Electrical connector with contacts having improved resiliency

Details Electrical connector with contacts having improved resiliency Electrical connector with contacts having improved resiliency

1999-12-08

2001-07-10

Luebke, Renee (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Preformed panel circuit arrangement, e.g., pcb, icm, dip,...

With provision to conduct electricity from panel circuit to...

Reexamination Certificate

active

06257900

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, and particularly to an electrical connector for use in coupling two printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Examples of prior art are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,500 and Taiwan Patent Nos. 84203014 and 85203116. Referring to
FIGS. 5-6
, a conventional electrical connector
5
comprises an insulative housing
6
and a plurality of contacts
7
. The housing
6
comprises a bottom
61
, opposite sidewalls
62
extending upward from the bottom
61
and a central projection
64
extending upward from the bottom
61
and parallel to the sidewalls
62
. A plurality of contact receiving cavities
65
are defined on both lower sides of the central projection
64
through the bottom
61
and are separated at regular intervals in a longitudinal direction by barriers (not labeled). Each contact
7
comprises a solder tail
72
, a base section
71
, a retaining section
73
and an S-shaped spring contact section
75
. The solder tail
72
slightly slopes downward from one side of the base section
71
and then extends horizontally. The retaining section
73
upwardly extends from the other side of the base section
71
and forms arced projections
74
thereon to interfere with the barriers on each side of the contact receiving cavity
65
. The S-shaped spring contact section
75
of the contact
7
has two U-shaped transitions
76
and a spring contact end
77
for contacting a mating element.
As the contacts are produced using a stamping and forming process, their manufacture is complex and a high precision punch is required to control the radial dimensions of the two U-shaped transitions. During production, one of two U-shaped sections may be inadvertently made into a V-shaped transition, thereby producing a contact with decreased resiliency and increased rigidity, thus increasing the force needed for insertion and extraction. Additionally, arced projections
74
of the contacts
7
can easily damage the thin barriers of the housing during assembly, causing short circuits between contacts
7
.
Accordingly, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector wherein a transition portion of each contact provides sufficient resiliency to accommodate the normal force exerted by a mating terminal, thereby preventing the contact from permanently deforming during mating.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector wherein arced projections on the retaining section of each contact interfere with a side wall of the connector housing, not with ribs in the housing between the contacts, thereby preventing damage to the ribs and consequent short circuiting between the contacts.
An electrical connector of the present invention comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts. The housing comprises a bottom wall, two opposite sidewalls and a central projection extending upward from the bottom wall and parallel to the opposite sidewalls. A pair of receiving slots are defined between the central projection and each sidewall for receiving a mating electrical connector. Each contact comprises a base portion, a transition portion and a spring contact arm. The transition portion includes a first horizontal section, a vertical section and a second horizontal section. The transition portion and the spring contact arm form three right angle curved transitions which provide sufficient resiliency to establish a firm electrical connection between the contact and a corresponding terminal on a mating connector.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5161985 (1992-11-01), Ramsey
patent: 5224866 (1993-07-01), Nakamura et al.
patent: 5803752 (1998-09-01), McHugh
patent: 5885092 (1999-03-01), Ito et al.
patent: 5931689 (1999-08-01), Patel

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