Amp LLC

Joseph L Lockard

Richard F Granitz

Jack S Conrad

William H Rose

Wilbur A Hamsher, Jr

Bryce W Blair

An electrical interconnection system comprises a main electrical bus to which branch electrical buses are electrically interconnected. The main bus and branch buses include a plurality of insulated electrical conductors extending crosswise to one another with electrical interconnectors electrically interconnecting selected electrical conductors of the buses together. The electrical interconnectors penetrate the insulation of the buses and make electrical connection with the electrical conductors. The terminated sections of the buses can be housed in housing assemblies providing strain relief and insulation. Shielding can be applied onto the main bus and ground connections can be effected at the housing assemblies.

Electrical interconnection system

An electrical plug connector comprises a dielectric contact-carrying member having signal contact members secured to one side of the contact-carrying member at spaced intervals therealong. A ground contact member is secured to the other side of the contact carrying member with contact sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member extending from a front end of the contact-carrying member. Conductor-connecting sections of the signal and ground contact members extending along the contact-carrying member. Signal conductors and ground conductors of electrical cables are electrically connected respectively to the conductor-connecting sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member. A dielectric housing member is secured onto the contact-carrying member and part of the electrical cables so that the contact members from their contact sections to their conductor-connecting sections are covered. The signal and ground conductors are electrically connected to the signal contacts and the ground contact member respectively by first being force-fitted into respective slots thereof and then terminated by being laser welded thereto.

Contact subassembly for an electrical connector and method of making same

An electrical connector comprises a forward housing member, signal and ground terminals and dielectric cover means over the terminations of signal and ground conductors to the terminals, for two-lead or three-lead individual cables or ribbon cable. Contact sections of the terminals are secured in passageways of a contact-receiving portion of the forward housing member, and rearward sections of the terminals have respective signal and ground conductors of electrical cable or cables laser welded thereto. The rearward terminal sections are disposed along a contact-carrying portion of the forward housing member extending rearwardly from the contact-receiving portion. A dielectric cover means is molded over the contact-carrying portion, the rearward terminal sections, the terminations, the signal and ground conductors and end portions of the electrical cable or cables thus sealing the terminations, holding the terminals immobile and providing support and non-deforming strain relief for the cable or cables. An integral transverse bar spaced rearwardly from the cover means provides second strain relief for the cables when a plurality of cables are used, and spaces and supports them. A method for the overmoulding is disclosed where core pins hold the terminals to the contact-carrying portion and in place therealong, just rearwardly of the passageways, and simultaneously close up the rearward end of the passageways.

Double-row electrical connector and method of making same

A connector for transmission cable has a lower housing and an upper housing securable thereto to be terminated to a prepared end portion of the cable. The conductors are laser welded in slots of the terminals. The contact sections of the terminals reside on respective resilient supports of the lower housing which act in cantilever fashion. A hood section of the upper housing extends over the plurality of contact sections to define a cavity. The connector structure is hermaphroditic in that one connector is matable with another identical connector having a reversed vertical orientation. The respective hoods cooperate to resist the forced cantilever action of the pairs of resilient supports urging each other apart, thus generating contact normal force. The hermaphroditic connectors latch when fully mated.

Hermaphroditic flat cable connector

A rocker switch has within a housing, a two-position actuator which moves a spring-loaded plunger from a first position to a second position of engagement with a bar, moving the bar over a fulcrum and wedging a second conductive end of the bar into bridging engagement between a second pair of spring contact terminals while simultaneously forcing the first conductive end out of engagement with a first pair of terminals. During moving from the first position to the second position the plunger disengages from contact with the bar at a first position proximate a first end of the bar and rides over a peaked camming surface which substantially compresses the spring while the bar remains stationary, bridging the first pair of terminals. When the plunger reaches the peak of the camming surface, the plunger is released to impact on the bar at a second position proximate the second end of the bar, suddenly forcing the second end downward into bridging the second pair of terminals. The bar may be a metal mass to perform as a heat sink. The terminals may be mounted in a contact assembly which also pins the bar in a pivotable state against the fulcrum. A latching system is disclosed which allows pivotal movement of the actuator within the housing.

Rocker switch

An electrical plug connector comprises a dielectric contact-carrying member having signal contact members secured to one side of the contact-carrying member at spaced intervals therealong. A ground contact member is secured to the other of the contact carrying member with contact sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member extending from a front end of the contact-carrying member. Conductor-connecting sections of the signal and ground contact members extending along the contact-carrying member. Signal conductors and ground conductors of electrical cables are electrically connected respectively to the conductor-connecting sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member. A dielectric housing member is secured onto the contact-carrying member and part of the electrical cables so that the contact members from their contact sections to their conductor-connecting sections are covered. The signal and ground conductors are electrically connected to the signal contacts and the ground contact member respectively by first being force-fitted into respective slots thereof and then terminated by being laser welded thereto.

Electrical connection and method of making same

A double row connector terminates transmission cable, with selected terminals for grounding to provide programming. Signal conductors are terminated to terminals in a housing by being held in interference fit in longitudinal slots of respective terminals and laser welded thereto. Ground conductors are similarly held in grooves of a ground bus in the housing and are laser welded thereto. Selected signal conductors are also laser welded to the ground bus as well as respective terminals to convert the terminals to grounds. The conductors are disposed in a termination plane transverse to the connector requiring right angle termination to the terminals. The insulated cable is then doubled back over a dielectric spacer secured to the housing over the terminations, and a retainer is latched to the housing to clamp the cable and provide strain relief. Terminals and a ground bus are specially designed for the connector and the laser welding termination method.

Electrical connector for transmission cable

An electrical connector has rows of contact locations which are signal locations and ground locations where ground locations in one row are programmable independently of ground locations in any other row. A housing member has secured thereto corresponding to each row of contact locations a terminal assembly having signal and ground terminals corresponding to the signal and ground locations in that row. Each terminal assembly has individual terminals on one side of a carrier corresponding to each contact location and a ground plane on the other side of the carrier. A method of making such an assembly is provided. Terminals at ground locations are welded to tab sections of the ground plane located only at ground locations, with such terminals becoming ground terminals. Terminals at signal locations are terminated to signal conductors of transmission cables, while ground conductors of the cables are terminated to the ground plane. A dielectric cover is molded over the terminals and ground plane secured to the carrier, and over end portions of the cables, thereby sealing the terminations, embedding and insulating the terminals rearwardly from the contact sections, and providing support and non-deforming strain relief to the cables. The terminal assemblies have the contact sections extending forwardly therefrom for insertion into respective housing passageways when the assemblies are secured to the housing such as by latches, and the assemblies may be secured to each other prior to securing to the housing such as by projections of each extending through slots in the other and cold-staked. Impedance problems are minimized by the electrical connector, providing for signal transmission of high reliability and uniformity.

Double row electrical connector

A double row connector is provided having an upper row and a lower row of a signal contacts with spring arm contact sections thereof projecting forwardly thereof from horizontal body sections of contact members. The contact members also have vertical body sections extending vertically from a side of the horizontal body sections and secured in vertical slots of a dielectric spacer block, and the horizontal body sections of upper contacts are disposed adjacent the upper surface of the spacer, and those of lower contacts are disposed adjacent the lower surface. Vertical body sections of the upper and lower contacts alternate along the spacer. The upper subassembly thus formed is secured to an upper surface of a planar insert having a ground plane secured to its lower surface, comprising a lower subassembly to form a contact assembly. Signal conductors of trilead cables are welded to ferrules of signal contacts, which ferrules extend rearwardly from the signal contacts beyond the spacer and are aligned adjacent the planar insert. Ground conductors are welded to the ground plane. Upper ground contacts are similar to the upper signal contacts with contact sections and horizontal and vertical body sections and have tabs extending downward through the planar insert and the ground plane and are bent over, securing the upper subassembly to the lower subassembly and electrically engaging the ground plane. The entire assembly is overmolded with plastic to form an overmolded contact assembly and a forward housing member may be latchingly secured to the overmolded assembly. Contacts for use with the spacer are disclosed.

An electrical plug connector comprises a dielectric contact-carrying member having signal contact members secured to one side of the contact-carrying member at spaced intervals therealong. A ground contact member is secured to the other side of the contact carrying member with contact sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member extending from a front end of the contact-carrying member. Conductor-connecting sections of the signal and ground contact members extending along the contact-carrying member. Signal conductors and ground conductors of electrical cables are electrically connected respectively to the conductor-connecting sections of the signal contact members and the ground contact member. A dielectric housing member is secured onto the contact-carrying member and part of the electrical cables so that the contact members from their contact sections to their conductor-connecting sections are covered.

Electrical connector and method of making same

A high density interconnect system is described which comprises a laminated board including a conductive power plane and a ground plane insulated from each other and containing a series of holes therethrough. Signal contacts, ground contacts, power contacts, data bus interconnect contacts, and feed-through contacts are selectively mounted in the series of holes with the ground contacts and power contacts connected to the respective ground plane and conductive power plane and the other contacts insulated therefrom. Front contact housings are secured against the laminated board means and contain spring-loaded contacts in openings therein for electrical engagement with the signal contacts and for electrical engagement with pins of a signature board. Rear contact housings house contact sections of the signal, power, ground, and data bus interconnect contacts to which input/output connectors of computer boards are connected for supplying power thereto, and operating signals from the computer boards are transmitted via the signal contacts to the signature board which conducts tests on the board under test to test the same. A cam-operative apparatus moves a platen carrying the signature board so that the pins of the signature board are moved into electrical engagement with the spring-loaded contacts.

High density interconnect system

A card edge connector is provided having two rows of paired contact members having spring arm contact sections extending from a forward end therof, the contact members being secured on side surfaces of a dielectric contact-carrying member and each having a conductor-connecting section to which is terminated either a signal conductor or a pair of ground conductors of a single trilead cable respectively forming a signal contact member or a ground contact member. This terminated contact subassembly is preferably overmolded with a dielectric material forming a housing sealingly securing the insulated end portions of the cables as a strain relief, the terminations and most of the body sections of the contacts, with the spring arm contact sections extending forwardly to receive a card edge. The housing may have latching features molded therein.

Conductor-terminated card edge connector

Light emitting diodes are mounted in an assembly of electrical leads and lenses, the leads having a common carrier strip attached thereto and pairs of resilient contact fingers, the diodes being resiliently gripped between pairs of contact fingers and then encapsulated in a light transmitting material which itself forms a diffusing lens; a separate lens alternatively being provided by a rigid outer shell of light transmitting material.

Light emitting diode assembly

A back light display assembly is disclosed comprising a dielectric body having a cavity extending therethrough profiled for accepting a pair of contact components. The contact components each comprise a planar body having an upwardly-directed resilient finger at one end, and an insulation displacement structure at the opposite end which projects through the dielectric housing cavity to a bottom surface thereof. The pair of resilient contact component fingers are positioned so as to receive a light-emitting diode semiconductor chip therebetween, and a pair of conductors are engageably mated to respective insulation displacement structure of the contact components to effectuate an electrical path to the semiconductor chips. The dielectric body is packaged within a receptacle having an interior chamber which receives the dielectric body therein. The receptacle-dielectric body subassembly is further packaged within an outer encasement, resulting in an integral light display package suitable for use in instrument panels or the like, as for message display.

Light display assembly

A DIP test socket is disclosed to provide a zero entry force receptacle for dual in-line packages. The receptacle comprises a transport block receiving a DIP package thereon, with rows of contact legs positioned to depend adjacent the sides of the transport block. A housing block is disclosed, loaded with dual parallel rows of contact members having upwardly directed spring finger portions receiving the transport block therebetween. The housing block is further adapted with camming means for influencing engagement between the DIP package contact legs and the contact spring finger portions as the transport block is inserted toward the housing block.

Growing community of inventors

Harrisburg, PA, United States of America

Joseph L Lockard