Box Edge Electrical Connector

Abstract

A connector suitable for making surface contact with a surface conductor of a ribbon-cable or printed circuit board has an open-sided boxlike configuration with a side of the box extended to give a contact edge. The contact edge is bowed and has a free end bent back into the box to reduce entanglement in harnesses. The connector is able to be fitted into a housing and secured to a surface of a panel.

Description

This invention is concerned with electrical contacts, connectors and housings for making electrical connection between a wire and a conductor of a flat cable, by which is meant a cable having spaced conductors secured, as by printing, to at least one face of an insulating support, a thin sheath of insulation material optionally being applied to the exposed conductors.

An electrical contact for a flat cable, according to one object of this invention, is of generally L-form, one limb comprising a wire-receiving part and the other a contact part of generally channel cross section having a floor and sidewalls extending generally normally of the floor defining an open mouth, a cantilever contact blade extending longitudinally of the channel and having at one end a lateral extension integral with one sidewall of the channel, the other end of the blade lying within the open mouth, the contact blade being curved away from the floor between its ends to present an arcuate cutting edge projecting outwardly of the channel.

Preferably, according to another object, the lateral extension of the contact blade is integral with a sidewall of the channel at a location adjacent the ferrule part. The contact blade preferably comprises a web of substantially constant thickness which is relatively thin in a direction generally parallel to the sidewalls.

A connector, according to a further object of this invention, comprises an insulating housing of generally L-section having channel passageways communicating between the limbs, each passageway having an open slot in the outer lateral wall of one limb and an aperture in the outer lateral wall of the other limb, engaging means in the inner wall of the apertured limb, the free end of which is formed with latching means for engagement with complementary means on a support to urge the outer wall of the apertured limb against a flat conductor on the support, each passageway containing an electrical contact of the invention, the wire-receiving part being received in the open-slotted passageway and a contact part so held in the apertured limb by the engaging means that the cutting edge of contact blade projects through the aperture for engagement with the conductor.

The engaging means, preferably and according to an additional object, comprises a latching arm formed from the inner wall of the housing and having a shoulder at its free end. The housing is preferably formed with arcuate projections for latching engagement with complementary projections on the support.

This invention, according to a still further object, includes a connection of a connector in engagement with the support.

A connector housing, according to still another object of this invention, is of generally L-section having contact-receiving channel passageways communicating between the limbs, each passageway having an open slot in an outer lateral wall of one limb, engaging means formed in the inner wall of the apertured limb, the free end of which is formed with latching means for engagement with complementary means on a support to urge the outer wall of the apertured limb against the support.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

This invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying sheet of drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a contact;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the contact of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view through a connector in engagement with a flat conductor,

FIG. 5 is an end view of an alternative form of contact;

FIG. 6 is a view, partly in section, showing a portion of the dashboard panel;

FIG. 7 is a view, partly in section, showing the connector partially assembled on the dashboard panel; and

FIG. 8 is a view, partly in section, showing the connector fully mounted on the panel.

The contact of FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a generally L-shaped member formed of electrically conductive metal, e.g., copper or phosphor bronze, having one limb as contact part 1 and the other as a ferrule part 2. The contact part 1 is of channel cross section and comprises a generally planar floor 3, FIG. 2, and sidewalls 4,5 extending generally normally of the floor 3 and defining an open mouth 6. A portion 7 is cut out of the sidewall 4 for ease of formation of the contact. Adjacent the angle of the L, an integral extension 8 projects from the edge of the sidewall 5 towards the sidewall 4. A cantilever contact blade 9 integral with the extension 8 extends longitudinally of the contact part 1 and the free end 10 of the blade 9 lies inside the mouth 6. The blade 9 is of constant thickness along its length and is curved away from the floor 3 between its ends so that an arcuate central portion 11 of the blade 9 extends above the sidewalls 4,5 and thus outwardly of the channel mouth 6. The blade is relatively thin in a direction parallel to the sidewalls so that the portion 11 presents a cutting edge.

A flange section 12 extends generally normally of the sidewall 5. The ferrule part 2 has crimping lugs 13 and 14, FIG. 2, respectively for crimping to the conductive core and insulating sheath of an end of a wire 26, FIG. 4.

A connector housing 15, FIG. 3, comprises an elongate block of insulating material, conveniently nylon or polypropylene. The housing is generally of L-form and has 11 channel passageways 16 spaced apart longitudinally of the housing, each to receive a contact of FIGS. 1 and 2. Each passageway 16 comprises a channel extending inwardly from the lateral walls of the housing having an open-ended upstanding open-slot section 17 in the shorter limb and a support section 18 in the longer limb of the L, respectively to receive the ferrule part 2 and contact part 1 of a contact. The inner wall of the section 18 has a flexible latch arm 19, FIG. 4, formed with a shoulder 20 at the junction of the sections 17 and 18. The outer wall of the section 18 is formed with an aperture or slot at 21 to allow reception of the cutting edge portion 11 of the contact blade 9, the slot being dead ended at a location remote from the upstanding section 17. A ledge, not shown, may be formed in the outer wall of the support section 18 adjacent the upstanding section 17 for supporting the flange 12 of the contact part 1.

The longer limb of the housing 15 is formed with curved end arms 22,23 adapted to fit under projections 31 of a dashboard panel 28, on which is mounted a flat cable, preferably an insulated printed circuit flat cable, and wedgingly to engage the housing and panel. The arms 22,23 are of different thicknesses and the projections of the panel are correspondingly dimensioned to polarize the housing and the panel. A stop 24 is formed at the end of the housing 15 remote from the arms 22,23 to cooperate with a corresponding stop, 32 on the panel. The arm 22 is formed with a latch 25 for disengagement of the housing 15 and panel.

To assemble a connector of the invention, an end of a wire 26, FIG. 4, is crimped within the ferrule part 2 of a contact. A contact is then inserted into a respective passageway 16 by pressing the ferrule part 2 into the section 17 and the contact part 1 into the section 18. As the contact part 1 enters the section 18, the cutting edge portion 11 of the contact blade 9 moving in the slot 21, the latch arm 19 is moved away from the outer wall of the section 18, upwardly as shown in FIG. 4, until the contact part 1 is fully home when the shoulder 20 engages behind the end of the floor 3 adjacent the ferrule part 2. The cutting edge portion 11 of the contact blade 9 projects through the slot 21. The connector so formed may then be advanced to a dashboard panel to make electrical contact between the contact blades 9 and the flat conductors 27 on the dashboard panel 28. The arms 22,23 are latchingly engaged with projections on the dashboard panel, see FIG. 8 the pivotal movement of the connectors towards the flat conductors acting to make the cutting edge portion 11 of the contact blades 9 cut through a contaminant insulating film 29 to expose the respective flat conductors 27. The contact blades 9 are moved slightly inwardly of the mouth 6 on engagement with the conductors, and tend to bear about a point slightly forward of the extensions 8.

Location of the contact blade between the sidewalls 4,5 of each contact minimizes risk of entanglement of the blade 9 with wiring harness associated with the dashboard panel and with other contacts during assembly. The narrowness of the floor 3 of the contact makes it possible to space the passageways 16 closely together. The latching engagement of the arms 22,23 with the projections on the panel assists in maintaining electrical connection between contacts and conductors even when the support 28 is subject to severe vibration. A contact may be removed from its passageway by releasing the engagement of the latch member 19 and contact. A contact blade 9 may be formed from each sidewall 4,5 such as is shown in FIG. 5 wherein a second arm 8' and contact blade 9' are provided.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the aforementioned and other desirable objects have been achieved; however, it should be emphasized that the particular embodiment of the invention, which is shown and described herein, is intended as merely illustrative and not as restrictive of the invention.

Claims

1. An electrical contact comprising a first limb having a wire-receiving part and a second limb having a contact part, said first and second limbs being disposed generally at right angles to each other in an L-shape configuration, said contact part being of generally channel cross section having a floor and sidewalls extending generally normally of the floor defining a mouth opening in a direction opposed to that of said first limb, a cantilever contact spring extending longitudinally of the channel and having a fixed end and a free end, said fixed end comprising an extension disposed laterally of and integral with one of said sidewalls of the channel, said free end of the contact spring lying within the open mouth, the contact spring being curved away from the channel floor between its fixed and free ends to present an arcuate contact edge projecting outwardly of the channel, said contact edge having a width generally equal

2. A contact according to claim 1, in which the lateral extension of the contact spring is integral with a sidewall of the channel at a location

3. A contact according to claim 1, in which a contact spring extends from

4. An electrical connector comprising an insulating housing of generally L-shape having limbs and channel passageways communicating between the limbs, each passageway having an open slot in the outer lateral wall of one limb and an aperture in the outer lateral wall of the other limb, engaging means on the inner wall of the apertured limb, the engaging means having a free end which is formed with latching means for engagement with complementary means on a support to urge the outer wall of the apertured limb against a flat conductor on the support, each passageway containing an electrical contact having a wire-receiving part disposed in the open-slotted passageway and a contact part having a channel shape and a curved cantilevered contact blade extending from a sidewall of said contact part and longitudinally of the channel and being curved away from a floor of the channel, said contact part being so held in the apertured limb by the engaging means that the edge of the contact blade extends

5. A connector according to claim 4, in which the housing is formed with arcuate-latching projections arranged for pivotal movement of the housing towards the support complementarily to engage projections formed on the support.