Floatable connector assembly with a staggered overlapping contact pattern
First Claim
1. An electrical connector assembly, comprising:
- a connector housing having a mating face and a wire receiving face;
chambers formed in said connector housing extending between said mating and wire receiving faces, said chambers being arranged in upper and lower rows, each of said chambers having a main cavity and a notch opening onto one side of said main cavity, said chambers in said upper row being staggered and inverted with respect to said chambers in said lower row such that said notches in said chambers in said upper row extend between said notches in said chambers in said lower row; and
contacts secured in said chambers and arranged in corresponding upper and lower rows, said contacts having knife sections secured in said notches and having wire retention assemblies held in said main cavities of corresponding chambers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A connector assembly includes a floatable mounting apparatus that enables the connector assembly to correct for misalignment between mounting structures. The connector assembly also includes a connector housing having peripheral surfaces with an outer contour shaped to loosely fit in an inner contour of a mounting structure, such as a card, panel, circuit board, bulk head, rack assembly and the like. The connector housing is slidably inserted into the opening through the mounting structure. A chamber is provided in the connector housing adapted to securely retain contacts. At least one latch beam is formed with the connector housing and aligned to engage the mounting structure. A float gap is located between the inner contour of the opening through the mounting structure and the outer contour of the connector housing to enable relative movement therebetween. Guide pins are provided on a receptacle connector and guide pockets are provided on a plug connector to facilitate alignment therebetween during a mating operation. At least one of the receptacle and plug connectors are provided with a pattern of contact receiving cavities therein, in which the cavities are formed in staggered overlapping rows to afford a compact connector envelope while enabling large blades and large wire gauges to be used.
215 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electrical connector assembly, comprising:
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a connector housing having a mating face and a wire receiving face;
chambers formed in said connector housing extending between said mating and wire receiving faces, said chambers being arranged in upper and lower rows, each of said chambers having a main cavity and a notch opening onto one side of said main cavity, said chambers in said upper row being staggered and inverted with respect to said chambers in said lower row such that said notches in said chambers in said upper row extend between said notches in said chambers in said lower row; and
contacts secured in said chambers and arranged in corresponding upper and lower rows, said contacts having knife sections secured in said notches and having wire retention assemblies held in said main cavities of corresponding chambers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20)
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17. An electrical connector assembly, comprising:
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a connector housing having a mating face and wire receiving face;
chambers formed in said housing that extend between said mating and wire receiving faces, said chambers being arranged in first and second rows along a transverse axis of said housing; and
contacts secured in said chambers, each contact being arranged along a corresponding longitudinal axis, said contacts having knife sections located proximate said mating face and centered along said corresponding longitudinal axis, said contacts having wire retention assemblies located proximate said wire receiving face and located off center with respect to said corresponding longitudinal axis, said contacts being staggered and inverted between said first and second rows such that knife sections of said contacts in said first row extend between knife sections of said contacts in said second row.
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Specification