U.S. patent number 3,864,010 [Application Number 05/327,966] was granted by the patent office on 1975-02-04 for pre-loaded electrical connecting device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to AMP Incorporated. Invention is credited to Henry George Wasserlein, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,864,010 |
Wasserlein, Jr. |
February 4, 1975 |
PRE-LOADED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING DEVICE
Abstract
Electrical connector adapted to be coupled to a complementary
connecting means has contact terminals extending from its mating
face. The terminals have conductor receiving slots extending from
their leading ends towards the mating face so that when conductors
are inserted into the slots, electrical contact is established with
the conductors. The connector can be used for conventional
conductors and has particular advantages when used with co-axial
cables.
Inventors: |
Wasserlein, Jr.; Henry George
(Seminole, FL) |
Assignee: |
AMP Incorporated (Harrisburg,
PA)
|
Family
ID: |
23278885 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/327,966 |
Filed: |
January 30, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/408 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
9/053 (20130101); H01R 4/242 (20130101); H01R
13/432 (20130101); H01R 13/11 (20130101); H01R
13/112 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
9/05 (20060101); H01R 9/053 (20060101); H01R
13/11 (20060101); H01R 13/428 (20060101); H01R
13/432 (20060101); H01R 13/115 (20060101); H01r
011/20 (); H01r 013/58 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/47-49,95-99,107,121,174,176M,191M,192R,195M,196R,196M,210,256SP |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
153,357 |
|
May 1938 |
|
DD |
|
24,345 |
|
Dec 1899 |
|
GB |
|
2,008,890 |
|
Jan 1970 |
|
FR |
|
1,963,313 |
|
Jun 1971 |
|
DT |
|
Primary Examiner: Frazier; Roy D.
Assistant Examiner: Staab; Lawrence J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Raring; Frederick W. Seitchik; Jay
L. Keating; W. J.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector intended for use with a pair of
associated conductors such as a signal conductor and a grounding
conductor, said connector being adapted for engagement with
complementary connecting means to disengageably connect said
associated conductors to further conductors, said connector
comprising:
an insulating housing, said housing having a mating face which is
proximate, and opposed to, said complementary connecting means when
said connector is engaged with said complementary connecting means,
said housing having a rearward face on the side thereof which is
opposite from said mating face,
a pair of electrical contact terminals in said housing, said
terminals having contact portions which extend normally of, and
beyond, said mating face, each of said contact portions having a
free end, said free ends being generally channel-shaped in
cross-section and having a web and sidewalls, each of said free
ends having a conductor receiving slot extending inwardly from its
web at said free end, and
conductor-receiving passageway means extending through said housing
from said rearward face to said mating face whereby upon
positioning said conductors in said conductor-receiving passageway
means and locating end portions of said conductors in said
conductor-receiving slots, said conductors are electrically
connected to said contact terminals adjacent to said free ends, and
upon engagement of said connector with said complementary
connecting means, said end portions of said conductors are located
adjacent to said complementary connecting means.
2. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 1, each of said
contact terminals having contact spring means on its sidewalls for
electrical contact with complementary contact terminals in said
complementary connecting means.
3. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 in combination
with a pair of associated conductors, one said conductor being in
said conductor-receiving slot means of one of said contact
terminals and the other one of said conductors being in said
conductor-receiving slot means of the other one of said contact
terminals.
4. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 1, said housing
being generally prismatic, said conductor receiving passageway
means comprising groove means extending on a side of said housing
between mating face and said rearward face.
5. An electrical connector as set forth in claim 4, said groove
means comprising a single groove extending from said rearward face
towards said mating face, said single groove having an end which is
proximate to said mating face, and two branch grooves extending
from said end to said mating face, each of said branch grooves
opening onto said mating face at a location proximate to one of
said contact terminals.
6. A connector as set forth in claim 5 in combination with a
co-axial electrical cable of the type comprising a center conductor
and shielding layer in surrounding relationship to said center
conductor, said cable being in said groove, said center conductor
extending through one of said branch grooves and being in said
conductor-receiving slot of one of said contact terminals, and
additional conductor means extending from said shielding through
the other one of said branch grooves and being in said
conductor-receiving slot of the other one of said contact
terminals.
7. A connector as set forth in claim 6, said additional conductor
means comprising a drain wire.
8. A connector as set forth in claim 5, said housing having said
groove means on two opposite sides thereof.
9. A connector as set forth in claim 8 in combination with a
co-axial cable of the type comprising a center conductor, shielding
material in surrounding relationship to said center conductor, and
a drain wire extending along and against said shielding material,
said shielding material being removed from an intermediate portion
of said conductor, portions of said cable adjacent to said
intermediate portion being in said groove means on said two
opposite sides of said mating face, said center conductor being in
first corresponding branch grooves on said two sides and extending
across said mating face and through said conductor-receiving slot
of one of said contact terminals, said drain wire being in second
corresponding branch grooves on said two sides and extending across
said mating face and through said conductor receiving slot of the
other one of said contact terminals.
10. A connector as set forth in claim 4, and enclosure means in
surrounding relationship to said housing.
11. An electrical connection between two coaxial cables, each of
said cables comprising a center conductor, an insulating sheath
surrounding said center conductor, and metallic sheilding material
in surrounding relationship to said insulating sheath, said
connection comprising:
a pair of complementary connectors, each of said connectors
comprising an insulating housing, said housing having a mating face
which is proximate, and opposed to, the mating face of the other
one of said connectors when said connectors are mated,
two electrical contact terminals in each of said housings, each of
said terminals having a contact portion which extends forwardly
from the mating face of its associated housing and which has a free
end, each of said contact terminals having a conductor-receiving
slot extending inwardly from its free end,
each of said cables extending to the mating face of one of said
housings and having its center conductor extending through the
conductor-receiving slot of one of said terminals, and conductor
means extending from said shielding material to the other one of
said terminals and through the conductor-receiving slot
thereof,
said connectors being mated with each other with the free ends of
the contact terminals of each connector in overlapping engagement
with the free ends of the contact terminals of the other
whereby,
the center conductors of said two cables are connected to each
other and the shielding material of each cable is connected to the
shielding material of the other, said connection having a short
zone of connection and a low impedance mismatch by virtue of the
fact that said shielding material and said center conductors are
connected to said terminals proximate to said free ends thereof,
and said shielding material of each of said cables extends to a
location which is proximate to said mating faces and proximate to
said free ends of said terminals.
12. An electrical connection as set forth in claim 11, each of said
cables having a drain wire extending therealong in contact with
said shielding material, said drain wire of each cable extending to
the said other one of said terminals and constituting said
conductor means extending from said shielding means to the other
one of said terminals.
13. An electrical connection as set forth in claim 11, said free
ends of said terminals in one of said connectors comprising
terminal blades.
14. An electrical connection as set forth in claims 13, said free
ends of said terminals in the other one of said connectors having a
channel shaped cross-section, said terminal blades extending
between the sidewalls of said terminals having a channel-shaped
cross-section.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electrical connectors and contact
terminals of the type used in electrical connectors. An "electrical
connector" or "electrical connector part" can be described in the
context of the instant specification as an insulating housing
containing one or more metallic electrical contact terminals to
which conductors are, or can be, secured. The connector is adapted
to be engaged with a complementary connector to form a "connector
assembly" or with other connecting means.
A known type of electrical contact terminal which is being used to
an increasing extent comprises a plate-like member having a
conductor receiving slot extending inwardly from one of its edges,
the width of the slot being less than the width of the conductor so
that when the conductor is moved laterally of its axis and into the
slot, the conductor will be deformed and the edges of the slot will
be brought into electrical contact with the conductor. These
slotted beam type contact terminals are being used in a variety of
types of connectors and under a variety of circumstances, see for
example application Ser. No. 147,569 filed May 27, 1971 and now
U.S. Pat. 3,760,335 for PRE-LOADED ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR.
The present invention is directed, in accordance with one apsect
thereof, to the achievement of an improved pre-loaded electrical
connector having slotted beam type contact terminals therein. The
term "pre-loaded connector" as used herein is intended to imply
that the terminals are mounted in the connector housing by the
connector manufacturer. When a pre-loaded connector having slotted
beam type contact terminals therein is placed in service, the
conductors are attached to the terminals by merely inserting the
conductors into the slots of the terminals. The more commonly used
type of connector is not preloaded but has cavities which are
adapted to receive electrical contact terminals which have
previously been crimped onto conductors.
The invention is directed in accordance with a further aspect
thereof towards the achievement of an electrical connector having
improved impedance characteristics for connecting co-axial cables
to each other or to other circuitry. It should be explained in this
respect that co-axial cables are manufactured to rigid tolerances
in order to provide precisely controlled and uniform impedance
characteristics along their lengths. When two co-axial cables are
connected to each other, a discontinuity in the impedance
characteristics of the transmission line commonly results.
Conventional coaxial connectors are carefully designed with regard
to their geometry to minimize this discontinuity but such carefully
designed connectors are usually relatively expensive and bulky. A
co-axial connector in accordance with the instant invention is
relatively compact and can be manufactured at a relatively low
cost.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved
pre-loaded electrical connector. A further object is to provide a
connector for co-axial cables having improved impedance
characteristics. A still further object is to provide a connector
for co-axial cables which is easily installed on the end of a
cable. A still further object is to provide an improved contact
terminal for an electrical connector.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a
preferred embodiments thereof which are briefly described in the
foregoing abstract, which are described in detail below, and which
are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of connector assembly in
accordance with the invention, the two connector parts being
exploded from each other in this view.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a section of co-axial cable of a
type for which the embodiment of FIG. 1 is intended.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 3--3 of FIG.
1.
FIG. 4 is a view taken along the lines 4--4 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the connector parts
coupled to each other.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a pair of complementary contact
terminals which are contained in the connector parts of FIG. 1.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the contact terminals shown in FIG. 6, the
terminals being coupled to each other in this view.
FIG. 8 is a perspective exploded view of one of the connector parts
of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
FIGS. 9, 10--10 and 11--11 are sectional views taken along the
lines 9--9, 10--10 and 11--11 of FIG. 8.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a group or stock of connectors in
accordance with an alternative embodiment of the invention, one of
the connectors being exploded from the stock.
FIG. 13 is an exploded view of a further embodiment intended for
forming series connections along groups of contact terminal
posts.
FIG. 14 is a sectional sideview of two connectors of the type shown
in FIG. 13 and illustrating the manner of forming series
connections among terminal posts.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a section of co-axial cable which
has been stripped intermediate its ends pre-paratory to
installation thereon of a connector of the type shown in FIG.
13.
FIG. 16 is a frontal view of the block portion of the connector of
FIG. 13.
FIGS. 17-19 are graphs illustrating the impedance characteristics
of a co-axial cable transmission line having a co-axial connecting
means therein and illustrating the principle of the invention.
As noted above, the instant invention has particular advantages in
applications where one co-axial cable is to be disengageably
connected to another co-axial cable or to an alternative connecting
means, although the invention can be used for forming connections
for conventional conductors as will be described below.
The embodiments of the invention shown in the drawing are all
particularly intended for use with a co-axial cable of the type as
shown at 2 (FIG. 2) which comprises a center conductor 4, an inner
layer 6 of insulating material, a relatively thin metallic layer 8
of shielding material which surrounds the insulating layer 6, and
an outer layer of insulating material 12. A drain wire 10 is
contained between the shielding layer 8 and the outer layer of
insulating 12 purely for convenience in forming electrical
connections to, and with, the shielding layer 8, the drain wire
being in electrical contact with the shielding layer by virtue of
the fact that it is held against the shielding material by the
outer layer of insulation. The shielding layer 8 may be in the form
of a braided metallic layer of a metal coated plastic.
A connector assembly in accordance with the invention as shown in
FIG. 1 comprises two complementary, and in many respects similar,
electrical connector parts, 14, 14' which are engageable with each
other to connect corresponding co-axial cables 2 to cables 2'.
Since the electrical connector part 14 is substantially similar to
the connector 14', a description of the connector 14 will, to a
large extent, suffice for both of the connector parts. Accordingly,
the connector part 14 is described in detail below, and the part
14' is described only to the extent that it differs from the part
14. The same reference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, are
used for corresponding structural elements in the two connector
parts insofar as is practical.
Connector part 14 has mounted therein a plurality of first
electrical contact terminals 16 (FIG. 6) each of which has a
channel-shaped cross-section comprising a web 18 and sidewalls 20.
The lefthand end of the terminal 16 serves as a contact portion 22
and a conductor receiving slot 24 extends from this contact portion
inwardly in the web 18. Contact springs 26 are provided in the
sidewalls 20 in the form of inwardly directed lances which are
adapted to engage the contact terminals 16' when the terminals are
mated with each other. A retention lance 25 is struck from the web
18 at the rearward end of the terminal and provides a forwardly
facing shoulder 27 which functions to retain the terminal in a
housing rack or block 28 as described below.
The complementary or second terminal 16' is a relatively simple
blade-like member 18' having its conductor receiving slot 24'
extending inwardly from its leading end. The width of this
complementary terminal 16' is such that it can be received between
the sidewalls 20 of the terminal 16 as illustrated in FIG. 7. The
terminal 16' also has a struck out lance 25' for retention
purposes. Conductors are connected to the terminals 16, 16' by
simply moving them laterally of their axes and into the slots 24,
24'. It will be noted from FIG. 7 that when the terminals are mated
with each other, the conductors in the two terminals are close to
each other, a relationship which is significant and important in
electrical connections between co-axial cables as will be described
below.
Referring now to FIG. 8, the contact terminals 16 are mounted in a
housing composed of an insulating block or rack 28 having a mating
face 30 and a rearward face 32. A plurality of contact receiving
cavities 34 extend between the faces 30, 32 and each cavity has a
rearwardly facing shoulder 35 (FIG. 11). The terminals are
assembled to the block 32 by merely aligning them with the cavities
and inserting them into the cavities until the lances 25 lodge
against the shoulders 35.
A plurality of conductor receiving grooves or recesses 38 extend
across the block 28 on the upper side 36 thereof, each recess being
of a width sufficient to accomodate a cable 2 and each recess
having two branches 40, 42 which open onto the mating face 30 of
the block. It will be noted that the ends of these branches 40, 42
are in alignment with the slots 24 of two adjacent contact
terminals 16. As shown best in FIG. 9, the floor of each recess is
slightly humped at 37 and slopes downwardly as viewed in FIG. 9
towards the rearward face 32 in order to provide a strain relief
for the cable and to center the cable relative to the rearward side
of the connector part as shown in FIG. 3 and as will be described
below.
The block 32 is contained between two identical cover parts 44
(FIG. 8) each of which comprises a flat panel-like section 46
having flanges 48 extending from two opposite sides and having a
rear or back flange 50. The flanges 48 and the panel section 46 are
of reduced thickness at the lefthand side of the cover as shown at
52, 54 and a shallow recess 56 extends transversely across the
panel section 46 parallel to the back flange 50. Circular openings
58 are provided on each side of recess 56 for the accomodation of
fasteners 60 which are adapted to extend through these openings and
through aligned openings 51 in the block 28.
When the connector part 14 is to be installed on the ends of cables
2, the cables are first stripped or prepared by removing a portion
of the outer insulation 12 and the shielding material 8 from the
end of the cable without disturbing or cutting the drain wire 10
and insulation 6 and center conductor 4. The end of each cable is
then positioned in one of the recesses 38 and the drain wire is
lead through the branch 42 while the center connector is lead
through the branch 40. The drain wire is moved laterally of its
axis into the conductor receiving slot 24 of the immediately
adjacent contact terminal 16 which is below (as viewed in FIG. 8)
the drain wire. The center conductor is similarly moved laterally
of its axis into the conductor receiving slot of the next adjacent
contact terminal. It is unnecessary to strip the insulation 6 from
the center conductor for the reason that this insulation will be
penetrated by the edges of the terminal slot and contact will be
made with the center conductor. It may be necessary to provide a
slot in the terminal which receives the center conductor which is
not of the same width as the width of the slot in the associated
terminal which receives the drain wire of a cable if the two
conductors are of different diameters.
After the cables 2 have been connected to associated pairs of
contact terminals 16, the block 28 is positioned between the two
cover members 44 and the cover members are clamped to each other
and to the block by the fasteners 60. As shown in FIG. 3, a strain
relief for each cable is provided by the hump 37 in each recess 38
and the shallow recess 56 in the upper cover part 44. The back
flanges 50 of the cover parts 44 bear against the surface of the
cable but provide additional strain relief.
The connector part 14' differs from the connector part 14 in that
it has contact terminal blades 16' therein and the cover parts 44'
are dimensioned to surround the reduced thickness ends 52, 54 of
the cover parts 44. In the assembled connector parts, the contact
terminals are thus completely surrounded as shown in FIG. 3 and
protected against damage when the two connector parts are
disengaged from each other. The connector parts are engaged with
each other by simply holding them in alignment as shown in FIGS. 3
and 4 and moving them towards each other so that corresponding
contact terminals are engaged with each other thereby to connect
the center conductors of each cable 2 to the center conductors of
the cables 2'and similarly connect the drain wires of corresponding
cables 2, 2'.
The benefits achieved for co-axial cable connections by the
practice of the invention can be understood and appreciated in the
light of the foregoing description of the embodiment of FIG. 1
taken in conjunction with the following discussion of some factors
affecting impedance mismatch in co-axial connections.
Co-axial cables having a signal conductor and shielding material in
surrounding relationship to the signal conductor are used in order
to protect the signal conductor from interference effects which
result from adjacent conductors or other sources. If shielding is
required, it is often desirable to provide it in a geometrically
constant relationship to the signal conductor so that the impedance
of the cable is constant throughout the length of the cable
particularly if the cable is used in equipment or systems which
operate at high frequencies. Co-axial cables of the type shown in
FIG. 2 are thus manufactured rigid tolerances and are made highly
uniform along their lengths in order to achieve a constant
impedance.
When two co-axial cables are connected to each other, the impedance
in the zone of the connection will almost invariably be different
from that of the cables and while the resulting impedance mismatch
(i.e., the impedance of the cable as compared to the impedance of
the connection) can be reduced by careful design and manufacture of
the connection, it can probably never be eliminated. The expression
"zone of the connection" as used above is intended to define the
distance between the locations on the two co-axial cables at which
there is a change in the geometry of the transmission line. For
example, the zone of the connection between the cables 2 and 2' in
FIG. 5 extends from the location 3 of the cable 2 to the position
3' of the cable 2'. The impedance in this zone will ordinarily be
different than the normal impedance of the cables 2, 2' by reason
of the fact that the shielding has been removed from the
transmission line in this zone and the geometry of the line is
otherwise different from that of the cables.
It is highly desirable to minimize this impedance mismatch in the
zone of connection in order to improve the performance of the
system of which the cable forms a part and in order to avoid
unforeseen effects which may be brought about by the mismatch. The
effects of impedance mismatch are explained below with reference to
FIGS. 17-19 which schematically illustrate the mismatch which
results if little or no effort is made to achieve a low impedance
mismatch (FIG. 17), the manner of reducing the effects of mismatch
with known types of co-axial cable connecting devices (FIG. 18),
and the manner of reducing the effects of mismatch in accordance
with the invention (FIG. 19). It is emphasized that FIGS. 17-19 are
qualitative and that the curves of these FIGS. do not represent any
actual observed data. These curves do not consider, for example,
the fact that mismatch computations must be based on the electrical
length of two transmission lines rather than the physical length
and actual data curves would be irregular rather than straight and
symmetrical as in the drawing. The curves do serve, however, to
illustrate the advantages of the invention without recourse to a
rigorous mathematical analysis of the numerous variables in a
transmission line.
Referring to FIG. 17, if it is assumed that the portions 107 of the
curve represent the normal and constant impedance of two co-axial
cables, a connection between these cables may result in a mismatch
108 in the form of a significant increase in the impedance along
the transmission line (the two cables and the connection). The
length of this mismatch will be equal to the length of the
connection and the ordinate change will depend upon the impedance
of the connection as compared to that of the cable. The disruptive
impedance effect of the connection between the cables will be
represented by the shaded area in FIG. 17 and the greater this
area, the greater the effect of the mismatch. An impedance mismatch
of this type in a connection between two cables can, and frequently
does, cause noise in the form of pulses in the line caused by
reflections of the signals passing through the line. Such renegade
pulses reduce the amount of energy transmitted and, more
importantly, can cause unforeseeable mischief in the system of
which the transmission line forms a part. For example, these
unwanted renegade pulses may cause undesired circuit triggering
which will have an effect contrary to the overall purpose of the
system and which may frustrate the functions of the system.
In accordance with conventional engineering practice, impedance
mismatch is reduced to an acceptable level by careful design of the
co-axial cable connecting device so that the impedance of the
connecting device is very nearly the same as that of the cable. As
shown in FIG. 18, the area under the portion 110 of the curve is
greatly reduced by careful design of the co-axial connecting device
although the length of the connecting device is the same as that
illustrated in FIG. 17.
In accordance with the practice of the present invention, the
effective length of the connecting device and the zone of the
connection, as defined above, are substantially reduced by virtue
of the fact that the ends of the drain wires 10, 10' and the signal
conductors 4, 4' are closely adjacent to each other when a contact
terminal 16 is mated with a contact terminal 16'. Also, the
location 3' of the cable 2' is relatively close to the location 3
of the cable 2. It follows that the area under the portion 112 of
the impedance line (FIG. 19) is substantially reduced to the point
of acceptability. The area under the curve portion 112 of FIG. 19
is equal to the area under the portion 110 of the curve of FIG. 18
even though the increase in impedance is substantially greater in
the curve of FIG. 19.
The fact that conductors of a cable are closely adjacent to the
conductors of the other cable in accordance with the invention can
be translated into distinct economic advantages in that it is not
necessary to design the connecting device to rigid dimensional (and
other) specifications in order to achieve a low or acceptable
impedance mismatch. Additionally, connectors in accordance with the
invention can be made extremely compact so that little space is
required to disengageably connect one group of co-axial cables to
another group of cables.
FIG. 12 shows an alternative embodiment of a connector in
accordance with the invention adapted for connecting the center and
drain wire conductors of a cable 2 to a pair of associated terminal
posts 64, 66 mounted in a panel 68 such as a printed circuit board.
The connector 61 comprises a block 70 of insulating material having
a conductor receiving passageway 80 on on one side thereof which
extends from the upper side or face to the mating face 74. This
passageway has branches 82, 84 adjacent to the mating face for the
accomodation of the drain wire 10 and the center conductor 4, and
terminals 76 extend downwardly from the mating face adjacent to the
branches 82, 84. The terminals 76 are of the general type shown at
16, FIG. 6, excepting that the terminals 76 have inwardly formed
bow springs 78 on their sidewalls for engagement with the terminal
posts 64, 66. Flanges 88 extend downwardly on each side of the
mating face of protect the terminals as previously described.
The cable 2 is positioned in the passageway 80 and the conductors
are connected to the slotted ends of the terminals 76 as previously
described. As shown in FIG. 12, a group of connectors 62 can be
stacked against each other in order to form connections with a
plurality of associated groups of pairs of posts 64, 66. Cover
plates 92 are advantageously bonded or otherwise secured against
the outwardly facing surfaces of the end connectors 62 to clamp the
cable 2 in the lefthand end connector and to provide protection for
the terminals in both ends of the stack. A strain relief is
provided for each cable 2 in the form of a hump 86 in the
passageway of each of the blocks and recesses 90 are provided for
the portion of the cable which is displaced by the hump in the
passageway.
The stack of connectors 62 as shown in FIG. 12 can be cemented or
otherwise secured to each other to form a single connector assembly
for a plurality of cables 2 or the individual connectors can be
independent of each other so that they are individually
disengageable from the terminal posts in the board.
FIGS. 12-16 show a further embodiment of a connector in accordance
with the invention for forming connections among separate groups
94, 96 of terminal posts mounted in panels 98. This connector
comprises an insulating block 102 having cable receiving
passageways 104 on two oppositely facing sides thereof. Contact
terminals 76 as previously described extend from the lower or
mating face 106 of the block in alignment with the outlets of the
branches 105, 107, of the passageways 104. The cable 2a (FIG. 15)
is prepared by removing the outer insulation and the shielding
material from an intermediate portion of the cable without cutting
the center conductor 4 or the drain wire 10. The center conductor
and the drain wire are then inserted into the slots of the
terminals 76 and the adjacent portions of the cable are located in
the passageways 104 as shown in FIG. 14. The block 102 is then
slipped into a suitable insulating case 99 which clamps the cable
in the passageways 104 and which extends beyond the mating face 106
to protect the terminals as shown in FIG. 14. Any desired number of
connectors 100 can be installed on the cable 2a to connect a like
number of pairs of posts 94, 96 in series or daisey chain
fashion.
While the practice of the invention is particularly advantageous
for co-axial cable connections, connectors in accordance with the
invention have several advantages under many circumstances for use
with conventional conductors which do not have a shielding layer
there around. The connector is pre-loaded, as noted previously, and
can be installed with relative ease on the end of the conductor
when the connector is put in service. Further, a single type of
connector in accordance with the invention can be used for both
co-axial cable or conventional conductors. Where conventional
conductors are being used, two conductors are positioned in each
conductor receiving passageway, 38 of FIG. 8, and one conductor is
lead through each of the branches 40, 42 to the separate terminals
which are associated with each branch.
Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and
various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be
made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter
set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is
offered by way of illustration only.
* * * * *