GB2037494A

GB2037494A - Improvements Relating to Electric Terminal Members

Info

Publication number: GB2037494A
Application number: GB7847690A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Plessey Co Ltd
Current assignee: Plessey Co Ltd
Priority date: 1978-12-08
Filing date: 1978-12-08
Publication date: 1980-07-09

Abstract

An electric terminal member comprises a terminal pin 5 or equivalent part and one or more slotted metal sheet parts which when insulated wire is forced into the slot(s) 13 thereof by way of a suitably tapered wire entry opening 14 displace(s) the wire insulation so that the wire conductor makes good electrical contact with said slotted sheet part(s). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements Relating to Electric Terminal Members This invention relates to electric terminal members, especially those of the kind comprising a terminal in part which may be utilised for effecting wrapped, crimped or soldered wire connections to the terminal member. The present invention has especial, but not exclusive, application to the electric terminal members of electric connectors of the kind suitable for receiving the edge of a printed circuit board so that electrical connections are made between printed contacts provided along the edge of the printed circuit board and respective connector terminal members held captive within an insulating body structure and having terminal pin parts, as aforesaid, extending from the rear of the insulating body remote from the printed circuit board received by the connector.In the case of such connectors, as well as in other terminal assemblies, such as back-plane assemblies it may be required to make a plurality of wire connections to each of the terminal members. The making of such wire connections, especially in large terminal assemblies can be very laborious and timeconsuming operation if the making of the wire connections cannot in some way be automated. The present invention affords a terminal member construction which facilitates an automatic wiring operation especially applicable to terminal assemblies having relatively flimsy or loosely fitting terminal pins which would otherwise make automatic wire wrapping operations impossible or extremely difficult.

According to the present invention therefore there is provided an electric terminal member which comprises in conjunction with a terminal pin or equivalent part one or more slotted metal sheet parts which when insulated wire is forced into the slot(s) thereof by way of a suitably tapered wire entry opening displace(s) the wire insulation so that the wire conductor makes good electrical contact with said slotted sheet part(s).

The or each of the sheet slotted parts may also include a further slot which serves as a wire restraining slot into which the insulated wire will be a press fit.

The slotted sheet part of the terminal member may be formed integrally with a terminal pin or equivalent part, or it may be formed as a separate part and attached to the pin or equivalent part, as by spot welding for example.

When two slotted sheet parts are provided they may be defined by the opposed flanges of a channel-shaped part metallically bonded to the pin part. Each of the flanges of the channelshaped part may be formed with an integral wire restraining slot.

By way of example one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of an electrical connector; Figure 2 is an end view of the connector of Figure 1 taken in the direction A in Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of one of the channel-shaped parts forming part of the terminal members in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the electrical connector depicted comprises an insulating body 1 which may be moulded and which is formed with a multiplicity of adjoining cavities extending from the front end to the rear of the body for accommodating a multiplicity of elongate electric terminal members 2 which are held captive by the body. In Figure 2 the connector body 1 is shown as being formed with projections along the sides thereof to allow the connector to be slidingly received by grooved support members as shown.

As can also be seen in Figure 2, each of the terminal members 2 comprises a springy curved blade portion 3 located near the entrance of a slot 4 in the body 1 extending along the lower face of the body as viewed in Figures 1 and 2 for receiving the edge of the printed circuit board (not shown). It will be appreciated that the curved blade portions 3 of each pair of terminal members along the connector define a pair of opposed contacts for making pressure engagement with contacts located on the opposite sides of a printed circuit board as the latter is inserted into the slot 4 of the connector body 1. Each of the terminal members 2 includes a pin part 5 which extends from the rear of the body and which may be of rectangular cross section.These terminal pin parts 5 conveniently enable wire-wrapped or other suitable wire connections to be made manually to the terminal members according to requirements but the somewhat flimsy nature of the pin parts militate against the making of multiple wire-wrapped connections to the terminal members by an automated process. In accordance with the present invention therefore the automating of multiple wire connections to the terminal members of the electrical connector as shown, is facilitated by the provision of slotted sheet parts 6 and 7 with each of the terminal members 2. As can best be seen in Figure 3, these slotted sheet parts 6 and 7 in the present example are afforded by the opposed flanges of a metal channel-shaped part 10, as for example of phosph or bronze.Each channel-shaped part 10 in the present example is spot-welded to the associated pin part 5 of the terminal member at two points 11 and 12, but it will of course be appreciated that alternative means could be employed for securing the channel-shaped member to the terminal pin part in good electrical contact therewith.

It will be seen that each of the flange parts 6 and 7 is formed with an elongate slot 13 having a tapered entrance 14. An insulated wire may be forced downwards into each of the slots 1 3 so that the insulation on the wire is displaced and stripped from the conductor so that the latter makes good electrical contact with the channelshaped part 10 and thus the terminal pin part 5 connected to it when the wire is located midway to about two thirds down the insulation displacement slot 1 3. The insulated wires connected to the terminal member by way of the slotted sheet parts may be pressed into wire restraining slots 1 5 provided in the respective slotted sheet parts, as shown.

It may here be mentioned that the electrical connections made to the terminal members effected by way of the insulation displacement slotted sheet parts lend themselves to automatic wiring techniques so that the wiring up of large numbers of electrical connectors having a multiplicity of terminal members can be achieved at a substantially reduced cost. Further wiring connections may be made to the terminal pin parts 5, as required, using normal manual wiring operations.

It will be appreciated that although an electrical connector for printed circuit boards has been described for the purpose of explaining the features of the present invention, other electric terminal assemblies, such as back-plane terminal assemblies, may also advantageously embrace the slotted sheet parts for effecting insulation displacement wire connections to the terminal members thereof.

It should also be appreciated that although the particular terminal members described with reference to the drawings include a pin part the invention could be embodied in terminal members having a different configuration.

Claims

1. An electric terminal member comprising in conjunction with a terminal pin or equivalent part one or more slotted metal sheet parts which when insulated wire is forced intothe slot(s) thereof by way of a suitably tapered wire entry opening displace(s) the wire insulation so that the wire conductor makes good electrical contact with said slotted sheet part(s).

2. An electric terminal member as claimed in claim 1, in which the or each of the slotted sheet parts includes a further slot which serves as a wire restraining slot into which the insulated wire will be a press fit.

3. An electric terminal member as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the slotted sheet part is formed integrally with a terminal pin or equivalent part.

4. An electric terminal member as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the slotted sheet part is formed as a separate part and attached to a terminal pin or equivalent part.

5. An electric terminal member as claimed in claim 1, in which two slotted metal sheet parts are provided in respect of each terminal pin or equivalent part said slotted metal sheet parts being defined by the opposed flanges of a channel-shaped part metallically bonded to the pin part.

6. An electric terminal member as claimed in claim 5, in which each of the flanges of the channelshaped part is formed with an integral wire restraining slot.

7. An electrical connector having a plurality of terminal members as claimed in any preceding claim.

8. An electrical connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.