Abstract:
An electrical connector is provided with a plurality of contacts, each of the contacts having an insulation-opening terminal element of sheet metal construction to electrically contact an insulated conductor. The contact is advantageously constructed for receiving an insulated stranded conductor, but is equally applicable for receiving an insulated solid conductor. Each contact includes an active portion, of either male or female configuration, a terminal element portion, and an intermediate portion connecting the active and terminal element portions. The terminal element portion preferably includes an elongate open channel of U-shaped cross-sectional configuration having side and bottom walls, the sidewalls including opposite portions dimpled in to provide inner detents forming, and separated by, a conductor-receiving notch for opening the insulation of the conductor and electrically engaging the underlying exposed conductor. A plurality of different embodiments of a detent are offered, each of which advantageously includes an enlarged wiping surface, a notch entrance and a smooth portion adjacent the notch entrance to prevent snagging, and possibly severing, of the individual strands of a stranded conductor.
Abstract:
An electrical connector having an improved panel mounting construction and an improved releasable contact construction. The improved panel mounting construction typically comprises first and second pairs of resilient wings provided on opposite sides of the housing. Each pair of wings comprises a resilient stop wing and a deflectable snap-in wing projecting through an aperture provided in the stop wing. The stop wing provides bearing surfaces for resiliently bearing against the entry side of a panel and the snap-in wing has a locking lip with bearing surfaces for resiliently bearing against the opposite side of the panel after being passed through a panel opening by inward deflection of the snap-in wing. The improved releasable contact construction provides for unusually reliable and rugged retention of a contact in its receiving cavity by the combined action of a deflectable retention tine provided on the contact operating on the principle of long beam deflection with respect to a retention shoulder in the cavity along with two additionally provided radially compressible retention flares operating on the principle of radial compression with respect to the same retention shoulder.