US3764957A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Electrical connector
Assignee: CIT Group Credit Finance Inc
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Filing: 1971-12-17
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Granted: 1973-10-09
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Expires: 1991-12-17
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus for enabling the rapid and reliable connection and disconnection of plug type connectors and their low cost manufacture, including a nut member that indicates when a screw is fully tightened, frames that facilitate unplugging in a commonly practiced though officially unrecognized manner, and contact elements shaped for accurate location in the frames. The nut member has a thread-engaging lip initially angled to extend away from the other connector frame, so that as a screw from the other frame becomes fully tightened the lip deforms and thereby suddenly increases screw-tightening resistance that signals the repairman to stop turning the screw. The female frame of a connector set has end walls that are tapered to permit disconnection of the frames by tilting them away from one another without binding. The recesses in each frame that receive tiny contact elements, have inwardly extending flanges near the tops of the recesses, and each resilient contact element has a wide lower portion biased upwardly against the flanges and a narrower upper portion passing between and beyond the flanges.
Inventors
- 👤 R Iversen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 13:31
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R13/00; H01R13/62; H01R13/621; H01R13/6215; H01R13/02; H01R13/28; H01R13/40; H01R13/42; H01R13/428; H01R13/432; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S411/00; Y10S411/918; Y10S414/00; Y10S414/135; Y10S439/00; Y10S439/923
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
288 words
Electrical connector apparatus comprising: a pair of connector assemblies, each having electrical contact elements that engage contact elements of the other when the two assemblies are connected, and each having screw-engaging means for enabling fastening by a screw to the other assembly; at least one of said screw-engaging means which is on a first of said assemblies including a nut member having a thread-engaging lip portion extending with a directional component away from the other assembly and being deformable, by rotation of said screw when it cannot advance any further into said nut member, to a reverse orientation extending with a directional component toward the other assembly; said nut member including a sheet-like base portion with a slot therein and with slits extending perpendicular to said slot and intersecting opposite ends of said slot, said slot being widened at a center portion thereof so it can closely surround a cylindrical screw shank, the portion of said base on at least one side of said slot being bent out of the plane of the rest of the sheet portions to extend with a directional component away from said second connector to form said thread-engaging lip portion; said first connector assembly having a wall with a screw-passing hole therein and said base portion of the nut member resting against the wall but with the lip portion being unsupported by the edge of the hole, the hole being large enough so that a length of the lip portion at least twice the thickness of the lip portion extends into the hole to permit reverse lip deformation into the hole, whereby to permit permanent lip deformation so that a workman can notice a sudden decrease in resistance to tightening of the screw.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
288 words
Electrical connector apparatus comprising: a pair of connector assemblies, each having electrical contact elements that engage contact elements of the other when the two assemblies are connected, and each having screw-engaging means for enabling fastening by a screw to the other assembly; at least one of said screw-engaging means which is on a first of said assemblies including a nut member having a thread-engaging lip portion extending with a directional component away from the other assembly and being deformable, by rotation of said screw when it cannot advance any further into said nut member, to a reverse orientation extending with a directional component toward the other assembly; said nut member including a sheet-like base portion with a slot therein and with slits extending perpendicular to said slot and intersecting opposite ends of said slot, said slot being widened at a center portion thereof so it can closely surround a cylindrical screw shank, the portion of said base on at least one side of said slot being bent out of the plane of the rest of the sheet portions to extend with a directional component away from said second connector to form said thread-engaging lip portion; said first connector assembly having a wall with a screw-passing hole therein and said base portion of the nut member resting against the wall but with the lip portion being unsupported by the edge of the hole, the hole being large enough so that a length of the lip portion at least twice the thickness of the lip portion extends into the hole to permit reverse lip deformation into the hole, whereby to permit permanent lip deformation so that a workman can notice a sudden decrease in resistance to tightening of the screw.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
157 words
An electrical connector comprising: a male frame having an elongated plug portion with a plurality of contact elements thereon; and a female frame having an elongated receiving portion with a recess only slightly longer than said plug portion for closely receiving said plug portion, said female frame having a plurality of contact elements along said recess for contacting said elements of said plug portion when it is received in said recess; said plug portion and said recess of said receiving portion being constructed so that at least one of them is tapered to have a progressively greater length at progressively greater distances from the portion that first engages the other frame when the frames are mated, said tapering being sufficient to allow one end of said plug portion to completely withdraw from said recess while the other end of said plug portion remains at substantially the deepest position to which it can be received in said recess.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
157 words
An electrical connector comprising: a male frame having an elongated plug portion with a plurality of contact elements thereon; and a female frame having an elongated receiving portion with a recess only slightly longer than said plug portion for closely receiving said plug portion, said female frame having a plurality of contact elements along said recess for contacting said elements of said plug portion when it is received in said recess; said plug portion and said recess of said receiving portion being constructed so that at least one of them is tapered to have a progressively greater length at progressively greater distances from the portion that first engages the other frame when the frames are mated, said tapering being sufficient to allow one end of said plug portion to completely withdraw from said recess while the other end of said plug portion remains at substantially the deepest position to which it can be received in said recess.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
25 words
The electrical connector described in claim 2 wherein: said receiving portion has end walls whose inner surfaces each have a draft or more than 15*.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
60 words
The electrical connector described in claim 2 wherein: said plug portion is substantially a block with a length at least a plurality of times greater than its depth, and Having a substantially constant length between its ends, and said receiving portion has end walls defining said recess, that diverge from each other at an included angle of at least 15*.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
139 words
An electrical connector comprising: a frame with a plurality of recesses that have opposite side walls and flanges extending from the side walls to leave a constriction of a predetermined width; and a plurality of resilient and electrically conductive contact elements, each element having a region formed into a loop, an inner portion of said region being wider than said constriction and lying deeper within said recess than said constriction, and said inner portion having an end where it merges with an end of an outer portion of said region which is narrower than said constriction, at least part of said outer portion lying within said constriction, said end of said inner portion being biased against said flange and said end of the outer portion lying in the constriction whereby to more accurately locate said outer portion in depth.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
139 words
An electrical connector comprising: a frame with a plurality of recesses that have opposite side walls and flanges extending from the side walls to leave a constriction of a predetermined width; and a plurality of resilient and electrically conductive contact elements, each element having a region formed into a loop, an inner portion of said region being wider than said constriction and lying deeper within said recess than said constriction, and said inner portion having an end where it merges with an end of an outer portion of said region which is narrower than said constriction, at least part of said outer portion lying within said constriction, said end of said inner portion being biased against said flange and said end of the outer portion lying in the constriction whereby to more accurately locate said outer portion in depth.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
121 words
An electrical connector comprising: a frame with a plurality of recesses that have opposite side walls and flanges extending from the side walls towards each other to leave an opening of a predetermined width between them; and a plurality of resilient, electrically conductive contact elements, each having first and second arms joined at one end to form a loop, said first arm being wider than said predetermined opening between said flanges and lying deeper within said recess than said flanges and biased against said flanges at a location beyond the beginning of the loop, and said second arm being narrower than said predetermined opening between said flanges and protruding from it, whereby said second arm is more accurately located in depth.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
121 words
An electrical connector comprising: a frame with a plurality of recesses that have opposite side walls and flanges extending from the side walls towards each other to leave an opening of a predetermined width between them; and a plurality of resilient, electrically conductive contact elements, each having first and second arms joined at one end to form a loop, said first arm being wider than said predetermined opening between said flanges and lying deeper within said recess than said flanges and biased against said flanges at a location beyond the beginning of the loop, and said second arm being narrower than said predetermined opening between said flanges and protruding from it, whereby said second arm is more accurately located in depth.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
49 words
The electrical connector described in claim 6 wherein: said first arm is resiliently deformed between a bottom wall of the recess and the flange, and the depth of the flanges is less than the depth of the recess between the bottom surfaces of the flanges and said bottom wall.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-10-08 | 1977-04-09 | 1977-10-09 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-10-08 | 1981-04-09 | 1981-10-09 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-10-08 | 1985-04-09 | 1985-10-09 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |