Electrical receptacle contact

• US 6,296,533 B1
• Filed: 08/31/1998
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Original Assignee: The Whitaker Corporation (Meggitt PLC)
• Inventors: Wolla, David Maurice, Grubbs, Jimmy Glenn, Banas, Michael Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Luebke, Renee
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hammond, Briggitte R
• Application Number:
  US09/144,130
• Time in Patent Office: 1,128 Days
• Field of Search: 439/851, 439/856, 439/857
• US Class Current: 439/851
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/11 Resilient sockets carrying separate resilient parts H01R13/15
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/112 forked sockets having two legs
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/16 for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending

Abstract

An electrical receptacle contact is provided having contact beams which are asymmetrically opposed, defining a terminal receiving section therebetween. Asymmetrically opposed contact beams may have various widths to provide an appropriate spring force for a selected plating material, while ensuring that the receptacle contact maintains the same overall dimensional shape as contacts made with a different plating material. Although allowing for variable spring rate in limited dimensioned contact, susceptibility of fracture of the contact of the present invention during forming is minimized.

Claims

1. An electrical contact comprising:

a conductor receiving section;

a receptacle section having two resilient contact beams symmetrically disposed opposite one another about a vertical contact center line thereby forming a terminal receiving cavity, wherein each contact beams asymmetrically disposed about a horizontal contact centerline which is perpendicular to the vertical contact centerline and which intersects the vertical contact center line at a central axis of the electrical contact; and

an intermediate section joining the receptacle section to the conductor receiving section, wherein each contact beam is inwardly tapered from a base section toward a contact free end so that the base section of each contact beam adjacent the intermediate section is wider than the beam free end spaced from the intermediate section.

2. The electrical contact of claim 1, wherein the conductor receiving section is a U-shaped crimping section for receiving a conductor to be crimped therein.

3. The electrical contact of claim 1, wherein the contact beams are cantilevered and have an arcuate cross-section.

4. The electrical contact of claim 1, further comprising a sleeve disposed about the contact beams.

5. The electrical contact of claim 1, wherein the receptacle section has a barrel portion connected to the intermediate section and extending to base portions of the contact beams.

6. The electrical contact of claim 5, wherein the contact is stamped and formed resulting in a seam which travels a top length of the contact between the conductor receiving section and the base portions of the contact beams.

7. The electrical contact of claim 6,

wherein the vertical contact center line extends along the seam and the base portions of the contact beams are disposed facing one another on each side of the seam with a greater area of the base portions located on a seam side of the horizontal contact center line.

8. A stamped and formed electrical receptacle contact comprising:

a conductor receiving section;

a receptacle section defined by two contact beams; and

an intermediate section between the conductor receiving section and the receptacle section, wherein the intermediate section is a cylinder with a lengthwise seam, and wherein the contact beams extend outwardly from the intermediate section and are disposed on each side of the seam, the beams further being asymmetrically oriented along a horizontal center line which is perpendicular to the seam, such that the beams are predominately disposed on a seam side of the horizontal center line, wherein each contact beam is inwardly tapered from a base section toward a contact free end so that the base section of each contact beam adjacent the intermediate section is wider than the beam free end spaced from the intermediate section.

9. The electrical contact of claim 8, wherein the contact beams are cantilevered and have arcuate cross-sections.

10. The electrical contact of claim 8, wherein the conductor receiving section is a U-shaped crimping section.

11. The electrical contact of claim 8, further comprising a sleeve disposed about the contact beams.

12. The electrical contact of claim 8, wherein the contact beams have angled lead-in surfaces.

13. A tin plated stamped and formed electrical contact, formed as one piece from a flat blank, comprising:

a conductor receiving section; and

two opposed resilient cantilever beams extending from a cylindrical intermediate section located between the conductor receiving section and the opposed cantilever beams, opposed edges of the cylindrical intermediate section forming a seam extending longitudinally, each cantilever beam having a contact centerline extending centrally through free ends of the beam, each contact beam being tapered from adjacent the free end toward a relatively wider base section adjacent to the cylindrical intermediate section;

a portion of each beam base section between the contact centerline and the cylindrical intermediate section seam being wider than an opposite portion of each beam base section on an opposite side of the contact centerline so that a space between the two beams can be large enough to prevent fracture as the cylindrical intermediate section is formed from a flat blank into a generally cylindrical electrical contact.