US2904771A - Electrical connector with doubleended socket contacts - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 15., 1959 H. H. BURTT ETAL 2,904,771

ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLEENDED SOCKET CONTACTS Filed Feb. :5, 1955 s Sheets-Sheet 2 o fza I O IN V EN TOR.

HOPdf/O A! 1500/? gs BYDOAMZD 2 05/74? AVTOQ/VEF Sept- 15, 1959 H. H. BURTT ETAL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLE-ENDED SOCKET CONTACTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 3, 1955 #024775 2??? BY DOA/4Z0 2. 08234 fig/4.

United States Patent ELECIRICAL CONNECTOR WITH DOUBLE- ENDEDi SOCKET CONTAQTS Horatio, H. Burttg. Stamford, and: Donald R. De Tar, Stratfordt Corina; said De. Tar assiguor to said Burtt Application February 3, 1955, Serial No. 485,945-

3 Claims. (Cl; 3395-184) This invention relates to an electrical connector formed of, two parts having; male contacts and an intermediate dOllbiQrCIldCd socket contact adaptor.

Heretofore, hermetically sealed connectors with pln contacts which mate with hermetically sealed connector parts having socket contacts have been produced and used in such places as in aircraft to prevent air leakage from pressurized cabins. Such connectors have also been used successfully in other places where the pressure within a space must be maintained while, having in its wall thereof electrical connections for the passing of electric current therethrough. Such connectors have been, of the type having a metal body in which the pin contacts have been secured within openings therein by the use of glass insulating beads fused to the wall of the connector body opening and to the pin contact. Such contacts have been individually fused within the connector body and also severally fused in. a single opening, but separated from one another.

There are certain installations, where it has beenrequired to have a hermetically sealed" connector with socket contacts lying within an intermediate adaptor part and with two connector parts. connected thereto at the opposite sides thereof with pin. contacts, all of which are hermetically sealed by glass beads in openings provided in the metal connector bodies. it would seem that socket contacts could be similarly connected with openings by glass. insulating beads in the same manner than pin contacts are connected. This has been found to be a problem and the present invention has been made to overcome this problem, It was found that only certain materials such as nickel-iron alloys could be satisfactorily fused into the glass insulating beads. While such alloys could be used for the male or pin contacts, they could not be used for the socket contacts because of their lack of spring; quality. If such a spring material were available, which would fuse to the glass,,it would be annealed by their:-

tense heat ,of the fusing operation so that it would; not

make a satisfactory electrical connection to the mating pin contact.

in printed card circuits adapted to be connected to a receptacle of conventional design that is ordinarily mounted in the customers equipment and in which the printed card has pin contacts extending from one side adapted to fit into the receptacle and pin contacts from the other side adapted to mate with other receptacles, the customers circuit may require that the electrical connections be made between the. pins extending to the right of the printed card and to pins, extending to the left on h r printed c rds I it is accordingly an obi-cot of this invention to provide n. elec r al c nnector ha will ha e an int media member with double-ended sockets. so that the pin contacts on the connector parts or printed cardcircuits can be connected together with a minimum of Qffort.

It is another object of the invention to. providev an adaptor for hermetic connector parts. having pin conice tacts so. as to permit the. engagement of one hermetically sealed connector part with pin contacts to another hermetically sealed connector part with .pin contacts and thereby eliminate the need for having to employ a special alloy such as nickel-iron for the socket contacts on the connector part and to allow the use of socket contacts made from standard spring material.

It is still another object of the invention to .provide an electrical connector wherein an adaptor having doubleended' socket contacts can be aifixed to the pin connector part of the customers equipment by means of the polarizing elements on the adaptor which can be threaded into the openingsin which the polarizing parts of the connector were secured so that theadaptor thereby becomes fixed to theconnector member in the customers equipment.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a double-ended socket contact for the adaptor in which the spring fingers on one end of the contact are stiffer than the spring fingers on the other end of the contact, the stifier fingers being used on the pinsof the connector of the customers equipment where. there, is a little sliding action to clean oil: any corrosion which might occur and where the adaptor is heldim novable'upon the connector part of the customers equipment; and the more resilient fingers are adapted tore ceive the pins of the separable connector half or part-where a relatively low frictional force isdesirable to permitthe easy removal of the separable connectorhalf; v

Other objects OfihQlIiVefltlOn are toprovide an electrical connector having two connectorparts with pin contacts and an intermediate adaptorpart having doubleended sockets with the above objects in rnind, which is of simpleconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, has a minimum number-ofpaits, is easytoassemble of pleasing appearance, compact, durablehas longlife, efiicient and efieotive-in'use. i

For other objects and a betterunderstanding of the invention, reference may; be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front face elevational view of a connector part having-pin contacts connected to the connector body by means of glass insulating beads, the connector part beingthat which is fixed to the customers equipment;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the completely assent bled connector with portionsbroken away to show the interior construction thereof and themanner in which the parts are connected to 'one'another;

Fig. 3 is an exploded fragmentarysectionalview showlijpg the connecting parts of the lower end of the assem- Fig. 4 is an elevational view of a 'connector part wherein the pin contacts are embedded 'in a common glass bead but separated from one another;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational View of the assembly 'with the-adaptor in place upon the fixed connector part and the. separable connector part slightly. out of engagement with the adaptor and in position to. be thrust home rein;

is a per pec iewf a..double=endeclz socket contact such as used on-theadaptor-part;

Fig. 7 is anenlarg ed' fragmen arysecticn l vi w taken through one of the s cket c ntacts and as: viewed n l ne. 7-7- of1Fig. 31,;v 1

g- 7a is a. fragmentary view of .c itied format theinventi ni; r v I Fig. 8, is an elevational view oi a printed-circuitc8d having male pi co sztsdon ,theopwsi e de thereof; Fig. 3 is n a d s ev iona-l view. ofa printed circuit .tened wire attaching portions 16".

are used to secure smaller circuit cards to the one printed circuit card;

Fig. is an elevational view of the socket contact connector part;

Fig. 11 is an end elevational view of the printed circuit card with the pins on the opposite face thereof;

Fig. 12 is a collective view of the small printed circuit cards with the adaptors respectively connected thereto;

Fig. 13 is a front face elevational view of the receptacle forming a part of the customers equipment;

Fig. 14 is a front face elevational view looking upon one side of the printed card;

Fig. 15 is a collective view of the front face of each of the small printed cards to which the adaptors are attached;

Fig. 16 is an enlarged end elevational fragmentary view of the assembly taken through the main printed circuit card and one of the small printed cards and one adaptor, the view being broken away to show the interior construction of the cards and the adaptor and the doubleended socket contact therein:

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6, 15 represents a metal body connector part having pin or male contacts 16 individually insulated from the metal body by glass beads 17 fused to the metal body part within openings thereof and to the pin contacts which are made of nickel-iron alloys to withstand the fusing operation of the glass. There are a number of these pin contacts and they are usually arranged in rows within the metal body, as shown in Fig. 1, and may be of different sizes. A large contact will have a flattened portion 16 with a hole therein and to which wires are aflixed and soldered. The small pin contacts have similar flat- On one end of the connector part and within an opening 18 thereof is a male guide pin 19. This guide pin has a threaded portion 20 that is threaded into an opening 21 of a retaining socket 22 extending through the opening 18 of the metal body part 15 up to its flange 23, Fig. 2. This guide pin 19 is removable with a screw driver inserted in an end slot 24 and it is extended into the threaded opening 21 up to its flange 25. The guide pin 19 is removable from the threaded opening 21 for the purpose of attaching adaptor 26 thereto. The construction and purpose of this adaptor 26 will be described in detail further on.

On the other end of the metal contact body 15 and as seen in Fig. 3, there is provided a female guide socket 27 having a threaded portion 28 adapted to enter a threaded opening 29 of a retaining member 30 inserted within an opening in the metal body up to its flange 31. The guide socket 27 has a shoulder 32 that engages the end of the retaining member 30 when the guide socket 27 is at home therewithin. The guide socket 27 is secured by a screw driver that can engage slot 33 in the end thereof to turn the guide pin into the threaded opening 29 or to remove it therefrom.

It will be seen that the connector part 15 is of hermetically sealed construction, and this part is usually fixed in sealing engagement in the wall of a customers equipment.

In order to have the objects of the present invention fulfilled and to be able to connect to the connector part 15 another connector part wherein the contacts are hermetically sealed within the body thereof as with glass insulating beads, it has become necessary to provide the adaptor 26 which will have double-ended socket contacts 35 that will respectively engage and connect with the respective pin contacts of the connector part 15. These double-ended socket contacts 35 are made of spring material since they do not have to be secured to their carrying body by fusing or be subjected to heat that would cause them to become annealed. The adaptor 26 has stepped diameter openings 36 therein for receiving the contacts 35 and to provide a shoulder 37 against which 1 4 an intermediately located flange 38 of the contact 35 may engage.

The adaptor 26 with its contacts 25 is arranged to be permanently afiixed to the connector part 15. This is done by removing the guide pin 19 and socket 27 of the connector part 15 and extending them respectively through stepped diameter openings 39 and 40 respectively and tightening them to bring the face of the adaptor part against the front face of the connector part 15. The opening 39 has a shoulder 41 against which the flange 25 of the pin 19 will be tightened. The opening 40 has a shoulder 42 against which the shoulder 32 of the female guide socket 27 will be tightened.

The adaptor will seldom be removed once it has been secured to the connector part 15. Accordingly, spring fingers 43 and 44 on one end of the double socket contact 35 are made stiffer and larger in external diameter than spring fingers 45 and 46 which are to receive pin contacts 47 of a metal connector part 48 that will be separably connected to the adaptor 26 and which will have its contacts secured to the metal body with glass insulating beads and hermetically sealed. The spring fingers 45 and 46 respectively have reinforcing beads 51 and 52 on their outer ends to stiffen them and prevent wear resulting from the insertion and removal of the pins 47 of the separable contact part 43.

To keep the double-ended socket 335 from rotating within the openings 36, the opening 36 is provided adjacent its shoulder and throughout the larger part thereof with a longitudinally extending face 53, Fig. 7, with which a cut away edge 38' of the flange 38 of the contact 35 can engage. In this way rotation of the contact is prevented.

While the pin contact 16 engages the socket contact 35 through the stiff fingers 43 and 44, a desired tight fit is obtained at this point as there is little, if any, relative sliding action to clean off any corrosion which might occur. The more resilient fingers 45 and 46 engage the pins 47 of the separable connector part where a relatively low frictional force is desired in order that the connector part 48 can be easily separable from the adaptor 26.

The pin contacts 47 of the separable connector part 48 are insulated from the metal body thereof by beads 54. These pin contacts 47 have flattened terminal portions 47 and 47 to which wires of the other unit and within the wall of which this connector part 48 is attached.

The connector part 48 carries a socket guide member 55 that is threaded by its shank 56 into a threaded opening 57 of a retaining member 59, carried within an opening 60 in the body of the connector part 48. This socket member 55 mates with the pin 19.

At the other end of the connector part 48 is a male or pin guide 62 adapted to engage with the socket guide member 27 in the adaptor 26. This guide pin 62 is held in the metal body by a retaining member 63 that is internally threaded to receive a threaded shank portion 64 of the guide pin 62. The guide pin 62 is tightened by a screw driver so that its flange 65 will engage shoulder 66 of the retaining member 63.

It should now be apparent that by the use of the adaptor 26 two hermetically sealed connector parts can be placed in electrical circuit relationship with one another.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, there is shown the form of the invention wherein a plurality of pin contacts 70 are fused in a glass insulating mass 71 of circular shape and fused to the wall of a large opening 72 in a metal connector body 73. These pin contacts 70 have flattened end terminals 74. The pin contacts 70 are angularly spaced relative to one another and a single contact is provided in the center of the glass mass. The connector part 73 is secured to the customers equipment and has retaining members 75 and 76 which normally secure guide members thereto and in the manner'as above described wtih referenceito. the first form of the invention.

In order that asimilarly constructed connector part 77 having pin contacts 78- to the connector parti-73 so that it can be separated'therefrom, an adaptor 79 of insulating material is provided and is secured to the connector part 73 in the' manner above describedin connection with the first form of the invention'and By the guide pins of the first connector part; I

This insulating block or adaptor 79- has a plurality of double-ended socket contacts 80 similar tothe contacts 35' above described and spaced and arranged relative to one another so-as to be aligned and to receive-the pin'contacts 70 of the connector part 73.

The connector part 77hasretaining members: 81 and 8-2 which carryand secure to the separable connector part 77 guide-pins 8 3; and-84 adapted to engage with the pins serving to hold the adaptor 79 upon the first connector part 73. As shown in Fig. 5, the separable connector part 77 is not all the way home, but is inposition to-be thrust' into the adaptor part 791 This separable con.- nector 77 canbe attached to a unit which has-to be hermetically sealed. The pin contacts accordingly are hermetically sealed withinthe glass mass 85 within an opening 86in the connector body.

The contact pins 70 of the connector part 73 engage with the relatively thick fingers 87 of a double-ended socket contact 80 and the pins 78 engage themore resilient or thin fingers 88 on the opposite end of the socket contact 80'.

It will be apparent that by the use of the adaptor 79 with the double-ended socket contacts the connector part 73 has been adapted for use with another connector part 77 similarly constructed and which has its contacts retained by glass insulating material and are hermetically sealed.

Referring now to- Figs. 8" to- 16, a description will be made of the invention as applied to printed circuit cards to effect the connection of male or pin'contactsassembled upon the printed circuit cards in order that the cards can be connected to a receptacle having socket contacts and the connection thereto of other printed cards with thin contacts. The printed" card as indicated at 90 can be of any shape and has conductors 91 that represent the circuit paths in full and as provided upon the near face of the printed card. The printed card 90 is formed of insulating material and the conductors are printed thereon by the usual processes. Dotted line conductors as indicated at 92 show the conductors on the opposite face of the card. These conductors lead from terminal areas 93 from which pin contacts 94 extend. The card 90 is as shown substantially twice the size of such a card having the present adaptation. The minimum width of the conductors may be /32 of an inch while the minimum spacing of the conductors is of like dimension. Where the conductors cross over from one face to the other face, they are so indicated at 95- by the change of the full lines to the dotted lines. Holes 96 and 97 may serve for receiving screws for the attachment of the cards to fix the cards to a support. The conducting strips upon the card of insulating material are generally applied by one of two methods. With one method the desired pattern is printed on the face of the card with a semi-conducting ink, such as carbon or metal powder. in a suitable vehicle. The card is then electro-plated with a metal of high conductivity, usually copper or silver. The metal builds up on the conductive ink pattern, but the remaining surface of the insulating card is left bare.

Another method of providing the conducting strips is to provide a thin foil of metal, usually of copper upon one or both faces of the sheet of insulating material and by adhering the same thereto. The required circuit pattern is then printed on the foil, using an impervious ink, such as varnish or lacquer. The whole card is then immersed in a corrosive bath, such as nitric acid, which etches. awaythe exposed metal, but leaves intact" that portion of the metal which is protected: by-the ink. The ink is;'then; dissolved otfisoas to :leavetherequired conductive pattern.

The conductive stripsforrned: byeither of' these methods are. usually thin: andweak and: the strength of the bond between the metal and: the insulator is usually not too great; The pincontacts- 94 are made rigidlyaflixed' to the insulating body... These. pin contacts must" be mated'with socket contacts inorder to. provide for a certain amount of float; or side playrsothat propervv mating of the contacts willi, occur, even if there has. been some unavoidable mis spacing: of: thezcontacts'.

With the conventional type of connector,. such float or side play on either or both the pin and socket contacts is-;tak.en. care of due to the contacts being attached to flexible wiresi With" printed cards and a connector for connecting two parallel printed circuit cards together, either set of contacts can float as the resultant movement of the contacts wouldfflexv the weak printed circuit conductors and eventually. would 1' cause thenr to break.

The pins 94 at thezlower end of the printed card are adapted to be thrust into a receptacle 98 having pron-gs 99-that is apart of the;customersequipment. A guide pin 100 is also thrust into. thereceptacle 98' to stabilize the card upon: the receptacle 98.

Upon the: opposite face of the printed card? are projected: two rows of pin contacts1=01 lying just above: the contactsc94, but upon; the opposite side thereof: Also on the opposite side ofthe card 901 and: along the upper portion thereof are-two-rows of pin contacts 102.

The; receptacle: 98' has. socket contacts 103 and 110.4: of larger size. The; guide pins 100; will enter guide pin sockets. 105 of the; receptacle 98, Fig. 13.

Thepin'contacts; are secured: to the card 90in'the man ner as: shown. in Fig; 1:6; and each. has. a. flangev 106. that engages the face of the card and an upset portion L07 that extends over theconductoron; the opposite surface ofwthecardl These pin: contactsv are rigidly retained' in the cards' and there is no chance of the samebeing flexed.

In order to make connection with the pins-101and'102, a receptacle 108 and a receptacle 109- are respectively provided upon small printed circuit cards 1'10) and 111. The card 110 has pin contacts 112; and the card 111 has pin contacts 113. Thereceptacles or adaptors have. double-end socket contacts11=4- for engagement with the pins 101 and 1021' and also for engagement with the pins112 and 113 of the small cards 110 and 111.

Each of the pins.113 has a flange 115 that engages. one face of the printed card and an upset portion 116 that engages a conductor 1 17 provided on the outer face of the outer face of the; small printed circuit cards 110. and 111. Screws 118. and 119* are provided on each small printed card to secure the card to the adaptor 109 and 110'.

The adaptor 109 is formed of insulating material and has an opening 120 for receiving the double-end socket contact 114 and a shoulder 121 against which flange 122 of the socket engages. The conductors 117 can have any pattern desired, depending upon the circuit being made upon the card.

Since the deflection, or misalignment, of the pins 102 and 113, and as well the pins 94 is accommodated by the spring double-ended sockets and the spring sockets of the receptacle 98, there is little chance for working the pin contacts to..a point where they might flex or break the weak printed circuit conductors. The circuit cards have pin contacts rigidly connected to the cards in rivet fashion. and electrically connected to the conductive strips by soldering. As with the hermetic connectors previously disclosed, floating, double-ended socket contacts engage both sets of pins and provide electrical continuity while permitting a reasonable misalignment of the two sets of pin contacts. It will be seen that the basic idea is the same for the printed circuit connector and the her- ,7 metically sealed connector, even though the reason for the use of each is different.

In Fig. 7a a metal body 130 contains contact pins 131 retained in glass beads 132. This body has enlarged opening 133 of greater diameter than the external diameter of the socket type guide member in which there is fitted and brazed a guide pin retaining member 134 having an enlarged diameter portion 135 having a reduced diameter portion 136 projecting therefrom. Fixed to the reduced diameter sleeve portion 136 is a guide pin 137 that extends through the large diameter portion 135. A shank 137 is press fitted and brazed to the reduced diameter sleeve portion 136. The cooperating socket guide pin member will fit into the enlarged portion 135 of the retaining member 134 when the socket member 27 encompasses the guide pin 137. This construction makes for a hermetically sealed means for the securing of the guide pin to the metal body 130.

It should noW be apparent that there has been provided means by which hermetically sealed or glass bead connectors having pin contacts can be connected with one another and where it is unnecessary to attempt to use spring contacts of the same material as the pin contacts and wherein there will be no loss of springiness resulting from the fusing operation should socket contacts have to be placed in glass beads or the need of a fusing operation for socket contacts. It should thus now readily be seen that the pin contact connector on the customers equipment can be readily adapted for use with a unit also having a hermetically sealed pin contact.

It should also be apparent that with printed circuit cards the pins can be readily affixed to the printed card in contact with the connectors and due to the use of an adaptor having double-ended socket contacts, any misalignment can be taken up by the spring contacts so that the pin contacts will not be bent or injure or break the conductors.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connector part with a metal body having openings therein, pin contacts respectively connected Within said openings With fused glass beads and projecting therefrom, said contacts being of metal that will withstand the fusing operation, an insulating body having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, double-ended socket contacts respectively retained within said respective apertures, each of said contacts having resilient contact fingers at one end adapted for forcible engagement With the pin contacts of the connector part, and resilient contact fingers at the other end for separable engagement with other pin contacts, a separable connector part with a metal body having openings therein and pin contacts connected within said opening With fused glass beads and projected therefrom for separable engagement with the separable resilient fingers of the socket contacts of the insulating body, polarizing guide members afiixing the insulating body to the one metal connector part and projecting from the insulating body and said separable connector part having polarizing guide member engageable with the guide members projecting from the insulating body, said guide members being of pin and socket formation, the metal body of each connector part having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameter of the socket member, and a retaining sleeve for securing the pin guide member Within the opening having a large diameter portion brazed to the metal body and a reduced diameter portion, and said pin guide member brazed to the reduced diameter portion and projecting through the large diameter portion, said large diameter portion receiving the socket guide member when, the socket member encompasses the pin guide member.

2. A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connector part with a metal body having openings therein, pin contacts respectively connected Within said openings with insulating beads and projecting therefrom, said contacts being of metal, an insulating body having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, doubleended socket contacts respectively retained Within said respective apertures, each of said contacts having resilient contact fingers at one end adapted for forcible engagement With the pin contacts of the connector part, and resilient contact fingers at the other end for separable engagement with other pin contacts, a separable connector part with a metal body having openings therein and pin contacts connected within said opening with insulating beads and projected therefrom for separable engagement With the separable resilient fingers of the socket contacts of the insulating body, polarising guide members afiixing the insulating body to the one metal connector part and projecting from the insulating body and said separable connector part having a polarizing guide member engageable With the guide members projecting from the insulating body, said guide members being of pin and socket formation, the metal body of each connector part having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameter of the socket member, and a retaining sleeve for securing the pin guide member within the opening having a large diameter portion brazed to the metal body and a reduced diameter portion, and said pin guide member brazed to the reduced diameter portion and projecting through the large diameter portion, said large di ameter portion receiving the socket guide member when the socket member encompasses the pin guide member.

3.A hermetically sealed electrical connector comprising a connector part with a metal body having openings therein, pin contacts respectively connected Within said openings with insulating beads and projecting therefrom, said contacts being of metal, and insulating body having a plurality of apertures extending therethrough, doubleendcd socket contacts respectively retained within said respective apertures, each of said contacts having resilient contact fingers at one end adapted for forcible engagement with the pin contacts of the connector part, and resilient contact fingers at the other end for separable engagement with other pin contacts, a separable connector part with a metal body having openings therein and pin contacts connected with said opening with insulating beads and projected therefrom for separable engagement with the separable resilient fingers of the socket contacts of the insulating body, polarizing guide members affixing the insulating body to the one metal connector part and projecting from the insulating body and said separable connector part having polarizing guide members engageable with the guide members projecting from the insulating body, said guide members being of pin and socket formation, the metal body of each connector part having an opening of a diameter greater than the diameter of the socket member, and means for securing the pin guide member within the opening having a large diameter portion brazed to the metal body and a reduced diameter portion, and said pin guide member brazed to the reduced diameter portion and projecting through the large diameter portion, said large diameter portion receiving the socket guide member when the socket member encompasses the pin guide member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,265,341 Borchert Dec. 9, 1941 2,466,370 Burtt Apr. 5, 1919 2,513,305 Gagnier et al July 4, 1950 2,603,681 Salisbury July 15, 1952 2,658,183 .Klostermann et al. Nov. 3, 1953

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