Electrical connectors
AssigneeW Industries Limited
InventorsJohn M. Pierini, Christopher Weaver
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A connector especially useful as a power connector in electronic equipment has a housing adapted to receive any of several different types of contacts. One type of contact has a generally plainer, rectangular contact frame with integrally formed cantilever beams adapted to engage a mating contact and with integrally formed termination elements adapted to seat in vias of a circuit board. The connector provides a layer of resistance, cool-running reliable power connection which can be manufactured in a wide variety of styles at low cost. Male contacts having protruding contact beams also have contact frames which can be engaged in the housing.
Claims35
An electrical connector comprising:
- (a) a housing having an entry face and a plurality of apertures open to the entry face, each said aperture having a central plane;
- (b) a plurality of female contacts positioned within at least some of said apertures so that each said contact is associated with one of the apertures, each said female contact including a contact body secured to the housing and one or more flexible cantilever beams having proximal ends connected to the contact body and distal ends remote from the contact body, said one or more female contacts associated with at least one said aperture being early-make contacts with cantilever beams having distal ends adjacent the entry face and proximal ends remote from the entry face, said one or more contacts associated with at least one other said aperture being late-make contacts with cantilever beams having distal ends remote from the entry face and proximal ends adjacent the entry face.
An electrical connector comprising:
- (a) a housing having an entry face and a plurality of apertures open to the entry face, each aperture having a central plane and a pair of slots remote from the central plane;
- (b) one or more male contacts positioned within the apertures so that each said contact is associated with one of the apertures, each said male contact including a pair of generally planar contact bodies positioned in the slots of the associated aperture and a contact beam projecting from said contact bodies, the contact beam of each said male contact having a proximal end connected to the contact bodies of such male contact and a distal end projecting out of the aperture associated with such male contact beyond the entry face of the housing.
A contact for an electrical connector comprising a planar polygonal metallic frame including a plurality of frame members defining and at least partially surrounding an opening;
- one or more metallic cantilever beams integral with said frame projecting from one of said frame members partially across said opening, each said cantilever beam having a proximal end at said one of said frame members and a distal end remote from said one of said frame members, said cantilever beams projecting out of the plane of said frame;
- and
- one or more termination elements formed integrally with said frame and projecting generally in the plane of said frame and outwardly away from said opening, said termination elements projecting from an edge of one of said frame members remote from said opening.
A male contact for an electrical connector comprising an integral, unitary element including a pair of generally planar contact bodies spaced apart from one another and parallel one another so that said contact bodies define a central plane therebetween, and an elongated beam element projecting from each said contact body, said beam elements having distal ends remote from said contact bodies, said beam elements joining one another at said distal ends so that said beam elements cooperatively form a composite beam, said unitary element including a plurality of termination elements projecting from edges of said contact bodies remote from said beam elements, each said contact body having a bottom edge, said termination elements projecting downwardly from said bottom edges of said contact bodies, said composite beam projecting horizontally from said contact bodies so that said composite beam extends generally parallel to said bottom edge.
A male contact for an electrical connector comprising an integral, unitary element including a pair of generally planar contact bodies spaced apart from one another and parallel one another so that said contact bodies define a central plane therebetween, and an elongated beam element projecting from each said contact body, said beam elements having distal ends remote from said contact bodies, said beam elements joining one another at said distal ends so that said beam elements cooperatively form a composite beam, said unitary element including a plurality of termination elements projecting from edges of said contact bodies remote from said beam elements, said beam elements being disposed closer to said central plane than said contact bodies, said unitary element includes sections extending inwardly, toward the central plane, from said contact bodies to said beam elements so that said contact bodies are connected to said beam elements by said inwardly-extending sections.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.