Hermaphroditic electrical connectors
First Claim
1. An electrical connector assembly including a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated, with the connectors being adapted for mating in either opposite direction generally parallel to said plane of the mating faces, each hermaphroditic connector comprising:
- a housing including a plurality of spaced-apart ribs having edges extending from said plane and defining respective grooves between immediately adjacent ribs, the ribs of each hermaphroditic connector being interleaved with the ribs of the other connector when the two connectors are mated in said opposite direction, and complementary interengaging latch means on the housing to lock the connectors against unmating in a direction generally perpendicular to said plane of the mating faces; and
a plurality of terminals mounted parallel to the ribs and the mating face on each housing and having contact portions of at least some of the terminals between the ribs for engaging the contact portions of the terminals on the housing of the other connector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly includes a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated. The connectors are adapted for mating in either opposite direction generally parallel to the plane of the mating faces. Each connector includes a housing having a plurality of spaced-apart ribs defining respective grooves between adjacent ribs. The ribs of each connector are interleaved with the ribs of the other connector when the two connectors are mated. The housing of each connector includes complementary interengaging latches to lock the connectors against unmating in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the mating faces. A plurality of terminals are mounted on each housing and have contact portions of at least some of the terminals between the ribs for engaging the contact portions of the terminals on the housing of the other connector.
23 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An electrical connector assembly including a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated, with the connectors being adapted for mating in either opposite direction generally parallel to said plane of the mating faces, each hermaphroditic connector comprising:
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a housing including a plurality of spaced-apart ribs having edges extending from said plane and defining respective grooves between immediately adjacent ribs, the ribs of each hermaphroditic connector being interleaved with the ribs of the other connector when the two connectors are mated in said opposite direction, and complementary interengaging latch means on the housing to lock the connectors against unmating in a direction generally perpendicular to said plane of the mating faces; and a plurality of terminals mounted parallel to the ribs and the mating face on each housing and having contact portions of at least some of the terminals between the ribs for engaging the contact portions of the terminals on the housing of the other connector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An electrical connector assembly including a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated, with the connectors being adapted for mating in either opposite direction generally parallel to said plane of the mating faces, each hermaphroditic connector comprising:
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a housing including a plurality of spaced-apart ribs extending from the plane having edges and defining respective grooves between immediately adjacent ribs, the ribs of each hermaphroditic connector being interleaved with the ribs of the other connector when the two connectors are mated in said either opposite direction; and a plurality of terminals mounted parallel to the ribs and the mating face on each housing with alternating ones of the terminals having contact portions located at the edges of said ribs, and with the other alternating terminals having contact portions located in said grooves. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. An electrical connector assembly including a pair of hermaphroditic connectors having opposed mating faces which are juxtaposed generally along a plane when the connectors are mated, with the connectors being adapted for mating in either opposite direction generally parallel to said plane of the mating faces, each hermaphroditic connector comprising:
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a housing including a plurality of spaced-apart bifurcated ribs extending from said plane defining slots therein, the ribs defining respective grooves between immediately adjacent ribs, and the ribs of each hermaphroditic connector being interleaved with the ribs of the other connector when the two connectors are mated in said either opposite direction; and a plurality of terminals mounted parallel to the ribs and the mating face on each housing, with alternating ones of the terminals having contact portions in the slots of the bifurcated ribs, and with the other alternating terminals having contact portions located in said grooves. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification