Electrical connector

An electrical connector for connecting a DIP and a wiring harness comprising a socket, terminals and a cover. The DIP has two sets of tabs which project from opposite sides of an insulated block and which are folded over onto the top and bottom surfaces of the block respectively. The DIP is disposed in a longitudinal slot at one end of the socket which is between two rows of terminal cavities. A terminal in each cavity is attached to a lead of the wiring harness and has a flexible contact bow engaging one of the tabs of the DIP. The cover is mounted over the slotted end of the socket to retain the DIP.

This invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more 
particularly, to an electrical connector for an electronic component of 
the type known commercially as a "dual-in-line package" or "DIP". 
Semiconductor-type circuits, such as integrated circuits, "MSI" and "LSI" 
circuits, and hybrid circuits are commonly packaged in an insulated block 
with a plurality of thin parallel leads or tabs emerging from the block 
and connected to the appropriate component of the circuitry within. When 
the package has two sets of leads or tabs emerging from opposite sides of 
the insulated block, it is known as a "dual-in-line package" or "DIP". 
An example of an electrical connector for a DIP is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,701,077 granted to Cornelius J. Kelly, Jr. on Oct. 24, 1972. The patent 
shows a socket 30 which receives a DIP 10 and which is adapted to be 
secured to a circuit board or the like. 
In the past, it has been conventional practice to connect a DIP to a wiring 
harness through the intermediary of a printed circuit board. That is, the 
DIP is plugged in a socket attached to a printed circuit board, such as in 
the aforesaid Kelly patent, and the wiring harness in turn is connected to 
the printed circuit board by a printed circuit board connector such as the 
connector shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,325 granted to Warren Pearce, 
Jr. and Andrew Russo, Jr. on Jan. 3, 1978. 
In its boardest aspects, the object of this invention is to provide an 
electrical connector for connecting a DIP directly to a wiring harness 
thereby eliminating the need for an intermediary printed circuit board. 
Another object of the invention is to provide such a connector which is 
adapted for automotive use and which utilizes existing or conventional 
components as much as possible. 
The invention also contemplates a unique adaptation of a DIP resulting in a 
compact design especially suitable for plugging into a socket attached to 
an automotive wiring harness. 
Another feature of the invention is that the DIP interfaces with terminals 
of the type which are conventionally used in automotive wiring harnesses. 
Still another feature of the invention is the use of a spring cover on the 
socket to retain the DIP in the socket and improve electrical contact 
between the terminals and the DIP contact tabs.

Referring now to the drawing and particularly to FIG. 1, there is disclosed 
an electrical connector 10 for connecting a DIP 12 at the end of a wiring 
harness. 
The electrical connector 10 comprises a molded plastic socket 14 containing 
two rows of sheet metal terminals 16 attached to the ends of leads 18 of a 
wiring harness (not shown); a pair of molded plastic lock bars 20 for 
locking the terminals 16 in the socket 14; and a tempered steel cover 22 
which holds the DIP 12 in the socket 14. 
The socket 14 has two vertically spaced rows of longitudinal terminal 
cavities 24a and 24b and an open transverse slot 26 at one longitudinal 
end. The slot 26 is located between the row of terminal cavities 24a and 
the row of terminal cavities 24b and intersects each of the terminal 
cavities. 
The terminal cavities 24a and 24b are essentially mirror images of each 
other for receiving identical terminals 16 which engage opposite sides of 
the DIP 12. This is conventional practice in the case of printed circuit 
board connectors of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,325 granted to 
Warren Pearce, Jr. and Andrew Russo, Jr. on Jan. 3, 1978. The row of 
terminal cavities 24a (and the terminals 16 retained therein), however, is 
preferably offset in the longitudinal direction toward the slotted end of 
the socket 14 as shown in FIG. 1. This offset serves as an index means in 
conjunction with the shape of the DIP 12. 
The socket 14 includes a transverse partition wall 28 between the row of 
terminal cavities 24a and the row of terminal cavities 24b. The partition 
wall 28 defines the inner end of the slot 26 and includes a longitudinally 
projecting abutment 30 which is vertically offset toward the row of 
terminal cavities 24a. 
The terminals 16 each have a flexible contact bow 32 at one end engaging 
the DIP 12 and a crimp barrel 34 at the other end which attaches the 
terminal to one of the leads 18. One of the terminals 16 is inserted into 
each of the terminal cavities 24a and 24b through a cavity opening 36 at 
the lead end of the socket 14. Each terminal is retained in its respective 
cavity by a terminal latch tang 38 which engages a cavity latch shoulder 
40. Over insertion is prevented by an intermediate box-shaped section 42 
of the terminal which engages a pair of cavity stop shoulders 44. 
After the terminals 16 are individually retained in their respective 
cavities, each row of terminals is locked in the socket 14 as a group by 
one of the multi-fingered lock bars 20 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The lock 
bars 20 are inserted into slots 46a and 46b which traverse the rows of 
terminal cavities 24a and 24b respectively, at the lead end of the socket 
14. When assembled, one of the lock bars 20 has a finger behind the 
box-shaped section 42 of each of the terminals 24a; the other lock bar has 
a finger behind the box-shaped section of each of the terminals 24b. 
The lock bars 20 are retained in their respective slots by lock nibs 46 
which engage side wall portions of the socket 14 as shown in FIG. 5. The 
lock bars 20 each have an end flange 47 to prevent over insertion. 
The lock bar feature is similar to that shown in the aforementioned Pearce 
et al patent and is not, per se, a part of this invention. Likewise 
terminals 16, per se, are not a part of this invention. The particular 
terminals 16 illustrated in the drawing are produced by the assignee of 
this invention and conventionally used in automotive wiring harness 
connectors. The terminals are disclosed as known prior art in U.S. patent 
application Ser. No. 139,164, filed Apr. 11, 1980, now Pat. No. 4,306,761. 
However, other terminals of this general type may be used with 
coordinating modifications to the terminal cavities, such as the terminals 
illustrated in the patent application or the terminals illustrated in the 
aforementioned Pearce et al patent. 
After the terminals 16 are locked in the socket 14, the socket 14 is ready 
to receive the DIP 12 which is shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11. 
FIG. 11 shows a lead frame 48 stamped from flat sheet metal stock, usually 
a soft, tin plated brass having a thickness of about 0.25 mm. The frame 48 
has a rectangular body 50 with two sets of tabs 52a and 52b projecting 
from the opposite longer sides of the body 50 respectively. The tabs are 
especially designed for this application. First, the tabs are reduced half 
the number normally used in standardized packages. This permits each of 
the tabs 52a, 52b to have wider than normal contact portions 54 for proper 
mating with conventional automotive type terminals. The wider contact 
portions 54 furthermore are connected to the body 50 by a narrow neck 56 
to facilitate bending as will hereinafter more fully appear. 
The lead frame 48 is combined with a semiconductor type circuit, such as an 
integrated circuit, "MSI" circuit, "LSI" circuit or hybrid circuit and 
packaged in a molded block 58 of insulating material, (shown in phantom in 
FIG. 11). When molded, the sets of thin parallel tabs 52a, 52b emerge from 
opposite sides of the block 58 and are connected to the appropriate 
component of the circuitry within the block 58. The body 50 of the lead 
frame 48 is suitably altered with cutouts during the process in view of 
the circuitry involved. 
The specific circuitry involved and the manufacturing processes in molding 
the block 58 and altering the lead frame 48 is not important to an 
understanding of this invention. The shape of the block 58, however, is 
unique in many respects and so is the further processing of the DIP 12 
after the intermediate stage represented in FIG. 11. 
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the top 60 of the block 58 has a set of 
recesses 62 near the side of the block from which the tabs 52a emerge, and 
a raised rib 64 between the recesses 62 and that side. The height of the 
rib 64 is equal to the thickness of the tabs 52b so that the rib 64 
protects the tabs 52b and facilitates insertion of the DIP 12 into the 
socket 14. The bottom 66 of the block 58 has a set of longitudinal grooves 
68 which extend from the side from which the tabs 52a emerge to a 
depending rib 70 at the opposite side. The depth of the rib 70 is 
considerably greater than the thickness of the tabs 52a as the rib 70 
serves as an index means and as a means for removing the DIP 12 from the 
socket 14. 
At the intermediate stage, the DIP 12 has two sets of parallel tabs 52a, 
52b spaced apart from one another, with the tabs 52a and 52b emerging from 
opposite sides of the molded block 58 in a coplanar fashion. 
The tabs 52b are reversely bent at their necks 56 so that their contact 
portions 54 lie on the top 60 of the block 58. The tabs 52b also have 
narrow tails 72 which are bent down into the recesses 62 to guard against 
the tabs 52b being pried up when the DIP 12 is inserted into the socket 
14. The tabs 52a are also reversely bent at their necks 56 so that their 
contact portions 54 lie in the grooves 68 in the bottom of the block 58. 
The ends of these contact portions are protected by the depending rib 70. 
The uniquely shaped DIP 12 is inserted into the slot 26 of the socket 14 as 
shown in FIG. 1; the rib 70 and offset row of cavities 24b cooperating as 
an index means to insure proper orientation of the DIP 12. The offset 
abutment 30 at the inner end of the slot 26 locates the DIP 12 in the 
longitudinal direction while providing space for the reversely bent necks 
56 of the tabs 52a. After the DIP 12 is assembled in the socket 14, the 
cover 22 is attached to close the slotted end of the socket 14. 
The cover 22 is a generally U-shaped sheet metal member of spring tempered 
steel, comprising a base 74 and spring legs 76 and 78. The base 74 has a 
central hole 80 and bent-in tabs 82 at its transverse edges. The tabs 82 
engage the DIP 12 to retain it in the proper position in the slot 26 when 
the cover 22 is attached to the socket 14. Each of the spring legs 76 and 
78 has an arcuate, depressed, transverse channel 84 near the base 74, a 
flared free end 86 and an aperture 88 adjacent the flared free end. The 
flared free ends 86 and apertures 88 cooperate with lock projections 90 of 
the socket 14 to secure the cover 22. The spacing between the channels 84 
is slightly less than the height of the socket portion engaged by the 
channels 84, so that the cover 22 exerts a clamping force on the slotted 
end of the socket 14. This improves electrical contact between the 
terminals 16 and the DIP 12 and prevents bell-mouthing of the slot 26 
after extended use. 
We wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the 
exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious 
modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.