Solid spring electrical contacts for electrical connectors and probes

Abstract

A solid spring electrical connector includes an elongated metal bar of sufficient cross sectional area to carry high electrical current loads. The bar is contained in a barrel with terminals of the bar projecting from opposite ends of the barrel. The bar is an integral piece which includes a spring section extending most of the length of the bar. The spring section is formed by axially spaced-apart, parallel, linear, narrow-profile notches of generally uniform width having alternating open ends facing toward opposite sides of the bar progressively along its length. Each notch extends across a major portion of the diameter of the bar thereby forming a resilient spring section in which the metal between adjacent notches forms the equivalent of long narrow flexible beams with alternating pivot points. In an alternate embodiment, electrical connectors adapted for mounting to printed circuit boards include a plurality of spring contacts in a row along the length of the connector. Each spring contact comprises one or more thin, flat, metal pieces with a spring section extending most of the length of each metal piece. The spring contacts are spaced-apart by insulating blocks interleaved between the contacts. The spring section of each flat metal piece includes long, narrow, parallel notches that alternately open to opposite sides of the metal piece. A multi-layer form of each contact includes overlying notched metal pieces positioned face to face with openings of corresponding notches in adjacent pieces facing in alternate directions to control high frequency response.