AU705380B2

AU705380B2 - Improvements in or relating to electrical connectors

Info

Publication number: AU705380B2
Application number: AU74232/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bernardo De Bernardis
Original assignee: Dynedeem Ltd
Current assignee: Dynedeem Ltd
Priority date: 1990-06-21
Filing date: 1996-12-09
Publication date: 1999-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 2011-06-21
Also published as: AU7423296A

Description

The present invention relates to an electrical connector and to a method of attaching a wire to an electrical connector.

In UK Patent Nos. 1 161 017 and 1 076 687 there is shown a connector including a resilient strip of material which is arranged to be flexed during inserting of a wire.

However, the wire must be resistant to binding during insertion. Indeed No. 1 076 687 specifically refers to the wire being tinned or clipped in solder in order to stiffen it. Should the wire bend during insertion then satisfactory connection would not be achieved. In order to remove a wire from the connector shown in No. 1 076 687 it is necessary it insert a release tool through a narrow part of a hole of the connector to move a leg of the connector out of engagement with the wire. UK Patent No. 1 449 025 shows a connector in which a contact blade is biased into engagement with a wire, but which blade can be held against that bias by causing a pivoting movement with a screwdriver in order to insert or remove a wire. However, one hand of the user is required to operate the screwdriver and the other is required to hold the connector thus making it difficult to thread the wire into the connector.

.:According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided an electrical S• connector for gripping a wire including a first member and a second member, the first member comprising a one-piece spring clip member having a contact arm portion rotatably mounted on said second member, said contact arm portion and said catch arm portion being resiliently deformable towards one another, the contact arm portion being swingable into engagement with an abutment surface provided on the second member to grip a wire positioned therebetween, said catch arm portion .i engaging with the second member to releasably connect the first and second members ooooo together in a position where the contact arm portion and the catch arm portion deflect together, whereby the contact arm portion is resiliently biased against the abutment surface ofthe second member.

The resilient bias of the first member may be provided by at least a portion of the first member being flexed.

The first member may comprise a resilient flexible strip. The first member may also be spaced from the second member in the second position.

The first and second members may be directed connected or, alternatively or additionally, pivotally connected. The first member may be detachably connected, for instance by a snap-fit, the first member may be loosely connected.

The connector may include latch means arranged to retain the first member in the first position. Part of the latch means may be provided on the first member or, alternatively or additionally, part of the latch means may be provided on the second member. As the first member moves toward the first position the first member may be arranged to flex by moving over an abutment surface and the first member may be arranged to be retained in the first position as result of that flexure. The first member may be arranged to flex when being moved away from the first position, and that •flexure of the first member may be arranged to occur during initial movement of the S: first member away from the first position.

The first member may be pivotally movable relative to the second member. The shape of the first member from the location about which it is pivotally movable to the location of the latch means may allow the first member to flex in that direction.

99 9o The first member may be arranged to co-operate with the surface of a latch means which extends away from the pivotal axis of the first member.

999999 o*oo9 •.The connector may provide a tortuous path for a wire connected to the connector 99 9 extending away from the connector. The general extent of the surface of the second member against which the first member holds a wire when in a first position may be at a different elevation than a second surface of the second member against which a wire is arranged to be located.

Movement of the first member to the first position may be arranged to bend a wire.

The first member may comprise an integrally formed member, The first member may be formed from a flat strip.

The first member may be allowed to remain in the second position under gravity.

The first and second member may both comprise electrically conductive material.

In the second position wire may be capable of being brought towards, or removed from the surface of the second member against which, in the first position, it is biased against by the first member in a direction transverse to the extent of the surface of the second member.

In the first position the first member may be extended away from a wire held in the S connector in a direction opposed from that which the wire extends away from the o connector.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of attaching a wire to electrical connector comprises placing a wire in the region of an abutment surface of a second member with a first member being in a second position in which it is spaced from that surface and is not resiliently biased towards that surface and causing relative movement of the first and second members such that the first member is moved to a first position in which a portion of the first member is resiliently biased towards the surface of the second member to exert a compressive force on the wire against the abutment surface.

The method may comprise providing the resilient bias of the first member in the first position by causing at least a portion of the first member to be flexed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of attaching a wire to an electrical connector comprises locating the wire in the region of an abutment surface of the second member and applying latch means to a first member such that the first member is retained in a first position by latch means in order to urge the wire against the surface of the second member by flexure of the first member. The method may comprise the first member being spaced from the second member in a second position before the first member is moved to the first position, The method may comprise causing relative movement of the first and second members to move the first member to the first position by causing relative pivotal movement between the members. The method may comprise causing flexure of the first member relative to the axis of its pivotal movement when moving the first member to or from the first position.

.in The method may comprise causing the wire to extend along a tortuous path out of the connector.

The movement of the first member to the first position may be arranged to bend a wire.

The method may comprise the first member remaining in the second position under gravity.

The present invention includes any combination of the herein referred to features of S limitations.

The present invention may be carried into practise in various ways, but one embodiment will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- 4* C C. CC C C

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C C a C C -6- Figure 1 is a- schematic perspective view of an electrical connector 10 with a wire 12 connected thereto, and Figure 2 is a schematic side view-of the connector with a spring member 14 in an open position in which the connector is receptive to the insertion or removal of a wire therefrom.

As shown in Figure 1, the spring member 14 is pivotally mounted about a bard16 of a base member 18. A plate 20 of'the spring member 14 extends downwardly and forwardly (when viewed in Figure and the plate is biased in a clockwise direction about the bar 16 such that its forward lower edge is held against and grips'the wire 12.

The wire 12 extends, from its free end 21, over a flat surface .22 of the base member, and then upwardly before passing out of a U-shaped opening 24 of the base member in a direction generally parallel to its extent over the flat surface 22. The base of the opening 24 is @20 at a greater elevation than the flat surface 22 of the base member whereby the wire is constrained to follow a *9 tortuous path to prevent inadvertent removal of the wire from the connector such as may otherwise occur if the wire *is parallel. The wire may be very flexible in its longitudinal direction.

The plate 20 is retained in the posi-tion shown by a clip portion 26 of the spring member extending forwardly ~*.from the bar 16 and over the forward wall 28 of the base 9 member where the clip bends back on itself and passes under a pair of spaced latch projection-s 29 extending Soo*, -7forwardly from the front surface of the wall 28 on either side of the U-shaped opening 24.

In order to attach a wire to the 'Connector, the' spring member 14 is first located in the position shown in Figure 2 in which the plate 20 extends upw~ardly and a wire can be inserted such that its f ree end is in the region of a rear wall of the base member and the wire projects out of the opening 24. The clip portion 26 is- then pivoted in a clockwise direction to bring the plate: 20 downwardly into contact with the wire,. with continued -downwards movement of that plate causing the wire to bend into the tortuous configuration shown in Figure 1. The clip portion 26 is then urged, further downwardly without the plate 20 moving to the same degree thereby causing the 9:15 spring member to flex and bias the plate 20 against the *wire. As the clip portion 26 is moved further downwardly, 9: the then downwardly facing front edge 30 of the clip portion engages the downwardly and outwardly facing surfaces 32 of the latch projections 29. During that movement, the clip portion is caused to flex such that the *.distance from bar 16 to the front edge 30 increases. This 9999 flexural movement is able to be achieved because of the curl 32 at the free end of the clip portion and because of the curved path between the curl 32 and the bar. of the clip portion.

When the front edge 30 of the clip portion passes over the end of the downwardly and outwardly f acing *999 surface 32 the flexure in the clip portion biases the front edge 30 against the downwardly and rearwardly facing surfaces .'32 of the latch portion to urge that front edge towards and down those surfaces 34 and to more firmly bias the plate 20 against the wire.

In order to release a wire held in the connector, an outwardly extending handle 36 is pushed upwardly to cause the front edge 30 of the clip portion to slide up the surfaces. 34, with the clip portion flexing outwardly, until those surfaces are cleared Whereupon the clip~ portion may be moved upwardly and rearwarl to the position shown in Figure 2 in order that the wire may be removed or another wire inserted.

It can be seen from Figure 1 that the front edge of the clip portion 26 is always well clear of the wire extending through the U-'shaped opening, arid that thus the latching operation of the clip portion will not be interfered with by the wire. It can also be seen that the front edge of the plate 20 is just clear of the rearwardly **15 facing surface of the wall 28 at its nearest point thereto during- closure. The degree of flexure in the device and the clearances referred to above make the spring member easy to. produce without fine manufacturing tolerances :4 having to be adhered to.

The bar 16 of the base member 18 is connected at *4.*either end to the upwardly extending rear wall 38 of the .4 base member, although those connections are not shown in the drawings for clarity. Accordingly a slot exists between the bar and the rear wall through which the plate 20O of the spring member is inserted during assembly of -the two parts. The width of the plate 20 is reduced to facilitate in its insertion into that opening. The spring member is also shaped such that, under its natural flexure, the shortest distance between the plate 20 and the clip portion is less than the thickness of the bar whereby the spring member is snapped onto, and must be snapped oft the bar.

The spring member is formed from a single sheet of metal which is cut and shaped as. shown with the handle 36 being stamped to project out of the sheet.

It will be appreciated that the sprung nature of the plate enable wires of different thicknesses to be held in the connector.

If desired, the material of the spring member or the shape of the spring member can be varied to alter the resilience of the plate, the force exerted'on a wire in the connector, and the force required to secure or release the latch.

The connector may be used in a plug connector with a leg 40 of the base member extending to provide a pin of the plug.

*0 *1 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1. An electrical connector for gripping a wire including a first member and a second member, the first member comprising a one-piece spring clip member having a contact arm portion and a catch arm portion rotatably mounted on said second member, said contact arm portion and said catch arm portion being resiliently deformable towards one another, the contact arm portion being swingable into engagement with an abutment surface provided on the second member to grip a wire positioned therebetween, said catch arm portion engaging with a latch projection of the second member to releasably connect the first and second members together in a position where the contact arm portion and the catch arm portion deflect together, whereby the contact arm portion is resiliently biased against the abutment surface of the second member.

2. An electrical connector according to claim 1, characterised in that the resilient bias of the first member is provided by at least a portion of the first member being flexed.

3. An electrical connector according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the first member may comprise a resilient flexible strip.

4. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the first member is spaced from the second member in the second position.

An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the first and second members are directly connected.

6. An electrical connector according to anyone of claims 1 to 4, further characterised in that the first and second members are pivotally connected.

7. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further characterised in that the first member is detachably connected by a snap-fit.

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Claims

8. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that part of the latch means is provided on the first member.
9. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that as the first member moves towards the first position the first member is arranged to flex by moving over an abutment surface. An electrical connector according to claim 9, characterised in that the first member is arranged to be retained in the first position as a result of said flexure.
11. An electrical connector according to claim 9 or claim 10, characterised in that the first i member is arranged to flex when being moved away from the first position.
12. An electrical connector according to claim 11, characterised in that flexure of the first member is arranged to occur during initial movement of the first member away from :°mo° the first position.
13. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the first member is pivotably movable relative to the second member.
14. An electrical connector according to claim 13, characterised in that the shape of the first member from the location about which it is pivotably movable to the location of the latch means allows the first member to flex in that direction. An electrical connector according to claim 13 or claim 14, characterised in that the first member is arranged to co-operate with a surface of said latch means which extends away from the pivotal axis of the first member.
16. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the connector provides a tortuous path for a wire connected to the connector extending away from the connector.
17. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the general extent of the surface of the second member against which the first member holds a wire when in a first position is at a different elevation than a second surface of the second member against which a wire is arranged to be located.
18. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that movement of the first member to the first position is arranged to bend a wire.
19. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterised in that the first member comprises an integrally formed member. An electrical connector according to claim 22, characterised in that the first member is formed from a flat strip.
21. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 20, characterised in that the first member is allowed to remain in the second position under gravity. 0
22. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterised in that the first and the second member comprise electrically conductive material.
23. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterised in that in the second position wire is capable of being brought towards, or removed from the surface of the second member against which, in the first position, it is biased against by the first member in a direction transverse to the extent of the surface of the second member.
24. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 21, characterised in that in the first position the first member extends away from a wire held in the connector in a direction opposed from that which the wire extends away from the connector. A method of attaching a wire to an electrical connector of a type as defined in any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein said method comprises placing a wire in the region of an abutment surface of a second member with a first member being in a second position in which it is spaced from that surface and is not resiliently biased towards that surface and causing relative movement of the first and second members such that the first member is moved to a first position in which a portion of the first member is resiliently biased towards the surface of the second member to exert a compressive force on the wire against the abutment surface.
26. A method according to claim 25 comprising providing the resilient bias of the first member in the first position by causing at least a portion of the first member to be flexed.
27. A method of attaching a wire to an electrical connector of a type as defined in any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein said method comprises locating the wire in the region of an abutment surface of a second member and utilising latch means to retain a first member in a first position in such a manner that the wire is urged against the surface of the second member by flexure of the first member.
28. A method according to claim 27 comprising the first member being spaced from the second member in a second position before the first member is moved to the first position.
29. A method according to claim 28 comprising causing relative movement of the first and second members to move the first member to the first position by causing relative pivotal movement between the members. A method according to claim 29 comprising causing flexure of the first member relative to the axis of its pivotal movement when moving the first member to or from the first position.
31. A method according to any one of claims 25 to 30 comprising causing the wire to extend along a tortuous path out of the connector.
32. A method according to any one of claims 25 to 31, characterised in that the movement of the first member to the first position is arranged to bend a wire.
33. A method according to any one of claims 25 to 32, characterised in that the method comprises the first member remaining in the second position under gravity. So.. 34. An electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 24, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the drawings. A method according to any one of claims 25 to 33, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated. •D Dated this 17 th day of March 1999 S. DYNEDEEM LIMITED Patent Attorneys for the Applicant H R HODGKINSON CO by: Patent Attorney for the Applicant ABSTRACT An electrical connector (10) has a first resilient member (14) which is pivotally connected to a second member The first member (14) is pivotally movable between a first position in which a wire can be held within the connector (10) by flexure of a part (20) of the first member (14) and a second position in which the first member (14) is spaced from the second member (18) and a wire can be inserted or removed from the connector. A latch (26) is provided to retain the first member (14) in the first position. A method of attaching a wire to the electrical connector is also disclosed. e. *o S *o. *.o •.4