1. Technical Field
The exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of the invention relate generally to an electrical contact and, more particularly, to a contact area having a geometry to provide an enlarged area.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
U.S. Pat. No. 7,524,209, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses an electrical connector having signal and ground contacts. The ground contacts and signal contacts have different widths at their male termination ends to removably mate with a mating electrical connector. The smaller width provided at the male termination end of the signal contacts is provided by reducing, in the forming die, the thickness of the signal blades. The signal contacts are initially provided in the same lead frame as the ground contacts. Material reduction in a die is not tooling friendly, and the material costs are higher than using one consistent thickness. It is also not desired to redesign the mating connector to accommodate changes to contact thickness.
The following summary is merely intended to be exemplary. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
In accordance with one aspect, an electrical contact is provided including a male termination end configured to be removably inserted into a female termination end of a mating contact. The male termination end having a slot between two beam sections. The slot is formed by a section of the male termination end having had material removed between the two beam sections. The two beam sections are outwardly deformed in opposite directions. The two beam sections are substantially parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end.
In accordance with another aspect, an electrical connector is provided comprising a housing; a first signal contact connected to the housing; and a second ground contact connected to the housing. The first signal contact and the second ground contact are comprised from a same sheet material. The first signal contact has a male termination end at a first side of the housing with a first effective thickness substantially the same as thickness of the sheet material. The second ground contact has a male termination end at the first side of the housing with a second effective thickness which is larger than the first effective thickness. The male termination end of the second ground contact comprises two beam sections which are generally parallel to each other.
In accordance with another aspect, a method comprises providing a contact lead frame comprised of a sheet metal member, where the contact lead frame comprises a plurality of first signal contacts and a plurality of second ground contacts, where the first signal contacts have a male termination end with a first effective thickness which is substantially the same as thickness of the sheet metal member, and stamping a male termination end of the second ground contact, located at a same side of the lead frame as the male termination end of the first signal contacts, to form a dual beam structure having a second effective thickness which is larger than the first effective thickness, where two beams of the dual beam structure are generally parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end of the second ground contact.
The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
Referring now to
The connector 10′ is configured to mate with the same mating connector 30 as the connector 10. The IMLAs 32 have contacts 34 and an overmolded frame 16. The connector 10′ uses the same housing 18. The contacts have the ends 22. In alternate embodiments, the connector 10′ might not use IMLAs. The IMLAs might comprise fusible elements rather than the through hole ends 22.
The opposite male termination ends of the contacts 34 have a different shape than the ends 20a, 20b of the conventional connector described with reference to
Referring also to
The slot 44 is formed during stamping of the lead frame. Material is removed to form the slot 44. The subsequently formed beams 42 are then deformed in opposite lateral directions to form an effective thickness 50 of the male termination end 36 between the front and rear sections 46, 48 which is larger than the thickness 40. In one type of example the thickness 50 is about 0.35 mm. The two beams 42 are substantially parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end 36.
With the example described above, the sheet metal member used to form the contact lead frame for the connector 10′ can be smaller in thickness that the sheet metal member used to form the contact lead frame for the connector 10. For example, instead of using a sheet metal member having a thickness of 0.35 mm, a sheet metal member having a thickness of 0.20 mm can be used. This now allows 0.20 mm thick material to act like 0.35 mm thick material. Now a header lead frame can be stamped from 0.20 thick material and still provide a 0.35 mm blade to mate with the contact receptacle beams of the mating connector 30. This can save material costs when manufacturing the connector 10′ as compared to the connector 10. The connector 10′ can be used with the same mating connector 30 as the connector 10. Thus, the mating contacts of the connector 30 do not need to be redesigned. This also can eliminate the need for material reduction in the die for a signal contact mating end.
In one example embodiment an electrical contact is provided comprising a male termination end 36 configured to be removably inserted into a female termination end of a mating contact, the male termination end comprising a slot 44 between two beam sections 42, where the slot comprises a section of the male termination end which has had material removed between the two beam sections, where the two beam sections are outwardly deformed in opposite directions, and where the two beam sections are substantially parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end. The split beams jog outwardly, away from each other. This allows thinner stock material to mimic a thicker stock material at the mating end of the contact.
The electrical contact may be comprised of a one-piece sheet metal member. The slot may have a leading end and a trailing end which are both closed by front and rear sections of the male termination end. The front and rear sections of the male termination end may be aligned with each other along a central axis of the male termination end, and where the two beam sections are laterally offset from the central axis on opposite respective sides of the central axis. The male termination end can comprise only the two beam sections between the front and rear sections. The two beam sections can be substantially parallel to each other along over 75 percent of the length of the male termination end.
In one type of example, an electrical connector 10′ may be provided comprising a housing 18; a first signal contact 20a connected to the housing; and a second ground contact 20b connected to the housing, where the first signal contact and the second ground contact are comprised from a same sheet material, where the first signal contact has a male termination end 38 at a first side of the housing with a first effective thickness 40 substantially the same as thickness of the sheet material, and where the second ground contact 20b has a male termination end 36 at the first side of the housing with a second effective thickness 50 which is larger than the first effective thickness 40, where the male termination end of the second ground contact comprises two beam sections 42 which are generally parallel to each other.
The two beam sections can be outwardly deformed in opposite directions. The two beam sections can be substantially parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end of the second ground contact. A slot may be provided between the two beam sections, where the slot comprises a section of the male termination end of the second ground contact which has had material removed between the two beam sections. The slot may comprise a leading end and a trailing end which are both closed by front and rear sections of the male termination end of the second ground contact. The front and rear sections of the male termination end of the second ground contact may be aligned with each other along a central axis of the male termination end, and where the two beam sections are laterally offset from the central axis on opposite respective sides of the central axis. The male termination end of the second ground contact may comprise only the two beam sections between the front and rear sections. The two beam sections may be substantially parallel to each other along over 75 percent of the length of the male termination end of the second ground contact.
One example method can comprise providing a contact lead frame comprised of a sheet metal member, where the contact lead frame comprises a plurality of first signal contacts and a plurality of second ground contacts, where the first signal contacts have a male termination end with a first effective thickness which is substantially the same as thickness of the sheet metal member, and stamping a male termination end of the second ground contact, located at a same side of the lead frame as the male termination end of the first signal contacts, to form a dual beam structure having a second effective thickness which is larger than the first effective thickness, where two beams of the dual beam structure are generally parallel to each other along a majority of length of the male termination end of the second ground contact.
Stamping may comprises forming a slot between the two beams, where the slot comprises a section of the male termination end of the second ground contact having material removed between the two beams. Stamping may comprise deforming the two beams in opposite outward directions. Stamping may comprise the slot having a leading end and a trailing end which are both closed by front and rear sections of the male termination end of the second ground contact, where the front and rear sections are aligned with each other along a central axis of the male termination end of the second ground contact.
It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). In addition, features from different embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment. Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(e) on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/490,303 filed May 26, 2011 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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