Electrical Connectors

Abstract

An electrical connector for a tape cable which consists of metallic tapes embedded side-by-side in an insulating medium consisting of a housing carrying an electrical contact, a rotatable member within the housing and having a portion of its diameter of greater radius and a portion of lesser radius means for clamping the tape cable with respect to the housing. The rotatable member engages the tape cable within the housing so that, when the connector is assembled and the member rotated, the portion of the rotatable member having the greater radius comes into contact with the tape cable and the cable is drawn longitudinally across the teeth on the electrical contact so that the teeth plough through the insulating medium and establish electrical contact with the metallic tape.

Description

The present invention relates to connectors for making electrical connections to a tape cable comprising a metallic tape or side-by-side metallic tapes embedded in an insulating medium.

According to the present invention an electrical connector for a tape cable comprises a housing carrying at least one electrical contact having at least one tooth for contact with a metallic tape in the cable and a rotatable member mounted to engage the tape cable and on rotation to draw the tape cable longitudinally across the tooth so that the tooth ploughs through the insulating medium to establish electrical contact with a metallic tape.

Preferably clamping means are provided for clamping the cable with respect to the housing.

There may be a backing surface opposite the rotatable member arranged for the passage of the tape cable between the backing surface and the rotatable member and preferably the backing surface is resilient as by being of rubber.

Preferably, the circumference of the rotatable member has a portion of lesser radius and a portion of greater radius; for example the rotatable member may be a circular cylinder having a flat thereon. Thus, as the member is rotated and the portion of greater radius comes into contact with the tape cable the length of the path of the cable will be increased putting the cable in tension and causing the teeth to plough through the insulating medium so as to make contact with the metallic tapes in the tape cable.

Alternatively the rotation of the rotatable member may winch the cable longitudinally with respect to the housing so that as the cable moves the teeth plough through the insulating medium and make contact with the metallic tapes in the cable.

Preferably there is an electrical contact for each metallic tape and the contacts may be spaced apart in an insulating material.

Preferably there is a resilient pad adjacent the teeth and a spring on the opposite side of the contact urging the teeth towards the pad.

The invention may be performed in various ways and one connector embodying the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of the connector in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the contact carrier, and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are respectively a plan and a side elevation to a smaller scale of the connector mounted on a tape cable.

The connector includes a casing having an upper portion 10 and a lower portion 11; the lower portion is provided with a channel faced with rubber 12 to accommodate the tape cable 13 which consists of a number, for example 19, strips 13a of copper embedded side by side in a plastics insulator. The two members may be clamped together with screws 14 and 15, one pair at the front and one pair at the rear of the connector.

A recess 16 is formed in the inner surface of the upper portion 10 so that when the two portions are clamped together the recess 16 in the top portion add a recess 17 in the lower portion combine to form a chamber which contains a rotatable member 18, which is in the form of a circular cylinder with a flat 19 and has journals 20 of reduced diameter at the ends by which the rotatable member is mounted in semicircular recesses in the mating edges of the upper and lower portions of the casing. The ends of the journals have screwdriver slots 21 by means of which the rotatable member may be turned.

Contact with each metallic tape in the tape cable is made by means of an electrical contact 22. The contacts are held loosely in an insulating contact carrier 23 and are prevented from moving longitudinally by shoulders 24 and 25 at each end of each contact. The edge of each contact facing the lower portion 11 of the casing is provided with teeth 26 for a purpose to be hereinafter described. A recess 29 in the upper portion 10 of the casing houses a rectangular convoluted spring 27 which extends across the whole width of the tape cable and contact carrier 23.

When the connector is to be assembled, the tape is guided within the longitudinal channel until it abuts a stop member 28 on the lower portion 11 of the connector. The rotatable member 18 is placed over the tape with the flat 19 facing the tape. The convoluted spring 27 and the contact carrier 23 are assembled in he upper portion 10 which is placed over the lower portion and the pairs of screws 14 and 15 are tightened. The rear pair of screws 14 clamp the tape cable between the two members 10 and 11 where the cable passes out of the casing and the front pair of screws press the teeth 26 against or perhaps into the cable.

In order to make electrical contact with the metallic strips in the tape cable, the rotatable member 18 is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 1 until the circular part of the surface of the member is in contact with the tape. This will have the effect of increasing the length of the path of the tape between the two clamping positions as the rubber 12 and the tape will be urged downwardly. The tape will be put in tension and the teeth 25 will plough through the tape until they are in contact with the metallic strips as shown in FIG. 1.

Alternatively it is possible that merely by rotating the member 18 the tape will be drawn longitudinally with respect to the two portions 10 and 11 of the casing and so cause the teeth 26 to plough through the cable until the metallic strips are reached. The contacts and tape cable are sandwiched between the spring 27 and the rubber 12. The spring 27 provides even pressure across the whole width and length of the carrier 23 while the rubber presses the metallic strips into contact with the full length of the lower edges of the teeth 26 as can be seen in FIG. 1.

The connector described above is for use at the end of a cable and is the male member of a plug and socket connector. The female member may be of the same general construction with a modified contact carrier and contacts. The contact terminals may take various other forms. For example, they may be formed as wrapping posts of solder wells or tags. A connector for permanently joining two cables may be made having a left-hand half which is substantially as the complete connector described above and a right-hand half which is symmetrical with the left-hand half, the contacts being formed with a set of teeth at each end.

Claims

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An electrical connector for a tape cable comprising a metallic tape or tapes embedded side by side in an insulating medium, the connector comprising a housing carrying at least one electrical contact having at least one tooth for contact with said metallic tape in said cable and a rotatable member having a circumference having a portion of lesser radius and a portion of greater radius, said rotatable member being mounted with its circumference engaging the tape cable and on rotation to draw the tape cable longitudinally across said tooth so that said tooth ploughs through said insulating medium to establish electrical contact with said metallic

2. The electrical connector of claim 1 wherein said rotatable member is a

3. An electrical connector for a tape cable comprising a metallic tape or tapes embedded side by side in an insulating medium, the connector comprising a housing carrying at least one electrical contact having at least one tooth for contact with said metallic tape in said cable, clamping means arranged to clamp the tape cable and a rotatable member having a circumference having a portion of lesser radius and a portion of greater radius, said rotatable member being mounted with its circumference engaging the tape cable whereby rotation of the rotatable member causes said portion of said circumference having said greater radius to engage the tape cable and thus to increase the length of the path of the tape cable from said clamping means to said tooth to cause said tooth to plough through said insulating medium to establish electrical contact with said

4. The electrical connector of claim 3 wherein a resilient pad is provided adjacent said tooth and a spring on the opposite side of said contact from

5. The electrical connector of claim 4 wherein said tooth has a chisel edge to assist penetration through said insulating medium.