Itt Industries, Inc.

Amp LLC

Bicc Public Limited Company

Burndy, LLC

Bicc Plc

John C Collier

Leonard J Owen

Stuart J Reeves

David Lee

Ronald Van-Santbrink

Paul E Dewhurst

Keith Davies

An electrical shielding arrangement is provided wherein an edge connector (5) interconnects first and second circuit boards (1, 16). One of the boards (1) on which the edge connector lies includes a metal ground plane (2) and a plated through hole (3) which extends through the board and which makes effective contact with the metal ground plane. The plated through hole receives a metal fixing pin (4) of compliant metal which extends from the connector body (30) and is press fit into the hole (3). The forward end of the pin is positioned to engage a conductive layer (20s) at the leading edge of the second board, which is connected to the ground plane (19) of the second board. Thus, the pin (3) interconnects the ground planes (2, 19) of the two boards.

Electrical connecting arrangement

A connector of the plug and socket type comprises a housing (3) having a chamber (4) into which extend, one or more conductive pins (5). A second housing (8) is adapted to be received in the chamber (4). When the housing (8) is fully inserted in the chamber (4) the pins (5) pass through a first aperture (24) and a second aperture (25). Between these apertures, the pins are deformed by a projection (18) and retained thereby. The projection (18) forms part of a contact element (15) which is provided with tines (17) engaging the conductors of an inserted cable (12).

Electrical connector

An electrical connector comprises a body accommodating one group of staggered rows of spring contacts for engagement with cone-shaped contacts arranged in correspondingly staggered rows on a printed circuit board. The spring contacts of one row have intermediate flattened parts which slidingly engage with peaks of the corresponding dome-shaped contacts thereby requiring low insertion force while curved parts of spring contacts of the other row are riding up the convex profile of the corresponding dome-shaped contacts requiring high insertion force. Two similar groups of staggered rows of spring contacts may be provided for accommodating boards having staggered rows of raised contacts on both sides of the board.

Electrical connectors

An electrical connecting arrangement is provided between an electrical edge connector and a printed circuit board in which contact pads provided near the edge of the printed circuit board have a convex profile at least in the direction of insertion of the board into an opening in the edge connector. At full board insertion, each spring contact (3, FIG. 1A) of the connector engages a board contact pad (5) at a location (64) on the pad that lies beyond the center (66) of the pad.

An RF screened plug-in connector comprises a plug (14, FIG. 2A) and a socket connector device (44) that includes a socket (15) and a circuit board (16). The plug is on the end of a screened cable (3), the screen of which is internally connected to a conductive surface (9) of the plug. The socket has a body (18) which is open to provide access to conductive tracks (17) on the circuit board (16). The body has an internal conductive surface portion (21a) which is pressed into intimate contact with a conductive surface portion (9a) on the plug, by virtue of the reaction between resilient contact fingers (12) on the plug pressing on the tracks (17) on the board. The socket body (18) is held in contact with the board (16) by latches (20, FIG. 2C) which also have conductive surfaces and which contact a conductive layer (42) on the underside of the board.

Shielded electrical connectors

Terminating insulated conductors

A connector for a printed circuit board (9) comprises a housing (1) containing contacts (5,6,7). The housing is fixed to the board by the engagement of splined pins (4) at either end, in corresponding holes 11 in the board. As the connector is pressed down onto the board, the contacts engage contact surfaces (10) on the latter and are pushed back into the housing. A layer (8) of frictional material, through which the contacts pass retains them in their adjusted position during subsequent handling and soldering. The contacts can have lower ends of different profiles of which three are shown.

A PTC adaptor for a pluggable data connector socket comprises an insulating housing (1) including a plug region (6) for insertion into the pluggable data connector socket, a socket region (16) including a plug receiving cavity (21) in which a pluggable data connector may be received, and a cord receiving region including a cavity (9) in which a plurality of insulated conductors may be received. The housing further includes a plurality of electrical contacts (24), each contact comprising a plug portion (26) extending into the plug region (6) for making an electrical connection with the pluggable data connector socket, a socket portion (28) extending into the plug receiving cavity (21), and a terminating portion (27) extending into the cord receiving cavity (9) for penetrating the insulating covering of the insulated conductors to make an electrical connection with the conductors therein.

PTC adaptor

An electrical press-fit contact includes a compliant section (3) of substantially C-shaped cross-section and comprising first and second arm portions (4)(5) with a base portion (8) therebetween. The thickness of the compliant section increases steadily from the base portion (8) to the arm portions (4)(5) such that the center of the base portion is of least thickness to form a hinge about which the first and second arm portions may be preferentially deflected. The contact is formed by coining a portion of stock etc such that it has a planar first surface and an arcuate second surface sloping away from the first surface towards its edges. The coined portion is then folded to form the C-shaped compliant section with the first surface being the outer surface and the second surface the inner surface thereof.

Electrical contact

An edge connector (1) comprises a housing (2) having an aperture (3) in which an edge (6) of a circuit board (7) is received. One or more connector pins (12) (13) extending from the housing each have a sharp-edged contact region (19), plated with a ductile metallic material such as tin or lead, and capable of penetrating and deforming a similarly plated contact pad (20) to establish a low resistance electrical connection therebetween. The housing (2) and the circuit board (7) are pivotable with respect to one another between a first position in which there is clearance between the connector pins (12) (13) and the contact pads (20) present on the circuit board, and a second position in which they are in electrical contact one with the other. Securing means such as resilient clips (25) (26) (30) (34) hold the circuit board with respect to the housing (2) in the second position.

Circuit board connector

A unit for transferring an electrical lead from a measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21 to a terminating machine 31 includes an electrical lead gripping device 6 which is carried by a fluid-operated piston 3 working in a cylinder 2 and which can be caused to reciprocate between a position at which the gripping device grips an electrical lead in the measuring, cutting and stripping machine and a position at which an electrical termination can be secured by the terminating machine to a stripped end of an electrical lead carried by the gripping device. The unit also includes a device 7 for ejecting a terminated electrical lead from the gripping device 6. A control system, preferably fluid-operated, effects automatic reciprocation of the gripping device 6 between said two positions and operation of the ejection device 7 in synchronization with the cycles of operations of the measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21 and of the terminating machine 31.

Electrical lead transfer unit

A tool for applying bundle ties comprises a frame supporting a reciprocable carriage in a guide path leading to a loop guide around which ties are to be driven by the carriage. The carriage is reciprocated by a drive rod having a handle projecting laterally through a slot in the frame for manual operation. A trigger is mounted in a handle of the frame and is coupled to the rod by a clutch arranged to engage the rod on rearward movement of the trigger.

Tool for applying bundle ties

A tool for applying ties to bundles comprises a magazine chamber leading directly to the path of a reciprocable carriage adapted on forward movement to engage the leading tie in the magazine and drive it into a loop guide releasably disposed about a bundle. The tie tail is reversed about the bundle by the loop guide under the driving force of the carriage to pass through the head of the tie in a reverse direction to engage a gripper in the carriage. Reversal of the carriage tensions the tie about the bundle and repositions the carriage in a starting position in relation to the magazine. A shear device operating transversely of the carriage path and disposed at its forward end severs the tie tail adjacent the tie head, and opens the loop guide for removal of the bundle.

Method and tool for applying ties

A flexible plastics bundle tie comprising a strap extending from an apertured frame for passage of the strap looped back on itself, is provided at the frame with means for releasably engaging the frame of a similar tie to form a stack in which the straps are generally parallel. The means may comprise a tongue projecting from the frame on a side opposite to the strap engaging the aperture of the adjacent frame.

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Southport, United Kingdom

John C Collier