US3065383A

US3065383A - Electrical connecting device

Info

Publication number: US3065383A
Application number: US844084A
Authority: US
Inventors: Guillemot Henri Edouard
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1958-10-27
Filing date: 1959-10-02
Publication date: 1962-11-20
Anticipated expiration: 1979-11-20

Description

Nov. 20, 1962 H. E. GUILLEMOT 3,065,383

ELECTRICAL CONNECTING DEVICE Filed 001;. 2, 1959 7 INVENTOR WMNM l g 7 HENRi E. @ui

. ll W United States Patent Ofifice 3,065,383 Patented Nov. 20, 1962 ELECTRICAL CONNECTING EDEVICE Henri Edouard Guillemot, 1 Rue Claude Matrat, Issy-ies-Moulineaux, France Filed Get. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 844,i84 Claims priority, application France st. 27, 1958 4'.- Clairns. (Ci. 3171i1) Modern electrical and electronic apparatus are more and more frequently sub-divided into different parts, often numerous, known as sub-units, which are connected to each other by electric conductors. As each of these parts must be easily removable, the coupling condoctors must be readily and rapidly detachable, as often as this may be necessary.

At the present time, the connections are generally made by means of plugs and sockets composed of male and female members, to which the coupling conductors from one socket to the other are soldered. These de vices are mechanically complicated, give rise to false contacts at the end of a certain time, and occupy in proportion too large a space in the case of apparatus of small dimensions which are very highly subdivided.

The present invention has for its object a connection device which enables electric connections to be made between conducting contacts belonging to members or subunits of electrical or electronic apparatus while avoiding the drawbacks referred to above. The connection device forming the object of the invention is characterised in that it is constituted by an elastically compressible bed or pad, on one face of which a system of flexible strips of electrically conductive material is applied with the intermediary of an insulating layer. In order to effect the electrical connections between contacts and the circuits formed by the conductive strips referred to above, it is only necessary for the contacts to be applied on suitable points of the said strips, perpendicularly to the surface of the bed, with a pressure which causes slight depressions of the conducting strips, localized at the points of connection, and made possible by the elastic compressibility of the underlying bed.

The conducting strips can be given at the outset a shape which corresponds to the connections which it is necessary to make.

It is however also possible to prepare these strips in the first place in the form of a network comprising a very large number of electric connections, in order to give the device a certain universality of use, the connections which are not required for any particular given case being subsequently cut out by mechanical cuts or perforations which interrupt the conductive strips at the desired points.

Further features of the invention will be brought out in the description which follows below and in the accompanying drawings, which give several forms of embodiment by way of example.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first form of embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second form of embodiment.

FIGS. 3 and 3a are transverse partial sections of a portion of the device.

FIG. 4 is a view in perspective, showing the application of the device to the establishment of electric connections between two sub-units.

FIG. 5 shows the diagram of one of the sub-units of FIG. 4.

The connection device shown in FIG. 1 shows in the first place a bed 1 having a thickness of a few millimetres and made of a natural or artificial elastic material, for example of rubber. It may also be constituted by a sheet of flexible material covering springs uniformly-distributed over its surface. The function of this bed is to react elastically to any compression force which is applied proximately at right angles to it.

On this bed 1 is applied the connection circuit proper, which is formed by thin narrow strips 2 of conductive material, preferably of metal, which are applied to the surface of a strip 3 of flexible insulating material, also thin, which is however wider than the whole of the conductive strips 2. The insulating band 3 can be made of any of the numerous known electrical insulators provided in the form of sheets of small thickness and great flexibility, for example polyvinyl chloride.

The conductive strips 2 may be cut out from sheets of metal or they may be produced by weaving conducting wires in the form of a flat thin plait. If these strips are not directly produced in the desired form, they may be made up of portions connected to each other by welding or stapling. They form a design which is determined according to the application considered of the connection device.

This design may correspond directly to the electric connections to be made in the case of the application considered, as will be seen below in connection with FIG. 4.

The conductive strips may however also be prepared at the outset in the form of a geometrical design which is repeated at equal intervals, as shown at 2a in FIG. 2, with a greater number of electrical connections than is required, so as to give the circuit a certain universality of use. For each application considered, the surplus connections are subsequently eliminated by mechanical cuts or perforations which interrupt them at the required points. In this repetitive geometric form, the conducting circuit can be obtained from a wide metal band, by cutting out on a press following the desired design, with automatic advance of the band. After cutting out, the metallic circuit 2a is also applied on an insulating band 3 having a width greater than that of the metal band before cutting out.

In order to fix the

conductive strips

2 or 2a on the insulating supporting band 3, these conductive strips and the said supporting band may be covered by a second insulating band 4 which is just as thin or even thinner than the band 3 (see FIG. 3). These two bands are then either stuck together or welded together by heating at all the points at which they are in contact without the interposition of the conductive strips. The surface of the conductive strips can subsequently be bared at all the points 5 (see FIG. 3a) at which it is desired to press a contact stud on a conductive strip. The bared points 5 may be produced by removing a small part of the surface of the upper insulating band 4 by means of a hand tool or a machine.

In accordance with a further form of embodiment, the position of the contacts may be provided in advance by using as the covering strip an insulating band perforated at the selected points.

The covering of the

conductive strips

2 or 2a can also be effected, not by the application of a second insulating band 4, but by depositing a solution of insulating material which, after drying, gives a protective film similar to the band 4 referred to above, the baring of the conductive strips at the point 5 being carried out, either as previously described by removal of material at the required points of the film, or by previously protecting the desired points against the application of the solution.

As can be seen from FIGS. 3 and 3a, the light coating of the conductive strips 2 is sufiicient to keep these strips in position, the latter only being subjected, during the use of the device, to forces at right angles to their support (band 3 and bed 1) which tend to apply them against these latter.

The materials employed in the formation of the conductive strips and their insulating coating are so thin that this assembly can, due to its flexibility, be subjected to slight local depressions at the points of application of the contacts between which it 'is desired to establish electric connections, these depressions being made possible by the elastic compressibility of the bed 1.

The means described above for fixing the conductive strips on the supporting band 3 are not limitative. They may be replaced for example by a stapling or a riveting operation, passing through the conductive strip and the insulating support band.

The flat circuit obtained by fixing the

conductive strips

2 or 2a on the insulating support band 3 can be cut to the required length, punched or cut-out as the case may be, in order to eliminate the undesired electric connections in view of the application considered, and then fixed on the elastic bed 1, either finally by welding, sticking, stapling, etc., or in a removable manner by any kind of attachment means, for example by press-studs.

FIG. 4 shows the application of the device to the establishment of the electric connections between two successive sub-units 6.

In the example shown, each of these sub-units is formed by a plate serving as a support for the elements of which it is composed. In the present case, the subunits are passive quadripoles each formed by three resistances 7 and a condenser 8, each of which is provided with two input terminals (contacts 9) and two output terminals (contacts 10).

In the example showntin FIG. 4, the output contacts 10 of the right-hand sub-unit 6. are connected by the conductive strips 2 to the input contacts 9 of the left-hand sub-unit.

The contacts are made when the studs 9 and 10 of the plates 6 are pressed against the conductive strips 2 by a movement of the said plates in their plane, this movement being guided by slides (not shown in the drawings)- located along the lateral edges of the plates.

The connection device which has just been described can, be applied not only on a fiat surface as shown in the drawings, but can equally well follow any curved surface which can be developed.

The invention is not limited to the forms of embodiment which have been described and shown, but includes in its scope all equivalent devices.

Thus, for example, the

conductive strips

2 or 2a may be fixed directly on the bed 1 when the material of which the bed is made has suitable electric insulation properties, at least at its surface.

What I claim is:

1. A connecting device for establishing electrical connections between contact members on components and subunits of electrical and electronic apparatus, said device comprising an elastically compressible bed having a surface layer of flexible insulating material, electricity conductors formed from flat flexible strips of metal and laid on said layer of insulating material so that the flat sides of said strips conform to the shape of said layer of insulating material, said conductors. being laid in parallel paths which extend substantially perpendicular to each other, and a thin layer of flexible insulating material overlying portions of said conductors and bonded to said surface layer of insulating material securing the conductors integrally to said bed, the exposed portions of said con ductors lying in straight lines and forming contact areas for receiving under pressure flat faced contact members disposed along the edge of a component support plate.

2. A connecting device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conductors define a closed network formed by substantially rectangular openings in a flat metal sheet, said 1 conductors being strips of metal surrounding said openings and adapted to be severed at any point to break circuit connections not required for a particular application. 3. in an electric apparatus a connecting device comprising a bed of elastically compressible material having,

an electrical insulating surface, electricity conductors formed from flat flexible strips of metal laid with their flat sides on said surface, and a thin layer of flexible insulating material overlying portions of said conductors and bonded to said surface layer of insulating material to secure the conductors to said bed, portions of said conductors being exposed to form contact areas, in combination with at least one component support plate disposed perpendicular to said bed surface and having a lower edge conforming in shape thereto, contact studs fixed on said lower edge, and electric circuit elements mounted on said; component support plate and connected to said contact studs, said contact studs being engageable with said exposed portions of said conductors by application of slight pressure to said support plate in it own plane and toward said connecting device, whereby to establish satisfactory electrical connections in localized areas corresponding to the areas of said contact studs.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said contact studs have planar faces for engagement with said conductors.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,066,511 Arlt June 5, 1937 2,353,061 Oldenboom July 4, 1944 2,478,274 Johnson Aug. 9, 1949 2,535,674 Franklin Dec. 26, 1950 2,699,424 Nieter Jan. 11, 1955- 2,817,824 Albright Dec. 24, 1957 2,832,013 Pedersen Apr. 22,, 1958 2,876,393 Tally Mar. 3, 1959 2,945,162 Flour July 12, 1960 2,958,064. Swengel Oct. 25, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 215,968 Australia, July 10, 1958 OTHER REFERENCES Article: Cable Connections the Easy Way, Electronic Design, October 15, 1958; pages 24 and 25.