Connector assembly comprising a tab-receiving insulated spring sleeve and a dual contact with pairs of spaced apart contact members and tails

Abstract

A device for connecting an electrical contact to a flat bus bar conductor formed with a tab comprises a spring sleeve and a tubular shroud. The sleeve receives both the tab and the electrical contact in order to interconnect these tab and contact. The shroud has a first section in which the sleeve fits and a second section through which the tab is inserted in the sleeve, this second section being slotted to define a seat for the bus bar conductor. The electrical contact comprises a first pair of mutually spaced apart flat contact members, and a second pair of flat contact tails connected to the contact members and spaced apart from each other for insertion in the sleeve with the tab between them. An electrical connector comprises an electrically insulating housing formed with a cavity with front and rear openings, and the electrical contact having its contact members inserted in the cavity through the rear opening to form a conductor-receiving receptacle accessible through the front opening. Finally, a bus bar system comprises a backplane PCB comprising a rear face, at least one generally flat bus bar conductor running behind the backplane PCB and including an edge adjacent to the rear face of the backplane PCB and integral tabs distributed along this edge, and at least one opening cut into the backplane PCB for access and connection to at least one tab through the above described device and contact.