Flexing poke home contact
AssigneeAVX Corporation
InventorNorman C. Huntley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical contact for use in connecting electrical wires is disclosed. The electrical contact includes a cage-like structure, a wire connecting portion, and a flexing contact portion. The cage-like structure includes a plurality of sidewalls and is configured to receive a wire. The wire connecting contact portion includes at least two contact tines that are configured to conductively couple with a corresponding wire. The flexing contact portion includes an end wall, an elastic portion, an extension portion, and a nose portion. The flexing contact portion can store elastic energy and apply a force to a corresponding electrical component.
Claims19
An electrical contact comprising:
- a cage-like structure comprising a plurality of sidewalls, the plurality of sidewalls defining a wire inlet at a proximal end of the electrical contact;
- a wire connecting portion coupled to the cage-like structure, the wire connecting portion comprising:
- a first contact tine extending from a first sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls;
- a second contact tine extending from a second sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, wherein a pinch-point is created between the first contact tine and the second contact tine;
- and
- a flexing contact portion coupled to the wire connecting portion, the flexing contact portion comprising:
- an end wall at a distal end of the electrical contact;
- an elastic portion that extends from the end wall toward the proximal end;
- and
- an extension portion that extends from the elastic portion.
A system comprising:
- an electrical contact comprising:
- a cage-like structure comprising a plurality of sidewalls, the plurality of sidewalls defining a wire inlet at a proximal end of the electrical contact;
- a wire connecting portion comprising:
- a first contact tine extending from a first sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls;
- a second contact tine extending from a second sidewall of the plurality of sidewalls, wherein a pinch-point is created between the first contact tine and the second contact tine;
- and
- a flexing contact portion comprising:
- an end wall at a distal end of the electrical contact;
- an elastic portion that extends from the end wall toward the proximal end;
- and
- an extension portion that extends from the flexing portion;
- a printed circuit board connected to the electrical contact, wherein at least one sidewall is mounted to the board;
- and
- an electrical component comprising a contact pad, wherein the flexing contact portion is conductively coupled to the contact pad.
A method comprising:
- inserting a wire into a wire inlet opening at a proximal end of an electrical contact, wherein the electrical contact further comprises a flexing contact portion at a distal end opposite the proximal end;
- extending a conductive core of the wire into a wire connecting portion of the electrical contact such that the conductive core of the wire is compressed between a first contact tine and a second contact tine of the electrical contact;
- mounting the electrical contact on a printed circuit board;
- and
- positioning the electrical contact adjacent a contact pad of an electrical component such that the flexing contact portion is conductively coupled to the contact pad and the contact pad is conductively coupled to the conductive core of the wire, wherein positioning the electrical contact comprises decreasing a distance between the printed circuit board and the electrical component to compress the flexing contact portion of the electrical contact.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.