Osram Sylvania Inc.

Gte Products Corporation

Other

John O Wright

Patricia M Reagan

Albert D Skopic

An insulating member for a base for a light emitting bulb has an electrically insulating body formed from a thermoplastic plastic material and having a first surface, a second surface spaced therefrom, and a sidewall connecting the first and second surfaces. The sidewall is formed to flexibly receive and hold an electrically conductive element, such as the threaded portion of a screw base.

Lamp base with flexible sidewall

A connector assembly, and method of fabricating such connector assembly, is provided. The connector assembly includes a cable/insulator/contact sub-assembly which extends into a connector shell and is attached thereto in such a manner as to seal the interface between the connector shell and the cable where the cable is inserted therein, and to mechanically attach the connector shell to the insulator. A connector shell useful in such connector assembly.

Connector shell, connector assembly and method of fabricating same

A grounding device is provided for use with an electrical connector such as an antenna connector. The grounding device includes a forked member which may be inserted through a slot into an insulative connector body to (a) pierce the jacket of a coaxial cable positioned within the connector body and (b) thereby engage the ground wire braid of the cable. The forked member may be integral with a conductive connector shell into which the insulative connector body is inserted.

Grounding device

An electrical connector which includes mating first and second connector bodies each including mating respective first and second contacts. Locking members are provided for locking the first and second connector bodies together in a connected mode. The second connector includes an elastic member which is engaged and compressed by the first and second connector bodies in the connected mode. The elastic member is decompressed, and thereby facilitates the disconnection of the first and second connector bodies, in a disconnected mode.

Electrical connector with tactile feedback

A connector assembly useful in grounding applications is provided which includes an insulative housing and a conductive ground shell. The insulative housing includes a passage into which a contact and a cable may be inserted, and a passage which provides access to an inserted contact and cable to facilitate electrical and mechanical connection thereof. Passages in the insulative housing are also provided for inserting legs of the conductive ground shell into the insulative housing to electrically engage the ground wire braid of the cable. The insulative housing and conductive ground shell are constructed and arranged so that the various components readily mate with one another.

Method of making a connector assembly

A connector includes a contact extending in a first direction of a longitudinal axis. The contact is adapted for connection at one end to a mating contact extending in the first direction, and for connection at an opposite end to a conductor extending in a second direction that extends at an angle to the first direction. The connector includes a spring element that urges the connector away from a mating connector if the two are not fully engaged. A connector assembly including such a connector.

Connector and connector assembly

A bracket assembly is provided which includes a connector housing and a mating bracket housing. The bracket housing mates with the connector housing in a first mode such that the bracket housing may engage the connector housing in a first locked position. The bracket housing may then be pivoted relative to the connector housing such that the bracket housing engages the connector housing in a second locked position. During such pivoting, the bracket housing bends a conductor that is coupled to the connector housing such that a first length of conductor extends in a first direction and a second length of conductor extends at an angle relative to the first length.

Bracket assembly

A connector latch is provided which includes a connector housing which extends through an engagement member. The engagement member is movable from one end of the connector housing to the other end. When moved to one end, the engagement member cams flexible latch arms of the connector housing towards the longitudinal axis thereof in a locked mode. When moved to the opposite end, the flexible latch arms reslide away from such axis in an unlocked mode. An electrical connector which includes such a connector latch is also provided. In such an embodiment, when male and female contacts are properly engaged, movement of the engagement member in the locked mode causes protuberances which extend from the flexible latch arms to extend into a connector housing groove thereby preventing disconnection of the contacts.

Connector latch

A structural panel has one or more face sheets bonded by adhesive layers to a core body having two outer plastic liner sheets fusion-bonded to linear ends of inner plastic truss elements spaced apart with open spaces therebetween extending in a plane direction of the plastic liner sheets. The sheet-to-sheet adhesive bonding provides a high-strength laminate bonding that is very resistant to delamination, simple and inexpensive, and can be carried out by a preferred continuous sheet bonding technique. The all-plastic core body is highly resistant to moisture attack, and the open spaces between truss elements provide flexibility to accommodate thermal expansion and contraction. The truss construction of the core body provides high compressive and shear strength, while minimizing the amount of material required to be used. In one preferred embodiment, two metal face sheets are used, and the core body has plastic liner sheets fusion-bonded to a corrugated plastic core sheet. The corrugated plastic core sheet can be formed by a continuous plastic extrusion technique. Diagonal plastic webs or perpendicular plastic I-beams may also be used for the truss elements. Another preferred embodiment has two metal face sheets bonded to two plastic core bodies which in turn are bonded to a center foam core layer. A further embodiment has only one metal face sheet bonded to one side of the plastic core body, allowing it to be used as veneer or curved around rounded structures.

Structural panels with metal faces and corrugated plastic core

A female connector assembly that includes mating housings which may be latched together to enclose a female connector having resilient opposed curved arms and a resilient dome-shaped actuator disposed between such arms. Depression of the dome causes its lower edge to move radially outwardly to engage the inner surface of the arms to move such arms radially outwardly. Release of the dome allows the dome and resilient arms to resile to their original position. In use, the female connector assembly may be electrically and mechanically connected to a male connector to form a connector assembly. To this end, the male connector is inserted between the resilient arms of the female connector. Such insertion cams the arms radially outward until they are adjacent a recess in the male connector and snap radially inward against the male connector. To disconnect the connectors, the arms are caused to move radially outward by depression of the dome.

Connector assembly

A cable connector assembly is provided which is particularly useful as a vehicle antenna cable connector. Two mating connectors are provided, one having a male contact and the other having a female contact. A pair of latches is provided which engage one another when the contacts are fully electrically connected. A resilient member is contained in one of the connectors to urge the connectors apart if the connectors are not fully connected and the latches fully engaged.

Cable connector assembly

A positive latch connector is provided which includes a first component which includes at least one resilient arm having a pin extending therefrom at a distal end thereof. A mating second component is provided which includes inclined first and second ramps, and an oppositely inclined third ramp. In use, the pin is moved along the first ramp against an elastic member until the pin snaps into a first latch groove to lock the first and second components in place. To release the components from each other, the pin is moved further against the elastic member along the second ramp to a second latch groove from which the pin is urged by the elastic member in an opposite direction along the third ramp, thereby allowing the components to be separated.

Positive latch connector

A connector alignment guide is provided which prevents inadvertent rotational movement of a male connector relative to a female connector and allows for connection of such connectors in a predetermined fixed orientation. The connector alignment guide includes a tubular segment having an open region at one end through which extends a bent or curved portion of a cable and a cable clamp associated with a respective connector. Such bent or curved portion engages edges which form the boundary of such open region to prevent such rotation and provide such fixed orientation.

Connector alignment guide

A grounding device is provided for use with a coaxial cable. The grounding device includes a forked member which includes a channel into which a coaxial cable may be inserted to pierce the jacket of the coaxial cable so that the forked member engages the ground wire of the coaxial cable. A gate attached to the fork and bendable relative to the fork member is then bent at a fold line so that the gate closes the channel to sandwich the pierced coaxial cable between the gate member and the forked member. A method of using the grounding device is also described.

Growing community of inventors

York, PA, United States of America

John O Wright