Electrical connector

• US 5,865,638 A
• Filed: 09/05/1997
• Issued: 02/02/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AEES Incorporated (PKC Group OYJ)
• Original Assignee: Alcoa Fujikura Ltd. (Howmet Aerospace, Inc.)
• Inventors: Trafton, Michael L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Abrams, Neil
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, TULSIDAS C
• Time in patent office: 515 Days
• Field of Search: 439/288, 439/287, 439/289, 439/927
• US Class Current: 439/288
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 11/12 End pieces terminating in an eye, hook, or fork
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/213 by bayonet connection
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/5219 Sealing means between coupling parts, e.g. interfacial seal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 439/927 Conductive gasket

Abstract

An electrical conductor establishes electrical contact between planar faces of a first terminal and a second terminal. The connector includes a resilient contact plate disposed between the faces, and locking assembly for retaining the terminals in engagement. A sealing gasket may be included, and the connector may be configured to join a number of separate wire pairs.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising:

a first terminal member and a second terminal member engageable therewith, each terminal member including a planar face portion, said terminal members being configured so that the face portions thereof are in a superposed relationship when said terminal members are engaged;

an electrically conductive contact plate disposed so as to be between, and in contact with, the face portion of said first terminal member and the face portion of said second terminal member, when said terminal members are engaged, said contact plate being compressible in a direction perpendicular to one of said face portions when it is in contact therewith; and

locking means for reversibly retaining said first and second terminal members in engagement including a tab associated with one of said terminal members and a ramp associated with the other of said terminal members;

said ramp being operative to engage with said tab and prevent further rotational movement between said engaged terminal members.

2. A connector as in claim 1 wherein said contact plate is mechanically retained on the face portion of one of said terminals.

3. A connector as in claim 1, wherein said contact plate is a circular member which includes a plurality of generally elongated contact fingers defined thereupon, each contact finger having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis, said contact fingers being oriented so that the longitudinal axes thereof are parallel to a plane defined by said circular contact plate.

4. A connector as in claim 1, wherein said contact plate includes a detent which engages one of said planar face portions so as to prevent the contact plate from moving relative thereto.

5. A connector as in claim 1, wherein the planar face portions of each of said first and second terminal members is of a generally circular configuration, and wherein said tab projects radially from one of said terminal members, and the ramp projects tangentially from the other of said terminal members;

whereby rotation of the first terminal member relative to the second terminal member will cause the tab to move along the ramp and to thereby urge the two terminal members toward one another, in a direction perpendicular to the faces thereof.

6. An electrical connector as in claim 1, wherein said first terminal member and said second terminal member are each an array comprised of a plurality of terminal units joined in a spaced apart relationship and wherein each terminal unit includes a face portion, said connector further including a plurality of said contact plates, said plates being disposed so as to be in contact with a face portion of one of said terminal units of said first terminal member and a face portion of one of said terminal units of said second terminal member, when said terminal members are engaged.

7. A connector as in claim 1, further including an elastomeric seal disposed so as to shield said face portions from an ambient atmosphere when said terminal members are engaged.

8. A connector as in claim 7, wherein said seal is retained between said contact plate and the face portion of one of said terminal members.

9. An electrical connector comprising a first terminal member and a second terminal member engageable therewith, each terminal member including a generally circular, planar, face portion, said terminal members being configured so that the face portions thereof are in superposed relationship when said terminal members are engaged;

an electrically conductive, generally circular contact plate disposed so as to be between, and in contact with the face portion of said first terminal member, and the face portion of said second terminal member, when said terminal members are engaged, said contact plate being axially compressible;

an elastomeric sealing member disposed about the periphery of one of said face portions, said sealing member being engageable with the other of said face portions when said terminal members are engaged, and being operable to seal said planar face portions from an ambient atmosphere; and

a locking tab projecting radially from one of said face portions, and a locking ramp projecting tangentially from the other of said face portions, said tab and ramp being configured so that when said first and second terminals are disposed so that the face portions thereof are in said superposed relationship, and when said face portions are rotated relative to one another, said ramp engages said tab and axially biases said face portions toward one another.

10. An electrical connector as in claim 9, wherein said contact plate is fixedly retained upon one of said face portions.

11. An electrical connector as in claim 9, wherein said sealing member is fixedly retained upon one of said face portions.