Claims
- 1. In an electrical connector insert for removably receiving an elongated electrical contact of the type having a retention section defining forward and rearward facing shoulders, said insert having an axial passage therethrough from a front face to a rear face to removably receive a resilient contact retention clip, said contact being removably secured within the passage by means of the resilient clip being received within said passage, said clip being longitudinally split to permit diametrical reduction and including resilient means to engage the rearward facing shoulder of the contact, the improvement wherein said insert comprises a dielectric body which has integrally formed therewith:
- retention means disposed at opposite ends of said passage for retaining the retention clip within the insert, said retention means including a first vertical wall adjacent to said rear face for engaging one end of the clip and a second vertical wall adjacent to said front face for engaging the other end of the clip and the forward facing shoulder of said contact, said first vertical wall including at least two angularly spaced vertical wall portions;
- constriction means extending radially inward into the passage for reducing the retention clip diameter, said constriction means including each said first vertical wall comprising a pair of flat surfaces which intersect with each other to form a concave V-shaped constriction, the flat surfaces forming the V-shaped constriction being coaxial with the passage and adapted to engage and bear against the outer clip wall to reduce the diameter of the clip;
- support means adjacent to said front face for supporting a forward mating section of the contact; and
- means defining an opening in one of said vertical walls for receiving a release tool to diametrically reduce the clip diameter and thereby permit removal of the clip through the constriction, said opening being defined by said angularly spaced vertical wall portions.
- 2. In an electrical connector insert for receiving a plurality of elongated electrical contacts, each contact having an enlarged section defining two shoulders that face in opposite directions, said contacts being removably secured by means of a resilient clip mounted within said insert, said insert being comprised of dielectric material and defining a plurality of passages therethrough from a front face to a rear face, each passage being adapted to receive and axially retain a resilient contact retention clip, each of said retention clips being longitudinally slit to permit diametrical reduction and having a a resilient portion tapering radially inwardly to form means for engaging one of said contact shoulders, the improvement wherein said insert is integrally molded and has formed therewith:
- a pair of angularly separated shoulder housings extending inwardly into the passage from the rear face, each shoulder housing forming a first vertical wall in the passage for engaging one end of the clip to prevent unwanted movement of the clip and a concave surface for engaging the outer wall of the clip to reduce the clip diameter, said concave surface being coaxial with the passage wall; and
- an abutment extending inwardly into the passage from the front face, said abutment forming a second vertical wall for engaging the other end of the clip, said second vertical wall being axially spaced from the first vertical wall of said shoulder housings to define therebetween a cavity within which the resilient clip is removably retained, said second vertical wall including a bore and a pair of half-mooned openings extending therethrough, the concave surface forming a passage constriction which engages the outer wall of the clip, said bore being coaxial with and forming a continuation of the passage and said half-mooned openings being disposed adjacent to the bore and in register with the first vertical walls of said pair of shoulder housings, said bore being adapted to receive a mating end of the contact, thereby reducing clip diameter for allowing clip insertability into and/or removability from the cavity.
- 3. The electrical connector insert as recited in claim 2 wherein said bore includes a stepped portion extending from the front face of the insert to a position spaced from the second vertical wall.
- 4. In an electrical connector apparatus for removably receiving an electrical contact of the type including a retention section defining a pair of oppositely facing shoulders, said apparatus comprising an insulative body having a front face, a rear face, and a passage extending between the faces and a C-shaped contact retention clip disposed within said passage for retaining the contact within the insert, said clip being longitudinally slit between each of its ends so as to permit diametrical reduction and including resilient means for engaging one of the contact shoulders, the improvement characterized by said insulative body being one-piece and having integrally formed therewith retention means defining a cavity for retaining the retention clip in the passage and constriction means defining a passage constriction communicating with the cavity for reducing the clip diameter, said retention means extending into the passage from each face of said insert and comprising a shoulder housing defining a first vertical wall adjacent to said rear face and a support shoulder defining a second vertical wall adjacent to said front face, the first and second vertical walls defining a cavity between the insert faces for axially positioning and retaining the clip, said constriction means including said shoulder housing having a concave surface coaxial to the passage axis and extending between said rear face and said first vertical wall, said concave surface being disposed radially inward of the passage wall and adapted to engage the clip wall to reduce the clip diameter whereby the clip may enter or leave the cavity, said shoulder housing forming a half-mooned sector by the concave surface extending laterally and radially to intersections with the passage wall, said insert comprising a pair of half-mooned sectors with each of said sectors being angularly separated to define an entryway for receiving a tool for reducing the clip diameter whereby the clip may be rearwardly removed from the cavity, said second vertical wall includes a pair of half-mooned openings which communicate through the shoulder housing and with the cavity, each half-mooned opening being in register and substantially coextensive with one respective half-mooned sectors, said half-mooned openings defining a second entryway for receiving a tool for reducing the clip diameter, whereby the clip may be rearwardly removed from the cavity.
- 5. The apparatus as recited in claim 4 further comprising means communicating with the cavity for receiving a tool to reduce the clip diameter for removal therefrom, said receiving means comprising one of said vertical walls including an opening therethrough.
- 6. In an electrical connector insert for removably receiving an elongated electrical contact of the type having a retention section defining forward and rearward facing shoulders, said insert having an axial passage therethrough from a front face to a rear face to removably receive a resilient contact retention clip, said contact being removably secured within the passage by means of the resilient clip being received within said passage, said clip being longitudinally split to permit diametrical reduction and including resilient means to engage the rearward facing shoulder of the contact, the improvement wherein said insert comprises a dielectric body which has integrally formed therewith;
- retention means disposed at opposite ends of said passage for retaining the retention clip within the insert, said retention means including a first vertical wall adjacent to said rear face for engaging one end of the clip and a second vertical wall adjacent to said front face for engaging the other end of the clip and the forward facing shoulder of said contact, said first vertical wall including at least two angularly spaced vertical wall portions;
- constriction means extending axially inwardly into the passage from said rear face for reducing the retention clip diameter;
- support means adjacent to said front face for supporting a forward mating section of the contact, said support means including said second vertical wall including a bore coaxial with the passage and extending therethrough; and
- means defining an opening in one of said vertical walls for receiving a release tool to diametrically reduce the clip diameter and thereby permit removal of the clip through the constriction, said receiving means including said second vertical wall including a pair of half-mooned openings disposed about the bore and extending therethrough, said half-moon openings in said second vertical wall being in register with and substantially the same size as the angularly spaced vertical wall portions defining said first vertical wall.
- 7. An electrical connector insert device which may be used in plug and/or receptacle connector shells, said electrical connector insert comprising:
- a body of insulating material having a passageway extending from a front face to a rear face and including radially inwardly formed stop means between said end faces;
- a one-piece metallic sleeve located within said passageway and having radially inward extending resilient means cooperating with said stop means for positioning an electrical contact within said sleeve and body of insulating material, the sleeve having a slot extending longitudinally from end to end to allow diametrical reduction of said sleeve; and
- said stop means comprising a pair of angularly spaced, vertically rising, half-mooned abutment walls extending radially inward into the passage, the vertical walls being adapted to abut the other end of the sleeve for retaining the sleeve within the passageway and the half-mooned surfaces being adapted to diametrically reduce the sleeve so as to allow it to be compressed and fit within the passageway.
- 8. An electrical connector comprising:
- an insulator having a plurality of passages extending therethrough from a front face to a rear face thereof;
- a contact retention clip having a longitudinally extending seam extending from a front end to a rear end thereof to thereby allow the clip to diametrically reduce, said clip having a radially deflectable retention finger extending inwardly into the passage;
- a contact in at least one of said passages, said contact having formed thereon a shoulder adapted to be engaged by said finger, the improvement characterized by:
- means defining forward and rearward vertical walls for captivating the clip in the passage;
- means defining a constricted opening in one of said walls for reducing the clip diameter to thereby allow the clip to be inserted or removed from the passage, said reducing means comprising a concave surface extending radially inward relative to the opening; and
- means communicating with the passage from either vertical wall for receiving a tool to reduce the clip diameter for removal through said one vertical wall.
- 9. The electrical connector as recited in claim 8 wherein said reducing means comprises a pair of concave surfaces extending radially inward relative to said opening with each concave surface being angularly separated one from the other.
- 10. The electrical connector as recited in claim 8 wherein said means for receiving a tool comprises a pair of half-mooned openings which extend axially through said other vertical wall, the curved portion of each half moon forming a coaxial continuation of said passage whereby a tool inserted axially therein reduces the clip diameter for removal through said one vertical wall.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 92,132, filed Nov. 7, 1979, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (19)
Foreign Referenced Citations (10)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2816472 |
Oct 1978 |
DEX |
1451545 |
Jul 1966 |
FRX |
2200645 |
Apr 1979 |
FRX |
1000854 |
Aug 1965 |
GBX |
1030091 |
May 1966 |
GBX |
1209719 |
Oct 1970 |
GBX |
1281009 |
Jul 1972 |
GBX |
1339436 |
Dec 1973 |
GBX |
1371916 |
Oct 1974 |
GBX |
1358312 |
Jul 1979 |
GBX |
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Product Engineering; vol. 42, No. 14, Sep. 1971, p. 53; Electrical Multiple Connector Combines 62 Parts Into One. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
92132 |
Nov 1979 |
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