Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-27
2001-05-29
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
C439S884000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06238252
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a flat plug-in contact member for electrical plug-in connections containing a stamped/bent part with a line terminal element at one end of the contact member. An intermediate region follows the line terminal element and is bent to form a cross-sectionally rectangular box with two side walls. A bottom wall connects the two side walls along with a top wall. A contact blade formed of two halves is provided at the other end of the contact member and the blade protrudes from the intermediate region and is thicker than the other regions.
Such flat plug-in contact members are often used as flat connectors in the case of motor-vehicle plug-in connectors, where they are exposed to aggressive operating conditions. Such contact members are Often configured with a contact blade of, for example, 2.8×0.63 mm or 5.2×0.63 mm and, owing to the required resistance to being stood on, for example, must have high mechanical stability. For this reason, the intermediate region of such a contact member, that is to say the region between the contact blade and the line terminal element, is often configured as a rectangular, closed box. The contact blade itself must also have a certain stability for mechanical and electrical reasons. It is therefore usually formed with twice the material thickness of the other regions of the contact member.
European Patent EP 0 572 874 B1 discloses a contact member of the type stated at the beginning which is produced from a stamped/bent part and has a cross-sectionally rectangular, box-shaped intermediate region, to which a contact blade of twice the material thickness is joined. The contact blade is in this case formed by two halves, which are attached as extensions to the side walls of the intermediate region and, by bending up the side walls and folding them laterally together, form a complete contact blade of twice the material thickness. In the case of such a contact member, a relatively great pitch of the stamped sheet-metal parts lying next to one another in a sheet-metal strip is obtained in the developed view of the intermediate region and the contact blade.
Furthermore, German Patent DE 195 39 714 C1 likewise discloses a flat plug-in contact member of the type stated at the beginning. In this contact member the original stamped/bent part is initially of a uniform thickness, which corresponds to the final thickness of the contact blade and is reduced, for example by a milling tool, in the terminal region and in the intermediate region to approximately half the material thickness of the original material. In the case of this contact member, an additional processing operation is therefore envisaged for producing the material thickness provided in the individual regions. Here, the contact blade is joined to the base wall of the intermediate region, which apart from the base wall has the two side walls and the top wall. Here too, a relatively great pitch of the stamped sheet-metal parts is obtained in the developed view of the contact member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a flat plug-in contact member for electrical plug-in connections that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type.
With the foregoing and other objects in view, a flat plug-in contact member for electrical plug-in connections is provided in accordance with the invention. The flat plug-in contact member includes a stamped/bent part having a longitudinal direction and a material thickness. The stamped/bent part contains a line terminal element, a box-shaped intermediate region, and a contact blade. The line terminal element is defined at a first end of the stamped/bent part. The box-shaped intermediate region follows the line terminal element. The box-shaped intermediate region is bent to form a cross-sectionally rectangular box having two side walls, a bottom wall connecting the two side walls, a top wall, and a height. The contact blade is disposed at a second end of the stamped/bent part and is formed by a connecting location, a first blade half, and a second blade half. The contact blade protrudes from the intermediate region and is thicker than both of the line terminal element and the box-shaped intermediate region. The first blade half runs in alignment in the longitudinal direction and adjoins the bottom wall of the box-shaped intermediate region. The second blade half adjoins the first blade half. The top wall adjoins the second blade half. The second blade half is bent back through one-hundred-eighty degrees (180°) over the first blade half at the connecting location of the first and second blade halves by a folding transverse to the longitudinal direction of the first and second blade halves. The contact blade thereby is twice the material thickness, and the top wall thereby comes to lie between the two side walls for forming the box-shaped intermediate region.
The invention is based in particular on the object of making it possible in the case of a flat plug-in contact member of the type stated at the beginning, with a box-shaped intermediate region and a contact blade thicker than the other regions, not only to meet the customary requirements for such contact members, in particular with respect to mechanical stability, but also to produce the contact member more efficiently from a stamped/bent part.
This object is achieved according to the invention by providing that, in the developed view of the stamped/bent part, the first blade half running in alignment in the longitudinal direction is joined to the bottom wall of the intermediate region. The second blade half running in alignment in the longitudinal direction adjoins the first blade half. The top wall running in alignment in the longitudinal direction adjoins the second blade half. The second blade half is bent back through 180° over the first blade half at the connecting location of the two blade halves by a folding transverse to the longitudinal direction of the blade halves. In a folded state, a contact blade of twice the material thickness is formed, and that the top wall thereby comes to lie between the two side walls for forming the box-shaped intermediate region.
In the case of such a flat plug-in contact member, the contact blade halves run in alignment with one another in the longitudinal direction, the complete contact blade of twice the material thickness being formed by folding transversely to the longitudinal direction and bending back the second blade half through 180° over the first blade half. Furthermore, as a difference in comparison with the known flat plug-in contact members of the type stated at the beginning, the top wall of the intermediate region is provided in alignment in the longitudinal direction on the second blade half, so that there is obtained for the production of the contact member in a stamping/bending operation an original part which, although longer overall than known contact members, is distinctly narrower, and consequently, in spite of the configuration of the contact member in a box shape, smaller pitches are achieved on a sheet-metal strip. This allows better overall material utilization in spite of a wider sheet-metal strip. Since, together with the bending operation for the contact blade, the top wall also comes to lie between the two side walls of the intermediate region. The box shape of the intermediate region can be formed in a simple way, with the overall result that more efficient production of the contact member from a stamped/bent part is made possible. The shaping of the contact member according to the invention is also advantageous, including with regard to the achievable mechanical stability of the contact member, on account of the direct connection between the top wall of the intermediate region and the contact blade and the possibilities of a connection produced between the side walls of the intermediate region and the top wall. To be regarded as a further advantage of the contact member accordin
Greenberg Laurence A.
Lerner Herbert L.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Sircus Brian
Stemer Werner H.
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