US3868475A

US3868475A - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: US3868475A
Application number: US393599A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth C Allison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-08-31
Filing date: 1973-08-31
Publication date: 1975-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1992-02-25
Also published as: DE2422263A1; CA1006241A; GB1427487A; JPS5050683A

Abstract

The subject matter herein is an electrical connector particularly adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires to each other, wherein each wire has two electrical conductors. The electrical connector also electrically connects insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to a like insulated end of electrical conductors of the other wire. The electrical connector includes a pair of electricallyconductive penetrator sleeves, each sleeve having a plurality of locks formed integral therewith. Each of the locks has a plurality of penetrator prongs extending inwardly of the respective sleeve. Each of the sleeves has one side open for receiving a portion of the electrical wire in the open side. A permanently deformable electrically conductive sheath receives each of the sleeves. Each sheath has an open side aligned with the open side of the sleeve. An insulator tube receives the pair of sheaths, with their respective sleeves mounted therein, and includes a separator for electrically insulating the sheaths from each other.

Description

United States Patent 11 1 Allison 1 Feb. 25, 1975 1 1 ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR 21 Appl. No.: 393,599

[52] US. Cl. 174/87, 339/97 C [51] Int. Cl. ..H0lr11/(18, H01r11/20 [58] Field of Search 174/84, 87, 88 R, 88 S, 174/90; 339/97-99, 223, 276; 206/330, 460

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,602,831 7/1952 Levitt 339/97 R 3,015,684 1/1962 Schneider 174/88 R 3,326,442 6/1967 Fattor 174/87 3,372,227 3/1968 Allison 174/87 3,406,247 10/1968 Parsons 174/84 C X 3,480,723 11/1969 Golden 174/88 R 3,573,713 4/1971 Enright et a1 339/98 3,625,350 12/1971 Ray 339/97 C X 3,721,749 3/1973 Clabburn 174/88 R 3,739,470 6/1973 Epp1er..... 174/84 C 3,766,514 10/1973 Kimm 339/99 R FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 699,856 11/1953 Great Britain 339/99 R 528,498 6/1955 ltaly 174/88 OTHER PU BLlCATlONS Kirschenman, Western Electric Technical Digest No. 20, October 1970, page 39.

Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier Assistant ExaminerLawrence .1. Staab Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Anthony S. Zummer [57] ABSTRACT The subject matter herein is an electrical connector particularly adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires to each other, wherein each wire has two electrical conductors. The electrical connector also electrically connects insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to a like insulated end of electrical conductors of the other wire. The electrical connector includes a pair of electricallyconductive penetrator sleeves, each sleeve having a plurality of locks formed integral therewith. Each of the locks has a plurality of penetrator prongs extending inwardly of the respective sleeve. Each of the sleeves has one side open for receiving a portion of the electrical wire in the open side. A permanently deformable electrically conductive sheath receives each of the sleeves. Each sheath has an open side aligned with the open side of the sleeve. An insulator tube receives the pair of sheaths, with their respective sleeves mounted therein, and includes a separator for electrically insulating the sheaths from each other.

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electrical connectors of the type in which insulated wire is inserted into a tube having prongs which penetrate the insulating material upon deformation of the tube to engage electrical conductors of the wire for simultaneously mechanically and electrically connecting wires are well-known. Typical of these electrical connectors are those taught in United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,283,061 and 3,372,227. As is evident from an inspection of the aforementioned patents, the electrical connectors are generally made up of three basic parts, that is, a sleeve or tube, which has a plurality of prongs formed integral therewith, which prongs pass through an insulating material and engage a conductor; a sheath, which receives the sleeve and is deformed with the sleeve and keeps the sleeve in its deformed state; and an insulator tube, surrounding the sheath.

Generally, the electrical connectors are made by stamping out the sleeves in the proper form and stamping the sheaths in their proper form. The sleeves are assembled into their respective sheaths by an automatic assembling machine. The sheath and assembled tube are placed inside a tube of insulating material, which is heated to heat-shrink the insulator tube onto the sheath. The assembled connectors are then ready to receive wires for connecting the wires to each other.

The known electrical connectors are well-adapted for connecting a single wire to another single wire. However, the known electrical connectors are not capable ofjoining two wires, each of which has two electrical conductors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The subject matter of the instant invention is an improved electrical connector of the general type in which a pair of electrical wires, each having a pair of electrical conductors, is positioned in the connector; and the connector is then deformed to connect electrically pairs of wires and simultaneously hold the pairs of wires in mechanical connection.

The present invention provides a connector which has a single insulator. The insulator receives a pair of permanently deformable electrically conductive sheaths. These sheaths have open sides, which open sides are adjaent to each other when mounted in the insulator. Positioned in each of the sheaths is a penetrator sleeve, each sleeve also having an open side. The open sides of the penetrator sleeves are aligned with the respective open sides of the sheaths, so that pairs of wires may be positioned in the sleeves and then held in the sleeves in a spaced relationship after the sleeves are deformed.

Each of the sleeves has a plurality of penetrator locks, each of which locks includes four penetrator prongs. One ofthe prongs in each of the locks is longer than the other prongs, so that each of the longer prongs is a holding prong for the lock. Each holding prong has a specific construction in that it has a rounded side adjacent to the end into which the wire is inserted. Thus, the insertion of wire is facilitated while the holding prong also serves to hold the wire within the sleeve prior to deformation of the sleeve and the associated sheath.

The construction of the sleeve is such that it includes a flared mouth, which is resiliently engageable with a serration within its respective sheath for holding the sleeve in its respective sheath.

It is therefore a principal object of the instant invention to provide an electrical connector which may be used for quickly and conveniently mechanically and electrically connecting selected electrical conductors in pairs of wires, which pairs of wires each have two electrical conductors.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which has an improved construction for holding electrical wires prior to deformation of the electrical connector for permanent holding of the electrical wire.

It is still another object of this invention to provide an improved construction for an electrical connector wherein electrical conductors in the same wire are held in a spaced relationship while connected to an electrical conductor of another wire.

It is a still further object of the herein-disclosed invention to provide an improved construction for an electrical connector which may be easily manufactured and assembled.

Other objects and uses of the instant invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following specification in light of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an electrical connector embodying the present invention, shown with two insulated electrical wires positioned therein, each of which wires has a pair of electrical conductors, portions of the electrical connector being broken away in order to show better the interrelationship of the various parts of the connector;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the connector in a deformed state wherein electrical wires are held in the connector, with portions of insulation and other portions of the connector broken away in order to show better the interrelationship of the various parts;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 4--4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a penetrator sleeve, which constitutes a portion of the instant electrical connector, showing a penetrator lock;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on Line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the electrical connector of FIG. 1, showing the general relationship of the various parts of the electrical connector prior to assembly;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view, showing a penetrator sleeve positioned in its respective sheath;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an insulator tube; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view, with portions broken away, of an electrical connector supply unit, showing a plurality of electrical connectors of FIG. I mounted upon a tape for easy handling in automatic assembling machines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, and especially to FIG. 1, an electrical connector generally indicated by numeral 20 is shown therein, with a pair of conventional

insulated wires

22 and 24 positioned in the connector. The insulated wires are of the type which have two electrical conductors in each wire. The electrical connector 20 generally includes a pair of electrically

conductive penetrator sleeves

26 and 28 for receiving the

wires

22 and 24. The

sleeves

26 and 28 are each held in permanently deformable electrically

conductive sheaths

30 and 32, respectively. An insulator tube 34 receives and holds the

sheaths

30 and 32.

As was mentioned above, the

electrical wires

22 and 24 are conventional in construction. The wire 22 includes a pair of

electrical conductors

36 and 38, which are covered by

insulation

40 and 42, respectively. The insulation is connected by an integral web 44. The construction of the wire 24 is identical to the construction of wire 22. The wire 24 includes a pair of

electrical conductors

46 and 48, which are covered by insulation 50 and 52, respectively. The insulation is connected by an integral web 54.

The

penetrator sleeves

26 and 28 are identical to each other; and only sleeve 26 is disclosed in detail below. The penetrator sleeve 26 includes a pair of elongated generally'flat sides 56 and 58, connected by an integral bridge 60. The

sides

56 and 58 have

ears

62 and 64 formed integral therewith. The

ears

62 and 64 are in substantially the same plane, and are spaced apart to define an opening 66 along the length of the sleeve and thereby provide an open side for the sleeve. The sleeve 26 has an outwardly flared mouth 68 at one end, whichhas a lip 70 forming the mouth. The sleeve also has an inwardly-beveled side 72 at its opposite end to facilitate insertion of the sleeve into its respective sheath.

The sleeve has a plurality of penetrator locks 74 formed in the sides'56 and 58. The construction of the penetrator locks 74 is best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Each penetrator lock 74 includes four equiangularly spaced penetrator prongs 76, 78, 80 and 82. All of the penetrator prongs are formed integral with their respective sides and extend inwardly of the sleeve substantially perpendicular to their respective side.

The penetrator prong 76 of each lock is a holding prong, and has a length greater than the remaining three prongs. The holding prong 76 is positioned.adjacent to the mouth 68 of the sleeve relative to the other three penetrator prongs. The penetrator prong also has a rounded surface 84 adjacent to the flared mouth 68. This rounded surface terminates in a sharp point 86, and is so arranged that the wires may readily pass inwardly past the holding prong; but are held in the sleeve against removal therefrom.

In this instance, the penetrator sleeve is a relatively thin piece of phosphor bronze, which is wiped with tin. Any other suitable material can be used as is required in a particular application. The penetrator sleeve is formed by a stamping operation, and may be quickly and economically manufactured. The side walls are thin; and the penetrator prongs are also relatively thin to facilitate insertion into insulating material and into engagement with an electrical conductor of the wire.

The

sheaths

30 and 32 are also identical to each other; and only sheath 30 is described in detail below. The sheath 30 is formed of a single piece of red brass sheet material. The sheath 30 includes a pair of

elongated plates

88 and 90 which are joined by a generally C-shaped connector plate 92, which is formed integral with the

plates

88 and 90.

Plate cars

94 and 96 are formed integral with the free longitudinal edges of

plates

88 and 90. The

ears

94 and 96 are in substantially the same plane, and are spaced from each other to form an open side for the sheath. The sheath 30 has one end closed by lips 98 and 100, while the other end of the sheath is open. A plurality of serrations 102 are formed in the interior surface of the sheath adjacent to the open end.

The insulator tube 34 is a single piece of extruded heat-shrinkable material, such as polyethylene, though any other suitable material may be used. The insulator tube includes a pair of opposed sides I04 and 106, with generally opposed C-shaped sides 108 and joining the sides 104 and 106 to define a continuous exterior surface, taking a general cylindrical form.

Ridges

112 and 114 are formed integral with sides I04 and 106, respectively. The

ridges

112 and 114 are equidistantly spaced from the

sides

108 and 110. These

ridges

112 and 114 provide an insulator between the

sheaths

30 and 32.

The penetrator sleeve 26 is stamped in the form generally shown in FIG. 8. The flared mouth 68 provides a convenient means for aligning the sleeve in one direction when the penetrator sleeve is fed into an assembling machine. A penetrator sleeve is inserted into its respective sheath 30 until the end of the sleeve having the flared mouth has the lip 70 in engagement with the serrations 102 on the sheath, thereby locking the sleeve into the sheath. A pair of sheaths, with the sleeves, are then loaded into the insulator tube. The entire assembly is heated to heat-shrink the insulator tube 34 onto the sheaths, thereby holding a pair of sheaths in the insulator tube.

The completed electrical connectors 20 are then delivered to a loading machine wherein the connectors are mounted between a pair of

adhesive tapes

116 and 118. All ofthe electrical connectors are aligned, so that their open ends are all in the same direction. The electrical connectors are parallel to each other; and the open ends are all on the same side. Thus, all of the sleeves are also aligned parallel to each other for receipt of electrical wires. The electrical connector supply unit is then mounted in-an automatic assembly machine for joining pairs of electrical wires, each of which pairs has two electrical conductors.

An electrical conductor 20 is positioned in an appropriate attitude to receive two

electrical wires

22 and 24. The wires are inserted in the

sleeves

26 and 28, so that the electrical conductors of the two wires are in their appropriate sleeves. The insertion of the wires into the sleeves is facilitated by virtue of the fact that the holding prongs 76 are a rounded surface 84 to allow easy insertion of the wires. The holding prongs also keep the wires in place. It should further be noted that the

ears

62 and 64 of the sleeves and the

cars

94 and 96 of the sheaths serve to hold the insulated ends of the electrical conductors of the wires in an electrically seg regated attitude for each of the wires. As may be seen in FIG. 4, the

electrical conductors

36 and 46 are positioned in the sleeve 26; and the

electrical conductors

38 and 48 are positioned in the sleeve 28.

Once the wires are appropriately positioned, a force is applied to opposite sides of the connector so as to force the prongs of penetrator locks 74 through the insulation and into contact with the electrical conductors to an attitude shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. it may be seen that the penetrator prongs engagethe electrical conductors, so that

electrical conductors

36 and 46 are contacted by the prongs of sleeve 26 while the

electrical conductors

38 and 48 are contacted by the prongs of sleeve 28. The sleeves provide an electrical connection between their electrical conductors. The respective sheaths also provide a conductive path. Each of the sleeves is encased in its respective sheath; and the sheaths are electrically insulated from each other by the

ridges

112 and 114 of the insulator 34. Thus, the

electrical conductors

36 and 46 are electrically connected and mechanically held in the electrical connector; and the

electrical conductors

38 and 48 are electrically connected to each other and mechanically held in the electrical connector.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, it is readily apparent that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes in the construction ofthe connector described in detail above and may substitute materials for those disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is to be expressly understood that the instant invention is limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire, including; a pair of electrically conductive penetrator sleeves, a plurality of penetrator locks formed integral in each of the penetrator sleeves, each of said penetrator locks including a plurality of penetrator prongs extending inwardly of its respective sleeve for penetration through an insulating material on a wire and into engagement with an electrical conductor of the wire to provide electrical connection to the electrical conductor, each of said sleeves having an open side, a pair of permanently deformable sheaths mateably and slideably receiving each of said electrically conductive penetrator sleeves, each of said sheaths having an open side alignable with the open side of its respective sleeve, and an insulator tube receiving said sheaths and holding the sheaths with the open sides of the sheaths facing each other, said insulator tube having a separator positionable between the sheaths to insulate electrically the sheaths from one another.

2. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the sheaths has a plurality of serrations at one end, each of the sleeves has a flared mouth at one end for engagement with the serrations of the sheath to lock the sleeve into its respec tive sheath.

3. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of penetrator prongs for each of the locks includes a holding prong having a length greater than the other prongs, and each holding prong being positioned adjacent to the flared mouth relative to the other penetrator prongs in its respective lock.

4. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each sleeve includes a pair of holding ears forming a portion of its open side, and said holding ears being substantially in the same plane to provide a grip for engagement with an electrical wire between the two electrical conductors.

5. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the sheaths has a pair of holding ears in substantially the same plane on the side having the open side, and said holding ears being adapted for engagement with its electrical wire between its electrical conductor for holding the electrical wire.

6. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein the separator for the insulator tube is a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the tube for spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.

7. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each sleeve includes a pair of spaced holding ears forming a portion of its open side, said holding ears being substantially in the same plane to provide a grip for engagement with an electrical wire, and the separator for the insulator tube is a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the insulator tube for spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.

8. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the sheaths has a pair of spaced holding ears in substantially the same plane on the side having the open side, said holding ears being adapted for engagement with an electrical wire for holding the electrical wire, and the separator for the insulator tube is a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the tube for spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.

9. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each sleeve includes a pair of spaced holding ears forming a portion of its open side, said holding ears being substantially in the same plane to provide a grip for engagement with an electrical wire, each of said sheaths having a pair of spaced sheath holding ears in substantially the same plane on the same side having the open side, said sheath holding ears being adapted for engagement with the electrical wire for holding the electrical wire, and the separator for the insulator tube being a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the tube for spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.

10. A supply unit for providing a plurality of oriented and selectively spaced electrical connectors, each connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires; each wire having two electrical conductors, and each connector adapted for electrically connecting conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of another wire including; an elongated strip; a plurality of electrical connectors removably mounted on said strip; each of said electrical connectors being aligned with adjacent electrical connectors; and each of said electrical connectors having a pair of electrically conductive penetrator sleeves for holding and engaging electrical connectors of an electrical conductor, each of said sleeves having an open side, each of the penetrator sleeves including a plurality of penetrator locks formed integral with its respective sleeve, each of said penetrator locks including a plurality of penetrator prongs extending inwardly of its respective sleeve for penetration through an insulating material on a wire and into engagement with an electrical conductor of the wire to provide electrical connection to the electrical conductor, a pair of sheaths, each having an open side receiving one of said sleeves, each of the sheaths having its open side aligned-with the open side of its respective sleeve, each of the sheaths has a pair of spaced holding ears in substantially the same plane on the side having the open side, said holding ears being adapted for engagement with an electrical wire for holding the electrical wire, each of the sheaths has a plurality of serrations at one end, each of the sleeves has a flared mouth at one end for engagement with the serrations of its respective sheath to lock the sleeve into its respective sheath, each of the plurality of penetrator prongs for each of the locks including a holding prong having a length greater than the other prongs, each holding prong being positioned adjacent to the flared mouth relative to the other penetrator prongs in its respective lock, each sleeve includes a pair of sleeve holding ears forming a portion of its open side, said sleeve holding ears being substantially in the same plane to provide a grip for engagement with an electrical wire; and an insulator tube receiving and holding the sheaths and insulating the sheaths from each other, the insulator tube having a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the tube positioned between and spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.

Claims

2. An electrical connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and for electrically connecting insulated ends of each of the electrical conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of the other wire as defined in claim 1 wherein each of the sheaths has a plurality of serrations at one end, each of the sleeves has a flared mouth at one end for engagement with the serrations of the sheath to lock the sleeve into its respective sheath.

10. A supply unit for providing a plurality of oriented and selectively spaced electrical connectors, each connector adapted for mechanically holding two electrical wires, each wire having two electrical conductors, and each connector adapted for electrically connecting conductors of one wire to an electrical conductor of another wire including; an elongated strip; a plurality of electrical connectors removably mounted on said strip; each of said electrical connectors being aligned with adjacent electrical connectors; and each of said electrical connectors having a pair of electrically conductive penetrator sleeves for holding and engaging electrical connectors of an electrical conductor, each of said sleeves having an open side, each of the penetrator sleeves including a plurality of penetrator locks formed integral with its respective sleeve, each of said penetrator locks including a plurality of penetrator prongs extending inwardly of its respective sleeve for penetration through an insulating material on a wire and into engagement with an electrical conductor of the Wire to provide electrical connection to the electrical conductor, a pair of sheaths, each having an open side receiving one of said sleeves, each of the sheaths having its open side aligned with the open side of its respective sleeve, each of the sheaths has a pair of spaced holding ears in substantially the same plane on the side having the open side, said holding ears being adapted for engagement with an electrical wire for holding the electrical wire, each of the sheaths has a plurality of serrations at one end, each of the sleeves has a flared mouth at one end for engagement with the serrations of its respective sheath to lock the sleeve into its respective sheath, each of the plurality of penetrator prongs for each of the locks including a holding prong having a length greater than the other prongs, each holding prong being positioned adjacent to the flared mouth relative to the other penetrator prongs in its respective lock, each sleeve includes a pair of sleeve holding ears forming a portion of its open side, said sleeve holding ears being substantially in the same plane to provide a grip for engagement with an electrical wire; and an insulator tube receiving and holding the sheaths and insulating the sheaths from each other, the insulator tube having a pair of opposed ridges formed integral with opposite sides of the tube positioned between and spacing apart and electrically insulating adjacent sheaths.