US4045868A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of fabrication and assembly of electrical connector
Assignee: A W INDUSTRIES Inc
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Filing: 1976-03-02
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Granted: 1977-09-06
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Expires: 1996-03-02
Abstract
Abstract Press fit contacts having upper mating portions are stamped, formed and oriented out of sheet material for simultaneous insertion and housing in a removable connector insulator. Receiving sleeves formed in the insulator are constructed to permit the contacts to be bottom loaded into the sleeves, seated and lightly held therein. Each contact includes an intermediate press fit collar portion which engages a mating shoulder in the insulator. The insulator serves as a holding fixture and seating tool for transmitting insertion force applied to the top of the insulator to each one of the contacts for press fitting them into contact receiving apertures in a mounting substrate. The contacts held by each insulator are all simultaneously press fitted into the substrate by continuing to apply pressure to the top of the insulator until it is mounted flush upon the substrate. After the connector is assembled, the contact is in a configuration for electrical engagement with a mating contact (not disclosed) while a contact tail portion may extend below the substrate for wire wrap termination. The configuration of the assembled connector permits removal of the insulator by lifting it from around the contacts, which it lightly engages, leaving the contacts rigidly mounted in the substrate. Further, a connector assembly, comprising an insulator having contacts lightly held therein, may be readily shipped to a remote location for press fit installation in a mounting substrate.
Inventors
- 👤 J. Preston Ammon
- 👤 Harry R. Weaver
- 👤 Claude Rodriguez
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 10:28
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R12/00; H01R12/50; H01R12/51; H01R12/55; H01R12/58; H01R12/585; H01R12/70; H01R12/71; H01R12/712; H01R12/716; H01R12/72; H01R12/721; H01R13/00; H01R13/02; H01R13/10; H01R13/11; H01R13/112; H01R13/40; H01R13/405; H01R13/41; H01R43/00; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S439/00; Y10S439/943; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49002; Y10T29/49117; Y10T29/49124; Y10T29/49147; Y10T29/49151; Y10T29/49153; Y10T29/49204; Y10T29/49208; Y10T29/49218
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector which includes a removable insulator having a plurality of sleeves formed therethrough and press fit contacts having upper mating portions for positioning in the sleeves in spaced alignment with a plurality of contact receiving apertures in a mounting substrate, said method comprising: inserting the contacts into the sleeves in the insulator through the bottom thereof; seating a generally transversely extending intermediate portion of the contacts against a shoulder formed in the sleeves, the contacts being retained within the sleeves by frictional engagement with the inner walls thereof; guiding the portions of the contacts protruding from beneath the insulator into the aligned receiving apertures; mounting the insulator generally flush against the mounting substrate to press fit the contacts into the apertures for rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate while permitting the insulator to be removed from the contacts by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeves.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
165 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector which includes a removable insulator having a plurality of sleeves formed therethrough and press fit contacts having upper mating portions for positioning in the sleeves in spaced alignment with a plurality of contact receiving apertures in a mounting substrate, said method comprising: inserting the contacts into the sleeves in the insulator through the bottom thereof; seating a generally transversely extending intermediate portion of the contacts against a shoulder formed in the sleeves, the contacts being retained within the sleeves by frictional engagement with the inner walls thereof; guiding the portions of the contacts protruding from beneath the insulator into the aligned receiving apertures; mounting the insulator generally flush against the mounting substrate to press fit the contacts into the apertures for rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate while permitting the insulator to be removed from the contacts by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeves.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
89 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein the contacts are inserted while extending transversely on a common support strip a spaced distance from one another and wherein said inserting step includes: severing the common support strips to separate a row of contacts on the strip from the rest, and simultaneously moving all of the contacts in the row into the sleeves in the insulator; and said seating step includes removing the common support strip to separate the inserted contacts from one another.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 2 wherein the common support strip comprises a transverse strip of metal extending along the bottoms of the contacts and joined thereto by a narrow reduced section.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
72 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein the step of mounting the insulator generally flush against the mounting substrate to press fit the contacts comprises: applying pressure to the top of the insulator to bear against the contacts seated therein; and moving the insulator and the contacts relative to the mounting substrate a predetermined distance and producing interfering engagement between the contact and the apertures.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical connector is of the printed circuit board edge type, the contact receiving apertures in the mounting substrate comprise plated through holes and the step of mounting the insulator against the mounting substrate includes the step of electrically connecting each of the contacts to the plated through hole in which it is press fitted.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
187 words
In a method of rigidly mounting an electrical contact having an upper mating portion into a contact receiving aperture in a mounting substrate, of the type wherein a longitudinal insertion force is transmitted to the contact and the contact is moved relative to the mounting substrate for producing interfering engagement between a press fit shank portion of the contact and the walls of the aperture, the improvement comprising the steps of: providing an insulator having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around the contact seated therein when the contact is rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; inserting the contact into a sleeve formed in the insulator; seating a transversely extending intermediate portion of the contact against a shoulder formed in the sleeve; guiding the portion of the contact protruding from beneath the insulator into the aperture; applying pressure to the top of the insulator to bear against the contact seated therein; and moving the insulator and the contact relative to the mounting substrate a predetermined distance for inserting and rigidly mounting the press fit shank portion of the contact into the aperture through interference engagement therein.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
187 words
In a method of rigidly mounting an electrical contact having an upper mating portion into a contact receiving aperture in a mounting substrate, of the type wherein a longitudinal insertion force is transmitted to the contact and the contact is moved relative to the mounting substrate for producing interfering engagement between a press fit shank portion of the contact and the walls of the aperture, the improvement comprising the steps of: providing an insulator having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around the contact seated therein when the contact is rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; inserting the contact into a sleeve formed in the insulator; seating a transversely extending intermediate portion of the contact against a shoulder formed in the sleeve; guiding the portion of the contact protruding from beneath the insulator into the aperture; applying pressure to the top of the insulator to bear against the contact seated therein; and moving the insulator and the contact relative to the mounting substrate a predetermined distance for inserting and rigidly mounting the press fit shank portion of the contact into the aperture through interference engagement therein.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
55 words
A method of rigidly mounting an electrical contact as set forth in claim 6 wherein the contact receiving aperture comprises a plated through hole and the step of moving the insulator and the contact relative to the mounting substrate includes electrically connecting the contact to the plated through hole in which it is press fitted.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
91 words
A method of rigidly mounting an electrical contact as set forth in claim 6 wherein the contacts are inserted while extending transversely on a common support strip a spaced distance from one another and wherein said inserting step includes: severing the common support strip to separate a row of contacts on the strip from the rest, and, simultaneously moving all of the contacts in the row into the sleeves in the insulative housing; and said inserting step includes removing the common support strip to separate the inserted contacts from one another.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
203 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector comprising the steps of: providing an insulative mounting substrate having a plurality of contact receiving apertures formed therein; providing a plurality of contacts having upper mating portions and intermediate press fit shank portions for insertion in and press fit engagement with said apertures; providing an insulative housing having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around contacts seated therein when said contacts are rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; inserting the contacts into the sleeves in the insulative housing through the bottom thereof; seating a generally transversely extending intermediate portion of the contacts against a shoulder formed in the sleeves; retaining the contacts within the sleeves by frictional engagement with the inner walls thereof; guiding the portions of the contacts protruding from beneath the insulative housing into the receiving apertures in the mounting substrate; rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate by mounting the insulative housing generally flush against the mounting substrate to press fit the contacts into the apertures; and permitting the insulative housing to be removed from around the contacts to enable repair thereof by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeve.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
203 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector comprising the steps of: providing an insulative mounting substrate having a plurality of contact receiving apertures formed therein; providing a plurality of contacts having upper mating portions and intermediate press fit shank portions for insertion in and press fit engagement with said apertures; providing an insulative housing having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around contacts seated therein when said contacts are rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; inserting the contacts into the sleeves in the insulative housing through the bottom thereof; seating a generally transversely extending intermediate portion of the contacts against a shoulder formed in the sleeves; retaining the contacts within the sleeves by frictional engagement with the inner walls thereof; guiding the portions of the contacts protruding from beneath the insulative housing into the receiving apertures in the mounting substrate; rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate by mounting the insulative housing generally flush against the mounting substrate to press fit the contacts into the apertures; and permitting the insulative housing to be removed from around the contacts to enable repair thereof by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeve.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
90 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein the contacts are inserted while extending transversely on a common support strip a spaced distance from one another and wherein said inserting step includes: severing the common support strip to separate a row of contacts on the strip from the rest, and, simultaneously moving all of the contacts in the row into the sleeves in the insulative housing; and said inserting step includes removing the common support strip to separate the inserted contacts from one another.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 10 wherein the common support strip comprises a transverse strip of metal extending along the bottom of the contacts and joined thereto by a narrow reduced section.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
80 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein the step of rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate by press fitting the contacts into the apertures comprises: applying pressure to the top of the insulative housing to bear against the contacts seated therein; and moving the insulator and the contacts relative to the mounting substrate a predetermined distance and producing interfering engagement between the press fit shank region of the contacts and the aperture.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method of assembling an electrical connector as set forth in claim 9 wherein the electrical connector is of the printed circuit board edge type.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a method of rigidly mounting electrical contacts having upper mating portions and intermediate press fit shank portions in contact receiving apertures in an insulative mounting substrate of the type wherein longitudinal insertion forces are transmitted to the contacts and the contacts are moved relative to the mounting substrate for producing press fit engagement between the press fit shank region of the contacts and the apertures, the improvement comprising the steps of providing an insulative housing having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around contacts seated therein when said contacts are rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; and permitting the insulative housing to be removed from around the contacts for repair thereof by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeves.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a method of rigidly mounting electrical contacts having upper mating portions and intermediate press fit shank portions in contact receiving apertures in an insulative mounting substrate of the type wherein longitudinal insertion forces are transmitted to the contacts and the contacts are moved relative to the mounting substrate for producing press fit engagement between the press fit shank region of the contacts and the apertures, the improvement comprising the steps of providing an insulative housing having sleeves formed therethrough and being removable from around contacts seated therein when said contacts are rigidly mounted in the mounting substrate; and permitting the insulative housing to be removed from around the contacts for repair thereof by applying an upward force to overcome the frictional engagement between the contacts and the inner walls of the sleeves.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method of rigidly mounting electrical contacts as set forth in claim 14 wherein the contact receiving apertures comprise plated through holes and the step of rigidly securing the contacts to the substrate includes the step of electrically connecting the contact to the plated through hole in which it is press fitted.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
89 words
A method of rigidly mounting electrical contacts as set forth in claim 14 wherein the contacts are inserted while extending transversely on a common support strip a spaced distance from one another and wherein said inserting step includes: severing the common support strips to separate a row of contacts on the strip from rest, and, simultaneously moving all of the contacts in the row into the sleeves in the insulative housing; and said inserting step includes removing the common support strip to separate the inserted contacts from one another.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-09-05 | 1981-03-07 | 1981-09-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-09-05 | 1985-03-07 | 1985-09-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-09-05 | 1989-03-07 | 1989-09-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |