IL42372A

IL42372A - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: IL42372A
Application number: IL42372A
Authority: IL
Original assignee: Raychem Corp
Priority date: 1972-06-12
Filing date: 1973-05-28
Publication date: 1977-04-29
Also published as: CH572283A5; ES415827A1; IL42372A0; US3852517A; ZA733929B; NL176119C; FR2188330A1; DE2329908A1; NL176119B; JPS4950476A; DE2329908C2; BE800810A; CA1024627A; NL7308155A; IT989092B; SE399337B; GB1407513A; AU5633373A; FR2188330B1

Description

Electrical connector 40574 The invention relates to electrical connectors capable of forming both an electrical and physical connection between two or more conductors and to articles for use in such Electrical and physical connections between two conductors are commonly made by soldering the overlapped ends of the conductors together or by crimping a connector over the ends of the In many it is desirable to make a transition from a flat conductor may for in a flat to a round but many of the commonly used connectors have been found to be for One method of joining a flat conductor to a round conductor uses a crimp connector which is in the shape of a hollow The end of the flat conductor is bent into a generally configuration along its longitudinal axis so that this end is capable of fitting into one end of the hollow The round conductor is inserted into the other end of the hollow cylinder and the cylinder is crimped about each The connection is then usually potted within a resilient potting material to sulate the The often weakens the physical strength of the conductors and the connection is a relatively bulky and heavy Overlapping and soldering of the two conductors has also been used to join a flat conductor to a round ductor but this method of connection has the disadvantage of but o in for Km of ia o nA of is solder is in the form of a coating on the electrically ductive the sheet from which the member is made may be coated with a layer of solder if either before or after it has been formed into its final At least one of the end portions of the ally conductive member may be shaped to contact a round Such an end portion for be shaped in may be A cylindrical end portion may have one or more tures therein for viewing a conductor inserted in the end This aperture for be or square and if be replaced by a uniform slot or other opening which permits inspection of a conductor serted in the end A cylindrical end portion of the electrically ductive member if be flared to facilitate the insertion of a conductor into that end Flared ends help to eliminate a potential source of weakness which might otherwise result from contact between the connector ends and the A cylindrical end portion may or be provided with means which may for one or more longitudinal slits in the end In a preferred embodiment of the one of the end portions of the electrically conductive member is shaped to contact a round conductor and the other end portion is shaped to contact a flat The end tion that is shaped to contact a flat conductor may for the shape of a flattened oval or a generally flat further In embodiment of the the electrically conductive member has two end portions which are generally flat in each which end portions is provided with a quantity of and the member has a tuberance in the portion thereof between the end The hollow body in the connector of the invention is advantageously and may for a crosslinked polymeric The hollow body is preferably transparent to permit viewing of the soldered The hollow body may extend beyond the ends of the and if be shaped to guide the conductors into contact with the A insulating material may be provided on the hcllow In one embodiment of the the hollow body may have a sheath portion and a plurality of spaced integrally connected tubular members communicating with the sheath at least and preferably of the tubular members having an article of the invention the hollow body may have a series of longitudinal seams which extend from one end of the body to the which seams bond opposite walls of the member to each other to define and interconnect a plurality of tubular at least and preferably of the tubular members having an article of the invention The present invention substantially overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices and makes it possible to form a reliable electrical and mechanical connection tween two or more his may be accomplished for the use of an article comprising a unitary ductive metallic member having open ends which contain a coating of solder alloy and flux adjacent to at least a tion of the inner surface of the At least part of the article is at least partly in so when a transparent hollow member is the connection can be viewed after An article having one round end and one flat open end is particularly useful for joining round conductor to a flat conductor within the One end of the article may be in the form of a socket contact which can plug into a wire wra One of the advantages of the connector of the vention is that it can have a small overall thickness and thus can be for for the direct connection of a flat cable with conductors whose centres are spaced inches apart and wire wrap pins in a printed circuit fact that the connector can be thin example mately allows stacking on rows of inch In some the connector may be only inches thick with such a conductors whose centres are spaced inches apart may be In the installation of a connector of the invention which comprises a hollow the conductor stripped if are inserted into the connector and the assembly is heated thus causing the hollow body to shrink about the conductor and to hid the stripped ends against the The heat further causes the solder to melt and electrically to connect a pair of conductors to each thereby electrically joining the pair of When the connector comprises a plurality of inserts held within the hollow body in a parallel and spaced a particularly useful device Δ particularly simple and yet electrical connection can result from the use of the connector of the The article positioned within the hollow body may have a end and yet may give an excellent electrical Shis excellence of connection is a result of the fact that the conductor is held tightly against article while the solder is heated to a ture sufficient to cause it to melt and then cooled to allow it to The invention will now be by way of example with reference to the accompanying in 1 is a perspective view of an article constructed in accordance with the present invention together with the stripped ends of two insulated 2 is a perspective view of a connector constructed in accordance with the present is perspective view of the of 2 installed in the ends of two insulated the plastic sleeve which forms part of the connecto being shown in phantom 4 is a section taken along line of 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present 6 is an end view taken along line of 7 is a section taken along line of 8 is a perspective view of a connector taining a plurality of conductive 9 a perspective vie of a third embodiment of the present 10 is a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the present 11 is a section taken along line of 10 12 is a perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention and 13 is a perspective view of the stripped end of a cable which comprises a plurality of flat Referrin now the 1 shows a unitary conductive metallic member The member 10 has a generally oval end 11 and a flattened oval end The transition between these ends is indicated by the reference numeral A round insulated conductor 13 has a stripped end 14 which will fit within the end 11 of the member and a flat insulated conductor 15 has a stripped end 16 which is capable of fitting within the flattened oval end The round oval end U is not closed in but has an opening 11a so that the completed soldered joint may be the flattened oval end 12 is provided with an inspection slot Bach end of the unitary conductive metallic member flared to facilitate the insertion of the stripped ends and The 10 is coated with a thin layer of a solder alloy 17 and is also provided with a portion of Although the solder layer is shown in the drawings as a continuous coating on both the inner and outer ces of the it cover only a portion of the member For the layer 17 could cover only the inner surface of the 10 or it could cover only those parts of the inner surface that will contact the stripped ends 14 and In the stripped end 1 of conductor is inserted into the end 11 preferably that it extends the transition 18 between the round and flattened portions of the the stripped end of conductor 15 inserted into the flattened end and preferably also extends to transition The member 10 and ends are then heated by any conventional for hot air or induction in order to melt the flux and solder alloy layer 17 which then flows onto stripped ends and 16 thereby creating a secure electrical and mechanical The amount of solder used is preferably sufficient to the spaces between the 10 and the Although this is not the ends of the conductors may be tinned to facilitate the soldering Turning now to the unitary member 0 of 1 is shown positioned within a verted to a state so that will tend to shrink when heated to Such and of their many are disclosed in Patents and The sleeve 25 extends beyond the ends of the member 10 so that it can cover the stripped portions of the conductors which will be serted within member 3 shows the connector of 2 after has been installed on the insulated conductors 13 and The sleeve which is shown in phantom shrinks around the insulated conductors and 15 and the conductive member Although the member 10 and the sleeve 25 are preferably installed simultaneously in the form of the connector of the sleeve 25 could be shrunk around an assembly made as described with respect to n the latter the sleeve 25 of be slipped over one of the conductors 13 15 before the latter are joined by the member and after such joining is moved into position around the member 10 to the complete A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in This shows an article 30 which comprise an outer layer 31 of a conductive for example copper or and an inner layer 32 of a solder allo When copper or a alloy is used for the outer layer this which forms the electrically conductive thus comprises a material other than It is also infusible at the temperature to which the article 30 must be heated to cause fusing of the of article The 35 makes it possible to inspect the interior of article 30 when a transparent member is around the article thus allowing visual confirmation that a satisfactory soldered joint has been The article 30 is shown in end view in 6 and in longitudinal sectio in The flat end 33 of the article 30 is adapted for electrical connection with a flat A stripped end portion of a cable having a plurality of flat conductors 71 and 72 may be electrically connected to the flat end 33 is shown in the flat conductors 71 and 72 are insulated from one other by electrically insulating material The round end 34 o the article 30 adapted for electrical connection to a for example that identified by reference numeral in 1 of the A connector containing a plurality of conductive articles is shown in A member 40 of electrically insulating material has an open end 41 adapted to receive a plurality of flat the ends of which have been stripped for example The member 40 has a second open end 42 which is adapted receive a plurality of round conductors or a plurality of conductors or the the ends of which have also been The open end 4 communicates with a sheath tion of the member 40 and the open end 42 communicates a plurality of parallel tubular The extent to which the conductors are stripped should be such that the tor insulator is received within member 40 but does not tend into conductive for example articles 44 and with which the member 40 is The member 40 may be provided with a adhesive or other softenable material which serves to insulate and seal a ductor from the adjacent This provides maximum voltage break down and insulating resistance values after the member 40 has been In a plurality of flat conductors are stripped and inserted into open end One conductor is inserted against each of the conductive articles 45 each of which articles has one flat a stripped end of a round ineulated conductor is inserted into the other end of each of the this second end being cylindrical in each The stripped ends of the conductors may be tinned to facilitate the soldering The member 40 is then heated by any conventional for example hot air or induction in order to cause the member 40 to recover against the inserted conductors and to cause the flux and solder layers of the conduc ive articles to melt and electrically connect the conductors to the Figure 9 shows a third conductive article suitable for use in accordance with the present This conductive article is indicated by the reference numeral The two ends of the article 50 are identical and a 51 and is located near each The article 50 comprises an outer layer 53 of an electrically conductive for example beryllium which provides structural strength and electrical and an inner layer 54 of flux and a solder A forth article which may be used in the connector of the invention is shown in Figures 10 A conductive article 60 is shown in plan view in Figure 10 and in longitudinal section in Figure The article 60 comprises a layer 61 of flux and solder alloy and a layer 62 of a conductive material such as the layers feeing in intimate A protuberance 63 is located midway between the ends of article This protuberance 63 serves to hold the article 60 within a A fifth article which may be used in the connector of the invention is shown in Figure The conductive article 65 shown in Figure 12 has a socket end 66 and a flat end At least the flat end 67 is coated The flat end 67 functions in a manner analogous to the flat end 33 of insert 30 in Figure The socket end 66 is flared outwardly to facilitate the insertion of a conductive pin A pair of slits 68 and 69 are provided in the side wall of the socket end 66 to give a spring action which tends to retain a pin of an appropriate diameter which has been inserted into end The article 65 is preferably made from a metal having good resiliency and or example beryllium insufficientOCRQuality

Claims

1. 42372/2 a metal. 8. A connector as claimed in claim 7, therein the metal comprises copper or an alloy thereof. 9. A connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein the metal is a heat-recoverable metal. 10. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 91 wherein at least one of the end portions is shaped to contact a round conductor. 11« A connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the or each end portion which is shaped to contact a round conductor is U-shaped in cross-section. 12.; A connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein the or each end portion which is shaped to contact a round conductor is cylindrical. 13. A connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the or each cylindrical end portion has one or more apertures therein. 14. A connector as claimed in claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the or each cylindrical end portion is provided with pin-retaining means. 15. A connector as claimed in claim 14, wherein the pin-retaining means comprises one or more longitudinal slits in the end portion. 16. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15» wherein the or each cylindrical end portion is flared. 42372/3 1 to 16, wherein at least one of the end portions is shaped to contact a flat conductor. 18. A connector as claimed in claim 17* wherein the end portion that is shaped to contact a flat conductor has the shape of a flattened oval. 19· A connector as claimed in claim 17, wherein the end portion that is shaped to contact a flat conductor has a generally flat shape. 20. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, therein one of the end portions is U-shaped in cross-section and the other end portion has the shape of a flattened oval having a longitudinal slit therein. 21. A .connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein one of the end portions is cylindrical and has a viewing port therein and the other portion has a generally flat shape. 22. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein each of the end portions is cylindrical and has a viewing port therein. 23· A connecto as claimed in any one of claims 1, 2 and 6 to 9 so far as they are dependent on claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the solder is in the form of a coating on one end portion, which end portion is generally flat in shape, and the other end portion is provided with pin-holding means. 24. A connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein 42372/3 the article comprises a unitary conductive metallic member having a first flattened oval end and a second rounded oval end, and a transition therebetween, and solder means within said member capable, upon melting, of joining the electrical conductors to the member. 25. connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the electrically conductive member has two end portions which are generally flat in cross-section each of which end portions is provided with a quantity of solder, and the member having a protuberance in the portion thereof between the end portions. 26. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 19, wherein one of the end portions is shaped to contact a round conductor and the other end portion is shaped to contact a flat conductor. 27. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the electrically conductive member is flat in cross-section throughout its length, the central region of a longitudinal section through the electrically conductive member having two portions inclined at an angle to one another. 28. . A connector as claimed in claim 27, wherein the electrically conductive member comprises a layer comprising copper and the solder is in the form of a layer on one surface of the electrically conductive member. 29. A connector as claimed in claim 28, wherein the layer comprising copper is so positioned that it is on the interior of the angle between the said portions of the longitudinal section through the electrically conductive member 42372/3 30. Δ connector contructed substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated by. Figures 1 to 4* or Figures 5 to 7, or Figure 9, or Figures 10 and 11, or Figure 12 of the accompanying drawings. 31. connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to wherein the hollow body is heat-recoverable. 32. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 31, wherein the hollow body is shaped to guide the conductors into contact with the article. 33. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 32, wherein the hollow body comprises a cross-linked polymeric material. 34. connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 33, wherein the hollow body is transparent. 35. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 34, wherein the hollow body extends beyond the ends of the article. 36. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 35, wherein the hollow body is provided with a heat-activatable insulating material. 37· A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 36, which comprises a plurality of articles as specified in any one of claims 1 to 26, 38. A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 37, wherein the hollow body has a sheath portion and a plurality of spaced integrally connected tubular members communicating with the sheath portion, at least one of the tubular members having an article as specified in any one of claims 1 to 30 therein. 42372/3 39· A connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 37» wherein the hollow body has a series of longitudinal seams which extend from one end of the body to the other, which seams bond opposite walls of the member to each other to define and interconnect a plurality of tubular members, at least one of the tubular members havin an article as specified in any one of claims 1 to 2& therein. 40. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member having two end portions, each of which end portions is provided with a quantity of solder, one of the end portions being U-shaped in cross-section and the other end portion having the shape of a flattened oval, the oval having a longitudinal slit therein. 41. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member having two end portions, each of which end portions is provided with a quantity of solder, one of the end portions being cylindrical and having a viewing port therein and the other end portion being generally flat in cross-section. 42. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member having two end portions, each of which end portions is provided with a quantity of solder, each of the end portions being generally cylindrical and having a viewing port therein. 43. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member having two end portions, each of which end portions is provided with a quantity of solder, each of the end portions being generally flat in cross-section, and the member having a protuberance i the portion thereof between the end portions. 44. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, •which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member having two end portions one end portion being generally flat in cross-section and being provided with a quantity of solder and the other end portion being provided with pin-holding means. 45. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article comprises an elongate electrically conductive member which is generally flat in cross-section throughout its length, the central region of a longitudinal section through the electrically conductive member having two portions inclined at an angle to one another, the electrically conductive member being provided with a quantity of solder. 46. An article as claimed in claim 45» wherein the electrically conductive member comprises a laye comprising copper, and the solder is in the form of a layer on one surface of the electrically conductive member. 47. An article as claimed in claim 46, wherein the layer comprising copper is so positioned that it is on the interior of the angle between the said portions of the longitudinal section through the electrically conductive member. 48. An article suitable for use in a connector as claimed in claim 1, which article is constructed substantially as described herein with reference to, and as illustrated by, Figures 1 to 4, or Figures 5 to 7, or Figure 9t or Figures 10 and 11, or Figure 12 of the accompanying drawings. 49. A method of electrically connecting electrical conductors wherein each electrical conductor is electrically connected to a respective end portion of an article as specified in any one of claims 1 to 25 and 48 and the connection so made is covered, substantially simultaneously or subsequently, with a hollow body of electrically insulating material, which hollow body has two open ends, the arrangement being such that the electrically conductive member does not extend beyond the ends of the hollow member. 50. Electrical conductors whenever connected by a method as claimed in claim 49. TNERS