Direct insertion shorting clip

Details Direct insertion shorting clip Direct insertion shorting clip

2000-02-23

2001-11-13

Patel, Tulsidas (Department: 2839)

Electrical connectors

Having circuit interrupting provision effected by mating or...

C200S051100

Reexamination Certificate

active

06315588

ABSTRACT:

TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more specifically, to electrical connectors equipped with a shorting clip which automatically shunts terminals in the electrical connector when the electrical connector is disconnected from a mating electrical connector.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Two way electrical female connectors which have a shorting clip housed in a plug connector body are known in the art. A typical two-way shorting clip is a bent wire which has a generally U-shaped body. The shorting clip is typically mounted in a slot above a pair of laterally spaced terminal cavities. The bent wire shorting clip includes two depending legs at the respective ends of the U-shaped body. These depending legs engage the sides of the respective female terminals which are disposed in the terminal cavities of the plug connector body.
A typical male electrical connector has a socket connector body which includes a converging slot at its mating end. The depending legs of the shorting clip are squeezed together and disengaged from the sides of the female terminals by the converging slot when the female connector is plugged into the male connector. The plug connector body of the female connector is also equipped with an external lock arm which secures the female connector to the mating male connector.
Another example of a two way electrical connector is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,203 granted to Margrave, et al Mar. 6, 1990. The Margrave shorting clip is U-shaped but made of sheet metal.
In both cases, the terminals are installed before the shorting clip because of the force required to move the shorting clip once it is installed. Moreover, special tools and processes are required to install the shorting clip into the connector body because the shorting clip must be compressed laterally in order to be inserted into the connector body. Furthermore, special tools are generally required to remove terminals from connectors having shorting clips.
While the two-way electrical connectors discussed above are suitable for many applications, it is desirous to eliminate the need for special tooling and processes to install the shorting clip into the connector body. It is also desirous to be able to install the shorting clip either before or after installing the terminals. It is also desirous to provide an electrical connector that does not require special tools and processes to remove the shorting clip.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector comprising a plug connector body having a pair of laterally disposed terminal cavities, each of which houses a metal terminal. A shorting clip cavity is disposed within the plug connector body in communication with the pair of terminal cavities. A unitary metal shorting clip is disposed within the shorting clip cavity to shunt a pair of terminals. The shorting clip has a single, generally V-shaped cantilevered spring arm.
A feature of the present invention is that the single spring arm of the shorting clip allows for a smaller connector profile.
Another feature of the present invention is that the spring arm has pair of lock notches which cooperate with a pair of lock tabs disposed within the connector body in order to retain the shorting clip.
Another feature of the present invention is a support shelf which extends horizontally within the shorting clip cavity that provides a narrow channel to receive the shorting clip. The support shelf also includes a shorting clip rest to position the shorting clip. The shorting clip rest reduces the stress that may be applied to the shorting clip during connection. Furthermore, the support shelf allows the terminals to be inserted into the plug connector body of the present invention before or after the shorting clip has been inserted.
Another feature of the present invention is a tool relief disposed within the V-shaped spring arm of the shorting clip to allow for the removal of the terminals without special tooling.
Another feature of the present invention is that the free spring arm is movable along a generally vertical path whereby every pair of terminals on an outer row of a harness connector may be shorted. The spring arm is movable in a generally vertical path by engaging a cam disposed within a socket connector body.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, setting forth the best mode of the invention contemplated by the inventors and illustrated by the accompanying sheets of drawings.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4906203 (1990-03-01), Margrave et al.
patent: 4978311 (1990-12-01), Oda et al.
patent: 5466168 (1995-11-01), Liebich et al.
patent: 5509817 (1996-04-01), Tsuji
patent: 5791922 (1998-08-01), Takata et al.
patent: 5944547 (1999-08-01), Golab et al.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Direct insertion shorting clip does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Direct insertion shorting clip, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Direct insertion shorting clip will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2616628