Contact piece, connector and manufacturing method of connector

Abstract

The invention provides a contact piece, a connector and a manufacturing method of the connector. The contact piece can ensure a contact distance capable of performing plating treatment and can form an appropriate contact distance capable of coping with a thin plate after being installed. Each of a pair of elastic contact pieces (2, 2) of the contact piece (3) is provided with a base piece part (11) supported by a base part (8), an operation control piece part (12) of which the base end is supported by the base piece part (11), and a contact piece part (13) of which the base end is supported by the base piece part (11) side by side with the operation control piece part (12) and which is inclined further inward than the operation control piece part (12). The contact piece section (13) and the operation control piece section (12) are rotated to mutually appropriate positions in conjunction with each other.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to contacts used in connectors for connecting electronic devices, connectors using the contacts, and methods for manufacturing the connectors. Background Technology

[0002] Conventionally, for connectors used for connections between electronic devices, there is a known connector consisting of a plug (hereinafter referred to as a plug) having a plurality of plate-shaped opposing contacts arranged side by side and a receptacle (hereinafter referred to as a receptacle) having a plurality of contacts having a pair of opposing elastic contact pieces. The two contacts are connected by fitting the plug into the receptacle, which inserts the opposing contacts between a pair of elastic contact pieces of the receptacle-side contacts and is held by the pair of elastic contact pieces (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] The socket has a housing with a continuous slit-shaped contact insertion hole in the front-rear direction for inserting a contact. The socket has a contact connection hole that opens on the lower surface of the housing and communicates with the contact insertion hole for inserting a counter contact. The socket is configured such that a counter contact inserted into the contact connection hole is held between a pair of resilient contact pieces.

[0004] The contact on the socket side is formed by punching and bending a conductive metal sheet, and has a thin plate-shaped base, a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on the base and facing each other, and a crimping part for crimping the end of the power supply line. The contact is inserted into the housing by inserting it into a slit-shaped contact insertion hole that is open on one end face of the housing.

[0005] It should be noted that, in order to protect the contact points and improve wear resistance, the contact points of the two elastic contact pieces are plated. Since the plating may be damaged during the stamping process, the contact points are plated after the stamping and bending processes.

[0006] Existing technical documents

[0007] Patent documents

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-323931

[0009] However, in the prior art as described above, in order to perform plating on the contact portion after punching and bending, a certain distance must be ensured between the contacts of the opposing elastic contact pieces (on the socket side). In order to obtain appropriate contact pressure with the other contact piece while ensuring such a distance, the following measures are required: plating is performed with the plate-shaped other contact piece having a thickness in accordance with the contact spacing of the elastic contact pieces, or with a certain distance between the contacts of the two elastic contact pieces, and then the contact spacing of the elastic contact pieces is adjusted in accordance with the thickness of the other contact piece.

[0010] Therefore, when the contact spacing of the flexible contact piece is used to make the plate-shaped counterpart contact have thickness, the shape of the counterpart contact is limited to the range in which the thickness can be adjusted. This cannot cope with counterpart contacts made of thin plates, which may hinder the miniaturization of connectors.

[0011] On the other hand, when plating is performed with a certain interval between the contacts of the two elastic contact pieces and the contact spacing of the elastic contact pieces is adjusted according to the thickness of the other contact piece, the following problem exists: the number of processes in the contact piece manufacturing increases, and correspondingly, the manufacturing cost increases.

[0012] Furthermore, this type of connector inserts the socket-side contact into a slit-shaped contact insertion hole formed in the housing. Therefore, when the elastic contact piece of the socket-side contact comes into contact with the edge of the contact insertion hole, unexpected plastic deformation may occur, hindering the stable connection of the other contact. Summary of the Invention

[0013] Therefore, in view of such existing problems, the present invention aims to provide a contact element, a connector, and a method of manufacturing the connector that ensures the contact distance for plating and, after installation, can form an appropriate contact spacing that can also accommodate thin plates.

[0014] Technical solution 1 for solving the existing problems as described above is characterized in that a contact member having a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on a base and facing each other, each pair of elastic contact pieces having: a base portion supported on the base portion; an action control portion whose base end is supported on the base portion; and a contact portion whose base end is supported on the base portion, the contact portion extending side-by-side with the action control portion in a manner that its front end side is inclined inward, the contact portion and the action control portion moving in conjunction to a mutually appropriate position.

[0015] The feature of technical solution 2 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 1, the distance from the substrate to the front end of the motion control piece is longer than the distance from the substrate to the front end of the contact piece.

[0016] The feature of technical solution 3 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 1 or 2, the motion control plate includes: a pair of support portions disposed on both sides of the contact plate portion, the base end of which is supported on the base plate portion; and a connecting portion connecting the front ends of the support portions.

[0017] The feature of technical solution 4 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 1 or 2, the pair of elastic contact pieces are configured such that: the base portion is supported by the side edge of the thin plate-shaped base as the rotation axis, and the action control piece portion and the contact piece portion, whose base ends are supported on the base portion, rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the base portion.

[0018] The feature of technical solution 5 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 1 or 2, the front end spacing of the pair of elastic contact pieces is wider than the base end spacing, and the two opposing contact pieces are arranged in a way that they are spaced apart from each other by a certain distance.

[0019] The feature of technical solution 6 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 1 or 2, the pair of elastic contact pieces are configured as follows: having a base portion supported on the base with a side end as a rotation axis, the action control piece portion and the contact piece portion rotating about a rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction of the base portion.

[0020] Technical solution 7 is characterized in that a connector comprises: a contact having a plate-shaped base and a pair of resilient contact pieces supported on the base and facing each other; and a housing having a slit-shaped contact insertion hole for inserting the contact, the connector clamping a counterpart contact between the pair of resilient contact pieces, wherein each of the pair of resilient contact pieces comprises: a base portion supported on the base; an action control portion whose base end is supported on the base portion; and a contact portion whose base end is supported on the base portion, the contact portion extending side-by-side with the action control portion at an inwardly inclined front end, the contact portion rotating in conjunction with the action control portion, and the contact portion being disposed in a mutually appropriate position within the contact insertion hole.

[0021] The feature of technical solution 8 is that, based on the structure of technical solution 7, a positioning groove is formed in the contact insertion hole for the front end of the motion control piece to be inserted.

[0022] Technical solution 9 is characterized in that, based on the structure of technical solution 7, the outer shell has a fixing block that can be movably inserted into the insertion part of the plug, the insertion part of the plug is formed by transversely cutting multiple contact insertion holes, and by inserting the fixing block into the insertion part of the plug, the contact inserted into the contact insertion hole is fixed.

[0023] Technical solution 10 is characterized by a method for manufacturing a connector, the connector comprising: a contact having a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on a base and facing each other; and a housing having a slit-shaped contact insertion hole for inserting the contact, the connector clamping a counterpart contact between the pair of elastic contact pieces, wherein each of the pair of elastic contact pieces comprises: a base portion supported on the base; an action control portion having its base end supported on the base portion; and a contact portion having its base end supported on the base portion, the contact portion extending side-by-side with the action control portion inclined inward at its front end side, the spacing of the pair of elastic contact pieces being configured such that the two opposing contact portions are spaced apart by a certain distance, in this state, the contact portion of the contact piece is plated, and then the contact is inserted into the contact insertion hole, causing the contact portion and the action control portion, which has been rotated to an appropriate position, to rotate in conjunction within the contact insertion hole to an appropriate position.

[0024] Invention Effects

[0025] The contact member of the present invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 1, can set the distance between the two contact pieces to an arbitrary distance before being installed in the housing, and when installed in the housing, the contact pieces can rotate in conjunction with the motion control piece to a mutually appropriate position.

[0026] Furthermore, in this invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 2, the contact plate can be rotated appropriately by utilizing the rotational torque acting on the motion control plate.

[0027] Furthermore, in this invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 3, it can operate stably and can surround the contact piece for protection, thereby preventing deformation, etc.

[0028] Furthermore, in this invention, by possessing the features of technical solution 4, the contact plate portion can rotate in linkage with the rotation of the base plate portion and the motion control plate portion.

[0029] In this invention, by possessing the features of technical solution 5, the gap of the plating process can be ensured.

[0030] In this invention, by possessing the features of technical solution 6, the entire elastic contact piece can move in three dimensions in conjunction with the motion control piece.

[0031] The connector of the present invention, by having the features described in technical solution 7, can set the distance between the two contact pieces of the contact member to an arbitrary distance before being installed in the housing, and when installed in the housing, the contact pieces of the contact member can rotate in conjunction with the motion control piece to a mutually appropriate position.

[0032] Furthermore, in this invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 8, the motion control plate can be reliably positioned at a predetermined position by means of the positioning groove, and the two contact plates can be accurately rotated to the predetermined position.

[0033] Furthermore, in this invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 9, multiple contact elements installed in the housing can be fixed in one operation.

[0034] In the connector manufacturing method of the present invention, by having the structure described in technical solution 10, the contact element can be appropriately plated, and the contact spacing of the contact elements can be adjusted to an appropriate distance after assembly, and it can also handle thin plate-shaped contact elements. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Figure 1 This is an exploded perspective view taken from below, showing an example of the connector of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 2 This is a perspective view taken from below, showing the state in which the socket of the connector of the present invention is connected to the other contact.

[0037] Figure 3 This is an exploded perspective view of the socket of the connector of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 4 In the diagram, (a) is a perspective view of the contact element of the present invention, (b) is a side view of the contact element of the present invention, and (c) is a sectional view of the contact element of the present invention along line A-A.

[0039] Figure 5 This is an exploded perspective view of the housing of the connector of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 6 In the diagram, (a) is a top view of the housing body of the connector of the present invention, (b) is a rear view of the housing body of the connector of the present invention, and (c) is an enlarged sectional view along line B-B of the housing body of the connector of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 7 This is a longitudinal sectional view showing the process of inserting contacts in the manufacturing method of the connector of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the fixing plug portion of the connector of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 9 This is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the state in which the contact element is installed in the housing of the connector of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 10This is an exploded perspective view showing other embodiments of the connector of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 11 This is a perspective view taken from below, showing the state in which the socket of another embodiment of the connector of the present invention is connected to the other contact.

[0046] Figure 12 In the diagram, (a) is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the contact member of the present invention, (b) is a side view of another embodiment of the contact member of the present invention, and (c) is a bottom view of another embodiment of the contact member of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 13 This is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating another embodiment of the contact insertion operation in the connector manufacturing method of the present invention.

[0048] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0049] 1: Counterparty contact; 2: Flexible contact piece; 3: Contact; 4: Socket; 5: Contact insertion hole; 6: Housing; 7: Contact connection hole; 8: Base; 9: Crimping part; 10: Engaging piece; 11: Base plate; 12: Motion control plate; 12a: Support part; 12b: Connecting part; 12c: Conical part; 13: Contact piece; 13a: Contact point; 14: Wire; 20: Housing body; 21: Fixing plug; 2 2: Insertion part; 23: Insertion body; 24: Guide piece; 25: Locking piece; 26: Guide groove; 30: Elastic contact piece; 31: Contact element; 32: Socket; 33: Contact element insertion hole; 34: Housing; 35: Contact element connection hole; 36: Crimping part; 37: Base; 38: Base plate part; 39: Action control piece part; 40: Contact piece part; 41: Housing body; 42: Fixing insert; 43: Insertion part. Detailed Implementation

[0050] Next, based on Figures 1-9 The illustrated embodiment describes a first embodiment of the contact element of the present invention and a connector using the contact element.

[0051] The connector consists of a plug (hereinafter referred to as a plug) having multiple plate-shaped opposite contacts 1, 1... arranged side by side and a socket (hereinafter referred to as a socket 4) having multiple contacts 3, 3... having a pair of opposing elastic contact pieces 2, 2. The plug is engaged with the socket 4 so that the opposite contacts 1, 1... are inserted between the pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2 of the contacts 3, 3... on the socket 4 side and are held by the pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2, thereby connecting the two contacts 1, 3.

[0052] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the socket 4 is taken as the reference, the plug side of the socket 4 is taken as the bottom, and the opening side of the contact insertion hole 5, 5... of the socket 4 is taken as the bottom, and the following description will be carried out.

[0053] The plug has the following features: Figure 1 , Figure 2 The diagram shows multiple thin plate-shaped opposing contact elements 1, 1... arranged side by side with their surfaces facing each other. In this embodiment, for convenience, only the opposing contact elements 1, 1... are shown.

[0054] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, for convenience, the contact parts 1, 1... are represented as a thin plate-shaped component, but as long as they have a thin plate-shaped contact part, their shape is not particularly limited.

[0055] like Figure 3 As shown, the socket 4 includes a plurality of contacts 3, 3... of the present invention and a housing 6 having slit-shaped contact insertion holes 5, 5... for each contact 3, 3... to be inserted into. The opposing contacts 1, 1... inserted into the contact connection holes 7, 7... formed on the lower surface of the housing 6 contact with the contacts 3, 3... inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5...

[0056] like Figure 4 As shown, the contact elements 3, 3... are integrally formed by punching and bending conductive metal sheets, and have a thin plate-shaped base 8, a pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2 supported at the base 8 and facing each other, and a pressing part 9 continuously arranged with the base 8.

[0057] The base 8 is formed in the shape of a thin plate, and has a snap-fit ​​piece 10 formed by cutting and folding on its upper surface. A pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2 are supported on both sides of the base 8, and the crimping part 9 is supported in a manner that is continuous with one end of the base 8 in the long dimension direction.

[0058] Each of the pair of elastic contact pieces 2 and 2 has a base piece portion 11 supported on the base portion 8, an action control piece portion 12 supported on the base piece portion 11 at its base end, and a contact piece portion 13 inclined inwards from the action control piece portion 12 and supported on the base piece portion 11 at its base end alongside the action control piece portion 12. They are configured such that the base piece portion 11 is supported about the side edge of the base portion 8 as a rotation axis, the action control piece portion 12 and the contact piece portion 13 supported on the base piece portion 11 rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the base portion 8, and the contact piece portion 13 and the action control piece portion 12 rotate in conjunction to a mutually appropriate position.

[0059] The substrate portion 11 is in the shape of a thin plate folded from the side edge of the base portion 8. In the state before being inserted into the housing 6, the substrate portion 11 extends slightly outward with its front end side (opposite to the base portion 8).

[0060] The motion control plate 12 has a pair of support portions 12a, 12a respectively disposed on both sides of the contact plate 13 and supported at the base end on the base plate 11, and a connecting portion 12b connecting the front ends of the support portions 12a, 12a, and is formed to surround the contact plate 13 by the base plate 11, the two support portions 12a, 12a and the connecting portion 12b.

[0061] Furthermore, the motion control plate 12 is configured with two support portions 12a, 12a and a connecting portion 12b on the same plane as the base plate 11. The motion control plate 12 is in the form of a leaf spring that can rotate about the base plate 11, or more specifically about the portion of the base plate 11 that is bent from the base 8 as an axis.

[0062] The motion control plate 12 is configured such that the distance from the base plate 11 to the front end (the front end of the connecting part 12b) is longer than the distance from the base plate 11 to the front end of the contact plate 13. By applying a force to the front end side of the motion control plate 12, the elastic contact plates 2, 2 are rotated appropriately using rotational torque.

[0063] Furthermore, the two motion control pieces 12, 12 are configured such that, in the state before being inserted into the housing 6, the further they are towards the front end, the wider the distance between them is. The two motion control pieces 12, 12 are in the shape of a "ハ" and the distance w between their front ends is wider than the width of the contact insertion holes 5, 5... described later.

[0064] Furthermore, the front edge of the motion control plate 12 in the insertion direction is formed with a rearwardly inclined tapered portion 12c. When the contact members 3, 3... are inserted into the contact member insertion holes 5, 5..., the motion control plate 12, 12 is guided to rotate towards the inside of the contact member insertion holes 5, 5... by the tapered portion 12c contacting the side edge of the contact member insertion holes 5, 5....

[0065] On the other hand, the contact piece 13 is formed by cutting and folding the plate portion constituting the substrate portion 11 and the motion control piece portion 12 inward. The contact piece 13 extends obliquely inward from the front edge of the substrate portion 11, and its front end is folded back outward to form a bulging contact portion 13a.

[0066] In addition, in order to protect the contact portion 13a and improve its wear resistance, a plating treatment was applied to the contact portion 13a.

[0067] It should be noted that, as Figure 4 As shown in (c), before being installed in the housing 6, the distance between the contact portions 13a, 13a is ensured to be a certain distance, or more specifically, a distance sufficient to perform the plating process.

[0068] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the case where the contact members 3, 3... have a crimping part 9 and the wire 14 is crimped by crimping is described, but the substrate connecting piece and terminal connected to the substrate may be provided instead of the crimping part 9.

[0069] like Figure 5 As shown, the housing 6 includes a housing body 20 having a plurality of contact insertion holes 5, 5... and a fixing block 21 that can be inserted in a direction orthogonal to the contact insertion holes 5, 5... of the housing body 20. The housing 6 fixes the contacts 3, 3... inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5... by the fixing block 21.

[0070] like Figure 6 As shown, the outer shell body 20 is formed into a cuboid shape from insulating resin, and has a plurality of contact insertion holes 5, 5... with an opening at one end (rear surface), and contact connection holes 7, 7... with an opening on the lower surface (the side of the plug) and communicating with the contact insertion holes 5, 5... By inserting the opposite contact 1, 1... into the contact insertion holes 7, 7..., the opposite contact 1, 1... inserted into the contact connection holes 7, 7... is clamped between the pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2.

[0071] The contact insertion holes 5, 5... are formed into slits (rectangular holes) facing the front and rear directions. Positioning grooves 5a, 5a are formed on both sides of the lower edge of the contact insertion holes 5, 5... for the front end (connecting part 12b) of the action control piece 12 to be inserted.

[0072] The contact insertion holes 5, 5... are formed such that their width is narrower than the distance w between the front ends of the action control pieces 12 of the contacts 3, 3... before insertion. This is achieved by inserting the contacts 3, 3... into the contact insertion holes 5, 5... Figure 9 As shown, the distance between the front ends of the motion control plate 12 narrows, causing the contact plate 13 and the motion control plate 12 to rotate inward in conjunction, rotating to a suitable position, i.e., the distance between the contact points 13a, 13a narrows, thereby clamping the opposing contact elements 1, 1... with appropriate contact pressure. It should be noted that in this embodiment, corresponding to the thin opposing contact elements 1, 1..., the two contact points 13a, 13a rotate to the contact position, but the contact distance can be set to any width.

[0073] In addition, such as Figure 9 As shown, the front end (connecting part 12b) of the motion control piece 12 is inserted into the positioning grooves 5a, 5a, thereby maintaining the rotation direction position of the two motion control pieces 12, 12 in an appropriate position.

[0074] The contact connection holes 7, 7... and the contact insertion holes 5, 5... are formed in a slit shape corresponding to their positions and are arranged side by side on the lower surface of the outer casing 20.

[0075] On the other hand, at the rear of the outer casing 20, a plug insertion part 22 is formed with an opening on the lower surface and a plurality of contact insertion holes 5, 5... cut across it. The contacts 3, 3... inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5... are fixed by inserting the fixing plug 21 into the plug insertion part 22.

[0076] like Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, the fixing plug 21 includes a plug body 23 inserted into the plug insertion portion 22, a leaf spring-shaped guide plate 24 integrally supported on both sides of the plug body 23, and a leaf spring-shaped locking plate 25 disposed on the outside of the guide plate 24. By inserting the guide plate 24 and the locking plate 25 into the slit-shaped guide grooves 26 formed on both sides of the plug insertion portion 22 of the housing body 20, the fixing plug 21 is movably supported on the housing body 20.

[0077] Furthermore, on the inner side of the guide groove 26 opposite to the locking piece 25, locking recesses 26a and 26b are formed at two predetermined positions at intervals in the insertion and removal direction of the fixing insert 21, for engaging with the locking protrusion 25a that protrudes from the outer side of the locking piece 25.

[0078] Furthermore, with the locking protrusion 25a of the locking piece 25 engaged with the locking recess 26a on the lower side (pull-out side), the insert body 23 is held in a position that does not obstruct the insertion and removal of the contacts 3, 3... into the contacts insertion holes 5, 5.... With the locking protrusion 25a of the locking piece 25 engaged with the locking recess 26b on the upper side (insertion side), the insert body 23 is held in a position positioned behind the elastic contacts 2, 2 of the contacts 3, 3... that are inserted into the contacts insertion holes 5, 5....

[0079] The insert body 23 has multiple pressing grooves 23a, 23a... arranged horizontally on its upper surface. By inserting the insert body 23 into the insert insertion part 22, each pressing groove 23a, 23a... engages with the pressing part 9 of the contact 3, 3... inserted into the contact insertion hole 5, 5... to retain the contact 3, 3....

[0080] When manufacturing a connector with such a configuration, as a pretreatment, conductive metal sheets are punched and bent to form contacts 3, 3... The front end spacing w of a pair of elastic contact pieces 2, 2 is wider than the base end spacing, and the two contact pieces 13 are arranged in a way that they are spaced apart from each other. In this state, the contact portion 13a of the contact piece portion 13 is plated.

[0081] In addition, as needed, wire 14 is crimped onto crimping part 9 to create contact parts 3, 3... assemblies.

[0082] Next, as Figure 7 of (a), Figure 8 As shown in (a), the fixing block 21 is inserted into the housing body 20 with the locking protrusion 25a of the locking piece 25 engaged with the locking recess 26a on the lower side (pull-out side). In this state, the contacts 3, 3... are inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5...

[0083] At this time, as Figure 7 (b) Figure 8 As shown in (b), the tapered portion 12c formed on the front part of the motion control plate portion 12 of the contact members 3, 3... contacts the opening edge of the contact member insertion hole 5, 5... When the contact members 3, 3... are further inserted, the tapered portion 12c is pressed and bent by the opening edge. Along with this, the front end of the motion control plate portion 12 rotates inward about the base plate portion 11, and the front end of the motion control plate portion is inserted into the positioning groove 5a, 5a, and the motion control plate portion 12 is held in the appropriate position.

[0084] On the other hand, such as Figure 9 As shown, the contact piece 13 is supported on the base plate 11, which is the same plate shape as the motion control piece 12. Therefore, the contact piece 13 is linked with the motion control piece 12, which has been rotated to the appropriate position, and rotates to the appropriate position (the position where the contact parts contact each other in this embodiment) within the contact insertion holes 5, 5...

[0085] Then, after inserting all contacts 3, 3... into the contact insertion holes 5, 5..., as follows... Figure 7 (c) Figure 8 As shown in (c), the fixing insert 21 is pressed into the housing body 20, so that the locking protrusion 25a of the locking piece 25 engages with the locking recess 26b on the upper side (insertion side).

[0086] Thus, the plug body 23 is held in a position behind the elastic contact pieces 2, 2 of the contacts 3, 3, ... which are inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5, ... The pressing grooves 23a, 23a, ... on the upper surface of the plug body 23 engage with the pressing parts 9 of the contacts 3, 3, ... which are inserted into the contact insertion holes 5, 5, ... The contacts 3, 3, ... are held, and the assembly of the socket 4 is completed.

[0087] The connector constructed in this way allows the distance between the two contact pieces 13 of the contact members 3, 3... to be set to any distance before being installed in the housing 6, and allows for appropriate plating treatment. When installed in the housing 6, the contact pieces 13 of the contact members 3, 3... can rotate in conjunction with the motion control piece 12 to a mutually appropriate position.

[0088] Next, based on Figures 10-13 The illustrated embodiments illustrate other implementations of the contact element of the present invention and connectors using the contact element. It should be noted that the same reference numerals are used for the same components as in the embodiments described above, and descriptions are omitted.

[0089] The connector consists of a plug (hereinafter referred to as a plug) having multiple plate-shaped opposite contacts 1, 1... arranged side by side, and a receptacle (hereinafter referred to as a socket 32) having multiple contacts 31, 31... having a pair of opposing elastic contact pieces 30, 30. By engaging the plug with the receptacle 32, the opposite contacts 1, 1... are inserted between the pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30 of the contacts 31, 31... on the side of the receptacle 32 and are held by the pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30, thereby connecting the two contacts 1, 31.

[0090] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the socket 32 ​​is taken as the reference, and the plug side of the socket 32 ​​is used as the basis for the description.

[0091] The plug has Figure 10 , Figure 11 The multiple thin plate-shaped opposing contact elements 1, 1... arranged side by side with their surfaces facing each other are shown in this embodiment. For convenience, only the opposing contact elements 1, 1... are shown.

[0092] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, for convenience, the other contact 1, 1... is represented as a thin plate-shaped contact, but its shape is not particularly limited as long as it has a thin plate-shaped contact portion.

[0093] Socket 32 ​​has Figure 12The plurality of contacts 31, 31... of the present invention shown are a housing 34 having slit-shaped contact insertion holes 33, 33... for inserting each contact 31, 31... The opposing contacts 1, 1... inserted into the contact connection holes 35, 35... formed on the lower surface of the housing 34 are in contact with the contacts 31, 31... inserted into the contact insertion holes 33, 33...

[0094] like Figure 12 As shown, the contacts 31, 31... are integrally formed by punching and bending conductive metal sheets, and have a base 37 integrally formed with a pressing part 36 and a pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30 whose side ends are supported on the base 37 and are opposite to each other.

[0095] The base 37 is formed as a thin rectangular plate that is continuous with the front end side of the crimping portion 36, and a pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30 are supported about the two side edges of the base 37 as rotation axes.

[0096] Each of the pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30 has a base piece portion 38 supported on the base portion 37 with the end portion 38a as the rotation axis, an action control piece portion 39 supported on the base piece portion 38, and a contact piece portion 40 supported on the base piece portion 38 and extending side by side with the action control piece portion 39. The contact piece portion 40 and the action control piece portion 39 move in conjunction to a mutually appropriate position.

[0097] The substrate portion 38 is a thin plate that is bent around the end 38a as a rotation axis at the side edge of the base portion 37. The long dimension of the substrate portion 38 extends in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the crimping portion 36. In the state before being inserted into the housing 34, the substrate portion 38 extends in a manner that is parallel to or slightly inclined to the outside compared to its front end side (opposite to the base portion 37).

[0098] The motion control plate 39 has a pair of support portions 39a, 39a respectively disposed on both sides of the contact plate 40 and supported at the base end on the long dimension direction side edge of the base plate 38, and a connecting portion 39b connecting the front ends of the support portions 39a, 39a, and is formed to surround the contact plate 40 by the base plate 38, the two support portions 39a, 39a, and the connecting portion 39b.

[0099] Furthermore, the motion control plate 39 is configured with two support portions 39a, 39a and a connecting portion 39b on the same plane as the base plate 38. The base plate 38 can rotate together with the motion control plate 39 on the base 37 with the side end as the rotation axis. The motion control plate 39 is configured to rotate about a rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal dimension direction of the base plate 38.

[0100] The motion control plate 39 is configured such that the distance from the base plate 38 to the front end (the front end of the connecting part 39b) is longer than the distance from the base plate 38 to the front end of the contact plate 40. By applying a force to the front end side of the motion control plate 39, the elastic contact plates 30, 30 are rotated appropriately using rotational torque.

[0101] On the other hand, the contact plate portion 40 is formed by cutting and folding the plate portion constituting the substrate portion 38 and the motion control plate portion 39 inward. The contact plate portion 40 extends obliquely inward from the side edge of the substrate portion 38, and its front end is folded back outward to form a bulging contact portion 40a.

[0102] In addition, in order to protect the contact portion 40a and improve its wear resistance, a plating treatment was applied to the contact portion 40a.

[0103] It should be noted that, as Figure 12 As shown in (c), before being installed in the housing 34, the distance between the contact portions 40a, 40a is ensured to be a certain distance. More specifically, the edges opposite to the end portion 38a are separated from each other by the end portion 38a as the axis of rotation and the elastic contact pieces 30, 30 are arranged in a "H" shape, ensuring a distance sufficient for plating treatment.

[0104] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the case where the contact members 31, 31... have a crimping portion 36 and the wire 14 is crimped by crimping is described, but the substrate connecting piece or terminal for connecting to the substrate may be provided instead of the crimping portion 36.

[0105] like Figure 13 As shown, the housing 34 includes a housing body 41 having a plurality of contact insertion holes 33, 33... and a fixing block 42 that is installed in a direction orthogonal to the contact insertion holes 33, 33... of the housing body 41. The housing 34 fixes the contacts 31, 31... inserted into the contact insertion holes 33, 33... by the fixing block 42.

[0106] The outer shell body 41 is formed into a cuboid shape by insulating resin, and has a plurality of contact insertion holes 33, 33... with openings on the upper surface, and contact connection holes 35, 35... with openings on the lower surface (the side of the plug) and communicating with the contact insertion holes 33, 33... By inserting the opposite contact 1, 1... into the contact insertion holes 35, 35..., the opposite contact 1, 1... inserted into the contact connection holes 35, 35... is clamped between a pair of elastic contact pieces 30, 30.

[0107] The contact insertion holes 33, 33... are formed as slits (rectangular holes) that extend through the housing body 41 in the vertical direction, and positioning grooves 33a, 33a are formed on the lower two sides for the motion control plate 39 to be inserted.

[0108] The contact insertion holes 33, 33... are formed such that their width is narrower than the spacing of the motion control pieces 39 of the contact 31 before insertion. By inserting the contact 31 into the contact insertion holes 33, 33..., the spacing of the motion control pieces 39 narrows, thereby moving the entire elastic contact pieces 30, 30 to a mutually appropriate position, that is, the contact point spacing narrows, thereby clamping the opposing contact pieces 1, 1... with appropriate contact pressure. It should be noted that in this embodiment, corresponding to the thin opposing contact pieces 1, 1..., the two contact points rotate to the contact position, but the contact point spacing can be set to any width.

[0109] Furthermore, the motion control piece 39 is inserted into the positioning slots 33a, 33a, thereby maintaining the positions of the two motion control pieces 39 in the appropriate positions.

[0110] The contact connection holes 35, 35... and the contact insertion holes 33, 33... are formed in a slit shape corresponding to their positions and are arranged side by side on the lower surface of the outer casing body 41.

[0111] On the other hand, on one side of the outer casing 41, a plug insertion portion 43 is formed by transversely cutting multiple contact insertion holes 33, 33..., and the contact 31, 31... inserted into the contact insertion holes 33, 33... is fixed by inserting the fixing plug 42 into the plug insertion portion 43.

[0112] like Figure 13 As shown, the fixing plug 42 is formed of insulating resin into a cuboid shape. When not inserted (in the pulled-out state), the fixing plug 42 is held in a position that does not obstruct the insertion and removal of the contacts 31, 31... into the contacts insertion holes 33, 33... When the fixing plug 42 is inserted, the fixing plug 42 is held in a position behind the insertion direction of the elastic contact pieces 30, 30 of the contacts 31, 31... that are inserted into the contacts insertion holes 33, 33...

[0113] Furthermore, the fixing plug 42 has a plurality of pressing grooves 42a, 42a... arranged horizontally side by side on its front surface in the insertion direction. By inserting the fixing plug 42 into the plug insertion part 43, each pressing groove 42a, 42a... engages with the pressing part 36 of the contact 31, 31... inserted into the contact insertion hole 33, 33..., and keeps the contact 31, 31... in place.

[0114] When manufacturing a connector with such a configuration, as a pretreatment, conductive metal sheets are punched and bent to form contacts 31, 31..., and two contact pieces 40 are arranged at a certain distance from each other. In this state, the contact portions of the contact pieces 40 are plated.

[0115] In addition, as needed, wires are crimped to crimping part 36 to create contact parts 31, 31... assemblies.

[0116] Next, as Figure 13 As shown in (a), the fixing plug 42 is pulled out of the housing body 41, and in this state, the contact 31, 31... is inserted into the upper opening of the contact insertion hole 33, 33...

[0117] At this time, the lower part of the motion control plate 39 of the contact members 31, 31... contacts the opening edge of the contact member insertion hole 33, 33... When the contact members 31, 31... are further inserted, the front end of the motion control plate 39 rotates inward around the base plate, and the front end of the motion control plate 39 is inserted into the positioning groove 33a, 33a, and the motion control plate 39 is held in the appropriate position.

[0118] On the other hand, the contact piece 40 is supported on a base plate that is the same plate shape as the motion control piece 39. Therefore, the contact piece 40 is linked with the motion control piece 39, which has been rotated to the appropriate position, and rotates to the appropriate position (in this embodiment, the position where the contact parts contact each other) within the contact insertion holes 33, 33...

[0119] Then, after inserting all contacts 31, 31... into the contact insertion holes 33, 33..., as follows... Figure 13 As shown in (c), the fixing insert 42 is pressed into the outer shell body 41.

[0120] Thus, the fixing block 42 is held in a position behind the elastic contact pieces 30, 30 of the contacts 31, 31, ... which are inserted into the contact insertion holes 33, 33, ... and inserted in the insertion direction of the contact insertion holes 33, 33, ... The pressing grooves 42a, 42a, ... of the fixing block 42 are engaged with the pressing portions 36 of the contacts 31, 31, ... inserted into the contact insertion holes 33, 33, ... The contacts 31, 31, ... are held, and the assembly of the socket 32 ​​is completed.

Claims

1. A contact piece having a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on a base and opposed to each other, characterized in that each of the pair of elastic contact pieces has a base piece portion supported on the base, a motion control piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, and a contact piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, the contact piece portion extending side by side with the motion control piece portion in a manner that a tip end side thereof is inclined toward an inner side, the contact piece portion moves in conjunction with the motion control piece portion to appropriate positions with respect to each other.

2. The contact piece according to claim 1, wherein a distance from the base piece portion to a tip end of the motion control piece portion is longer than a distance from the base piece portion to a tip end of the contact piece portion.

3. The contact piece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the motion control piece portion has a pair of support portions disposed on both sides of the contact piece portion, the support portions having base ends supported on the base piece portion, and a connecting portion connecting between tip end portions of the support portions.

4. The contact piece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of elastic contact pieces are disposed in a manner that the base piece portion is supported with a side edge of a thin plate-shaped base portion as a pivot axis, and the motion control piece portion and the contact piece portion having base ends supported on the base piece portion pivot about a pivot axis parallel to the base portion.

5. The contact piece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the pair of elastic contact pieces, a tip end distance is wider than a base end distance, and the two contact piece portions opposed to each other are disposed at a distance apart from each other.

6. The contact piece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of elastic contact pieces are disposed in a manner that the base piece portion is supported with a side end portion as a pivot axis on the base portion, and the motion control piece portion and the contact piece portion pivot about a pivot axis parallel to a long dimension direction of the base piece portion.

7. A connector having a contact piece having a thin plate-shaped base portion and a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on the base portion and opposed to each other, and a housing having slit-shaped contact piece insertion holes into which the contact piece is inserted, and an opposite contact piece is held between the pair of elastic contact pieces, characterized in that each of the pair of elastic contact pieces has a base piece portion supported on the base portion, a motion control piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, and a contact piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, the contact piece portion extending side by side with the motion control piece portion in a manner that a tip end side thereof is inclined toward an inner side, the contact piece portion pivots in conjunction with the motion control piece portion, and the contact piece portions are disposed at appropriate positions with respect to each other in the contact piece insertion holes.

8. The connector according to claim 7, wherein a positioning groove into which a tip end portion of the motion control piece portion is inserted is formed in the contact piece insertion hole.

9. The connector according to claim 7, wherein the housing has a fixing block inserted into a block insertion portion in a movable manner, the block insertion portion being formed transversely to a plurality of contact piece insertion holes, and by inserting the fixing block into the block insertion portion, the contact piece inserted into the contact piece insertion hole is fixed. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 10. A manufacturing method of a connector, the connector comprising: a contact member including a pair of elastic contact pieces supported on a base portion and opposed to each other; and a housing including a slit-shaped contact member insertion hole into which the contact member is inserted, the pair of elastic contact pieces sandwiching the counter contact member therebetween, the manufacturing method of the connector characterized by: each of the pair of elastic contact pieces including a base piece portion supported on the base portion, a motion control piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, and a contact piece portion having a base end supported on the base piece portion, the contact piece portion extending side by side with the motion control piece portion in a manner that a front end side thereof is inclined inward, a pitch of the pair of elastic contact pieces being configured such that the two contact piece portions opposed to each other are separated by a certain distance, in this state, performing plating processing on a contact point portion of the contact piece portion, and then, inserting the contact member into the contact member insertion hole, and rotating the contact piece portion in the contact member insertion hole to appropriate positions with respect to each other in conjunction with the motion control piece portion that has been rotated to appropriate positions. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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