Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Insulation cutter
Patent
1996-10-22
1998-10-13
Paumen, Gary F.
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Insulation cutter
439408, H01R 1340
Patent
active
058204024
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical terminal having an insulation displacement contact portion for electrically engaging an electrical conductor, in particular, to an insulation displacement contact portion to engage multiple in-line conductors.
SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART
There are numerous applications where it is desirable to interconnect multiple conductors to a single contact of an electrical device. One example would be in a clothes washing machine. This machine has a process controller with a signal contact to stop the washing process if one of various conditions occur, for example opening the lid or completion of a washing cycle. In order to interconnect the various signal conductors to a common contact, the contact may be adapted to include a number of various connection points, such as tabs, depending on the number of sensors that may be utilized. Therefore, a manufacturer must maintain a supply of various controllers which are only different in the number of connection points or the manufacture must utilize a single controller with enough connection points to encompass all of the possible variations of their product line. A solution to this inefficiency is to provide a single connection point at the contact and interconnect the multiple signal conductors to an electrical terminal that is constructed to be connectable to the connection point.
In order to reduce time and associated costs in assembly operations, a known electrical terminal used to interconnect insulated conductors, such as a conventional insulated wire, includes an Insulation Displacement Contact (IDC) to engage the insulated conductor without the need to strip the insulation from the end of the conductor. A typical IDC is formed of spaced apart opposing walls that extend upward from a base to form an open slot that includes a cutting portion at the opening of the slot followed, in the direction of insertion of the insulated conductor, by a contact portion. As the insulation coated conductor is inserted into the slot, the cutting portion separates the insulation to expose the conductor and, upon further insertion, the conductive core is engaged by the contact portion. The conductor is physically retained within the slot for electrical engagement with the terminal by the resiliency of the opposing walls.
The vast majority of electrical terminals that incorporate IDC technology engage a single insulated conductor. The electrical terminals that use IDC technology to engage multiple leads typically do so by way of a plurality of IDC slots arranged adjacent to each other where each one receives a single conductor. In essence, the IDC portion of the terminal contains an array, typically a row, of adjacent conventional IDC slots formed upon a common base for a side-by-side arrangement of conductors, where each conductor is located in an adjacent one of the array of IDC slots. This produces a large IDC platform. In order to reduce the size of the IDC portion, it would be desirable to arrange the insulated conductors in a stacked fashion. By stacked fashion, what is meant is that the insulated conductors are arranged one over the other; however, it is important to note that this need not be vertical and orientation terms used herein are for convenience of description and are not meant to be limiting. Unfortunately, as it is the resilience of the opposing walls that retain the conductor in electrical engagement within the slot, tight engagement of a first conductor towards the bottom of the IDC slot of a conventional structure would cause the free ends of the walls to splay. This makes it difficult to assure a tight and lasting engagement with the second conductor that is stacked thereupon. What is needed is an IDC portion that enables reliable engagement of multiple conductors in a stacked manner.
It is an object of this invention to provide an IDC portion for engaging a plurality of conductors.
It is another object of this invention to provide an IDC portion having multiple aligned
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Castello Paolo
Chiacchio Duilio
Nina Driscoll
Paumen Gary F.
Ta Tho D.
The Whitaker Corporation
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