Patent Publication Number: US-8118622-B2

Title: Electrical connector decreasing inserting force

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly, to a novel structure of an electrical contact for reducing inserting force of a complementary contact. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Reasonable inserting force between an electrical connector and a complementary connector can ensure a good electrical connecting performance of the electrical connector assembly. 
     A socket electrical connector in industry includes an insulative housing defining a plurality of passageways and a plurality of contact secured in the passageways. Each contact defines a pair of contact portions receiving in the passageway and forming a contacting room therebetween for receiving a complementary contact portion. Each contact portion can move elastically when the complementary contact portion is inserted into the contacting room. Each passageway defines a retention slot for retaining the contact portion. If the interval between the retention slot and the contact portion is too large, it makes the contact portion shaken and influence electrical connecting performance of the electrical connector. If the interval between the retention slot and the contact portion is too small, it can increase inserting force of the electrical connector. Thus, an electrical connector with reasonable inserting force is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the related art. 
     Hence, the present invention is directed to solving this problem in the related art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide an electrical connector which has a plurality of contacts with reasonable inserting force. 
     In order to achieve the object set forth, an electrical connector has a insulative housing defining a plurality of passageways and a plurality of contacts secured in the passageways. Each passageway has a mating slot and a pair of retaining slots located at two sides of the mating slot and communicated with the mating slot. Each contact defines a soldering tail and a pair of arm portions extending from the soldering tail and retained in the two retaining slots respectively, the pair of arm portions shift in and between the mating slot and the retaining slot in a first direction, a pair of contact portions integrally project oppositely from inner sides of the arm portions. Wherein the arm portions define shrink sections at a position thereof opposite to the contact portions so that the shrink sections space away from the retaining slots in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. It can reduce inserting force and ensure electrical connecting performance of the electrical connector. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an assembled perspective view of an electrical connector of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector as shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2 , while taken from a different aspect; 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector taken along lines  4 - 4  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector taken along lines  5 - 5  in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partly-enlarged view of the electrical connector as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an electrical connector  100  for mating with a complementary connector (not shown) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises an insulative housing  1  defining a plurality of receiving passageways  12  and a plurality of contacts  2  secured in the passageways  12 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the insulative housing  1  is substantially longitudinal and has a mating face  10  for confronting with the complementary connector and a bottom face  11  opposite to the mating face  10 . The receiving passageways  12  extending through the mating face  10  and the bottom face  11  are in a row in a longitudinal direction of the insulative housing  1 . Each receiving passageway  12  has a mating slot  120  and a pair of retaining slots  121  located at two sides of the mating slot  120  in a longitudinal direction of the insulative housing  1  and communicated with the mating slot  120 . The mating slot  120  has two opposite inner faces  13  perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, from which the retaining slots  121  respectively extend sidewards. The retaining slot  121  extends downwardly through the bottom face  11  and has two opposite side faces  14  intersected with the inner faces  13 . A first intersection  15  is directed with the inner face  13  and the side face  14 . The insulative housing  1  defines two ribs  16  extending downwardly from two sides of the bottom face  11  along the longitudinal direction and a receiving room  17  between the two ribs  16 . It can prevent the electrical connector  100  from turning up from a printed circuit board (not shown) when the electrical connector is welded on the printed circuit board. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , each contact  2  is secured in the passageway  12  of the insulative housing  1  from the bottom face  11  and has a soldering tail  20  for mounting on the printed circuit board outside the passageway  12 . The part of the soldering tail  20  is in the receiving room  17  so as to prevent the housing  1  from turning up. A pair of arm portions  22  receiving in the passageway  12  extend upwardly from the soldering tail  20  and are retained in the two retaining slot  121  respectively. The pair of arm portions  22  shift in and between the mating slot  120  and the retaining slot  121  in a first direction. The pair of arm portions  22  forms a U-shaped contacting room for connecting with a complementary contact (not shown). A pair of contact portions  23  integrally project oppositely from inner lateral sides of the free ends of the arm portions  22  into the mating slot  120 . Bottom ends or roots of the arm portions  22  are functioned as a retention portion  21 , especially at the lateral outside thereof. The bottom ends of the arm portions are wider in the longitudinal direction so that the retention portion are fitly retained in the retaining slots  121  and the upper portion  24  of the arm portions are moveably received in the retention slots. 
     Referring to FIGS.  2  and  4 - 6 , the upper portion  24  is far from the soldering tail  20  and near to the mating face  10 . The contact portions  23  are defined at the inner lateral sides of the upper portions  24 . Each upper portion  24  further defines a shrinking section  26  at the lateral outside of two opposite sides perpendicular to the inner lateral sides thereof in a form of recess through the free end of the arm portion and an outer lateral side opposite to the inner lateral side thereof, which result that the contact portions  23  are wider than the shrinking sections  24 . The shrinking sections  26  are shorter than the arm portion  22 . The shrink sections  26  at a position thereof opposite to the contact portions  23  so that the shrink sections  26  space away from the retaining slots  121  in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A second boundary  25  is directed with the recess and the contact portion  23 . The second boundary  25  isn&#39;t beyond the first boundary  15  and locates in the mating slot  120 , when the contact portions  23  move laterally to the retaining slot  121  (refer to  FIG. 6 ). There is reasonable interval between the contact  2  and the retaining slot  121 . So it provides reasonable inserting force between the contact  2  and the complementary contact and ensure reliable electrical connecting performance of the electrical connector  100 . 
     Each contact portion  23  has a pre-determined thick in the second direction. If the contact portion  23  is wider than the retaining slot  121 , a face directed with the shrinking section  26  and the contact portion  23  is jointed on the inner face  13 , it can reduce inserting force of the complementary. If the contact portion  23  is equal to the retaining slot  121 , it also can reduce intervening between the contact portion  23  and the retaining slot  121 . If the contact portion  23  is narrower than the retaining slot  121 , even if the contact portion can shake, it improve the inserting performance of the complementary contact.