IP Library Granted Patent US 12683313
Granted Patent B2
US 12683313 · App. 18/283,177 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Electrical connection member material and electrical connection member

Inventors: Amane Suzuki (Mie, JP); Toshiro Sakai (Mie, JP); Masaki Nonogawa (Mie, JP)
Assignees: AUTONETWORKS TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.; SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS, LTD.; SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
H01R13/03H01R2201/26
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12683313
App. No.
18/283,177
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

It is aimed to provide an electrical connection member material and an electrical connection member capable of suppressing adhesion in an Ag layer even without using a special metal layer. An electrical connection member material 1 is provided with a metal material 10 including an Ag layer 13 on a surface, a surface hardness of the Ag layer 13 being 90 HV or more, and a coating layer 2 for covering the surface of the metal material 10 . The coating layer 2 is formed by bringing an organic compound having a mercapto group into contact with the surface of the metal material 10 . Further, an electrical connection member includes the electrical connection member material 1.

Claims (17)

1 . An electrical connection member material, comprising:

a metal material having an outermost surface that includes a silver (Ag) layer, the Ag layer having a surface hardness of 90 HV or more; and

a coating layer contacting and covering the outermost surface of the metal material, the coating layer constituted by an organic compound having a mercapto group,

wherein the coating layer is formed by bringing the organic compound and an aromatic ring into contact with the outermost surface of the metal material.

2 . The electrical connection member material according to claim 1 , wherein the aromatic ring is a hetero ring containing at least one of a sulfur (S) atom and a nitrogen (N) atom in addition to a carbon (C) atom.

3 . An electrical connection member, comprising the electrical connection member material according to claim 1 .

4 . The electrical connection member according to claim 3 , wherein:

the electrical connection member is configured as a connection terminal including a contact point portion to be brought into electrical contact with a mating electrically conductive member, and

the coating layer is formed on the outermost surface of the metal material at least in the contact point portion.

5 . The electrical connection member according to claim 4 , wherein a surface pressure to be applied to the contact point portion is 30 MPa or more.

6 . The electrical connection member material according to claim 1 , wherein

the Ag layer contains an additive element for hardening the Ag layer, in addition to silver (Ag) and unavoidable impurities, and

the additive element is one of selenium (Se), carbon (C), and sulfur (S).

7 . The electrical connection member material according to claim 1 , wherein the metal material further includes:

a base material configured as a metal plate material of copper (Cu) or Cu alloy, and

an underlayer provided between the base material and the Ag layer, the underlayer composed of at least one layer made of nickel (Ni) or Ni alloy.

8 . The electrical connection member material according to claim 7 , wherein the at least one layer comprising the underlayer includes two or more types of laminated metal layers.