US2685074A - Electrical connector - Google Patents

Description

Filed Dec. 30, 1953 Ill/l/I/l/ll INVENTOR gI/IZO L azz 67 B ATTOR A" .Hn e10 Patented July 27, 1954 ELECTRICAL CONN E CTOR Angelo Gino Lazzery, Oaklyn,

N. J., assignor to Aircraft-Marine Products, Inc., Harrisburg, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 30, 1953, Serial No. 401,227

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improvement in electrical connectors. One object thereof ha been to provide a connector which, when employed to connect two wires end to end, for example, fully insulates terminals attached to the ends thereof and the contact member through which they are electrically joined.

A further object of the invention has been to provide a fully insulated contact which is securely retained in a relatively unyielding insulating sleeve against endwise displacement when terminals are moved into and out of connecting engagement therewith.

A further object has been to provide a connector which affords fully effective insulation for the contact piece and for the terminals joined thereto and which permits said terminals to be quickly and easily connected to and disconnected from said contact.

A connector according to my invention includes 1 an insulating sleeve of tough rugged relatively unyielding plastic and a contact having a terminal engaging portion at each end and retaining clips between said ends which extend outwardly in opposite directions and closely engage opposed inner surface portions of said sleeve to retain the contact securely therein.

Other objects and important features of the invention to which reference has not been made hereinabove, will appear in the following description and claims.

Although in the accompanying drawings I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and have described the same and various modifications thereof in thi specification, it is to be understood that these are not intended to be either exhaustive or limiting of the invention, but, on the contrary, are chosen for the purposes of illustrating the invention in order that others skilled in the art may so fully understand the invention, its principles and the application thereof, that they may embody it and adapt it in numerous forms, each as may be best suited to the requirements of its particular use.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in perspective of a connector embodying the present invention and including an insulating sleeve shown with a portion thereof broken away to disclose a contact positioned therein to engage and connect the terminals of two wires when said terminals are inserted through the ends of said sleeve;

Figure 2 is a view in perspective of the contact shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation on enlarged scale,

of the connector mounted in an insulating sleeve as seen in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view with portions removed showing a. terminal engaged with one end of a contact and both enclosed within an insulating seleve.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure l, a contact member is mounted in an open end tube or seamless sleeve ID of suitably nonyielding insulating material. For use under con ditions where temperatures up to 160 Fahr. are likely to be encountered, a preferred material for this purpose is a polyvinyl chloride product which, when employed for purposes of the present invention, has the characteristic of resisting distortion at temperatures up to 160 Fahr. Materials which are otherwise acceptable and having lower distortion points, i. e. which are easily distortable at lower temperatures, may also be used under conditions involving correspondingly lower maximum temperatures. It is advantageous in all cases to employ an insulating substance which under all conditions is tough and durable.

A contact piece comprising terminal engaging end portions H and i2 is provided with sleeve engaging clip 13 and H. which, as shown in Figure 3, extend in opposite directions from the lateral edges of the contact and bear snugly against opposed inner surface portions of sleeve it. Thus said contact is held securely in position in said sleeve with its terminal engaging parts substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the sleeve and readily accessible to receive terminals mounted on wires to be electrically connected. For example, terminal 15, as shown, is one of various types adapted to this purpose and, in use, is effectively engaged with the contact end H by inserting its free end through the end opening it of sleeve It and then sliding the clip portion of said terminal into embracing engagement with said contact end i I. A dimple deformation H in saidcontact end engages with an oppositely directed deformation It in terminal it to releasably retain said parts by friction in operative connected relation.

Referring again to Figure 3, the clips l3 and M are also shown in dotted lines which represent their respective initial position when the contact is inserted through an open end of sleeve Hi and moved to an approximately mid-portion thereof. The contact piece is fixed or permanently positioned in said portion of sleeve H by displacing the free ends of said clips I3 and i4 outwardly from their initial dotted line positions and pressing them firmly against inner surface portions of the sleeve iii to their full line positions. A simple and effective expedient for this purpose involves the use of tapered spreaders, not shown. Thus, where the spreader ends are inserted through the open ends of sleeve in and under the free ends of clips [3' and I4 (dotted position, Figure 3), said clip ends are displaced outwardly as the spreaders are pushed longitudinally into the sleeve.

The insulated contact above described is advantageously employed to releasably connect conductors, as the wires l9 and 29, through the terminals l5 and 2| when the latter are engaged with the contact ends H and [2 respectively. This is effected, as in the case of terminal 15, for example, by inserting the free end thereof through the adjacent open end of sleeve l0 and pushing said terminal and said contact toward each other to the relative positions shown in Figure 4. For effective operation, the dimensions of these parts are such that the terminal 15 slides freely through the sleeve openinginto engagement with the con-.

The connector parts above described provide an eifective and easily operated disconnect, or readily releasable connection, wherein all the metal parts are fully insulated by sleeve H] which also tends to prevent accidental disconnection.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the connectors, terminals and connecting elements describedabove are well suited to attain the ends g and objects herein directly and indirectly set forth and that they can be manufactured easily by conventional fabrication techniques, and that the various features and arrangements of parts can be modified readily so as best to suit a particular use. Certain features of the disclosure may be used to advantage in particular applications without a corresponding use of other features, and the elimination or modification of such features is to be construed as within the scope of this invention unless specifically excluded by the following claims or required by the scope of the prior art;

I claim:

1. Electrical connector comprising an insulating-sleeve-open at both ends and a contact comprising a terminal engaging portion provided at one longitudinal-iedge with a clip having its free end overlying and spaced from one face of said portion and at the opposite longitudinal edge with a clip having its free end overlying'and spaced from theother face of said portion, said portion being positioned coaxially in saidinsulating-sleeve and said-clips being in .frictional=.en-

gagement. with opposite interior surfaces thereof to hold the contact securelyin operative position therein withthe opposite. end portions of the.

sleeve extending beyond thacorrespondingerids of said contact. I I a 2.- Electrical connector according to claim 1 and wherein the terminal engaging portion is a normally flat piece of sheet'metal having dimple deformations in those portions of its flat surfaces lying between said clips and the ends of' 'said con tact.

No references cited.

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