Receptacle terminal and forming method of the same

Details Receptacle terminal and forming method of the same Receptacle terminal and forming method of the same

2000-08-03

2001-09-04

Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Metallic connector or contact having movable or resilient...

Spring actuated or resilient securing part

Reexamination Certificate

active

06283802

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receptacle terminal consisting of an electrical contact barrel and a resilient contact tongue arranged in the electrical contact barrel for receiving a pin terminal with a reliable contact force.
2. Related Art
A conventional receptacle terminal has a resilient contact tongue integrally formed with the terminal for contacting a side surface of an associated pin terminal. To increase the contacting force against the pin terminal, there have been proposed various types of receptacle terminals each accommodating a resilient contact tongue with a larger resiliency in an electrical contact barrel of the receptacle terminal.
FIG. 5
shows one of these receptacle terminals. The receptacle terminal has a base plate
13
formed with an electrical cable crimping barrel
12
at a rear portion thereof. The base plate
13
is also formed with an electrical contact barrel
11
for receiving a pin terminal (not shown) at a fore portion thereof. The electrical contact barrel
11
accommodates a curbed resilient contact tongue
17
to resiliently contact the pin terminal. The electrical contact barrel
11
has a pair of side walls
14
raised from the base plate
13
and also has a pair of top walls
15
each formed by inwardly bending each side wall, so that the electrical contact barrel
11
is defined. The resilient contact tongue
17
is provided with a pair of fore end tabs
18
each projecting laterally from the resilient contact tongue
17
at each side thereof. Each tab
18
is inserted into one of a pair of insertion openings
16
each formed in each sidewall
14
of the electrical contact barrel. Thereby, the resilient contact tongue
17
is retained in the electrical contact barrel
11
and can resiliently contact the pin terminal.
In the constitution shown in
FIG. 5
, the resilient contact tongue
17
has the tabs
18
at the fore end thereof to be inserted in the insertion openings
16
. This causes a contact point (a bend peak) of the resilient contact tongue
17
to be positioned backward by the length of the tab, so that the associated pin terminal must have a pin having a longer length, which is disadvantageous for downsizing of a connector accommodating the receptacle terminal.
Therefore, the applicant of this patent application has proposed another receptacle terminal shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 64-10589. This receptacle terminal, as illustrated in
FIG. 6
, has a resilient contact tongue
17
formed with a pair of tabs
18
each projecting from each side end of the resilient contact tongue
17
. Each tab
18
is engagedly supported by an insertion opening
16
of each side wall
14
of an electrical contact barrel
11
constituting the receptacle terminal.
The receptacle terminal shown in
FIG. 6
requires a clearance between the tab
18
and the periphery of the insertion opening
16
so that the resilient contact tongue
17
moves smoothly. In a state in which an associated pin terminal is not inserted, the resilient contact tongue
17
is normally positioned as illustrated in FIG.
7
. However, in a state in which a pin terminal
21
is inserted, the resilient contact tongue
17
moves in the insertion direction of the pin terminal as illustrated in FIG.
8
. Thereby, the tab
18
is abutting against a peripheral edge
19
of the insertion opening
16
, preventing a free resilient movement of the resilient contact tongue
17
. This causes a larger force for the pin terminal
21
to be inserted into the receptacle terminal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, to eliminate such disadvantages, an object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle terminal and a forming method of the same. A resilient contact tongue
17
of the receptacle terminal does not move in the insertion direction of an associated pin terminal
21
during insertion of the pin terminal
21
, so that the pin terminal
21
can be inserted without an additional force.
For achieving the object, a first aspect of the present invention is a receptacle terminal which includes a base plate, an electrical wire connection barrel formed in a rear portion of the base plate, a pair of side walls rising fran the base plate at a fore potion of the base plate, and a pair of top walls each extending from each of the side walls. Thus, the base plate, the side walls, and the top walls define an electrical contact barrel for receiving a pin terminal. The electrical contact barrel accommodates a resilient contact tongue having a pair of tabs each laterally projecting from the resilient contact tongue. The tabs each are inserted into and positioned in an insertion opening formed in each of the side walls of the electrical contact barrel so that the resilient contact tongue is retained in the electrical contact barrel. The electrical contact barrel has a stepped surface formed on an end piece of the base plate at an open end of the electrical contact barrel. The resilient contact tongue has an engagement end piece at least partially engaging with the stepped surface to prevent the resilient contact tongue from moving in the insertion direction of the pin terminal.
The engagement end piece of the resilient contact tongue is formed with a shoulder, and the shoulder engages with the stepped surface to prevent the resilient contact tongue from moving in an insertion direction of the pin terminal.
A second aspect of the present invention is a forming method of a receptacle terminal which includes the steps of:
forming an electrical wire connection barrel in a rear portion of a base plate strip of the terminal,
rising a pair of side walls from the base plate strip each at a fore potion of the base plate strip, and
forming a pair of top walls each extending from each of the side walls so that the base plate strip, the side walls, and the top walls define an electrical contact barrel for receiving a pin terminal,
accommodating a resilient contact tongue strip having a pair of tabs each laterally projecting from the resilient contact tongue in the electrical contact barrel, the tabs each being inserted into and positioned in an insertion opening formed in each of the side walls of the electrical contact barrel so that the resilient contact tongue is retained in the electrical contact barrel,
forming an extension, which is forwardly extending from the electrical contact barrel, in the base plate strip,
providing a groove in the extension such that the groove is extending across a fore open end of the electrical contact barrel,
overlaying a fore end extended piece of the resilient contact tongue strip on the extension of the base plate strip with the tabs being inserted in the insertion openings, and
press-cutting the resilient contact tongue strip together with the base plate strip along a line aligned with the fore open end of the electrical contact barrel.
A third aspect of the present invention is a forming method of a receptacle terminal which includes the steps of:
forming an electrical wire connection barrel in a rear portion of a base plate strip of the terminal,
rising a pair of side walls from the base plate strip at a fore potion of the base plate strip, and
forming a pair of top walls each extending from each of the side walls so that the base plate strip, the side walls, and the top walls define an electrical contact barrel for receiving a pin terminal,
accommodating a resilient contact tongue strip having a pair of tabs each laterally projecting from the resilient contact tongue in the electrical contact barrel, the tabs each being inserted into and positioned in an insertion opening formed in each of the side walls of the electrical contact barrel so that the resilient contact tongue is retained in the electrical contact barrel,
forming an extension, which is forwardly extending from the electrical contact barrel, in the base plate strip,
providing a groove in the extension such that the groove is extending across a fore open end of the electrical contact barrel,
overlaying a fore end extended piece o

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