CA1239202A

CA1239202A - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: CA1239202A
Application number: CA000487378A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jack Seidler
Original assignee: North American Specialties Corp
Current assignee: Interplex NAS Inc
Priority date: 1984-07-25
Filing date: 1985-07-24
Publication date: 1988-07-12
Also published as: DE3590369T; GB2170963B; EP0194266A1; GB2170963A; JPS61502853A; EP0194266A4; GB8606054D0; AU591635B2; JPH0616425B2; SE8601309D0; EP0194266B1; US4597625A; DE3590369C2; SE462697B; WO1986001040A1; AU4672885A; SE8601309L

Abstract

ABSTRACT
An electrical connector has a molded body for receiving one or more contacts. Each contact is formed from a flat strip by simple multiple stamping, and has a single contact-making tongue extending into a channel of the body which receives a mating pin contact. The arrangement is economically plated only on the tongue portion. The contact is adapted for either front or rear connection by having a terminal leg formed at each end of the contact body, only one selected leg being used.

Description

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ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
The present invent ion rel~tes to mult iple-contac~c electrical conn2c'cors, and more particularly to improved contacts and housings for such connectors.
For joining mult iple-conductor cables to one another, or connecting such cables to printed circuit b~ards, it has become customary to use multi-terminal ~onnectors. The presen~ invention deals with a receptacle connector adapted for use with convention multi-pin plug connectors) such as those using square .C~S inch pins, on 0O100 or 0.156 inch centers,, One form of customary receptacle for the pin of such connectors has bes~n a so-~alled box connector in which a flat piece of conductive ~at~rial is bent int~ the forin of a box, wi'ch resilient tongues pressed inwardly of two opposite walls of such a box, to engage resiliently with a pin wh~n it îs in~erted within the central channel o~ such a box. While such box termin~l~ are ef fe~tive in making connection with pin-type terminals, the formation of the t~ox terminal is a complex mult iple-stamping opera-tion, particulary difficult in requiring performing oper-ations on ~he workpiece out of a single plane, as when the ~ide walls or top of the box may be formea.
In addition, in many instances it i5 necessary to coat or pla'ce the contact, for purposes of avoiding corrosion or of making good electrical connection b~ith the mating pin. I~ the case of contaets like box contacts, such a plating operation must as a practical ma~ter be '~ .

done before the contact is formed. This in turn requires plating large areas of conductive material, much of which is wasted when stamped out of a sheet or strip when forming the contact, resulting in excess cost, which can be particularly undesirable when such plating uses expensive metals, such as gold or rhodium. Altern-atively, plating of the entire contact after formation is required, which also involves plating of substantial areas, and offers difficulty in plating at the inside of the terminal.
The present invention provides a much simplified contact arrangement, having many of the advantages of the box terminal, hile eliminating important disadvantages, particularly with respect to complexity of formation of the terminal by stamping and with respect to cost oE plating, and poten-tial vibration oE
the contac-t when in use mated to a pin. According to the present invention, contacts for a receptacle connector adapted to receive conventional terminal pins of a mating connector may be made by simplified stamping operations essentially in a single plane.
Also, the design of the~present invention makes it possible to coat or plate only the actual small areas of the contact which form -the connection with the mating pin, thereby accomplishing increased economy and reduced cost. In addition, the arrangement of the contact in its housing is such as to inhibit vibratory motion of the contact when engaged with a pin, which could harmfully affect the efficiency of the electrical connection between the pin and contact.

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According to anoth.er feature of the invention, a connec-tor for use wi-th mating connector pins extending in a horizontal directi.on or parallel to a mounting panel, may be formed with two rows of contac-ts, which are specifically different but formed simultaneously by the same operations from a sing'e master con-tact strip.
Yet another feature of the invention resides in the design of a connector body or housing useful for either horizontal or vertical mounting, with contacts having terminals extending outwardly from one or the other end of a channel extending through the housing from a pin-entry to an opposite side.
Thus, in accordance with a broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a connector comprising a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereof when mounked in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof when mounted in said housing, said housing having a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, ; a second channel adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channel having a first portion wider : than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, -2b ~

said contact-receiving cnannel also having a second portion extending th~rough said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser wid-th than said first contact-receiving channel portion, and said connector further including a contact in said contact-receiving channel, said contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing through said second con-tact receiving channel portion.
In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention there is provided a connector comprising:
a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front. contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereo~ when mounted in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal por-tion extending outwardly of said housing to the rear thereo when mounted in said housing, said housing having a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, a second channel adapted to receive a contact, said contact receiving channel having a first portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating aIong at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said contact-receiving channel also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion :being of lesser width than said first con-tact-receiving channel : ~ portion, . .~
:: wherein said housing front entry section has a groove extend--2c-~

ing transversely of said contact-receiving second por-tion and having a wid-th at least equal to that of said second portion, and adap-ted to receive the terminal portion of a front contact.
In accordance with another broad aspect of the invention there is provided a connector comprising:
a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereof when mounted in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal por-tion extending outwardly of said housing to -the rear thereof when mounted in said housing, sai.d housing having : a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, a second channel. adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channel having a first portion ~ider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said contact-receiving channel also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contac-t-receiving channel portion, wherein said wider contact-receiving channel portion extends out.wardly of said housing to the rear thereof, and wherein said housing rear has a groove extending trans-versely of said contact-receiving channel and of a width less than that of said channel, said groove being adapted to receive the terminal portion of a rear contact.

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In accordance wlth another broad aspect of the invention there is provided a connector having a housing adapted to receive a plurality of either front or rear contacts, said housing having ~ a front entry section, ; a plurality of first pin-receiving channels each adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from said front entry section, a plurality of second channels each adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channels each having a portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, ~ said wider contact-receiving channel portion extending ; outwardly of said houslng to the rear there, ;~ said contact receiving channels each also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contact-receiving channel portion, said connector having a front contact in each of certain of said contact receiving channels, a rear contact in each of others of said contact-receiving channels, each of said front contacts having a contact body portion , ~
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-2e-with a resilient integral tongue extending into i-ts respective mating-pin-receiving channel and a terminal portion extending from said body portion frontwardly of said housing, each of said rear contacts having a contact body portion with a resilient integral tongue extending into its respective mating-pin-receiving channel, and a terminal portion extending from said body portion rearwardly of said housing.
Ot~er advantages and benefits of the present invention will become more apparent from consideration of the 1~ following description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

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FigO t shows a front elevation ~ie~ of a ~onnector incorporating the present invention/ mounted horizontally~
Fig~ 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device of Fiy. 1 taken along line 2-2 thereof.
Fig. 3 is a rear elevation view of the device of Figs~ 1 and 2.
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cros~-se~tional view of the device of ~ig. 2 taken along line 4 4 thereof and showing a plan view of the contact portion of the connector.
1~ Fig. 5 i~ an enlarged fragmentary elevation cross-sectional view of a portion of Fig. 2 viewed along line 5-5 thereof~
Fig. 6 shows a plan view of a contin~ous strip of contact~ useful in the invention.
Pig. 7 shows a plan view of a rear eon~act of ~he connector.
Fig. 8 ~hows a plan view of the front contact of the connector.
Fig. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the connector conta~t with a mating connector pin in pos it ion l Fig. 10 is an elevation cross-sec~ion~l view of a n~dified connector for vertical mounting, using the : same contacts and housing as in the preceding version.
Fig. tl is a view ~imilar to Yig~ 10 of a connector incorporating ~ modified contact.
Referring to Figs. 1 to 9, the form of the invention here ~hown comprises a connector body or housing 10 with a number of channels 12 in an upper row and a like number of ch~nnels 14 in a lower row. In this form of the invention, the channels run generally horizon~ally when the connector is mounted on a panel 16, such as a printed circuit board or other mounting panel. Each of the channels 12 and 14 is provided with an entrance openin~
1B, 20 whi~h is tapered as shown, and adapted to guide a : mating square pin 21 of conventional form, which ~ay be mounted in a mating pin connector, for insertion into -~ channel~ t2, 14.
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1 Each of the channels 12, 14 contains a contact 22 or 24 of special configurationL~ r making good electri-cal ~onnection to the mating pin ~ when the latter is inserted into the housing channel 12 or 14.
The nature of the contacts 22 or 24 will be more readily apparent from Fig~ 6, which shows a strip of ~,~, master contacts which are the result o~ a mult iple ~tamping operation, for forming the con'cacts 22 or 24 from a shee1:
or wide strip of beryllium copper or other conductive ma'cerial, which is preferably resilient~ ~s shown in Fig.
6, the contact bodies 26 are for~ed integrally with two carrier strips 28, being joined thereto by terminal strips 30, 3~ and severable joining sections 31y33~ The ~ontact body 2S is formed with a punched-out opening 34 forming a frame int3 which projects a contact tongue 36, bent upwardly from the plane of the contact body 26 as shown more clearly in Fig. 2. The contact tongue 36 is a single cantilever beam extending from one side ~f the frame formed by the contact body. The frame forms an anchoring ~eans for the contact tongue. Thus, each of the sides 38 of the conta~t body 26 is formed with a sharp triangular projection 40, in one region, and a rounded projection 42 opposite the resilient tongue 36. The sides 38 of the con-tact body 26 extending laterally beyond the terminal strips 30, 3~ are bent slightly upwardly, as shown in Fig.5.
The rounded projections 42 are such that the overall width of th~ contact body 26 at the position of these projections is very slightly greater than the width of the channel 44 intended to receive the contact.
: 30 In this way, the sontact may be inserted readily into the channel 44 with relatively slight orce (such as by hand), increasing the slight bowing of the contact transversely o lts length, and producing a small but ~ufficent reten tion rictional force to hold the contact within the :.

--s-- -channel 44 temporarily. Moreover, the frame arrangement surrounding the contact tongue provides, in effe~t, twin elliptical springs to provide retaining force a9ainst the walls of the housing~ The cont~ct boldy width at the location of the rounded projections ~2 is slightly les~ than the body width at the location of the pointed projections 40. Thus, the connector, with contacts initially partially inserted, may have the contact~ driven 1~ home by a greater force, such as by machine. In doing so, the pointed pro~ections 40, having a slightly wider separation or width than the rounded projec~ions 42, wil}
dig into the side walls of the contact-receiving channel 441 to hold the contact firmly within the connector housing, and prevent ready removal of the contact from the housing. The resiliency of the contact material, with the bowing imposed on the contact body, causes the contact body to act as an elliptical spring to exert outward force against the walls of the channel and thereby retain the contact within the channel by the enhanced friction thus : caused. In general, upon f~ll insertion of the con~act :~ body 26 into the housing 1~, the sharp projections 40 will dig into the wal.ls of the contact receiving channel 44 to wedge the contact 26 therein.
: The connector housing 10 has a series of channels 12~,running therethrough. These channels are essen-~_~ tially in the shape of an inverted T having a very s~ubby center leg 48. ~he center leg 48 of the inverted-T channel is formed to conform to the mating pin and constitutes a pin-receiving channel. For example, where the mating pin is of square cross-section (e.g. 0.025 inches on a side) the ~hannel may be slightly larger, such as 0..03 inches.
The flat ~top~ ~f the inverted-T channel is wider than the - pin-recei~ ng channel ~8J and forms a contact-receiving channel 4~ 0 By way of example, for a connec~or s:)f the 35 type ~ust described, which may be fc>rmed from a 0.006 inch thick strip, this channel may be 0.067 inches wide ~nd :

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~ 6 a .008 inche~ high. The pin-receiY~ ng channel~ may be space~9 0.100 inches on centers to accGmmodate 'che standard 0,025 inch square pins of a multiple-pin connector.
~ccording to one aspect of t:he invention, the master contact strip shown in Fig. S provides ~oth the contacts for the upper channel 12 of P'ig~ ~ and the con tacts for the lower channel 14 of Fig. 2. For the upper channel 12 of Fig. 2, the contact stri.p of Fig. 6 i5 1~ trimmed as shown in Fig. 7, to form a contact whose body 26 has the terminal strip 30 to the right thereo. This contact is then inserted into the housing of Fig. 2 from - the right-hand side~ with the resilient tongue 36 extending into the pin-receiving channel 48, while the side extensions 38 slide under the housing overhang portions 46 which define the top of the contact-receiving channel 44. These side extensions 38 are wedged by the projections 42 and 40 in the channel 44 to prevent withdrawal of the contact from the housing~ The contact is first inserted into the ~ housing until the rounded projections cause the contact : body to bow, wh~ch will require only slight insertion force (and may even be done by hand). Thereafter the contact body is driven home under appro~riate force tas by machine) until the contact body 26 abuts a ~houlder 50 near the end of the contact receiving channel 44, which shoulder forms a stop for the contact. The terminal 30 is then bent down-wardly and rests in a recess or groove 51 in the housing body.
The lower row of contacts of the connector of the invention in hou~ing channels 14 are also formed from ~he same ~aster contact strip of Fig. 6, by trimming i~ as shown ~n Fi~. 8, where the terminal port~on 32 is to the lef t of the body 26, which is the same as body 26 of the contact in channel 12. Each such contact is then inserted in'co a lower channel 1~ of the housing, ~gain from ~he 35 righ~ s:lde, 50 ~hat the terminal portion 32 now extends freely to the left of the housing, and outwardly from the -entranc!e thereo. The overhang hou~ing portion~ 46 for each lower channel 14 have ~ shoulder 52 at the lef t end which ~erves as a 6top for the ends 5~ of the ~i~le ex-tensions 38 of the contac'c body 26 (FigO 8)9, ~ere again, 5 'che resilient contact tongue 36 extends reely into the mal:ing pln-receiving channel 48 9 whi'le the side extensions 38 of the contac'c body 26 are under the overlying h~using portions 46 and serve ~o wedge the contact 26 into 'che contact-receiving channel 44 to inhibi~ contact removalO
10 After insertion of the lo~er contacts of Fig. B, their terminal portivns 32 are then bent downwardly to lie in a grooYe 53 so as to be flush ~ith the entrance side of the housins, as ~een in Fig. 2.
The housing 10 is al50 formed with a series of 15 ribs or ridges 60 formed along its lower surface which serve properly to space the housing from the mounting panel or board 16~ The terminals 30, 32 then extend through appropriate openings in the board or panel 16, for connec-tion to wiring on the farside of the board or panel 16.
The tongue 36 of the contact 26 is bent upwardly to extend into the pin-receiving channel 12 or 14, so ~hat ~hen the mating connector carrying a number of pins in reyistry ~ith pin-receiving channels 12 and 14 is inserted from the left, as seen in Fiq. 2, or from the front, as ~:~ 25 seen in Fig. 1; each of the entering pins will slide along the ramp formed by the contact 26, and depress its tongue 36 resiliently, to form an electrical connection between the pin and the tongue 36. Fig~ 9 ~hows a fragmentary view of such a pin 62 in contact with a tongue 36.
~; 30 As seen in FigO 9 ~ tongue 36 is curved inwardly at its tip 37. This forms a stop for the tongue 36 when ~he tip 37 impinges on the inner surf~ce of housing 10, ~; and- thereby prevents possible overstressing of tongue 36 , and also aids in malntaining good pressure be~ween tongue 36 and pin 62, so as to enhance the elec~rical con~act.
The fvrm of the invention described wi~h respect to Figs~ 1-5 ~ay be called a horizontal-mount connector~ since the channels are arranged parallel to the 7 supporting panel, which is normally hori~ontal, and ~he pins of the ~ating connector would ~imilarly be parallel to ~he panel. ~owever, the contacts of the present invention may also be used with ~ ver~ical-mount connector such as illustrated in Fig. 10~ using the same housing as for the horizontal~mount connector.
In ~his instance, both rows of contacts 26 are inserted from the Fear ~ and are iden~ical. They are of the form shown in Fig. 7, with the te~minal portions 30 extending rearward from the housing 10, in a direction away from the tapered entries 18. The housing 10 is formed with a series of spacer projections ~r feet 4B to permit positioning it properly with respect to the panel 16. The terminal portions 30 may then be inserted through the panel or printed circuit board 16 t and will have an appropriate spacing~ which is the same as that o~ the pins 62 of the mating connector, shown in Fig. 10 partially inserted into the housing. Where desired, the terminal portions 30 may be positioned in alignment with the mating pins 62, by forming an additional jog or offset in the terminal portions 30 during the stamping or trimming operation. Such a jog is shown a~ 68 in Fig. 11, which ~ illustrates a form of connector slightly modified with :~ respect to that of Fig5. 1 through 10.
In the connector of Fig. 11~ in place of the rounded and pointed projec~ions 40, 42 from the sides of the contact body, the ~ody is formed with dimples or transverse r1dges 66 extending across the contact body, which cause the contact thickness of the contact body to exceed slightly the thickness of the contact-receiving channel 44, as illustrated in Fig. 11. Then, upon inserting the contact body in channel 44; it becomes wedged between the opposed faces of the channel, to re~ain the contact i~ place. It will be understood ~hat the housing 10 of Figs. 10 and 11 may be the same a~ that of Figs. 1-5 -The contact cc>nstrllct ion of the invent ion has the part icular advantage of having low inductance due to its flat shapeO Also, the contacts are readily insertable and ~trongly retained in the housing~ The tongue structure provides an integral overs~ress prevention, This arrangement of the invention thus forms a highly ef f icient and economical construct ion" The con struction is particularly economical with respect to ma~erial required, since the strips of Fig. 6 may have the contacts formed with a center-to-center spacing cf as little as 0.100 inche~. Also, only a single-beam ~ype of contact is needed, rather than the conventional box con-struction which req~ires much more material. In addition, where ~old or similar metal plating is used for corrosion prevention and good electrical contact, only the upper side of the contact tongue as seen in Fig. 2 needs to be plated. Moreover the arrangement of first forming a master contact strip, as showing Fig. ~, readily permits such selective plating. Thus, all of the contact tongues 36 extend outwardly from the general plane of the contact strips o Fig. 6, so that by immersing only the extending contact tongues into a plating electrolyte, selective plating can be accomplished or the tongues alonet after the stamping operation is completedO This avoids the possibili~y of injuring the plated coa~ing during stamping, and avoids the expense of plating the entire contact strip, whether before or after the multiple stamping operat ion .
While the present invention has particular advantage in ~ulti-terminal connectorst it will be under-: stood that the invention in certain aspec~s is also applicable to single-~erminal connector.
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Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A connector comprising a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereof when mounted in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof when mounted in said housing, said housing having a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, a second channel adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channel having a first portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said contact-receiving channel also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contact-receiving channel portion, and said connector further including a contact in said contact-receiving channel, said contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing through said second contact receiving channel portion.

2. A connector as in claim 1 where said wider contact-receiving channel portion extends outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof.

3. A connector comprising:
a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereof when mounted in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof when mounted in said housing, said housing having a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, a second channel adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channel having a first portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said contact-receiving channel also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contact-receiving channel portion, wherein said housing front entry section has a groove extend-ing transversely of said contact-receiving second portion and hav-ing a width at least equal to that of said second portion, and adapted to receive the terminal portion of a front contact.

4. A connector comprising:
a unitary housing adapted to receive either a front or a rear contact, said front contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the front thereof when mounted in said housing, said rear contact having a terminal portion extending outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof when mounted in said housing, said housing having a first channel adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from a front entry section, a second channel adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channel having a first portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said contact-receiving channel also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contact-receiving channel portion, wherein said wider contact-receiving channel portion extends outwardly of said housing to the rear thereof, and wherein said housing rear has a groove extending transversely of said contact-receiving channel and of a width less than that of said channel, said groove being adapted to receive the terminal portion of a rear contact.

5. A connector as in claim 3 further including a contact member in said contact-receiving channel, said contact member having a terminal portion extending outwardly through said contact-receiving channel second portion, said terminal portion being bent at substantially 90 degrees to said contact-receiving channel second portion and lying in said groove.

6. A multiple-contact connector having a housing adapted to receive a plurality of either front or rear contacts, said housing having a front entry section, a plurality of first pin-receiving channels each adapted to receive a mating connector pin and extending inwardly from said front entry section, a plurality of second channels each adapted to receive a contact, said contact-receiving channels each having a portion wider than said pin-receiving channel and communicating along at least a portion of its length with said pin-receiving channel, said wider contact-receiving channel portion extending out-wardly of said housing to the rear thereof, said contact receiving channels each also having a second portion extending through said front entry section, said second portion being of lesser width than said first contact-receiving channel portion, said connector having a front contact in each of certain of said contact-receiving channels, a rear contact in each of others of said contact-receiving channels, each of said front contacts having a contact body portion with a resilient integral tongue extending into its respective mating-pin-receiving channel and a terminal portion extending from said body portion frontwardly of said housing, each of said rear contacts having a contact body portion with a resilient integral tongue extending into its respective mating-pin-receiving channel, and a terminal portion extending from said body portion rearwardly of said housing.

7. A connector as in claim 6 wherein the height of each of said pin-receiving first channels, between each of said front and rear contact body portions and the corresponding inside walls of said pin-receiving first channels opposite said contact body portions, is just slightly greater than the cross sectional height of mating connector pin, when said connector pin is inserted into said pin-receiving channel.