Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/02—Contact members
  • H01R13/03—Contact members characterised by the material, e.g. plating, or coating materials
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/02—Contact members
  • H01R13/04—Pins or blades for co-operation with sockets
  • H01R13/05—Resilient pins or blades
  • H01R13/052—Resilient pins or blades co-operating with sockets having a circular transverse section
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
  • H01R43/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for forming connections by deformation, e.g. crimping tool
  • H01R43/048—Crimping apparatus or processes
  • H01R43/0482—Crimping apparatus or processes combined with contact member manufacturing mechanism
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
  • H01R43/16—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/02—Contact members
  • H01R13/33—Contact members made of resilient wire

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for manufacturing electrical contacts.
• electrical contact is meant here a part or a set of parts, adapted to be attached to one end of a conductive element, to ensure electrical contact between the conductive element and another conductive element. This 'other conductive element' is generally also an electrical contact.
• the female contact may simply be in the form of a tube.
• the male contact is generally constituted essentially by a contact terminal (conductive part, male or female), and a conductive junction piece (more simply called 'the junction') on which is mechanically and electrically fixed the terminal, the junction being arranged in addition so as to be mechanically and electrically fixed to a conductive element.
• conductive element is broadly intended to cover any body of which at least part is electrically conductive; it may include an electrical wire, or a contact terminal.
• terminal or "contact terminal” herein refers to a part (or portion of a part) intended to reversibly contact another part (another terminal) so as to make an electrical contact; it is not a part for the permanent fixing of an electric wire, for example by crimping.
• the manufacture of electrical contacts is a preliminary operation performed when attaching connectors to the end of electrical cables, including data transmission cables.
• contacts are prepared at the end of each of the electrical son making up the cable, and then the contacts are fixed to the connector.
• the connector then allows the connection of the cable to one or more other devices.
• the invention particularly relates to the manufacture of electrical contacts for connecting electronic systems in a particularly compact manner, using a minimum volume.
• Mil-DTL-32139 standards or Mil-DTL-83513 defines male and female rectangular connector families that allow particularly compact connections:
• Mil-DTL-83513 defines so-called “micro-D” connections, characterized by a spacing of 1.27 mm between adjacent conductors; and the Mil-DTL-32139 standard defines so-called “nano-D” connections, characterized by a 0.635 mm spacing between adjacent conductors.
• the invention therefore relates in particular to the manufacture of contacts designed to be integrated in connectors complying with one or the other of these standards, or at least designed to be spaced apart with centers of the order of 0.635 mm or 1.27 mm.
• the cut is formed so as to give it the shape of a tube.
• the cut is formed so as to give it the shape of a tube extended by an electrical terminal.
• the shape of electrical terminal chosen is of the type comprising a radially elastic bulge, serving to ensure the mechanical retention and electrical continuity when mating with the female contact.
• a surface coating usually a nickel undercoat followed by a gold layer
• the inside diameter of the tube that the contact comprises becomes weak (as for example, to correspond to the Nano-D type, a diameter of 0.25 mm to 0.35 mm) the realization of surface coatings inside the tube becomes impossible, the inner surface of the tubes receiving virtually no coating during electrolysis.
• the manufacture of a female contact is simply to produce a tube, by high-precision machining.
• the manufacture of a male contact comprises three steps: a first conductive element is first made which is an electrical terminal consisting of a strand comprising one or more central strands and peripheral strands, and having a bulge (called "bump") in the central part; a tube is manufactured by a high-precision machining operation identical to the manufacture of the female contact; the strand is fixed in one end of the tube.
• a first conductive element is first made which is an electrical terminal consisting of a strand comprising one or more central strands and peripheral strands, and having a bulge (called "bump") in the central part
• a tube is manufactured by a high-precision machining operation identical to the manufacture of the female contact
• the strand is fixed in one end of the tube.
• the contact terminals are made of copper or copper alloy, coated with a nickel undercoat and a gold coating.
• the strand constituting the electrical terminal of the male contact is made of precious metals:
• the different strands are made of precious alloy.
• twist-pin technology In twist-pin technology, this difficulty is overcome by realizing the tube itself in 18-carat gold (or in Au-Ag alloy, or Au-Ag-Cu). As a result, given the materials used, the contacts made by Twist-pin technology are relatively expensive.
• a first object of the invention is to propose a method for manufacturing electrical contacts making it possible to produce electrical contacts at a reasonable cost, in particular comprising a small diameter tube, the internal surface of which has high physicochemical performances, guaranteeing a high high operating time.
• a2) is provided a strip having, on at least a portion of one of its faces, and along one of its edges, a first surface coating; then
• the first surface coating can be any coating improving a property of the tube, including corrosion resistance.
• the first surface coating may be in particular a gold-based coating, preferably with a nickel-based underlayer.
• the first surface coating must be deposited at least on a portion of the strip that will be brought to be inside the tube. None prevents the first surface coating on a larger portion of the strip, for example over the entire face of the strip, or on both sides of the strip.
• the strip used may in particular be packaged in a reel.
• the tube acts as an electrical joining piece; its shape allows it in a simple way to provide the connection between two conductive elements, including an electrical wire and a contact terminal.
• the tubular shape is an easy form to make from a strip, especially by known cutting and forming operations.
• the tube formed in step b) is left integral with the remainder of the strip, that is to say fixed on it: This thus makes it possible to maintain the different tubes at a predetermined constant distance from each other , which then makes it possible to automate the subsequent manufacturing steps.
• the surface coating is applied on the face of the strip which will be, after step b) of forming the tube, inside the tube.
• the surface coating is applied before the manufacture of the tube.
• the thickness and the different properties of the coating are controlled, which ensures the quality of the coating produced.
• the tubes may be made of a copper alloy coated with nickel and gold.
• the diameter of the tube can be extremely small, without this posing problems of application of the surface coating on the inner face of the tube, in contrast to prior contact manufacturing processes.
• the first method can be implemented continuously, and more specifically in “real to real", that is to say from coil to coil.
• the contacts male and female, are attached to the strip of strip and arranged regularly thereon with a constant pitch.
• the fact that the contacts remain fixed on the strip is an important advantage since it makes it possible to automate the connection operation of the contacts relatively easily.
• the embodiment of the tube on the edge of a strip provides a second advantage.
• the first method according to the invention presented above can of course be used to make female contacts, which simply consist of tubes.
• This first method can also be implemented to make male contacts in the context of Flex-pin technology: the terminal is then formed integrally with the tube.
• the method according to the invention can also be implemented differently, in particular to make male contacts.
• the male and female contacts obtained by the Flex-pin technology are much less efficient than those made by Twist-pin technology, especially when used in severe environments such as vibration, heat, humidity, etc.
• the terminals by cutting and forming of copper-based alloy strip are much less efficient than the strands based on precious materials used in the twist-pin process.
• a second object of the invention is to remedy this problem by proposing a method of manufacturing electrical contacts for making electrical contacts that can be inexpensively integrated in electrical connectors and having high qualities in terms of mechanical strength, and electrical conductivity, especially in harsh environments (vibration, heat, humidity, ).
• a first conductive element in particular a contact terminal
• a first conductive element is fixed in a first end of the tube, so that a portion of the tube remains empty on the side of the second end thereof.
• This method can be implemented independently of the possible presence of surface coating (s) applied (s) or previously applied (s) on the strip.
• the strip whose edge is formed in step b) has, on at least a portion of one of its faces and along said edge of the strip, a first surface coating.
• the method may in particular comprise a step a) in which, at least on said part of the face of the strip and along said edge of the strip, depositing said first surface coating.
• the method is also intended to be implemented iteratively, during the continuous unwinding of the strip (It is the same for the various possible additional steps of the process, described below).
• the strip used is preferably packaged in a coil.
• the contact terminal or more generally the first conductive element is made separately from the tube, and then fixed inside the first end thereof.
• a first element having the desired performance in terms of mechanical strength and electrical conductivity can be selected, particularly in harsh environments.
• the second end of the tube remains free and accessible for a distance sufficient to allow the attachment of another conductive element inside, in particular by welding or crimping.
• the remaining empty tube portion has a length of at least 1 mm.
• This second method (as also the first) is preferably implemented to mass-produce series of contacts; the tubes made are then generally parallel.
• the spacing separating adjacent tubes is normally defined according to the standard to be met by the contacts made. For example to make nanoD type connectors, the contacts must be spaced 0.635 mm; to make micro-D connectors, they must be spaced 1.27 mm apart.
• the tube is preferably formed such that its axis extends in the (local) plane of the strip.
• the axis may in particular be perpendicular to the general direction of the strip.
• the tube may however be oriented differently, for example so that its axis is perpendicular to the plane of the strip.
• the manufacture of contacts by this second method is inexpensive, because all operations can be performed in 'reel to reel' mode ("real to real").
• This type of manufacturing allows a high processing rate by reducing the handling of parts.
• the continuous forming and cutting of the strip with the following tools makes the production of tubes much more economical and faster than the precision turning required by Twist-pin technology.
• the contacts obtained remain fixed on the strip of strip, they can be packaged on a coil. It is therefore possible to automate the operation of fixing the contacts in electrical connectors. This last operation can be done at a much lower cost than if the contacts were obtained in bulk.
• the first and second methods presented above can be implemented jointly, so as to make male electrical contacts comprising on the one hand a tube whose inner surface has high physico-chemical performance, and also having high qualities in terms of mechanical resistance, electrical conductivity, etc.
• the methods for producing contacts according to the invention presented above may comprise one or more of the following characteristics, taken separately or in technically possible combinations:
• the tube may be, but not necessarily, of circular section.
• the first surface coating can be applied by electrolysis or by hot rolling.
• the method may further comprise a step d) in which is deposited on an outer surface of the tube a second surface coating.
• This surface coating provides protection for the surfaces of the tube other than its inner surface, namely its outer surface, as well as the slices of the tube (surfaces connecting the inner surface to the outer surface of the tube).
• the second surface coating can be applied by electrolysis.
• the first and second surface coatings can in particular be anticorrosive coatings.
• the first and / or second surface coating may thus comprise a nickel sub-layer coated with a gold layer.
• the method may further comprise a step c) in which the edges of the tube are welded to obtain a seamless tube.
• the tube may deform either during the subsequent steps of the method, in particular the crimping steps, or during the operation of the contact.
• the welding of the edges of the tube makes it possible to eliminate this risk of deformations. This welding can be made in particular by laser.
• the edges of the tube that are welded to each other are only the two contiguous edges of the tube, placed opposite one another in step b), when the tube is formed from the strip.
• the method may comprise in particular the following characteristics:
• the fixing of the first conductive element can be made by crimping, in particular by an axisymmetric crimping operation.
• crimping in particular in the case of a tube of circular section, allows it to maintain a minimum diameter, and in particular avoids the ovality of the tube.
• the crimping can for example be done with 3 or 4 axisymmetric imprints.
• the fixing of conductive elements in the tube can be made by force insertion or by welding or solder.
• the method may further comprise a step f) wherein, the tube remaining attached to the strip, is fixed one end of a second conductive member in the second end of the tube. At the end of the process, the contact is then obtained directly attached to the end of the second conductive element.
• Fixing the second conductive element to the tube can be done in particular by crimping, after inserting the end of the second conductive element in the tube.
• the second conductive element may in particular be an electrical wire.
• the first conductive element may typically be an electrical contact terminal, male or female.
• the first conductive element may in particular be a strand.
• a strand is an electrical component consisting mainly of a set of strands twisted together.
• the first conductive element may thus be for example a strand comprising a central core with one to three strands, and a plurality of peripheral strands.
• Another object of the invention is to propose an electrical contact of small dimensions, in particular radial, allowing the integration thereof into connectors requiring a small center distance, of the order of 1 mm, for example equal to 1.27 mm or 0.635 mm; and showing performance high in terms of resistance to stress, especially temperature, mechanical, etc.
• an electrical contact comprising a tube, and a contact terminal whose end is fixed in a first end of the tube; wherein an inner surface of the tube is covered by a surface coating said inner liner; and wherein the thickness of the inner liner, or at least one layer of the inner liner, is at least 1 m, or even 1.27 ⁇ m.
• the thickness of at least one layer, or even each of these layers is at least equal to 1 ⁇ m, or even 1.27 ⁇ m.
• the inner lining has a thickness less than 1 ⁇ m
• the outer surface of the tube is covered by a surface coating, said outer coating, the thickness of the inner liner is at least equal to the thickness of the outer coating.
• a contact as presented above may in particular be manufactured by the first or the second method indicated above. It may exhibit the different characteristics conferred by the processes presented above, and / or the following characteristics, taken separately or in combination:
• the internal coating may comprise at least two layers, which are substantially of the same chemical composition as layers of the outer coating.
• the tube can be a seamless tube
• the electrical contact may further comprise, in addition to the contact terminal, a second conductive element fixed in the second end of the tube.
• This second conductive element may be an electrical wire.
• the electrical contact terminal can be male or possibly female. It may in particular be a strand, in particular a strand having a central core with one to three strands, and a plurality of peripheral strands.
• FIG. 1 schematically represents a mode of implementation of the method according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the tube of one of the contacts manufactured using the method presented in FIG.
• the method according to the invention is presented in an embodiment which combines the first and second methods presented above.
• the different strands of the strand are welded together at each of the two ends of the strand.
• the strand has on its central part a bulge (or "bump"), which allows the fixing of the terminal inside a corresponding female terminal.
• Each wire 50 comprises a conductive core 52 and an electrical insulating coating 54, including fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymers (FEP).
• FEP fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymers
• the actual manufacturing process then comprises the following successive steps, represented in a synthetic manner in FIG.
• a2) is deposited on a portion of the strip a gold layer 18.
• a tube 30 is formed with the coated strip so that the coated portion 14 forms the inner surface 32 of the tube, the latter having two contiguous edges 34,35.
• dl electrolytically depositing a nickel underlayer 36, at least on the outer surface 40 and on the slices 42 of the tube 30.
• d2) electrolytically depositing a gold layer 38, also at least on the outer surface 40 and on the slices 42 of the tube 30.
• the male terminal 20 is crimped into the tube 30 by crimping at four symmetrical points (manual or automatic).
• one end of the electrical wire 50 is stripped with a laser source.
• the stripped end of the electrical wire 50 is inserted into the second end 37 of the tube 30.
• Steps a1 and a2 correspond to step a) indicated above, steps b1 and b2 correspond to step b) indicated above, etc.
• each male contact 100 secures a male terminal 20 in the form of a strand to one of the electrical wires 50.
• the contacts 100 are packaged on the strip strip 12, their insertion and attachment in electrical connectors can be automated in a relatively simple manner.
• the method thus makes it possible to obtain contacts in particular of the micro-D or nano-D type, male and female.
• the manufacturing method of the female contacts is identical to that of the male contacts, except that the step e) of fixing the contact terminal (or first conductive element) 20 in the tube 30 must not be carried out.
• the first end 31 of the tube thus remains empty and thus ready to receive a male contact terminal.
• steps a) to d), and preferably all steps are performed without detaching the tube from the strip.
• the manufacturing process is thus a continuous process (real to real).
• the steps b1) for cutting and b2) for forming the tube are carried out continuously.
• the strip of strip 12 is thus unrolled continuously from the coil 10, before being wound on a coil 60.
• the contacts 100 obtained at the end of the The method, attached to the strip of strip 12, is thus wound on the coil 60.
• step b1) the edge of the strip is cut to form a rectangular cut, connected to the rest of the strip by a narrow tab.
• the dimensions of the cutout are provided so that the cut can be bent to form the tube 30, in step b2).
• the surface coatings 16 and 18 made in steps a1) and a2) constitute the first surface coating within the meaning of the invention. These coatings can be applied electrolytically or by hot rolling.
• the thickness of the surface coating 16 as well as the thickness of the surface coating 18 are each at least 1 ⁇ m. In fact in the present case, each of these coating layers has a thickness of at least 1.27 ⁇ m.
• the surface coatings 36 and 38 made in steps d1) and d2) constitute the second surface coating within the meaning of the invention.
• the second surface coating made in step d, is also partially deposited on the inner surface of the tube.
• the coating thickness Ti on the inner surface 32 of the tube 30 is usually greater than the coating thickness Te on the outer surface 40 of the tube (Fig.2).
• Steps d1 and d2 are preferably carried out only on the tubes, to limit the consumption of nickel and gold.
• the strip of strip 12 is oriented such that in steps d1) and d2), the tubes 30 are placed on the bottom side of the strip strip.
• step b2) when the contacts 100 manufactured must respect the nano-D type, the tubes are formed with an inside diameter of between 0.25 and 0.35 mm.
• Strips having different compositions can be used for the manufacture of the contacts 100.
• a C17200 ternary alloy strip namely Cu98.0-Bel, 8-Co0.2
• ternary alloy C31400 namely Cu90-Zn9.5-Ni0.5
• quaternary alloy C17510 namely Cu-97.8-Nil, 9-Be0.3.
• the strip 12 of copper alloy strip may have a width of between 20 and 30 mm, and a thickness of between 0.06 mm and 0.09 mm.
• the surface coatings applied in steps a) and d) are generally of the same chemical composition. These are generally anticorrosive coatings, in this case composed of a nickel undercoat, coated with a gold layer.
• the coating may be applied to the edge of the strip over a width of 1.5 to 4 mm, for example over 2.25 mm.
• the nickel-based coating sub-layer deposited in step a1) or in step d1) can have a minimum thickness of 1.27 ⁇ . This thickness is usually chosen between 1 and 10 ⁇ .
• the gold-based coating layer deposited in step a2) or in step d2) may have a minimum thickness of 1.27 ⁇ m. This thickness is usually chosen between 1 and 10 ⁇ m.
• the nickel underlayer may have a thickness of 0.005 mm, and the gold layer a thickness of 0.005 mm.
• the nickel-based coating sub-layer deposited in step a1) or in step d1), and / or the gold-based coating layer deposited in step a2) or in step d2 ) can be performed by a hot rolling operation followed by a heat treatment operation.
• the tubes formed in step b) may have a length of 1.5 to 4 mm, an inside diameter of 0.2 to 0.6 mm, and an outside diameter of 0.35 to 1 mm.
• the contacts 100 can be made with tubes of length 2 mm, or 3.15 mm.
• the contacts 100 may also be made with tubes whose internal diameter is 0.33 mm, and the outer diameter of 0.46 mm. They can still be made with tubes whose inner diameter is 0.54 mm.
• the method serves to manufacture a contact comprising, as first conductive element, a contact terminal
• the method can be implemented with any other conductive element as the 'first conductive element', for example an electrical wire.
• the contact 100 comprises a male contact terminal 20
• the contact may also comprise as a first conductive element a female contact terminal.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
• Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
• Connections Effected By Soldering, Adhesion, Or Permanent Deformation (AREA)

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• 2013
  • 2013-10-04 FR FR1359634A patent/FR3011691B1/fr active Active
• 2014
  • 2014-10-02 WO PCT/FR2014/052503 patent/WO2015049470A2/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2014-10-02 EP EP14787232.9A patent/EP3053223A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2014-10-02 CN CN201480047528.2A patent/CN105594068B/zh active Active
  • 2014-10-02 EP EP16167991.5A patent/EP3109948B1/de active Active

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