CA1203592A - Socket contact for an electrical connector - Google Patents
Socket contact for an electrical connectorInfo
- Publication number
- CA1203592A CA1203592A CA000454359A CA454359A CA1203592A CA 1203592 A CA1203592 A CA 1203592A CA 000454359 A CA000454359 A CA 000454359A CA 454359 A CA454359 A CA 454359A CA 1203592 A CA1203592 A CA 1203592A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- contact
- passage
- fingers
- socket
- pin
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
- H01R13/40—Securing contact members in or to a base or case; Insulating of contact members
- H01R13/42—Securing in a demountable manner
- H01R13/428—Securing in a demountable manner by resilient locking means on the contact members; by locking means on resilient contact members
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
- H01R13/02—Contact members
- H01R13/10—Sockets for co-operation with pins or blades
- H01R13/11—Resilient sockets
- H01R13/111—Resilient sockets co-operating with pins having a circular transverse section
Landscapes
- Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)
- Coupling Device And Connection With Printed Circuit (AREA)
Abstract
Abstract:
A SOCKET CONTACT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
A socket type contact (20) that eliminates the need for a hood to locate the contact concentrically within the passage (11) of a connector insert (10). One half of the deflectable fingers (22,24,26 and 28) of the mating portion of the socket contact (20) extend radially outward further than the remaining fingers (21, 23, 25, 27) to engage the wall of a passage (11) in the insert (10), thereby concentrically locating the socket contact within the insert (10). The remaining fingers (21,23,25 and 27) are the mating fingers and are adapted to engage a pin type contact upon mating.
A SOCKET CONTACT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
A socket type contact (20) that eliminates the need for a hood to locate the contact concentrically within the passage (11) of a connector insert (10). One half of the deflectable fingers (22,24,26 and 28) of the mating portion of the socket contact (20) extend radially outward further than the remaining fingers (21, 23, 25, 27) to engage the wall of a passage (11) in the insert (10), thereby concentrically locating the socket contact within the insert (10). The remaining fingers (21,23,25 and 27) are the mating fingers and are adapted to engage a pin type contact upon mating.
Description
3S~;~
A SOCKET CONTACT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to a socket type electrical contact mounted within the electrical connector.
Electrical connectors generally include a plug and 5 receptacle, each having an insert of dielectric material provided with a plurali~y of axial passages within which electrical contacts are retained. The contacts are generally pin and socket type contacts that may be removable to facilitate servicing of the connector.
10 Examples of such prior art electrical connectors may be found in U.S. patent 3,221,292 entitled "Electrical Connector" and issued November 30, 1965. An example of a socket type contact may be found in U.S. patent 3,845,459 entitled "Dielectric Sleeve for Electrically and Mechani 15 cally Protecting Exposed Female Contacts of an Electrical Connector" and issued October 29, 1974. The socket type contact may be machined from a solid piece of metal or stamped and formed from a thin flat piece of metal such as beryllium copper. The forward mating end of the 20 socket contact includes a plurality of radially and resiliently deflectable fingers which are adapted to engage a pin type contact upon mating with the other half of an electrical connector assembly. In many instances an outer sleeve or hood is located around the deflectable fingers to protect them from damage as well as to provide a rigid member that will locate the fingers concentri-cally within the passage in the connector insert. If the fingers are not concentrically located within the insert passage damage to the fingers may eventually result 30 during the mating of the socket type contact with a pin type contactO For example, if the fingers of the socket contact are not concentric with the axial passage in the 3~
~2~35~Z
insert they will not axially align with a pin type contact upon mating, causing some of the fingers to be subjected to more stress and pressure than other fingers. Accordingly, many prior art socket type contacts include an outer hood or sleeve to protect the mating fingers of the socket contact and to locate the socket contact concentrically within an axial passage of the connector insert.
Disclosure of the Invention The invention is used in combination with an electrical connector assembly of the type having a dielectric insert that includes an axial passage and a socket type electrical contact mounted in the insert passage. The socket contact comprises a tubular body having a forward mating portion with a plurality of axially extending resiliently and radially deflectable fingers annularly arranged adjacent to each other. The invention relates to the improvement wherein there are an even number of fingers with every other finger extending radially outward further than the remaining fingers and engaging the wall of the passage in the insert to locate the socket contact concentrically within the insert passage, the remaining fingers adapted to contact a pin contact upon entry of the pin contact into the forward mating portion of the socket contact.
Thus, this invention eliminates the need for an outer hood or sleeve around the mating portion of a socket contact. This invention is especially useful in connectors with socket contacts having a diameter of about .6 centimeters.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of this invention to eliminate the need for an outer hood or a sleeve around the mating portion of a socket contact.
It is another advantage of this invention to reduce the cost of making a socket contact.
Another advantage of this invention is that electrical contact between a socket and pin contact is established as early as possible upon mating of a connector assembly and hence maintained for a maximum distance during mating and unmating of the connector assembly.
kh/~
~2~;~S~2 Detailed Description of the Invention FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional diagram with a socket contact.
5FIGURE 2 illustrates an end view of the mating por-tion of the socket contact shown in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of a socket con-tact mounted within a connector insert.
Referring now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 illustrates 10 an electrical socket type contact 20 having at the mating end thereof a plurality of resiliently and radially deflectable spring fingers 23, 24, 25 and 26. The electrical contact is generally machined from a piece of beryllium copper or stamped and formed from a thin sheet 15 of metal.
FIGURE 2 is an end view of the mating end of the socket contacts and illustrates that one half of the spring fingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 extend radially inwardly further than the remaining fingers 22, 24, 26 and 28. It 20 is the function of the fingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 that extend further inwardly to engage an electrical pin type contact (not shown) upon mating with such a contact.
Preferably, there are eight fingers so that there wi]l be four outer fingers 22, 24, 26 and 28 to locate 25 and maintain the socket contact in a concentric relationship with the axial passage in the insert 10.
FIGURE 3 is a cutaway view of the socket contact 20 located within an axial passage 11 within a connector insert 10. It is the function of every other finger 30 24,26 to engage the wall of the passage 11 to locate the socket contact 20 concentrically within the axial passage 11 o the insert. The remaining fingers 23 and 25 do not contact the wall of the axial passage 11 in the insert 10 but extend further inwardly to mate with a pin type con-~2~35~:
tact (not shown). Since the only function of the inwardfingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 is mating, the taper of these fingers may be such that the forward most portion of each finger 23, 25 and 27 is also the furthest inward portion.
5 This permits the ends of the fingers to be closer to the end of the passage 11 in the connector insert 10 than would be the case where the contact required a protective hood around the fingers. This is because such a hood includes a rolled forward portion for guiding a pin 10 between the fingers which consequently results in spacing the ends of the finger back from the end of the passage to allow room for the rolled end portion of the hood.
While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in 15 the art that changes may be made to the invention as set forth in the appended Claims, and in some instances, certain features of the invention may be used without to advantage without corresponding use of other features.
For instance, although a socket type contact has been 20 dlsclosed for use within a pin and socket type electrical connector assembly the socket type contact disclosed may also be used in coaxial type electrical connector wherein there is a need to concentrically locate the socket por-tion of the coaxial connector. Accordingly, it is 25 intended that the illustrative and descriptive materials herein be used to illustrate the principles of this invention and not to limit the scope thereof.
A SOCKET CONTACT FOR AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR
This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to a socket type electrical contact mounted within the electrical connector.
Electrical connectors generally include a plug and 5 receptacle, each having an insert of dielectric material provided with a plurali~y of axial passages within which electrical contacts are retained. The contacts are generally pin and socket type contacts that may be removable to facilitate servicing of the connector.
10 Examples of such prior art electrical connectors may be found in U.S. patent 3,221,292 entitled "Electrical Connector" and issued November 30, 1965. An example of a socket type contact may be found in U.S. patent 3,845,459 entitled "Dielectric Sleeve for Electrically and Mechani 15 cally Protecting Exposed Female Contacts of an Electrical Connector" and issued October 29, 1974. The socket type contact may be machined from a solid piece of metal or stamped and formed from a thin flat piece of metal such as beryllium copper. The forward mating end of the 20 socket contact includes a plurality of radially and resiliently deflectable fingers which are adapted to engage a pin type contact upon mating with the other half of an electrical connector assembly. In many instances an outer sleeve or hood is located around the deflectable fingers to protect them from damage as well as to provide a rigid member that will locate the fingers concentri-cally within the passage in the connector insert. If the fingers are not concentrically located within the insert passage damage to the fingers may eventually result 30 during the mating of the socket type contact with a pin type contactO For example, if the fingers of the socket contact are not concentric with the axial passage in the 3~
~2~35~Z
insert they will not axially align with a pin type contact upon mating, causing some of the fingers to be subjected to more stress and pressure than other fingers. Accordingly, many prior art socket type contacts include an outer hood or sleeve to protect the mating fingers of the socket contact and to locate the socket contact concentrically within an axial passage of the connector insert.
Disclosure of the Invention The invention is used in combination with an electrical connector assembly of the type having a dielectric insert that includes an axial passage and a socket type electrical contact mounted in the insert passage. The socket contact comprises a tubular body having a forward mating portion with a plurality of axially extending resiliently and radially deflectable fingers annularly arranged adjacent to each other. The invention relates to the improvement wherein there are an even number of fingers with every other finger extending radially outward further than the remaining fingers and engaging the wall of the passage in the insert to locate the socket contact concentrically within the insert passage, the remaining fingers adapted to contact a pin contact upon entry of the pin contact into the forward mating portion of the socket contact.
Thus, this invention eliminates the need for an outer hood or sleeve around the mating portion of a socket contact. This invention is especially useful in connectors with socket contacts having a diameter of about .6 centimeters.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of this invention to eliminate the need for an outer hood or a sleeve around the mating portion of a socket contact.
It is another advantage of this invention to reduce the cost of making a socket contact.
Another advantage of this invention is that electrical contact between a socket and pin contact is established as early as possible upon mating of a connector assembly and hence maintained for a maximum distance during mating and unmating of the connector assembly.
kh/~
~2~;~S~2 Detailed Description of the Invention FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional diagram with a socket contact.
5FIGURE 2 illustrates an end view of the mating por-tion of the socket contact shown in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of a socket con-tact mounted within a connector insert.
Referring now to the drawings, FIGURE 1 illustrates 10 an electrical socket type contact 20 having at the mating end thereof a plurality of resiliently and radially deflectable spring fingers 23, 24, 25 and 26. The electrical contact is generally machined from a piece of beryllium copper or stamped and formed from a thin sheet 15 of metal.
FIGURE 2 is an end view of the mating end of the socket contacts and illustrates that one half of the spring fingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 extend radially inwardly further than the remaining fingers 22, 24, 26 and 28. It 20 is the function of the fingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 that extend further inwardly to engage an electrical pin type contact (not shown) upon mating with such a contact.
Preferably, there are eight fingers so that there wi]l be four outer fingers 22, 24, 26 and 28 to locate 25 and maintain the socket contact in a concentric relationship with the axial passage in the insert 10.
FIGURE 3 is a cutaway view of the socket contact 20 located within an axial passage 11 within a connector insert 10. It is the function of every other finger 30 24,26 to engage the wall of the passage 11 to locate the socket contact 20 concentrically within the axial passage 11 o the insert. The remaining fingers 23 and 25 do not contact the wall of the axial passage 11 in the insert 10 but extend further inwardly to mate with a pin type con-~2~35~:
tact (not shown). Since the only function of the inwardfingers 21, 23, 25 and 27 is mating, the taper of these fingers may be such that the forward most portion of each finger 23, 25 and 27 is also the furthest inward portion.
5 This permits the ends of the fingers to be closer to the end of the passage 11 in the connector insert 10 than would be the case where the contact required a protective hood around the fingers. This is because such a hood includes a rolled forward portion for guiding a pin 10 between the fingers which consequently results in spacing the ends of the finger back from the end of the passage to allow room for the rolled end portion of the hood.
While a preferred embodiment of this invention has been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in 15 the art that changes may be made to the invention as set forth in the appended Claims, and in some instances, certain features of the invention may be used without to advantage without corresponding use of other features.
For instance, although a socket type contact has been 20 dlsclosed for use within a pin and socket type electrical connector assembly the socket type contact disclosed may also be used in coaxial type electrical connector wherein there is a need to concentrically locate the socket por-tion of the coaxial connector. Accordingly, it is 25 intended that the illustrative and descriptive materials herein be used to illustrate the principles of this invention and not to limit the scope thereof.
Claims (4)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. In combination with an electrical connector assembly of the type having a dielectric insert that includes an axial passage and a socket type electrical contact mounted in the insert passage, said socket contact comprised of a tubular body having a forward mating portion comprised of a plurality of axially extending resiliently and radially deflectable fingers annularly arranged adjacent to each other, the improvement wherein:
there are an even number of fingers with every other finger extending radially outward further than the remaining fingers and engaging the wall of the passage in said insert to locate the socket contact concentrically within the insert passage, the remaining fingers adapted to contact a pin contact upon entry of the pin contact into the forward mating portion of the socket contact.
there are an even number of fingers with every other finger extending radially outward further than the remaining fingers and engaging the wall of the passage in said insert to locate the socket contact concentrically within the insert passage, the remaining fingers adapted to contact a pin contact upon entry of the pin contact into the forward mating portion of the socket contact.
2. In combination with an electrical connector assembly of the type including a dielectric insert having a cylindrical passage and means for mounting a contact in the passage, and a cylindrical socket contact mounted in the passage, said socket contact comprising a cylindrical body having a medial portion, and a forward portion including a plurality of axially extending resiliently and radially deflectable fingers annularly arranged adjacent to each other, said forward portion comprising an even number of fingers terminating in free ends which are disposed in a common plane which is generally perpendicular to the passage axis with the free end of every other finger extending radially outward further than the free end of the remaining fingers and en-gaging the wall of the passage to locate the socket contact within the passge, the remaining fingers being adapted to contact a pin contact upon entry of the pin contact into the forward portion of the socket contact and deflect radially outward towards said other fingers, the improvement wherein:
each said other finger extends coaxially from said medial portion, has its free end disengaged from contact with the pin contact upon said remaining fingers mating with the pin, and has its entire outer peripheral surface extending coaxially to form a continuous uninterrupted simi-cylindrical surface which is in substantial engagement with the interior passage wall whereby to concentrically locate the pin engaging fingers of the socket contact in the passage.
each said other finger extends coaxially from said medial portion, has its free end disengaged from contact with the pin contact upon said remaining fingers mating with the pin, and has its entire outer peripheral surface extending coaxially to form a continuous uninterrupted simi-cylindrical surface which is in substantial engagement with the interior passage wall whereby to concentrically locate the pin engaging fingers of the socket contact in the passage.
3. In an electrical connector of the type comprising a dielectric insert having a cylindrical passage, a generally cylindrical socket contact including a medial portion for concentrically locating the contact in the passage and a forward portion disposed in the passage for mating, and a pin contact mated with the forward portion, said forward portion being comprised of a plurality of fingers which extend axially, are arranged annularly, and terminate in free ends that are disposed in a common plane, the improvement wherein said plurality of fingers have their free ends spaced axially from said medial portion with some of said fingers having their free ends extending radially inward further than the free ends from the remaining fingers and in contact with the pin contact, and said remaining fingers extending co-axially from the medial portion and having their free ends disengaged from the pin contact whereby to locate the socket contact concentrically within the passage, the remaining fingers having their outer surface defined by a continuous, uninterrupted semi-cylindrical surface defined by a diameter substantially the same as that defining the passage so as to cause each said outer surface to be in substantial abutment along the passage, the some of said fingers having their free ends adapted to deflect radially inward upon removal of the pin contact from the socket contact.
4. In an electrical connector assembly of the type comprising a dielectric insert including a passage de-fining an interior cylindrical wall therethrough, a socket (Claim 4 continued....) contact mounted in said passage for mating with a pin contact inserted therein, said socket contact including a cylindrical body having a plurality of spring fingers extending axially forward and radially inward from an end face of said body for engaging the pin, and means spaced rearwardly from said end face for axially positioning said socket contact in said passage, the improvement wherein the socket contact is characterized by a plurality of spring members each extending coaxially forward from said end face as a continuous un-interrupted semi-cylinder with substantially the outer periphery of each engaging the cylindrical passage wall circumjacent thereto whereby to concentrically locate the forward end portion of said socket contact in said passage, each said spring member and each said spring finger termin-ating in a free end, said free ends being generally disposed in a plane perpendicular to that of the passage axis.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US49969383A | 1983-05-31 | 1983-05-31 | |
| US499,693 | 1983-05-31 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1203592A true CA1203592A (en) | 1986-04-22 |
Family
ID=23986300
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000454359A Expired CA1203592A (en) | 1983-05-31 | 1984-05-15 | Socket contact for an electrical connector |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0127538A3 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS59228379A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1203592A (en) |
| IL (1) | IL71814A0 (en) |
Families Citing this family (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE3835996C1 (en) * | 1988-10-21 | 1990-04-19 | Georg Dr.-Ing. 8152 Feldkirchen-Westerham De Spinner | |
| US5498179A (en) * | 1994-05-04 | 1996-03-12 | Woodhead Industries, Inc. | Electrical connector |
| JP2014230360A (en) * | 2013-05-21 | 2014-12-08 | 東芝三菱電機産業システム株式会社 | Uninterruptible power supply and status display device of the same |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3221292A (en) * | 1961-10-18 | 1965-11-30 | Bendix Corp | Electrical connector |
| US3212052A (en) * | 1962-08-06 | 1965-10-12 | United Carr Inc | Electrical connector |
| US3327282A (en) * | 1964-06-15 | 1967-06-20 | Amphenol Corp | Electrical connectors |
-
1984
- 1984-05-11 IL IL71814A patent/IL71814A0/en unknown
- 1984-05-15 CA CA000454359A patent/CA1203592A/en not_active Expired
- 1984-05-23 EP EP84401061A patent/EP0127538A3/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1984-05-23 JP JP59102768A patent/JPS59228379A/en active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0127538A3 (en) | 1985-10-30 |
| IL71814A0 (en) | 1984-09-30 |
| EP0127538A2 (en) | 1984-12-05 |
| JPS59228379A (en) | 1984-12-21 |
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US4377320A (en) | Coaxial connector | |
| EP0001701B1 (en) | Electrical connector for terminating coaxial cable | |
| EP0326447B1 (en) | Socket contact for an electrical connector | |
| EP0626104B1 (en) | Power port terminal | |
| US4374606A (en) | Dielectric plug for a coaxial connector | |
| WO1985004766A1 (en) | Cylindrical socket contact capable of exerting a high contact force and which requires a low mating force | |
| EP0105810A3 (en) | An electrical connector having an anti-decoupling device | |
| GB2077523A (en) | Electrical connector | |
| US5135417A (en) | Dual usage electrical/electronic pin terminal system | |
| EP0236716A2 (en) | Circumferential shielding and grounding ring or an electrical connector | |
| GB2077053A (en) | Contact assembly incorporating retaining means | |
| WO1986006883A1 (en) | Wire seal | |
| EP0431206B1 (en) | Grounding shield connector and method | |
| EP0092471B1 (en) | Socket contact for an electrical connector | |
| US4483579A (en) | Electrical connector having improved coupling ring | |
| GB2032710A (en) | Electrical connector assembly | |
| CA1203592A (en) | Socket contact for an electrical connector | |
| EP0025368B1 (en) | Electric socket contact | |
| CA1136725A (en) | One piece socket and pin type electrical contacts | |
| CA1156322A (en) | Kit of parts for a coaxial connector assembly | |
| US6129563A (en) | Bulkhead-mountable coaxial connector | |
| US4973272A (en) | Electrical connector with contactors | |
| EP0027065B1 (en) | Method of manufacturing an electrical contact | |
| EP0123096A1 (en) | Two piece electrical socket contact assembly | |
| US5181863A (en) | Emi shielding backshell system |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |