Patent Publication Number: US-5158485-A

Title: Female socket contact

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to a male and a female contact used for connecting wire harnesses and, in particular, to an improvement in a female socket contact. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A known female socket contact has a wire connection section and a box-type or a cylinder-type female electrical contact section which is adapted to mate with a corresponding male contact. Provided in the female electrical contact section is a resilient contact plate formed of a highly resilient metal different from the material of this section. The resilient contact plate has at each side end of its base portion an engagement section, which respectively engages an engagement hole provided in each side wall of the electrical contact section. 
     In the above structure, the resilient contact plate is formed in such a width as will allow it to be positioned between the two side walls of the female electrical contact section. That is, the width of the resilient contact plate is smaller than that of the electrical contact section by the thickness of the side walls and the clearance between this resilient contact plate and the side walls. Thus, the width of the resilient contact plate in the above structure is restricted as compared with that of the electrical contact section. This makes it difficult to obtain a large resilient contact pressure. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has been made in view of the problem mentioned above. It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a female socket contact in which the resilient contact plate in the electrical contact section has a relatively large width, thereby improving the performance of the resilient contact plate. 
     In order to achieve the above object, this invention provides a female socket contact comprising a female electrical contact section having opposing side walls and adapted to mate with a corresponding male contact, and a resilient contact plate provided in the female electrical contact section and having end edges, the female electrical contact section having thin-walled sections respectively formed in the opposing side walls thereof, the above-mentioned thin-walled sections respectively providing in the side walls recesses for inner-space enlargement, and the end edges of the resilient contact plate being respectively positioned in the above-mentioned recesses for inner-space enlargement. 
     In the structure of this invention described above, the resilient contact plate of the female socket contact can be made as large as possible within the limited space of the female electrical contact section, so that a large resilient contact pressure can be obtained. With its thin-walled sections left in the side walls, this socket contact structure can provide a sufficient level of strength. 
     Further advantages of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a socket contact in accordance with an embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II--II of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III--III of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 1. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the socket contact A shown has a wire connection section A and a female electrical contact section A2 adapted to mate with a corresponding male contact having a flat configuration. The female electrical contact section A2 has a box-type body with its forward end open, in which is provided a resilient contact plate 1 formed of a highly resilient metal different from the material of this electrical contact section. The box-type body has opposing sidewalls 2 that have substantially flat exterior surfaces. The base portion of the resilient contact plate 1 has an engagement section 1a at each side end thereof, and these engagement sections 1a are respectively engaged with engagement holes 2a respectively formed in the side walls 2 constituting the female electrical contact section A2. 
     As shown in FIG. 4, formed by press work in the respective middle sections as measured in the vertical direction of the side walls 2 are thin-walled sections 2b extending in the longitudinal direction, which thin-walled sections 2b provide on the respective inner surfaces of the side walls 2 recesses 2b&#39; for inner-space enlargement. 
     The width l of the main plate section 1b of the resilient contact plate 1 is such that it extends over the distance between the bottoms of the recesses 2b&#39;, with the respective end edges 1b&#39; of the main plate section 1b being respectively positioned in the recesses 2b&#39; for inner-space enlargement in such a manner as to be resiliently displaceable. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the width l of the main plate section 1b can be made relatively large with respect to the width of the female electrical contact section A2.