Connector

• US 6,672,907 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2001
• Issued: 01/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: FCI Americas Technology Incorporated (FCI)
• Original Assignee: FCI Americas Technology Incorporated (FCI)
• Inventors: Azuma, Eddie A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilman, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US09/847,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20010055917A1
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 439/682, 439/680, 439/74, 439/78, 439/857, 439/856
• US Class Current: 439/682
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/112 forked sockets having two legs

Abstract

A suitable contact state is attained by an always stable contact pressure between a male contact and a female contact which form a tuning fork type contact. For a contacts providing a tuning fork type contact 2 that attains a contact state by inserting a male contact 4 between a pair of beams 6a and 6b provided on a female contact 6, in the connected state, male contact 4 and female contact 6 are arranged so as to maintain a state wherein the width direction of the male contact is angled relative to the direction of separation of the beams 6a and 6b.

Claims

1. A connector, comprising:

(i) a first connector comprising a first housing having an external shape of an equilateral polygon having at least three substantially non-parallel sides, and a plurality of substantially planar contact blades mounted in the first housing and being substantially parallel to a plurality of of said sides; and

(ii) a second connector comprising a second housing configured to mate with said first housing and a plurality of substantially planar dual beam tuning fork contacts mounted in the second housing, wherein planes of said tuning fork contacts are substantially parallel to a plurality of side of said second housing and are disposed angularly with respect to planes of said contact blades when said first and second housings are mated, whereby, upon insertion of said contact blades into said tuning fork contacts along mating axes, the beams of said tuning fork contacts twist torsionally about axes generally parallel to said mating axes, wherein said substantially planar contact blades and said tuning fork contacts are evenly distributed with respect to all of said sides of said respective first and second housings.

2. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the width direction of said substantially planar contact blades with respect to the direction of separation between said pairs of beams is equal to or greater than approximately 30°

and equal to or less than approximately 60°

.

3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the angle of the width direction of said substantially planar contact blades with respect to the direction of separation between said pairs of beams is predetermined according to the number of sides of said equilateral polygon.

4. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the angle of the width direction of said substantially planar contact blades with respect to the direction of separation between said pairs of beams is predetermined according to the number of sides of said equilateral polygon.

5. The connector according to claim 1, wherein said first connector and said second connector are ball grid array-type connectors.

6. The connector of claim 1, wherein the external shape of the first housing is one of a triangle, a pentagon, and a hexagon.