Nov. 29, 1966
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`G.’ A. FULLER ETAL
`ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A RESILIENT
`CONDUCTOR-ENGAGING AREA
`Filed April 5, 1965
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`3,288,914
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`GLENWOOD ARTHUR Fuguew.
`KENNETH Leon bJ;-nvnm/erg
`ma [5,/WM” F 54,444
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`CORNING EXHIBIT 1023
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`CORNING EXHIBIT 1023
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`

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`--—.,.—~
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`3,288,914
`United States Patent Office
`Patented Nov. 29, 1966
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`3,288,914
`ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR HAVING A RESILIENT
`CONDUCTOR-ENGAGING AREA
`Glenwood Arthur Fuller, Hershey, and Kenneth Leon
`Whitmoyer, Camp Hill, Pa., assignors to AMP Incor-
`porated, Harrisburg, Pa.
`Filed Apr. 5, 1965, Ser. No. 445,352
`2 Claims.
`(Cl. 174-84)
`
`This invention relates to an electrical connector and
`more particularly to an electrical connector of the type to
`electrically engage the conductive portion of an insulated
`conductive means.
`It is an object of the invention to provide an electrical
`connector having means to penetrate the insulation and
`engage the conductive portion of an insulated conductive
`means.
`
`It is another object of the invention to provide an elec-
`trical connector in which the means to penetrate the in-
`sulation and engage the conductive portion of a conduc-
`tive means is defined by inwardly directed and aligned
`spring projections.
`An additional object of the invention is the provision of
`a stop means in the electrical connector.
`A further object of the invention is the provision of
`insulating and sealing means for the electrical connector.
`Other objects and attainments of the present invention
`will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a
`reading of the following detailed description when taken
`in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown
`and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention;
`it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is
`not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the inven-
`tion but is given for purposes of illustration in order that
`others skilled in the art may fully understand the inven-
`tion and the principles thereof and the manner of apply-
`ing it in_practical use so that they may modify it in various
`forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a
`particular use.
`The foregoing objects are achieved in the present inven-
`tion through the provision of an electrical connector con-
`struction wherein the electrical connector has a tubular
`configuration including a stop means and inwardly di-
`rected spring projections which are spaced inwardly from
`at least one end of the tubular member, the spring pro-
`jections are directed away from the ends of the tubular
`member and the inner ends of the spring projections are
`disposed in a plane normal to the axis of the tubular
`member so that upon insertion of an insulated conductive
`means into the tubular member, the end of the conductive
`means engages the inwardly directed spring projections
`causing them to be bent in an outwardly direction thereby
`allowing the insulated conductive means to pass readily
`thereby until the end of the conductive means engages the
`stop means. After the end of the conductive means has
`come into contact with the stop means, force is applied
`to the conductive means causing the inner ends of the
`spring projections to penetrate through the insulation and
`electrically engage the conductive portion of the insulated
`conductive means. A11 insulating and sealing means is
`disposed on the electrical connector and it snugly engages
`the insulated conductive means after the conductive means
`has been disposed in the electrical connector.
`In the drawings:
`FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present inven-
`tion in blank form prior to being formed into an electri-
`cal connector;
`FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the elec-
`trical connector with one insulated conductive means dis-
`posed therein and another insulated conductive means
`exploded therefrom;
`FIGURE 3 is a perspective View of the electrical con-
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`_
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`nector with insulated conductive means disposed therein
`and insulating and sealing means snugly engaging the
`connection;
`FIGURE 4 is’ a longitudinal cross-sectional View of
`FIGURE 2;
`FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of
`FIGURE 3; and
`FIGURE 6 is a view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG-
`URE 4.
`there is illustrated in
`Turning now to the drawings,
`FIGURE 1 a blank B prior to being formed into an elec-
`trical connector and having aligned spring projections 1
`struck outwardly therefrom proximate each end thereof
`and a single projection 2 disposed about centrally of the
`blank. Spring projections 1 at each end of blank B are
`disposed toward projection 2 at an acute angle; the spring
`projections are wedge-shaped so that
`the free ends of
`the projections are not as wide as the parts where they
`integrally merge with blank 1. Projection 2 is disposed
`normal to blank B, and it preferably has a configuration
`similar to that of projections 1. Blank B is then formed
`into a triangular configuration as illustrated in FIGURE 2
`to form electrical connector EC defining a tubular mem-
`ber 3 having each side provided with inwardly directed
`wedge-shaped spring projections ll proximate each end.
`The base of tubular member 3 as illustrated contains
`projection 2 which acts as a stop means.
`The connector is susceptible to mass production by
`automatic machinery and is conveniently formed by shap-
`ing a sheet metal blank or strip of a suitable electrically
`conductive material
`in successive forming steps. The
`metal is sufficiently hard and resilient to impart to the
`spring projections a spring-like character to enable them
`to effectively engage the conductive portions of insulated
`conductive means and retain them within the electrical
`connector.
`
`The free ends of spring projections are disposed in a
`plane normal to the axis of tubular member 3 and define
`a conductive engaging area similar in configuration as
`that of tubular member 3 as illustrated in FIGURE 6.
`Therefore, as can be discerned from FIGURES 2 and 4
`through 6, spring projections 1 in each portion of the
`electrical connector are disposed in a direction away from
`the ends of the electrical connector which is in the direc-
`tion of insertion of the insulated connector means into the
`electrical connector,
`the spring projections are directed
`toward the axis of the electrical connector at an acute
`angle with respect to the sides from which they extend
`and the free ends of the spring projections are disposed
`in planes normal to the axis of the electrical connector
`which defines a conductor-engaging area that centers the
`conductive means relative to the electrical connector.
`Since the free ends of projections 1 are relatively close
`to each other at the conductor receiving area, the elec-
`trical connector of the present invention is capable of
`receiving therein a wide range of sizes of conductive
`means therein.
`An insulating and sealing means 4 is disposed on tubu-
`lar member 3 in order to provide insulation fo-r the elec-
`trical connector, and, as can be discerned, the ends of in-
`sulating and sealing means 4 extend outwardly beyond
`electrical connector EC to snugly engage insulation of
`the insulated conductor means for disposition within the
`conductor-engaging areas of the electrical connector.
`In-
`sulating and sealing means 4 is preferably made from
`shrinkable plastic in order to snugly engage the electrical
`connector as well as the insulation of the insulated con-
`ductive means upon the application of heat thereto.
`In operation, an unstripped end of insulated conductive
`means 5 is pushed into one end of tubular member 3
`beyond the free ends of spring projections 1 until it en-
`gages stop means 2. As the conductive means passes by
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`spring projections 1, they are cammed outwardly toward
`their respective surfaces of the tubular member. After
`the end of conductive means 5 has engaged stop means 2,
`a force is applied to the conductive means in a direction
`opposite to the insertion of the conductive means within
`the tubular member causing the free ends of the spring
`projections to penetrate through the insulation of the
`conductive means and electrically engage the conductive
`portion thereof as illustrated in FIGURES 4 through 6.
`The inner edges of the free ends of spring projections are
`sharp so as to readily penetrate through the insulation of
`the conductive means, and, when the sharp edges of the
`spring projections engage the conductive portion of the
`conductive means,
`the outwardly directed force causes
`them to bite into the conductive portion causing the con-
`ductive means to be secured within the tubular member.
`Since the free ends of the spring projections apply a
`substantially uniform pressure onto the conductive portion
`of the conductive means, the conductive means is readily
`secured within the tubular member and can withstand a
`tensile approaching the strength of the conductive means.
`An insulated conductive means 5’
`is inserted into the
`other end of tubular member 3 and the same procedure
`as outlined herein above is followed in order to secure
`this conductive means therewithin.
`insulating and
`As illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 5,
`sealing means 4 is disposed on the electrical connector
`so as to provide insulation therefor as well as to snugly
`engage the insulation of insulated conductive means 5, 5’
`and to provide an effective seal to prevent moisture or
`contaminating objects to effect the electrical connection
`between the electrical connector and the insulated con-
`ductive means.
`Instead of the electrical connector having insulation
`penetrating and conductive portion engaging means in
`both sections of the tubular member, only one ‘section of
`the electrical connector may be provided with the insula-
`tion penetrating and conductive portion engaging means
`while the other section may be a means to connect the
`connector to a terminal.
`If desired, the ends of the con-
`ductive means may be stripped prior to being inserted
`within the electrical connector and an effective mechani-
`cal and electrical connection will still be attainable there-
`between. While only three spring projections 1 are dis-
`closed in alignment on each side of stop means 2, other
`aligned spring projections may, of course, be provided on
`each side of the stop means as desired. Configurations of
`tubular members 3 other than the configuration illustrated
`may be utilized such as, for example, rectangular, pentan-
`gular, etc. The electrical connector may have as many
`sections as desirable with each including aligned spring
`projections 1 to interconnect as many electrical leads.
`As can be discerned, there has been disclosed a unique
`electrical connector having inwardly directed and aligned
`spring projections which penetrate the insulation of an
`insulated conductive means if the insulation has not been
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`stripped therefrom, and the spring projections mechani-
`cally and electrically engage the conductive portion of
`the conductive means as well as secure the conductive
`means within the electrical connector; the electrical con-
`nector is provided with an insulating and sealing means
`to provide insulation for the electrical connector and ends
`of the insulating and sealing means extend beyond the
`ends of the electrical connector to snugly engage the in-
`sulation of the insulated conductive means to provide an
`effective seal therebetween.
`It will,
`therefore, be appreciated that the aforemen-
`tioned and other desirable objects have been achieved;
`however, it should be emphasized that the particular em-
`bodiment of the invention, which is shown and described
`herein,
`is intended as merely illustrative and not as re-
`strictive of the invention.
`What is claimed is:
`
`1. In a connector of the type described, a conductive
`tubular member having at least three sides, spring pro-
`jections disposed in each side of said tubular member and
`including free ends extending away from an end of said
`tubular member, said spring projections having a trun-
`cated configuration with said free ends being of less width
`than the width of opposite ends integrally connected to
`said sides, said free ends being directed toward each other
`and being disposed adjacent each other to define a com-
`mon conductor-engaging area disposed in a plane sub-
`stantially normal to a longitudinal axis of said tubular
`member, said conductor-engaging area defining a con-
`figuration similar to that of said tubular member to pro-
`vide uniform engagement pressure on an electrical con-
`ductor means when placed within said conductor-engag-
`ing area with the free ends of the spring projections biting
`into the electrical conductor means upon the electrical
`conductor means being moved in a direction opposite to
`its direction of insertion to provide a mechanical and
`electrical connection.
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`2. In a connector according to claim 1 wherein insula-
`tion and sealing means is disposed on said tubular member
`to insulate said tubular member and includes an end ex-
`tending beyond a respective end of the tubular member to
`sealingly engage the conductor means secured in the con-
`ductor-engaging area of said tubular member.
`
`References Cited by the Examiner
`UNITED STATES PATENTS
`
`1,563,585
`2,291,434
`
`878,993
`
`1/1926 Brune _____________ __ 174———84
`7/1942 Hollopeter et al. _ _ _ _ __ l74—90
`FOREIGN PATENTS
`10/1961 Great Britain.
`
`LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner.
`
`DARRELL L. CLAY, LEWIS H. MYERS, Examiners.