IL33963A - Contact unit for an electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

Oontact an electrical connector la invention relates to an electrical connector and more to a connector having a contact unit with a resilient contact element so supported that it cannot he damaged in storage or The unit is relatively simple and inexpensive in construction while being rugged and highly The invention was evolved with the general of overcoming the disadvantages of prior art connectors in which resilient contact elements are so supported that they are easily overstressed or otherwise damaged in storage or in handling as during the attachment of a connector wire As a broken or ioning contact elements have been a common especially when the units are handled by unskilled or negligent In accordance with the present invention there is provided an electrical connector includin an body having and second parallel passages a separating wall between said passages having a slot and a contact unit insertable said first passage and comprising integrally connected sheet walls including a pair of and a front said front wall disposed adjacent said separating wall of said insulating a firs contact element of resilient spring metal having a rearward end portion integrally connected said front wall and having a end portio adapted to through said and into said second passage for engagement by a second contact element in said second where engagement by the second contact element inserted in said assa e deflects said invention contemplates other features and advantages which will become fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred and in Figure 1 is a side of an electrical contact unit according to the shown installed in a connector in 2 a perspective view of the contact is a front view of the contact 4 is a sectional on an enlarged taken substantially line of e is a forward end view of the contact Figure 6 a view of the contact and Figure is a view the form of a sheet metal used to form the contact before element to limit sidewise deflection Such walls preferably extend a substantial distance forwardly beyond the forward end portion of the contact and are all preferably formed integrally with the metal Another specific feature is in the provision of stop means engagable by an intermediate portion of the contact element with the element being to engage the stop means with a certain A further specific feature is in the formation of the contact element in a manner such as to provide a cam surface for engagement by a mating contact element and to provide smoothly rounded corners to further prevent damage to the Additional features relate to the provision of terminal means on the contact unit for connection to a connecting wire to the provision of a stop and a resilient tab for releasably holding the contact unit in the connector and to the formation of the contact metal terminal means and resilient tab from a sheet metal This invention contemplates other features and advantages which will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment and in FIGURE 1 is a side view of an electrical contact unit constructed according to the shown installed in a connector body shown in FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the contact FIGURE 3 is a front view of the contact FIGURE 4 is a sectional view on an enlarged taken substanti along line of Figure FIGURE 5 is a forward end view of the contact FIGURE is a rear view of the contact and FIGURE 7 is a view showing the form of a sheet metal Reference numeral 10 generally designates a contact unit constructed in accordance with the principles of this The contact unit 10 comprises a metal body 11 having thereon a terminal 12 adapted to be connected to a connecting The body 11 is adapted for insertion into a passage 13 of a connector body 14 which has a second passage 15 in generally parallel relation to the passage The contact unit 10 includes a resilient spring metal contact element 16 having a rearward end portion 17 connected to the metal body 11 and having a forward end portion 18 which extends through a slot 19 between the passages 13 and 15 for engagement with a mating contact element 20 shown partially inserted into the passage The end portion is urged outwardly to the position shown in Figure 1 by the inherent resiliency of the contact element and is deflectable inwardly by engagement by the mating contact element to exert a certain contact force and to insure a good electrical According to this protective means are provided on the metal body 11 for protecting the contact element against overstressing According to a specific the protective means comprises a rear wall 22 disposed opposite the contact element 16 in generally parallel relation thereto and in a position such as to limit inward deflection of the end portion According to another specific the protective means comprises a pair of walls 23 and 24 disposed in spaced parallel relation along opposite sides of the contact element 16 to limit sidewise deflection the walls 23 and 24 extend forwardly a substantial distance beyond the forward end of the contact element It will be noted that the walls 23 and 24 thus substantially envelope the contact element with only the forward end portion 18 projecting The forward end portion 18 of the contact element 16 a second section 27 extending angularly forwardly and inwardly from the first section 25 and a third section 28 extending rearwardly from the second section 27 with a smoothly rounded corner 29 at the junction between sections 26 and 27 and with another smoothly rounded corner 30 at the junction between the sections 27 and The section 27 provides a cam surface for engagement by the contact element 20 to cam the end portion 18 of the element 16 inwardly when the element 20 is inserted into the passage 15 and also serves to cam the end portion 18 inwardly when the unit 10 is installed in the passage The portion also defines a cam surface to cam the portion 18 inwardly when the unit 10 is withdrawn from the body The sections and 27 as well as the rounded corners 29 and 30 are also desirable as protective means in that the form thereof is such that the portion 18 cannot be readily hooked onto other contact units of the same when a number of the units are placed loosely in a storage Another feature of the unit 10 is in the provision of a stop 32 which is preferably formed as an tab from the side wall 23 and which is engagable by an intermediate portion 33 of the element the portion 33 being preferably offset The element is preferably to engage the stop tab 32 with a certain By way of the element 16 may be in a manner such that without the stop tab the element 16 would extend outwardly at an angle on the order of 5 degrees so as to position the end portion as indicated in broken lines in Figure It is noted that a rigidifying rib 34 is preferably provided in the rearward end portion 17 of the element and in the adjacent portion of a wall 35 of the housing 11 to increase the force with which the element 15 engages the stop tab 32 as The terminal 12 is formed as an integral extension of the wall 24 and comprises a pair of turned portions 37 and 38 arranged to be crimped onto a connecting wire and another pair of portions 39 and 40 arranged to be crimped onto the insulating covering of the connecting The forward end of the terminal 12 extends inwardly to define a stop surface 41 for engagement with a shoulder 42 in the passage 13 and a resilient tab extends integrally from the wall 22 to engage an oppositely facing shoulder to retain the unit in the the tab 43 being deflected inwardly when the unit 10 is To remove the a tool 45 is inserted into a slot 46 formed along one side of the passage 13 to engage the tab 43 and to deflect it outwardly beyond the shoulder Figure 7 shows the form of the unit 10 before it is bent into the condition shown in Figures the approximate location of the required bends being indicated in dotted It will be appreciated that the unit can thus be formed readily as a sheet metal stamping which is then bent to obtain the configuration This invention thus provides a contact unit in which a resilient spring metal contact is substantially enveloped within a protective housing to prevent damage thereto and it will be appreciated that it can be readily and inexpensively manufactured while being rugged and reliable in insufficientOCRQuality

Claims (1)

1. 6 An electrical connector including an insulating body having first and parallel a separating between aaid passages having a slot and a contact unit e said first passage and integrally sheet metal including a pair of a front said front wall adjacent said wall of said insulating a first contact element of resilient metal a rearward end portion integrally connected to said front wall and a forward end portion adapted to project said slot and into said second for by second contact element in second where engagement by the second contact element inserted in said deflects said first element and protection means on said contact unit to protect first contact element against connector claimed in Claim further including a rib in said rearward end of said contact element and in the adjacent portion of said front connector as claimed in Claim further including a rear well disposed opposite said front wall and said pair of A connector as claimed in Claim further including a resilient locking tab extending from one fo said and engaging a shoulder on said insulating body to retain said contact unit in said first A connector as in Claim wherein said locking tab extends from and is integrally connected to said rear as claimed in Claim 5 wherein said insulating body further includes another slot which extends to said shoulder for receiving tool to release said locking tab so that said contact unit can be withdrawn from said first A connector as claimed Claim further including a stop tab from one of said and by said to limit the of said contact element in projecting through said An electrical substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying insufficientOCRQuality