Connector and pin receiving contact for such a connector

Abstract

A pin receiving terminal contact and a connector comprising one or more of such terminal contacts. The terminal contacts (1) comprise a base (13) comprising a folded strip and at least a first contact beam (3, 5) having a root end extending from said base (13) and a contact face (11, 12) bent sideward under an angle with said root end.

Claims

1. A connector comprising: at least one pin receiving terminal contact comprising: a base comprising a backbone with a cable connection end and a pin receiving end, wherein the backbone includes a mid-section connecting the cable connection end and the pin receiving terminal end and configured to flex; and a plurality of contacts having a root end extending from said base at the pin receiving end, wherein the plurality of contacts comprise at least a first pair of oppositely arranged contacts configured to form rear contact areas.

2. A connector according to claim 1, wherein the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts include contact faces bent sideward under an angle with said root end, such that the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts form rear contact areas.

3. A connector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of contacts further comprises at least a second pair of oppositely arranged contacts, shorter than the first pair of contacts, having contact faces forming front contact areas such that the front contact areas are disposed on the same sides of the terminal contact as the rear contact areas.

4. A connector according to claim 3, wherein: the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts comprises a first and second contact; and the second pair of oppositely arranged contacts comprises a third and fourth contact, wherein the contact face of the first contact is bent sideward to be in line with the third contact.

5. A connector according to claim 4, wherein the contact face of the third contact is bent sideward to be in line with the fourth contact.

6. A connector according to claim 2, wherein one of the front contact areas and one of the rear contact areas are disposed at one side of the terminal contact, and the line through the one of the front contact areas and the one of the rear contact areas makes an angle to the pin insertion direction.

7. A connector according to claim 2, comprising a pin receiving space, which is four-sided in cross section, wherein two opposite sides of the pin receiving space are defined by the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts and the other two sides of the pin receiving space are defined by the second pair of contacts.

8. A connector according to claim 2, wherein the rear contact areas and the front contact areas are at different distances from the base.

9. A connector comprising: at least one pin receiving terminal contact comprising: a base comprising a backbone with a cable connection end and a pin receiving terminal end opposite the cable connection end, wherein the backbone comprises a mid-section connecting the cable connection end and the pin receiving terminal end, and wherein the mid-section creates an acute angle with a pin insertion direction such that the cable connection end is offset from the pin receiving terminal end in a direction perpendicular to the a pin insertion direction; and a plurality of contacts having a root end extending from said base at the pin receiving terminal end, wherein the plurality of contacts comprise at least a first pair of oppositely arranged contacts comprising contact areas; and a crimp connection extending from the cable connection end.

10. A connector according to claim 9, comprising a pin receiving space, which is four-sided in cross section, wherein two opposite sides of the pin receiving space are defined by the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts and the other two sides of the pin receiving space are defined by a second pair of contacts.

11. A connector according to claim 9, wherein the mid-section is flexible.

12. A connector according to claim 10, wherein the backbone overlaps one of the contacts.

13. A connector according to claim 12, wherein the terminal contact comprises a front base, a rear base and one or more beams having: a front section connected to a first side of the front base; a rear section connected to a side of the rear base in line with a second side of the front face; and a folded mid-section connecting the front end to the rear end.

14. A connector according to claim 13, wherein the contacts of both the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts and the second pair of oppositely arranged contact have a root end connected to a side of the front or rear base.

15. A connector according to claim 14, wherein contacts of the second pair of oppositely arranged contacts have a root end connected to the front base, a free end extending between the rear sections of the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts and a mid-section bridging the root end and the free end.

16. A connector according to claim 9, wherein at least one contact of the first pair of oppositely arranged contacts has the root end extending from the base and the contact face bent sideward along a folding line making an acute angle with a pin insertion direction.

17. A connector according to claim 9, further comprising a contacts extending from one side of the base, wherein the contacts is configured to pre-load a contact extending from an adjacent side of the base.

18. A connector according to claim 17, wherein the terminal contact comprises one or more support beams backing the contact area of an associated contact.

19. A connector comprising: at least one pin receiving terminal contact comprising: a base comprising a backbone with a cable connection end and a pin receiving terminal end so as to define a pin insertion direction extending from the pin receiving terminal end towards the cable connection end; and a plurality of contact beams having a root end coupled to said base via at least one fold parallel to the pin insertion direction, wherein the plurality of contact beams comprise at least a first pair of oppositely arranged contact beams, configured to form a pin receiving space therebetween, and wherein at least one contact beam of the first pair of oppositely arranged contact beams has the root end extending from the base and the contact face bent sideward into the pin receiving space along a folding line, wherein the folding line makes an acute angle with the pin insertion direction.

20. A connector according to claim 19, wherein the plurality of contact beams further comprises at least a second pair of oppositely arranged contact beams, shorter than the first pair of contact beams, such that the first and second pairs of contact beams form front contact areas and rear contact areas disposed on the same sides of the terminal contact.

Description

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the connector and the terminal contacts will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(2) FIG. 1: shows an exemplary terminal contact;

(3) FIG. 2: shows a different perspective view of the terminal contact of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3: shows a blank for making the terminal contact of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4: shows a transportation strip carrying a series of blanks in consecutive stages of the manufacturing process;

(6) FIGS. 5A-D: show consecutive steps of the manufacturing process;

(7) FIG. 6: shows a second embodiment of a terminal contact;

(8) FIG. 7: shows a third embodiment of a terminal contact in side view;

(9) FIG. 8: shows a fourth embodiment of a terminal contact in side view;

(10) FIG. 9: shows a fifth embodiment of a terminal contact in perspective view;

(11) FIG. 10: shows a blank for the terminal contact of FIG. 9;

(12) FIG. 11: shows a further possible embodiment of a terminal contact in perspective view;

(13) FIG. 12: shows a further possible embodiment of a terminal contact in perspective view.

(14) FIG. 1 shows a terminal contact 1 still connected to a piece of a transport strip 2 used during manufacturing. This piece is cut off before connection of the terminal contact 1 to a cable end. The terminal contact 1 has four contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 defining a pin receiving space 7. The four contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 include two oppositely arranged shorter contact beams 4, 6 and two longer contact beams 3, 5. The shorter contact beams 4, 6 are bent inwardly with their tips 8, 9 forming front contact points for an inserted contact pin (see FIG. 2).

(15) The tips of the longer contact beams 3, 5 have flanges 11, 12 forming the rear contact points at the inner face of the pin receiving space 7. The flanges 11, 12 have been folded to be in line with the shorter contact beams 4, 6. When a contact pin (not shown) is inserted into the pin receiving space 7, it will first be contacted with the front contact points formed by the tips 8, 9 of the shorter beams and subsequently by the rear contact points formed by the inner faces of flanges 11, 12. The rear contact point formed by the flange 11 is paired and in line with the front contact point formed by the tip end 9 of the shorter contact beam 4 at the same side of the pin receiving space 7. Similarly, the rear contact point formed by the flange 12 is paired and in line with the front contact point formed by the tip end 8 of the shorter contact beam 6 at the same side of the pin receiving space 7.

(16) Due to the different bending directions the front contact points formed by the tips 8, 9 of the shorter contact beams 4, 6 have a different vibrational behaviour than the rear contact points formed by the inwardly bent flanges 11, 12. This improves the overall resistance of the terminal contact 1 against vibrational loads.

(17) The parallel contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 extend from a base 13, formed by a strip folded to form a square or rectangular ring defining the entrance of the pin receiving space 7. A first folding line L is positioned between the backbone 14 and the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 and runs substantially parallel to the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 and the backbone 14. Folding the base strip 13 along this folding line L results in a geometry with the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 extending in substantially the same direction as the backbone without being coplanar with the backbone 14.

(18) The terminal contact 1 further comprises a backbone 14, extending from the base 13 in a direction parallel to the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6. In the shown embodiment, the backbone 14 and the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 extend rearwardly. This means that a contact pin must first pas the base 13 before it contacts the contact points of the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6. In an alternative embodiment, the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 may extend forwardly with or without a backbone being present, so a contact pin will first contact the longer contact beams 4, 6 and subsequently the shorter contact beams 3, 5.

(19) The contact beams, extending forwardly or rearwardly, may be folded such that a contact beam pre-loads two adjacent, oppositely arranged contact beams by resiliently forcing them apart before insertion of a contact pin. This will result in a higher contact force of the pre-loaded contact beams after insertion of a contact pin.

(20) The backbone 14 has one end opposite to the base 13 provided with a crimp connection 16 allowing electrical and mechanical connection to a terminal end of a cable (not shown). The crimp connection 16 forms a cable connection end and projects from the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6.

(21) Between the crimp connection 16 and the contact beams 3, 4, 5, 6 the terminal contact 1 is provided with two upwardly folded flanges 18, 19 forming key-coding flags for correctly positioning the terminal contact 1 in a housing of a connector.

(22) Optionally, the contact terminal can be designed for being side loaded into a connector housing or housing part. To that end, the contact can be provided with appropriate flags and/or guiding surfaces. Also the crimp connection, if present, can be designed for being used to position, press fit and or retain the contact into a matching cavity in the housing or housing part.

(23) FIG. 3 shows a blank 20 which can be folded to form the terminal contact, which is substantially similar to the terminal contact 1 of FIG. 1. The blank 20 comprises a base strip for forming the base 13. A first shorter contact beam 6 extends from a first end of the base strip 13, while the backbone 14 extends from the opposite end of the base strip 13. Between the backbone 14 and the short contact beam 6 the base strip 13 carries the two longer contact beams 3, 5 and a second shorter contact beam 4 between the two longer contact beams 3, 5. The two longer contact beams 3, 5 are identical in outline. The two shorter contact beams 4, 6 are mirrored, both having a straight longitudinal side edge 21 and an oblique longitudinal side edge 22 making an angle of about 5 degrees with the straight side edge, such that the base of the shorter contact beam 4, 6 is wider than its respective tip 8, 9. The oblique side edges 22 of the two shorter contact beams 4, 6 are directed to each other. The tip ends 8, 9 are made convex to improve contact with an inserted contact pin.

(24) Similarly, the two longer contact beams 3, 5 have a straight longitudinal side edge 23 and an oblique longitudinal side edge 24 making an angle of about 5 degrees with the straight side edge 23. However, the top half 25 of the straight edges 23 is slightly offset to the lower half 26 of the straight edge 23 with a oblique mid-section 27 bridging the straight upper and lower halves 25, 26. The top ends of the longer contact beams 3, 5 are provided with the sidewardly extending flanges 11, 12, both pointing away from the backbone 14. The two flanges 11, 12 are provided with imprinted convex contact faces 28, 29.

(25) During manufacture the blanks 20 can be attached to a transportation strip 2, as shown in FIG. 4. The blanks 20 in FIG. 4 are in different stages A-H of the folding process. In the first step A the blank 20 is still flat. In a second step B the flanges 11, 12 of the longer contact beams 3, 5 are folded upwardly along a folding line substantially parallel to the longitudinal length of the contact beams 3, 5. In a third step C the outer shorter contact beam 6 is folded upwardly and flexed slightly inwardly. Then (step D) the next longer contact beam 5 is folded upwardly (see also FIG. 5A). The two shorter beams 4, 6 now face each other, their tips 8, 9 being flexed towards each other. Then in step E the second shorter contact beam 4 is folded upwardly (see FIG. 5B). After a further folding step F, G the outer shorter contact beam 6 overlays the backbone 14. To make the base 13 more rigid the end part of the strip carrying the backbone 14 and the end part of the strip carrying the outer short contact beam 6 can be attached to each other, e.g., by soldering. In a final step the crimp tabs 16 are folded upwardly. The folded terminal contact 1 can now be cut off from the transportation strip 2.

(26) All folding lines extend in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal length of the contact beams.

(27) When the terminal contact 1 is folded, the front contact point on the tip end 8 of the outer shorter beam 6 is in line with the convex rear contact point 28 of the flag 12 of the adjacent longer contact beam 5. The paired contact points 8, 28 are at the same side of the pin receiving space 7 and contact a same side of an inserted contact pin.

(28) Similarly, the front contact point on the tip end 9 of the other shorter beam 4 is in line with the convex rear contact point 29 of the flag 11 of the longer contact beam 3 next to the backbone 14. The paired contact points 9, 29 are at the same side of the pin receiving space 7 and contact a same side of an inserted contact pin.

(29) FIG. 6 shows in cross section an alternative embodiment of a terminal contact 40. The terminal contact 40 comprises a backbone 41 with a first end 42 connected to a base 43. The other end 44 of the backbone carries a crimp connection 45 for attachment to a cable. The base 43 connects the first end 42 of the backbone 41 to a root end 46 of a contact beam 47 of the terminal contact 40. The base 43 is formed by a folded strip. One of the folding lines L is between the backbone 41 and the contact beam 47, such that the contact beam 47 is parallel but not co-planar with the backbone 41. The strip is folded to form a rectangular pin receiving opening 48. The opposite end 49 of the contact beam 47 points towards the crimp connection 45 and comprises a flange 50 folded along a folding line L1 under about a 90 degrees angle with the root end of the contact beam. The folding line L1 makes an acute angle with the backbone and the folding line L.

(30) In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the terminal contact 60 comprises a backbone 61 with a mid-section 62 connecting a crimp connection section 63 to a section 64 carrying the contact beams 65. Section 64 is substantially similar to the corresponding section of the terminal contact of FIG. 1. The mid-section 62 makes an acute angle with the longitudinal direction of the contact beams 65 to offset the pin receiving cavity from the crimp connection. This prevents that an inserted contact pin would brush over the crimped cable conductors.

(31) In FIG. 8 a terminal contact 70 is shown with a backbone 71 with a mid-section 72 connecting a crimp connection section 73 to a section 74 carrying the contact beams 75. The mid-section 72 is flexible. This helps to reduce transfer of vibrational loads from the cable end of the contact 70 to the section 74 with the contact beams 75.

(32) FIG. 9 shows a further alternative embodiment of a terminal contact 80 with two longer contact beams 81, 82 and two short contact beams 83, 84. A blank 86 of the terminal contact 80 is shown in FIG. 10. At a pin receiving side 87 the terminal contact 80 comprises a front base 88 connected to front sections of the longer contact beams 81, 82 and connected to respective root ends 89, 90 of the two contact beams 83, 84. The front base 88 has a four sided cross section and is folded along a folding lines L1, L2, L3 (see FIG. 10) between the longer contact beams 81, 82 and the shorter contact beams 83, 84.

(33) At a cable connection side 92 the terminal contact 80 comprises a rear base 93 with a four-sided cross section. The two opposite longer contact beams 81, 82 extend between the front base 88 and the rear base 93 and have a front section 94, 95 extending from a side of the front base 88, a rear section 97, 98 extending from a side of the second base 93, and a midsection 99, 100 connecting the rear and front sections. The front and rear sections of the longer contact beams 81, 82 have parallel longitudinal directions but extend in different planes defining different adjacent sides of the terminal contact 80.

(34) A first short contact beam 83 extends from the front base 88 between the two longer contact beams 81, 82. The short contact beam 83 has a root end 102, a contact end 103 and a midsection 104 connecting the root end 102 to the contact end 103. The root end 102 is connected to the front base 88 and extends between the front sections 94, 95 of the two adjacent longer contact beams 81, 82 in the direction of the rear base 93. The contact end 103 extends between the rear sections 97, 98 of the two longer contact beams 81, 82 and is folded sideward along a folding line parallel to the pin insertion direction over a 90 degrees angle with the root end 102. The contact end 103 has an inwardly bent tip 106 forming a contact face for an inserted contact pin.

(35) The second contact beam 84 extends from an outer end of the first base 88 and also has a root end 107, a contact end 108 and a midsection 109 connecting the root end 107 to the contact end 108 in a similar arrangement. The contact end 108 of the second contact beam is folded over a 90 degrees angle with the root end 107 and partly overlaps the front section 94 of the longer contact beam 81 extending from the opposite side of the front base 88. The contact end 108 has an inwardly bent tip 111 forming a contact face for an inserted contact pin.

(36) The front sections of both longer contact beams 81, 82 are provided with an inwardly bulging surface 112, 113 at different distances from the front base 88.

(37) The front base 88 and the rear base 93 are both provided with a flag 114, 115 comprising a recess 116, 117 for receiving a projection 118, 119 at the opposite side of the respective base 88, 93.

(38) As is particularly shown in FIG. 9, the midsection 109 of the shorter contact beam 84 overlaps the contact area 112 of the longer contact beam 82. If, in an alternative embodiment, the shorter contact beam 84 would tightly overlap the contact area 112, it would form a support beam backing the contact area and increasing the contact force exerted by the contact area 112 to an inserted contact pin. In that case, the beam 84 should not be used as a contact pin and it should not have a bent tip.

(39) FIG. 11 shows a terminal contact 120 which is similar to the one of FIG. 9, with the difference that the short beams 83a, 84a are not contact beams but support beams backing the respective contact sections 112, 113 of the longer contact beams 81, 82. The support beams 83a, 84a increase the normal force exerted by the contact area 112, 113 to a mating contact pin.

(40) FIG. 12 shows a further possible embodiment 121, also similar to the embodiment of FIG. 9, but with the difference that the short beams 83b extend forwardly from the rear base 93 into the direction of the front base 88. To facilitate easy insertion of a pin the contact areas can be staggered. After insertion of a contact pin through the front base 88 the pin first contacts the contact area of the lower long contact beam 81, then the contact area 112 of the upper long contact beams 82 and subsequently the respective bent tips 111, 106 of the shorter contact beams 83b, 84b.

(41) The foregoing description is provided for the purpose of explanation and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. While various embodiments have been described with reference to preferred embodiments or preferred methods, it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Furthermore, although the embodiments have been described herein with reference to particular structure, methods, and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein. For instance, it should be appreciated that structure and methods described in association with one embodiment are equally applicable to all other embodiments described herein unless otherwise indicated. Those skilled in the relevant art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may effect numerous modifications to the invention as described herein, and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, for instance as set forth by the appended claims.