contact

Abstract

To provide a contact that can suppress excessive deformation of an elastic piece.SOLUTION: A contact includes a hollow box-shaped main body 10 into which a plate-shaped mating contact is inserted in an insertion direction X1. A pair of elastic pieces (first elastic piece 20 and second elastic piece 30) inclined inward toward the insertion direction X1 into a main body 10 from a pair of facing edges 10b and 10c of an insertion opening 10a of the main body 10. When a pair of restricting portions R (restricting grooves 15, 16) provided in the main body 10 regulate the amount of deformation of the elastic piece portions 20, 30 when the mating contact is inserted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a contact. [Background technology]

[0002] In the contact assembly disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conductor rod (mating contact) is connected to a housing member fixed to an electric circuit board. The housing member includes a base ring fixed to the electric circuit board, and a plurality of elastically deformable tongues that protrude from the base ring to one side, are arranged in a ring shape around the conductor rod, and are exposed to the outside. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Publication No. 2019-145504 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the mating contact (conductor rod) is inserted obliquely into the housing member, the tongue portion may be excessively deformed, which may impair the function of the contact. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a contact that can suppress excessive deformation of the elastic piece portion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Claim 1 The invention described in the item (1) includes a hollow box-shaped main body portion forming an insertion opening into which a plate-shaped mating contact is inserted in an insertion direction, a pair of main body pieces extending from a pair of opposing edges of the insertion opening into the main body portion in an inclined manner inward in the insertion direction, and a pair of main body pieces extending from the pair of main body pieces in an inclined manner outward in the insertion direction. Taa pair of cantilevered elastic pieces each including a pair of extended piece pieces, a pair of contact pieces respectively arranged at the apexes of the mountain shapes formed by the corresponding main piece piece and the extended piece piece, and a restricted portion; and a pair of restricting portions provided on the main body portion and adapted to restrict the deformation amount of the corresponding elastic piece piece by abutting against the restricted portion of the corresponding elastic piece piece when the mating contact is inserted, wherein each of the elastic piece pieces (20P, 30P) has a pair of second outward projections (26) as the restricted portion extended outward from a pair of side edges of the contact piece. , 36), and each of the restricting portions is a pair of second restricting grooves (17, 18) formed on a pair of side wall portions of the main body portion, into which the pair of second outward protrusions of the corresponding elastic piece portion are inserted, and when the mating contact is inserted, groove inner surfaces (17a, 18a) of the pair of second restricting grooves abut against the pair of second outward protrusions as the restricted portions of the corresponding elastic piece portion, thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the corresponding elastic piece portion, and each of the elastic piece portions is ,before The contact on the other side changes the direction outward. Rank The contact (1P) is configured such that, after the contact is inserted, the pair of second outward protrusions as the regulated portions come into contact with the groove inner surfaces of the pair of second regulating grooves, thereby regulating the amount of deformation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described below, but this does not, of course, mean that the present invention is limited to those embodiments. The same applies hereinafter in this section.

[0010] Claim 1 In the invention described in (1), a pair of second outward protrusions extending outward from a pair of side edges of the contact portion of each elastic piece are inserted into the second restriction grooves in a pair of side wall portions of the main body, respectively. Each second outward protrusion engages with the inner surface of the corresponding second restriction groove, thereby suppressing excessive deformation of the pair of elastic pieces. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1A]FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a contact according to a first embodiment of the present invention is in use, showing a state before a mating contact is connected. [Figure 1B] FIG. 1B is a schematic perspective view showing the contact in use, in which a mating contact is connected. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view of the contact of the first embodiment, seen from a different angle. [Figure 3A] FIG. 3A is a front view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 3B] FIG. 3B is a rear view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is a left side view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B is a right side view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a plan view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a bottom view of the contact of the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the contact of the first embodiment, and corresponds to the cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 3A. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a schematic perspective view of a contact according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a schematic perspective view of the contact of the second embodiment, seen from another angle. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is a left side view of the contact of the second embodiment. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a right side view of the contact of the second embodiment. [Figure 9A] FIG. 9A is a schematic perspective view of a contact according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9B] FIG. 9B is a schematic perspective view of the contact of the third embodiment, seen from another angle. [Figure 10A]FIG. 10A is a front view of the contact of the third embodiment. [Figure 10B] FIG. 10B is a rear view of the contact of the third embodiment. [Figure 11A] FIG. 11A is a left side view of the contact of the third embodiment. [Figure 11B] FIG. 11B is a right side view of the contact of the third embodiment. [Figure 12A] FIG. 12A is a plan view of a contact according to a third embodiment. [Figure 12B] FIG. 12B is a bottom view of the contact of the third embodiment. [Figure 13A] FIG. 13A is a schematic perspective view of a contact according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13B] FIG. 13B is a schematic perspective view of the contact of the fourth embodiment, seen from another angle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. (First embodiment) 1A and 1B are schematic perspective views showing a state in which a contact 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is in use. Fig. 1A shows a state before a mating contact is connected, and Fig. 1B shows a state in which the mating contact is connected.

[0014] 1A and 1B, a plurality of contacts 1 are mounted side by side on, for example, a circuit board 100. A connection target, for example, a motor 110, includes a motor body 111 and a plurality of mating contacts 112 protruding from the motor body 111. A corresponding mating contact 112 is inserted into and connected to each contact 1 in the insertion direction X1. That is, in this embodiment, the contact 1 functions as a connector for connecting a motor. The contact 1 also constitutes a so-called housingless connector, which does not use a resin housing.

[0015] The mating contacts 112 are elongated, plate-like contacts whose longitudinal direction is the insertion direction X1. The mating contacts 112 have a thickness direction in the left-right direction Y perpendicular to the insertion direction X1 and a predetermined width in the front-rear direction Z perpendicular to the insertion direction X1. FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of the contact 1, and FIG. 2B is a schematic perspective view of the contact 1 from a different angle. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the contact 1 includes a main body 10, a pair of elastic pieces, namely a first elastic piece 20 and a second elastic piece 30, a pair of lead portions 40, and first restricting grooves 15 and 16 that form the restricting portion R. The contact 1 is made of a conductive material, such as a copper alloy. The surface of the contact 1 is plated with tin, for example. The contact 1 is formed by press-molding a single sheet of plate material.

[0016] The main body 10 is formed in a hollow box shape and has an insertion opening 10a. The mating contact 112 is inserted into the main body 10 through the insertion opening 10a in an insertion direction X1. Specifically, the main body 10 includes a front wall 11, a rear wall 12, a pair of side walls 13, a locking piece 14, a pair of first restriction grooves 15 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B), and a pair of first restriction grooves 16 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B). The locking piece 14 extends perpendicularly from one of the side walls 13 and is hooked onto the outer surface of the front wall 11.

[0017] Fig. 3A is a front view of the contact 1, and Fig. 3B is a rear view of the contact 1. Fig. 4A is a left side view of the contact, and Fig. 4B is a right side view of the contact 1. Fig. 5A is a plan view of the contact 1, and Fig. 5B is a bottom view of the contact 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the contact 1, corresponding to the cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 3A. 2A and 6, the first elastic piece 20 and the second elastic piece 30 are cantilevered and extend from the main body 10, facing each other. The first elastic piece 20 and the second elastic piece 30 are generally slanted inwardly and extend from a pair of opposing edges 10b, 10c of the insertion opening 10a into the main body 10 in the insertion direction X1.

[0018] Specifically, the first elastic piece 20 includes a main piece 21, an extension piece 22, a contact portion 23, and a pair of first outward projections 24. The main piece 21 extends from one opposing edge 10b of the insertion opening 10a in an inwardly sloping manner in the insertion direction X1. The extension piece 22 extends from an extension end of the main piece 21 in an outwardly sloping manner in the insertion direction X1. The main piece 21 and the extension piece 22 form an inwardly oriented mountain shape. A contact portion 23 is located at the apex of the mountain shape formed by the main piece 21 and the extension piece 22.

[0019] 3A, 5A, and 5B, the pair of first outward protrusions 24 are protrusions that protrude outward from a pair of side edges of the extension piece portion 22. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the pair of first outward protrusions 24 are inserted into first restriction grooves 15 formed in a pair of side wall portions 13 of the main body portion 10, respectively. The cross section of the first outward protrusions 24 is rectangular. The first restriction grooves 15 into which the first outward protrusions 24 are inserted are fan-shaped and widen in the extension direction of the extension piece portion 22.

[0020] Each first outward protrusion 24 of the first elastic piece 20 engages with the inner surface 15a of the corresponding first restricting groove 15 (restricting portion R) of the side wall portion 13, thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the first elastic piece 20. In other words, the first restricting groove 15 (restricting portion R) functions to restrict the amount of deformation of the first elastic piece 20 to a predetermined amount or less when the mating contact 112 is inserted. As shown in FIG. 6, the second elastic piece 30 includes a main piece 31, an extension piece 32, a contact portion 33, and a pair of first outward projections .

[0021] The main piece portion 31 of the second elastic piece portion 30 extends from the other opposing edge portion 10c of the insertion opening 10a in an inwardly sloping manner in the insertion direction X1. The extension piece portion 32 extends from the extension end of the main piece portion 31 in an outwardly sloping manner in the insertion direction X1. The main piece portion 31 and the extension piece portion 32 together form an inwardly sloping shape. A contact portion 33 is disposed at the apex of the mountain shape formed by the main piece portion 31 and the extension piece portion 32. The contact portion 23 of the first elastic piece portion 20 and the contact portion 33 of the second elastic piece portion 30 are disposed at the portions where the first elastic piece portion 20 and the second elastic piece portion 30 are closely opposed to each other.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 6, the mating contact 112 inserted into the hollow main body 10 is inserted and elastically held between the contact portions 23, 33 of the elastic piece portions 20, 30. As shown in Figs. 3A, 3B and 6, each contact portion 23, 33 is provided with a plurality of inwardly protruding vertical ribs 25, 35 to increase the contact pressure against the mating contact 112. As shown in Figures 3B, 5A, and 5B, the pair of first outward protrusions 34 of the second elastic piece 30 are protrusions that protrude outward from a pair of side edges of the extension piece 32. As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, the pair of first outward protrusions 34 are inserted into first restriction grooves 16 formed in each of a pair of side wall portions 13 of the main body 10. The cross section of the first outward protrusions 34 is rectangular. The first restriction groove 16 into which the first outward protrusions 34 are inserted is fan-shaped and widens in the extension direction of the extension piece 32.

[0023] Each first outward protrusion 34 of the second elastic piece 30 engages with the inner surface 16a of the corresponding first restricting groove 16 (restricting portion R), thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the second elastic piece 30. The first restricting groove 16 (restricting portion R) functions to restrict the amount of deformation of the second elastic piece 30 to a predetermined amount or less when the mating contact 112 is inserted. As shown in Fig. 6, the pair of lead portions 40 are a pair of plate portions extending outward perpendicularly from the edges of the opening 11a in the front wall portion 11 and the opening 12a in the rear wall portion 12 of the main body portion 10 on opposite sides in the insertion direction X1. The pair of lead portions 40 are solder-connected to conductor pads 100b (see Fig. 4A) on the surface 100a of the circuit board 100 (so-called SMT type). The area of ​​the flat surface of the lead portion 40 is preferably large enough to be sucked by a suction pad used when automatically mounting the contact 1 on the circuit board 100.

[0024] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, when the mating contact 112 is inserted between the first elastic piece portion 20 and the second elastic piece portion 30 within the main body portion 10 (see Figure 6), the restricting portion R can suppress excessive deformation of the first elastic piece portion 20 and the second elastic piece portion 30. In particular, the first elastic piece 20 and the second elastic piece 30 include main piece portions 21, 31 that are inclined inward toward the insertion direction X1, and extension piece portions 22, 32 that extend from the main piece portions 21, 31 and are inclined outward toward the insertion direction X1. First outward protrusions 24, 34 (see FIG. 5B ) that protrude outward from a pair of side edges of the extension piece portions 22, 32 of each elastic piece 20, 30 are inserted into first restriction grooves 15, 16 (restriction portions R) of a pair of side wall portions 13 of the main body 10, respectively (see FIGS. 4A and 4B ). The pair of first outward protrusions 24, 34 of each elastic piece 20, 30 engage with the inner surfaces 15a, 16a of the corresponding first restriction grooves 15, 16, thereby suppressing excessive deformation of each elastic piece 20, 30.

[0025] Furthermore, the shape of each of the first restricting grooves 15, 16 (restricting portion R) is a fan shape that widens in the extension direction of the corresponding extending piece portion 22, 32. Therefore, the inner surfaces 15a, 16a of each of the first restricting grooves 15, 16 can receive with high positional accuracy the first outward protrusions 24, 34, which have a rectangular cross section and are displaced in accordance with the deformation of the corresponding elastic piece portion 20, 30. Consequently, the amount of deformation of each elastic piece portion 20, 30 can be restricted with high precision. (Second embodiment) Fig. 7A is a schematic perspective view of a contact 1P according to a second embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 7B is a schematic perspective view of the contact 1P from another angle, Fig. 8A is a left side view of the contact 1P, and Fig. 8B is a right side view of the contact 1P.

[0026] The contact 1P of the second embodiment shown in Figures 7A, 7B, 8A, and 8B differs from the contact 1 of the first embodiment shown in Figures 2A, 2B, 4A, and 4B mainly in the following respects: the contact 1P includes a main body 10P having a pair of sidewalls 13P, a first elastic piece 20P, and a second elastic piece 30P. The first elastic piece portion 20P includes a pair of second outward protrusions 26 extending outward from a pair of side edges of the contact portion 23. The pair of second outward protrusions 26 are inserted into second restriction grooves 17 (restriction portions R) formed in each of a pair of side wall portions 13P of the main body portion 10P. Since the contact portion 23 is provided at the top of the mountain-shaped portion, each second outward protrusion 26 is formed to have a curved cross section, specifically, a dogleg shape when viewed from the outside. The second restriction groove 17 is formed to be approximately rectangular.

[0027] The second elastic piece portion 30P has a pair of second outward protrusions 36 extending outward from a pair of side edges of the contact portion 33. The pair of second outward protrusions 36 are inserted into second restriction grooves 18 (restriction portions R) formed in a pair of side wall portions 13P of the main body portion 10P, respectively. Since the contact portion 33 is provided at the top of the mountain-shaped portion, each second outward protrusion 36 is formed to have a curved cross section, specifically, a dogleg shape when viewed from the outside. The second restriction grooves 18 are formed to be approximately rectangular.

[0028] In the second embodiment of FIGS. 7A, 7B, 8A and 8B, components common to those of the first embodiment of FIGS. 2A, 2B, 4A and 4B are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a pair of second outward protrusions 26, 36 extending outward from a pair of side edges of the contact portions 23, 33 of each elastic piece portion 20P, 30P are inserted into the corresponding second restriction grooves 17, 18 (restriction portions R) of the pair of side wall portions 13P of the main body portion 10P. When a mating contact 112 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B) is inserted between the first elastic piece portion 20P and the second elastic piece portion 30P in the main body portion 10P, the second outward protrusions 26, 36 engage with the inner surfaces 17a, 18a of the corresponding second restriction grooves 17, 18, thereby suppressing excessive deformation of each elastic piece portion 20P, 30P.

[0029] Furthermore, since the second outward projections 26, 36 are formed to have a bent (L-shaped) cross section, the strength is improved, and therefore excessive deformation of the elastic piece portions 20P, 30P can be reliably suppressed. (Third embodiment) FIG. 9A is a schematic perspective view of a contact 1Q according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9B is a schematic perspective view of the contact 1Q from another angle. FIG. 10A is a front view of the contact 1Q, and FIG. 10B is a rear view of the contact 1Q. FIG. 11A is a left side view of the contact 1Q, and FIG. 11B is a right side view of the contact 1Q. FIG. 12A is a plan view of the contact 1Q, and FIG. 12B is a bottom view of the contact 1Q.

[0030] The contact 1Q of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A to 12B differs from the contact 1 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 6 mainly in the following points. 9A and 9B, the contact 1Q includes a main body 10Q having a pair of sidewalls 13Q, a first elastic piece 20Q, and a second elastic piece 30Q. The first elastic piece 20Q does not have the first outward protrusion 24 as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the second elastic piece 30Q does not have the first outward protrusion 34 as in the first embodiment.

[0031] 10A to 12B, a restricting portion R that restricts the amount of deformation of the first elastic piece portion 20Q is composed of a pair of restricting protrusions 50 formed to protrude inward from a pair of side wall portions 13Q of the main body portion 10Q. Each restricting protrusion 50 is formed as a plate portion that extends inward perpendicularly from the edge of an opening 51 formed in each side wall portion 13Q. As shown in FIG. 10A, the pair of restricting protrusions 50 (restricting portion R) engage with the main piece portion 21 of the first elastic piece portion 20Q, thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the first elastic piece portion 20Q.

[0032] 10A to 12B, the restricting portion R that restricts the amount of deformation of the second elastic piece portion 30Q is composed of a pair of restricting protrusions 60 formed to protrude inward from a pair of side wall portions 13Q of the main body portion 10Q. Each restricting protrusion 60 is formed as a plate portion that extends inward perpendicularly from the edge of an opening 61 formed in each side wall portion 13Q. As shown in FIG. 10B, the pair of restricting protrusions 60 (restricting portion R) engage with the main piece portion 31 of the second elastic piece portion 30Q, thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the second elastic piece portion 30Q.

[0033] In the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 9A to 12B, components common to those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 6 are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, when the mating contact 112 (see Figures 1A and 1B) is inserted between the first elastic piece 20Q and the second elastic piece 30Q in the main body 10Q, the restricting protrusions 50, 60 formed protruding from a pair of side wall portions 13Q of the main body 10Q engage with the corresponding elastic piece portions 20Q, 30Q, thereby suppressing excessive deformation of each elastic piece portion 20Q, 30Q. (Fourth embodiment) FIG. 13A is a schematic perspective view of a contact 1S according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13B is a schematic perspective view of the contact 1S from another angle.

[0034] The contact 1S of the third embodiment shown in Figures 13A and 13B differs from the contact 1 of the first embodiment shown in Figures 2A and 2B in that the lead portion 40S includes a leg portion 40S1 arranged on the front surface 100a of the circuit board 100 (see Figure 4A) and a pin-shaped protrusion 40S2 extending perpendicularly from the leg portion 40S1, penetrating the circuit board 100, and soldered to the back surface of the circuit board 100 (so-called DIP type). In the fourth embodiment shown in Figures 13A and 13B, components common to those of the first embodiment shown in Figures 2A and 2B are designated by common reference numerals.

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims. For example, the contacts may be housed and held in a resin housing. Furthermore, the contacts may be connected to general electronic devices, not just motors. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1;1P;1Q;1S Contact 10;10P;10Q Main body 10a Insertion opening 10b,10c Opposite edges 11 Front wall 12 Rear wall 13;13P;13Q Side wall part 15 First restriction groove (restriction portion) 15a Inner surface 16 First restriction groove (restriction part) 16a Inner surface 17 Second restriction groove (restriction part) 17a Inner surface 18 Second restriction groove (restriction part) 18a Inside 20;20P;20Q First elastic piece 21 Main body piece 22 Extension piece 23 Contact area 24 1st extroverted process 26 Second outward process 30;30P;30Q Second elastic piece 31 Main body piece 32 Extension piece 33 Contact area 34 First outward process 36 2nd extroverted process 50 Restriction protrusion (restriction part) 60 Restriction protrusion (restriction part) 100 Circuit Boards 110 Motor 112 Counterparty Contact R Regulation Department X1 Insertion direction

Claims

[Claim 1] a hollow box-shaped main body portion forming an insertion opening through which a plate-shaped mating contact is inserted in an insertion direction; a pair of cantilevered elastic pieces including a pair of main piece pieces extending from a pair of opposing edge portions of the insertion opening into the main body portion in an inwardly inclined manner in the insertion direction, a pair of extension piece pieces extending from the pair of main piece pieces in an outwardly inclined manner in the insertion direction, a pair of contact portions respectively disposed at the apexes of the mountain shapes formed by the corresponding main piece pieces and the extension piece pieces, and a regulated portion; a pair of restricting portions provided on the main body portion, the restricting portions coming into contact with the restricted portions of the corresponding elastic piece portions when the mating contact is inserted, thereby restricting the deformation amounts of the corresponding elastic piece portions, Each of the elastic pieces includes a pair of second outward projections as the restricted portion extending outward from a pair of side edges of the contact portion, each of the restricting portions includes a pair of second restricting grooves formed on a pair of side wall portions of the main body portion, into which the pair of second outward protrusions of the corresponding elastic piece portion are inserted, and when the mating contact is inserted, inner surfaces of the pair of second restricting grooves abut against the pair of second outward protrusions as the restricted portions of the corresponding elastic piece portion, thereby restricting the amount of deformation of the corresponding elastic piece portion, A contact configured such that when the mating contact is inserted, each of the elastic piece portions is displaced outward by the mating contact, and then the amount of deformation is regulated by the pair of second outward protrusions as the regulated portions abutting against the inner groove surfaces of the pair of second regulating grooves.

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