Electrical interface connector

A plurality of interface modules (200,300,400,500) having identical first mating interfaces (202,302) for mating with the mating face (100) of a cable tap connector (10), to enable interconnection therewith at second mating interfaces by different types of electrical conductors. A set of contacts in each module have identical first contact sections (212,318) along the first mating interface, and the contacts are secured in the module housing (206,306) under an insulative retention plate (210,360) that assuredly secures the contacts in proper position for accurate positioning of the first contact sections. The insulative plate (210,360) also protects the first contact sections during handling of the module.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This relates to the field of electrical connectors and more particularly to 
connectors for establishing a tap connection to multiconductor cable. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
For establishing taps to cables such as heavily jacketed cables having a 
plurality of conductors for transmission of electrical power, especially 
direct current power, or transmission of both power and signals, it is 
desired to provide a plurality of interface connectors each matable with 
the cable tap connector. 
It is further desired to provide a common mating interface for the 
interface connectors. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Each of a plurality of interface connector modules includes a housing, an 
array of contacts, and a retention plate for securing the contacts to the 
housing and assuredly maintaining them in position during shipping and 
handling, and during mating and unmating. While the housings may differ 
from each other to define second mating interfaces, the retention plate 
used for all the housings assures, along with identical first contact 
sections of the contacts and latching and alignment posts of all the 
modules, that the first mating interfaces of the modules are all identical 
to mate with the cable tap connector, thus allowing the same cable tap 
connector to be utilized in a plurality of applications. The retention 
plate includes apertures through which extend the first contact sections 
of the contacts, and mounting holes for fasteners to secure the plate to 
the housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
Cable tap connector 10 is shown terminated to a cable 12 having an outer 
jacket 14 and, for example, four conductors 16. Connector 10 includes an 
insulative housing 20 and a second insulative member, cover 22 to which it 
is securable to surround cable 12 at a location remote from an end of the 
cable, as well as at a cable end. Housing 20 and cover 22 include shallow 
wide grooves 24,26 along assembly faces 28,30 thereof together defining 
cable-receiving channel or nest 32 that will clamp about the cable. The 
cable cross-section is shown to include a reduced thickness flange along 
one side, serving to polarize the orientation of the cable tap connector 
with respect to the cable, its cable-receiving channel being 
complementarily shaped, thus assuring that the power conductors and signal 
conductors are positioned appropriately for termination to the appropriate 
contact members of the connector. 
Also shown are gaskets 34,36 such as of elastomeric material that may be 
affixed to assembly faces 28,30 within respective gasket grooves to seal 
the termination region after termination, from moisture, dust and gasses 
of the outside environment; alternatively, sheets of mastic material may 
be used for sealing. Teeth 38 extend into grooves 24,26 to bite into cable 
12 to assist in securing the cable in position against lateral movement. 
Antishear embossments 40 project from assembly face 30 of cover 22 to 
enter clearances 42 in assembly face 28 of housing 20 upon securing the 
connector to the cable, that enhance resistance to shearing should forces 
be applied to either the housing or the cover in a lateral direction. 
Connector 10 may be mounted to a panel (not shown) by fasteners (not shown) 
extending through holes 118 of both housing 20 and cover 22 at a first 
pair of opposed corners, or a bracket (not shown) may be secured to cover 
22 to enable clamping to a DIN rail (not shown), by fasteners extending 
through holes 118, as is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 
09/056,083 filed Apr. 7, 1998 and assigned to the assignee hereof. 
Optionally, cover 22 may be panel mounted directly, using fasteners 
through holes 118, with clearances seen in FIG. 1 provided for enlarged 
fastener heads. Threaded female inserts 120 are preferably affixed within 
holes 122 at a second pair of opposed corners, for threading thereinto and 
unthreading therefrom of screws 384 when an interface module has been 
mated to cable tap connector 10 as seen in FIG. 8. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, housing 20 and cover 22 are securable to each 
other about cable 12; preferably, housing 20 and cover 22 are hingedly 
joined to each other, to be rotated together for assembly faces 28,30 to 
meet about the cable for grooves 24,26 to form cable-receiving channel 32. 
Housing 20 includes along one side a pair of pivot sections 44 cooperable 
with pivot pins 46 of cover 22 to pivot housing 20 toward cover 22. Latch 
arm 48 extends upwardly from assembly face 30 of cover 22 on the opposed 
side from pivot pins 46, to be received into a latch-receiving recess 50 
and latch with projections 52 of housing 20 along the opposed side, with 
the latch-receiving recess being a tamper-resistance feature to inhibit 
delatching of latch arm 46. Fasteners 54 are insertable through holes 56 
of housing 20 to thread into apertures 56 of cover 22 to complete securing 
the housing to the cover prior to cable termination. 
Now referring to FIGS. 2 to 7, connector 10 includes a plurality of 
contacts 60, associated in pairs with respective conductors 16 of cable 12 
and having insulation displacement (IDC) or first contact sections 62 that 
will compressively engage conductors 16 upon termination, after connector 
10 is assembled around the cable. The provision of a pair of contacts 
engaging each conductor increases the current-carrying capacity of the 
connector, with attendant advantages of substantially reduced heat 
generation and related temperature rise and substantially reduced losses, 
as well as redundancy. Contacts 60 also have second contact sections 64 
exposed along mating face 100 of housing 20 after assembly and 
termination, for electrical connection with complementary contacts of an 
interface connector module (FIGS. 7 to 17). 
As seen best in FIGS. 7 and 6, second contact sections 64 are shown to be 
of the tuning fork type adapted to receive blade-shaped contact sections 
in slots 112 thereof between resilient beams 114, as is known. Preferably, 
second contact sections 64 are recessed within H-shaped blade-receiving 
slots 116 defined by insulative housing 20 along mating face 100, with the 
H-shaped blade-receiving slots assuring that the blade-shaped contact 
sections of the interface module are aligned properly to enter the slots 
112 of the tuning fork contact sections. 
Contacts 60 are first secured within insulative carriers 72, seen best in 
FIGS. 2 and 5, to define terminal subassemblies 70 that also include 
actuators 74, and are secured therein by retention legs force fit into 
openings of insulative carriers 72 (see FIG. 7). The subassemblies 70 are 
then secured in respective cavities 76 in mating face 100 of housing 20 
such that IDC contact sections 62 are disposed within respective slots 66 
of housing 20 that extend from mating face 100 to cable face 28. IDC 
contact sections 62 are shown in FIG. 4 in their pretermination or 
recessed position within slots 66, and in FIG. 3 in their terminated 
position extending beyond cable face 28 of housing 20 into cable nest 32, 
for illustration purposes only, and are seen to include sharp points at 
ends of the beams of the contact sections to best penetrate the cable 
insulation upon actuation to terminate to conductors 16. 
Preferably, two contact pairs are secured in each subassembly 70, 
associated respectively with power and signal conductors 16 of cable 12, 
and upon rotation of actuator 74 the contact carrier 72 moves the two 
pairs of contacts 60 in tandem or simultaneously toward cable 12. 
Initially, IDC contact sections 62 are recessed completely within slots 66 
of housing 20 until after connector 10 is secured around cable 12, 
whereafter actuation of actuators 74 moves the contacts 60 toward the 
cable, when IDC contact sections 62 penetrate insulative jacket 14 of the 
cable and receive into their slots 68, the respective conductors 16 under 
assured compression to establish electrical connections therewith. 
Also seen in FIGS. 2, 5 and 7 is a chip capacitor 80 having electrodes 82 
at opposed ends, and a pair of capacitor-engaging terminals 84 that are 
affixable to housing 20 along mating face 100 within respective slots 86 
by means of retention legs 88 received in interference fit into slots (not 
shown) of the housing 20. The capacitor-engaging terminals 84 include 
contact sections 90 to establish an electrical connection with one pair of 
contacts 60 of respective subassemblies 70 upon assembly of connector 10, 
in order to be connected in parallel to power circuits when the one pair 
of contacts 60 becomes electrically connected with a power conductor of 
the cable. Each capacitor-engaging terminal 84 also includes a 
capacitor-engaging section having a spring arm 92 that engages an 
associated electrode 82 of the capacitor, and a retention ledge 94 that 
secures the capacitor 80 in the housing as seen in FIG. 7. The retention 
ledge may be the free end of a deflectable arm 96 that is deflected 
outwardly by the capacitor during insertion of the capacitor into a pocket 
98 of housing 20 along mating face 100, and thereafter resiles to a 
positioned above the upper surface of the capacitor. The capacitor 
retention and electrical connection system is disclosed in greater detail 
in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/170,632 filed Oct. 13, 1998 
(concurrently herewith) and assigned to the assignee hereof. 
Mating face 100 is seen to include a sealing gasket 104 of elastomeric 
material surrounding a shroud section 102 to seal the mating interface 
when an interface module such as module 200 or 300 becomes mated to 
connector 10, as seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. Mating face 100 also preferably 
includes a pair of latch members 106 along opposed sides of shroud 102 to 
provide latching retention of an interface module upon mating. Latch 
members 106 are seen to be recessed within silos 108 extending from 
housing 20 outside of shroud 102, to provide protection of latch members 
106 during shipping, handling, and application of connector 10 to cable 
12, and during mating and unmating of interface modules with and from 
connector 10. Silos 108 also serve as alignment members to assure that an 
interface module being mated with connector 10 is appropriately aligned 
with respect to mating face 100 for the contacts of the interface module 
to be aligned with second contact sections 64 of contact members 60 prior 
to physical engagement therewith. Additionally, connector 10 preferably 
includes polarization features at mating face 100, such as T-shaped key 
projection 110 extending upwardly from housing 20 outside of shroud 102, 
to assure that an interface module is appropriately oriented prior to 
mating of the contacts thereof with second contact sections 64 of 
respective pairs of contact members 60 of connector 10. 
FIGS. 7 to 17 illustrate four embodiments of interface modules in 
accordance with the present invention, all having first mating interfaces 
that mate with mating face 100 of cable tap connector 10 of FIGS. 1 to 7. 
In FIG. 7 is shown a first interface module 200 of the type illustrated in 
greater detail in FIG. 13, having a first mating interface 202 and second 
mating interface 204. Module 200 includes an insulative housing 206, a 
plurality of interface contacts 208 secured therein utilizing an 
insulative retention plate 210 of the present invention that serves to 
secure the interface contacts 208 to housing 206 and also to assure that 
the blade-shaped contact sections 212 along first mating interface 202 
extend through slots 214 of plate 210 and are positioned appropriately to 
correspond and be matable with second contact sections 64 of contacts 60 
of cable tap connector 10. The retention plate is especially useful to 
counteract the moments on the contacts during unmating, since the 
blade-like contact sections are at an end of elongate body sections. 
Referring now to FIGS. 8 to 12, a second interface module 300 having a 
first mating interface 302 identical to that of module 200, is illustrated 
in mated relationship to cable tap connector 10. Module 300 is of the type 
having a second mating interface 304 along an upper surface of insulative 
housing 306 adapted to accommodate electrical connections to discrete wire 
conductors 308. Insulative housing 306 includes apertures 310 into which 
are received silos 108 and latching ends of latch members 106 of cable tap 
connector 10, as well as a key-receiving aperture 312 complementary to 
T-shaped key 110 of connector 10 during mating. The latch members latch to 
latching surfaces 314 adjoining apertures 310 to latch interface module 
300 to connector 10 such that the latching ends of latch members 106 are 
exposed to be deflected for delatching of the module from the connector if 
desired. 
Contact assemblies 316 of module 300 include first contact sections 318, 
shown defined on first members 320, that are exposed along first mating 
interface 302 (FIG. 12) to mate with the contacts of the cable tap 
connector similarly to contact sections 212 of contacts 208 of module 200 
as shown in FIG. 7. Contact assemblies 316 also include second contact 
sections 322, shown defined on second members 324 (FIGS. 8 and 9), that 
are shanks around which exposed conductors 326 of wires 308 will be 
wrapped to establish electrical connections therewith at connection sites 
328 between insulative barrier walls 330. The first and second contact 
sections extend axially from opposed ends of a transverse body section of 
first member 320 and are offset from each other to correspond with 
different mating interfaces. Additionally, in the contact assemblies 
shown, square washers 332 are utilized against which the conductors 326 
will be compressed by enlarged heads of second members 324 to increase the 
metal-to-metal interface of the conductors and the contact assemblies. The 
square washers fit snugly between pairs of barrier walls 330 in a manner 
preventing rotation thereof when the second members are rotated during 
connection and disconnection of wires 308. 
Female threaded inserts 334 with rivet-like end flanges are utilized to 
assuredly mechanically and electrically connect the first and second 
members 320,324 as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11. Transverse body sections 336 of 
first members 320 are positioned against surface 338 of housing 306 and 
preferably seated within shallow depressions 340 thereinto that secure the 
first members against rotation. Inserts 334 are inserted from second 
mating face 304 into holes 342 of housing 306 at respective connection 
sites 328 until wide collars 344 seat against ledges 346 around holes 342. 
Reduced diameter flanges 348 extend outwardly from holes 342 and through 
holes 350 through transverse body sections 336 of first members 320. Then, 
referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, a tool 352 having an appropriately shaped 
work end 354 is utilized to roll the flanges 348 of inserts 334 outwardly 
and over the periphery of holes 350 of transverse body sections 336 of 
first members 320, after which the tool is withdrawn. Inserts 334 include 
threaded apertures 356 into which ends of threaded shafts 358 of second 
members (screws) 324 that comprise the second contact sections 322, after 
square washers 332 have been placed onto threaded shafts 358. 
In FIG. 9 is seen insulative retention plate 360 having a transverse body 
section 362 through which extend slots 364, each associated with a 
respective first contact section 318. Plate 360 is secured against surface 
338 of housing 306 after the contact assemblies 316 have been secured to 
the housing; cylindrical bosses 366 extend from housing surface 338 and 
are received in a tight force fit into holes 368 through plate 360, shown 
to be hexagonal. Optionally, the plate may be heatstaked onto housing 
surface 338, as is a generally conventionally known technique. 
Additionally, plate 360 includes clearance holes 370 into which may extend 
the ends of screw shafts 358. 
As seen in FIGS. 9 and 12, upstanding projections 372 are seen at 
diagonally opposed corners of plate 360, and extend to generally the same 
level as upstanding projections 374 of housing 306 that are positioned in 
remaining corners of interface module 300 upon complete assembly, with the 
level being farther from mating interface 302 than the free ends of first 
contact sections 318. Together, projections 372,374 serve to protect first 
contact sections 318 after complete assembly, during shipping and handling 
and during mating and unmating with and from cable tap connector 10, and 
so that the interface module may rest stablely on a support surface when 
not mated without damaging the contacts. Projections 374 will seat in 
corner recesses of cable tap connector 10 (see FIGS. 5 and 8) while 
projections 372 will enter clearances in the mating face within shroud 
102. 
Bosses 376 are provided that are aligned with actuators 74 of cable tap 
connector 10 and will only allow full mating of the interface module with 
connector 10 when the actuators have been rotated to their fully actuated 
position, thus preventing full mating and therefore latching of the 
interface module with the cable tap connector if the cable tap connector 
has not been fully or appropriately terminated to cable 12. 
Upon assembly of insulative plate 360 to housing 306, mating face 302 can 
be seen to define a large cavity 378 into which is received shroud 102 of 
cable tap connector 10, with gasket 104 establishing an assured sealing 
engagement with side wall surfaces of cavity 378, thus sealing the mating 
interface against moisture, dust and gases of the outside environment. 
Holes 380 in a first pair of opposed corners through projections 374 
provide for screws 382 to be inserted therethrough to be threaded into 
holes 120 of cable tap connector 10 to assuredly fasten the interface 
module to the connector after mating and latching. Holes 384 permit 
insertion therethrough of elongated screws (not shown) that also will 
extend through holes 118 of cable tap connector 10 for panel mounting or 
mounting to a DIN rail clamp of the entire mated assembly, if desired. 
FIG. 13 illustrates first interface module 200 (see FIG. 7) and includes a 
second mating interface 204 adapted to mate with a miniature round cable 
connector 216. Module 200 includes a cylindrical plug portion 218 for 
receipt into a plug-receiving cavity of connector 216 defined by a shroud 
within a freely rotatable coupling ring 220. An annular embossment 222 
surrounds cylindrical plug portion 218 and is spaced therefrom with its 
inner surface being threaded. The outer surface of coupling ring 220 is 
threaded so that after mating of connector 216 and module 200, rotation of 
the coupling ring around connector 216 results in threaded engagement with 
embossment 222 to assuredly secure the connector 216 and module 200 in 
mated engagement. 
FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate a third interface module 400 mated to cable tap 
connector 10, with second interface 404 adapted to mate with a round cable 
connector 406 that is of a larger diameter than miniature round cable 
connector 216 of FIG. 13. Second interface module 400 is similar to first 
interface module 200 and includes a cylindrical plug portion 408 for 
receipt into a plug-receiving cavity of connector 406 defined within 
shroud 410, and outer surface of shroud 410 is threaded. Coupling ring 412 
is secured to module 400 by a retention clip 414 in a manner permitting 
free rotation thereof to become threaded onto shroud 410 of connector 406. 
An O-ring is also preferably positioned within coupling ring 412 for 
sealing. 
Contact assemblies 416 of module 400 include blade-shaped first contact 
sections 418 such as are defined on first members 420, and second contact 
sections 422 such as are defined on second members 424, shown here to be 
socket contact sections adapted to mate with a pin contact of connector 
406. Second members 424 are secured to body sections 426 of first members 
420 by rivet-type deformation of annular flange embossments 428 after 
insertion through corresponding holes 430 of the body sections 426, 
similar to the deformation depicted in FIGS. 10 and 11 for the second 
interface module contact assemblies; alternatively, force fitting methods 
may be utilized. Contact assemblies 416 are disclosed in greater detail in 
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/170,632 filed Oct. 13, 1998 
(concurrently herewith) and assigned to the assignee hereof. Insulative 
retention plate 432 is affixed to surface 434 of housing 406 in large 
cavity 436 in the same manner as plate 360 of FIG. 9, and secures contact 
assemblies 416 in module 400 with first contact sections 418 extending 
through slots 438. 
A fourth embodiment of interface module is shown in FIGS. 16 to 18. 
Terminator 500 defines a first mating interface 502 matable with cable tap 
connector 10, but includes only two contacts 504 secured in housing 506 by 
an insulative retention plate 508. Terminator 500 is matable with a cable 
tap connector placed at an end of cable 12 and serves to prevent 
reflections from being generated along the signal conductors of cable 12 
at the cable end. Blade-shaped contact sections 510 are provided to 
establish electrical connections only with the signal circuits of cable 12 
and cable tap connector 10. A resistor 512 is connected to contacts 504 to 
dissipate the electrical energy of the signals passing along the signal 
circuits, preferably with leads 514 fastened at the bases of blade contact 
sections 510 within notches 516 and thereafter soldered. A clearance 
pocket (not shown) along the underside of retention plate 508 receives the 
resistor thereinto upon assembly; such clearance pockets may be provided 
in all retention plates for the various interface modules, so that any 
interface module may include a similarly-connected resistor and be placed 
at a cable end to provide the benefits of a terminator module. 
Terminator module 500 is preferably used in conjunction with an end cap 530 
of elastomeric material such as of butyl nitrile resin. End cap 530 
includes a pocket 532 into surface 534 to receive thereinto and surround 
and enclose the end portion 536 of cable 12 prior to placement in 
connector 10; the end cap is shown exploded from connector 10 for 
illustration purposes only. End cap 530 is disclosed in greater detail in 
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/170,349 filed Oct. 13, 1998 
(concurrently herewith) and assigned to the assignee hereof. 
End cap 536 includes a pair of projections 538 extend from surface 534 from 
one side of pocket 532 to be inserted into openings 540 into either cover 
member 22 or housing 20 of connector 10, with enlarged embossments 542 at 
ends of projections 538 seated within corresponding enlarged recesses 544 
along openings 540 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and thereafter selfretain to cable 
tap connector 10, when the cable portion and end cap are placed within the 
connector. It can be seen that with openings 540 in both the housing and 
the cover member, cable tap connector 10 is adapted to be placed at either 
cable end, by easily orienting the end cap appropriately, for projections 
538 to correspond with either the openings 540 of the housing or the 
openings of the cover. The outer surface 546 of terminator module 500 
opposed from first mating interface 502 is imperforate. 
A dust cover for cable tap connector 10 may be formed by simply utilizing 
housing 506 and insulative retention plate 508 of terminator module 500, 
since surface 546 of housing 506 is imperforate. Additional interface 
modules may be provided, such as an interconnection between two cable tap 
connectors, by providing identical first mating interfaces on opposed 
sides of the module housing, or by providing a circuit board along the 
second mating interface of a module housing that otherwise has a first 
mating interface identical to that of modules 200,300,400 of FIGS. 7 to 
15. 
The identical mating interfaces of the interface modules enables an array 
of different modules that are matable to the same cable tap connector, and 
are alignable during mating, and latching upon mating in the same manner, 
as well as assuredly sealing the resulting mated interface therebetween. 
Other variations and modifications of the present invention may be devised 
that are within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.