JPS598954B2 - connector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a spring compression retention electrical connector for making permanent electrical contact between insulated wires.

Known prior art connectors of the spring compression retention type, which make an electrical connection at the end of a wire inserted into a wire cavity, are designed to allow the user to check whether a correct electrical connection has been made during contact of the contact element. The wire cavity was not provided with an opening through which the position of the wire therein could be directly observed.
On the other hand, in the case of certain types of connectors, the position of the wires within it,
They are made of a transparent material so that the user can see them, but this kind of material can only be used for these connectors, so it is not possible to distinguish between their colors. A connector according to the invention has a contact element that is moved into contact with an end of a wire disposed in a wire receiving cavity in a body member of the connector, and the body member, before being contacted by the contact element,
It is designed to allow visual inspection of the position of the wire within the cavity during and after contact.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a connector for making an electrical connection between electrical wires of the type that includes an insulating body and a resilient conductive contact element having fingers for contacting spaced electrical wires.

a body member having at least one wire receiving cavity terminating in an inlet and a distal wall, and a first position spaced from said cavity for placing a distal end of a wire therein;
A notch is formed in a first surface extending transversely to the cavity for slidingly receiving a contact element such that the finger moves into contact with a wire within the cavity. The body member extends from the first surface between the notch and the end wall to permit visual inspection of the position of the wire within the cavity before, during, and after movement of the contact element into contact position. It has an opening up to the wire cavity. An object of the present invention is to provide an opening in the upper surface of the main body member so that the connection state between the electric wires inserted into the cavity can be visually inspected.
In use, this opening is to provide a connector that can be covered by a cover.

The invention will be more fully understood after the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 through 5, a first embodiment of a connector according to the present invention, designated generally by the numeral 10, is illustrated.

Connector 10 includes a U-shaped conductive contact element 12 having spaced apart planar parallel legs with parallel disposed notches therein to create spaced wire contact fingers 14; It includes an insulating body member 16 having a pair of generally cylindrical, axially parallel wire receiving cavities 18 formed therein. The cavities 18 each extend longitudinally within the body member 16 through an inlet opening 20 in an end wall 19 toward an opposing end wall 22 . Cavity 18 communicates with upper surface 26 of body member 16 through opening 23 . Body member 16 is further formed with a notch 24 extending from an upper or first surface 26 thereof across and communicating with cavity 18 . The notch 24 is in a first position where the finger 14 is spaced from the cavity 18 such that the distal end of the wire 28 can be placed in the cavity 18 and the finger 14 contacts the wire 28 in the cavity 18 (FIG. 3). Contact element 12 is slidably received for movement between a second contact position within notch 24 and a second contact position. The body is in an open position having a second surface 34 coplanar with, and spaced from, the first or upper surface 26 to bring it closer to the contact element 12 for movement into its second position.
Figures 3 and 4) to the closed position (Figures 3 and 4)
The cover 30 includes a cover 30 attached to the body member 16 by a flexible hinge 32 extending parallel to the cavity 18 so as to be pivotable to the body member 16 .

In the closed position of the cover 30, the soft hook-like edge walls 36 parallel and opposite to the hinge 32 interlock over the lip 38, and the surfaces 34 and 26 are connected to the opening 23 and the distal end of the contact element 12 in contact. The top is sealed with a cover 30. cover 3
0 is in the open position, the contact element 12 is moved into its contact position to allow direct visual inspection of the distal position of the wire 28 within the cavity 18 before, during and after the contact element 12 makes contact. It is designed so that it can be approached to the cavity 18 which is opened to the ground.

The main body member 16, the hinge portion 32, and the cover 30 are integrally molded and preferably made of polypropylene.

When molded, first and second surfaces 26 and 34 are flush with cover 30 when in the open position. The hinge portion 32, which is best seen in FIG. 5, has a pair of generally letter-shaped parallel grooves 42 along the edge of the cover 30;
2 has a slightly rounded bottom. Groove 42 is defined and spaced apart by a generally triangular portion 44 having an apex 46 that generally falls within the plane created by first and second surfaces 26 and 34 when they are coplanar. Groove 4
2 is approximately 0.08 CTrL (0.03 inch) or less, preferably about 0.04 (177!) (0.015 inch) thick along the strip 48 properly positioned at its bottom. The lamina 48 deforms to allow movement of the cover 30 from an open position to a closed position.
The walls 50 of each groove are arranged at a predetermined angle to each other when the first and second surfaces 26 and 34 are coplanar. The movement of the cover into the closed position is caused by at least the groove wall 5
Fold the material of the flake 48 until a portion of the 0 touches.
The angle between each pair of walls 50 therefore determines the amount of folding that will occur in the corresponding lamina 48. Contact from the same side. The movement of the first and second surfaces 26 and 34 to a touching relative position requires a total bending of the material of the two strips 48 of 180 degrees. However, one of the angles between the pair of walls 50 is slightly less than 90 degrees due to the space between the bottom walls of each groove 42 created by the slight bottom radius. As an illustration,
The radius of curvature of each groove is approximately 0.0330f1L (0.013 inch), and the maximum groove depth is approximately 0.069CTfL (0.013 inch).
．． 027 inches), the groove 42 next to the body member 16
The wall 50 is disposed at an angle of about 74 degrees such that the end of the wall 50 opposite the bottom roundness is in a diaphragm facing the triangular portion 44 approximately perpendicular to the surfaces 26 and 34 when the cover is closed. The walls 50 of the groove 42 contacting and adjacent the cover 30 are disposed at an approximately 90 degree angle such that they are substantially parallel when the cover 30 is closed. Precisely positioned lines for folding created by strip 48 facilitate latching of cover 30 into the closed position. The edge wall 36 is precisely positioned as the cover 30 approaches the closed position, where the arcuate surface 52 along the edge wall 36 contacts the arcuate surface 54 along the lip 38. More cover 3
0 in the closing direction creates a camming action between the arcuate surfaces 52 and 54 and strains the edge wall 36 and hinge portion 32;
The edge wall 36 then engages over the lip 38'' to maintain the cover 30 in the closed position. Each inlet opening 20 has a space around the end of the wire;
The connector 10 is sized accordingly, and the width of each cavity 18 is tapered along the wall 53 (FIG. 2) so that the inserted wire can be lightly press-fitted. This light press-fit has the advantage of preventing the wire from accidentally pulling out of the cavity 18 before it has been secured by the contact element 12, thereby allowing the operator to concentrate on other tasks necessary to install the connector 10. Connectors containing more than two hinge sections can also be made, and the maximum number of hinge sections is limited in practice by the ability to form thin hinge sections.

Within this limit, the number of lamellas over which the stress is distributed at the hinge is:
It is originally determined by the properties of the material being deformed and the angle of relative movement imparted to the hinge. By way of illustration, an alternative embodiment of a hinge section for a connector according to the invention, designated generally by the reference numeral 55, illustrates the use of more than one hinge section in FIGS. 6 and 7. is illustrated. 2
The hinge section 55 is generally the same as the hinge section 32, except that it has three parallel grooves 56 spaced apart by three similar axially extending, generally triangular hinge sections 58. , the same parts of the connector are given the same number.

When the cover 30a is opened (FIG. 6), the walls defining each groove 56 are arranged at an angle of approximately 60 degrees, and the cover 30a is moved 180 degrees to its closed position (FIG. 7). When the surface 34a and the surface 26a of the main body member 16a come into contact,
Stress is distributed evenly between the three strips 62.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a first view of the connector according to the invention with the cover opened and the contact elements for the connector separated therefrom;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a plan view of the connector shown in FIG. 1 with the cover open and the contact elements placed over a pair of wires inside the connector; FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the connector of FIG. 2 with the cover closed; FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the connector of FIG. The figure is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken approximately along the line 5--5 in Figure 2, and Figure 6 is a partial view of the hinge section of a second embodiment of the connector according to the present invention, with the cover opened. , and FIG. 7 is a partial view of the hinge portion of FIG. 6 showing the cover in a closed state. 12... Contact element, 16... Body member, 18... Cavity, 22... End wall, 23
...Opening, 24...Notch, 26...
...First page, 30...Cover.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A resilient conductive contact element 12 having a plurality of planar parallel fingers for making an electrical connection between two electric wires, and a body member having two cavities, each cavity for receiving an electric wire. a body member 16 formed of a polymeric material having an inlet opening and a notch for slidingly receiving the contact element; The cover 30 is flush with the top surface of the body member in the open position.
and an upper surface opening formed in the upper surface of the cavity between the notch 24 of the body member and the end wall 22 formed in the cavity 18, the opening being the opening formed in the upper surface of the cavity when the cover is in the open position. A connector characterized in that the connector comprises the upper surface opening 23 which allows visual inspection of the connection state between the contact element and the two electric wires and which is closely engaged with the cover when the cover is in the closed position.