Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6604967?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=7069184
Timestamp: 2014-03-13 08:13:15
Document Index: 766166931

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 151', 'art 151', 'art 151', 'art 151', 'art 151', 'art 239', 'art 212']

Patent US6604967 - Socket assembly and female connector for use therewith - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA socket assembly having first and second bodies of an electrically conductive material. Each of the bodies has a unitary construction and has a width and a central portion extending substantially in a plane. The central portion has a plurality of pin members extending in the plane in spaced-apart positions...http://www.google.com/patents/US6604967?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6604967 - Socket assembly and female connector for use therewithAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6604967 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 10/061,554Publication dateAug 12, 2003Filing dateFeb 1, 2002Priority dateSep 15, 1998Fee statusPaidAlso published asCN1258838C, CN1304568A, CN1619889A, DE69934593D1, DE69934593T2, EP1114492A1, EP1114492A4, EP1114492B1, US6322377, US6402566, US6835103, US20010023143, US20020081909, US20030143876, WO2000016445A1Publication number061554, 10061554, US 6604967 B2, US 6604967B2, US-B2-6604967, US6604967 B2, US6604967B2InventorsRichard J. Middlehurst, Donald E. Wood, Robert S. Jetter, Robert G. FoleyOriginal AssigneeTyco Electronics CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (24), Non-Patent Citations (1), Referenced by (9), Classifications (14), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSocket assembly and female connector for use therewithUS 6604967 B2Abstract A socket assembly having first and second bodies of an electrically conductive material. Each of the bodies has a unitary construction and has a width and a central portion extending substantially in a plane. The central portion has a plurality of pin members extending in the plane in spaced-apart positions across the width from its second end and a plurality of thin contact members secured to its first end and spaced apart across the width. The thin contact members extend toward the second end and are bowed outwardly from the central portion, and are opposed to each other for sandwiching a connector blade therebetween. The pin members are adapted to engage an array of interconnect holes in a printed circuit board.
What is claimed is: 1. A socket assembly for use in a female connector housing of a power connector assembly mountable on a printed circuit board having at least one power-carrying trace for engaging a connector blade in a male connector housing of the power connector assembly comprising first and second bodies of an electrically conductive material, each of the first and second bodies being of a unitary construction and having a width and a central portion extending substantially in a plane, the central portion having opposite first and second ends, a plurality of terminals extending from the second end and a plurality of thin contact members secured to the first end and spaced apart across the width, each of the thin contact members extending in a first direction away from the first end to a fold which curves through an angle of approximately 180� and extending from the fold in an opposite second direction toward the second end to a common strip disposed transversely of the thin contact members, each of the thin contact members extending first away from the central portion and then towards the central portion as the thin contact member extends in the second direction from the fold to the common strip, the terminals of the first and second bodies being adapted to engage the at least one trace and the thin contact members of the first and second bodies being opposed to each other so as to be adapted to sandwich the connector blade therebetween when the female connector housing and male connector housing are engaged.
2. The socket assembly of claim 1 wherein the terminals of each of the first and second bodies are five in number.
3. The socket assembly of claim 1 wherein the plurality of thin contact members of each of the first and second bodies is a plurality of at least five thin contact members.
4. The socket assembly of claim 1 wherein each of the terminals is a pin member.
5. A unitary electrical contact for use in a first connector housing of a power connector assembly mountable on a printed circuit board having at least one power-carrying trace for engaging a connector blade in a second connector housing of the power connector assembly comprising a body of an electrically conductive material having a width and a central portion extending substantially in a plane, the central portion having opposite first and second ends, a plurality of terminals extending from the second end and a plurality of thin contact members secured to the first end and spaced apart across the width, each of the thin contact members extending in a first direction away from the first end to a fold which curves through an angle of approximately 180� and extending from the fold in an opposite second direction toward the second end to a common strip disposed transversely of the thin contact members, each of the thin contact members extending first away from the central portion and then towards the central portion as the thin contact member extends in the second direction from the fold to the common strip, the terminals of the first and second bodies being adapted to engage the at least one trace and the thin contact members of the body being adapted to engage the connector blade in the second connector housing.
6. The electrical contact of claim 5 wherein the plurality of thin contact members is a plurality of at least five thin contact members.
7. The electrical contact of claim 5 wherein each of the terminals is a pin member.
8. A female connector of a connector assembly for use with a printed circuit board having a plurality of traces and for use with a male connector of the connector assembly having a male connector housing provided with a male connector blade, the female connector comprising a female connector housing having a side adapted for mounting to the printed circuit board, a unitary body of an electrically conductive material carried by the female connector housing and having a width, the unitary body including a central wall portion extending substantially in a plane and having first and second ends, a plurality of terminals extending from the second end for engaging at least one of the traces and a plurality in excess of two thin contact members secured to the first end and spaced apart across the width, each of the thin contact members extending in a first direction away from the first end to a fold which curves through an angle of approximately 180� and extending from the fold in an opposite second direction toward the second end to a common strip disposed transversely of the thin contact members, each of the thin contact members extending first away from the central portion and then towards the central portion as the thin contact member extends in the second direction from the fold to the common strip, the thin contact members being adapted to engage the blade when the male and female connector housings are interconnected whereby the blade and the unitary body serve to transmit power between the male and female connectors.
9. A female connector as in claim 8 wherein the terminals of the unitary body are five in number.
10. A female connector as in claim 8 wherein the central wall portion has a clip extending outwardly therefrom for inhibiting removal of the unitary body from the female connector housing.
11. A female connector for use with a printed circuit board having a plurality of traces extending to an array of interconnect holes and with a male connector blade, the female connector comprising an elongate connector housing having a first side adapted for mounting to the printed circuit board, a plurality of female connector means of an electrically conductive material carried by the connector housing, at least one of the female connector means being formed from first and second opposed unitary bodies made from an electrically conductive material, each of the first and second unitary bodies having a width and including a central wall portion extending substantially in a plane and having first and second ends, a plurality of pin members extending in the plane from the second end in spaced-apart positions across the width for engaging interconnect holes and a plurality in excess of two thin contact members secured to the first end and spaced apart across the width, each of the thin contact members extending in a first direction away from the first end to a fold which curves through an angle of approximately 180� and extending from the fold in an opposite second direction toward the second end to a common strip disposed transversely of the thin contact members, each of the thin contact members extending first away from the central portion and then towards the central portion as the thin contact member extends in the second direction from the fold to the common strip, the thin contact members being adapted to engage the male connector blade.
12. A female connector as in claim 11 wherein the pin members of the unitary body are five in number.
13. A female connector as in claim 11 wherein the central wall portion is a planar member.
14. A female connector as in claim 11 further comprising a clip extending outwardly from the central wall portion of at least one of the first and second unitary bodies for inhibiting removal of the unitary body from the connector housing.
15. An electrical contact for use in a connector housing comprising a body having a central wall portion extending substantially in a plane and having a first end and an opposite second end, the first and second ends being substantially parallel to each other, the body having a plurality of thin contact members integrally formed with the first end of the central portion, each of the thin contact members extending in a first direction away from the first end to a fold which curves through an angle of approximately 180� and extending from the fold in an opposite second direction toward the second end to a common strip disposed transversely of the thin contact members, each of the thin contact members extending first away from the central portion and then towards the central portion as the thin contact member extends in the second direction from the fold to the common strip.
16. An electrical contact as in claim 15 wherein the body is of an electrically conductive material.
17. An electrical contact as in claim 15 wherein the contact members are spaced apart across a width of the central portion.
18. An electrical contact as in claim 15 wherein the strip extends parallel to the first and second ends of the central portion.
19. An electrical contact as in claim 15 further comprising a plurality of terminals extending from the second end of the central portion for permitting electrical connections to the body.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/344,821 filed Jun. 25, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,566, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/100,392 filed Sep. 15, 1998, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by this reference.
A spacer element or spacer 151 made from plastic or any other suitable electrically insulating or dielectric material is disposed between first and second unitary bodies 142 and 143 for electrically insulating the bodies 142 and 143 from each other. Spacer or insulator 151 has a central part 151 a disposed between a central portions 146 of first and second unitary bodies 142 and 143, a blade part 151 b extending forwardly of central part 151 a and disposed between the blades 147 of bodies 142 and 143 and a rounded edge 151 c formed at the distal end of blade part 151 b. The rounded edge 151 e has a thickness greater than the thickness of blade part 151 b so as to extend in front of the distal ends of each of blades 147 and thus form a smooth rounded distal end for split blade assembly 141.
Female connector 33 can have socket assemblies with other sizes or configurations and be within the scope of the present invention. For example, as shown most clearly in FIG. 14, first and second shortened socket assemblies 233 and 234 are carried by female connector housing 176 for engaging the long-bladed power contacts 101 i and 110 j in male connector 32. The socket assemblies 233 and 234 each have similarities to socket assembly 206 and like reference numerals have been used to describe like components of socket assemblies 206, 233 and 234. Each of the shortened socket assemblies 233 and 234 has first and second unitary bodies 236 and 237 that are substantially similar to first and second unitary bodies 207 and 208 of each socket assembly 206 except that the central portion 238 of each body 236 and 237 has a top part 239 that is shorter in height than top part 212 of central portion 211. As a result, top end 238 a of central portion 238 is closer to bottom end 238 b than the comparable ends of central portion 211. Spring members 217 of the shortened socket assemblies 233 and 234 extend farther down the respective body 236 or 237 than the spring members extend down bodies 207 and 208 of socket assemblies 206. More specifically, the spring members 217 of shortened socket assemblies 233 and 234 extend downwardly from top end 238 a to a position approaching bottom end 238 b. A plurality of tails 221 and as shown a plurality of five tails 221 depend from central portion 238.
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