Electrical connector and method of making same

A method for making an electrical connector comprises the steps of configuring a housing and contact members such that the contact members may assume positions in the housing which are variable for each contact member and of assembling the contact members in the housing such that they assume positions therein giving rise to contact member coplanarity. An electrical connector so made comprises a housing defining contact member receiving channels and contact members resident in the channels, the contact members defining contact portions and contact member retaining means, the housing being configured to permit variable positioning of said contact member retaining means therein, whereby contact member contact portions may be coplanarly positioned irrespective of warp present in the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and pertains more 
particularly to simplified and less expensive methods of manufacturing 
electrical connectors. 
2. Background of the Invention 
A widespread practice in electrical connector manufacture is to precisely 
dispose a plurality of contact members in positions mutually desired in 
the ultimate connector housing and then to precision mold the housing 
about the contact members. Given the precision in both the contact member 
disposition in the mold and in the precision of the mold itself, 
coplanarity of contact member contact portions relative to the housing in 
the ultimate connector is satisfactorily achieved. 
A simpler and less costly practice in use is molding the housing and then 
inserting contact members in contact member receiving channels in the 
housing. 
A problem, however, attends achieving coplanarity of contact member contact 
portions, i.e., where the preformed housing exhibits warping or bowing. 
Thus, the housing typically defines stop positions for inserted contact 
members. Where warping or bowing is at hand, the stop positions are not 
coplanar and the inserted contact members accordingly do not exhibit 
coplanarity. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention has as its primary object the achievement of contact 
member coplanarity in the face of warping or bowing in preformed connector 
housings. 
In attaining this and other objects, the invention provides a method for 
making an electrical connector comprising the steps of configuring a 
housing and contact members such that the contact members may assume 
positions in the housing which are variable for each contact member and of 
assembling the contact members in the housing such that they assume 
positions therein giving rise to contact member coplanarity. 
An electrical connector in accordance with the invention comprises a 
housing defining contact member receiving channels and contact members 
resident in the channels, the contact members defining contact portions 
and contact member retaining means, the housing being configured to permit 
variable positioning of said contact member retaining means therein, 
whereby contact member contact portions may be coplanarly positioned 
irrespective of warp present in the housing. 
The foregoing and other objects and features of the invention will be 
further understood from the following detailed description of preferred 
embodiments thereof and from the drawings, wherein like reference numerals 
identify like components throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to the partial showing of FIG. 1, connector 10 includes housing 
12 comprised of electrically nonconductive material. Housing 12 defines a 
plurality of channels 14 opening into the upper surface of the housing, 
each channel being adapted for the receipt of contact member 16. 
Contact members 16 are electrically conductive and are formed with upper 
contact portion 16a, wing portion 16b, having wings 16b-1 and 16b-2, lower 
contact portion 16c and connecting portion 16d, which connects wing 
portion 16b and lower contact portion 16c. Housing 12 is open rearwardly 
for receipt of contact members 16. 
Slots 20 and 22 extend fully through housing 12, for purposes below 
discussed. 
Referring to the showing of contact member 16 in FIGS. 2 and 3, details 
thereof not seen in FIG. 1 are illustrated. Wings 16b-1 and 16b-2 will be 
seen to progress through arcuate sections to extend orthogonally of the 
plane of the contact member, tapering downwardly to free ends which 
support retention barbs 16b-3 and 16b-4, which extend sidewardly outwardly 
of the planes of wings 16b-1 and 16b-2. Contact member portion 16c 
supports female contact member 18, one of its two mating contacts being 
indicated at 18a. Portion 16c and contact member 18 are mutually secured 
as indicated at 18b and 18c. 
Turning to FIGS. 4 and 5, slots 20 and 22 extend from wide openings at the 
rear of housing 12 to narrow width portions adjacent the front of housing 
12, where they are bounded sidewardly by housing surface 22a and housing 
ledge surface 24a in the case of slot 20 and by housing surface 22b and 
housing ledge surface 24b in the case of slot 22. 
In assembling connector 10, use is made of contact displacement plate 26 
(FIG. 1), which has lower positioning fingers 26a. Contact members 16 are 
loaded into housing 12 rearwardly into channels 14 with wings 16b-1 and 
16b-2 inserted into slots 20 and 22 at elevations such that all contact 
members can be engaged commonly atop contact portions 16a by plate fingers 
26a. With the contact members so retentively seated in the housing, plate 
26 is placed such that plate fingers 26a engage the tops of contact 
portions 16a and the plate is advanced downwardly. 
In the course of such plate movement, contact members 16, while retained in 
housing 12 by retention barbs 16b-3 and 16b-4, are forced further 
downwardly. Based on the geometry at hand, all tops of contact portions 
16a are coplanar in disposition. The step of plate movement is such that 
plate 26 does not engage housing 12, whereby any warp or bowing in the 
housing does not affect coplanarity of the contact members. 
Various changes in structure to the described apparatus and modifications 
in the described practices may evidently be introduced without departing 
from the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the 
particularly disclosed and depicted embodiments are intended in an 
illustrative and not in a limiting sense. The true spirit and scope of the 
invention are set forth in the following claims.