Abstract A contact strip blank of plural spring contacts from which individual spring contacts are severable. The blank has a plurality of side-by-side wire fingers joined at one end by a conductive, plated strip with the opposite finger ends extending in flexure relation therefrom. The free ends of the wire fingers are formed as radiused points of contact, and the blank is heat treated to develop hardness, wear resistance and spring characteristics in the fingers, and spring contacts of varying widths are severable from the blank by cuts in the direction of the fingers. In a preferred method, the blank is made by winding a substantial length coil of a single layer of fine, heattreatable precious metal alloy wire on a generally cylindrical mandrel, masking spaced strips longitudinally of the wire coil, silver plating the wire coil between the masked strips, removing the strips and cutting the strip-plated wire band from the mandrel as a sheet, cutting the wire sheet in the middle of the plated and unplated strips to provide the strip blanks for the forming and heat treating steps.
An article of commerce comprising: a contact strip blank for spring contacts comprising a plurality of side by side, relatively fine wire fingers free at one end and joined at the other end in a continuous, conductive, bonded strip, said blank having an overall length laterally across the wire fingers greater than the width of individual contacts in order to sever individual contacts of desired widths from the blank by cuts in the direction of the wire fingers.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
78 words
An article of commerce comprising: a contact strip blank for spring contacts comprising a plurality of side by side, relatively fine wire fingers free at one end and joined at the other end in a continuous, conductive, bonded strip, said blank having an overall length laterally across the wire fingers greater than the width of individual contacts in order to sever individual contacts of desired widths from the blank by cuts in the direction of the wire fingers.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
The article defined in claim 1 in which said wire fingers are of a precious metal alloy substantially 0.002 - 0.005 inch in diameter.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
The article defined in claim 1 in which said conductive strip is formed of silver plating.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The article defined in claim 1 in which the free ends of said wire fingers are curved to provide radiused points of contact and said wire fingers are heat-treated to provide spring characteristics thereto.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The article defined in claim 4 in which said wire fingers are of a precious metal alloy sub-stantially 0.002 - 0.005 inch in diameter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The article defined in claim 4 in which said conductive strip is formed of silver plating.