Electrical connector

Claim 2

A connector for electrically interconnecting flat multiconductor elements such as a printed circuit board having edge contacts upon which the conductors of a flexible ribbon cable are aligningly positioned, said connector comprising: a. a housing having at least one connection chamber formed therein and having an elongated slot formed in one wall thereof which opens into the center of the chamber and through which the portions of the multiconductor elements to be electrically interconnected are insertable; b. a tension band of elastic material mounted within the chamber of said housing and positioned to present one surface in facing coextensive relatinship with the slot of said housing; c. tension means within the chamber of said housing for deflectively contacting said tension band to apply a tension preload to said band and to form it into a substantially Ushaped cross-sectional configuration with the bight portion thereof aligned and coextending with the slot formed in said housing and the leg portions thereof forming a diverging included angle therebetween which extends from the bight portion toward the slot of said housing, the extending ends of the leg portions being secured to said housing so that movement of the bight portion away from the slot is produced by deflective engagement of the multiconductor elements when they are inserted therein which will increase the stress of said band and reduce the included angle between the legs of said band by moving the legs toward each other; and d. cam means mouNted on said tension band and positioned thereon so that a portion of said cam means is disposed on each of the leg portions of said band and movable therewith for applying a compression force to the multiconductor elements when they are inserted into the chamber of said housing, the compressive force resulting from the stress of said band and movement of the leg portions which decreases the included angle therebetween.

Claim 3

A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing is provided with a plurality of connection chambers each separated from its adjacent chambers by a first shelf extending from one wall of said housing and nestingly aligning in a non-contacting relationship with a second shelf extending from the opposite wall of said housing to provide a gap communicating between each of the connection chambers so that said tension band may be formed of a continuous sheet strung through said gaps to present a segment of said tension band within each of said chambers, said tension band being secured along its length to each of said first shelves to operationally isolate each of the segments from its adjacent segments.

Claim 4

A connector as claimed in claim 2 wherein said housing is formed of hingedly connected housing halves, a first one of said housing halves having said first shelves formed therein and a second one of said housing halves having said second shelves formed therein, and further including means for securing said housing halves together.

Claim 5

A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tension means includes a pair of shelves formed on the wall of said housing in which the slot is formed, said shelves are positioned in a spaced apart parallel relationship on opposite longitudinal sides of the slot and are coextensive therewith, said shelves extending into the connection chamber for deflectively contacting said cam means to apply a tension to said tension band and form it into the U-shaped configuration.

Claim 6

A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said tension means comprises a tension spring connected to the bight portion of said tension band and to said housing for biasing said tension band into the U-shaped configuration.

Claim 7

A connector as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cam means comprises a pair of cylindrical cams each having a longitudinally disposed slot formed therethrough through which said tension band is inserted to assemble said cams in a spaced apart parallel relationship thereon.

Claim 8

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein said cam means further comprises a flexible web interconnecting said pair of cams.

Claim 9

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said pair of cams have an alternating series of lands and recesses formed in at least a portion of its longitudinally disposed peripheral surface.

Claim 10

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein the slot formed in each of said pair of cams is offset with respect to the longitudinal axis of said cam and formed into a substantially V-shaped in cross-sectional configuration.

Claim 11

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said cams is provided with a coating of compressible resilient material.

Claim 12

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said cams is provided with an elongated pad insert of compressible resilient material mounted on its longitudinally disposed peripheral surface.

Claim 13

A connector as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of said cams has at least one cam profile formed on its longitudinally disposed peripheral surface.

Claim 14

A connector for electrically interconnecting flexible flat multiconductor elements comprising: a. a rigid spacer element upon which the flexible multiconductor elements are overlappingly positionable so that the exposed conductors of one of the flexible elements is aligningly contacting the exposed conductors of the other flexible elements; b. a housing having at least one connection chamber formed therein and having an elongated slot formed in one wall thereof which opens into the center of the chamber And through which the portions of the multiconductor elements to be electrically interconnected are insertable; c. a tension band of elastic material mounted within the chamber of said housing and positioned to present one surface in facing coextensive relationship with the slot of said housing; d. tension means within the chamber of said housing for deflectively contacting said tension band to apply a tension pre-load thereto and form said band into a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the bight portion thereof aligned and coextending with the slot of said housing and the leg portions thereof forming a diverging included angle which extends from the bight portion toward the slot of said housing, the extending ends of the leg portions being secured to said housing so that movement of the bight portion away from the slot is produced by deflective engagement of the multiconductor elements when they are inserted therein which will increase the stress of said band and reduce the included angle between the legs of said band by moving the legs toward each other; and e. cam means mounted on said tension band and positioned thereon so that a portion of said cam means is disposed on each of the leg portions of said band and movable therewith for applying a compression force to the multiconductor elements when they are inserted into the chamber of said housing, the compressive force resulting from the stress of said band and from movement of the leg portions toward each other.

Claim 15

A connector for electrically interconnecting flexible flat multiconductor elements comprising: a. a rigid spacer element upon which the flexible multiconductor elements are overlappingly positionable so that the exposed conductors of one of the flexible elements is aligningly contacting the exposed conductors of the other flexible elements; b. a housing having at least one connection chamber formed therein and having an elongated slot formed in one wall thereof which opens into the center of the chamber And through which the portions of the multiconductor elements to be electrically interconnected are insertable; c. a tension band of elastic material mounted within the chamber of said housing and positioned to present one surface in facing coextensive relationship with the slot of said housing; d. tension means within the chamber of said housing for deflectively contacting said tension band to apply a tension pre-load thereto and form said band into a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the bight portion thereof aligned and coextending with the slot of said housing and the leg portions thereof forming a diverging included angle which extends from the bight portion toward the slot of said housing, the extending ends of the leg portions being secured to said housing so that movement of the bight portion away from the slot is produced by deflective engagement of the multiconductor elements when they are inserted therein which will increase the stress of said band and reduce the included angle between the legs of said band by moving the legs toward each other; and e. cam means mounted on said tension band and positioned thereon so that a portion of said cam means is disposed on each of the leg portions of said band and movable therewith for applying a compression force to the multiconductor elements when they are inserted into the chamber of said housing, the compressive force resulting from the stress of said band and from movement of the leg portions toward each other.

Claim 16

A connector as claimed in claim 13 wherein said spacer element comprises: a. a rigid body of generally rectangular configuration; b. a handle formed on one of the side edges of said body; and c. a notch formed in the opposite side edge of said body.