Claims
- 1. A method of making a four-sided electrical contact from a generally planar shaped work piece of conductive material having a thickness “T” and a width “D” and having generally parallel side surfaces, generally planar top and bottom surfaces and an end surface comprising the steps of:(a) continuously supporting said side surfaces of the work piece to prevent lateral deformation of said side surfaces; (b) while continuously supporting said side surfaces of the work piece, shearing the work piece using a shearing tool having a width less than the width “D” to impart a shearing force to said end surface of said work piece at a location intermediate said side surfaces and advancing said shearing tool to simultaneously form first and second precursor side tongues each having a first thickness and precursor top and bottom tongues each having a second thickness; (c) retracting said shearing tool and forming said precursor side tongues into shaped side tongues; and; (d) forming said precursor top and bottom tongues into shaped top and bottom tongues.
- 2. The method as defined in claim 1 in which at least two of said precursor tongues are thickened during shearing of the work piece.
- 3. The method as defined in claim 1 in which the width “D” of the work piece is selected so that the first thickness of said side tongues is greater than the second thickness of said top and bottom tongues.
- 4. The method as defined in claim 1 in which the width “D” and the thickness “T” of the work piece is selected so that the first thickness of said side tongues is substantially equal to the second thickness of said top and bottom tongues.
- 5. The method as defined in claim 1 including the step of spreading apart said first and second precursor side tongues prior to forming said shaped side tongues.
- 6. The method as defined in claim 1 in which said work piece comprises an elongated pin like member having a width “D” and a thickness “T”.
- 7. A method of making an electrical contact from a generally planar shaped work piece of conductive material having a predetermined thickness having generally parallel side surfaces, generally planar top and bottom surfaces and an end surface comprising the steps of:(a) continuously supporting said side surfaces of the work piece to prevent lateral deformation of said side surfaces; (b) while continuously supporting said side surfaces of the work piece, shearing the work piece using a shearing tool having a width less than the width of said end surface to impart a shearing force to said end surface of said work piece at a location intermediate said side surfaces and advancing said shearing tool to simultaneously form first and second precursor side tongues and precursor top and bottom tongues; (c) retracting said shearing tool and positioning a first forming member proximate each of said precursor side tongues; (d) inserting a first forming tool between said precursor side tongues to urge said precursor side tongues into pressural engagement with said first forming members to form shaped side tongues; (e) retracting said first forming tool and positioning a second forming member proximate said precursor bottom tongue and positioning a third forming member proximate said precursor top tongue; (f) inserting a second forming tool between said precursor top and bottom tongues to urge said bottom precursor tongue into pressural engagement with said second forming member to form a shaped bottom tongue and to urge said top precursor tongue into pressural engagement with said third forming member to form a shaped top tongue; and (g) retracting said second forming tool.
- 8. The method as defined in claim 7 including the step of spreading apart said first and second precursor side tongues prior to forming said shaped side tongues.
- 9. The method as defined in claim 7 in which said work piece comprises an elongated pin like member having a predetermined width and a predetermined thickness.
- 10. The method as defined in claim 7 in which at least two of said precursor tongues are thickened during shearing of the work piece.
- 11. A method of making an electrical contact from a work piece of conductive material having a plurality of fingers, each finger having first portion of a first thickness and a second portion of a second thickness greater than said first thickness and having side surfaces and an end surface comprising the steps of:(a) continuously supporting said side surfaces of a selected finger to prevent lateral deformation of said side surfaces; and (b) while continuously supporting said side surfaces of said selected finger, shearing the work piece using a shearing tool to impart a shearing force to said end surface of said work piece at a location intermediate said side surfaces and advancing said shearing tool to simultaneously form tapering first and second precursor tongues each tongue having a first distal portion of a first thickness and a second proximal portion of a second greater thickness.
- 12. The method as defined in claim 11 in which said side surfaces are generally parallel.
- 13. The method as defined in claim 11 in which said side surfaces are non-parallel.
- 14. The method as defined in claim 11 in which each said selected finger has a proximal portion of a first width and a distal portion of a second width less that said first width.
Parent Case Info
This is a Divisional application of application Ser. No. 09/827,883 filed Apr. 5, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,287.
US Referenced Citations (13)