Abstract:
A selectively releasable plug terminal connector in which an arm flexibly integral with a contactor is selectively lowered by cam surfaces carried by a housing, no portion of the arm reaching closer to the housing interior than the tip of the arm.

Description:
[0001]    This invention relates to selectively lockable electrical connectors, and more particularly to plug terminal connectors in which selection is by virtue of a latch selectively engageable with a hole in a flat plug terminal responsively to positioning of a flexible arm, carrying the latch, in relation to a camming surface.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    A construction broadly as set forth above is disclosed in Gottardo et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,635, “Locking Electrical Connector”, granted Dec. 11, 1990, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0003]    It has been discovered that a particularly useful and improved connector in the above field may be provided through a flexible arm no part of which extends further in a connector thickness, and tip, direction toward or into the connector housing than the tip of the arm.  
           [0004]    In further embodiments, the locus of flexible arm bending may be either toward or away, relative to that tip, from the plug-receiving end of the connector housing; the housing may include one or more camming surfaces sloping either upwardly or downwardly (i.e., toward or away in a connector thickness direction from the connector contactor) as the slopes of those camming surfaces extend either toward or away from the plug-receiving housing end; the cam-(cam surface- or surfaces-)following flexible arm tip may include a cam contacting surface facing either upwardly or downwardly (as those directions are above defined), but always oppositely to any mating cam surface; the cam-following tip may be unbent relative to the adjacent portion of the flexible arm; the tip may include a reversely directed feature, the cut thickness surface of the tip riding on a cam surface; the tip may end in a T-bar with that thickness surface being on a side of the T-bar riding on a cam surface; or the tip may end in a cam-engaging flat non-thickness end portion surface engaging one or more cam surfaces.  
         PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
         [0005]    Following is a description of preferred embodiments, in view of drawings thereof. 
       
    
    
     DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the presently preferred embodiment.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a plan view of two thereof mounted for use delivery in reel formation.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a partially sectional view looking transversely of the vertical plane through the longitudinal centerline of said embodiment.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3A is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 except that the housing has been moved to the right, slightly away from the contactor housing stop, to lower the latching tang so that any plug terminal (not shown) present may be removed.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a sectional view at  4 - 4  of FIG. 3.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a sectional view at  5 - 5  of FIG. 4.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, but of a modified embodiment.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 6A corresponds with FIG. 3A, but of said modified embodiment.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 7 is a sectional view at  7 - 7  of FIG. 6.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 8 is a sectional view at  8 - 8  of FIG. 7. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION  
       [0016]    There is shown in FIG. 1 an isometric view of a connector of the invention, indicated generally at  10 , and in FIG. 2 a plan view of two connectors  10  in integral through strip  11  reel formation including in fact many connectors  10  per reel.  
         [0017]    In FIG. 3 the connector  10  is shown in more detail.  
         [0018]    An integrally injection molded (of glass-filled plasticized nylon sold by RT Material, of Winona, Minn., under the designation 205 FR) plastic housing indicated generally at  12  holds therein a contactor indicated generally at  14 .  
         [0019]    Contactor  14 , conventionally is of brass, and includes a base indicated generally at  16 , which includes a lower semicylindrical insulation gripping portion  18 , a corrugated lower semicylindrical wire-gripping portion  20 , a transition portion  22 , and a latching portion  24 . (As shown in FIG. 3, the portions  18  and  20  are crimped at arm  26  about wire bundle  28  and at arm  30  about insulation  32 .)  
         [0020]    Latching portion  24  includes an arm portion  40 , a latch  42 , and a ramp follower  44 .  
         [0021]    Curvingly above contactor portion  40  is plug receptive portion  50 , adjacent which is connecting portion  52 , which gradually changes from semicylindrical adjacent wire bundle  28  to flat at portion  40 .  
         [0022]    Flexible stop  60  of housing  12  is upwardly bent as contactor  14  and its crimped thereinto wire  28  and insulation  32  are moved leftwardly into housing  12 , and then snaps into the locking position shown in FIG. 3, back of edge  62  of portion  50 , to hold the contactor  14  positioned in housing  12 .  
         [0023]    Contactor  14  is held in opening  70  of housing  12 , which includes bevels  72  and  74 , side walls  76 , and front wall indicated generally at  78  with horizontal opening indicated generally at  80  for flat plug terminals  81  as shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0024]    The portion  82  of the latch area is indented uncut upwardly slightly in the manner shown in FIG. 5 (not shown in FIG. 3, which shows only the upwardly displaced cutout portion away from the apex area  82  of the latch tang triangle  42 ). The cut-through, in the latch-producing die operation, is all around the crescent  84  of the tang, and back along the two sector radii toward their center about half each radial distance. In the die operation the metal in the zone of the arc  84  is made to flow so that instead of the arc&#39;s thickness surfacing remaining perpendicular to the sheet from which it has been cut, it is moved into perpendicularity with undistorted arm surface  86  adjacent arc  84 .  
         [0025]    Upper surface  90  of flexible arm  40  runs on cam surface  92  of housing  12 . The arm lower portion, ramp follower  44 , is formed so that in its stable position it is downwardly inclined, so that on assembling the contactor  14  into housing  12 , the upper surface of tip  44  engages housing ramp  92 .  
         [0026]    The housing  12  also includes bottom wall  94  and top wall  96 , the latter relieved by flexibility-increasing grooves  98 .  
         [0027]    In FIG. 3A is seen how when housing  12  is moved rightwardly of contactor  14  enough to produce between lock  60  and portion  50  a gap as seen, tip  44  is moved down on ramp  92 , bending arm  40  as shown so that latch  42  is brought down to the level of the upper surface of portion  40 , allowing any plug terminal  81  theretofore latched in to hole  100  by latch tang  42  to be easily removed.  
         [0028]    Turning to the modification of FIGS. 6 through 8, the housing indicated generally at  12   a  is different from that in FIG. 3 in that its integral ramps  92   a  are alongside, on each side, internally, of housing  12   a.    
         [0029]    The contactor, indicated generally at  14   a,  is different from that of FIG. 3 in that the tip  44   a  is a T-bar the inner thickness surface of which runs on ramps  92   a,  to drive down latch  42   a  when housing  12   a  is moved toward contactor  14   a  (FIG. 6A).  
         [0030]    Flexible arm  86   a  is produced by removal from the brass thickness of portions  102   a.