BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form a part of the specification, schematically illustrate one or more exemplary embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 includes both a top view and a side view of a prior art pin contact.
FIG. 2 is a perspective side view of an exemplary embodiment of a pin contact in accordance with the present invention showing the placement of one of the latch features on the body portion of the pin contact.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the pin contact of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a top view of the pin contact of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the pin contact of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a cutaway top view of the latch feature of the pin contact of FIG. 2.
FIG. 7 is a perspective cutaway top view of the pin contact of FIG. 2.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a socket contact in accordance with the present invention showing the placement of the latch features on the body portion of the socket contact.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pin contact of the present invention prior to insertion into one of the contact cavities within the plug housing component of an exemplary connector system.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an extraction tool prior to extracting a pin contact from a contact cavity formed in a plug housing.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional side view of an exemplary embodiment of the pin contact of the present invention inserted into an exemplary embodiment of the socket contact of the present invention, wherein both the pin and the socket have been inserted into either a plug housing or a cap housing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are now described with reference to the Figures. Reference numerals are used throughout the detailed description to refer to the various elements and structures. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form for purposes of simplifying the description. Although the following detailed description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to the following details are within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following embodiments of the invention are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the claimed invention.
The present invention relates to a connector system that includes connector housing components and pin and socket contacts that are mounted within the housing components. A first general embodiment of this invention provides a connector system that includes both pin contacts and socket contacts that each include at least one engaging/retaining latch; a second general embodiment of this invention provides an individual electrical contact that includes at least one engaging/retaining latch; and a third general embodiment of this invention provides a method for effectively extracting an electrical contact from a housing portion of a connector assembly. With reference now to the Figures, one or more specific embodiments of this invention shall be described in greater detail.
With reference now to the Figures, FIG. 1 provides several views of a prior art pin contact that does not include the features of this invention and FIGS. 2-7 provide various views illustrative views of an exemplary MATE-N-LOK pin contact in accordance with the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2-7, pin contact 110 includes socket mating portion 120, a hollow elongated body 124, and wire retaining portion 130. Socket mating portion 120 includes a rounded tip 122, which is adapted to be inserted into a corresponding MATE-N-LOK socket as part of a standard MATE-N-LOK system or similar pin-and-socket mating system. Wire retaining portion 130 is adapted to receive a length of partially stripped wire and includes a wire barrel, a locator slot, and an insulation barrel. The wire barrel includes first and second tabs 132 and 134, the locator slot includes first and second notches 136 and 138, and the insulation barrel includes first and second tabs 140 and 142. In use, tabs 132 and 134 are crimped around the stripped portion of the wire and tabs 140 and 142 are crimped around the insulated portion of the same wire. Pin contact 110 is typically manufactured on a carrier strip with other pin contacts. A portion 144 of this carrier strip is shown the figures.
As best shown in FIGS. 6-7, first and second outwardly biased engaging/retaining latches 150 and 160 are formed on either side of body 124 near tip 122. Latch 150 includes an internally positioned tapered (see FIG. 3) biasing member 152 and an angled engagement member 154 that protrudes from body 124 through aperture 156. Likewise, latch 160 includes an internally positioned tapered biasing member 162 and a multi-angled engagement member 164 that protrudes from body 124 through aperture 166. Tapering biasing members 152 and 162 generally increases the resilience thereof. In the exemplary embodiment, both latches 150 and 160 are formed integrally with and from the same material as body 124, which is typically an electrically conductive metal. Pin contact 110 is usually stamped from a piece of metal and rolled into its final shape. Biasing members 152 and 162, which are generally radially biased, provide a spring-loaded effect to engagement members 154 and 164 respectively, thereby enhancing the ability of engagement members 154 and 164 to engage the interior of a connector housing, i.e., a contact cavity (see below), and an extraction tool, when necessary. Biasing members 152 and 162 are typically formed in body 124 prior to rolling and portions of members 152 and 162 may be sheared to create engagement members 154 and 164.
As shown in FIG. 8, latches 250 and 260 may also be included on socket contact 210. The exemplary embodiment of socket contact 210 shown in FIG. 8 includes the same basic structural features of pin contact 110; however, tip 222 of mating portion 220 includes a socket (rather than a rounded tip) which is adapted to receive a pin contact 110 for establishing an electrical connection therewith (see FIG. 11). Socket contact 210 includes in mating portion 220, a hollow elongated body 224, and wire retaining portion 230. Wire retaining portion 230 is adapted to receive a length of stripped wire and includes a wire barrel, a locator slot, and an insulation barrel. The wire barrel includes first and second tabs 232 and 234, the locator slot includes first and second notches 236 and 238, and the insulation barrel includes first and second tabs 240 and 242. In use, tabs 232 and 234 are crimped around the stripped portion of a wire and tabs 240 and 242 are crimped around the insulated portion of the same wire. First and second outwardly biased engaging/retaining latches 250 and 260 are formed on either side of body 224 near tip 222. Latch 250 includes an internally positioned tapered biasing member 252 and an angled engagement member 254 that protrudes from body 224 through aperture 256. Likewise, latch 260 includes an internally positioned tapered biasing member and a multi-angled engagement member 264 that protrudes from body 224. In the exemplary embodiment, both latches 250 and 260 are formed integrally with and from the same material as body 224, which is typically an electrically conductive metal. Socket contact 210 is typically manufactured using the same basic method described above for pin contact 110.
As previously indicated, pin contact 110 and socket contact 210 are intended for use with connector systems included in electronic devices. Such connector systems typically include a connector assembly that further includes multiple housing components. In some connector systems these housing components are referred to as a plug housing 300 and a cap housing 302 (see FIGS. 9-11). Each housing component typically includes at least one contact cavity 304 formed therein for receiving either a pin contact 110 or a socket contact 210. When a pin or socket contact is inserted into a contact cavity (from the rear side of the housing portion), the described latches engage the inner surface of the contact cavity and securely retain the contact therein. The described engagement members are typically longer than the lance structure included on prior art pins (see FIG. 1) and generally provide more resiliency for engaging the contact cavity. As shown in FIG. 6, sections 153 and 163 of latch 150 and latch 160 respectively back up to or are seated against a portion of body 124 that is not part of either latch. This configuration provides additional structural support to latches 150 and 160, thereby preventing the latches from folding back upon themselves and reducing the likelihood that a contact will be inadvertently pulled from the housing during use. The same is true for latches 250 and 260 on socket pin 210.
Also, as previously described, the latches (150 and 160 or 250 and 260) facilitate removal of pin contact 110 or socket contact 210 from a contact cavity in the event that a pin has been mis-wired and/or inserted into the wrong contact cavity. An extraction tool 306 (see FIG. 10) is typically used to remove the contacts from the housing component in which they are mounted. Extraction tool 306 is inserted into the contact cavity (from the front side of the housing) such that the cylindrical sleeve portion of the extraction tool extends over the tip of the contact and engages the latches. As the cylindrical sleeve moves over the latches, the forward motion of the sleeve depresses the latches radially inward, thereby forcing the latches to recede into the body, thereby releasing the contact from the contact cavity. In the exemplary embodiments described herein, a “4-bend” design (see FIG. 6) used for each latch (150, 160, 250, 260) allows for more radial deflection (and less axial deflection) of the engagement members (154, 164, 254, 264) respectively. This 4-bend configuration creates four distinct sections or regions on each latch, and as will be appreciated by the skilled artisan, reduces tolerances involved in proper insertion and retention of the contacts compared with less complex designs, i.e., 2-bend designs. Additionally, the relatively shallow angle of the engagement members generally provides more surface area for extraction tool 306 to engage. When the sleeve reaches the bottom of the housing component, the operator releases a lever on extraction tool that retains a spring-loaded solid plunger inside of the sleeve. Further forward pushing on extraction tool pushes the solid plunger against the tip of the contact while the latches are still depressed, thereby pushing the contact back out of the housing portion in which it had been inserted. In other embodiments of this invention, a somewhat simplified version of the latch structure is utilized, wherein one of the “bends” in each latch has been removed.
While the present invention has been illustrated by the description of exemplary embodiments thereof, and while the embodiments have been described in certain detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to any of the specific details, representative devices and methods, and/or illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant's general inventive concept.