ELECTRICAL JACK-PLUG

Abstract: In an electrical jack-type connector, mainly for low voltage purposes, the female part (7) is formed with an outer tube (9) and an inner tube (10) tightly fitted therein, which has a number of mutually axially and radially displaced, mainly rectangular slots (11) for the arrangement of terminals in the form of short strip-shaped contact flaps (13) having solered on conductors (14) placed in tracks parallel to the tube axis on the external side of the inner tube (10) in connection with their respective slots (11). A simple construction with great reliability as regards function and easy to operate is hereby obtained.

Description: Electrical jack-plug The invention relates to an electrical jack-type connector, mainly for low voltage purposes, comprising a rod-shaped male part having terminals in the form of conducting, axially displaced contact rings and a match- ing tubular female part having axially and peripherally displaced inner terminals to form contact with the contact rings of the male part, which female part com¬ prises an outer tube and an inner tube fitted therein, which is formed with slots for the arrangement of the terminals of the female part, each in connection with a respective conductor located between the inner tube and the outer tube for connection with cable conductors within a closed end of the outer tube. Electrical connectors of this kind are known from U.S. patent specifications Nos. 1,222,585 and 2,703,393, the former of which shows an embodiment in which the female part has ball-shaped terminals in connection with contact springs placed in an annular space between the outer tube and the inner tube, whereas the terminals in the latter patent specification are bent contact springs mounted in slits in a special tubular body. These known designs have a fairly complicated structure, and in both cases the terminals of the female part take up quite a lot of space such that the connect- ors in question are difficult to construct in small di¬ mensions and are not suitable for uses in which the male and female parts are to have a comparatively large number of terminals. Moreover, the establishment of a safe contact in the known connectors presupposes a com- paratively great pressure action of the contact springs, whereby the operation of the connector may be rendered difficult. The invention has for its object to provide an improved design of an electrical connector of the kind mentioned, having a very simple construction, comprising a small number of separate parts and having great reli¬ ability as regards function and being easy to operate. In order to achieve this, the connector according to the invention is characterized in that the inner tube is formed for tight insertion into the outer tube and has mainly rectangular slots, each being connected on the external side of the inner tube with a comparatively narrow track extending parallel to the tube axis from the slot to an orifice at one end of the inner tube, and that the terminals of the female part comprise short strip-shaped contact flaps, each in connection with its respective conductor and formed for loose arrangement into its respective slot and the associated track prior to the insertion of the inner tube into the outer tube r the conductors being of such length as to, on the inser¬ tion of the inner tube into the outer tube, be led through an aperture at one end of the outer tube, which aperture is closed by a cap after connection of the supply lines with said cable conductors. Since the female .part comprises only a few separate components, viz. outer tube, inner tube, contact flaps with conductors and possibly a final cap, of which the two tubes and the cap can be made by moulding from a suitable plastic material, and since the contact flaps with, conductors are loosely mounted in the slots and tracks of the inner tube so as to avoid fastening opera¬ tions, the manufacturing costs can be kept very low both in the processing and assembling of the separate compo¬ nents. Moreover, the hermetically sealed confinement of the connectors of the contact -flaps resulting from the tight fitting of the inner tube into the outer tube provides a particularly good protection of the electric¬ ally conducting components against mechanical and other influences from the environment. V.hen the contact flaps are mounted in the slots of the inner tube, the flaps will form cords in the inner tube's circular cross section, thus forming good contact at comparatively modest spring pressure. Owing to its simple operation, the connector ac- cording to the invention is especially suitable for watertight implementation for use in connection with underwater communication equipment and the like, since the connection between the male and female parts can be made watertight without difficulty, and the outer tube in the cable entry end can be closed by a watertight mounted cap. The invention is explained below in closer detail by means of an embodiment shown on the drawing, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views of male and female part, respectively, in a watertight connector ac¬ cording to the invention, seen from the outside; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the female part ? Fig. 4 is a cross section at the line IV-IV in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the inner tube and contact members of the female part. The jack-type male part shown in Fig. 1 has a circular-cylindrical rod-shaped body 1 formed for inser- tion into the tubular .female part, said body having terminals in the form of axially displaced contact rings 2. In front of an abutment 3 formed to rest against the end of the female part, a sealing ring 5 is fitted in a groove 4 for watertight closing in the linking of male and female part. At the end, the male part 1 finishes with a water¬ tight mounted cap 6 which protects the soldering joints between not shown encapsulated conductors for the contact rings 2 and conductors in a cable connected with the male part 1. Fig. 2 shows the female part seen from the outside and ending with a watertight mounted cap 8 in the same way as the male part 1. As shown in Fig. 3, the female part 7 comprises an outer tube 9 and an inner tube 10 tightly fitted within the outer tube. A number of axially and peripher¬ ally displaced, mainly rectangular, slots 11 are formed in the inner tube 10, as is more clearly shown in Fig. 5. Each of these slots 11 is connected at one of its lateral edges parallel to the tube axis on the external side of the inner tube 10 with a track 12 extending from the slot 11 in question and opening into the end of the inner tube 10 which is to be placed against the bottom of the outer tube 9. As also shown in Fig. 5, the terminals of the fe¬ male part are formed as short, planar strip-shaped con¬ tact flaps 13 to be arranged in their respective rectan¬ gular slots 11 and having such length as to rest on the lateral edges of the slot 11 parallel to the tube axis, » whereby each contact flap 13 on being placed in.a slot 11 in projection to the circular cross section of the inner tube 10 will extend as a cord when viewed, as can be seem in. Fig. 4, and will be retained in this position on the fitting of the inner tube 10 into the outer tube 9, in that the internal wall of the outer tube 9 presses against the end edges of the flap 13. Each contact flap 13 has at one edge a thread- or strip-shaped conductor 14 which can. be punched together with the contact flap and which on arrangement of the flap 13 in a slot 11 will be placed in the associated track 12 parallel to the tube axis on the external side of the inner tube 10. As shown in Fig. 5, the conductors 14 have each such length as to project beyond the above mentioned end of the inner tube 10 so that when the latter is placed in the outer tube 9, they are led through an opening formed at the end of the outer tube 9. Before the final attachment of the watertight cap 8, the conductors 14 are connected with not shown cable conductors in the same way as the conductors in the male part 1.

Claims: P A T E N T C L A I M Electrical jack-type connector, mainly for low voltage purposes, comprising a rod-shaped male part (1) having terminals in the" form of conducting, axially dis¬ placed contact rings (2) and a matching tubular female part (7) having axially and peripherally displaced inner terminals to form contact with the contact rings (2) of the male part, which female part (7) comprises an outer tube (9) and an inner tube (10) fitted therein, which is formed with slots for the arrangement of the terminals of the female part (7), each being in connection with a respective conductor located between the inner tube (10) and the outer tube (9) for connection with cable conduc¬ tors within a closed end of the outer tube (10) , characterized in that the inner tube (10) is formed for tight insertion into the outer tube (9) and has mainly rectangular slots (11) , each being connected on the ex¬ ternal side of the inner tube with, a comparatively narrow track (12) extending parallel to the tube axis from the slot to an orifice at one end of the inner tube (10) , and that the terminals of the female part comprise short . strip-formed contact flaps (13) , each in connection with its respective conductor and formed for loose arrange¬ ment into its respective slot and the associated track (12) prior to the insertion of the inner tube (10) into the outer tube (9) , the conductors being of such length as to, on the insertion of the inner tube (iθ) into the outer tube (9) , be led through an aperture at one end of the outer tube (9), which, aperture is closed by a cap (8) after connection of the supply lines (14) with the said cable conductors.

Inventors: HANSEN JOERGEN, HANSEN, JOERGEN
Applicants: HANSEN JOERGEN, HANSEN, JOERGEN
Application year: 1985
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13, H01R24