Ribbon cable connector
First Claim
1. An electrical connector assembly comprising:
- a first component having at least one electrically conductive terminal thereon;
a second component having at least one contact thereon engageable with said terminal and being movable between an initial position and a final position while said contact remains engaged with said terminal, said second component including resilient means biasing said contact toward engagement with said terminal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical connector terminates ribbon cable intended for electrical connection to a PCB. The connector presents multiple contacts from the ribbon cable for engagement with mating terminals on the PCB as the connector is first moved into position for mounting on the PCB. Guide pins on the connector are slidably received in associated guide holes in the PCB to assure that each contact is properly positioned to engage its mating terminal. Thereupon, fasteners are tightened for firmly securing the connector to the PCB and, in the process, the contacts are moved relative to their mating terminals in a wiping action while still in engagement with them. Relative movement between the contacts and the terminals ceases when the fasteners are fully tightened. Individual groups of contacts are independently biased into engagement with the terminals with a predetermined minimum of force. The ends of the cable are slitted in the contact region to insure that one group of contacts is independent from its neighboring groups of contacts, thereby maximizing positive engagement between the contacts and their mating terminals.
65 Citations
51 Claims
-
1. An electrical connector assembly comprising:
-
a first component having at least one electrically conductive terminal thereon; a second component having at least one contact thereon engageable with said terminal and being movable between an initial position and a final position while said contact remains engaged with said terminal, said second component including resilient means biasing said contact toward engagement with said terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A cable holder subassembly for terminating ribbon cable including a plurality of side by side cable strips, each cable strip having at least a pair of longitudinally spaced outwardly projecting contacts thereon, said subassembly comprising:
-
a cable holder block including; an elongated main body having first and second opposed sidewalls and a laterally extending ridge having an extreme surface distant from said main body and defining a pair of opposed laterally extending recesses; and a plurality of parallel, spaced apart ribs in each of the recesses and integral with said main body and said ridge thereby defining a plurality of side by side slots; and a cable spring array including; a laterally extending elongated spine fixed to said extreme surface of said ridge; a plurality of pairs of spring members integral with said spine at spaced locations along the length thereof, individual members of each said spring pair extending in opposite directions from said spine, each of said individual spring members being bowed and snugly received in an associated one of the slots of said holder block and terminating at a free end proximate to, but spaced from, said spine; thereby enabling the cable strips to be drawn across said first sidewall, then around said spring array such that each cable strip is aligned with an associated pair of said spring elements, then across said second sidewall, the cable being fixed, together with said cable spring array, to said extreme surface of said ridge, said free ends of each of said spring members being aligned with an associated contact on an associated cable strip so as to bias the contact in a direction away from said holder block. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A cable holder subassembly comprising:
-
ribbon cable to be terminated including; a plurality of side by side cable strips, each of said cable strips extending to a tip end and having at least a pair of longitudinally spaced outwardly projecting contacts thereon proximate to said terminal end; a cable holder block including; an elongated main body having first and second opposed sidewalls and a laterally extending ridge having an extreme surface distant from said main body and defining a pair of opposed laterally extending recesses; and a plurality of parallel, spaced apart ribs in each of the recesses and integral with said main body and said ridge thereby defining a plurality of side by side slots; and a cable spring array including; a laterally extending elongated spine fixed to said extreme surface of said ridge; a plurality of pairs of spring members integral with said spine at spaced locations along the length thereof, individual members of each said spring pair extending in opposite directions from said spine, each of said individual spring members being bowed and snugly received in an associated one of the slots of said holder block and terminating at a free end proximate to, but spaced from, said spine; thereby enabling said cable strips to be drawn across said first sidewall, then around said spring array such that each of said cable strips is aligned with an associated pair of said spring elements, then across said second sidewall, said cable being fixed, together with said cable spring array, to said extreme surface of said ridge, said free ends of each of said spring members being aligned with an associated one of said contacts on an associated one of said cable strips so as to bias said contact in a direction away from said holder block. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
26. A subassembly for an electrical connector assembly comprising:
-
a housing including a top wall, a front wall, and spaced apart side walls having opposed surfaces and a plurality of generally vertically disposed slots in said opposed surfaces at regularly spaced locations distant from said front wall, said housing being open at its rear end opposite said front wall; a plurality of cable holder subassemblies receivable for mounting in said housing in a fore and aft relationship, respectively, each of said subassemblies including; a cable holder block having an elongated main body extending between a pair of integral end plates lying in parallel planes transverse to said main body, said end plates having integral key members projecting outwardly therefrom away from said main body and being slidingly engageable with the slots in said side walls of said housing; and ribbon cable extending from a distant location and terminated on said holder block, said ribbon cable including a plurality of side by side cable strips, each of said cable strips having at least a pair of longitudinally spaced outwardly projecting contacts thereon, said contacts being biased in a direction away from said holder block; each of said cable holder subassemblies being movable from a distant location into engagement with said housing, said end plates being slidingly received in the slots in said side walls until said cable holder subassembly assumes a seated position proximate to said top wall. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
-
39. An electrical connector for mounting on a first component having at least one electrically conductive terminal thereon comprising:
a second component having at least one contact thereon engageable with the terminal and being movable between an initial position and a final position while said contact remains engaged with the terminal, said second component including resilient means biasing said contact toward engagement with said terminal. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
Specification