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US 8,007,319 B2Granted
Electrical connector contacts retained by releasable first and second inserts held by releasable first and second shells
AssigneeCarlisle Interconnect Technologies, Inc.
InventorPhong Dang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In accordance with one aspect, a connector includes contacts meeting MIL-C-39029/57 or MIL-C-39029/58 without requiring a retaining clip to hold such contacts in place and without embedding such contacts in a plastic housing. The contacts are attached to electrical power or data conductors and loaded into apertures in a rear and front insert. The rear and front insert are held together by a rear and front shell so the contacts remain secure in the apertures. In accordance with another aspect, a latching mechanism provides a robust, reliable mechanism for securing a socket portion of a connector to a plug portion of a connector.
Claims24
A multi-component electrical connector, comprising:
- a rear insert having an interior longitudinally bounded by front and rear surfaces, the rear insert including multiple first contact-receiving apertures through which mutually parallel, spaced-apart first central axes extend and which pass through the interior and the front and rear surfaces, the first contact-receiving apertures being sized to receive, by insertion from the front surface, first ends of elongate contacts characterized by a lengthwise nonuniform cross-sectional area and being configured in complementary relation to the nonuniform cross-sectional area to prevent the inserted elongate contacts from passing completely through the first contact-receiving apertures;
- a front insert having an interior longitudinally bounded by front and rear surfaces and positioned relative to the rear insert so that the rear surface of the front insert and the front surface of the rear insert are adjacent to each other, the front insert including multiple second contact-receiving apertures through which mutually parallel, spaced-apart second central axes extend and which pass through the interior and the front and rear surfaces, the second contact-receiving apertures sized to receive, by insertion from the rear surface of the front insert, second ends of the elongate contacts and configured in complementary relation to the nonuniform cross-sectional area to prevent the inserted elongate contacts from passing completely through the second contact-receiving apertures, wherein the first and second central axes of corresponding ones of the first and second contact-receiving apertures are aligned to hold an associated one of the elongate contacts;
- front and rear tubular shells releasably securable to each other to, when secured together, contain and prevent separation of the rear and front inserts;
- and
- shell alignment features operatively coupling at least one of the rear and front inserts with at least one of the front and rear tubular shells to establish alignment of the rear and front inserts with respect to the front and rear tubular shells.
2 more elements
An electrical connector comprising:
- a rear insert having (1) a rear surface, (2) a front surface, (3) a first portion of a first alignment feature, (4) a first portion of a second alignment feature located on an exterior wall between the front and rear surfaces, and (5) a first contact aperture extending between the rear surface and the front surface, wherein the first contact aperture is sized to receive a portion of a contact loaded into the first contact aperture from the front surface side and wherein the first contact aperture is sized to prevent the contact from passing completely through the first contact aperture;
- a front insert having (1) a rear surface substantially contacting the front surface of the rear insert, (2) a front surface facing away from the rear insert, (3) a second contact aperture extending between the rear surface and the front surface, wherein the second contact aperture is sized to receive a portion of the contact loaded into the second contact aperture from the rear surface side and wherein the second contact aperture is sized to prevent the entire contact from passing completely through the second contact aperture, and (4) a second portion of the first alignment feature engaging the first portion of the first alignment feature to align the first contact aperture with the second contact aperture;
- a front shell sized to receive the rear insert and the front insert, the front shell having (1) a lip engaging the front insert to prevent the front insert from passing through the front shell, and (2) a second portion of the second alignment feature engaging the first portion of the second alignment feature to place the first and second contact apertures in a known position with respect to the front shell;
- and
- a rear shell releasably secured to the front shell to hold the rear insert and the front insert together.
2 more elements
A method of assembling an electrical connector comprising:
- passing a data or power conveying feature through an opening in a rear shell;
- passing a power or data carrier through a first contact aperture in a rear insert;
- crimping a contact onto the carrier;
- loading the contact into the first contact aperture from a front side of the rear insert;
- loading the contact into a second contact aperture in a front insert through a rear side of the front insert;
- fitting a first portion of a first alignment feature located on the front side of the rear insert into a second portion of the first alignment feature located on the rear side of the front insert to form an insert assembly;
- placing the insert assembly into a front shell;
- engaging a first portion of a second alignment feature located on the rear insert with a second portion of the second alignment feature located on the front shell to place the contact in a known position with respect to the front shell;
- and
- releasably securing a rear shell to the front shell to hold the rear insert and the front insert substantially in contact with each other.
7 more elements
An electrical connector comprising:
- a contact;
- a releasable first and second insert means for retaining the contact;
- and
- a releasable first and second shell means for retaining the first and second insert means.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.