Patent EP0151253A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0151253A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Connector mechanisms
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1984-12-04
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2004-12-04
Abstract
Abstract U A connector mechanism for electrically connecting two structures 22, 24 carrying conducting lines 26, comprises fixed contacts 28 on one of the structures and floating contacts 30 on the other of the structures, the floating contacts being free to move towards and away from the fixed contacts and across the fixed contacts as independent motions, under the control of a common actuator 50, 52, 54, each floating contact being an electrically integral part, carried by the actuator, of a flexible conductive film 34. The provision of a shroud 46 on the fixed contact structure carrying markings 48A, 488 registered with the fixed contacts 28 and engaging the actuator provides coarse location, while the flexibility of the film and the mounting of the floating contacts on a resilient pad 38 on a carriage 50 provided with cam followers 54 riding on a multi-throw linear cam 52, together comprising the actuator permits independent locating and wiping motions, independently of each other and at selected pressures, including zero pressure on insertion, making the connector mechanism an effective ZIF connector.
Inventors
- 👤 John Brian Gillett
- 👤 John Albert Miraglia
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 00:09
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R12/00; H01R12/70; H01R12/82; H01R12/85; H01R12/89
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
83 words
A connector mechanism for electrically connecting two structures (22,24) carrying conducting lines(26), the connector mechanism comprising fixed contacts (28) on one of the structures (22), floating contacts (30) on the other of the structures (24), the floating contacts being free to move towards and away from the fixed contacts and across the fixed contacts as independent motions, under the control of a common actuator (32), each floating contact being an electrically integral part, carried by the actuator, of a flexible conductive film (34).
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
83 words
A connector mechanism for electrically connecting two structures (22,24) carrying conducting lines(26), the connector mechanism comprising fixed contacts (28) on one of the structures (22), floating contacts (30) on the other of the structures (24), the floating contacts being free to move towards and away from the fixed contacts and across the fixed contacts as independent motions, under the control of a common actuator (32), each floating contact being an electrically integral part, carried by the actuator, of a flexible conductive film (34).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
67 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein, with the connector mechanism assembled by the prior bringing together of the two structures, a single pass of the common actuator produces the following time separated sequence of relative movements: motion of the floating contacts toward the fixed contacts until the floating contacts touch the fixed contacts; followed by motion of the floating contacts across the fixed contacts.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
124 words
A connector mechanism releasably electrically interconnecting two structures (22,24), each structure carrying conducting lines (26), the connector mechanism comprising a common actuator(32), fixed contacts (28) on one of the structures (22) electrically connected to the conducting lines thereon, a flexible conductive film (34) forming at least part of the other structure (24) and accommodating at least an extension of the conducting lines thereof, and floating contacts (30) which are an electrically integral part of the flexible conductive film, are carried by the common actuator and are free to move both towards and away from the fixed contacts as well as across the fixed contacts, as independent motions, under the control of the common actuator , while the structures are maintained in an engaged juxtaposition.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
124 words
A connector mechanism releasably electrically interconnecting two structures (22,24), each structure carrying conducting lines (26), the connector mechanism comprising a common actuator(32), fixed contacts (28) on one of the structures (22) electrically connected to the conducting lines thereon, a flexible conductive film (34) forming at least part of the other structure (24) and accommodating at least an extension of the conducting lines thereof, and floating contacts (30) which are an electrically integral part of the flexible conductive film, are carried by the common actuator and are free to move both towards and away from the fixed contacts as well as across the fixed contacts, as independent motions, under the control of the common actuator , while the structures are maintained in an engaged juxtaposition.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
70 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in either claim 1 or claim 3, wherein the common actuator comprises a carriage (50), cam followers (54A,54B) mounted thereon, a resilient interposer (38) fixed to the carriage and supporting the floating contacts and a linear cam (52) arranged, in operation, to engage the cam followers to produce a compound camming mechanism able to produce time separated motion in different directions in a single actuation.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
130 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 4, wherein, with the connector mechanism assembled by the prior bringing together of the two structures, a single " engaging" pass of the common actuator means produces the following time separated sequence of relative movements: motion of the floating contacts toward the fixed contacts until the floating contacts just touch the fixed contacts; followed by attempted motion of the floating contacts toward the fixed contacts such that distortion of the resilient interposer applies a pressure between the fixed and floating contacts; followed by motion of the floating contacts across the fixed contacts in one direction or in two opposed directions; followed by further attempted motion of the floating contacts towards the fixed contacts further increasing the pressure between the fixed and floating contacts.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
80 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, further including a rigid shroud (46), mounted on the one of the structures (22) and engaging the actuator when the structures are in an engaged juxtaposition to act as a coarse locator for the floating contacts relative to the fixed contacts by locating the carriage in the direction of bringing together of the two structures, and for the linear cam in directions perpendicular thereto, relative to the fixed contacts.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
29 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 6, wherein the shroud embodies locating markings (48A,48B) registered with the fixed contacts, and engageable by the linear cam and the carriage.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
40 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 4 or any claim appendant thereto, as one of a plurality of such connector mechanisms connecting the two structures, wherein the connector mechanism incorporates plural flexible films and an equal plurality of carriages.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
50 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, as one of a pair of such connector mechanisms connecting the two structures and including a coupling yoke (64) coupling the linear cam of the connector mechanism to the linear cam means of the other of the connector mechanisms.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
49 words
A connector mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim as one of a pair of directly coupled such mechanisms, wherein the flexible film is common to both connector mechanisms of the pair and comprises substantially the whole of the floating contact structure associated with the pair of connector mechanisms.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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