GB820362A - Electrical contact - Google Patents

Abstract

820,362. Two-part couplings. ELLIOTT BROS. (LONDON) Ltd. Sept. 11, 1956 [Sept. 16, 1955], No. 26655/55. Class 38 (1). A socket contact is bent up from sheet metal to form a cylindrical terminal portion 6 and a pair of resilient contact arms 10 with inturned ends 11 and flexibly connected to portion 6 by intermediate portions 9, the adjacent end of portion 6 having surfaces 7 forming a constriction which prevents solder creeping from the portion 6. Fig. 8 shows an alternative form of contact in which only a single contact arm 10a is provided, the constriction being formed by a bent-in portion 25 of portion 6a. A similar form of contact is shown in Fig. 9 except that the intermediate portion 9b is bent over to lie adjacent the end of portion 6b and form the constriction. Several of the contacts shown in Fig. 2 may, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, be mounted in an elongated, U-shaped, insulating body 15 to form a contact assembly. The portions 6 are passed through apertures 19 and the contacts are retained in position by overhanging shoulders 18 on the side walls of the body beneath which the arms 10 snap. Apertures 20 in the side walls enable a tool to be pressed against the arms 10 to disengage them from the shoulders 18 if it is desired to remove the contacts, or alternatively a stop-pin may be secured in a pair of opposed apertures 20 to serve as a locating device in preventing insertion of an incorrect plug. Another form of stop-pin is shown in Fig. 19, this type having a stem 38 for insertion through an aperture 19 being retained by bent-out wings formed by slitting the stem at 41 and which engage the underside of the body. Figs. 10 and 11 show another form of insulating body for use with contacts as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. In this case the apertures 19a are staggered and the single arms 10a of adjacent contacts engage opposite shoulders 18a on the side walls as shown. Ribs 27 between the contacts prevent them from rotating. Figs. 14 and 15 show how a contact assembly may be used with printed circuit panels. The projecting terminal stems 6c of the contacts, which in this construction are formed similarly to the stems of the stop-pins shown in Fig. 19, are inserted through apertures 5 in a panel 30 and soldered to printed conductors 31. A further panel 33 having printed contact portions 34a on opposite faces and a cut-away portion 36 for co-operation with a stop pin is then inserted into the body 15b so that the contact portions 34a engage the socket contacts.