U.S. patent number 3,673,544 [Application Number 05/069,049] was granted by the patent office on 1972-06-27 for connector for lamp socket.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dupree, Inc.. Invention is credited to James N. Dupree.
United States Patent |
3,673,544 |
Dupree |
June 27, 1972 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
CONNECTOR FOR LAMP SOCKET
Abstract
An electrical connector for connecting wire conductors to lamp
sockets, such as those used for edge lighted panels. A connector
comprising an insulating body and a conductor contact carried
within the body, with the contact having a crimp wire receiver on
one end and a split barrel terminal receiver on the other. The
insulating body is a unitary resilient plastic member which is a
push fit onto the socket and which carries the contact into sliding
engagement with the conductor pin of the socket.
Inventors: |
Dupree; James N. (South El
Monte, CA) |
Assignee: |
Dupree, Inc. (El Monte,
CA)
|
Family
ID: |
22086399 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/069,049 |
Filed: |
September 2, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/356; 439/551;
439/320 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60Q
3/14 (20170201) |
Current International
Class: |
B60Q
3/00 (20060101); B60Q 3/04 (20060101); H01r
033/34 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/59-63,91,176,191,192,211,213,129,130 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McGlynn; Joseph H.
Claims
I claim:
1. In an electrical connector for connecting a conductor to a
socket, with the socket having a conducting pin coaxially
positioned within a housing having a threaded periphery, the
combination of:
an insulating body and a conducting contact carried in said
body,
said body comprising a unitary resilient plastic member having a
sleeve at one end for sliding over said socket housing and being an
interference fit with said threaded periphery and having an opening
at the other end for receiving said contact,
said body sleeve including first and second axially spaced inwardly
projecting annular ridges, with the inner diameters of said ridges
less than the outer diameter of said housing threaded periphery and
including a plurality of chordal sections in each of said ridges,
with said sections of one ridge offset from said sections of the
other ridge,
said contact comprising a metal shaft with means at one end for
receiving a conductor and with means at the other end for engaging
said socket pin.
Description
This invention relates to electrical connectors and in particular,
to connectors suitable for connecting a cable harness to the
sockets of instrument panel lights. A typical aircraft instrument
panel includes a sandwich of a plastic sheet and a support plate.
The front surface of the plastic sheet is opaque and various
legends are cut into the opaque surface. Electric lamps are
positioned within the panel providing edge lighting for
illuminating the legends. The sockets for the lamps are mounted in
the support plate and project from the rear of the panel. In the
past, wire connections have been made to the sockets by wrapping
and/or soldering. An instrument panel will have a large number of
such connections which normally are made after the panel is
installed in the aircraft. Performing the wire conductor connection
to each of the lamp sockets is a tedious and time consuming
operation and one with a high possibility of error and/or poor
connection.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and
improved electrical connector which will permit a push type of
installation in connecting wire conductors to lamp sockets and the
like. A further object is to provide such a connector permitting
rapid installation of a cable with many such connectors
incorporated therein. An additional object is to provide such a
connector which does not require crimping or soldering or handling
handling of the individual wires at the time the installation and
connection is achieved.
A particular object of the invention is to provide a new and
improved connector which is reliable and inexpensive and which will
withstand high vibration and shock without affecting the electrical
circuitry.
The electrical connector comprises an insulating body with a
conducting contact carried therein, with the insulating body being
a push fit into the socket housing and forcing the conducting
contact into engagement with the conducting pin of the socket, with
the wire conductor being joined to the conducting contact.
The invention also comprises novel details of construction and
arrangements of parts, which will more fully appear in the course
of the following description. The drawing merely shows and the
description merely describes a preferred embodiment of the present
invention which is given by way of illustration or example.
In the drawing:
FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of an edge lighted
panel with lamp, socket and connector incorporating a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged isometric view of the connector body of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of the connector contact of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is an enlarged end view of the body of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG.
4.
In FIG. 1, the connector 10 of the invention is coupling a wire
conductor 11 to the center pin 12 of a socket 13. The lamp socket
13 may be conventional in design and a typical socket is
illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,943. The socket includes a
housing with a threaded central portion 15, a flange 16 at one end
and a cylindrical portion 17 at the other end, with the pin 12
centrally positioned within the housing and electrically insulated
therefrom. The socket is mounted in an opening in a metal plate 20
with the flange 16 disposed in a counterbore 21, and is clamped in
place by a nut 22 on the threaded portion 15, with a washer 23
between the nut and the plate.
The plate 20 is mounted with a plastic sheet 24 in a conventional
manner to form an edge lighted panel, with a bulb 25 positioned in
the socket and projecting into an opening in the plastic sheet. The
plastic sheet 24 typically is clear and a cap 27 of colored plastic
may be disposed within the opening in the sheet 24 to provide a
desired color for the light. A metal plate 28 may be positioned
between the cap 27 and the plastic sheet 24 to serve as a heat sink
aiding dissipation of heat from the light bulb 25 and also in
dispersing illumination from the lamp to prevent a high intensity
spot over the bulb. While a specific form of socket and edge
lighted panel are illustrated in FIG. 1, it is realized that the
present invention is not restricted to use with such socket and
panel, and that the connector may be used with a variety of sockets
and/or panels.
The connector 10 is formed of a body 31 with a contact 32 carried
therein. The body 31 is a unitary electrically nonconducting member
formed of a slightly resilient material, and preferably it is a
molded plastic member formed of a polyamide such as nylon.
Polyamides are characterized by toughness, flexibility, high
elongation and elastic recovery, and good resistance to hydrocarbon
solvents. A preferred material is a nylon type 6, such as Du Pont
Zytel NC-10 and Gulf Spencer 401-AX. We use nylon. Other resilient
thermoplastic molding materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene and
polycarbonates would be suitable. The resilient characteristic is
desired because of the interference fits designed into the
connector as will be described below.
The body 31 has a sleeve 33 at one end for sliding over the socket
13, with the interior of the sleeve 33 being an interference fit
with the threaded portion 15 of the socket.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated, annular ridges 34, 35 are
provided on the inner wall of the sleeve 33. The inside diameters
of the ridges 34, 35 are less than the outside diameter of the
threads of the socket so that an interference fit is achieved as
the connector is pushed onto the socket. Since the body 31 is made
of a resilient material, the ridges 34, 35 will deform locally
permitting installation of the connector onto the socket.
The grip of the connector body on the socket is improved by
providing chordal or flat sections on one or both of the annular
ridges. In the embodiment illustrated, the three chordal sections
38 are equally spaced about the ridge 34 and three chordal sections
39 are equally spaced about the ridge 34 and three chordal sections
39 are equally spaced about the ridge 35 and are offset or rotated
axially from the sections of the ridge 34 so that the six sections
are equally spaced, as seen in FIG. 4.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated, an inner portion 42 is
provided in the sleeve 33 with a cylindrical opening for engagement
with the end portion 17 of the socket. Abutment of the end of the
socket at the bottom of the cylindrical portion 42 serves as a
limit stop when the connector is pushed onto the socket. The
telescoping engagement of the two cylindrical surfaces maintains
the components in alignment and lessens strain on the
connection.
An opening is provided in the lower end of the body 31 for
receiving the contact 32 and in the preferred embodiment includes
an outer tapered section 45 converging toward an inner section 46
of increased diameter, with the sections meeting at an annular
shoulder 47. A knurled shoulder 48 may be provided on the body for
improved manual gripping during installation and removal of the
connector.
The contact 32 is made of metal, typically brass, and has a tubular
outer end 51 designed for receiving a wire conductor 11. A radial
opening 52 permits visual inspection of the position of the
conductor within the contact prior to fastening the conductor in
place as by soldering or crimping, the latter being illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 3.
The contact 32 is designed to be a push fit into the body 31 and in
the preferred embodiment illustrated the contact includes an outer
tapered portion 54 which diverges toward an inner portion 55 of
reduced diameter. A flange 56 serves as a stop for limiting entry
of the contact into the body. The cooperating tapered surfaces of
the contact portion 54 and the body opening 45 facilitate insertion
of the contact into the body, with the resilient body expanding to
permit passage of the contact portion 54 past the shoulder 47 of
the body.
The outer portion 54 of the contact has a central opening for
receiving the pin 12 of the socket. A pressure engagement is
achieved by slotting or splitting the portion 54, as indicated at
60, with the opening being smaller than the pin so that the tines
formed by slotting will be forced outward as the connector is
pushed onto the socket thereby achieving a pressure electrical
connection. The bore of the inner section 46 of the body 31
preferably is sized to engage or nearly engage the outer portion 54
of the contact 32 and prevent undue spreading of the tines when
pushed onto the socket pin 12.
In use, an electrical cable comprising a plurality of conductors
such as the conductor 11 may be formed by conventional means. A
contact 32 is affixed to each conductor as desired. In the
embodiment illustrated, one conductor is crimped in a contact.
However there are instances where two and three conductors are
crimped in a single contact, depending upon the circuit
requirements. The instrument panel with appropriately located
sockets is assembled in the usual manner and may be installed in
its final position. The body elements of the connectors may be
assembled with the contacts prior to crimping the contacts on the
conductors or may be attached afterwards as desired. The cable
harness is now placed in its final position and each connector is
pushed into the corresponding socket, thereby completing the
installation. If it is desired to remove the installation, the
connectors may be pulled off of the sockets.
Thus it is seen that the unique connector provides a quick, simple
and reliable means for installing and removing cabling. Extensive
testing has established that the resulting connections are both
electrically and mechanically secure and are highly resistant to
vibration over a wide range including that normally encountered in
aircraft installations. The push on connection permits
incorporation of lighting wiring in the same harness with wiring
for switches and other components, since wrapped and/or soldered
connections are eliminated.
* * * * *