Electrical connectors – With circuit conductors and safety grounding provision – Grounding of coupling part
Reexamination Certificate
2003-08-27
2004-09-28
Zarroli, Michael C. (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
With circuit conductors and safety grounding provision
Grounding of coupling part
C439S676000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06796812
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of electrical connectors and in particular the field of multipole electrical connectors. It relates more specifically to an electrical connector comprising a male contact block and a female contact block, each block being mounted in a metal guide comprising at least a portion of a cylinder.
Electrical connectors of the aforementioned type are known (see, for example, the applicant company's general catalog issued in 1997). Each metal guide consist of a proximal part of cylindrical shape and of a distal part representing a portion of the cylinder, for example a semi-cylinder, the two distal parts of each block complementing each other so as to form a cylinder when the connector is connected.
The guides as described above facilitate the guidance and positioning of the male block with respect to the female block; this is particularly important in the case of multipole connectors where it is absolutely essential for each male pole to be fixed in the corresponding female pole specific to it.
The guides also act as protective elements protecting the contacts.
It is often desirable to provide a ground contact between the male and female parts of the connector. With connectors of the prior art as described above, the ground contact via the metal guides cannot be achieved because the clearance needed for them to have correct mechanical operation dictates a certain distance between the edges of the guides. This problem is particularly pronounced when the casing of the connector is made of plastic and the ground potential cannot therefore be carried by other parts.
International patent application WO 00/25390 filed by the applicant company describes a connector with a metal guide comprising at least one elastic contact element on its distal part.
Although that device makes ground connection via the metal guides possible, this type of device is relatively complicated and tricky to produce, this in particular resulting in fairly high manufacturing costs.
The present invention offers an advantageous alternative to the device described in application WO 00/25390.
It relates to an electrical connector comprising a male contact block and a female contact block, each block being mounted in a metal guide consisting of a proximal part of cylindrical shape and of a distal part representing a portion of the cylinder, the two distal parts complementing each other so as to form a cylinder when the connector is connected, said electrical connector being characterized in that the proximal or distal part of one of the guides comprises a protrusion which fits into a recess made in the distal or proximal part of the other guide.
The mechanical contact between the protrusion and the recess ensures ground contact between the two guides.
It is important to point out that mechanical contact at this point may be termed “intimate” as opposed to the mechanical contact there is between the other edges of the guides which, as was seen earlier, needs to leave clearance for correct mechanical operation of the guides.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the width of the protrusion is appreciably greater than that of the recess so as to make the ground contact more effective.
According to another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the protrusion has a slot arranged along the axis of the connector. The protrusion is then made up of two tabs each of which offers a degree of elasticity greater than that of an unslotted protrusion. With such a configuration, the mechanical behavior and electromechanical durability of the system in particular are enhanced.
For the same purpose, according to another embodiment of the invention, the guide which contains the recess comprises at least two slots arranged one on each side of the recess and in the same direction as the latter.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the connector comprises several protrusions and corresponding recesses.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5823824 (1998-10-01), Mitamura et al.
patent: 5857867 (1999-01-01), Henry
patent: 29 09 616 (1980-09-01), None
patent: 000459026 (1990-12-01), None
patent: 000477855 (1992-01-01), None
patent: 586 049 (1925-03-01), None
patent: 10-27641 (1998-01-01), None
patent: WO 00/25390 (2000-05-01), None
Fischer Connectors Holding S.A.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Zarroli Michael C.
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