AU539586B2

AU539586B2 - Female socket connector

Info

Publication number: AU539586B2
Application number: AU66408/81A
Authority: AU
Inventors: B. Strandfelt
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1979-12-05
Filing date: 1980-12-05
Publication date: 1984-10-04
Anticipated expiration: 2000-12-05
Also published as: AU6640881A

Description

FEMALE SOCKET CONNECTOR

The present invention relates to a female socket connector of the type comprising a centrally located bottom pole and, coaxial thereto, an annular pole which is disposed in an internally cylindrical housing.

Connectors of this kind are common in cars, caravans and boats and are being used to connect exterior consumers such as torches, television and radio receivers etc. to a source of current.

The object of the invention is to provide a connector of the kind comprising simply and inexpensively manufactured parts which are easy to assemble.

This object has been achieved in that the invention has been given the characteristic features stated in the following claims.

The invention is described further with reference to the attached drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a female socket connector according to the invention,

Fig. 2 shows at an enlarged scale a section along the line

II-II in fig. 3, Fig. 3 shows the connector seen from below,

Fig. 4 is a frontal view of same, and, finally,

Fig. 5 is a side-view of the connector.

The connector according to the invention comprises a housing 1, which preferably is of an insulating material, such as plastic, an annular pole 2 of a conductive material, such as brass, a bottom plate 3 of an insulating material and a bottom pole 4 of a conductive material, such as e.g. brass (fig. 1). The housing 1, which in the embodiment shown is arranged for flush mounting and therefor is provided with a mounting flange 5 with two holes 6 for screws or the like, mainly comprises an externally as well as internally cylindrical part 7. Internally, relatively close to the mounting flange 5, the cylindrical part is provided with an annular shoulder 8. In the bottom end of the cylindrical part turned away from the mounting flange 5 axial slots have been provided in order to form four radially resilient protrusions 9, 10, 11 and 12, which are evenly distributed around the periphery of the cylindrical part. The protrusions also extend beyond the bottom plane 13 of the cylindrical part. At their ends the protrusions are provided with external bevels 14 and inwardly of these with likewise external locking recesses 15, the defining surfaces of which located closest to the mounting flange 5 are levelling with the bottom plane 13 of the cylindrical part 7.

The annular pole 2 is preferably an originally plane sheet metal detail comprising a band-shaped portion 17 bent into an annular shape, the ends of which are inclinedly cut such that they complete each other in the annular shape to form, axially viewed, an overlapping joint 18. From these ends extend equally long support tongues 19 and 20. Between its ends the band-shaped portion is provided with a contact tongue 21 running in the same direction as the support tongues and being longer that the two support tongues 19 and 20. The free end of the contact tongue is inwardly bent back forming a double folded terminal 22 for the annular pole 2. The free, back bent end of the contact tongue 21 is bent radially inwards to form an abutment 23.

The band-shaped portion 17 of the annular pole is so dimensioned, that, bent to annular shape according to fig. 1, it allows insertion into the housing 1 to abutment with the shoulder 8 (fig. 2). The support tongues 19 and 20 are of a length that they extend to the bottom plane 13 of the cylindrical part. In this plane is also located the surface of the abutment 23 turned away from the band-shaped portion 17, while its double folded end forming the terminal 22 extends somewhat beyond the ends of the resilient protrusions 9-12.

The bottom plate 3 consists of a circular disc of e.g. plastic, the outer diameter of which corresponds to the outer diameter of the cylindrical part 7 and the thickness of which, at least at the periphery, corresponds to the width of the locking recesses 15 of the protrusions 9-12. Adjacent the periphery the bottom plate 3 is provided with four through openings 24, 25, 26 and 27, which are distributed in correspondence with the distribution of the resilient protrusions 9-12. Three of these openings 25, 26 and 27 have ring segment shapes substantially corresponding to the cross sections of the resilient protrusions 10, 11 and 12, respectively, so that these protrusions can be introduced through said openings, while the remaining opening 24 radially outwards has an arcuate shape and radially inwards is plane and is dimensioned so that apart from the protrusion 9 also the terminal 22 can be introduced through same.

The bottom pole 4 consists of a plate strip bent to an approximate ϋ-shape, the web portion 28 of which is parallel to the bottom plate 3 and located essentially in the center of same, while its two flanges 29 and 30 extend into and are fixed to the bottom plate, at least the flange 30 extending through the bottom plate forming a terminal 31 for the bottom pole 4.

In order to have both the terminals 22 and 31 fit to terminal contacts of the same standard type, the bottom pole 4 is manufactured of a material substantially twice as thick as the annular pole 2, while the widths are the same. As should have appeared from the above description of the parts included in the socket connector according to the invention, its assembly is very simple: the annular pole 2 is inserted into the housing 1 to abutment against the shoulder 8, whereafter the bottom plate 3 with attached (e.g. moulded- in) bottom pole 4 with its opening 24 is passed over the resilient protrusion 9 and the terminal 22 and with the remaining openings 25, 26 and 27 is passed over the protrusions 10, 11 and 12, Hereby the bevels 14 make the protrusions spring radially inwards until the bottom plate abuts the bottom plane 13 of the cylindrical part, whereby the protrusions spring back and the bottom plate is snap-like retained by the locking recesses 15. In this position the annular pole 2 abuts with its support tongues 19 and 20 as well as with the abutment 23 of the contact tongue 21 the inside of the bottom plate 3, thereby and by means of the shoulder 8 being axially fixed. Its fixation against rotation relative to the housing 1 is achieved by means of the terminal 22, which extends through the opening 24 in the bottom plate 3, which in turn is prevented from rotating by the engagement with all the protrusions.

Of course, both the annular pole 2 and the bottom pole 4 can be manufactured of sheet metal of the same thickness, in which case the flange 30 of the bottom pole should be double- folded. An advantage of such an arrangement should be on one hand that one does not have to work with more than one plate thickness and on the other hand that the terminal 31 as well as the terminal 22 (fig. 2) would be finished with a rounded end portion, which may facilitate thrusting-on of the terminal contact.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. Female socket connector of the kind comprising a centrally located bottom pole (4) and, coaxial thereto, an annular pole (2), which is disposed in an internally cylindrical housing (1), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the bottom pole (4) is carried by a bottom plate (3) attached to the bottom end of the housing (1), and in that the annular pole (2) is provided with a contact tongue (21) extending through the bottom plate (3) and having an abutment (23) engaging the inside of the bottom plate (3), said annular pole (2) being retained between the bottom plate (3) and a shoulder (8) in the housing (1) .

2. Female socket connector according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the bottom plate (3) is snap-like retained against the bottom end (13) of the housing by means of protrusions (9,10,11,12) being integral with the housing (1) and having locking means (15), said protrusions extending through openings (24,25,26,27) or recesses in the bottom plate (3).

3. Female socket connector according to claims 1 or 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the contact tongue (21) of the annular pole is double-folded and forms a connection terminal (22) outside the bottom plate (3), while its end is bent inside the bottom plate (3) and forms the abutment (23).

4. Female socket connector according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the annular pole (2) is provided with at least one support tongue (19,20) which engages the inside of the bottom plate (3).

5. Female socket connector according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the annular pole (2) comprises a sheet metal detail having an annularly bent band-shaped portion (17), which forms the contact surface of the pole and the ends of which are inclinedly cut, such that they complete each other in the annular shape to form, axially viewed, an overlapping joint (18).

6. Female socket connector according to claim 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that a support tongue (19,20) extends from each end of the band-shaped portion (17), while the contact tongue (21) extends therefrom on a distance from the ends.

7. Female socket connector according to any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the bottom pole (4) comprises a sheet metal detail bent to substantial ϋ-shape, the web portion (28) of which, abutting the inside of the bottom plate (3), forms a contact surface, and the flanges (29,30) of which extend into the bottom plate (3) , one of said flanges (30) extending through the bottom plate (3) and forming on the outside thereof a connection terminal (31) for the bottom pole (4).

8. Female socket connector according to claim 7, c h ar a c t e r i z e d i n that the material of the bottom pole (4) is substantially twice as thick as the material of the contact tongue (21) of the annular pole.