Geometrical instruments
Patent
1983-02-07
1985-12-24
Mcglynn, Joseph H.
Geometrical instruments
339 17F, 339176MF, H01R 424, H01R 1120, H01R 13502
Patent
active
045602263
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to electrical connectors, especially subminiature multi-pin/socket connectors. Known connectors of this type have complementary plug members and socket members, the plug members being formed with pins and the socket members with individual sockets to receive the pins. Where it is not desired to distinguish between pins and sockets these are referred to as contactors. Each contactor normally forms part of an integral contactor unit including a contactor portion, which may be a pin or a socket, and a termination, which is adapted to make contact with an electrical lead, commonly an individual conductor of a ribbon cable.
Known multi-pin/socket connector members comprise an elongate housing and at least two rows of contactor units mounted in the housing, each contactor unit including a contactor portion extending from a front face of the housing and a termination extending from a rear face of the housing. The contactor units and terminations are normally, each collectively, arranged in staggered formation, to facilitate connection to a ribbon cable which extends at right angles to the length dimension of the connector member.
In a common form of connector member the terminations are constituted by flat tabs having a conductor-receiving slot terminating in a notched entrance. This enables a PVC covered conductor to be connected merely by forcing the insulated conductor into the notch, which automatically cuts through the insulation so that the conductor makes contact with each edge of the slot.
In known connectors of the type described, the terminations and contactor portions of each contactor unit are arranged in a line so that in the connector member the pitch of the terminations is equal to the pitch of the contactor units. By "pitch" is meant the distance, as viewed along one side of the connector member, between the individual terminations (or contactor portions) of two parallel rows.
More commonly, connectors of this type have two rows of contactor units, in order to receive one ribbon cable. However, where more than one ribbon cable is used, there may be three or four rows. Thus a very common type of connector member will have thirtyseven contactor units, there being one row of eighteen units and one row of nineteen units.
In connecting a subminiature multi-pin connector member to ribbon cable, a serious problem arises in that different conventions have arisen regarding the pitch of contactor portions as manufactured by connector manufacturers and the pitch between the strands of ribbon cable as manufactured by cable manufacturers. The common convention on the pitch of ribbon cable is 0.050 inches (1.27 mm). This is the distance between the centres of the conductors. In the case of subminiature connectors, the pitch is sometimes given as the distance between pins in a row. In this sense the convention is to use 0.109 inches (2.77 mm), for the pitch. As defined in this specification, the pitch would therefore be 0.0545 inches (1.39 mm).
Although the discrepancy in pitch between the pins and cable appears small, this difference becomes magnified when there are e.g. thirty seven strands of cable to be considered and in practice it means that the cable has to be divided and each strand individually connected. This adds quite considerably to the assembly time of electronic units and also increase the possibility of imperfect connections.
It is known from U.K. Pat. No. 1 506 828 to utilise a contactor unit having a central portion which is bent to a Z form so that the two ends can be axially offset. However this necessitates a contactor unit of undesirable length. Also the length of the contacting portion varies according to position necessitating the manufacture of numerous different sizes.
The present invention is aimed at overcoming the above problems.
According to the invention there is provided a contactor unit for an electrical connector, comprising a contactor portion and a termination, characterised by a torsionally flexible bridge portion interconnecting the contacting p
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Brian F. Whittaker, "A Mass-Termination, Filtered Connector for RS-232-C Circuits", Thirteenth Annual Connector Symposium Proceedings, pp. 197-204, 10/1980.
Bishop Steven C.
McGlynn Joseph H.
Nyhagen Donald R.
TRW Inc.
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