U.S. patent number 3,854,790 [Application Number 05/397,994] was granted by the patent office on 1974-12-17 for electrical connector assembly.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Bunker Ramo Corporation. Invention is credited to Jerry Provinsky.
United States Patent |
3,854,790 |
Provinsky |
December 17, 1974 |
ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly including a box-like housing
with open ends and a plurality of flat cable electrical connectors
retained in the housing and individually releasable therefrom, by
releasable latching elements, with each of the connectors being
adapted to electrically receive a multi-conductor flat cable
wherein the individual conductors are accessible through apertures
in the cable and each connector includes a two piece dielectric
insert housing a plurality of contacts with hook-like tails facing
a common lateral direction and insertable through the apertures for
electrical access to the conductors in the cable.
Inventors: |
Provinsky; Jerry (Westmont,
IL) |
Assignee: |
Bunker Ramo Corporation (Oak
Brook, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23573548 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/397,994 |
Filed: |
September 17, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
439/460; 439/499;
439/552; 439/601; 439/540.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01R
13/514 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01R
13/514 (20060101); H01r 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;339/198,206,207,208,210,215,176R,176M,176MF,258P,217R,17 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Frazier; Roy D.
Assistant Examiner: Hafer; Robert A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lohff; William Arbuckle; Frederick
M.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electrical connector assembly comprising a box-like housing
with upper and lower open ends and at least one pair of opposite
outer sides,
a plurality of electrical connectors including a plurality of
multi-piece dielectric inserts with opposite ends disposed adjacent
said pair of opposite sides of said housing to form two sets of
retention members, and a plurality of electrical contacts arranged
in a row between said ends and retained in each of said inserts,
said connectors being disposed in side-by-side relation within said
sides, facing said upper end for engagement with mating connectors
and including lower portions for electrical engagement with
electrical conductors, each of said connectors being capable of
rearwardly receiving a flat multi-conductor cable with an end
having a plurality of apertures, a portion thereof providing
electrical access to the conductors, each of said inserts including
a lower portion with an elongated opening sized for entry of said
cable into said insert, and each of said contacts including a lower
tail formed as a hook to engage one of said apertures and thereby
provide electrical engagement with one of said conductors, and
means for releasably retaining said connectors individually in said
housing including a row of integrally-formed, individually
yieldable latching elements and spaced apart shoulder means to form
grooves therebetween on one of said retention members in each of
said two sets, projection means with upper and lower shoulders on
the other of said retention members to ride over the latching
elements and snap into said grooves, and access means in at least
one of said retention members for release of said latching
elements.
2. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein the opposite sides of
said one pair include upwardly facing recessed ledges and each of
said insert ends includes an outwardly projecting, inwardly
yieldable latching element having one end integrally joined to said
insert and an arm portion extending above said ledge and externally
exposed for movement inwardly for release of said latching
element.
3. The connector assembly of claim 2 wherein each of said insertion
ends includes a vertical key including said latching element, and
said adjacent side includes a vertical keyway extending upwardly to
said ledge for insertion of said key, the vertical keys and
vertical keyways of the inserts and housing providing lateral
alignment of the inserts in the housing.
4. The connector assembly of claim 3 wherein each insert includes a
pair of individually molded side members, each having portions of
said keys.
5. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said contacts include
rear tails with laterally extending hooks, the extension of said
hooks being within the side-to-side confines of said insert.
6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1 wherein each of
said dielectric inserts includes a pair of side members with
oppositely aligned apertures and posts, the posts extending
inwardly across said insert for entry into said apertures to secure
said members together with at least one of said posts being
positioned for insertion through one of said apertures in said
cable for retention of said cable in said insert.
7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said
housing includes an outer flange with means for mounting said
housing to an external support.
8. An electrical connector for rearwardly receiving a flat
multi-conductor cable having an end with apertures affording
electrical access to individual conductors, said connector
comprising
a dielectric insert with front and rear faces, a plurality of upper
openings in a row along said front face, an elongated lower opening
along said rear face for entry of said cable, a plurality of
internal cavities extending between said upper openings and said
lower opening, and a plurality of electrical contacts disposed in
said cavities with upper active portions facing said upper openings
and lower tail portions with laterally extending hooks shaped to be
inserted into at least a portion of said apertures of said cable
and electrically engage said conductors in said cable,
said insert further including a pair of individually molded side
members each providing an opposite portion of said upper openings
and cavities, the side members including a plurality of side
apertures and inwardly extending side posts with at least one of
said posts on one side member being aligned with one of said
apertures on the other side member for entry into said aperture for
retention of the side members,
said hooks all facing one of said members and over which the
apertured end of the cable can be inserted, and
one of said side members extending below the other side member and
including narrow pockets open laterally towards the other member to
receive at least a portion of the contact tail portions and thereby
restrict the contacts from rotation with the ends of the hooks
being exposed laterally beyond the pockets to receive said
cable.
9. The electrical connector of claim 8 wherein the insert includes
a lower portion with said elongated lower opening which when the
cable is inserted into the opening prevents accidental electrical
access to the conductors through the apertures.
10. The electrical connector of claim 8 wherein said insert
includes opposite ends with inwardly yieldable latching elements
for releasable retention of said insert housing.
11. The electrical connector of claim 10 wherein said one side
member includes barrier walls forming said pockets and providing
side support for said cable.
12. The electrical connector of claim 9 wherein said insert
includes opposite ends with projection means providing front and
rear facing shoulders for retention of said connector in a
housing.
13. The electrical connector of claim 12 wherein said posts and
apertures in each side member are disposed in upper and lower rows
with the posts and apertures being in an alternating arrangement in
each of said rows.
14. An electrical connector for rearwardly receiving a flat
multi-conductor cable having an end with apertures affording
electrical access to individual conductors, said connector
comprising
a dielectric insert with front and rear faces, a plurality of upper
openings in a row along said front face, an elongated lower opening
along said rear face for entry of said cable, a plurality of
internal cavities extending between said upper openings and said
lower opening, and a plurality of electrical contacts disposed in
said cavities with upper active portions facing said upper openings
and lower tail portions with hooks shaped to be inserted into at
least a portion of said apertures of said cable and electrically
engage said conductors in said cable,
said insert further including a pair of individually molded side
members each providing an opposite portion of said upper openings
and cavities, one of the side members including narrow pockets open
laterally towards the other member to receive at least a portion of
the contact tail portions and thereby restrict the contacts from
rotation with the ends of the hooks being exposed laterally beyond
the pocket to receive said cable.
15. The electrical connector assembly of claim 14 wherein said one
side member includes barrier walls forming said pockets and
providing side support for said cable.
16. The electrical connector of claim 15 wherein said insert
includes opposite ends with means for latching said connector to an
external housing.
Description
This invention relates to an electrical connector assembly and
electrical connectors therefor adapted for connection to flat
cables with apertures providing electrical access to the individual
conductors of each cable. The invention herein described was made
in the course of or under a contract or subcontract thereunder with
the United States Government.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In connecting a plurality of conductors in a flat cable to existing
electrical connectors adapted for such cables, the individual
conductors are commonly soldered or otherwise applied to the
individual contacts in the connector. Often the contacts are
closely spaced in a row in the connector to generally match the
spacing of the conductors.
When two or more of these connectors are closely spaced together in
a side-by-side relation, one of the problems that can occur
concerns the difficulty in providing reliable solder connections to
the individual contacts within the limited spacing available. In
some instances, the metallic surfaces of the individual conductors
are not completely soldered electrically to the adjacent contact
tail or excess solder may be used which can cause electrical
shorts.
Another problem associated with mounted assemblies of two or more
connectors affixed to a plurality of flat cables is that it can be
difficult to remove one connector from the assembly without
initially removing all of the connectors. Since it often becomes
desirable for replacement or maintenance purposes to remove
individual connectors from the assembly, improvements are desirable
in mounting two or more connectors together in an assembly which
will permit removal or release of individual connectors.
SUMMARY
Briefly, the invention is directed to electrical connector
assemblies in which a plurality of electrical connectors are
connected to a plurality of flat cables and individually releasable
from the assembly. The invention is further directed to individual
connectors with retention means on opposite extremities which
cooperate with a portion or portions of the assembly to permit the
release of an individual connector. Also, the invention is directed
to electrical connectors constructed of two-part inserts in which
one part serves as support for internally interconnecting the
contacts to conductors in a flat cable, after which the second part
is installed to complete the connector.
In the inventive assembly, a plurality of connectors are retained
within the hollow interior of a box-like housing with each
connector and adjacent portions of the housing provided with
retention means including inwardly yieldable latching elements and
adjacent shoulder means over which the latching elements are
snapped to permit release of individual connectors. The insulating
inserts of individual connectors are of two part construction with
each part advantageously forming one side and portions of the
opposite ends and front and rear faces of the insert. A plurality
of contacts are arranged in at least one row along the internal
surface of one part of the insert and include hook-like tails
spaced inwardly from the rear face of the insert and oriented
laterally in a common direction towards the other insert point.
Prior to the connector being inserted in the assembly housing, a
flat cable with apertures and adjoining exposed solder pads
electrically connected to the conductors in the cable is placed
over hook-like tails of the contacts for electrical engagement as
by soldering between the tails and solder pads. The insert parts
further include posts on at least one part and aligned apertures on
at least the other part through which the posts are inserted for
retention of the two parts together following installation and
interconnection of the cable.
Among the several advantages provided by the invention, one is that
each connector with an installed cable can be individually inserted
in a compact arrangement in the assembly housing and subsequently
removed individually.
Another advantage is that removal of the individual connectors can
be accomplished manually or by simple tools.
A further advantage is that the individual connectors have two part
inserts and a plurality of contacts which are supported and
rearwardly protected in one of the insert parts during the
installation of the cable and subsequent use of the assembled
connector.
Still another advantage is that a flat cable can be installed in
the individual connector before the connector is inserted in the
assembly housing.
Other advantages will be apparent from the detailed description
below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly of
the invention.
FIG. 2 is an internal side view partially in cross section along
line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of one end of a flat cable.
FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of one connector utilized in
the assembly of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an end sectional view along line 5--5 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is an end sectional view along line 6--6 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a second embodiment of the
invention.
FIG. 8 is a partial side view along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of one end of a connector of
FIG. 7.
FIG. 10 is an end sectional view along line 10--10 of FIG. 9.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In FIGS. 1-2, the connector assembly 8 of the invention is
represented as including a box-like housing 10 with upper and lower
open ends 12 and 14, respectively, and four raised sides 16-19
protruding from base 20. Each pair of sides are opposite and form a
rectangular-shaped hollow interior 21 within housing 10. Apertures
22 and 24 visible in FIG. 1 serve for mounting the assembly to a
panel or other external support (not shown) while aperture 25
serves to receive a jack screw. A plurality of electrical
connectors 26-32 are arranged in hollow interior 21 in a
side-by-side relation so that collectively they form a rectangular
shape 33 sized to fit within hollow interior 21. As illustrated,
representative connector 28 includes a dielectric insert 34 with
ends 35-36 adjacent opposite sides 16-18 of housing 10 and with
sides 37-38 adjoining connectors 27 and 29, respectively. Connector
28 includes an upper face 39 with a plurality of upper openings 40
arranged in a row between ends 35-36 for engagement with a mating
connector (not shown). Each of the connectors also includes a lower
portion with rear face 41 to receive flat cable 42.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, cable 42 includes a plurality of
apertures 43 with solder pads 44 at end 45 of the cable to provide
electrical access to the individual conductors (not shown) arranged
in a parallel pattern between the sides of the cable. Apertures 46
are provided to retain the cable in the connector as illustrated in
FIG. 6.
In the sectional view of FIG. 2, the side 37 of connector 28 is
shown mounted in housing 10 but releasable rearwardly from the
housing. As illustrated, representative connector 28 includes
projections 48-49 on ends 35-36, respectively, providing opposite
shoulders 50-51 and 52-53 to form one of the two retention members
for retaining the connector in the housing. Housing 10 further
includes an integrally-formed, individually-yieldable,
vertically-oriented pair of latching elements represented by
opposite tines 54-55 with upper free ends 56-57 inclined inwardly
to bear against the lower shoulders of projections 48-49. Tines
54-55 are individual members of a plurality of tines arranged in
two rows at the bottom of the hollow interior 21 of housing 10
along sides 16 and 18. Free ends 56-57 of tines 54-55 are spaced
apart from sidewalls 16 and 18 to permit outward deflection during
the insertion of the individual connectors and rear openings 58-59
are provided rearwardly as access means to permit insertion of a
probe (not shown) for outward deflection of the tine and release of
the individual connector. Frontwardly disposed from and spaced
apart from tines 54-55 are shoulders 60-61 which in combination
with the tines form grooves 62-63 to receive projections 48-49.
During the insertion of the connector, projections 48-49 ride over
the tines 54-55 and snap into grooves 62-63 thereby retaining the
connector in the housing but permitting its rear release
therefrom.
FIG. 4 is illustrative of the general shape of connector 28 with
its front openings 40 and multi-piece construction of insert 34
with the individual insert members 34a and 34b forming portions of
openings 40. In assembling each insert member to form the completed
insert, each connector member is fastened to the other by means of
aligned pins and apertures represented by pins or posts 64-65 and
apertures 66-67. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the ends of the pins are
enlarged to permanently affix the insert members together.
In FIG. 5, contact 72 is representative of a plurality of contacts
arranged in a row between ends 35-36 and retained in insert 34.
Contact 72 is positioned in enlarged cavity 73 which extends
between opening 40 and lower opening 74, the latter being sized to
receive cable 42 and being therefore generally an elongated
opening. Upper opening 40 is of a closed entry construction and
frontwardly chamfered for guiding the pin of a mating contact (not
shown) into the upper active portion of contact 72 represented by
contact socket 75 aligned below opening 40 and in close relation to
sides 37-38. Contact 72 includes a rear tail 76 adapted to be
inserted into aperture 43 of cable 42 and electrically engage
solder pads 44. Tail 76 includes hook 77 with end 78 extending
laterally within the side-to-side confines of cavity 73. The
purpose of apertures 46 in cable 42 is demonstrated in FIG. 6
wherein pin 65 is inserted through apertures 46 and 67 and
thereafter flattened to permanently affix the lower portions of
insert members 34a and 34b together. Front pin 64 is inserted
through aperture 66 and thereafter flattened to affix the upper
portions of the insert 34 together.
By constructing each of the connectors 26-32 of two-piece
construction, contacts 72 can be easily inserted in cavities 73 of
insert 34a with hooks 77 all extending in a common lateral
direction. Flat cable 42 can then be inserted over hooks 77 and
pins 65 in one step after which solder pads 44 are soldered to
tails 76. The second half 34b of insert 34 can then be mounted to
complete the assembly. In the resultant assembly, contact tails 76
are held within the confines of insert 34 and rearwardly protected
against accidental shorting or other engagement by metallic
members. Advantageously, each of the molded side members 34a and
34b include pins 64-65 as well as apertures 66-67 arranged in an
alternating pattern by upper and lower pins and apertures and
include opposite portions of openings 40 and 74 and cavities 73 so
that both side members can be formed in the same mold. Each of the
pins 64-65 of one member are positioned for alignment within
apertures 66-67 of the other member which facilitates easy mounting
of the two members together.
A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 7-10.
Housing 90 in FIG. 7 includes base 91 with apertures 92-93,
sidewalls 94-95 and hollow interior 96. Sidewall 95 is recessed to
form ledge 97 with keyways 98 for lateral alignment of connectors
100. As illustrated, each connector includes a hex or projection
101 with latch element or extension 102 shaped to abut against
ledge 97 for retention of the connector in the housing. Slot 103,
as partially illustrated in FIG. 7, permits the inward flexing of
latch element 102 to release the connector from the housing.
Similar to connector 28, connector 100 includes a front face 104
with a plurality of upper openings 105 to receive a mating
connector. Connectors 100 are arranged in a side-by-side relation
in a similar manner to connectors 26-32. In the sectional view of
FIG. 8, the shape of hollow interior 96 is further illustrated
including keyways 98 and recessed ledges 97. Rearwardly disposed in
hollow interior 96 is shoulder 106 which collectively with sidewall
95 and ledge 97 forms a projection for retaining connectors 100 in
housing 90. The projection forms abutment surfaces for engagement
with latch element 102 and lower shoulder 109 which collectively
form groove 110 as illustrated in FIG. 9. Projection 101 includes
ends 111-112 integrally formed on the connector insert with latch
element 102 generally positioned about halfway between the ends so
that upper portion 113 provides an exposed area which can be
manually deflected inwardly carrying tine 102 for release of the
connector.
As illustrated in FIGS. 9-10, contacts 115 are positioned in
cavities 116 below opening 105 to receive mating contact members.
Contact 115 includes collar 117 for retention purposes and a lower
hook 118 extending through aperture 43 on cable 42 for electrical
connection of one of the individual conductors. Connector member
100b extends below connector member 100a and is provided with
individual narrow pockets 119 open laterally towards member 100a
and formed by barrier walls 123. Hooks 118 in pockets 119 are
oriented towards side member 100a and extend below side member 100a
beyond pockets 119 to receive flat cable 42. In this manner,
contacts 115 are restricted in rotational movement and provide
hooks 118 over which cable 42 can be inserted in one step.
A lower portion 120 with barrier walls 123 is further provided with
support 121 to limit the lateral positioning of cable 42 prior to
the formation of the solder connection with hook 118. Strain relief
pin 122 is positioned to pass through aperture 46 on cable 42 and
provide strain relief for the cable. After termination of cable 42
to connector 100 cavity below connector member 100a can be potted
or otherwise enclosed in a manner known to the art after which the
individual connectors are inserted into housing 90. Following
installation of flat cables 42 individually in connectors 26-32 or
100, the connectors are rearwardly inserted in housing 10 or 90 and
snapped into position. In the resultant arrangement, the connectors
are in a side-by-side relation and can be individually released for
maintenance or other purposes.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described above
with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be
recognized by those skilled in the art that the principals of this
invention may be applied in other similar devices and that the
foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *