JPS60212977A - Insulating material displacing connector terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an electric wire, i.e., a cable, in which an insulating material surrounding the cable is divided and displaced by a pair of forked portions of a terminal, and the electric wire, i.e., a cable, is partially exposed. It relates to electrical terminals of the type commonly known as insulation displacement connectors (IDCs) which are clamped between pronged portions to make electrical contact. Such a terminal will hereinafter be referred to as an IDC terminal. The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively, intended for connecting flat cables, i.e. cables having a number of insulated conductors arranged next to each other so as to have the appearance of a sheet. This invention relates to an IDC terminal for use in a row of terminals.

The present invention has a body portion and a terminal portion extending from the body portion, the terminal portion defining a conductor gripping slot therebetween for electrically connecting the terminal and the conductor during use.
an IDC having a pair of substantially parallel bifurcated portions and further having a latch portion extending from the body portion independently from the terminal portion for holding together portions of the housing for the terminal during use; It provides terminals.

Preferably, the latch portion includes a pair of latches adapted to hold the two portions of the housing together.

Preferably, the latch portion is configured to exert a holding force in a direction parallel to the direction in which the forked portion extends during use. This latch portion can be formed flat and extends in a plane perpendicular to the plane in which the bifurcated portions extend.

Preferably, the latching portion includes a pair of spaced apart, mutually facing latching surfaces extending beyond the adjacent portion thereof.

The latching portions may have tapered ends, and each tapered end may join the mating latching surfaces at an acute angle to define a barbed portion.

The terminal portion may be formed flat and may have a substantially tulip-shaped outer profile.

The conductor gripping slot can be tapered outwardly at its open end and can be broadly formed at its base.

This terminal connects a connector portion, such as a solder tail, to a female connector adapted to be engaged by a male connector element, or an edge card connector adapted to be engaged by a contact edge of a printed circuit board. It is preferable to have one.

In another aspect, the solder tail has a special locally deformed or swaged area for interference fit or flex press fit connection to the plated through hole of the printed circuit board. I can do it.

The terminal can be stamped from sheet material and integrally formed.

The invention further comprises a pair of housing parts and a plurality, preferably a plurality, of terminals according to the invention, each of said housing parts being engaged by a latching partial pressure of a respective terminal to hold said housing parts together. The present invention provides a connector assembly having an engagement device that can be used.

Preferably, the locking device on each housing portion includes a latch-engaging surface, and the latch-engaging surface is formed by a stepped recess in the housing portion, or preferably, the latch portion includes a barbed portion. If you have
It may be formed by a hole in the housing portion dimensioned such that the associated barbed portion penetrates and grips the material of the housing portion defining the hole.

These two housing parts may be provided with mutually engageable positioning devices, for example a post and a flat member engageable by the post. These posts can be located at the corners of the housing sections, and all posts can be provided in each set of housing sections.

These two housing parts can have mutually engageable retaining devices 5, for example snap-lock latches.

Preferably, the connector assembly includes a cable clamping device for clamping the cable to the connector assembly outside the housing portion to reduce the chance that external stresses acting on the cable will be transmitted to the terminal button.

An embodiment of a terminal according to the invention and its variants by way of example and an embodiment of a connector assembly according to the invention and its variants are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The IDC terminal has nine body portions 10, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, from which extend a terminal portion 11 having a pair of forked portions 12 and 16, and a latch portion 14. .

The latch portion 14 has a pair of mutually facing latch engagement surfaces 1
5 and 16.

A slot 17 extends between the forked portions 12 and 16 for engaging the conductor. The forked portions 12 and 13 act to locally separate or strip the insulating material around the conductor.

The slot 17 is tapered outwardly at its open end to form a projection for introducing the conductor. The outer profile of the terminal portion 11 is substantially tulip-shaped, as can be seen in more detail from FIG.

This particular configuration, in which the bifurcated portions 12 and 130 are formed broadly at the base and narrowly formed at the free end,
and 16 do not short to adjacent conductors of the flat cable, and that the conductors
The metal of the terminal portion near the base of the slot 17 is able to withstand the separating force acting on the fork portions 12, 131c when inserted between them, so that the deflection of the fork portion is maintained in the elastic region of its material. The purpose is to ensure that

A shoulder 20 of body portion 10 extends substantially perpendicularly from the base of terminal 11, and a support 21 connected to latch portion 14iC extends substantially perpendicularly from shoulder 2D. The latch portion 14 extends substantially perpendicularly to the support 21 and the shoulder 20 in the direction 1i.

The terminal has a solder tail 22 extending away from the terminal portion 11. Different configurations of solder tails could also be used, or the solder tails 22 could be replaced with, for example, K-shaped connectors or connectors to be engaged by contact blades on a printed circuit board. Alternatively, local swaging or deformation can be introduced into the solder tails to provide an interference fit or flex press fit connection to a slightly smaller than normal plated through hole in a printed circuit board. .

2A and 2B show a modification of the terminal of FIG. 1. FIG. The connector 30 of FIGS. 2A and 2B has a solder tail 61 and a latch portion 6 at location 33.
It has two bent parts. Bends 36 are provided to facilitate access to tools for isolating the terminals from the carrier strip (see FIGS. 5 and 4).

3 shows a carrier strip 35 carrying terminals as shown in FIG. 1 [7], and FIG. 84 shows a carrier strip 36 carrying terminals as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. There is. With the straight latch portion 14 of the terminal of FIG. 1, there is limited space for inserting a tool to isolate the terminal from the carrier strip 35. It is clear that these latches need to be as long as possible in order to properly latch the housing parts. The terminal of FIGS. 2A and 2B, which has a bent latch portion 32 at 33, provides easy access for such tools, yet allows for relatively low Vci latches.

FIG. 2C shows a second A in which the radius of the bottom 370 of the conductor slot is increased so that the diameter is larger than the gap between the slots.
2A and 2B are variations of the terminals of FIGS. This slot design was especially made for stress distribution calculations when it is necessary to terminate a large range of wires with the same IDC terminal or when an insulation material with greater toughness than PVC, e.g. Teflon, is used. It is something.

Although the terminal shown in FIG. 2 is the preferred type of terminal, the embodiment of FIG. 1 is illustrated for purposes of illustration in the remainder of this specification.

Latch engagement surfaces 15 and 16 are adapted to engage the materials of two corresponding housing portions forming the connector assembly. Such housing portions are typically constructed of plastic material, although other suitable materials could be used. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate two latching mechanisms. In Figure 5,
The housing portion 40 is formed with a blind hole 41 which is engaged by one end of the latch portion 14 of the terminal. The blind hole 41 is formed by the material of the housing portion 40 being connected to the latch retaining surface 15.
is dimensioned to be engaged by a barb formed at the location where it mates with the diagonal surface 43 of the latch portion. The barbed portions 42 securely engage the material of the housing portion 40 to secure the terminal to the housing portion 40.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative latching mechanism in which the latching portion 14' has a latching surface 15' that engages the step 44 of the recess 45 in the housing portion 46. A disadvantage of the latching mechanism of Figure 6 is that it typically requires an open recess during molding of the conventional part, and results in some exposure of the terminal to the atmosphere, which deteriorates the electrical contact resistance over time. That's true. The single hole of FIG. 5 is advantageous in this respect.

Figures 7A, 7B and 7C are flat cables 5
2 shows a preferred configuration of two rows of terminals connected to 0. The housing portion of the connector assembly has been omitted from FIG. 7 for clarity of illustration. Two rows of terminals 1c 2.
The conductors of the cable 50 are connected to a flat cable 50 arranged with a pitch of 54 wa (''/, o inch), and the conductor of the cable 50 is
．． 27 m ('/20 in) apart. 7th
As can be seen from Figure A, the terminals in rows 51 and 52 are staggered and the terminals in the two rows are arranged such that the latching portions of the terminals in a particular row are located on the side of the terminal portions farthest from the other rows. It is reversed. It will be appreciated that other terminal spacings or arrangements may be used.

FIG. 8 shows the connection of FIG. 7 (19) to a flat cable 50
) shows a side view of two terminals arranged in two rows 51 and 52, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 9, a set of terminals is incorporated into a lower housing portion or terminal block 60 of plastic material. For illustrative purposes, one terminal is shown prior to insertion into the appropriate block 61 of terminal block 60. Portions of the terminal block 60 are cut away to illustrate the lower barbs of one terminal's latch portion 14 that engage the material of the terminal block; It engages a blind hole 62 extending from a recessed portion. When the terminal is fully inserted into the recess 61 associated with it, the latch portion 1
The lower barbs of 4 are pushed into the material defining the mating d-holes 62 to secure the terminal in the desired position within the terminal block 60. At the same time, the latch part support 21 is supported by the corresponding wall of the recess 61.

The terminal block 60 has posts 63 at four corners. Each post 63 engages a corresponding flat member 64 of the upper housing portion or through block 65. Terminal block 60 has at each of its ends a locating stud 66 having a partially cylindrical profile.

The studs 66 engage respective recesses 67 of the through block 65 at their lowest positions.

Additionally, the terminal block 60 has four cams 68;
ing. Two cams 68 at each end are connected to the through block 6
5 engages with a corresponding latch 69 formed integrally with 5.

Penetration block 65 is preferably formed of a plastic material and latch 69 and cam 68 engage with a snap action.

The lower surface of the penetration block 65 is provided with a partially cylindrical groove 70 to match the contour of the flat cable to be inserted.
is formed to assist in retaining the flat cable to the mating connector. Groove 70
The relationship between the cable and the flat cable can be clearly understood from FIG. Two channels 71 are formed at the end of the penetrating block 65.

Channel 71 is aligned with channel 72 of stud 66. A cable clamp arm 73 is provided. Cable clamp arm 76 has arms 74 and 75 connected to legs 77 and 78. These legs 77 and 78 can be received within channels 71 and 72. In the final assembled connector, the flat cable 50 is fed between the cable clamp arm 73 and the penetration block 65 to reduce the chance of any external forces caused by the flat cable 50 being pushed into the terminals. let

In FIG. 9, the channel 72 is shown fully threaded with the stud 66, while in FIG.
Channel 72 is shown extending part way to the base of stud 66. In the apparatus of FIG. 9, arms 74 and 75 of cable clamp arm 76 clamp around the bottom of terminal block 60, while in the apparatus of FIG. 10 stud 66 is provided with a hole (not shown). , these holes are trapped to receive arms 74 and 75.

When the feedthrough block 65 and terminal block 60 are brought together from the position shown in FIG. , stud 66 engages recess 67 . During this process, the terminal latch portion 14 of each terminal is passed through a particular web 76 (FIG. 8) of the flat cable 50 and then plunged into a recess 80 (FIG. 9) in the penetration block 65. Although the recesses 80 in the preferred embodiment are single holes, these recesses 80 can be modified as shown in FIG.

The final assembly step is to bend the flat cable 50 around the feed-through block 65 and fit the cable clamp 75.

An advantage of the embodiment of FIG. 10 in which arms 74 and 75 of cable clamp 73 engage holes in stud 66 is that cable clamp 76 is made of metal and is compatible with any circuitry on a printed circuit board that may be placed below terminal block 60. After that, no contact should be made. The printed circuit board is not shown in FIG.

In addition, the terminal block 60 includes a plastic protrusion 81 to prevent such electrical contact between the metal cable clamp 75 and adjacent circuitry on the printed circuit board.

Connector assemblies are required to accommodate the various flat cable sizes commonly obtained by different conductor sizes combined with the flat cable's respective insulation thicknesses. In each case, the terminal block 60
and the through block 65 are required to be fixed together. In the above description, two blocks 60.65
Securing is accomplished by terminal latch portions at the individual terminal locations, one by engaging the cam 68 of the thread block 650 and the latch 69 of the terminal block 60.

FIG. 12 shows how to obtain the final configuration of the connector assembly with different cable diameters. Latch 69 and cam 68 are configured such that latch 69 engages cam 68 when the maximum diameter cable is used in the final assembled state of the connector (left side of FIG. 12A).

However, if a minimum size cable is used, latch 69 will extend beyond cam 68 and therefore latch 69 and cam 68 will not engage. The engagement of stud 66 and recess 67 restricts the terminal position of the conductor in the combined terminal slot 14 for the smallest size cables. For maximum and minimum size cables, individual latching portions of each terminal can ensure fixation at all terminal positions of the connector assembly.

An advantage of the above embodiments of the terminal is that the terminal secures the feedthrough block and the terminal block of each terminal together in the connector assembly. This circle ensures that local isolation of the connector block is prevented. This isolation provides long-term reliable contact between the terminal and the associated conductor. However, the fixation provided by each terminal section is such that any concomitant movement of the latching section due to external forces acting on the cable will result in no side effects or contact due to the established connection between the cable and the forked section of the connector terminal. It is unrelated to the terminal part so as not to cause any movement of the parts.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1A and 1B are two diagrams showing the terminals;
Figure A and Figure 2B are diagrams showing variations of the terminal in Figure 1;
2C shows another variant of the terminal; FIG. 3 shows a carrier strip carrying the terminal according to FIG. 1;
4 shows a carrier strip carrying the terminals shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 5 shows a detail of the first latching device (plow), and FIG. 6 shows a detail of the second latching device (plow). 7B and 7C are respectively plan, end and side views of the configuration of the terminal connected to the flat cable section, and FIG. 1 or 2, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing one set of terminals of a connector assembly, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a terminal part of a terminal of a connector assembly in detail. Figure 11 shows a flat cable being press-fitted, Figure 11 shows a flat cable connected to a connector assembly, and Figure 12 shows a flat cable connected to a connector assembly.
Figures A and g12B are views showing how the connector assembly is adapted to cables of different diameters, and Figure 12A is a cross-sectional view of Figure 12B taken along A-A#J. . 10... Main body part, 11... Terminal part, 12.13
...Bifurcated part, 14.14'...Latch part, 15
．． 15', 16...Latch retaining surface, 17...Slot, 20...Shoulder part, 21...Support, 22...
Solder tail, 31... Solder tail, 32... Latch portion, 35, 36... Carrier strip, 40.
... Nousing part, 41 ... 1 hole, 42 ... Thorn-like part, 45 ... Recessed part, 46 ... Housing part, 50 ... Cable, 60 ... Terminal block, 61
... recess, 62 ... blind hole, 66 ... post, 65
... Penetration block, 66... Stud, 67...
recess, 68... cam, 69... latch, 70...
Groove, 75...Cable clamp arm, 74.75
...Arm, 77.78...Leg, 80...Four parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) having a main body portion and a terminal portion extending from the main body portion, the terminal portion having a conductor gripping slot between the ends for air-conducting the connection between the neutralization terminal in use and the conductor; a pair of substantially parallel bifurcated portions for restraining the terminal, and a latch extending from the body portion independently from the terminal portion for holding together portions of the housing for the terminal during use. An insulating material displacement connector terminal having a portion. 2) The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the latch portion exerts a holding force in a direction parallel to the direction in which the forked portion extends during use. The terminal according to claim 1 or 2. 4) The terminal according to claim 3, wherein the plane of the latch portion is perpendicular to the plane in which the forked portion extends. 5) The latch portion comprises a pair of latches adapted to hold the two parts of the housing together. Terminals listed in . 6) The terminal of claim 5, wherein the latch portion includes a pair of spaced apart, mutually opposing latch surfaces extending beyond adjacent portions of the latch portion. 7) It has an end with a y-c, and the latch surface where the ends with each taper are combined together with the latching surface and the sharp 4h meisha Δ1 ishi geikagan also have a characteristic of the Kanrei book 1. Claim 6
Terminals listed in section. 8) A terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it has a flat terminal portion. 9) Terminal according to claim 8, characterized in that the flat terminal portion has a substantially tulip-shaped outer shape. 10) The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the open end of the conductor gripping slot is tapered outward. 11) Terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the conductor gripping slot is formed to widen at its base. 12) The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it includes a connector portion. 16) The terminal of claim 12, wherein the connector portion is a solder tail. 14) The terminal of claim 13, wherein said solder tail is buttoned for press-fit connection to a hole in a printed circuit board. 15) The terminal of claim 12, wherein said connector portion is a collar connector adapted to engage a male connector element. 16) The terminal of claim 12, wherein the connector portion is an edge card connector adapted to engage contact blades of a printed circuit board. 17) The terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that it is punched out in one piece from a sheet material to form a hole. 18) A pair of housing parts according to any one of claims 1 to 17, and a plurality of terminals, each housing part having a plurality of terminals for mutually holding the housing part. A connector assembly comprising an engagement device capable of engaging a latch portion of a terminal. 19) The connector assembly according to claim 18, comprising a plurality of terminals according to any one of claims 1 to 17. 20) A connector assembly as claimed in any one of claims 18 or 19, characterized in that the retention device of each housing portion has a latch retention surface. 21) the latch retaining surface is formed by a blind hole in the housing portion dimensioned such that the mating portion of the latch portion penetrates and grips the material of the housing portion defining the hole; A connector assembly according to claim 20. 22) The latch retaining surface includes a stepped recess in the housing portion.
The connector assembly according to item 0. 23) Connector assembly according to any one of claims 18 to 22, characterized in that the two housing parts are provided with positioning devices for engaging each other. 24) Claims characterized in that the positioning device comprises a post and a flat member engageable with the post! 24. Connector assembly according to clause 23. 25) The connector assembly of claim 24, wherein said post is located at a corner of said housing portion. 26) A connector assembly as claimed in claim 24 or claim 25, characterized in that all the posts are provided in one housing part of each set. 27) Connector assembly according to any one of claims 18 to 26, characterized in that the two housing parts have a retaining device which allows them to be secured to each other. 28) Claim 2, characterized in that the retaining device comprises a snap-fitting latch on the housing part.
7. Connector assembly according to clause 7. 29) A cable clamping device is provided for clamping the cable to the connector assembly outside the housing part.
The connector assembly according to any one of the preceding paragraphs.