Electrical Connector for Terminating Insulated Conductors

This invention is directed to electrical connectors and more particularly to connectors having terminals with insulation displacement terminations.

For purposes of illustrating the invention, the connector will be described with reference to connecting a power cord to a circuit board of an electronic apparatus, such as, for example, a television, a radio, a household appliance or the like. A common way of making such terminations is to hard wire the cord, that is, to strip the ends of the conductors in the cord and solder the exposed wires directly to conductive pads on the circuit board. This process is labor intensive and the resulting soldered connection must be carefully inspected to assure that the wires are securely fastened to the circuit board. It is desirable, therefore, to have a more cost effective manufacturing process that eliminates the need for hand assembly.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,899 discloses a wire to board connector having a first housing with board mountable terminals therein and a second housing having conductor-receiving apertures therein used to stuff wires into the terminals.

The present invention is directed to an electrical connector that can be mounted to a circuit board and secured thereto prior to terminating conductors to the connector. The electrical connector includes a housing having at least one conductor-receiving aperture extending thereinto from a conductor-receiving face and an associated terminal-receiving passageway extending thereinto from a board mounting face and intersecting each conductor-receiving aperture, and a terminal disposed in each terminal-receiving passageway. Each terminal includes a body portion having a first connecting section extending from one end thereof adapted to be inserted in a through-hole of a circuit board and a pair of upstanding arms defining an insulation displacement contact at an opposite end thereof for terminating an insulated conductor upon receipt thereof into an IDC slot between the arms. Each terminal is partially inserted into the housing in a first position such that a portion of the terminal body and the first connecting section extends below the board mounting face of the housing. Upon positioning the first connecting sections in corresponding through-holes of a circuit board, the terminals can be secured to the board, after which ends of insulated conductors can be inserted into respective conductor-receiving apertures and terminated therein to respective terminals by moving the housing toward the bcard to a second position against the board and simultaneously pushing all the corresponding wires into respective IDC slots. For purposes of illustration, the invention is shown as a two position connector.

In the embodiment, as shown, the board mounting face also includes a board mounting-locking post that holds the connector to the board in its first position by means of an interference fit in a cooperating aperture in the board. Upon moving the connector to its second position, the board lock extends through the board and a portion thereof locks under the board.

Additionally, the board mounting face may also include a pair of alignment posts and a board lock post, all of which extend below the board mounting face a slight distance beyond the board mounting portions of the terminals such that the housing can be aligned to the board prior to inserting the terminals into the through-holes.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the assembled connector of the present invention mounted to a circuit board with the conductors terminated therein shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the connector of FIG. 1 as viewed from the front thereof.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the connector of FIG. 1 as viewed from the board mounting surface thereof.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the internal structure of the connector housing.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the connector with the terminals inserted in their first position.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is view similar to FIG. 6 after the terminals have been terminated to the wires by moving the connector housing to the second position.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the connector taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 1 .

For purposes of illustrating the invention the connector 10 is shown as a two position connector for terminating conductors of a power cord or the like. Connector 10 includes a housing 12 and a pair of substantially flat terminals 40 disposed therein. It is to be understood that the connector may have additional terminal positions therein when required.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 8, connector housing 12 has a conductor-receiving face 14, top surface 20, and a board mounting face 22. The connector housing 12 includes a pair of conductor-receiving passageways 16 extending inwardly from the front face 14 thereof. Housing 12 further includes a pair of terminal-receiving passageways 32 extending from the board mounting surface 22 toward the top surface 20 and are in communication with the conductor-receiving passageways 16, as best seen in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of the housing 12 wherein the conductor-receiving passageways 16 extend in and beyond the terminal-receiving passageways 32. The housing further includes openings 24 which extend toward the top face 20 ending at the upper surface of the conductor-receiving passageway 16 thereby providing additional clearance of the ends of the conductors 70 to assure that the conductors 70 are completely positioned in the passageways 16. The board mounting face 22 includes a pair of alignment posts 26 and a board locking post 28 adapted to be received in corresponding apertures 64 and 66 of a circuit board 60.

Terminals 40 are stamped numbers having a body 42 having a first connecting or board mounting portion 44 extending from one side of body 42 and a pair of arms 46 defining an IDC connecting slot 52 extending in an opposite direction therefrom. Arms 46 extend upwardly from the body 42 to leading ends 48 having a tapered lead-in portion 50 thereon to guide conductors 70 into respective slots 52. For purposes of illustration, the board mounting portions 44 are shown as solder tails. It is to be understood that the board mounting portions may be surface mountable instead.

In the initial assembly position the terminals 40 are inserted into respective terminal-receiving apertures 32 such that outside edges of the terminals 40 are received in an interference fit within the passageways 32 with protrusions 51 of the terminals engaging the inner surfaces 34 of the respective passageways 32 to hold the terminals in the housing 12. The terminals 40 are held with sufficient force in the passageway such that the connector 10 can be shipped to the circuit board or appliance assembler.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, the alignment posts 26 and the board locking post 28 extend below the first connecting or board mounting sections 44 of the terminals 40. When mounting connector 10 to a circuit board 60, the alignment posts 26 and the board mounting post 28 can be positioned with the corresponding apertures 64, 66 of the circuit board to assure proper alignment of the connector 10 prior to inserting the terminals 40. This assures that the board mounting sections 44 are not damaged when mounting connector 10 to the circuit board. It is to be understood that the alignment posts 26 need not be included on the mounting face. The board locking post 28 provides sufficient force to hold the connector 10 to the board 60. Alignment posts, however, are desirable when the terminals are surface mountable to assure proper positioning of the board mounting portions.

Upon mounting the connector 10 to the circuit board 60 the alignment post and board lock post are partially inserted into the respective apertures 64, 66 such that the bottom edge 43 of the terminal bodies 42 rest against the upper surface of the circuit board 60. The housing 10 is still in its first position such that the terminals 40 can be secured to the circuit board 60 by wave soldering or similar techniques as known in the art. The housing 12 remains spaced from the board 60 a sufficient distance to avoid damage thereto by the heat during the wave soldering process. After the first connecting sections 44 of terminals 40 have been secured in the respective through-holes 62 the insulated conductors 70 can be inserted into the conductor-receiving apertures 16 with the ends thereof extending through the IDC slot 52. The conductors 70 are moved into an electrical engagement with the terminals 40 by applying pressure to the upper surface 20 of the housing 12 and moving the housing 12 toward the board 60 until the board mounting face 16 of the housing 12 touches the board 60, at which time the conductors 70 will be terminated to the terminals 40 as best seen in FIG. 7.

In some instances the circuitry of the electronic apparatus requires that electrical connections thereto be polarized. FIG. 8 shows a sectional view of the housing 12 that illustrates the polarization capability of the connector 10 of the present invention. As shown in this figure, one of the conductor-receiving apertures 16a is longer than the other aperture 16b and, in the embodiment shown, actually extends through the housing 12. FIG. 8 further shows an electrical cable 72 having two insulated conductors 70a and 70b that are split apart at leading ends thereof, each conductor being terminated to a respective terminal 40. One of the conductors 70b has been trimmed to a shorter length. Upon inserting the leading ends of conductors 70a and 70b into the respective conductor-receiving apertures 16a and 16b, the longer conductor 70a extends through the housing 12 and the leading end of conductor 16b abuts a wall surface 24a. If, on the other hand, conductor 70a were to be inserted in aperture 16b, the leading end would abut wall 24a and prevent insertion of conductor 70b into aperture 16a.

It is to be understood that the passageway 16a need not extend completely through the housing, nor that conductor 70a extend through and rearwardly from the housing 12. To provide polarization, it is only necessary that longer conductor 70a extend beyond shorter conductor 70b by a length that is substantially equal to the depth of the shorter of the two conductor-receiving passageways. It is to be further understood that the invention may be used in situations requiring polarization as well as those not requiring polarization.

The present invention provides an electrical connector comprising a single piece housing and one or more IDC terminals. The connector eliminates the need to individually strip ends of wires of conductors and hand solder them to a circuit board. The connector of the present invention provides a more cost effective manufacturing process, which requires less labor and increases reliability of the resulting electrical connections. Additionally the connector provides for polarization of the connection, if desired.

It is thought that the electrical connector of the present invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description. It is apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts thereof without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing all of its material advantages.