ELECTRIC CONNECTION CONTACT IN A SINGLE PIECE

CONTACT ELECTRIQUE MONOPIECE

English Abstract

Abstract
A connection contact in a single piece has two insulation
displacement contacts (14) having each an insulation
displacement slot (16), a contact and guiding surface (20) and
a shearing element. The connection contact further has two
contact legs (22, 23) one end of which is connected to an
insulation displacement contact (14), a home contact formed
between the free ends of the contact legs and a section (27)
that links the insulation displacement contacts (14). The
disclosed connection contact in a single piece is characterized
in that the linking section (27) is designed as a substantially
U-shaped loop (28). As lead-shearing element, an insulation
displacement contact (14) is associated to each leg (30) of the
U- or V-shaped loop (28), so that the contact pressure between
the contact legs of the home contact can be easily adjusted as
desired. A fatigue-proof home contact is thus obtained, which
is also economical to produce.
(Fig. 1)

Claims

Claims
1. Connection contact in a single piece with two insulation
displacement contacts (14) respectively comprising an
insulation contact slot (16), a contact and guiding
surface (20) and a shearing element, comprising
- two contact legs (22,23) connected at one of their
ends with respectively one insulation displacement
contact (14),
- a home contact (24) formed between the free ends of
the contact legs, and
- a section (27) linking the insulation displacement
contacts (14),
characterized in that
- the linking section (27) is designed in the form of a
substantially U-shaped loop (28),
- respectively one leg (30) of the U- or V-shaped loop
(28) being arranged as a lead-shearing element after
an insulation displacement contact (14).
2. Connection contact according to claim 1, characterized in
that this is of a single piece and consists of a main part
(12) with respect to which the contact legs (22,23) and
the insulation displacement contacts (14) are angled at a
right angle.

3. Connection contact according to claim 1, characterized in
that the main part (12) is provided with two notches (17)
which simplify the bending of the insulation displacement
contacts (14).
4. Connection contact according to claim 1, characterized in
that the loop (28) is at least partially sharp-edged.
5. Connection contact according to claim 1, characterized in
that at least one contact leg (22) is formed with a
contact corrugation (26).
6. Connection contact according to claim 1, characterized in
that the linking section (27) is provided with two notches
(29).

Description

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Rlectric COnne~tiQn ~onta~ In ~ Si~gle Piece
The present invention relates to a connection contact in a
single piece according to the preamble of claim 1 with two
symmetrically arranged insulation displacement contacts.
Such a connection contact is known from EP-A2-0 344 526 (Fig.
10). The symmetrically arranged and similarly formed insulation
displacement contacts o-f this known connection contact each
have an insulation displacement slot, a contact and guiding
surface and a shearing element. Additionally, the connection
contact has two contact legs which are connected with one of
their ends to one of the two insulation displacement contacts,
a home contact being formed between the free ends of the
contact legs. Both insulation displacement contacts are
connected with each other by a linking section and thus form
the connection contact in a single piece. In this known
connection contact, the lead which is neither bared nor cut to
length is pressed with a one-armed wiring tool, for example a
screwdriver, into the insulation displacement slot. During this
insertion, the lead insulation is partially severed in one
operating step, the lead is contacted and the projecting lead
end is cut off at the shearing element.
The home contact formed between the contact legs makes possible
the insertion of a test or measuring connector by means of
which the leads are examined. Additionally, protective devices
can be inserted into the home contact.
In the known connection contact, the shearing elements are
formed by two bent shearing strips. Further, the section
linking both insulation displacement contacts consists of a
flat wall section. The contact pressure between the contact
legs of the home contact is formed by an asymmetrical stamping
of both contact le~s.
It is the problem (object) underlying the present invention to
further develop a connection contact in a single piece of the

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type initially mentioned in such a manner that with economical
production a constant contact pressure of a predetermined
amount between the legs of the home contact can be set in a
simple manner.
This underlying problem is solved by a connection contact of
the type initially mentioned in that the linking section is an
essentially U-or V-shaped loop, respectfully one leg of the
loop serving as shearing-element for a lead after an insulation
displacement contact.
On account of the inventive design of the linking section in
the form of a loop of predetermined width, the contact pressure
between the contact legs of the home contact can be desirably
adjusted in a simple manner. Thus, a fatigue-free home contact
is provided, the contact force of which always remains
continuously constant even in the case of repeated use.
Finally, the inventive connection contact can be extremely
economically produced, since, in comparison to the state of the
art, a separate forming of the shearing element no longer
applies because the upper end faces of the legs of the loop are
used as shearing elements. The selected width of the loop
serves on the one hand to adjust the contact force between the
contact legs and si.multaneously acts as a shearing element.
Advantageous e~nbodiments of the invention are defined in the
dependent claims. Thus, the loop can be at least partially
sharp-edged, which simplifies the shearing of the lead to be
contacted. Furthermore, at least one contact leg of the home
contact can be designed with a contacting corrugation by means
of which a high contact pressure is effected at a defined
location.
The invention is described in the fo].lowing by way of an
exemplified embodiment with reference to the enclosed drawings,
in which:

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ig. 1 shows a plan view of a pre stamped connection contact
which is not bent;
ig. 2 shows the partially pre-bent connection contact of
Fig. 1;
ig. 3A shows a side view of the completely bent connection
contact of Fig. 2;
ig. 3B shows a sectional view along the line A-A in Fig. 3;
and
Fig. 3A shows a connection contact 10 in a single piece which
consists of a main part 12 with which two extended parts are
connected as insulation displacement contacts 14. An insulation
displacement slot 16 is formed in the contacts which has an
lntroduction opening 18 (Fig. 1). The main part 12 has two
`contact and guiding surfaces 20 which are angled at a right
angle to the insulation displacement contacts 14.
Two contact layers 22, 23 are connected with their one (lower)
end to the main part 12 and also angled at a right angle to the
main part. A home contact 24 is formed in the vicinity of the
free ends of the legs between the contact legs, the leg 22
having a contact corrugation 26.
The section 27 linking both symmetrically formed and arranged
insulation displacement contacts 14 is designed to have the
form of a substantially U-shaped loop 28 which is also
connected in a single piece with the main part 12. Respectively
one leg 20 of the U-shaped loop serves in this case as a lead-
shearing element arranged after the extended part with the
insulation displacement slot 16. Here, the edges 31 of the legs
30 of the loop 28 are sharp-edged to make shearing of the lead
to be contacted easier. For reasons of production technology,
the linking section 27 which forms the loop 28 is provided with
t~o notches 29.

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With reference to Figs. 1 to 3A, the production of the
inventive connection contact is descrlbed in the following. In
a first production step, the contact piece forming the
connection contact is pre-stamped from Elat metal in a follow-
on tool and receives the shape shown in Fig. 1, the still flat
contact piece subsequently being si]ver-plated. As Fig. 1
shows, the insulation displacement slot 16, both contact layers
22, 23 and the contact and guiding surfaces 20 are already
formed. Additionally, two U-shaped recesses 17 are provided at
the lower side of the contact piece which simplify the bending
of the insulation displacement contacts 14. The notches 29 in
the linking but not yet loop-shaped bent section 27 are also
already formed.
In a second manufacturing step, the silver-plated contact piece
is pre-bent, as shown in Fig. 2. Following this step, both the
contact legs 22, 23 and the extension parts serving as the
insulation displacement contacts 14 are bent at a right angle
to the main part 12.
By bending the linking section 27 into a loop 28, the
connection contact in a single piece is finished in a last
step, the width of the loop 28 and the contacting force between
the contact legs ~2, 23 of the home contact being adjustable by
varyingly strong bending. In this case, the contact legs are
pressed to a greater or lesser extent towards one another. A
mea~uring and testing connector, by means of which measurements
can be carried out in the lead which has been connected to the
insulation displacement contacts, can be introduced into the
home contact 24 formed in this way. Additionally, overvoltage
protection devices can be in.serted into the home contact and
contacted.
Should a testing of the connected leads be desired in both
directions, i.e. if both leads connected to the insulation
displacement contacts 14 are to be examined separately, this
can be achieved as follows. After forming the loop 28 of the
connection contact, this is stamped through in a shell in a

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region of the loop 28, on account of which two electrically
separate contact halves are provided. The shell simultaneously
serves in this case as a guiding device for the assembly of an
insulating material body into which both contact halves are
inserted. In this manner, it is ensured that despite
separation, i.e. complete stamping through of the loop, the
previously set pre-tensioning force is maintained between the
contact legs.

Representative Drawing