions indicated by the dotted lines. Here, since the ends 32b of the resilient contact sections 32 are positioned inside the cut-outs 18, the action of the resilient contact sections 32 is not restricted. Since the embossments 36 have the lances 50 extending from an intermediate point, these embossments 36 have a slight elasticity. Accordingly, when the embossments 36 engage the pins 40, they are displaced slightly outward so that the lances 50 move slightly to the outside. A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, this embodiment is merely an example and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, it will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art that the shapes of the resilient contact sections and embossments can be altered in accordance with the shape of the connector without departing from the scope of the present invention. In the contacts, furthermore, the resilient contact sections may be constructed using additional separate parts instead of using a single metal plate.

Claims: A female contact (2) comprising a main body (4) having a resilient contact section (32) positioned opposite an embossment (36) such thata contact pin (40) is receivable between the embossment (36) and the resilient contact section (32), a lance (50) extending outwardly from the embossment (36) in a direction opposite the resilient contact section, and an opening (42) formed in the main body (4) of the contact adjacent the lance (50), characterised in that an edge (42a) of the opening (42) is coined to reduce the opening size. The female contact of claim 1, wherein the resilient contact section (32) is positioned at or adjacent a front end of the contact, and the embossment (36) is also positioned at or adjacent the front end opposite the resilient contact section (32). The female contact of claim 1 or 2 wherein the lance (50) includes a coined section at a free end (50a) thereof. The female contact of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the lance (50) has a projection (44) extending into engagement with a rear edge of the opening.

Inventors: SUZUKI MITSURA, SUZUKI, MITSURA
Applicants: TYCO ELECTRONICS AMP KK, TYCO ELECTRONICS AMP K.K.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13