Electrical connector provided with an electrical interconnection between respective portions of its contacts

Claim 1

An electrical connector including a plurality of contacts (6) held in respective housings (5) in an insulating body (4) received in a connector box (1), interconnection means being provided to electrically connect together respective lengths (7) of said contacts (6) that are electrically insulated from the respective bodies of the contacts, wherein said interconnection means comprise: contact rings (8) surrounding respective ones of said contact lengths (7) and each constituted of an elastically-deformable electrically-conductive material, each of said rings (8) being wound helically and occupying at least half a winding turn around the corresponding length and clamping resiliently thereto; two rigid plates (9), at least one of which is made of an electrically conductive material, both plates being pierced by a multiplicity of holes (10) through which the contacts (6) of the connector can slide freely, said plates (9) being disposed on either side of the contact rings (8); and clamping means (11, 12) for clamping the two plates (9) towards each other and resiliently compressing the contact rings (8) in the longitudinal direction of the contacts; whereby electrical interconnection is established between each of said contact lengths and each conducting rigid plate via said rings, and whereby each contact may be individually dismantled without it being necessary to involve the other contacts.