U.S. patent number 3,732,525 [Application Number 05/128,439] was granted by the patent office on 1973-05-08 for electrical contact terminal and connector.
This patent grant is currently assigned to AMP Incorporated. Invention is credited to Clyde Thomas Carter, Homer Ernst Henschen.
United States Patent |
3,732,525 |
Henschen , et al. |
May 8, 1973 |
ELECTRICAL CONTACT TERMINAL AND CONNECTOR
Abstract
Hermaphroditic electrical terminal comprises web having
sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges thereof. Means
extend from one end of the web for securing the terminal to a
conductor and contact springs are provided at the other end of the
terminal. These contact springs comprise planar extensions of the
sidewalls which project forwardly and are reversely bent inwardly
and towards the rearward end of the terminal in converging
relationship to the axis thereof. Two electrical terminals of this
type can be mated with each other by positioning them in opposed
inverted relationship and moving them together so that one contact
spring and one sidewall of each terminal are received between the
contact springs of the other terminal. Terminals disclosed can also
receive other electrical contact terminals of types that are
commonly used on the present day computer and peripheral computer
equipment. A connector housing is also disclosed having cavities
which are adapted to receive electrical terminals in accordance
with the invention.
Inventors: |
Henschen; Homer Ernst
(Carlisle, PA), Carter; Clyde Thomas (Mechanicsburg,
PA) |
Assignee: |
AMP Incorporated (Harrisburg,
PA)
|
Family
ID: |
22435393 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/128,439 |
Filed: |
March 26, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/291; 439/460;
439/858; 439/364; 439/746 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
13/28 (20130101); H01R 27/00 (20130101); H01R
13/35 (20130101); H01R 13/6215 (20130101); H01R
13/432 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
13/02 (20060101); H01R 13/28 (20060101); H01R
13/35 (20060101); H01R 27/00 (20060101); H01R
13/428 (20060101); H01R 13/432 (20060101); H01r
009/08 (); H01r 013/58 (); H01r 025/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/47-49,65,66,75M,75MP,92R,92M,176M,176MP,217S,217R,256R,258P,258R |
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 multi-contact electrical connector comprising an insulating
housing having a plurality of discrete contact receiving cavities
extending therethrough from the rearward face thereof to the mating
face thereof, each of said cavities having an electrical contact
terminal therein, each of said contact terminals comprising:
a substantially flat web having sidewalls extending from the
longitudinal edges thereof,
means on said terminal at one end of said web securing said
terminal to a conductor,
a pair of contact springs on said terminal at the other end
thereof, each of said springs comprising an extension of one of
said sidewalls,each of said springs extending from its respective
sidewall and being reversely bent inwardly towards the other one of
said springs, said springs having end portions extending rearwardly
of said terminal on opposite sides of the axis thereof,
said springs having a width which is less than the width of said
sidewalls, and the side edges of said springs being spaced from the
edges of said sidewalls and from said web,
each of said terminals having its web and sidewalls disposed in one
of said cavities and having portions of its contact springs
extending forwardly beyond said mating face whereby,
said connector can be coupled to a complementary connector having
contact terminals therein that have contact portions adapted to be
received between the opposed surfaces of said contact springs of
said connector.
2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said connector
contains a plurality of rows of said cavities.
3. A pair of substantially identical connectors, said connectors
being coupled to each other, each of said connectors
comprising:
an insulating housing having at least one contact receiving cavity
extending therethrough from its rearward face to its mating
face,
an electrical contact terminal in said cavity, said terminal
comprising a substantially flat web having sidewalls extending from
the edges thereof, means on said terminal at one end of said web
securing said terminal to a conductor,
a pair of contact springs on said terminal at the other end
thereof, each of said springs comprising an extension of one of
said sidewalls, each of said springs extending from its respective
sidewall and being reversely bent inwardly towards the other one of
said springs, said springs having end portions extending rearwardly
of said terminal on opposite sides of the axis thereof,
said springs having a width which is less than the width of said
sidewalls, and the side edges of said springs being spaced from the
edges of said sidewalls and from said web,
said web and sidewalls being disposed in said cavity and said
springs extending forwardly beyond said mating face,
said cavity having a laterally extending enlarged portion adjacent
to, and opening into, said mating face,
the two connectors of said pair being coupled to each other in
opposed inverted relationship with respect to each other with one
contact spring and one sidewall of each of said terminals being
received between the opposed surfaces of the contact springs of the
other terminal.
4. An electrical connector comprising an insulating block having a
contact-receiving cavity extending therethrough from the rearward
face thereof to the mating face, and a terminal in said cavity,
said terminal comprising
a web having sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges
thereof, said web and sidewalls defining a U-shaped
cross-section,
means at one end of said terminal extending from said web for
securing said terminal to a conductor,
a pair of contact springs extending from said terminal at the other
end thereof, each of said contact springs comprising an extension
of one of said sidewalls, each of said extensions projecting beyond
said web and being reversely bent and having end portions extending
inwardly towards said web and between said sidewalls, the end
portions of said contact springs converging towards the axis of
said terminal and
said springs having a width which is less than the width of said
sidewalls, and the side edges of said springs being spaced from the
edges of said sidewalls and from said web,
a retaining lance struck from said web, said lance extending
obliquely rearwardly between said sidewalls,
said cavity having:
a first rectangular cross-sectional portion extending inwardly from
said rearward face, a first pair of opposed walls of said first
portion being spaced-apart by a distance equal to the spacing
between said sidewalls, said sidewalls being against said first
pair of opposed cavity walls, a second pair of opposed sidewalls
which are spaced apart by a distance less than the height of said
sidewalls, groove extending through said block and opening into one
of said second pair of opposed sidewalls along the sides thereof,
the marginal edge portions of said sidewalls being received in said
grooves,
a boss extending from said one of said second opposed sidewalls
defining a forward facing shoulder, said lance being against said
boss to retain said terminal in said cavity,
a second rectangular portion of said cavity extending inwardly from
said mating face, said second rectangular portion being enlarged on
one side thereof which is in alignment with one of said second
sides of said first rectangular section,
said contact springs extending through said second rectangular
portion and beyond said mating face whereby said connector can be
coupled with an identical connector in opposed reversed
relationship to said connector.
5. A connector housing having at least one contact receiving cavity
extending therethrough from its rearward face to its mating face,
said cavity being adapted to receive an electrical contact terminal
of the type comprising a web having sidewalls extending from the
longitudinal edge thereof, a rearwardly directed retention lance
struck from said web, a pair of contact springs extending forwardly
from said sidewalls, said contact springs being reversely bent
inwardly and extending rearwardly between said sidewalls, said
cavity comprising:
a first rectangular cross sectional portion extending inwardly from
said rearward face, a first pair of opposed walls of said first
portion being spaced-apart by a distance equal to the spacing
between said sidewalls, of said terminal said sidewalls being
against said first pair of opposed cavity walls, a second pair of
opposed sidewalls, which are spaced apart by a distance less than
the height of said sidewalls, grooves extending through said block
and opening into one of said second pair of opposed sidewalls along
the sides thereof, the marginal edge portions of said sidewalls of
said terminal being adapted to bear against said boss to retain
said terminal in said cavity,
a second rectangular portion of said cavity extending inwardly from
said mating face, said second rectangular portion being enlarged on
one side thereof which is in alignment with one of said second
sides of said first rectangular section whereby
said terminal can be inserted into said cavity from said rearward
face of said housing upon movement of said terminal through said
cavity and movement of edge portions of said sidewalls into said
grooves until said lance snaps over, and lodges against, said boss.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to electrical connectors and electrical
contact terminals which are hermaphroditic and which are also
capable of being mated with dissimilar terminals and connectors.
The invention is herein disclosed in an embodiment particularly
intended for use with present day computers and peripheral computer
equipment although connectors and terminals in accordance with the
invention can be used in other types of equipment to advantage. In
the description which follows, the disclosed embodiment is
particularly described with reference to its intended use in
computer and peripheral computer equipment.
A typical computer installation of the type which might be used by
business, industry, or government comprises a central processor
unit (CPU) and selected peripheral equipment in the form of a tape
drive, a tape drive controller, or a disk drive and disk drive
controller, and additional equipment such as a key punch verifier.
There are at present several manufacturers of central processor
units who also manufacture the required peripheral equipment and
there are additional manufacturers who produce only the peripheral
equipment for the central processor unit. Quite often, an
installation will be composed of a central processor unit from one
manufacturer and will include peripheral equipment which may have
been produced by two or three other manufacturers.
All of the equipment which comprises the computer installation must
be electrically interconnected by large numbers of conductors and
multi-contact electrical connectors are commonly used to form these
connections. The computer industry has, therefore, standardized to
a large extent on a particular type of connector and contact
terminal to permit electrical interfacing among and between the
processor units and peripheral equipment of all manufacturers.
It has been recognized in the computer industry for several years
that it would be advantageous if an additional type of electrical
terminal were available for use in the industry for the various
units which must be electrically interconnected. One requirement of
such a connector would be that it be hermaphroditic so that if used
with two different types of equipment produced by two different
manufacturers, the two types of equipment could be electrically
connected to each other. Another requirement which has been
recognized is that a connector and terminal used on computer
equipment must be capable of being mated with existing connectors
on existing computer equipment. The instant invention is directed
to the achievement of an improved electrical connector which will
fulfill this need in the industry.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved
electrical contact terminal. It is a further object to provide a
hermaphroditic contact terminal which is also capable of being
mated with the dissimilar terminal. A further object is to provide
a multi-contact electrical connector which is both hermaphroditic
and which is capable of being mated with a similar connector having
dissimilar contact terminals therein. It is a further object to
provide a relatively low cost, high reliability electrical
connector suitable for use with the computers and computer related
equipment.
These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a
preferred embodiment thereof which is briefly described in the
foregoing abstract, which is described in detail below, and which
is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pair of electrical connectors in accordance
with the invention in alignment with each other and illustrating
the manner in which they are engaged with each other.
FIG. 2A is a view taken along the lines 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rearward side of one of the
connectors of FIG. 1 with the strain relief plate exploded from the
connector block.
FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the pair of connectors in
accordance with the invention illustrating the manner in which the
contact terminals are mated with each other.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional perspective view showing one of
the contact receiving cavities in the connector housing shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 and also showing a contact terminal in alignment with
the cavity preparatory to insertion.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cavity with parts broken away
to reveal features of the internal structure thereof.
FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the cavity shown in FIG. 6.
FIGS. 8 and 9 are views taken along the lines 8--8 and 9--9 of FIG.
7.
FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of the cavity of FIG. 5 having a
contact terminal mounted therein.
FIG. 11 is a view taken along the lines 11--11 of FIG. 10.
FIG. 11A is a view taken along the lines 11A--11A of FIG. 4
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a known type of electrical contact
terminal which is commonly used on computers and peripheral
equipment.
FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional side view of a portion of two
connectors mated with each other, one of these connectors having
contact terminals of the type shown in FIG. 12 therein and the
other connector having contact terminals in accordance with the
instant invention therein.
FIG. 14 is a view taken along the lines 14--14 of FIG. 13.
FIG. 15 is a sectional side view of a contact terminal in
accordance with the invention mated with a conventional contact
blade.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 3, of an alternative
form of cable clamp in accordance with the invention.
Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, a preferred form of electrical
contact terminal 2 in accordance with the invention is adapted to
be crimped onto a wire 18 and inserted into a contact receiving
cavity 4 in a connector housing 6. The terminal 2 and the housing 4
is hermaphroditic, as will be described below, so that they can be
engaged with an identical terminal and housing although terminals
and housings in accordance with the invention can also be mated
with similar housings having dissimilar terminals therein.
Each terminal 2 has a central U-shaped section comprising a web 8
and upstanding sidewalls 10, 12 which extend laterally from the
longitudinal edges of the web. A wire crimp portion 44 extends from
the righthand end of the web 8, as viewed in FIG. 5 to secure the
terminal to the insulating core of a wire or other conductor 18.
Additionally, an insulation crimp 16 is provided in alignment with
the wire crimp 14 to provide a strain relief for the wire
crimp.
A pair of contact springs 20, 22 extend from the forward end of the
sidewalls 10,12, each contact spring comprising a planar extension
24 of the sidewall from which it extends. Each spring is reversely
bent forwardly of the central U-shaped section as shown at 26 so
that the end portion 28 of the spring extends rearwardly between
the sidewalls and obliquely towards the axis of the terminal. The
opposed surfaces of these springs are thus tapered towards each
other and will be resiliently flexed away from each other upon
insertion of a mating terminal device. Advantageously, the end of
the springs are curved outwardly as shown at 30 to prevent damage
to the contact terminals in a complementary connector upon coupling
and decoupling. It should be noted that the contact springs 20, 22
have a width which is less than the width of the sidewalls 10, 12
so that the sides of the springs are spaced from the lower ends and
the upper edges of the sidewalls as is apparent from FIG. 5.
The lefthand end of the terminal as viewed in FIG. 5, the end
defined by the bends 26, is regarded as the forward end and the
righthand end on which the crimp portion 16 is provided is regarded
as being the rearward end. The portions 28 of the springs thus
extend rearwardly and obliquely with regard to the longitudinal
axis of the terminal.
Suitable retention means are provided for retaining the contact
terminal 2 in a cavity, which is described below, in the form of a
lance 34 and a shoulder 32 on the sidewall 12. The lance 34 is
struck inwardly from the web 8 and extends obliquely between the
sidewalls 10, 12 and rearwardly towards the righthand end of the
terminal. The shoulder 32 is formed by an ear on the rearward end
of sidewall 12 and faces forwardly for engagement with a suitable
shoulder in the contact cavity.
The electrical contact terminal 2 of FIG. 5 can be engaged with an
identical terminal by positioning the two terminals in opposed
inverted relationship with respect to each other and with their
axes offset so that one contact spring and one sidewall of each
terminal will be received between the two contact springs of the
other terminal when the two terminals are moved towards each other
as shown best in FIG. 4. Two mated terminals thus provide three
separate areas of electrical contact each of which is maintained by
at least one of the contact springs of the terminals. It has been
found that a mated pair of electrical contact terminals in
accordance with the invention will provide a stable low resistance
electrical connection which is not disturbed by vibration or
mechanical shock.
The phrase "opposed inverted relationship" as used in the foregoing
paragraph is intended to mean that each terminal is inverted top to
bottom with respect to the other terminal as viewed in FIG. 4. It
follows that when two terminals in accordance with the invention
are mated with each other, the webs 8 of the terminals are
substantially co-planar.
Electrical terminals in accordance with the invention are
advantageous in that they can be made in relatively small sizes
from thin metal stock. The central channel section is structurally
durable and functions to protect the contact surfaces of the end
portions 28 of the contact springs. Furthermore, the springs
themselves are sized or set when the terminal is inserted into a
cavity housing as will be described below.
Referring now to FIGS. 4-9, each of the cavities 4 extends through
the block 6 from the rearward face 36 thereof to the mating face
38. The rearward face of each connector has a transverse central
rib 42 which divides the upper and lower rows of contact receiving
cavities so that the cavities of each row open into a transverse
trough as indicated at 40, FIG. 4. Each cavity can be divided, for
purposes of description, into a rearward section 44 and a forward
section 46 which opens onto the mating face 38 of the housing
block. The rearward section of each cavity has top and bottom walls
48, 50 as viewed in FIG. 5 that are substantially smooth and
uninterrupted. The sidewall 52, shown on the right in FIG. 9, is
also substantially smooth and uninterrupted while the opposite
sidewall 54 has grooves or slots 56,58 extending forwardly from the
rearward side of the housing. The slot 56 has a width throughout
its length which is substantially equal to, and slightly greater
than, the thickness of the metal stock from which the contact
terminal is formed so that the sidewall 12, of a terminal 2 can be
received in this slot upon insertion of the terminal into the
cavity. The lower slot 58, as viewed in FIG. 7, is relatively wide
at its righthand end and has a narrower front portion 60 which has
a width equal to, and slightly greater than, the metal stock
thickness. This lower slot 60 ends in a rearwardly facing shoulder
62 (See FIG. 8) against which the forwardly facing shoulder 32 of a
terminal is adapted to move in order to limit leftward movement of
the terminal through the cavity. The central portion of the
sidewall 54 is substantially flat and a ramp 64 extends from the
central portion of the wall to the surface of the enlarged slot
portion 58.
A boss 66 extends outwardly from the central portion of sidewall 54
towards the sidewall 52 and provides a forwardly facing surface 67
against which the edge of the retention lance 34 bears upon
insertion of the terminal. It will be apparent from FIGS. 5 and 10
that the rearward portion of the cavity is thus dimensioned to
receive the central U-shaped portion of the terminal 2 relatively
snugly so that the contact springs will be precisely positioned in
the forward portion thereof.
The sidewall 52 of the cavity extends towards the mating face
through the enlarged frontal section of the cavity and the opposite
sidewall 68 has a generally L-shaped flat surface which extends
rearwardly to the previously identified shoulder 62, see FIGS. 7
and 8. A central inclined ramp 70 is provided on sidewall 68 which
extends to the level of the sidewalls 54 of the rearward cavity
portion. This ramp is provided for molding convenience and
efficiency in part and to provide additional surface for the
sidewall 10 for bearing at its forward end. The forward portion 46
of the cavity extends laterally beyond the plane of the cavity wall
48 as shown at 74 to permit mating of a terminal in a cavity with a
terminal in a similar cavity in a connector in opposed inverted
relationship as is apparent from FIG. 4. The side 68 of the forward
portion of the cavity is beveled as shown at 76 and the upper
surface of the cavity is rounded as shown at 78. The beveled
surface 76 provides a guiding surface for a mating terminal when
two connectors are engaged with each other.
Insertion of an individual terminal 2 into a contact receiving
cavity 4 is accomplished by orienting the terminal as shown in FIG.
5 relative to the axis of the cavity and moving the terminal
leftwardly until the shoulder 32 on the terminal moves against the
shoulder 62 in the cavity and until the retention lance 34 snaps
over the boss 66 so that its trailing edge is against the forwardly
facing surface 67 of this boss. If the terminal is not properly
oriented, it can not be inserted for the reason that the terminal
sidewalls must enter the grooves 56,58.
As previously pointed out, the contact springs 20, 22 are more
narrow than the sidewalls 10, 12 of the terminal and extends
centrally from the forward ends of the sidewalls so that the sides
of the springs are spaced from the web and from the outer edges of
the sidewalls. This design is advantageous in that the leading ends
of the springs on the terminals of one connector are not likely to
engage the surface of the mating face of another connector when the
two connectors are coupled as is apparent from FIG. 11. The reduced
widths of these springs is also important for other reasons which
are described below.
An advantage of the disclosed cavity and terminal is that the
contact springs 20, 22 are sized or set during insertion as they
are moved past the boss 66. For example, if the ends of these
contact springs should be overly close to each other, the ends will
be forced apart by boss 66 during insertion so that they will be
properly spaced after insertion. This feature avoids the necessity
of sizing or setting the springs when the connector is first mated
with a complementary connector; setting or sizing of the springs
during the first mating is undesirable for the reason that a high
coupling force may be required (if the springs are overly close to
each other) and damage to the contact terminals in the connector or
the mating connector may result from the high coupling force.
The connector block has top and bottom walls as viewed in the
drawings, 80, 82 and end walls, 84, 86. Mounting ears 88 extend
laterally from the end walls and are provided with openings for
mounting screws in the event that connectors should be mounted on a
panel or other surface. A two section hood 90, 92 extends forwardly
from the mating face in surrounding relationship to the cavities
the hood sections 90, 92 being dimensioned such that two identical
connectors in accordance with the invention can be mated with each
other when they are in opposed inverted relationship, top to
bottom, as explained above. Upon mating the two connectors, the
hood section 90 of the one connector will move within and against
the internal surface of the section 92 of the other connector.
The reduced widths of the springs permits mating of the connector
blocks as explained above and as shown in FIG. 11A. It will be
apparent from FIG. 11A that, on each terminal, these springs must
be of reduced width in order to move past the channel-shaped
section of the terminal in the complementary connector. The reduced
widths are also of importance when a connector having contact
terminals as shown in FIG. 12 contained in its cavities as will be
explained below.
The center portion 94 of the block does not have contact receiving
cavities therein but is rather provided with two circular openings
96, 98. The opening 96 has an enlarged forward end in which a
threaded bushing 97 is mounted and the opening 98 has an enlarged
rearward end which opens into the rearward side of the block. A
conventional jack screw 95 extends through the opening 98 and is
retained in position by a split ring washer 101 mounted on the jack
screw adjacent to its forward end. A spring 99 is interposed
between the head of the jack screw and the inner end of the
enlarged portion of the hole 98. The threaded end of the jack screw
has threads conforming to those of the bushing 97 so that
connectors in accordance with the invention can be coupled to each
other when they are positioned in opposed inverted
relationship.
On the rearward side of the block, the sidewall 80 has a projecting
flange 100 and the lower sidewall 82 as viewed in FIG. 4 has a
projecting flange 102. The rearward ends of the terminals mounted
in the cavities and the adjacent portions of the conductors are
thus protected within these two flanges. The lower flange 102 on
the sidewall 82 merges with a relatively thick section of this
sidewall through an inclined surface 118 which cooperates with a
strain relief described immediately below.
The disclosed form of strain relief, which clamps the conductors 18
against the housing, is in the form of a flat plate 104 having a
flange 106 on one side thereof. A central notch 108 is provided on
the side opposite to the flange for the accomodation of the jack
screw as described above and openings are provided at each for
fasteners 110. Additionally, a central square opening is punched in
the plate 104 which is adapted to receive a boss 114 on the
internal surface of the flange 100. The dimensions of the boss and
the dimensions of the openings are such that the plate will loosely
pivot with respect to the boss when it is positioned thereon. The
clamping plate is assembled to the housing by locating the boss 114
in the hole 112, swinging the plate towards the housing so that the
conductors are clamped against the rounded surface 118, inserting
the screws 110 through the openings and threading the screws into
bushings 111 provided in the corresponding corners of the
housing.
As an alternative to the clamping plate mounting arrangement shown
in FIG. 3, the clamping plate can be provided with ears 146 on the
lefthand side as viewed in FIG. 16 which are adapted to extend into
recesses 148 in the housing block to loosely pivot the clamping
plate to the rearward end of the housing. As with the previously
described embodiment, the clamping plate is secured to the housing
by the fasteners 110.
The disclosed form of housing block is commonly used in the
computer art as described above and is provided on numerous types
of computer equipment, both central processor units and peripheral
equipment. It follows that if connectors of the type shown in FIGS.
1 and 2 and terminals of the type described above are mounted in
the connector, any two pieces of equipment can be coupled to each
other.
Terminals in accordance with the invention are also adapted to be
mated with dissimilar terminals which have contact portions adapted
to extend between the contact spring 20, 22. One such terminal as
shown in FIGS. 12-14 is fully disclosed in claimed in U.S. Pat. No.
3,208,030. A terminal 120 of this type comprises an L-shaped frame
section having a sidewall 122 and a base 124. A retention lance 126
is struck from the base to engage the retention shoulder in a
suitable cavity to prevent extraction of the terminal from the
cavity while forward movement of the terminal through the cavity is
prevented by a laterally extending ear 140 on the wall 122. The
contact portion of the terminal 120 comprises an extension 128 of
the base portion 124 which is of reduced width and which is
reversely bent at 130 to define a rearwardly extending leaf 132.
This leaf is again reversely bent adjacent to the rearward end of
the frame section 122, 124 to define a forwardly and slightly
downwardly extending leaf 136 which is upwardly directed at its end
as shown at 138. A conventional crimp barrel means 142 are provided
on the lefthand side of the terminal as viewed in FIG. 12 of the
terminal to permit attachment to an electrical conductor.
Terminals of the type shown in FIG. 12 can be mated with each other
by positioning two such terminals in opposed inverted relationship
with their axes offset and moving them towards each other so that
the upper leaf member 136 to each terminal bears against the
underside of the base portion 124 of the other terminal. The base
portion and the leaf member 132 of each terminal will then extend
between the upper leaf 136 and the center section 132 of the other
terminal as fully explained in the above identified U.S. Pat. No.
3,208,030.
Contact terminals in accordance with the instant invention can be
mated with terminals of the type shown at 120 in FIG. 12 by
positioning the two terminals in opposed relationship such that the
reverse bend 130 of the terminal 120 is in alignment with the axes
of the terminal 2 and the upper leaf 136 of the terminal 120 is in
alignment with the sidewall 10 of the terminal 2. When the two
terminals are thus positioned,the web 8 of the terminal 2 will be
on the opposite side of the terminal pair from the wall 122 of the
terminal 120. Upon movement of the two terminals towards each
other, the central leaf 132 and portions of the lower central
section 124 of terminal 120 will be received between the contact
springs 20, 22 of the terminal 2 and the leaf spring 136 of the
terminal 120 will bear against the external surface 24 of the
contact spring 20 adjacent to the sidewall 10. As best shown in
FIG. 14, the reduced widths of the springs of the terminal 2
provide clearance for the sidewall 122 of the terminal 120 so that
the springs can move into the housing in which the terminal 120 is
contained.
As is apparent from FIG. 13, three separate areas of contact
between the terminal 120 and the terminal 2 are provided, and each
contact area is maintained by the resilient force of a spring
member.
The contact receiving cavity shown in FIGS. 13 for terminals of the
type shown in FIG. 12 has a somewhat different interior
configuration than the contact receiving cavity adapted for
terminals of the type shown at 2 however, the contact terminals in
accordance with the instant invention can be manufactured with
dimensions such that the same number of cavities are provided in
two connector blocks and at the same spacings so that the two
blocks can be mated with each other even though one of the blocks
has terminals of the type 120 therein and the other block has
terminals of the type shown at 2 therein. It follows that any type
of computer equipment provided with connectors having either of the
two types of terminals therein can be electrically coupled to any
other piece of computer equipment having one of the two types of
terminals in its connectors.
An electrical connector in accordance with the invention,
containing terminals in accordance with the invention, can also be
mated with a connector having contact pins or blade type contact
terminals therein as shown in FIG. 15. The blade terminal 144 is
received between the opposed contact surfaces of the contact
springs 20, 22 and should have a thickness which is sufficient to
deflect the springs as indicated to establish contact force at the
interface. The terminals 144 may be mounted in any suitable housing
which will mate with the housing in which the terminals 2 are
mounted.
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.
* * * * *