Connector

Abstract: For a contacts providing a tuning fork type contact (2) that attains a contact state by inserting a male contact (4) between a pair of beams (6a and 6b) provided on a female contact (6), in the connected state, male contact (4) and female contact (6) are arranged so as to maintain a state wherein the width direction of the male contact is angled relative to the direction of separation of the beams (6a and 6b).

Description: The present invention relates to a connector that uses what is termed a tuning fork-type contact. One type of contact provided in connectors is what is termed a tuning fork-type contact. This tuning fork-type contact comprises a female contact with a pair of beams shaped like a tuning fork and a planar male contact, and a state of contact is attained by the beams effecting a restoring force with respect to the male contact that has been inserted between the pair of beams of the female contact. In the conventional tuning fork-type contact described above, because the contact pressure of the female contact is applied only by the elastic deformation of the pair of beams in the direction of separation, the contact pressure changes when there is even a minute change in the distance between the beams. According to US 4 717 361 it is also known to avoid undesirable stresses due to an elastic deformation of the pair of substantially planar beams of a tuning fork-type contact by using protrusions provided on the opposed surface of each beam. These protrusions are aligned with each other in a direction substantially perpendicular to the inserting direction of the planar male contact. From US 5 971 817 it is know to exert a compressive force on opposite sides of a planar male contact. Such a compression force is provided by two substantially planar parallel spring legs laterally offset with respect to each other and disposed in a direction substantially parallel to the inserting direction of the planar male contact. In view of the above circumstances, it is the object of the present invention to provide a connector that provides a contact, in particular a tuning fork-type contact, that can attain an appropriate contact state by a contact pressure that is always stable. A contact having the following structure is preferably used as a means for solving the above-described problem. Specifically, the contact according to claim 3 is a connector providing a tuning fork-type contact that attains a contact state by inserting a planar shaped male contact between a pair of beams provided on the female contact, wherein the width direction of the male contact is characterized in being disposed so as to be angled relative to the direction of separation of the pair of beams. In this connector, because the width direction of the male contact is angled relative to the direction of separation of the beams of the female contact, when the male contact is inserted between the pair of beams of the female contact, the two beams deform so as to spread in the direction of separation, and in addition, deform so as to twist torsionally, centered on the direction of insertion. That is, in addition to the conventional two dimensional deformation in the direction of separation similar to the conventional technology, the two beams twist torsionally, centered on the direction of insertion, and as a result, deform three dimensionally. In addition, because contact pressure is attained by effecting the restoring force due to the torsionally twisting deformation of the beams as well, the contact pressure between the female and male contacts can be increased. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the angle of the width direction of said male contact with respect to the direction of separation of said pair of beams is equal to or greater than 18° and equal to or less than 72°, in particular equal to or greater than 30° and equal to or less than 60°. In this connector, an improvement in the contact pressure can be implemented as described above by inserting the male contact with its width direction in a state angled relative to the direction of separation of the pair of beams, upon more detailed examination, when the angle of the width direction of the male contact with respect to the direction of separation of the pair of beams is smaller than 30°, the amount of deformation in the direction of separation of the two beams becomes small, and a significant contribution to the contact pressure cannot be expected. In addition, when the angle of the width direction of the male contact with respect to the direction of separation of the pair of beams is larger than 60°, the amount of torsional twist of the two beams becomes small, and a significant contribution to the contact pressure cannot be expected. Therefore, the angle of the width direction of the male contact with respect to the direction of separation of the pair of beams is preferably equal to or greater than 30° and equal to or less than 60°. Furthermore, the angle is most preferably 45°, considering that the amount of torsional twist and the amount of deformation in the direction of separation of the two beams can both be suitably attained. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention at least on one of the first housing that anchors said male contacts or on the second housing that anchors said female contacts, ribs are provided so as to partition the interior space in which said male contacts and female contacts are disposed. In this connector, the contact state between the female and male contact is attained by engaging one housing that anchors the male contacts and the other housing that anchors the female contacts, but if both housings are not correctly aligned when they are engaged, the edge of one housing is caught in the interior space of the other housing, and the female contacts will be damaged and deformed. In this situation, even if the housings are engaged with each other, a state of contact between the female and male contacts cannot be attained. The same can occur to the male contacts. Thus, when ribs are provided on at least one of the two housings, even if both housings are not correctly aligned, the edge of the one housing is guided by the rib, and does not get caught in the interior space of the other housing. Therefore, damage and deformation of the contacts can be prevented. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the external shape of the one housing that anchors said male contact is any equilateral polygon except a square, and said male contacts are disposed so that said width direction is parallel to the side of said one housing, and the external shape of the other housing that anchors said female contacts has an isomorphic shape that can engage with said one housing, and said female contacts are disposed so that said direction of separation is parallel to one edge of said other housing. In this connector, the housings, having a polygonal external shape (excluding a square) are engaged together, and a contact state between the female and male contacts is attained, but if the male and female contacts are disposed as described above, the male contacts can realize a state angled relative to the female contact. For example, if the housing has the shape of an equilateral triangle, the angle of the width direction of a male contact with respect to a female contact can be 60°, 72° for an equilateral pentagon, 60° for an equilateral hexagon, or 45° for an equilateral octagon. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention ribs are provided on either said one housing or said other housing so as to partition the interior space in which said male contacts or female contacts are disposed. In a connector using housings whose external shapes are equilateral polygons, an effect identical to that described above can be attained by providing ribs. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the connector comprises a first connector, having a housing with a mating area defined by a perimeter in the shape of a polygon and a plurality of contacts in said mating area of said housing, wherein said plurality of contacts are angled relative to at least one side of said polygon. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention the connector further comprises a second connector mateable with said first connector, said second connector having a housing with a mating area substantially similar to said mating area of said first connector, and a plurality of contacts in said mating area of said housing, wherein said plurality of contacts are generally parallel to or generally perpendicular to at least one side of said polygon corresponding to said at least one side of the perimeter of said polygon defining said mating area of said first connector. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said first connector and said second connector are ball grid array-type contacts. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said plurality of contacts of said first connector are tuning fork-type contacts. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said polygons are rectangular. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said polygons are equilateral. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said polygons have an even number of sides. A preferred connector comprises a first connector, having a housing and a plurality of generally planar contacts in said housing and a second connector mateable with said first connector, said second contact having a housing and a plurality of generally planar contacts in said housing, wherein, during mating, said contacts of said first connector are angled relative to said contacts of said second connector. A further preferred connector comprises: a first connector having a housing and at least one substantially planar contact blade mounted in the housing; and a second connector having a housing configured to mate with the housing of said first connector and at least one substantially planar dual beam, tuning fork contact mounted in the housing, with a plane of said tuning fork type contact disposed angularly with respect to a plane of said contact blade; whereby, upon insertion of said contact blade into said tuning fork contact along a mating axis, the beams of said tuning fork contact twist torsionally about axes generally parallel to said mating axis. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said contacts form a number of rows in said first connector and said contacts in said second connector form an equal number of rows. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention said plurality of contacts comprise at least one signal contact surrounded by six ground contacts. Angled in terms of the invention in particular is to be understood as positioned at an angle of more than 0° and less than 90°. The invention is explained further in terms of Fig. 1 through Fig. 7. Fig. 1 is a perspective drawing showing the first embodiment of the contact according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective drawing showing the positional relationships between a male connector and a female connector when connected. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a planar drawing showing the difference in space necessary for arranging the tuning fork type contacts in (a) a connector using the tuning fork type contacts in a conventional arrangement, and (b) a connector using the tuning fork contact of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a perspective drawing showing a second embodiment of the connector according to the present invention. Fig. 6 is a planar drawing showing a third embodiment of the connector of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a planar cross-sectional drawing showing the positional relationships between a male contact and a female contact when connected. A first embodiment of the connector according to the present invention will be explained referring to Fig. 1 through Fig. 4. The connector 1 shown in Fig. 1 comprises a first connector lA that provides a plurality of male contacts 4. The male contacts 4 are arranged horizontally and vertically on a first housing 3. The connector 1 further comprises a second connector 1B in which female contacts 6 are arranged on a second housing 5 so as to conform to the arrangement of the male contacts 4. The connection between the female contacts 6 and the male contacts 4 is further referred to as tuning fork-type contact 2. The first housing 3 is essentially rectangular when viewed in planar perspective, and on the perimeter edge, a mating area is defined by forming a wall 3a along the entire perimeter, and the part on which the male contacts 4 are attached forms a recess 7 (an interior space). The housing 5 is similarly rectangular, and on the perimeter edge, a mating area is defined by forming a wall 5a along the entire perimeter, and the part on which the female contacts 6 are attached forms a recess 8 (an interior space). Both housings 3 and 5 have a structure wherein the female and male contacts 4 and 6 attached to the respective recesses 7 and 8 are brought into contact by engaging the wall 5a so as to fit into the inside of the wall 3a. Moreover, the distal ends of the male contacts 4 and the female contacts 6 are both arranged so as to be lower than the edge of the walls 3a and 5a, and not exceed and protrude from the walls 3a and 5a. The first housing 3 comprises convexities 3b which are formed in the height direction (that is, in the direction of the insertion of the male contact 4) on the inner surface of the wall 3a, and the second housing 5 comprises grooves 5b which are formed on the external surface of the wall 5a that engage along the convexities 3b. The engagement of the housings 3 and 5 is accurately carried out along the direction of insertion by the grooves 5b sliding into and engaging the convexities 3b. In addition, differences are provided in the sizes of the convexities 3b and the grooves 5b for each part of the rectangle, and the housings 3 and 5 can be engaged only when the convexities 3a and grooves 5b having the same size are brought together, and thus engagement in a mistaken orientation is prevented. In the recess 8 of the housing 5, a guide member 9 is installed for protecting thefemale contact 6 and assisting the insertion of the male contact 4. The upper surface of the guide member 9 is formed so as to be flush with the upper edge of the wall 5a, and furthermore, guides holes (not illustrated) that pass through the male contact 4 are formed so as to correspond with each female contact 6. Fig. 2 shows the shape of a male contact 4 and a female contact 6, and the relative corresponding relationship therebetween when attached and connected in the housings 3 and 5. The male contact is machined by punching a metal plate, and a rectangular shape is imparted to the distal end. The female contact 6 is machined by punching a metal plate, and a pair of beams 6a and 6b is formed on the distal end relative to the male contact 4. The distal end of the male contact 4, referred to as the blade part, is inserted between these beams 6a and 6b, and thereby a state of contact therebetween is attained. All of the male contacts 4 are attached in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the housing 3. In addition, all of the female contacts 6 are attached at an angle of preferrably essentially 45° to the longitudinal direction of the housing 5. Thereby, when viewing the male contacts 4 and the female contacts 6 from the direction of insertion after the housings 3 and 5 are placed opposite each other so as to enable engagement, the width direction of the male contact 4 is angled at 45° relative to the width direction of the female contact 6, that is, in the direction of separation of the pair of beams 6a and 6b, by twisting torsionally around the axis orthogonal to the surface of the drawing (equivalent to the axis when both contacts are engaged). In the connector 1 structured in the above-described manner, when the housings 3 and 5 are placed opposite each other so as to enable engagement and gradually brought into contact, the distal ends of the male contacts 4 are inserted between the pairs of beams 6a and 6b of the female contacts 6 by pushing open these beams 6a and 6b. At this time, because the male contacts 4 are angled relative to the female contacts 6, in addition to the two beams 6a and 6b being deformed so as to widen in the direction of separation, as shown in Fig. 3, the beams 6a and 6b are deformed so as to twist torsionally, centered on the direction of insertion of the male contacts 6. That is, in addition to deforming two dimensionally in the direction of separation as occurs conventionally, the two beams 6a and 6b twist torsionally, centered on the direction of insertion, and as a result, deform three dimensionally. Thereby, the contact pressure between the female and male contact is increased. In addition, in the above-described contact 1, the effects as explained in the following can be expected. As shown in Fig. 4, when comparing the connector using the tuning fork type contacts as arranged according to (a) and the connector 1 using the tuning fork type contacts 2 of the present invention, because the female contacts 6 are arranged at an angle, the necessary space for one tuning fork type connector 2 is reduced. Thus, for example, in the case that a connector having the same number of contact points is constructed, the external dimensions of the connector of the present invention can be made smaller than those of the conventional connector. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the females contacts 6 are attached angled 45° with respect to the second housing 5. While this angle is optimized at 45°, if the angle is within the range equal to or greater than 30° or equal to or less than 60°, the beams 6a and 6b are deformed three dimensionally, so as to attain an advantageous contact pressure. In addition, in the present invention, the female contacts 6 are attached angled relative to the second housing 5, but the male contacts can be attached angled relative to the first housing 3. In addition, the female contacts 6 can be attached in the longitudinal direction of the second housing 5. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained referring to Fig. 5. Constituent elements that have already been explained in the first embodiment have identical reference numerals, and their explanation has been omitted. In the connector 10 of the present embodiment, a guide member is added, and the following type of structure is used. Specifically, on the first housing 3, stepped projecting ribs 11 are formed horizontally and vertically so as to divide the recess 7 into four parts, and on the second housing 5, receiving ribs 12 forming a groove 12a that receives the ribs 11 are formed horizontally and vertically so as to divide the recess into four parts. The height of ribs 11 is made equal to that of the walls 3a, and the height of the receiving ribs 12 is firmed so as to be equal to that of the wall 5a. In the connector 10 in the present embodiment, by respectively providing ribs 11 in the first housing 3 and receiving ribs 12 in the second housing 5, even in the case that the housings 3 and 5 are not correctly aligned, the edge of one housing does not become caught to the recess of the other housing due to being guided by the ribs 11 (or the receiving ribs 12). For example, in the case that the second housing 5 is misaligned in the direction of the plane with respect to the first housing 3, the wall 3a of the first housing 3 and the rib 12 receive the edge of the second housing 5 (the wall 5a), and the second housing 5 is guided at three or four points by the wall 3a and the ribs 12, and the male contacts 4 are not damaged or deformed. The opposite case is identical. A third embodiment of the connector of the present invention is explained referring to Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. Constituent elements that have already been explained in the first embodiment have identical reference numerals, and their explanation has been omitted. In the connector 20 of the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, the external shape of a first housing 21 is a hexagon, and a plurality of male contacts 4 attached to a recess 22 of the first housing 21 is disposed so that their width direction is parallel to one side of the first housing 21. The external shape of a second housing 23 has an identical shape for engaging with the first housing 21, and a plurality of female contacts 6 attached to a recess 24 of the second housing 23 are arranged so that the direction of separation of the beams 6a and 6b is parallel to one side of the second housing 23. In the connector 20 constructed in the above-described manner, engaging the housings 21 and 23, whose external shape is hexagonal, together, attains contact state of the male and female contacts 4 and 6. As shown in Fig. 7, by disposing the female and male contacts 4 and 6 in the above-described manner, a state in which the male contact 4 is angled 60° relative to the female contact 6 can be realized. In addition, by using the present embodiment in the same manner as the above-described first embodiment, the contact pressure between the female and male contacts 4 and 6 can be increased. In addition, in the above-described connector 20, the secondary effects as described below can be expected. During manufacture of the connector 20, for example, during the operation of attaching the male contacts 4 to the first housing 21, the plurality of male contacts 4, as shown in Fig. 6, are divided into groups along each of the broken lines shown in Fig. 6, and can be attached as groups to the first housing 21. The number of the attachment operations of the connector 20 is fewer when compared to the case that connector 1, which has, for example, a rectangular shape, is assumed to have an identical number of points. This means that cost reduction during manufacture can be implemented when a shape such as that of connector 20 is used. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the housings 21 and 23 have a hexagonal shape, but the shape of the housing can use any polygon except a square, on the assumption that the male contacts 4 will be arranged parallel to one side of the housing and that the female contacts 6 will be arranged parallel to one side of the housing. In addition, if the housing is given an equilateral triangle shape, the male contact 4 can be angled at 60° with respect to the female contact 6, at 72° for an equilateral pentagon, and at 45° for an equilateral octagon. However, the shape of these housings is preferably appropriately selected depending on such conditions as the number of terminals and the manufacturing processing. In the present embodiment, a connector using a tuning fork type contact was explained, but the present invention is a technology that can be employed with ball grid array-type connectors. As explained above, according to the connector of the present invention, because the male contacts are angled relative to the female contacts, when the male contacts are inserted between the pair of beams of the female contacts, in addition to the two beams deforming so as to spread in the direction of separation, they deform so as to twist torsionally, centered on the insertion direction, and because the restoring force is effected by this torsionally twisting deformation as well, the connection pressure between the female and male contacts can be increased. According to the connector of the present invention, by the male contacts being angled between 18° and 72° (the interval including 18° and 72°) preferably angled between than 30° and 60° (the interval including 30° and 60°) with respect to the female contacts, the amount of torsional twisting and the direction of separation of the two beams can be both suitable attained, and the contact pressure between the female and male contacts can be increased. According to the connector of the present invention, by providing ribs on at least one of the two housings, even when the two housings are not correctly aligned, the edge of one housing is guided by the ribs and does not become caught in the inside space of the other housing. Thereby, damage and deformation of the contacts can be prevented. According to the connector of the present invention, a contact state between the female and male contacts can be attained by engaging the housings, whose external shape is a polygon (excluding a square), together, and if the female and male contacts are arranged so as to be parallel to one side of their respective housings, a state can be realized in which the male contacts are angled relative to the female contacts. According to the connector of the present invention, even in a connector using a housing whose external shape is an equilateral polygon, the same effects as those described above can be attained by providing ribs.

Claims: A connector (1) comprising a first connector (1A) having a housing (3) and at least one substantially planar male contact blade (4) mounted in the housing; a second connector (1B) having a housing (5) configured to mate with the said housing (3) of the said first connector (1A) and at least one substantially planar dual beam (6a, 6b) of a tuning fork female contact (6) mounted in the housing; wherein a state of contact is provided by inserting the said male contact (4) between the pair of beams (6a, 6b) of the said female contact (6), characterised in that at least one of the group male contact (4) and female contact (6) is angled relative to the other one; the said tuning fork female contact (6) defines a plane disposed angularly with respect to a plane of the said male contact blade (4), whereby, upon insertion of said male contact blade (4) into said tuning fork female contact (6) along a mating axis, the beams (6a, 6b) of said tuning fork female contact (6) twist torsionally about axes generally parallel to said mating axis. A connector (1) according to claim 1, the male contact (4) having a width direction, characterised in that said female contact (6) is angled relative to said male contact (4), such that an angle of said width direction with respect to a direction of separation between said pair of beams (6a, 6b) is equal or greater than 18° and equal or less than 72°, preferably equal or greater than 30° and equal or less than 60°, preferably substantially 45°. A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in providing a tuning fork type contact (2) that attains a state of contact by inserting a planar shaped male contact (4) between pairs of beams (6a, 6b) provided on said female contact (6), wherein the width direction of said male contact (4) is angled relative to the direction of separation between said pair of beams (6a, 6b). A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least on a first housing (3), that anchors said male contact (4), or on a second housing (5), that anchors said female contact (6), ribs (11, 12) are provided on either said first housing (3) or said second housing (5) so as to partition the interior space in which said male contact (4) and female contact (6) are disposed. A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the external shape of a first housing (3) that anchors said male contact (4) is an equilateral polygon, but not a square, and said male contact (4) is disposed so that said width direction is parallel to one side of said first housing (3), and the external shape of a second housing (5) that anchors said female contact (6) has an isomorphic shape that can engage with said first housing (3), and said female contact (6) is disposed so that said direction of separation is parallel to one side of said second housing (5). A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connector (1) comprises a plurality of female contacts (6) and a plurality of male contacts (4). A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connector (1) comprises: a first connector (1A) having a housing (3) with a mating area defined by a perimeter in the shape of a polygon; and a first plurality of contacts (4) in said mating area of said housing, wherein said first plurality of contacts (4) is angled relative to at least one side of said polygon. A connector (1) according to claim 7, further comprising: a second connector (1B) mateable with said first connector (1A), said second connector (1B) having: a housing (5) with a mating area substantially similar to said mating area of said first connector (1A); and a second plurality of contacts (6) in said mating area of said housing (5), wherein said second plurality of contacts (6) are generally parallel to or generally perpendicular to at least one side of said polygon corresponding to said at least one side of said perimeter of said polygon that defines said mating area of said first connector (1A). A connector (1) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein said first connector (1A) and said second connector (1B) are ball grid array-type connectors. A connector (1) according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein said second plurality of contacts (6) of said second connector (1B) are tuning fork-type contacts. A connector (1) according to claim 7, 8, 9, or 10, wherein said polygons are rectangular, equilateral or equilateral with an even number of sides. A connector (1) according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11, wherein said first plurality of contacts (4) form a number of rows in said first connector (1A) and said second plurality of contacts (6) in said second connector (1B) form an equal number of rows. A connector (1) according to claim 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12, wherein said first plurality of contacts (4) and said second plurality of contacts (6) comprise at least one signal contact surrounded by six ground contacts. A connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connector (1) comprises: a first connector (1A), having a housing (3); and a plurality of generally planar contacts (4) in said housing (3); and a second connector (1B) mateable with said first connector (1A), said second contact (1B) having: a housing (5); and a plurality of generally planar contacts (6) in said housing; wherein, during mating, said plurality of contacts (4) of said first connector (1A) are angled relative to said contacts (6) of said second connector (1B).

Inventors: AZUMA EDDIE A, AZUMA, EDDIE A.
Applicants: FRAMATOME CONNECTORS INT, FCI
Application year: 2001
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13, H01R24, H01R107