U.S. patent number 3,727,170 [Application Number 05/135,599] was granted by the patent office on 1973-04-10 for flat cable connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GTE Sylvania Incorporated. Invention is credited to John L. Mosier, George D. Powley.
United States Patent |
3,727,170 |
Mosier , et al. |
April 10, 1973 |
FLAT CABLE CONNECTOR
Abstract
A connector assembly for providing contact between the
conducting surfaces of a printed circuit board and conductors
located within a flat cable. This connector comprises an insulating
body having a channel therein for receiving the printed circuit
board and a tail portion extending from said insulating body. A
plurality of electrical contacts are established within the
insulating body, each having first contacting portions for
contacting the conducting surfaces of the circuit board and second
contacting portions which protrude externally from the insulating
body substantially parallel to and at a predetermined distance from
designated surfaces of the tail portion, thereby forming a slot for
receiving the leading edges of the flat cable. To provide
electrical contact in this area, the insulative material on one
side of the flat cable is stripped away, exposing the conductors to
the second contacting portions of the contacts.
Inventors: |
Mosier; John L. (Kane, PA),
Powley; George D. (Johnsonburg, PA) |
Assignee: |
GTE Sylvania Incorporated
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
22468781 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/135,599 |
Filed: |
April 20, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/59;
439/493 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
12/79 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
12/00 (20060101); H01R 12/24 (20060101); H05k
001/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/14R,17F,17L,17LC,176MF,176MP,176M,1 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Champion; Marvin A.
Assistant Examiner: Lewis; Terrell P.
Claims
We claim:
1. A connector assembly for providing electrical contact between
the conducting surfaces of a printed circuit board and
corresponding individual conductors located within a flat cable,
said connector assembly comprising:
an insulating body having means located therein for receiving said
printed circuit board and a protruding tail portion extending from
said insulating body;
a plurality of electrical contacts retained within said insulating
body, each of said contacts having a first and second contacting
portion, said first contacting portion established within said
receiving means of said insulating body and said second contacting
portion protruding externally from said insulating body
substantially parallel to and a predetermined distance from a
designated surface of said protruding tail portion thereby forming
accepting means for said flat cable, said second contacting portion
having a terminal end located thereon, said terminal end angled
outwardly from said designated surface of said protruding tail
portion to form funnel like openings for accepting the leading
edges of said flat cable; and
a pair of opposing closure members adapted to enclosure said
insulating body and a portion of said flat cable and having means
whereby said flat cable is retained in substantially rigid
alignment with said insulating body.
2. The connector assembly according to claim 1 in which said means
located within said insulating body for receiving said printed
circuit board comprises a channel of predetermined depth having an
opening along a first surface of said insulating body.
3. The connector assembly according to claim 2 in which said
protruding tail portion extends in a direction substantially normal
to a second surface of said insulating body, said second surface
being opposed and substantially parallel to said first surface.
4. The connector assembly according to claim 1 in which said means
for retaining said flat cable in substantially rigid alignment with
said insulating body comprises at least one raised portion located
on one of said closure members, said raised portion mating with a
corresponding groove within the other of said closure members
thereby compressing said flat cable between said raised portion and
said corresponding groove.
5. The connector assembly according to claim 1 in which a
predetermined portion of insulative material of said flat cable is
stripped away, thereby exposing a corresponding portion of said
individual conductors.
6. The connector assembly according to claim 5 in which each of
said individual conductors located within said flat cable are
joined to each of said second contacting portions by a bonding
means prior to enclosing said closure members about said insulating
body.
7. The connector assembly according to claim 6 in which said
bonding means is soldering.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electrical connectors and more
particularly to connectors for providing contact between the
electrical conducting surfaces of a printed circuit board and
corresponding individual conductors located within a flat
cable.
Flat cables are well known in the art as comprising a plurality of
individual conductors spaced in a substantially parallel
arrangement and encased within a body of insulative material. These
conductors, insulated from each other, may either be round wire,
flat metal strips, or a possibility of many other cross-sectional
configurations. The flat cable avoids the necessity of a multitude
of separate wires cluttering the circuit area, thereby providing
the compactness feature as dictated by the technology of today's
electronic field. A single flat strip of conductors also greatly
simplifies the manufacturing and repair processes on the
circuit.
To make circuitry even more compact, the printed circuit board,
having a variety of circuits neatly arranged on a flat insulative
board, is employed. It can, therefore, be seen that a circuit
arrangement utilizing a printed circuit board, which in turn is
joined electrically to a flat cable, would provide the compactness
feature necessary in today's technology and would also make repair
of the circuit substantially less difficult. It is believed,
therefore, that a connector designed to receive a printed circuit
board and to electrically connect the conducting surfaces of this
board to corresponding individual conductors located within a flat
cable, would be an advancement in the art.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Consequently, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a
new method of making electrical connections between the contact
surfaces of a printed circuit board and the individual conductors
located within a flat cable.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a connector
which utilizes a minimal amount of components, thereby facilitating
ease of operation.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a
connection which maintains the flat cable in substantially rigid
alignment with the connector.
In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided
an electrical connector having an insulating body with a tail
portion and a channel located therein. Within this channel are
positioned the first contacting portions of a plurality of
electrical contacts, whose purpose it is to contact the
electrically conducting surfaces of a printed circuit board when it
is introduced into the channel. The second contacting portions of
the contacts protrude from the insulating body a predetermined
distance from and substantially parallel to designated surfaces of
the tail portion. In doing so, they form a receiving slot for the
leading edges of the flat cable which, after having a portion of
the insulative covering stripped away to expose the conductors to
the second contacting portions, are introduced.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the present invention as it
appears completely assembled.
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, in section, showing the
respective positions of the internal components of the present
invention as it appears completely assembled.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
For a better understanding of the present invention together with
other and further objects, advantages, and capabilities thereof,
reference is made to the following specification and appended
claims in connection with the above described drawings.
Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded view of the
present invention, connector assembly 11, comprising an insulating
body 13, an upper closure member 15, a lower closure member 17, and
a plurality of electrical contacts 19, which are retained within
the insulating body. Each of the contacts 19 have a first
contacting portion 21 which is positioned within channel 23 and a
second contacting portion 25 which protrudes externally from
insulating body 13 substantially parallel to and a predetermined
distance from either surface 27 or 27' of tail portion 29 of the
insulating body depending on the contacts position within the
channel. A better view of the positioning of these various
components is shown in FIG. 3.
It is the purpose of the first contacting portion 21 of the
contacts to engage the electrically conducting areas 31 of the
printed circuit board 33 after insertion of the board into channel
23.
The second contacting portions 25 likewise contact the electrical
conductors 35 of flat cable 37 once the leading edges 39 and 39'
are inserted between the second contacting portions 25 and surfaces
27 and 27', respectively.
In this particular embodiment, a flat cable having two separate
layers of conductors is shown, although it should be understood the
alternatives to this are possible. One of these alternatives would
be to have a flat cable with only one layer of conductors and
alternate every other conductor to the opposing sides 27 and 27' of
the tail portion, prior to insertion between the sides and the
second contacting portions 25.
In order for sound electrical connections to be accomplished
between conductors 35 and contacting portions 25, a portion of
insulating material is stripped away from the conductors, thereby
exposing them. The amount of insulation to be stripped is dependent
on the distance which the conductors are to be inserted. After
insertion is completed, it is suggested that contacting portions 25
be soldered to the respective conductors thereby assuring more
reliable connections, although this is not an essential
prerequisite for this connector to function, as will be better
explained with further description.
Once the conductors are inserted, upper and lower closure members
15 and 17, respectively, are joined, thereby enclosing insulating
body 13. Closure members 15 and 17 are provided with recessed areas
41 and 41', respectively, which are designed to fit about the
thicker portion 43 of the insulating body. To accommodate for wings
45 and 45' on this thicker portion, slots 47 and 47' in upper
closure member 15 and slots 49 and 49' in lower closure member 17
are respectively provided. These slots aid in substantially
eliminating any lateral movement of the insulating body. Once the
insulating body is enclosed, retaining pins 51 are inserted into
openings 53 in the lower closure member 17 and further into
openings 55 of upper closure member 15, where a part of each
extends beyond the upper surface 57. The proposed method for
binding the two closure members is to now deform the extended ends
of these pins outward along the surface 57 of the upper closure
member, as shown more clearly in FIG. 3. This could be accomplished
by striking the extended ends, which are shown as being hollow,
with a wedge shaped instrument. Although this is the method shown,
others are possible. Among these, the lengths of the pins could be
extended, and provided with threading, whereby nuts are screwed on
until engaging surface 57, thus locking the two members
rigidly.
A still further method could be to provide U-shaped clamps which
could engage the outermost surfaces of the closure members, locking
them together.
To provide means whereby the flat cable 37 is maintained in rigid
alignment within the connector assembly, a raised portion 59 is
positioned along the inner edge 61 of lower closure member 17. This
raised portion mates with a corresponding groove (not shown)
positioned along an inner surface (also not shown) on upper closure
member 15, compressing flat cable 37 between.
This groove is similar to groove 63, adjacent to raised portion 59
on inner edge 61.
A corresponding raised portion (not shown) is positioned on upper
closure member next to this groove in a similar positioning
relationship as that of raised portion 59 and groove 63, and mates
with groove 63 to provide additional compressing pressure on the
flat cable.
In FIG. 2 can be seen a side view of the present invention,
connector assembly 11, with the upper and lower closure members, 15
and 17, joined. In this view, one of the wings 45 can be seen in
its relative position clamped between the two closure members. The
printed circuit board 33 and the flat cable are inserted into the
connector assembly.
In FIG. 3, the same positioning of the connector assembly as that
in FIG. 2 is shown, with the exception that in this view many of
the components are in section. Insulating body 13 is shown to house
a pair of opposing electrical contacts 19, each having a first
contacting portion 21 and a second contacting portion 25. The first
contacting portions are positioned within channel 23 of insulating
body 13 and contact the electrically conducting areas 31 of the
printed circuit board 33 after the board is inserted into the
channel. Second contacting portions 25 protrude from the insulating
body and are formed in such a manner so as to be substantially
parallel to and a predetermined distance from the exterior surfaces
27 and 27' of tail portion 29 of the insulating body. By doing so,
they form receiving slots 65 for the leading edges 39 and 39' of
the flat cable 37, which are shown in their fully inserted
position.
Upper and lower closure members 15 and 17, respectively, are closed
about insulating body 13, causing raised portion 59 on edge 61 of
lower closure member 17 to mate with the corresponding groove in
upper closure member 15, clamping the flat cable between. Being a
relatively tight fit between the two closure members, the flat
cable is compressed somewhat at this junction as shown. This
compressive fit substantially eliminates any lateral movement of
the flat cable away from or toward the connector assembly.
The respective positions of pins 51 can more clearly be seen in
FIG. 3 as they are aligned within openings 53 of the lower closure
member 17 and openings 55 of the upper closure member 15. The
portion of the pins which extends beyond surface 57 have been
deformed outwardly along this surface. The heads of the pins 67 fit
within recessed openings 69 located within lower closure member
17.
While there have been shown and described what are presently
considered the preferred embodiments of this invention, it is
obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and
modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope
of the invention as defined by the following claims.
* * * * *