Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Patent
1988-04-06
1989-05-16
Pirlot, David
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
439417, 439717, H01R 424
Patent
active
048306258
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an electrical conector of the type in which a conductor can be terminated by forcible insertion transversely of its axis along a conductor receiving slot of a contact member mounted in a cavity in an insulating housing body adjacent one end and retained in the slot by engagement with a cover member movable into latching engagement with the housing body to engage the conductor thereby to retain the conductor in the slot.
In connectors of this type, the cover member is provided with latching projections engageable in eyes formed in the housing body adjacent a cover member receiving end to latch the cover member to the housing body.
Such connectors have become increasingly widely used, particularly in the automotive and domestic appliance industries as they are well adapted for assembly by automated, mass production, techniques and yet ensure a very reliable, insulated, electrical connection to the conductor for use in adverse environments subject to vibration.
In some applications it is necessary for the conductor to be retained bent through a right angle to extend in the direction of the slot axis as it exits from a first side of the housing body, as described in French Patent No. 8000301. In that prior proposal, the cover member is formed with a conductor receiving channel formed with inwardly directed projections which secure the exiting portion of conductor in the channel thereby retaining the conductor in bent condition.
However, disadvantages of using the cover to retain the conductor in bent condition are that the considerable stress imposed on the cover, which is a relatively small plastic part, increases the distortion of the cover with risk of unlatching from the housing body or reduction in the force retaining the conductor in the slot, reducing the electrical reliability.
In addition, it is desirable to latch releasably adjacent connector bodies together to form a strip of connectors which can be fed automatically to conductor terminating apparatus and, preferably, stored on reels.
One proposal for releasably latching the adjacent connector bodies together to form a strip is described in German Utility Model No. G8529292.3 where interengageable hook-form latches are provided on the opposite side walls of the connector bodies at locations remote from the cover member receiving ends of the connector bodies. However, such latches must be specifically designed to interengage with a degree of play sufficient to enable reeling of the connector strip about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the axis of the contact slots and housing cavities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the housing body is formed with a pair of latching arms with inwardly directed projections at their ends, which arms extend in mutually opposed, spaced, relation transversely of the cavity axis, from the first side of the housing body at the cover member receiving end and are receivable in the respective eyes of an adjacent housing body releasably to latch the housing bodies together, prior to termination of a conductor therein, and define between them a conductor receiving channel with the projections securing an exiting portion of a conductor in the channel bent through a right angle to extent in the direction of the slot axis, after the conductor has been terminated in the contact slot by the movement of the cover member into latching engagement with the housing body.
As a result of the conductor being secured in bent condition by the latching arms on the housing body, a larger radius of curvature at the bent can be accommodated and relatively little or no stress is imposed on the cover, obviating the risk of distortion, dislodgement, and consequential deterioration of the electrical connector. In addition, the requirement for separate connector latching arms and conductor securing members is avoided, reducing the complexity of moulding. As the latching arms are located at the cover member receiving end of the connector body, a slight degree of flex
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patent: 4317608 (1982-03-01), Dechelette
patent: 4634209 (1987-01-01), Forberg et al.
patent: 4753606 (1988-06-01), DeLuca et al.
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AMP Incorporated
Noll William B.
Pirlot David
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