Electrical connector for transmission cable
First Claim
1. An electrical connector for electrical transmission cable means having signal conductor means and ground conductor means, comprising:
- a housing means having at least one row of terminal-receiving passageways extending from a mating face to a termination face;
contact terminals disposed in said terminal-receiving passageways, each said terminal having a contact section means proximate said housing mating face and a conductor-connecting section proximate said housing termination face;
a ground bus secured in a bus-receiving channel of said housing means in interference fit therein along said housing termination face parallel to said at least one row of terminal-receiving passageways, said ground bus having means for connecting with ground conductor means;
means for grounding said ground bus; and
cable-securing means to secure and provide strain relief for an end portion of the transmission cable means and protect the terminations following termination of the signal conductor means to respective said contact terminals and of the ground conductor means to said ground bus.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
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.
-
Citations
18 Claims
-
1. An electrical connector for electrical transmission cable means having signal conductor means and ground conductor means, comprising:
-
a housing means having at least one row of terminal-receiving passageways extending from a mating face to a termination face; contact terminals disposed in said terminal-receiving passageways, each said terminal having a contact section means proximate said housing mating face and a conductor-connecting section proximate said housing termination face; a ground bus secured in a bus-receiving channel of said housing means in interference fit therein along said housing termination face parallel to said at least one row of terminal-receiving passageways, said ground bus having means for connecting with ground conductor means; means for grounding said ground bus; and cable-securing means to secure and provide strain relief for an end portion of the transmission cable means and protect the terminations following termination of the signal conductor means to respective said contact terminals and of the ground conductor means to said ground bus. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. An electrical connector for electrical transmission cable means having a signal and ground conductor means, comprising:
-
a housing means having a mating face and extending to a substantially planar terminating face, at least one row of terminal-receiving passageways therethrough, and a first side and an opposing second side; contact terminals disposed in respective said terminal-receiving passageways, each said terminal having a contact section means proximate said housing mating face and a conductor-connecting section proximate said housing termination face; a ground bus secured to said housing means along said housing termination face along said second housing side and having conductor-connecting means across a top surface thereof, and means for grounding said ground bus; cover means appliable to said termination face of said housing means following termination of stripped end lengths of signal conductor means and ground conductor means of transmission cable means to said contact terminals and ground bus respectively; and cable-securing means to secure and provide strain relief for an insulated end portion of the cable means from which said stripped end lengths of said signal and ground conductor means extend, following termination and covering of the terminations; a portion of said first housing side being recessed below said termination face a selected distance to comprise a cable-receiving recess so that upon receipt of said insulated cable end portion thereinto said stripped conductor ends extend forwardly in a planar array along and substantially coplanar with said termination face; said conductor-connecting sections of said contact terminals each comprising an elongated slot defined by smooth planar surfaces of a pair of opposing plates of a respective said terminal spaced apart a distance just less than the diameter of a said signal conductor means and adapted to receive thereinto and be urged apart by a respective said signal conductor means substantially without deformation thereof, to hold the signal conductor means therewithin at the top of said slot under spring tension prior to said laser weld termination, said slots being normal to said first housing side and spaced from each other to correspond with the spacing of said signal conductor means, and the tops of said slots comprising the uppermost extent of said contact terminals; and said conductor-connecting means of said ground bus comprising at least first grooves normal to said first housing side and spaced to correspond with the spacing of ground conductor means of the cable means, said first grooves being shaped and dimensioned to receive thereinto and thereafter to hold in interference fit therein until said laser weld termination said ground conductor means substantially without deformation thereto along the top surface thereof; whereby said signal and ground conductor means are held in said contact terminals and ground bus respectively in the plane of said termination face, and said housing means with said contact terminals and ground bus disposed therein being essentially free of connector structure above said termination face to facilitate laser weld termination of said signal and ground conductor means to said contact terminals and ground bus respectively and to protect the integrity of the signal transmission during in-service use. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
- 12. A contact terminal for termination to a stripped end portion of an electrical conductor having a very small diameter, said contact terminal comprising a body section means including a contact section, and a conductor-connecting section extending rearwardly from said body section means, said conductor-connector section comprising a first plate jointed integrally to said body section means, a second plate parallel to and spaced from said first plate a selected distance forming an elongated conductor-receiving slot therebetween having a width slightly less than the diameter of a said conductor to be inserted thereinto for termination thereto, said slot defined by smooth facing surfaces of said first and second plates, and a U-shaped resilient bight extending from said first plate to said second plate and integrally joined to side edges of said first and second plates remote from end edges thereof, and said bight having such resilience as to permit said plates to be urged apart by the electrical conductor, whereby the electrical conductor is substantially undeformed when wiped thereinto and is then held under spring tension near the top of said slot for later assured termination thereto.
-
15. A method of forming a transmission cable harness having an electrical connector terminated to at least one end of a transmission cable means having a plurality of signal and ground conductor means at right angles thereto, comprising the steps of:
-
stripping the insulative jacket from an end portion of a transmission cable means exposing said plurality of signal and ground conductor means thereof for termination; selectively severing said signal and ground conductor means to desired lengths; selecting a plurality of terminals corresponding to the number of said signal conductor means, each of said terminals including a conductor-receiving slot at an end thereof transverse thereto having a width selected to be slightly less than the diameter of a said signal conductor means defined by opposing smooth surfaces of walls adapted to be urged apart by a said signal conductor means wiped thereinto; preparing a terminal subassembly having a termination face, said terminal subassembly comprising a housing means having said plurality of terminals secured therein arranged in at least one row with the conductor-receiving slots thereof disposed adjacent said termination face and aligned normally to a cable-receiving side thereof spaced equally to said signal conductor means of said transmission cable means and further comprising a ground bus secured therein along the other side thereof having conductor-receiving grooves therein aligned normally to said cable-receiving side and aligned with and adapted to receive thereinto said ground conductor means in interference fit therein; placing the prepared end portion of said transmission cable means along said termination face of said terminal subassembly from said cable-receiving side thereof with said signal and ground conductor means arrayed in parallel coplanar relationship aligned with and above resepctive said conductor-receiving slots and grooves; wiping ends of said signal conductor means into respective conductor-receiving slots of respective terminals in interference fit therein and wiping ends of said ground conductor means into respective conductor-receiving grooves of said ground bus in interference fit therein adjacent said termination face; welding said signal conductor means to said respective terminals and welding said ground conductor means to said ground bus; and securing a dielectric means to said housing means to clamp an end of the insulated portion of said transmission cable means in said connector, covering the terminations and securing the terminals and ground bus in said housing means, with said transmission cable means extending outwardly from said cable-receiving side thereof. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
-
Specification