Multipolar electrical connector with spring contacts

Abstract

A multipolar electrical connector with spring contacts has, for each conductor to be joined to the connector, a first substantially cylindrical aperture adapted to receive the conductor and a second aperture, parallel to the first aperture, adapted to receive an actuator pin which, sliding in the second aperture, according to its position acts on a spring contact of the connector to lock the conductor to the connector or to release it from the connector. When the conductor is blocked in the connector by the spring contact, the actuator pin is inserted completely into the connector.

Description

The invention will now be described with reference to purely exemplifying (and therefore non limiting) embodiments thereof, illustrated in the appended figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a perspective view of a multipolar connector, produced according to the invention, ready for the wiring of a plurality of conductors;

FIG. 2 shows diagrammatically the multipolar connector of FIG. 1 with the actuator pins completely inserted into the connector;

FIG. 3 shows diagrammatically the multipolar connector of FIG. 1 sectioned along the plane III-III to show an element of said multipolar connector ready for the wiring of a pair of conductors;

FIG. 4 shows diagrammatically the element of FIG. 3 with a pair of conductors inserted in said element;

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically the element of FIG. 4 with a pair of conductors locked in said element;

FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically two perspective views of an actuator pin;

FIGS. 7 and 8 show diagrammatically, in perspective, two portions of the multipolar electrical connector of FIGS. 1 and 2, sectioned along two planes at right angles;

FIGS. 9 and 10 show diagrammatically two steps of the procedure for releasing a conductor from the element of FIG. 5.

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A multipolar electrical connector with spring contacts which has, for each conductor to be joined to the connector, a first aperture adapted to receive the conductor and a second aperture, parallel to the first aperture, adapted to receive an actuator pin which, by sliding in the second aperture according to its position, acts on a spring contact of the connector to lock the conductor to the connector or to release the conductor from the connector, wherein, when the conductor is locked in the connector by the spring contact, the corresponding actuator pin is inserted completely into the connector.

11. A connector as in claim 10, wherein the second aperture is adjacent one of the side walls of the connector.

12. A connector as in claim 10, wherein each first aperture is situated inside the connector with respect to each second aperture.

13. A connector as in claim 10, wherein the actuator pin is prism-shaped, such that at one end thereof, at least one portion is adapted to open the spring contact and a seat, adjacent the portion, adapted to make the spring contact return to rest, and wherein, at the end of the actuator pin, opposite where the portion and the seat are situated, a seat is adapted to receive a tool.

14. A connector as in claim 13, wherein a bottom edge of the seat slopes downward.

15. A connector as in claim 10, wherein each second aperture is connected to the outside by a window situated in an upper part of side walls of the connector.

16. A connector as in claim 13, wherein the conductor is released from the connector by inserting the tool, through the window, into the seat of the actuator pin and by levering with the tool on the bottom edge of the window to raise the actuator pin and to release the conductor from the spring contact.

17. A connector as in claim 10, further comprising means adapted to retain the actuator pin in the second aperture of the connector.

18. A connector as in claim 17, wherein said retaining means comprises a first pair of ridges present on side walls of an upper part of the second aperture and a second pair of ridges present on side walls of a bottom part of the actuator pin, said first and second pair of ridges engaging with each other to retain the actuator pin in the second aperture.